Summer 2016

explore California cuisine

Discover Central Texas Barbecue Brisket

corporate training chefs enjoy a work-life balance sizzle The American Culinary Federation features Quarterly for Students of Cooking NExt Publisher 18 Consider the Environment issue American Culinary Federation, Inc. Environmental responsibility extends to a • sustainable food

Editor-in-Chief restaurant’s water and energy conservation. Learn • root vegetables Jody Shee helpful measures that also save money. • home food delivery chef Senior Editor 24 Southern Cuisine Kay Orde The popular regional fare leaves room for local Graphic Designer interpretations for an eclectic cross-section of eateries and David Ristau consumer preferences. Contributing Editors Rob Benes 30 Train Others for Success Suzanne Hall Ethel Hammer Learn why some industry veterans love Amelia Levin the job of corporate training chef, where they work on restaurant openings and Direct all editorial, advertising and subscription inquiries to: then move on to the next project. 18 24 30 American Culinary Federation, Inc. 180 Center Place Way St. Augustine, FL 32095 (800) 624-9458 [email protected] departments

Subscribe to Sizzle: 4 President’s Message www.acfchefs.org/sizzle ACF president Thomas Macrina, CEC, CCA, AAC, sees a bright culinary future. For information about ACF certification and membership, 6 Amuse-Bouche go to www.acfchefs.org. Student news, opportunities and more.

10 Slice of Life Anica Hosticka walks us through a memorable day in her apprenticeship program at

facebook.com/ACFChefs @acfchefs the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana. 12 Classical V. Modern Sizzle: The American Culinary Federation Quarterly Thomas Meyer and Nate Marsh of Kendall College, Chicago, demonstrate two ways for Students of Cooking (ISSN 1548-1441), Summer Volume 13, Number 2, is owned by the of making Central Texas barbecue brisket and sides. American Culinary Federation, Inc., 180 Center Place Way, St. Augustine, FL 32095. Send email 36 By Degrees address changes to Sizzle at sizzlemagazine@ acfchefs.net. All rights reserved. Reproduction Learn how to make sweetbreads Grenoble from Michael Moench, CEC. without written permission of the publisher is forbidden. All views and opinions expressed 38 American Regional Flavors in Sizzle are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Explore the influences of California cuisine and how consumer preferences affect officers, employees, contractors or members of the the hospitality industry. American Culinary Federation. 42 The Interview Nashville, Tennessee, chef Jeremy Barlow describes how he defines, promotes and practices sustainability in his two restaurants. 46 The Quiz Read this issue? Now test your knowledge. Cover: Roasted beet 47 Industry Profile and apples, turnip, Catherine Proper, CEC, product development chef pistachio and curry for SUPERVALU and president of the Research Chefs oil at Saltyard, Atlanta. Association, shares the best parts of her job and offers Photo by Kenan Hill advice to students. Courtesy of Saltyard

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Final Two Regional squash and wilted winter greens Culinary Salons Honor (pictured top left). Top Talent “What it means for me to be named ACF hosted the final two of four the Northeast region champion is culinary salons to find top student indescribable,” Aguayo says. “It’s nice chef talent for its national competition knowing that I will get a chance to to be held in Phoenix in July. For a compete for the national title in Phoenix.” chance to compete for the national award in ACF’s Student Chef of the She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree Year and Student Team Championship, in hospitality management, having Northeast region students competed won a full scholarship to Monroe at Pennsylvania School of Culinary College through a student competition Arts, Lancaster, Feb. 20-21, and Central with Careers through Culinary Arts region students faced off at Culinary Program (C-CAP). As a member Institute of St. Louis at Hickey College, of Monroe College’s junior culinary St. Louis, March 12-13. competition team, she has won gold, silver and bronze medals across three ACF Student Chef of the Year, ACF-sanctioned competitions. After ® sponsored by Custom Culinary graduation, she wants to work toward The Northeast Region Student Chef earning ACF certifications. She is a of the Year award went to Denise member of ACF Long Island Chapter. Aguayo (pictured top left), student and lab assistant at The Culinary Shayne McCrady (pictured bottom left), Institute of New York at Monroe saute cook/line cook at The Gatesworth College, New Rochelle. At the at One McKnight Place, St. Louis, was competition, Aguayo received a gold named ACF’s Central Region Student medal for her dish: roasted stuffed Chef of the Year March 12. He received chicken breast with chorizo stuffing a silver medal for his dish: pan-seared and tomatillo sauce, braised chicken chicken breast, chicken reduction, and pinto bean flauta, avocado cream potato “bar,” glace carrots, pickled beets, and finger lime, leg steamed adobada sauteed mushrooms and broccoli three with mole sauce, picadillo of butternut ways (pictured bottom left).

6 Sizzle SUmmer 16 “To be named the region champion is fennel and arugula salad, poulet saute such an honor,” McCrady says. “All my Saint-Lambert, and coconut and milk hard work and time in the kitchen has chocolate mousse entremets. paid off. None of this would be possible without my coaches, friends and family “We are extremely excited and honored giving me their advice and support.” to represent the Northeast at the national competition,” says Costantino. From Maplewood, Missouri, “There are such accomplished teams McCrady graduated with associate in our state and region, and to have degrees in culinary arts in 2014 and won the championship is testament to in baking and pastry arts in 2015 how hard our students worked, their from St. Louis Community College sacrifices and the wonderful support of (STLCC)—Forest Park, St. Louis. our institution.” He began studying culinary arts as a junior at North Technical High School, Florissant, Missouri, and won silver medals at three competitions during high school. As a member of the Cuisine Club at STLCC-Forest Park, he was the treasurer in 2014 and president in 2015. He plans to work toward earning ACF certifications and continue to compete. He is a member of Chefs de Cuisine Association of St. In the Central Region, students Louis Inc. representing ACF Greater Kansas City Chefs Association who attend Johnson Student Team Championship, County Community College (JCCC), sponsored by Vitamix Overland Park, Kansas, competed and The ACF Long Island Chapter student won the competition, and received a team from The Culinary Institute gold medal. of New York at Monroe College claimed victory for the Northeast Student competitors (pictured, region and received a gold medal. right, left to right) are Ashley Hunt Students (pictured left, left to right) (alternate), Heather Goodenow, are Nicholas Giambrone, Erika Felipe Padilla, Gabrielle Edrosa and Hernandez, Yudelka Torres (captain), Rocio Ramos (captain). The team was Dejanee Archbold and Hipolito coached by Felix Sturmer and Edward Torres. The team was coached by Adel, CEC, both culinary instructors Frank Costantino, CEC, CCE, CCA, at JCCC. AAC, dean of the School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts, and “This win is a huge success for our Eric Pellizzari, CEC, CCE, culinary team and opens the door to higher- and pastry instructor. level competitions as well as national recognition of the team’s culinary skills The team’s winning menu was pan- and of the JCCC culinary program,” says seared farmed striped bass, shaved Sturmer. “Becoming regional champions www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 7 amuse-bouche news & opportunities

provides greater opportunities for Central: Students representing Kendall the team members to expand their College, Chicago, won the Central capabilities and levels of experience.” Region Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl. Team members Baron H. Galand Culinary (second from bottom, left to right) are Knowledge Bowl Sponsored by coach Dina Altieri, CEC, CCE, dean, American Technical Publishers Kendall College School of Culinary and Vitamix Arts, Nikhil Bendre, Freja Hagemann, Both a Northeast and a Southeast Nelia Salvi (captain) and Judith Gobey. student culinary team came out Western: Students from Utah Valley champions at the combined regional University Culinary Arts Institute, ChefConnect: Atlanta held at the Hyatt Orem, were champions for the Western Regency Atlanta, March 13-15. region. Winning team members Northeast: ACF Eastern Long Island (bottom, left to right) are head coach Chefs Chapter, Riverhead, New York, John Thomas, CEC, CCE, assistant won the Northeast Region Baron H. professor, Utah Valley University Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl. Team Culinary Arts Institute, Alissa Clarkson, members (top, left to right) are Leo Colleen Webb (captain), Julia Green, Figueredo (captain), Ann Marie Trksak, Emily Williams and assistant coach Danni Benincasa, Shannon Adams and Meghan Roddy, CEPC, assistant coach Andrea Glick, assistant professor/ professor, Utah Valley University chef-instructor, Suffolk County Culinary Arts Institute. Community College, Riverhead. Each of the winning teams will compete Southeast: ACF Middle Tennessee for the national title at Cook. Craft. Chapter, La Vergne, Tennessee, won Create. National Convention & Show, the Southeast Region award. Winning July 15-19, in Phoenix team members (second from top, left to right) are Anthony Mandriota, Attend This CEC, culinary director and acting The Farm to Table Experience (F2Te) in dean, The Art Institute of Tennessee— New Orleans, August 18-20, is open to Nashville, and ACF Middle Tennessee chefs, students, consumers, mixologists, Chapter team members Fred Kennel, policymakers, urban farmers, grocers Terry Connors, Seth Connell, Roman and nutritionists, to name a few. Conway (captain) and coach Lisa Ramsey, CEC, CEPC, instructor, The New Orleans, known as a food Art Institute of Tennessee—Nashville. destination, is the host city for this event that will explore the cultivation, Both a Western and a Central student distribution and consumption of food culinary team were winners at the and drink sourced locally through combined regional ChefConnect: experiential learning. It is designed to Hawaii held at Waikoloa Beach celebrate and educate on the region’s Marriott Resort & Spa, Waikoloa flavors and ingredients through tastings, Beach, Hawaii, April 3-5. interactive gardening and cooking

