Category: RESTAURANTS AND CHEFS

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Helpful Resources for Workers & Businesses Impacted by COVID-19

 

Throughout the U.S.A. the hospitality and foodservice community needs our support in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs have served as community gathering places for centuries. They are first to open their doors and service their communities in times of need and a place where we celebrate special occasions from graduations to anniversaries.

We recall how the restaurant community in New York City and throughout the world united to support citizens and first responders and raise funds to help families who lost loved ones during the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Now in the wake of the coronovirus pandemic, our restaurant community needs our support more than ever, especially with so many service workers laid off due to temporary closures and reduced staffing.

In the spirit of support, we are compiling and sharing lists of reliable resources and articles that can help industry workers. Since this is a developing situation, we will continue to update and post resources on our Facebook Page and Twitter.

Journalist Andrea Strong has compiled a list of local and nationwide resources (U.S.A.) to provide relief for laid-off workers for Food & Wine and continues to update it. Read and Share This List

Also by Strong, here is an article in Food & Wine on supportive charitable efforts. Read; Share; Donate

The nonprofit Restaurant Workers Community Foundation has started a COVID-19 emergency relief fund.  Read, Share, Donate  

SupportRestaurants.org is a collective of restaurant industry professionals who have set a national initiative in motion to get funds into the hands of restaurants, even if they are temporarily closed. A Dining Bond works like a savings bond, where you can purchase a "bond" at a value rate to be redeemed for face value (for example, a $100 bond for $75) at a future date. Read more here

The U.S. Bartenders Guild (USBG) has a charitable foundation to provide aid to bar industry workers in need. Info

Many people who work in the industry lack the benefits of full-time employed workers, such as sick pay, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. The nonprofit Gig Workers Collective has published this state-by-state list of resources to help. Read, share

Other ways to support: Order takeout. Buy a restaurant gift card. Stock up on wine.
Restaurants in New York and elsewhere may be closed to the public, but many are offering takeout and deliveries. Under a recently announced initiative to help businesses, restaurants in New York can also deliver wine, beer and cocktails. Read this Eater.com  article for more info and guidelines.

Other initiatives to support businesses are happening throughout the U.S. but it is still in an unfortunate catch-up mode for those facing job losses. The National Restaurant Association is providing special industry-specific guidance on its website. www.restaurant.org 

A Facebook Hospitality Industry Alliance | COVID-19 group has been established to provide an open forum to support and share ways to help members of the hospitality community. If you need help to join, let us know  Info

The above is a shortlist and continues to evolve. It is also specific to the U.S.A. We know many of our readers and listeners are in Europe. We want to let you know, we stand with you in solidarity throughout the world.

This week's edition of The Connected Table LIVE addresses ways to support our industry. We also discuss food safety when cooking at home. We will resume with scheduled guests on March 25. Click lunk below to listen and stream.

Stay safe. We are all in this together.

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Chef Marc Murphy- Global Citizen & Family Man

Marc Murphy

Chef Marc Murphy has one of the most eclectic bios we’ve ever read. First, he’s a nationally recognized chef whose restaurants have included Landmarc and Ditch Plains, each with two locations in New York. Second, he is a regular judge on The Food Network’s wildly popular “Chopped” shows in their various renditions. But there’s much more to his story than what people see on screen and read in media.

 

 

Dig deeper and you learn that this devoted husband to wife, Pamela Schein Murphy, and father to Callen and Campbell, has a little international man of mystique about him. A few examples:

Before the age of 12 he’d lived in Milan, Paris, Villefranche, Washington DC, Rome and Genoa, and he is fluent in four languages. His parents live in Monaco and, get this, Prince Albert was his babysitter! He is still a dual citizen of the United States and France.

He originally wanted to be a race car driver but switched gears (literally) because he didn’t have the money to buy a car. Instead, he decided to become a chef and enrolled in the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). He still loves and rides motorcycles. Melanie once road down the FDR Drive on the back of his Ducati after an event.

He is a fan of opera, the ballet, classical music and hip hop equally. Between jobs in the 1990s, he worked with the choreographer, Jerome Robbins. He believes good scotch should be serve with one ice cube and all meals should be served in the company of good wine and great company.

