For the latest issue of Culinary Trends Magazine, I showcased cured ham. It was both an interesting and educational topic to write about since I found it to be a subject that many chefs and diners were both so passionate about. Also, having been a judge at this Summer's L.A. Cochon 555 event, and having attended the recent hog wild San Francisco event, cured ham was on the brain, and most likely still in my intestines. Enjoy!
The Elite of Meat
by Mika Takeuchi
updated: May 9, 2011
Tonight in New York, the Oscars of the food world were in full effect. Initial awards for the James Beard Award announcements for Broadcast Media, Book and Journalism categories were presented on Friday. The fates of the remaining categories were unveiled tonight at a star-studded gala in NYC along with streaming internet updates via the James Beard's official twitter account @beardfoundation.
Huge congrats to all the winners and nominees!
When my friend Caryl inquired if I wanted to attend a pop-up dinner that chef Michael Schwartz was cooking at Animal in Los Angeles, my answer without utter hesitation was...YES! I've been following Chef Schwartz's career for a while now and due to proximity, had yet to try his restaurants in Miami or the Grand Cayman. So how lovely and convenient it was that on one balmy May evening in Southern California, this 2010 James Beard award-winning chef brought his cuisine to us.
Continue reading "Michael Schwartz's Genuine Food Pop-Up at Animal" »
Gilt City - A national luxury deals site celebrated their acquisition of Bergine with a private reception/dinner at the recently opened fine-dining spot Benu in San Francisco. For those who appreciate the genre of modern high-end restaurants, a visit to Corey Lee's Hawthorne Lane sanctuary is a must-visit. A well manicured garden exterior complements the clean, contemporary interior. Chef Corey Lee's masterful cooking techniques and dishes spare no expense in imagination or flavor.
Chef Corey Lee in the Benu Kitchen
Mika Takeuchi and Gina Nibbi dining in the Benu Kitchen
Although only 32 years in age, Chef Corey Lee has labored for many years in the most highly respected kitchens in the world. His most recent position was the role of Chef Thomas Keller's chef de cuisine at The French Laundry. Gilt City's Benu fete included a rare viewing and sneak peak into the world of Chef Lee's immaculate kitchen. Corey Lee and team including Sommelier Yoon Ha and General Manager Marc Hartenfels made sure the chic, discriminating crowd were well-attended to and left with appetites satisfied, yet curious for more.
Corey Lee's Oyster "Chicharrones"
Patricia Calfee, Lindsay Stevens, Stephanie Jenkins, Elizabeth Kennedy, Betsy Goldin
Beef rib cab with pear and pine nuts
Beth Spotswood, Steven Holt, Diana Gil-Osorio, Jay Barmann, Brock Keeling
Benu's Garden Courtyard Entrance
Hooman and Chef Corey Lee
Generous samplings of Lee's dishes such as Oxtail borscht, Beef rib cab with pear and pine nut and Oyster "Chicharrones" dazzled guests palates. An assortment of chocolates in flavors such as Green tea and Condensed Milk with Espresso were the flawless finishing touch. Now let's just keep our fingers crossed that Gilt City SF features a dinner deal at Benu soon.
For more information on Gilt City, visit HERE
For more information on Benu, visit HERE
**FOR MORE PHOTOS, SEE OUR BENU/GILT CITY PHOTO ALBUM**
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer and Mika Takeuchi for Food Fashionista
Below is a previous post we featured on the show, Avec Eric. Recently, it won a James Beard Foundation Award for best Televison Program. If you haven't had the chance to check this wonderful broadcast out yet, we highly suggest it. Congrats to Eric Ripert and team for a job well done!
Chef Eric Ripert of New York's Le Bernadin recently launched the second season of his web series, Avec Eric. This time it's Avec Eric Perfect Pairings - a 13 video series showcasing the delectable recipes of Chef Ripert paired with wines recommended by Le Bernadin's wine director Aldo Sohm, named "Best Sommelier in the World" by the Worldwide Sommelier Association. These short, but informatively sweet 2-3 minute videos are focused on dispelling common myths about wine pairings such as Red Wine Always Pairs Better with Red Meat and White Wine Always Goes with Fish.