8 Sizzle SUmmer 16 demonstrations, hands-on workshops, food fermentation, food additives, food educational sessions, social events and safety and spoilage, shelf-life extension, more. To learn more, visit here. food packaging and developing nutritious food products. Read This How to Bake More Bread (Red Seal Culinology®: The Intersection of Culinary Books, 2016), by Michael Kalanty, is Arts and Food Science (John Wiley & the second in the How to Bake Bread Sons Inc., 2017), by the Research Chefs series and deals exclusively with wild Association, is a comprehensive look at the world of food science and the deep yeast starter cultures. Master the classic scientific underpinnings of everyday French sourdough pain au levain with foods. In 418 pages and 19 chapters, step-by-step instructions and 24 full- the book discusses the business of color pages of techniques. Build on these new-product development and the role skills to make hearth breads like apple of the culinology professional. After walnut farmhouse, classic sourdough, highlighting the principles of food grits and goat cheese and ancient grain science, it focuses on such items as hearth loaves. A $5 shipping rebate is red meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables available for eligible students. Contact and dairy food. Additionally, it covers [email protected] for details.  We Are Chefs

Read, follow and share at WeAreChefs.com slice of life anica hosticka slice of life

Anica Hosticka

age 18 education Attended Technology Center of DuPage Culinary, Pastry Arts and Hospitality Management program in Addison, Illinois, during my junior and senior years of high school. Member of the ProStart culinary competition team winning the state competition and placing 10th at nationals during my senior year. Now, continuing my education at an American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF) Apprenticeship Program at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, expecting to graduate summer 2018. why I chose the apprenticeship program I’m able to learn in the workplace, not just in a classroom, and practice skills repetitively in five different kitchens and work environments. This provides many opportunities to expand my knowledge and skills. work My apprenticeship is a three-year program with 6,000 hours working through 10 categories in five kitchens at the University of Notre Dame. The program also includes weekly logbook entries, meetings and part-time class attendance at Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend, Indiana, all leading to my associate degree in culinary arts, becoming certified as a sous chef and receiving my journeyman card. most interesting lesson Speed is important, but making food of quality and consistency while cooking from the heart will always be far greater than simply getting the job done fast. career plans Travel and work in Italy and continue to grow my culinary and baking-and- pastry knowledge.

10 Sizzle SUmmer 16 breakfast plate garnish. With a blowtorch, I lightly caramelize a layer of sugar on top of the slices, then finish them with a small piece of fresh rosemary.

7:15 a.m. I mise en place for my eggs Benedict between orders. Yesterday, one of the sous chefs and I discussed the ingredients that make the dish immediately poach them. They come unhealthy and brainstormed suitable out light and airy, reminding me of a replacements, retaining the same soufflé omelet. Success! cooking methods overall. 10:00 a.m. 7:30 a.m. Canadian bacon, filled with sodium, is I’m starting with the hollandaise the next classic ingredient. I want to 4:10 a.m. sauce. While it’s typically made with replace it with a vegetable. Sauteed As my alarm rings, I roll out of bed, softened whole butter, I decide to spinach comes to mind, but that eager to get to work at the Morris reduce the fat by substituting olive requires added fat. Instead, I blanch it Inn on campus. I’m in my 12th week, oil. I bring my egg yolks and anise until it’s just tender. 480-hour breakfast rotation. Today, reduction (a concentrated flavorful between preparation and service, liquid) almost to ribbon stage, and 10:05 a.m. I’m tasked with creating a healthier slowly add the oil, careful not to To finish off my fresh version of the version of eggs Benedict. As part of scramble the eggs in the process. It dish, I cut some whole-wheat bread my apprenticeship program, I have a works. I season it and set it aside, and into circles, toast them and plate up my list of dishes and skills that I have to return to making breakfast orders. eggs Benedict, garnishing with freshly learn during each of my rotations, sliced chives. I ask some of the other at the end of which the 9:30 a.m. cooks to try it, and everyone loves it. supervising chef grades I’m back to my healthy eggs Benedict They say it should be on the menu. me on my overall project. It’s time to find a method performance. to poach the eggs minus the yolks, 10:30 p.m. which contain cholesterol. My Breakfast is over, so I change 5:00 a.m. problem is how to keep the egg containers, refill anything that is low I put on my whites together while poaching them. and put it all back on the breakfast clean apron, Perhaps it will work if I whip them cart so it’s ready for tomorrow, before grab a side together first. In my first attempt, I gearing up to work the pizza and towel and pull only whip them to soft peaks. But salad stations for the busy lunch. the breakfast cart when I poach them, they only partially out of the walk-in stay together. They don’t come out 2:30 p.m. cooler to set up the way I want them to. It’s been a successful day. With the a la carte line lunch over, I clean up and make sure for service. 9:45 a.m. everything is ready for the dinner shift. After more breakfast orders, I make a I check in with the executive sous chef 5:30 a.m. second egg-white-poaching attempt. to see if he needs me to do anything It’s time to slice This time I whip the whites to stiff else before I head home to work on oranges for the peaks, fold in some chives and my logbook entry for the week. www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 11 classical v. modern central texas barbecue brisket classical v. modern

arbecue is one of America’s great sellers in the school cafeteria, says culinary claims to fame, with Kendall College culinary arts student B regional variations according Nate Marsh. He worked on the classical to cultural influences and geography. recipe, observing the difference Nuanced versions of barbecue also exist between Central Texas barbecue within regions. One can’t paint a broad and that of the Carolinas. “I lived in stroke when describing Texas barbecue. Greensboro, North Carolina, at one Rather, the state can be divided into point, and I notice that Central Texas four barbecue regions: East, Central, barbecue is drier and doesn’t have that West and South, where methods, meats potent vinegar sauce,” he says. “Smoke and wood types vary according to the is the big show in Texas barbecue.” traditions of early settlers. From his experience with the classical For example, in Central Texas—covering recipe, Marsh has an itch to visit Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin—post Austin and its famous Franklin oak is the most common smoking wood, Barbecue restaurant for a taste of the brisket is the preferred meat and the iconic eatery’s authentic regional cooking style is “low and slow,” says version. Meyer also points to pitmaster Thomas Meyer, a culinary instructor at Aaron Franklin’s restaurant as the Kendall College, Chicago. model of Central Texas barbecue, where the two secrets of success are Meyer steeped himself in barbecue a salt-and-pepper rub and the use of history—and experience—after he was oak wood to smoke the meat. It’s not asked to teach a class on the subject at uncommon for guests to wait three Kendall College. He learned about the hours to get into the restaurant. density of post oak wood, so named because the oak tree is used to make Classical Central Texas beef brisket fence posts. Its composition allows it to barbecue with its standard components burn evenly and retain heat. can be easily adapted to a more modern presentation, as Meyer has done with his The popularity of barbecue is top: Thomas Meyer Brisket and Smoke recipe. bottom: Nate Marsh undeniable. It’s one of the biggest