He is author of Season with Authority: Confident Home Cooking his debut cookbook which was released in April 2015 and continues to be a top seller. Yet, he confesses he can’t spell and battled dyslexia as a young boy.

 

Buy Marc’s book on Amazon.

 

From Hotshot Young Chef to Global Citizen

He was opening chef at Cellar in the Sky at Windows on the World, so having him join us on September 11 is particularly poignant. He later was recruited uptown to serve as executive chef for La Fourchette. Former New York Times Restaurant Critic Ruth Reichl awarded the restaurant two stars, writing that Marc has an “open desire to transform food [so that] in his hands, even a simple green salad … Looks like a ruffled hat in a painting by Renoir.”

In 2012 Marc joined the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, where he takes part in public diplomacy programs that engage foreign audiences abroad as well as those visiting the United States. He has traveled to Italy, China and Turkey as part of this program.

Melanie and Marc Murphy at Citi Taste of Tennis in New York City August 22

Marc is also involved with numerous industry and charitable organization. He is the President of the Manhattan chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, both a board member and Food Council member of City Harvest, and a member of the Food + Finance High School’s Industry Advisory Board. He sits on the Leadership Council for Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign and has been a national spokesperson for Share Our Strength’s Dine Out For No Kid Hungry initiative.

Marc has been a friend who was delighted to offer a supportive blurb for Melanie’s debut book, Getting Things Off My Chest which she wrote after surviving breast cancer. As high as his star has risen since we first came to know Marc as a young, motorcycle-riding, hotshot chef, as humbled and grounded he has remained as a caring father, husband and community citizen. We’ve celebrated many occasions at Marc’s various restaurants and are delighted to spend time with him September 11 on The Connected Table LIVE!

Chef Marc Murphy
Chef Marc Murphy

 

Listen to The Connected Table LIVE with Marc Murphy- Click below.

 

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From Cancer to Cured- Chef Steve McHugh’s Inspiring Story

Imagine being diagnosed with cancer at the height of your career. How do you manage to run a restaurant while undergoing an aggressive schedule of chemotherapy treatments? More people than you may realize have lived this experience (including me), but few have opened up about it as frankly as individuals like Chef Steve McHugh. We’re glad McHugh is now in remission from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and thriving as the owner of the San San Antonio restaurant, Cured at Pearl, located in the city’s custling culinary center, also home to the Culinary Institute of America’s southwest campus.

Chef Steve McHugh (Photo: Jonathan Alonzo)

Opened in 2012, three years after McHugh’s cancer diagnosis, Cured’s name not only reflects his new lease on life but also his daily selection of cured meats. The gastro-pub style menu focuses on using ingredients sourced from local farms and fisherman.

McHugh was raised in a large farming family in Wisconsin. He flipped burgers at a local restaurant to earn money and took up playing the saxophone. He was talented enough, in fact, to earn a jazz saxophone scholarship to college. But food became his calling, and he ended up changing plans and enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America.

An externship landed him in New Orleans where he easily settled in the restaurant scene after graduation, working for with Creole Chef Chris Brown of Metro Bistro and for restaurateur, Dickie Brennan. In 2009, McHugh was planning a move San Antonio to open a restaurant for a New Orleans hospitality group when he was diagnosed with cancer.

McHugh says, “the cancer treatment really kicked my ass,” and he kept working straight through it all.  But, it also can kick your ass in gear and make you commit to make healthy changes. Today, McHugh is in good health, with a successful restaurant and a culinary foundation dedicated “gastronomic giving” to support several charities. www.curedatpearl.com

Cured is localed at the fomer site of Pearl Brewery in San Antonio (Photo: Scott Martin)

Here are some healthy foods McHugh recommends adding to your diet:

  • Fermented foods, such as pickles, are shown to increase our body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Raw fermented foods are rich in healthy enzymes and flavor. These enzymes help the body properly balance healthy bacteria for improved digestion.
  • Black Pepper and certain legumes and nuts [such as pecans] contain anti-inflammatory properties. For example, Pumpkin and Pepper Salad with Smoked Pecans, Preserved Celery, and Goat Cheeseis a great combination.
  • Mussels are a lean source of protein with roughly 18 grams of protein per serving. Garlic, onions, and shallots [commonly used in mussel dishes] each contain anti-inflammatory properties.
Texas Trout with picked corn at Cured at Pearl

At Cured, McHugh has forged tight bonds with both his purveyors and his community, ” Good, solid relationships are important to me, and provide great value in my life. Not only with my staff, but also the farmers with whom we work. We use vegetables grown within the city limits and pigs from a farm nearby. It provides great balance and perspective to get to know the people growing the food you serve and eat. Having a strong sense of community in San Antonio is a great  part of my life.”

Daily selection of charcuterie at Cured. (Photo: David Rangel)

Listen to our show with Chef Steve McHugh from January 30, 2019
The Connected Table LIVE! on iHeart.com and free iHeart App

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INSPIRE RESTAURANTS AND CHEFS

The Food & Beverage Industry Nourishes Souls in Times of Sorrow

It seems like the last several weeks have delivered us one disaster after another starting with Hurricane Harvey in Texas; then Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean and Florida, and now the tragic massacre in Las Vegas. It’s hard to be rah rah about this and that culinary event or new product launch when so many people have died, are displaced or hungry. Hearts are heavy; souls are aching, and we try to be sensitive to it all while going about our daily business.

While politicians talk among themselves to try to work out answers, the nation simmers and questions starting with “Why?” and “How long?” and “How much more can we take of this?”  Congress could take months and years to make decisions. But the food and beverage industry can make a difference in just a few weeks.

Source World Central Kitchen  Website: worldcentralkitchen.org

Leave it to chefs like José Andrés and Jose Enrique to arrange a team to cook thousands of meals for the displaced and hungry in Puerto Rico while the island waits for food supplies to be adequately distributed in hard hit areas.

Leave it to Ti Adelaide Martin, and Alex Brennan- Martin to spearhead a fundraising effort with the Louisiana Restaurant Association and Greater New Orleans Foundation to help hospitality workers affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, raising over $160,000. And that amount does not include the nationwide Dineout that took place on October 2  with dozens of restaurants to raise even more funds for this cause.

Leave it to bar community activists like Speed Rack Co-Founder and Bartender Lynnette Marrero, Journalist Jenny Adams, and Alba Huerta, Owner/Operator of Julep in Houston, TX, to rally their colleagues to organize “NYC LOVES TX & FL”  on September 24 to raise over $60,000 for the John Besh Foundation for disaster relief.


These just a few small servings of the large effort this industry does, and continues to do, to help humanity. When tragedy strikes, the food, beverage and hospitality industry cooks up a plan to do something and does not drag its heels. We stir the pot where others cannot. Maybe the Executive Branch could learn a few management trucs from Executive Chefs, Restaurateurs and Bar Owners. Perhaps we need a Commander- in -Chef.

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Chef Ana Sortun’s Inspiration

Chef /Restaurateur Ana Sortun (photo: Kristin Teig)

A trip to Turkey while studying in Paris at La Varenne Cooking School as a young girl inspired Chef & Restaurateur Ana Sortun to specialize in the foods of Turkey and the Middle East in her three restaurants, Oleana, Sofra Bakery & Cafe and Sarma, all located in the greater Boston area. Ana is author of two cookbooks, “Spice,” and “Soframiz” (with Pastry Chef Maura Kilpatrick). LINK to show on iHeart.

In this edition of The Connected Table LIVE! Ana discussed her career, the business of being a restaurateur with multiple units, her passion for the flavors and culture of Turkey, and her love of farms. Her husband, Chris Kurth,  is owner of Siena Farms, named after their daughter, which supplies all of Ana’s restaurants with fresh organic produce.