Braised Halibut in Casserole w/ Morel Mushrooms
The Avec Eric web series is a superb interactive way to bring a Three-Star Michelin Chef and an award-winning sommelier in to your own home kitchen. With enlightening cooking tips, wonderful recipes and educational wine pairing suggestions, Avec Eric is a series that you and your friends will be looking forward to every week. Good news is you can purchase season one right on Eric's blog.
To watch Avec Eric Perfect Pairings, visit AVEC ERIC
For Chef Ripert's Braised Halibut Recipe (above), visit HERE
Being one that attends a number of food events, both in the U.S. and abroad, my common step-by-step experience usually goes like this: approach tasting table, view dish, hope both in mind and palate that dish's flavor is going to match it's tempting visuals. Unfortunately, at the larger food festivals, there is always the chance of many misses with the hits. Thank goodness for the StarChefs Rising Star Gala and Awards Ceremony, where this is not an occurence that you will ever have to anticipate or experience. After all, the StarChefs team does a thoroughly careful job of selecting and editing the Rising Star winners from a number of shining candidates. At this year's StarChefs Bay Area Gala, the 14 award winners were narrowed down from a list of more than 90 local chefs and other culinary professionals.
Joshua Skenes (Saison) - Little Roots Braised w/Bonito, Carmelized Shoots, Flowers & Leaves
Catherine Schimenti (Michael Mina)- Apricot Mousse, Cherries, & Lemon Verbena
The complexity and details of the StarChef's winning dishes were far more intricate than you would normally see at food festivals serving multiple patrons. If anyone could deliver, leave it to these Bay Area Rising Stars - the next generation of culinary luminaries to bring their bold, courageous dishes to the awestruck audience. Although young in age, these chefs have many years of hard work and experience behind them. Along with a top culinary education, several of these chefs have trained under pioneers such as Thomas Keller, Gary Danko, Daniel Boulud, and Grant Achatz.
Rising Star Chef Louis Maldonado (Aziza)
John Paul Carmona (Manresa) - Boudin Blanc, Dates & Wild Watercress
Louis Maldonado - Marinated Striped Bass, Petrossian Caviar, Green Strawberries & Brown Rice
From the ultra-skilled Louis Maldonado of Aziza's Marinated Striped Bass, Petrossian Caviar, Strawberries, and Brown Rice to fast rising star Scott Nishiyama of Chez TJ's Moulard Duck Foie Gras "Neige", Blackberry, Cashew, and House-Made Mustard Toast...all you could think of while sampling their dishes were...definitely well deserved and I'll take another one please. Being that Father's Day was just a few days before the gala, it was a heart-felt bonus seeing Chef Maldonado's beamingly proud father smiling ear to ear on the side line of his serving station.
Chef Joshua Skenes and Sommelier Mark Bright (Saison)
Shelley Lindgren (SPQR, A16) - Roasted Sardines & Minted Pea Bruschetta
Gary Hooper of Aquaculture New Zealand w/ Mika Takeuchi
Joshua Skenes received the Restaurant Concept Award for Saison - which originally started off as a pop-up restaurant, and now due to its huge demand, will open 5 nights a week. There was also a surprise Rising Star Mentor Award presented to Chef Mourad Lahlou. It will definitely be thrilling to see where all these StarChef Rising Star talents are in the next five to ten years.
Rising Star Pastry Chefs Catherine Schimenti (left) and Melissa Chou (right)
StarChefs Favorite Dish Award - Scott Nishiyama (Chez TJ)
In addition to the Chefs and Pastry Chefs, there were also Mixologists and Sommeliers recognized during the celebrated StarChef Rising Star 2010 Awards Ceremony and Gala. Congratulations to the following for all their skills and hard work:
For more info on StarChefs, visit HERE
photo credit Isabelle Pleno for Food Fashionista
Tai with lime air, smoked octopus with truffle sesame oil, foie torchon with kumamoto oysters, boiled cod with yuzu sake froth, " kal bi jjim" braised kobe short rib with quail egg, and green tea kasutera
Here at Food Fashionista, we appreciate exquisite cuisine in both aesthetic and edible form. So even though it's been a couple months, we thought we'd share this in the moment snap shot of Chef Akira Back's dinner at the James Beard House. Chef Back had previously worked with Japanese culinary masters Morimoto and Nobu, and is currently the Executive Chef of Yellowtail at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The description of his menu sampling at the Beard House is pure edible poetry and we can't wait to go back to Vegas for more of his haute cuisine.