12 Sizzle SUmmer 16 classical modern Central Texas Barbecue Brisket Brisket and Smoke 1. After applying a salt-and-pepper rub, the brisket is 1. The brisket (rubbed with a mixture of paprika, salt, smoked at 210°F for 12 hours. 2. The use of honey in the pepper, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, brown hot sauce tones down the acidity. 3. The slaw combines sugar and dry mustard) sits atop infused pinto bean red and white cabbage with carrots, jalapeño peppers, puree. 2. The slaw vegetables are arranged individually red and yellow bell peppers and cilantro. 4. Sweet for a deconstructed presentation. 3. Since aroma is half onions in the pinto beans cuts the smokiness and acidity of the eating experience, smoke under glass is part of of the brisket crust. the modern presentation. It can be achieved by placing an oak ember from the smoking process under the glass or with the use of a smoke gun. www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 13 classical v. modern central texas barbecue brisket classical When Nate Marsh, 24, grows hated it. One day, while eating program, ideal for someone all you need to make a great up, he would like Anthony at his favorite restaurant, he saw looking for a career change. crust,” he says. He also saw the Bourdain’s job (author and a help-wanted sign, and the idea He plans to graduate with an importance of making sure the host of The Food Network’sNo of working in a restaurant struck associate of culinary arts degree meat is at room temperature Reservations) writing honestly him as an acceptable option. “I in December, then work in the going into the smoker to ensure about food. His education and was always interested in food and industry to gain experience, the best smoke penetration and experience are already taking him possibly becoming a food writer connections and credibility even cooking. down the path of his dreams. down the road,” he says. as a platform for writing, he says. That may take the form of Sweet onion was the clear choice He earned his bachelor of arts He quit his job and went to helping chefs write cookbooks in the pinto bean recipe to cut degree in English language and work for The Partisan, a bar and or helping lesser-known the smokiness and acidity from literature with a concentration restaurant in Washington, D.C., restaurants with publicity needs. the bark (crust) on the brisket. in journalism from La and its butcher shop Red Apron. When working with the barbecue Roche College, Pittsburgh, With his food-writing goal As he worked on the classical sauce, he saw how the addition Pennsylvania. After graduation in crystalizing, he started a food Central Texas beef brisket of honey toned down the 2014, he worked for a nonprofit blog (nateeatworld.com) and recipe, Marsh was impressed acidity—a quality common in organization in Washington, soon enrolled at Kendall College with the simplicity of the rub— Carolina-style barbecue, but not D.C., sitting behind a desk. He in a 1½- year accelerated salt and pepper only. “That’s that of Central Texas. 

Cool water 1 cup ketchup ½ cup shredded carrot Central Texas Beef 2 oz. fatback or salt pork, cut in ½ cup cider vinegar 1 medium jalapeño pepper (with Brisket Barbecue large dice 3 T. Worcestershire sauce seeds), thinly sliced 4 T. unsalted butter, divided 2 T. spicy mustard ½ each red and yellow bell pepper, with Traditional Sides ½ t. chili powder 2 T. honey thinly sliced Yield: 20-24 servings ¼ t. ground cayenne pepper 1 T. paprika ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro Central Texas Beef Brisket ½ cup sliced sweet onion 2 t. chili powder Method: Ingredients: ¼ t. kosher salt Salt and pepper to taste 1. In large bowl, whisk together 10-12 lbs. whole brisket Method: Method: vinegar, olive oil, sugar, fresh lime 1/3 cup kosher salt 1. Cover beans in cool water; Melt butter in medium saucepan. juice, salt, coriander, cumin, red 1/3 cup cracked black pepper (not refrigerate overnight. Add onion, celery and garlic. Saute pepper and black pepper. Add finely ground) 2. Drain beans, reserving water. until onion is lightly browned. Add red and white cabbage, carrot, Method: Transfer beans to large, heavy- water and bouillon cube, stirring jalapeño pepper, and red and 1. Trim excess fat from brisket, bottomed pot. Cover with about until dissolved. Add ketchup, vinegar, yellow bell pepper. Toss to coat. 1 leaving ∕8-¼ inch fat cap. 3 cups reserved soaking water or Worcestershire sauce, mustard, 2. Chill 1 hour before serving, tossing 2. To make rub, mix salt and as needed to submerge beans. honey, paprika, chili powder, salt occasionally. Stir in chopped fresh pepper in small container. 3. Add pork and 2 T. butter; bring to a and pepper; stir and simmer about cilantro just before serving. Sprinkle over meat surface; pat boil over medium-high heat; cook 15 minutes. Plating: down. Let seasoned brisket sit 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Central Texas Slaw 1. Arrange sliced brisket on uncovered at room temperature Stir in remaining 2 T. butter. Reduce Ingredients: butcher paper. about 1 hour. heat to medium-low; cook 30 2. Scoop slaw and place toast for 3. Heat smoker to 210ºF. Place minutes, stirring occasionally. Dressing: garnish to right of meat. brisket in smoker once smoke is 4. Add chili powder and cayenne ¼ cup white vinegar 3. Place beans in dish to side of slaw. thin and white. Maintain smoker pepper; cook10 minutes, stirring ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 4. Serve barbecue sauce in at 210ºF. occasionally. Discard pork. Stir in 2 T. sugar ramekin next to brisket 4. Smoke meat for approximately sweet onion and salt. Serve warm. 3-4 T. fresh lime juice 12 hours until fork tender. 1½ t. kosher salt Texas Barbecue Sauce 5. Remove from heat; rest meat ½ t. ground coriander Ingredients: for 1 hour. Slice cooked meat ¼ t. each ground cumin, ground ¼ cup butter against grain. red pepper and freshly ground ¼ cup minced onion black pepper Classic Central Texas 3 celery sticks, chopped Pinto Beans 2 cloves garlic, minced V egetables: Ingredients: 1 cup water 2 cups each red and white 1 lb. dried pinto beans 1 beef bouillon cube cabbage, thinly sliced

14 Sizzle SUmmer 16 classical v. modern central texas barbecue brisket modern Travel and experience other taught in Mexico, traveled what barbecue meant to beans, incorporating the cultures. That’s the advice throughout Europe and taken them, staging as he went. barbecue sauce in the mix Thomas Meyer would give to students to Chile. “I learned the traditions, for an added flavor layer. As any culinary student. It’s what he planned to plate the slaw “The more experiences with history, pageantry and culture has shaped his career, both ingredients individually, he people and other cultures you aspects linked to it,” he says. within foodservice kitchens blanched and dressed each can bring back to your food It’s all insight he passes along and as a Kendall College ingredient separately and will make you a better cook to his students. culinary instructor. arranged them strewn around and chef. You'll have more The marks of good barbecued the crescent shape. With a culinary degree experiences, flavor profiles brisket are the visible smoke from Washburne Culinary and cultures to draw from,” ring and bark on the meat. Because aroma is half the Institute, Chicago, under his he says. “The bark is that black- eating experience, Meyer belt, Meyer worked a stint at introduced smoke under glass. looking outer edge that looks the Royal Melbourne Hotel Thus, when he was given the He placed an oak ember from like it’s burnt, but it’s the in Melbourne, Australia. He challenge at Kendall College the smoking process under the reaction with the smoke to also attended Richemont to teach a barbecue class, he glass for waitstaff or the guest the moisture,” he says. Craft School in Lucerne, embarked on a journey that to experience when lifting the Switzerland, where he took took him to the Carolinas, In his modern spin on the glass. Use of a smoke gun is a courses in artisan breads Texas, Kansas City, Chicago barbecue sides, he chose to perfectly acceptable alternative and modern dessert. He has and beyond, asking people puree and strain the pinto to the ember, he says. 