Listen now

 

Ana Sortun’s food capures the spicy, sensuous colors and flavors of Turkey and the Middle East

 

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Sonoma Stars

It had been awhile since either of had spent much time in Sonoma Valley, so we felt lucky to add three nights for a visit following our stay at Meadowood in St. Helena for the Professional Wine Writers Symposium. Where Napa feels gentrified and sophisticated, Sonoma feels bucolic and achaten-suisse.com laid back. It’s like comparing cashmere to fleece; they both feel great and will keep you warm outside, and you want both for different reasons.

Here we are with John Jordan in the barrel room

The first two nights were spent at Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley tasting wines, exploring the expansive estate and enjoying a quiet dinner with Lisa Mattson and her husband, Damon, at BarnDiva in nearby Healdsburg. Lisa was a guest on The Connected Table LIVE! to talk about her book, “The Exes in My Glass.” We met proprietor John Jordan whom we learned has a thing for “Star Wars” movies.  Jordan specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay and does both well.

 

 

Another night took us to The Shed Cafe, a restaurant located in a cookware shop and bakery. Most of the food is locally sourced within 10 miles of Healdsburg. We suggest checking out the four- course tasting menu for $58 with a $25 wine pairing option.  Address: 25 North Street, Healdsburg. 707-431-7433  www.healdsburgshed.com

 

Winter Citrus Salad with Avocado, Miners Lettuce, Sea Buckthorn and HomeFarm Olio Nuovo at The Shed in Healdsburg

 

Our final night was spent at Valette whose chef-owner, Dustin Valette visited with us on The Connected Table LIVE March 8th. Dustin began his restaurant career at the age of thirteen washing dishes at Catelli’s in his hometown of Geyserville. A Culinary Institute of America grad, he worked at several top restaurants to fine tune his skills, most recently spending six years as Executive Chef of Dry Creek Kitchen, a Charlie Palmer restaurant in downtown Healdsburg.  With his brother and fellow restaurant worker, Aaron Garzini, Dustin hatched a plan to open Valette in a building which housed his great grandfather’s bakery.  The two brothers opened Valette in 2015 spotlighting their deep passion and dedication to Sonoma Country and its food and wine purveyors and producers.

 

Chef Dustin Valette opened his restaurant in the same location where his great grandfather ran a bakery.

 

Valette is located at 344 Center Street, Healdsburg, CA  Phone: 707-473-0946 www.valettehealdsburg.com

The restaurant is hopping!  We dined there the night of the “Oscars.” David noshed on Dustin’s house made charcuterie and Coriander Crusted Liberty Duck Breast with tart pickled cherries and dick + foie grad torchon.  Little Miss Healthy Me enjoyed a vegetarian “beet Wellington” described on the menu as Tangerine Infused Beets en Papillote with preserved lemon, farro risotto, baby carrots and Laura Chenel goat cheese and Hawaiian Ahi Poke.

 

Tangerine Infused Beets en Papillote

 

 

Hawaiian Ahi Poke Styl

 

Give This Gal a Forklift!

Katie Madigan, is winemaker at St. Francis Winery.  Like many women winemakers I’ve interviewed, Katie started out planning on another career path not realizing the great opportunities for women in wine. She was a chemistry major intent on going into the pharma business. She took an internship as a lab technician at St. Francis in 2003 to pass the time and never left.

Katie Madigan has worked at St. Francis Winery for 14 years

Now 14 years later Katie is in charge of making St. Francis’s award winning wines. She says she’s most proud of making great wines widely available for everyone to enjoy.  I asked Katie for career tips for aspiring women winemakers. She says: 1. get your experience working in the cellar, 2. learn to run a pump and forklift  3. be ready to get your hands dirty 4. be confident on your palate and 5. be very patient.  Careers in wine, like the wine itself, can take time to mature.

While we did not make it to St. Francis Winery in Santa Rosa, we are very familiar with the wines. David has written about St. Francis Winery for Tasting Panel Magazine, and many years ago my former PR firm, M Young Communications, produced St, Francis’s Big Red chef events in New York and Los Angeles. You can arrange a visit, and we hope to next trip. www.stfranciswine.com

 

Here is our show with Chef Dustin Valette and Winemaker Katie Madigan on iHeart.com and the free iHeart App.