And if you happen to be in Korea today, grab a copy of Chef Back's first book which comes out in Korea today. For all you Yellowtail fans, Akira assured us he plans on doing an English cookbook in the future. And did we mention...we love the hot pink Akira!
**Winners noted in Red
My New Orleans
by John Besh
(Andrews McMeel
Publishing, LLC)
The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with
Down-Home Flavor
by Matt Lee and Ted Lee
(Clarkson Potter)
Continue reading "2010 James Beard Award Winners Announced" »
Continue reading "2010 James Beard Award Finalists Announced" »
Comprised of a list of 20 nomineees in 19 categories, the semi-finalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards were announced today. From here, a group of judges will vote for their top five in each of the categories, and the finalists will be announced March 22nd along with nominees for restaurant design, cookbook, and journalism categories.
The Awards Gala will be held on May 3rd, 2010 in New York City at the Avery Fisher Hall.
2010 James Beard Foundation Awards
Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists
OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR
Ashok Bajaj, 701, Ardeo, Bardeo, Bibiana Osteria-Entoteca, The Bombay Club, The Oval Room, and Rasika, Washington, D.C.
Roger Berkowitz, Legal Sea Foods, Boston
Frank Bonanno, Bones, Luca d’Italia, Mizuna, and Osteria Marco, Denver
Bruce Bromberg and Eric Bromberg, Blue Ribbon Restaurants, NYC
Myles Chefetz, Myles Restaurant Group, Miami Beach, FL
Larry D’Amico and Richard D’Amico, D’Amico & Partners, Minneapolis
Michael Dellar, Lark Creek Restaurant Group, San Francisco
Tom Douglas, Dahlia Bakery, Dahlia Lounge, Etta’s, Lola, Palace Kitchen, Serious Pie, Seattle
Steve Ells, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Denver
Sam Fox, Fox Restaurant Concepts, Scottsdale, AZ
Jim Goode and Levi Goode, Goode Company Restaurants, Houston
Pano Karatassos, Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Atlanta
Pat Kuleto, Pat Kuleto Restaurant Development & Management Co., San Francisco
Donald J. Madia, Avec, Big Star Taqueria and Bar, Blackbird, The Publican, and The Violet Hour, Chicago
Keith McNally, Balthazar, Lucky Strike, Minetta Tavern, Morandi, Pastis, Pravda, and Schiller’s Liquor Bar, NYC
Richard Melman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago
Nick Pihakis, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, Birmingham, AL
Tim Stannard, Bacchus Management Group, San Francisco
Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurant Organization, Philadelphia
Doug Washington, Anchor & Hope, Salt House, and Town Hall, San Francisco
OUTSTANDING CHEF
José Andrés, Minibar, Washington, D.C.
Tom Colicchio, Craft, NYC
Gary Danko, Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco
Robert Del Grande, RDG + Bar Annie, Houston
Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles
Sam Hayward, Fore Street, Portland, ME
Jean Joho, Everest, Chicago
Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago
Michael Mina, Michael Mina, San Francisco
Scott Peacock, Watershed, Decatur, GA
Mark Peel, Campanile, Los Angeles
Charles Phan, The Slanted Door, San Francisco
Stephan Pyles, Stephan Pyles, Dallas
Julian Serrano, Picasso at Bellagio, Las Vegas
Michael Smith, Michael Smith, Kansas City, MO
Ana Sortun, Oleana, Cambridge, MA
Frank Stitt, Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL
Jerry Traunfeld, Poppy, Seattle
Marc Vetri, Vetri, Philadelphia
Janos Wilder, Janos, Tucson, AZ
OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT
Continue reading "2010 James Beard Award Semifinalists Announced" »
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