Brisket and Smoke Yield: 20-24 servings Mock Texas Barbecue Beef Infused Pinto Beans Puree Deconstructed Texas Slaw Cilantro and toasted coriander Brisket Ingredients: Ingredients: seeds for garnish Smoke gun Ingredients: 1 lb. dried pinto beans Dressing: 4-inch glass dome 10 lbs. whole brisket Cool water 1 cup Central Texas slaw dressing ¼ cup each, paprika, kosher salt, ½ t. chili powder Method: (see classic recipe) fresh cracked black pepper, ¼ t. ground cayenne pepper 1. Cut brisket into three 2 oz. pieces. 1 T. cracked coriander seeds, toasted cumin and chili powder ½ cup sliced sweet onion 2. With spoon, place bean puree in 1 oz. micro cilantro greens 2 T. cayenne pepper ¼ t. kosher salt crescent shape on plate. Position 2 T. brown sugar ½ cup Texas Barbecue Sauce (see V egetables: three pieces of brisket equally 1 T. dry mustard classic recipe) ¼ large head red cabbage, large spaced on top of crescent. Method: Method: diced 3. Arrange dressed vegetables on top of bean crescent. 1. Trim excess fat from brisket, 1. Cover beans in cool water; ¼ head green cabbage, cut in 1 ¼-inch ribbons 4. Sprinkle cilantro and toasted leaving ∕8-¼ inch fat cap. refrigerate overnight. coriander seeds on crescent 2. To make rub, mix together 2. Drain beans, reserving water. 8-10 baby carrots, peeled, cut in half and plate. paprika, salt, black pepper, Transfer beans to large, heavy- 2 jalapeños, sliced in rings 5. With smoke gun, trap smoke cumin, chili powder, cayenne bottomed pot. Cover with about 1 red bell pepper, fine julienned under glass dome. Place pepper, brown sugar and dry 3 cups reserved soaking water Method: opposite crescent on plate. mustard. Rub mixture over entire or as needed to submerge Combine cabbage, carrots, Serve immediately. surface of meat. Let meat rest beans. jalapeños and bell pepper. Toss in 6. Place plate in front of guest; while oven preheats to 250°F. 3. Add chili powder and cayenne. required amount of dressing to coat slowly remove dome, releasing 3. On well-ventilated stovetop, sear Cook over medium heat for 10 thoroughly. Marinate at least 30 trapped smoke to complete brisket well. Wrap tightly in four minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir minutes. flavors of Texas barbecue. layers of foil. Place on sheet pan in sweet onion and salt. in oven. Cook approximately 8 4. Puree warm beans in blender Plating: hours until fork tender. with barbecue sauce; pass Items needed 4. Allow brisket to rest. through fine sieve. 12-inch round plate

16 Sizzle SUmmer 16

Water and energy conservation helps everyone.

By Suzanne Hall oing green day, they worked with local farmers, saves money thus meeting the first part of their G and gains goal. Going green was not as quick customers. It improves or easy. Because the site was a former staff morale, draws car dealership, they had to do a lot of media attention renovations and cleanup before they and stays ahead of could begin to tackle environmental legislation. So says improvements. 212 Market became the Green Restaurant Tennessee’s first GRA certified-green Association (GRA), restaurant. Today, it is certified by Boston. Since 1990, the TN Green Hospitality Program the international and by Green|Light, a Chattanooga nonprofit organization sustainability certification program. has helped restaurants become more Among the ways 212 Market environmentally sustainable. When Restaurant earned certification was they do, the association awards them through an active program of saving with up to four stars for a checklist of water and energy. It added an energy- actions that includes everything from saving white roof and solar panels, controlling food waste to water and and diverted rainwater and runoff energy conservation. from the air-conditioning condenser The association also helps restaurants to the landscaped areas. It was an assess their current situation, strategize effort shared by owners and staff, and on how to improve it and implement appreciated by customers. According new programs and policies. Once to industry data, the average knife-and- restaurants achieve their short- and fork restaurant uses 300,000 gallons of long-term goals, GRA certifies their water a year. Additionally, foodservice efforts and communicates their progress facilities use three times more energy and success. per square foot than most other types of commercial buildings. Efforts to At 212 Market Restaurant, curb those numbers help to limit the Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Moses above: At Romaines environmental imprint. family agrees with the association’s in Missoula, Montana, Energy Star-rated goals in theory and in practice. For Patrick McPherson is owner of the appliances such as 24 years, the restaurant has been Manito Tap House and The Blackbird the TurboFan oven owned and managed by daughters in Spokane, Washington. Both are and Beverage Air Susan, executive chef, and Sally, certified green by the GRA. “From the freezer save energy. Photo by Graham Roy manager, along with their mother get-go, we wanted to be energy- and opposite: Guests at Maggie, a registered dietitian. The water-conscious in our equipment 212 Market Restaurant, lunch, brunch, dinner and bakery and practices,” McPherson says. He Chattanooga, venue seeks to showcase Tennessee’s has been successful. The Manito Tap Tennessee, can dine under the solar panel bounty in the most environmentally House, which opened in 2011, has four covering on the deck. friendly way possible. From opening stars. The Blackbird, in business since

20 Sizzle SUmmer 16 July 2015, has three stars and is working on getting a fourth.

Like the Moses family, McPherson made water and energy conservation among his top priorities. He has equipped his restaurants with low-flow toilets and urinals, put heat and air conditioning on a seven-day computer program, and covered the thermostat to prevent others from randomly changing the settings. Motion detectors save electricity by turning lights on only Restaurant when a room is occupied. Market

Romaines in Missoula, Montana, is 212

of another GRA three-star restaurant. Because the customers value water resources, the quick-serve, counter- Courtesy style venue specializing in fresh salads the GRA. The Dairy Bar retail cafe has tips for saving water tries to conserve as much as possible by a three-star rating, while Holloway and energy ƒ using low-flow, high-pressure nozzles Commons and two dining halls have ƒ Develop a water and energy for rinsing dishes, says owner and head management plan. two-star ratings. The goal is for all ƒƒ Assess your water and energy chef Graham Roy. The GRA estimates university dining facilities to achieve use to identify opportunities for that using high-efficiency pre-rinse savings, and track results. three-star ratings, says David Hill, ƒƒ Regularly check for and promptly spray valves saves enough water to fill assistant director/culinary. repair leaks. five swimming pools each year. ƒƒ Upgrade dishwashers, ice machines and steam cookers to Roy also installed low-flow toilets and saving water Energy Star-qualified models. ƒ urinals, and is conscious and careful of ƒ Consider replacing equipment that Conserving water is not as simple as discharges water continuously, the restaurant’s energy use in many ways. turning off a faucet, but it does start such as food disposals and dipper Plastic curtains hang over the cooler there. UNH chefs and staff are trained wells, with more-efficient models, or turn them off when not in use. entrance to keep the cool air in when to look out for water left running in ƒƒ Install more water-efficient the doors are opened. He also installed the kitchens, Hill says. That’s true sprayers for cleanup. electric hand dryers in the bathrooms. at McPherson’s restaurants, as well. ƒƒ Check automatic sensors on bathroom fixtures to ensure they He advertises the restaurants’ GRA Water and energy conservation is are operating properly, and avoid certification and believes 65%-75% of unnecessary water use. system-wide at the University of New ƒ his customers care about it. His staff ƒ Shut down the computer and Hampshire (UNH) campus in Durham. point-of-sale systems when you is proud of the designation and help leave at night. Doing so can save Practices include everything from support conservation efforts. significant energy dollars over the using landfill gas as an energy source course of a year. to installing waterless urinals in all the Use of a three-component sink is another ƒƒ Check the seals on your walk-in. If they’re not clean and tight, warm bathrooms. In foodservice operations, way to reduce water waste, saving gallons air can seep in, making the walk- four of the facilities are certified by of water by pre-rinsing, washing and in work harder to keep cool. www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 21 relatively inexpensive retrofitting solutions and good management processes, such as installing aerators on sink faucets, which she believes cuts water use by 75%. Roy and others use low-flow, high-pressure spray nozzles to

Romaines conserve water.

of

After the kitchen, restrooms use the

Courtesy most water in restaurants, accounting for as much as 31% of total water use, rinsing dishes and equipment without according to the EPA. Besides installing constantly running water. Thawing items waterless urinals and low-water toilets, in the cooler instead of under running Romaines operators might consider placing a brick of water also saves water, as does turning off in the existing toilet tank to displace the tap in dipper wells and food disposals water, thus decreasing the amount of Courtesy when not in use. water necessary to fill the tank. Fixing leaky faucets in the kitchen or restrooms is another big step. A faucet saving energy leaking just two-tenths of a gallon of Restrooms also provide an opportunity water per minute wastes at least 100,000 to save energy with the use of top- gallons of water per year, according to quality electric hand dryers. The hand the Environmental Protection Agency dryers at 212 Market are high-speed (EPA). Fixing it saves water and money. models made by Excel that use 80% If the leak is hot water, there is an energy less energy than low-speed versions and a water savings. and cost 90% less than paper towels in a year’s span, says Moses. The Given that dishwashers use a lot of elimination of paper towels is also water, Roy invested in one made by better for the environment. left: Plastic curtains at the Champion that reuses the washing walk-in entry at Romaines water and uses clean water to rinse. Energy Star appliances in use at keep the interior cool He also makes sure to only run the 212 Market are also cost-efficient when the door is open, dishwasher when it is full, and turns off and better for the environment. saving electricity. Photo by Graham Roy conveyor-type machines when not in Energy Star is a joint public/private right: Touchless low- use to save water and energy. partnership program sponsored flow water faucets in by the EPA and the Department of the bathrooms save UNH also recently replaced three Energy that develops specifications for water at Romaines. dishwashers with water-saving ones. energy-efficient products. Products Photo by Graham Roy They were expensive, but Hill expects opposite: From left, that meet Energy Star criteria are they will pay for themselves in water Susan, Maggie and qualified to earn the Energy Star Sally Moses run 212 savings in four years. label, which distinguishes them from Market Restaurant in an environmentally friendly Sally Moses notes that 212 Market standard products on the market. way, as much as possible. Restaurant minimizes water use with Many restaurateurs, like Moses, opt

22 Sizzle SUmmer 16 NExt issue sustainable food FYI For more information on conserving water and energy, check out these websites:

Energy Star—www.energystar.gov Energy Star is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect the climate through superior energy efficiency. Energy Star- certified products are among the most efficient available.