 

 

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A Restaurant Star in the City of Stars

City of stars
Just one thing everybody wants
There in the bars
And through the smokescreen of the crowded restaurants
It’s love
– Lyrics from “La La Land”

My last big trip to La La Land involved supplying George Duboeuf Poully-Fuisse to P Diddy’s Fourth of July White Party in Beverly Hills in 2009. White wine for a white party hosted by a hip hop/rap music mogul. It was hotter than Hades, and there was no shade for the wine bars or gift bags.  P Diddy may be a music impressario, but his stiletto-shod, mini-dress clad event production team didn’t have a tent or proper refrigeration for the wines which suffered in the heat. I worked like a crazy person to salvage the wine and to nab this “money shot” for Duboeuf.  “Diddy” refused to be photographed holding any alcohol other than his Ciroc Vodka. Still, this photo made them happy,

At P Diddy”s White Party July 2009 with Nicolas Ronteix and Barbara Scalera, both at the time working for Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits.
Thank goodness for fabulous ladies Leslie Sbrocco (l) Natalie Bovis (c) and Rachel Burkons (c) with Barbara Scalera (r) who were part of our small entourage.
Thank goodness for fabulous ladies Leslie Sbrocco (l) Natalie Bovis (c) and Rachel Burkons (c) with Barbara Scalera (r) who were part of our small entourage.

City of (Restaurant) Stars

Even though Los Angeles is filled with talented chefs and restaurateurs, it’s a New Yorker, Bobby Flay, who’s the first chef to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We haven’t visited Los Angeles for awhile (since the crazy Diddy-do), so it was nice to run into Piero Selvaggio at VINO 2017 and invite him on the show. Piero is a polished Gucci loafer in a sea of sand-crusted flip flops. I like to say Los Angeles is Silicone Valley, where fat is OK for the lips but not for the hips. But back to Piero….

Restaurateur Piero Selvaggio is trim, tan and permanently youthful looking. He has that healthy La La Land glow which New York restaurateurs never seem to have. Maybe it’s the sun and surf; maybe it’s not dealing with the headaches of onerous New York landlords. Or maybe it’s his Sicilian heritage and being brought up on a Mediterranean diet. Piero is one of those amazing restaurateurs who’ve endured economic ups and downs, changes in trends and tastes and even an earthquake which destroyed his award winning wine cellar. And he still looks like a star!

Is red wine the Fountain of Youth? The ever youthful Piero Selvaggio.

Piero opened his Santa Monica restaurant, Valentino, after graduating in college in 1972. I was still in high school; “Italian food” meant Pasquale’s Pizza parlor and Chef Boyardee in Chattanooga. That was 45 years ago!

I can’t imagine how many Valentine’s Day marriage proposals, wedding anniversaries, or movie deals have been celebrated at Valentino over 45 years. Valentino has won just about every award that matters, especially in wine and service. It is a star among restaurants in the City of Stars.

Star like ravioli from Valentino Ristorante

When we scheduled Piero for our February 15th show he said to me in an email, “We are…the old warriors of the Industry…”  No, Piero, we are the enduring ones whose lights are constant and never dim, and who always remain fabulous!

Virginie Saveyrs, Owner, Avignonesi

A Corner of Italy- Nobile Di Montepulciano’s Avignonesi

That same summer of Diddy took me (with David) to Tuscany and the Veneto for the Trip of a Lifetime: two weeks touring four wine regions, all for work on a project called Italian Wine Masters which we launched in the USA.

During that trip I discovered and fell in love with Nobile di Montepulciano wines. I remember our visit to Avignonesi and its owner, a gracious woman who hosted us, Virginie Saverys. I ran into Virginie last Fall at the StarChefs International Chefs Congress, and we caught up after so many years.

A lawyer by profession who was born in Ghent, Belgium, Virginie invested in Avignonesi in 20017 and acquired the winery in full in 2009 after retiring from practicing law. Virginie is a strong believer in organic products and homeopathic medicine and has worked to convert the winery to sustainable farming methods. Today, Avignonesi comprised of eight vineyards within the Montepulciano region.