WaterSense—www3.epa.gov/watersense/ WaterSense, an EPA partnership program, seeks to protect the future of the nation’s Restaurant water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient Market

products, new homes and services.

212 A section of the website is devoted to

of commercial users. Courtesy for Energy Star appliances, which are into light, compared with only 5% for available in more than 70 categories. florescent bulbs. That higher conversion rate uses less energy and saves money Saving energy at UNH takes a variety of and the environment by decreasing forms, including the use of Eco Cubes in greenhouse gas emissions. the coolers. The gelatinous boxes mimic the food temperature, helping to maintain “Restaurants use an insane amount of the correct temperature without excess natural resources,” McPherson says. energy use. Additionally, variable-speed Because many customers recognize that hood monitors power up only when a and worry about it, especially in parts of sensor detects heat vapor or smoke. the country where drought is an issue, Lighting is another area where restaurants need to be more proactive. restaurateurs can save energy and Students in particular are and should be money. At first, building owners interested in using natural resources as turned to compact florescent bulbs for carefully and cautiously as possible, says lighting, which are still preferable to Hill with UNH. “In the past 10 years, standard lighting. Even better is LED our students have become increasingly lighting. McPherson is in the process of concerned about protecting the installing them in his restaurants. “We environment and its resources.”  did a test,” he says. “We were happy with the color, temperature and lumen.” Suzanne Hall has been writing about chefs, restaurants, food and wine from her The EPA estimates that as much as 95% home in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, for more of the energy in LEDs is converted than 25 years. www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 23 Courtesy of Saltyard

Chefs add their own local interpretations for an eclectic cross-section of the popular regional fare. By Amelia Levin lassic Southern dishes— cuisine is evolving in that it’s a little thanks to their comforting less about all the butter and cream appeal and bold flavors— and fried food and more about the Ccontinue to rage in popularity, regardless approach to ingredients.” of whether or not you’re in the South. As Even KFC has gone regional, recently a cuisine type, Southern-style food ranks introducing Nashville-style hot fried third in popularity (39% of consumers) chicken. “Southern cuisine is sort of behind Mexican and “contemporary like barbecue—the flavors are very American” food, according to Chicago- different, whether you’re in Memphis or based market intelligence agency Mintel. the Carolinas,” says Leahy. Many chefs are redefining what Southern cuisine means in different ingredient-centric parts of the South and even in the Given the diversity of Atlanta, Leahy North, zeroing in on specific regions Magnolias says he doesn’t feel as driven by region of from the Carolinas to the Deep South, as he does by seasonal, local ingredients, Louisiana and beyond as they add their

Courtesy though he grew up in the South. own hyper-local spin to classic recipes while showcasing seasonal and native beyond black-eyed peas In spring, he pairs ramps and English foods from their area. In 2015, Culinary Institute of Charleston peas with simmered black-eyed peas for chef-instructor Kevin Mitchell teamed up a colorful, sweet twist on the Southern “You can’t talk about Southern food with Charleston chef BJ Dennis and April legume dish. In summer, he makes McGreger, owner of Farmer’s Daughter, without mentioning Southern chef bruschetta with Georgia peaches, goat a North Carolina artisan food producer, and author Edna Lewis, or perhaps Joe for a first-of-its-kind Southern pea cheese, caramelized onions and thyme Randall from Savannah,” says Kevin tasting meant to rediscover some of the to go alongside his popular housemade Southern heirloom varieties. The group Mitchell, CEC, a chef-instructor at pimento cheese version. prepared 21 different types of cowpeas the Culinary Institute of Charleston beyond the familiar and most basic black-eyed pea most Southerners grew at Trident Technical College, North For a play on KFC’s hot Nashville up eating. In a tasting and balloted vote: Charleston, South Carolina. “But buttermilk fried chicken, Leahy ƒƒ The Pinkeye Purple Hull, a sweet, Southern food is evolving in that swaps quail for the chicken and adds sturdy legume, won in the “black- chefs are creating a more modern take a poached vegetable escabeche with eyed” category. on an old Edna Lewis recipe. They ƒƒ The Brown Crowder, a simpler, sturdy sweet peppers as a cooling side. For the pea, was tops among crowder peas. are reaching back to traditions and hot sauce, he uses hot peppers from ƒƒ The Lady pea won in the cream pea cultivating heirloom ingredients.” the restaurant’s patio garden. He slow- category for its soft, creamy taste and roasts Georgia white shrimp with salt, a consistency like mashed potatoes. Nick Leahy, chef/owner of small-plates ƒƒ The Petite Rouge took first among pairing it with comeback sauce, Jackson, restaurant Saltyard, Atlanta, shares the field peas as a water-tolerant, Mississippi’s, answer for a rémoulade hardy pea that can stand up to both a similar view. “There is definitely a with mayo, homemade chili sauce and floods and heavy braises. lot more interest in Southern cuisine ƒƒ The Tresimino White won among plenty of paprika. He pickles and cans the rice peas for its sturdiness and outside of just the South,” he says. fruits and vegetables sourced from the buttery taste. “Southern influences are making their garden and from local farms. way into contemporary American restaurants in different cities around “A large part of Southern cuisine is about the country. But I also think Southern preserving to reduce waste, so you see

26 Sizzle SUmmer 16 a lot of cured meats, pickled vegetables, and canned fruits and jams,” he says. northern interpretations Kevin Sbraga, chef/owner of The Fat Ham, Philadelphia, has proved that Southern food can be redefined no matter your location, using local ingredients. Longing for the cuisine he grew up with during his years in the South, Sbraga, like Leahy, puts his own Ham

spin on hot chicken, soaking the bird Fat

The in buttermilk and frying it in lard, then of tossing it with a cayenne-based hot sauce and resting the crisp meat atop a Courtesy slice of white sandwich bread baked at Sbraga, his first restaurant. “Sac-a-Lait represents all things you can farm, hunt and fish here in the “We also make a boiled-peanut state of Louisiana,” says Carroll, who,

hummus, a classic Southern dish,” says Ham like her husband, grew up in the state’s Fat Sbraga. Peanuts additionally appear rural area. They source plenty of local The

in a salad he makes with seasonal, of produce, grains, geese, wild boar, local mustard greens and benne seeds, venison and acorn-fed hogs for their a Southern staple, along with a hot interpretations of Southern, Creole and Courtesy vinegar dressing. New Orleans dishes. Think hog’s head Even the cocktails at The Fat Ham cheese, tasso ham, and a play on “dirty rice” risotto with ground boar meat, are ingredient-driven and Southern- onion, bell pepper and a pickled turnip inspired. The head bartender “often garnish (paying homage to the rows utilizes vanilla and caramel notes from of canned and pickled extra-harvest barrel aging to complement my bold previous spread: Pan vegetables she grew up eating). roasted scallops, cauliflower flavors and spice,” Sbraga says. “Since puree, horseradish and the South is the home of bourbon, our Kelly Franz, executive chef at the fennel from Saltyard, Atlanta. bar program features over 180 American acclaimed Magnolias, Charleston, Photo by Kenan Hill opposite: Grits, shrimp whiskeys, ryes and bourbons.” South Carolina, set about to redefine and sausage served at Lowcountry cuisine with contemporary Magnolias, Charleston, louisiana and lowcountry imprints and a focus on local, seasonal, South Carolina. heirloom and artisan foods. top: Kevin Sbraga of The Fat Samantha Carroll, co-owner of Sac-a- Ham, Philadelphia, puts his Lait in New Orleans with husband Cody While Lowcountry cuisine is primarily own spin on hot chicken. Photo by Michael Persico Carroll, has done extensive research to considered coastal fare from South bottom: Collard greens at rediscover old Louisiana recipes from Carolina and Georgia hallmarked by The Fat Ham. her family and others in the region. seafood stews or boils, “Charleston Photo by Jen Woodruff www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 27 early greens in salads. She also uses the berries for chutneys, a Charleston staple. Depending on the weather, she’ll source different types of tomatoes for a variety of dishes, and chutney, too. For her spin on fried green tomatoes, Franz adds white cheddar, caramelized onion grits and local country ham.

Considering Charleston’s abundant summer corn, she favors the Silver Queen variety, a Southern delicacy with larger kernels and a sweeter flavor. Saltyard She prefers it for creamed corn and for of

a Lowcountry-inspired succotash also

Courtesy featuring heirloom butter beans or local crowder (or field) peas simmered until is known specifically for its chutneys, just tender. She may pair the succotash benne seeds, shrimp and grits, pimento with crabcakes or a bourbon/buttermilk- cheese, crabcakes with tarragon and marinated catfish with a Creole-inspired fried green tomatoes. They’re on every rémoulade sauce spiked with green menu,” Franz says. Tabasco, pickled okra and celery.

She explains that Southern cuisine is Franz isn’t afraid to fuse Southern dishes historically defined as “cooking with love,” with Latin influences, such as in her chili- aka, butter or bacon fat. “But it has gone rubbed tuna with habanero hummus, beyond that, with more of an emphasis on pepper jack spring rolls and roasted mango tradition, care and ingredients.” salsa, all placed atop more of that Creole For example, Franz starts off with the rémoulade. “Even if I get way out there typical shrimp and grits found just about with new ideas, I try to reel it back in with anywhere in Charleston, but she elevates those classic Southern tastes,” she says. the dish with a housemade lobster stock above: Georgia peach turned into a velouté with wine, sweet bruschetta, local chevre gullah revived vermouth and butter to finish. and caramelized onion Gullah cuisine’s origins in the served at Saltyard. She always sources the freshest local Lowcountry area of the South stem Photo by Kenan Hill opposite: Guests gather at collard greens she can find and the most from West Africans settling in the New McCrady’s in Charleston, sustainably raised local chicken for her World as slaves in the 1700s. South Carolina, for Culinary buttermilk-marinated fried chicken Institute of Charleston “The Gullah corridor starts in North with Texas hot sauce and sausage gravy. chef-instructor Kevin Carolina and runs through South Mitchell’s recreated historic In spring, Franz waits anxiously for the Carolina and parts of Georgia and dinner once hosted by famed African-American first South Carolina strawberries, pairing Florida,” says Mitchell, who will soon take chef and caterer Nat Fuller. them with fresh radishes and other a sabbatical at the University of South

28 Sizzle SUmmer 16 NExt issue Carolina, Columbia, to further study root vegetables the history of Southern cuisine. He has partnered with the Southern Foodways Alliance on projects (see sidebar).

In Gullah cuisine, also known as Geechee in slang terms, rice is a key ingredient, most commonly used in perloo, a one-pot, simmered dish similar to a Louisiana-style jambalaya that might also include shellfish, meat, tomatoes, potatoes, sausage, okra and/or oysters.

“Slaves had only one pot to cook with, so they had to make a full meal with meat for use in the stew, which includes southern foodways alliance that one pot,” says Mitchell. red and green peppers and tomatoes. The Southern Foodways Alliance, Oxford, Mississippi, is a nonprofit organization Rice, specifically Carolina gold rice, is Most recently, he explored the history founded in 1999 by author John Egerton prevalent in Gullah cuisine, “because of Nat Fuller, a prominent African- with 50 founding members in partnership with The Center for the Study of Southern that’s what made Charleston one of the American caterer and restaurant owner Culture at the University of Mississippi, richest cities in the world in the late who was born into slavery and freed Oxford, to document the diverse food 1700s and 1800s,” Mitchell says. in 1865. Fuller hosted a memorable, cultures of the changing American South. Members of the organization include high-end, biracial dinner celebrating academics, chefs, food artisans, farmers, Some artisan grain companies and food George Washington’s birthday following writers, photojournalists, illustrators, banks are focused on bringing back filmmakers, documentarians and other Charleston’s surrender to the Union in Carolina gold rice, often thought of as activists interested in furthering the study which he integrated Southern dishes of Southern cuisine and food traditions the “grandfather” of long-grain rice in with classical French cuisine. Mitchell through oral histories, films and podcasts, America that was lost over the years written articles, mentorships, scholarships, recreated the famous dinner in an after floods. The type has starchier events, conferences and workshops. Over elaborate partnership with University of the past 17 years, the alliance has grown properties with some slightly floral South Carolina (Columbia) professor exponentially and recently released a five- notes that lead to a fluffier end-product, year plan to grow its on-campus internship David Shields and local chefs BJ Dennis says Mitchell. In colonial Charleston, program and other symposiums. Gravy and Sean Brock at Brock’s McCrady’s, magazine, published bimonthly, integrates slaves would hand-pound the golden- Charleston. Dishes included turtle soup, with the website to offer print articles as colored rice with mortar and pestle well as links for downloading podcasts, venison with currant sauce, chicken oral histories and videos. Visit www. until the hulls broke down into a white chasseur and charlotte russe for dessert. southernfoodways.org/. color with finer consistency. “Learning about Southern food teaches Mitchell, who tested recipes for the us a lot about American history,” cookbook Gullah Cuisine: By Land and Mitchell says.  by Sea (Evening Post Publishing Co., 2010), by Charlotte Jenkins, also points Amelia Levin is an award-winning food to fish-head stew as another popular industry writer, certified chef and cookbook author. Her work has appeared in a variety Gullah dish, using the cheeks from of restaurant industry trade magazines as grouper or catfish. He makes a rich fish well as in the Chicago Tribune, Health and stock with fish heads, removing the Cooking Light magazines. www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 29 Corporate training chefs wield their skills as they open new concepts and prepare others to take over.

By Rob Benes

career path examples Leicht never dreamed of being a corporate training chef when he graduated from The Culinary Institute of American, Hyde Park, New York, in 1986, but he made a decision that he wanted to work in an environment that used high-quality ingredients and work for chefs who would help him master culinary techniques.

He worked at several prestigious New Mediterranean York establishments. “Cooking in places alla Y that were held to high standards allowed of me to become a great cook,” he says. After establishing this solid foundation, he Courtesy went to work with Marriott Management advice for success ife as a corporate training chef Services, Bethesda, Maryland, (merged ƒƒ Make a decision early in epitomizes the best of several with Sodexho in 1988), as director your career about what kind worlds: You get to cook and have of cooking job you want. L of research and development, which ƒƒ Stay in a kitchen for a year work-life balance. You are also likely to allowed him to learn and understand the and strategically go to receive fringe benefits and enjoy never- financial side of the hospitality business. another kitchen, building ending opportunities to work on new and your skill level and resume. He also was a member of Garden ƒƒ Ask yourself if you want to different culinary projects. have a family and watch City, New York-based SUNY-Nassau your kids grow up. Generally, corporate training chefs are Community College’s adjunct faculty, Russell Bry (right), chief responsible for opening restaurants for a serving as chef instructor in the hotel culinary officer, Yalla Mediterranean, Pleasant Hill, hospitality group or contract management restaurant department for 10 years. This California, and Giordano’s company. They get the restaurant up and role helped him develop confidence Pizza, Chicago running until an executive chef can be in public speaking and become a trained to take over, and then they move good teacher. “All these different roles on to the next opening. prepared me for my current role as a training chef,” Leicht says. Corporate training chefs also can act as consultants to hospitality groups, He eventually met his future wife, training staff on specific skills, such married and started to raise a family, as butchery. “Being a training chef after which, having work-life balance is an accumulation of many years of became important. He joined Aramark’s experience that allows you to bring higher education division in 2001, and together your education, different his responsibilities have increased from work experiences and interaction being a chef of one college to becoming with others,” says David Leicht, CEC, district chef overseeing 10 colleges. regional culinary director, Aramark’s Most recently, he was promoted to higher education division, Philadelphia. regional culinary director overseeing

32 Sizzle SUmmer 16 nearly 40 colleges. “This career has “This type of work suits me very well, allowed me to see my children grow because usually, after a year on a job, I want up, maintain my ACF certification and an entirely new challenge. I get to move continue to cook,” he says. on to a new cooking project,” Bry says.