Here’s our show with Virginie Saverys and Piero Selvaggio:

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Chef Franklin Becker Talks Fat and Slimming Down

After a career preparing dishes to die for at restaurants like Abe & Arthur’s, Brasserie and Capitale, and working for Starr Restaurant Group and Grand Hospitality, Chef Franklin Becker needed to make changes to save his own life. Diagnosed at age 27 with type 2 diabetes, Franklin realized he had to change his diet. Around the same time Franklin’s oldest son was diagnosed with autism and celiac disease. Franklin wanted to cook foods that would help his son with his food sensitivities.

Changing his diet also changed Franklin’s life. He is committed to spreading the word about healthy cooking and enjoying it!

 

franklin-headshot
Svelte and healthy- Chef Franklin Becker

 

Like anyone who loves food and makes a living preparing it, you never want to sacrifice the pleasures of the palate and great quality and flavor. Franklin’s mission is to pack his healthy recipes with as much flavor without the calories and added sugars and fat. Speaking of fat; Franklin has a lot to say on this topic and wrote a book with Peter Kaminsky called “Good Fat Cooking,” which he will discuss on our show. Franklin is also author of “Eat & Beat Diabetes,” and “The Diabetic Chef.”

 

This book has a recipe for the best salmon dish ever! See photo on the cover.
This book has a recipe for the best salmon dish ever! See photo on the cover.

 

Franklin is also proprietor of the healthy prepared foods company, Hungry Root, which offers fresh, vegetable-based foods that are packed with protein and fiber and ready-to-eat in under seven minutes.

Hungry Root's Carrot Noodles with Tangy Sriracha Peanut Photo: Mark_Jordan
Hungry Root’s Carrot Noodles with Tangy Sriracha Peanut Photo: Mark Jordan

 

Buy a copy of “Good Fat Cooking” here:

 

 

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Rick Bayless: The Cook, The Thespian, The Yogi and the Lover of All Things Authentically Mexican 

Rick Bayless
Rick Bayless, Galdones Photography

There’s not enough space to list all the reasons we were honored to have chef and restaurateur, Rick Bayless on The Connected Table LIVE! October 19th. But we’ve given it a try:

Continue reading “Rick Bayless: The Cook, The Thespian, The Yogi and the Lover of All Things Authentically Mexican “
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Restaurants We Loved and Lost

A sunset stroll on a warm September evening in lower Manhattan while watching party boats cruise the Hudson River had us reminiscing about the New York restaurants we’d loved and lost. The occasion that prompted this was a dinner at Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) with Chef David Waltuck who was recently named Director of Culinary Programs.

David prepared five signature dishes from his landmark restaurant, Chanterelle, which closed in 2009 after 30 years in business. It was lovely to see David in action and catch up with his wife and partner at Chanterelle, Karen, as well as Andrew Friedman who collaborated with David on the book, “Chanterelle: The Story and Recipes of a Restaurant Classic.”

David Waltuck's cookbook written with Andrew Friedman
David Waltuck’s cookbook written with Andrew Friedman

I could write a memoir based around restaurants that played an important role in my life. Some were clients. Others were host venues for my events. Many participated in programs I produced such as New York Restaurant Week, The James Beard Foundation Awards and the Bon Appétit Wine & Spirits Focus. Many took good care of me when I paid a visit either as a solo diner or when I dined with good friends or my parents when they paid me a visit from Tennessee. Many owners became close friends.

We made a list sitting on a bench watching the sunset. We named it “the restaurants we loved and lost.” The sun may have set on these restaurants, but they each left a special imprint in various aspects of our life in Manhattan. The reason why some of them are included is another story for another time!

melanie-and-caroline-at-the-four-seasons2
Melanie with Caroline Stuart who worked with the late James Beard at The Four Seasons during its final week. James Beard who was one of the first food consultants and co authored an early cookbook.