Leicht’s day-to-day responsibilities range Mark DeNittis, culinary protein/center from managing and teaching adherence of the plate expert and trainer for Sysco, to company standards and procedures, Denver, performs corporate training ensuring safety procedures are followed for newly hired sales trainees on Sysco’s and maintaining food quality. He core basics “101” meat, seafood and also works with the talent acquisition poultry training courses. He creates and Board department to find the right people to fill develops direct and useful tools and Lamb positions within the business. resources, including how-to sheets/ videos for Sysco staff and clients. He ican Amer Russell Bry, chief culinary officer, also produces weekly and monthly The Yalla Mediterranean, Pleasant Hill, of

sales-driven communications and California, and Giordano’s Pizza, specialized newsletters.

Chicago, is no stranger to the Chicago Courtesy culinary scene. He worked as an He works directly with owners/ executive chef for Chicago-based operators within Sysco’s test kitchen, advice for success whose needs range from simply looking ƒƒ Do a stage or apprenticeship Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises to gain real-world experience. (LEYE) from 1985 to 2004. In that for ideas and innovation to hands-on ƒƒ Read The 7 Habits of Highly position, he played a key role in the training. He participates in national and Effective People: Powerful regional food shows to conduct cooking Lessons in Personal Change company’s expansion and opened (Simon and Schuster, 2013), 20 new concepts, including Scoozi, demonstrations as well as design by Stephen Covey. Wildfire and Shaw’s Crab House. In educational stages for 45- to 60-minute ƒƒ Immerse yourself in all aspects segments covering such core products of the foodservice industry. 2004, Bry became co-founder and co- Mark DeNittis, culinary protein/ creator of Go Roma Italian Kitchens, a as meat, seafood and poultry. center of the plate expert and trainer, Sysco, Denver fast-casual Italian concept. “Being a training chef allows me to put With this experience, in 2008 he to use all my passions of education, branched out and created Russell Bry systems and procedures, eliminating Consulting, lending his expertise to inefficiencies, improving effectiveness, various companies and establishments. cooking and traveling,” DeNittis says. In early 2012, Bry accepted the position of executive chef with the work-life balance iconic Giordano’s, home of “Famous Corporate training chefs enjoy many Stuffed Pizza,” where he led efforts career advantages. “Working for a large to revamp and expand the menu company provides benefits like health at the chain’s 43 locations. He care, retirement plans, paid vacation, paid also developed the menu for Yalla sick days, tuition reimbursement and Mediterranean, opening its first unit others, depending on the company,” says as the executive chef, and continues to Christian Fischer, vice president, culinary oversee expansion. innovations, Chartwells Higher Education, www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 33 on more challenging and fulfilling restaurant concepts.

Leicht was instrumental in opening a new restaurant, The Rodney Dining Fresh Food Company, at the University of Delaware, Newark, in August 2015. (The Fresh Food Company is a proprietary Multimedia

brand name for Aramark’s residential restaurants found at many colleges and Perlovich

universities.) The restaurant serves of more than 6,000 meals a day. Guests can choose from a variety of freshly prepared Courtesy and made-to-order meals from any of advice for success part of Compass Group North America, 13 action cooking stations, including ƒƒ Don’t cut corners when Rye Brook, New York. Mongolian, gluten-free, vegan and cooking food. Cooking bad Orthodox Union (OU) certified kosher. food is unforgivable, and Fischer is away from home during the people will not forget. Other favorites include a full-service ƒƒ Explore all job possibilities. week, but home nearly every weekend bakery and two fresh-produce markets. Don’t be married to just and for every holiday. Chartwells working in restaurants. The process of planning the restaurant ƒƒ Read at least 20 minutes a Higher Education manages foodservice started approximately five years earlier, day about food trends. outlets at schools, allowing for a Christian Fischer (right), vice predictable schedule. He gets a break and included developing a vision president, culinary innovations, along with students when schools close and menu, demolition of existing Chartwells Higher Education, buildings, and designing and building part of Compass Group North for the holidays. America, Rye Brook, New York new buildings. Two months before DeNittis admits that with his heavy travel the opening, Leicht lived on campus, schedule, he misses being at home and helping to motivate a multifuctional seeing his children during the work week. team of chefs from the region. He also He drives roughly 22,000 to 28,000 worked with food safety experts to miles a year visiting the districts within train the team specific to the menu. his region, but says he enjoys traveling Two weeks before opening, he started through the agricultural heartland. working on plate presentations and “Being home on the weekends certainly conducting additional staff training. makes up for it in my case. There are Two months after opening, he spent times of the year when customers don’t two or three days a week providing want to see a specialist, such as during more training and making adjustments the holidays, so I’m at the office cubicle to food preparation and presentation. or home-based office,” he says. “It’s important as a training chef to not only be involved in the planning and substantial projects design phases, but also to do follow-up The vast experience that corporate training and visits to ensure the staff is training chefs amass over their careers executing properly,” Leicht says. “The sometimes allows them to work team needs to see you return to see that

34 Sizzle SUmmer 16 NExt issue you’re vested in the restaurant, their advice for home food delivery chef positions and their success. This all success ƒ builds your credibility and the role of ƒ Join the American Culinary Federation (ACF) being a training chef.” as a junior member and explore ACF certification. Fischer started a bakery program ƒƒ Take public-speaking classes. at Kennesaw State University, ƒƒ Take extra business classes (accounting, sales, food/beverage Marietta, Georgia. For three days, he cost management). gathered together bakers for a baking- David Leicht (right), CEC, regional culinary director, Aramark’s higher immersion training program, as well as amark Ar education division, Philadelphia of hands-on applications.

Bry opened the first Yalla Mediterranean, Courtesy spending 18 months to develop the menu and launch the restaurant. opening becomes a little easier, because “Opening the first concept is always a new group of hires trains in an already the hardest, because you’re technically opened restaurant before walking into the executive chef. No one has seen the their new home store.”  food except you,”he says. “But after the Rob Benes is a Chicago-based first one is up and running, you have a hospitality industry writer. Contact him at place to train people. Each subsequent [email protected].

Southeast regions have open secondary The educational representatives educator positions. must be from institutions that have ACFEF-accredited programs. These The ACFEFAC and its committees meet representatives are not required to be twice a year, January and July, to review certified; however, their involvement documentation from accreditation site with ACF programs is evaluated during visits and make a determination on a the review process. grant of accreditation. The commission is also responsible for monitoring Interested candidates should submit the changing culinary industry to a cover letter stating their interest determine current needs for today’s in serving on the commission and a professionals. Members review, update résumé by Sept. 30 to Dana Baldwin and make decisions that reflect the at the ACF national office, dbaldwin@ The American Culinary Federation current practices of the profession in acfchefs.net. All submissions will be Education Foundation Accrediting the ACFAC Policies and Procedures, reviewed and vetted by the ACFEF Commission (ACFEFAC) is seeking Standards, Required Knowledge and Commission executive committee. qualified postsecondary and secondary Skill Competencies, and other related Final candidates will be submitted for educators to fill open commission educational processes. Participation in election by fellow educators of ACFEF- and committee seats for the 2017- this accrediting effort by institutions of accredited programs, and newly elected 2020 term. Central and Northeast education will help ensure that students commissioners will begin their term at regions have open postsecondary are well-trained and employable for the January 2017 meeting. educator positions, and Northeast and today and in the future. www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 35 by degrees sweetbreads grenoble by degrees

Sweetbreads Grenoble Article by Michael Moench, CEC Photography by Jeffery Marmaro

oxtail, tripe, brain and thymus gland. Preparation of all offal cuts of meat require preplanning to ensure they are presented in a memorable manner.

While they are underused, sweetbreads are attractive to aspiring chefs looking to step out of menu norms and showcase their culinary talents. Achieving the perfect sweetbread dish requires not only prior planning, but skill and dedication to one’s craft, all traits of successful chefs.