Our list: An American Place, Arizona 206, Beppe, Bolo, Capsouto Frerès, Chanterelle, Cité, Danube, Hudson River Club, Lespinasse, Lola,The Four Seasons, Giovanni’s Atrium, La Caravelle, La Cote Basque, La Fourchette, Les Célébrités, Le Madri, Les Halles, Lutece, March, Mesa Grill, Nosmo King, The Oak Room, Pastis, Peacock Alley, Princess Pamela’s Little Kitchen, Picholine, Pipa, Quilted Giraffe, Rainbow Room, Restaurant Florent, San Domenico, SD26, Sign of the Dove, Tabla, Union Pacific, WD50, Windows on the World, Verbena, Veritas, Zarela. And then there are the original locations no more: Bouley, Le Cirque and Union Square Cafe. More recently it was announced that Carnegie Deli will close the end of 2016; its rival, Stage Deli, already shuttered.

carnegie-deli-closing
Carnegie Deli will mark its 40 anniversary by closing close December 31 2016

I know you have more to add to this list based on your own personal experience. We found list on Gayot.com.

giovanni-natalucci

The above photo is of the late Giovanni Natalucci of Giovanni’s Atrium in Lower Manhattan. (Credit: Downtown Express file photo by Maria Yoo).  Our back story: A small group of us tried to “save” Giovanni’s Atrium after the September 11th terrorist attacks by hosting events there. At a dinner party in 2003 I reconnected with David after not seeing him for more than a decade. Both the restaurant and its owner left us in 2008, a year after David and I were married.

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RESTAURANTS AND CHEFS THE CONNECTED TABLE RADIO SHOW

A New ICE Age for Chef David Waltuck

David Waltuck is now Director of Culinary Programs for Institute of Culinary Education (ICE)
David Waltuck is now Director of Culinary Programs for Institute of Culinary Education (ICE)

Chef David Waltuck and his wife Karen ran Chanterelle restaurant for 30 years, first in Soho and then in Tribeca.

Each menu was a work of art as was each dish. Seasonal, locally sourced cooking was David’s style long before “farm to table” became embedded in our culinary lingo.

Gael Greene referred to David in a cover story in New York Magazine as “The Daring Young Man on Grand Street.” Back in the those early days many considered traveling below 14th Street “daring.” And it was a long way from The Bronx, where David was raised. He caught the restaurant bug early, enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America, traveled and worked different jobs. He was just 24 when he opened Chanterelle.

squash-blossoms
Lobster and shrimp sausage inside steamed zucchini blossoms.

David’s food was artistic yet approachable. It was nouvelle cuisine with his special twist. A personal favorite was the seafood sausage which recently enjoyed at a special dinner at Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) with David cooking a selection of Chanterelle’s signature dishes. The evening commemorated David’s appointment as ICE’s Director of Culinary Programs where he will develop curricula, teach and mentor.

David joined us September 28th on The Connected Table LIVE! to share his story and talk about his new role at the school.

Listen hear on iHeart.com and the free iHeart App. Pleas give it a “thumbs up” and share.

Purchase “Chanterelle: The Stories and Recipes from a Restaurant Classic” here.

 

 

 

 

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Hail to the Pastry Chef!

President Obama Called Him the “Master of the Crust”

Melanie says she grew up in The Crust Belt. It’s the section of the South she fondly refers as “the land of fries and pies where everything is better

with batter and butter.” That’s why we’re excited to have Bill Yosses on the show August 10th. As Executive Pastry Chef at the White House for both the Bush #2 and Obama administrations, Bill had his hand in everything from quiet First Family dinners to more elaborate State Dinners, and exhibits such as the Gingerbread White House.

Bill Yosses is author of “Dessert For Dummies”

Bill will share some of his White House memories and talk about his new ventures: the non profit Kitchen Garden Laboratory, which teaches food literacy to children in under-served communities. Kitchen Garden Laboratory uses the triad of food and cooking (Kitchen), planting and growing (Garden) and scientific experimentation (Laboratory) in its education programs to promote delicious, nutritious eating for better health outcomes, as well as foster food and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) literacy.

Bill Yosses Created Kitchen Garden Laboratory to teach kids food literacy.
Bill Yosses created Kitchen Garden Laboratory to teach kids food literacy.

 

     

              
Bill joined us on The Connected Table LIVE! August 10th Listen here and share:

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