Utilizing sweetbreads harkens back to a time when food was cared for and Michael Moench, CEC weetbreads are not sweet, nor culinary techniques were mastered. Dean of culinary arts and are they bread. But if prepared Future chefs who come into the culinary university department chair for S properly, they are delicious. world without perfecting these traditional Keiser University, Sarasota, Florida (Keiser University Sweetbreads refer to the thymus gland techniques will be robbed of truly operates three centers in the throat and pancreas, commonly reaching their culinary skill potential. for culinary arts located in called the “heart.” Sweetbreads are Melbourne, Sarasota and found in lamb or pig, but most often There are several key steps to preparing Tallahassee, Florida.) come from the calf, also known as ris de the perfect sweetbread dish. Whether veau. The heart sweetbread is the most the dish is classical, such as Sweetbreads sought-after portion, because of its large Grenoble, or a more contemporary size and soft texture. preparation, the first steps are the same. Sweetbreads must be soaked in water (or Sweetbreads belong to the offal salt water), then poached and cooled. category of meat, meaning “off- Once cooled, it is necessary to peel off the fall,” denoting such secondary cuts membrane. Then, wrap in cheesecloth as the heart, liver, tongue, kidneys, and press to improve the texture. 

36 Sizzle SUmmer 16 Ingredients Step 1 Step 4 10 oz. sweetbreads, raw “heart” Soak sweetbreads in water; poach lightly in Dredge in flour seasoned with salt and white Stock for poaching flavorful liquid (e.g., court-bouillon or stock) pepper. Lightly pan-sear on both sides until 1 cup flour until firm. Refresh (shock) in ice water; golden brown. Salt and white pepper for seasoning remove membrane. 2 T. shallots 4 oz. white wine 2 lemons 2 T. capers 2 oz. butter Parsley for garnish

Equipment Cutting board Knife Saute pan Sauce pot Step 5 Sheet pan and weights Cheesecloth To finish dish, degrease pan. Sweat shallots; Butcher’s twine Step 2 deglaze with white wine. Add lemon supremes, capers and demi-glace; reduce Wrap tightly in cheesecloth; tie both Helpful Hints ends tight. to nappe consistency. ƒƒ Select milk-fed veal, if available. ƒƒ Soak sweetbreads in salt water for 8 to 24 hours, changing water often before poaching.

Step 3 Press sweetbreads under weighted sheet Step 6 pan. This helps with texture and uniformity Finish sauce with butter; season. Add of product. additional fresh lemon segments. Garnish with parsley.

www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 37 American Regional flavors california cuisine american regional flavors

California cuisine By Victor Scargle, executive chef, The Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa, part of the college’s California campus.

to growing so many kinds of fruits and vegetables, as well as for raising animals year-round. The unique total environment of California cannot be duplicated anywhere else.

Having grown up in Aptos in Santa Cruz County in the center of the produce mecca of the country, I never thought of the way we ate, shopped or cooked as a type of cuisine. It was just what we did. Local ingredients became a focal point from the beginning of my career as a young cook working at a restaurant on a farm.

When I think of California cuisine, I focus on the Northern region, only because that is where my experience primarily comes from. Everyone has a different idea of what California cuisine means, but I believe if you look at the core, it is about eating what and how we did decades ago. Californians know when it is grape or almond season and when lambs are milkfed. We know the alifornia cuisine is something best time of year for artichokes, asparagus I think many Californians, and Brussels sprouts. These vegetables C including chefs, take for granted are so abundant in the Salinas Valley that until they move to another region. We you can actually smell the gases they give often forget that California is one of off as they grow—similar to how you the few states with a climate conducive can smell grapes fermenting in the Napa

38 Sizzle SUmmer 16 Valley. You then eat these items at their of the most influential chefs is Traci Group peak ripeness, and you have a good sense Des Jardins. Working at her restaurant of where they came from. (Jardinière in San Francisco) even for a

brief time, with its culture of buying the Restaurant When you live with it, you never forget best ingredients from farmers and letting Patina the true flavors of the fruit, vegetable of those ingredients speak, brought my or protein at its best. Growing up with culinary thinking full circle from Aptos to an apricot tree in our yard, I will never where it is today. It makes so much sense. Courtesy forget the flavor of the fruit. Now, only that taste will satisfy my appetite for When you think about California apricots. No substitutes. I am not sure if cuisine, you must also consider all the this is considered a more European style amazing purveyors who are masters of of eating, or maybe a Native American their craft, including farmers, ranchers way of using, respecting and nourishing and artisans who continually push the land. Either way, this type of eating what they do. The state has fantastic naturally leads to a healthy way of living. dairies and cheesemakers, fisheries and seafood producers, ranchers, brewers, Consumers in California, both north ica chocolatiers and artisan charcuterie Amer and south, are more focused on healthy of makers. I believe the incomparable living and eating. This has forced the California cuisine is only possible

hospitality industry at every level to Institute because of the hard work of so many of offer items in these markets—from these people, from San Diego to Eureka. Culinary fast-food McDonald’s salad menu to The vegetarian 12-course tasting menus of

They provide cooks with quality at some of the best restaurants in the ingredients around which to design a country. Years ago, this may have been dish. If we did not have people who Courtesy a struggle, but with vegetables coming supplied the pioneering chefs, California to the forefront, it now is simple. Now cuisine would not be what it is today. A we see chefs planning the plate around few communities would share what they vegetables from farmers markets or from grow and eat, but it would never have their own or nearby farms. This helps turned into a cuisine. When you take shift the focus from the protein. passionate farmers and put them around top: Chestnut agnolotti from culinary and passionate cooks, then you see how a Patina restaurant, Los Angeles, cuisine, or “movement,” can develop. part of Patina Restaurant supplier pioneers Group, founded by famed chef Several chefs who pioneered what we There are great books about California Joachim Splichal. call California cuisine today come to cuisine by Alice Waters and Joyce bottom: Students at the CIA can take an academic mind. Alice Waters is, of course, at the Goldstein, and now younger cooks are concentration—basically, top of the list. But many others, such starting to write cookbooks that are a minor—in farm-to-table as Joyce Goldstein, Jeremiah Tower, vegetable-focused and allow the season cuisine at the Napa Valley Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller and to come to the forefront—offering the campus. They get hands-on practice using fresh, seasonal Joachim Splichal, have married their best flavor profile possible. But this idea ingredients, which is a amazing culinary backgrounds with the or technique is not new; it is how people philosophy of California cuisine. ingredients of California. For me, one have been eating for hundreds of years. Photo by Phil Mansfield www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 39 American Regional flavors california cuisine

Victor Scargle’s and mouths—that this type of cuisine recommended reading Inside the California Food is not only much better tasting, but also Revolution: Thirty Years is better for citizens and better for our That Changed Our Culinary state as a whole. Consciousness (University of California Press, 2013), Working at Jardinière brought me back by Joyce Goldstein (pictured) with Dore Brown to growing up in Santa Cruz County and reignited in me an emphasis on Chez Panisse Vegetables (William Morrow Cookbooks, the relationship with farmers. We 1996), by Alice Waters would see and talk to everyone, from Jim Reichardt with Sonoma County Poultry, Penngrove, to Bill Niman with Niman Ranch, Oakland. When we received our deliveries from Dirty Girl Produce, Santa Cruz, and Hog Island Oyster Co., Marshall, we would get a chance to talk with them and hear how the product was grown and what excited them. This was a perfect step farm- versus before I moved on to Julia’s Kitchen at Copia, continuing some of the fast-driven same relationships and starting a new For a time, our culture became focused relationship with Jeff Dawson, curator on how quickly we could consume of gardens at Copia. calories, no matter where they came from. Speed was the deciding factor It was at Julia’s Kitchen that my for what we ate. Many of the people I knowledge and understanding of mentioned above remind us we need to what goes into growing vegetables slow down and take a closer look at what and fruits really grew. I learned the we eat and where it comes from. I believe amount of work needed to develop we are seeing the ramifications of this the soil and prepare the beds, and it thinking in our nation’s health, because was my introduction to the philosophy convenience, rather than the source of of biodynamic farming, which allows the food, was the focus for too long. the fruits of young trees to produce amazing flavors usually only found in Years ago, farmers, communities and more mature trees. The quality of the opposite top: Students the dining public in California told the fruit compares favorably even to what is at the California campus of the CIA work in the hospitality industry that they did not offered by great produce purveyors and gardens, then prepare want to participate in “fast” cuisine. This found at the local farmers market. dishes made with movement, led by community members ingredients they just picked. and the likes of Alice Waters, led to what seasonal menu focus Photo by Keith Ferris The knowledge I have gained opposite bottom: Sweet is now called California cuisine. Chef potato cremeux served at Waters slowed people down just long during 25 years of cooking has Patina restaurant. enough to show them—via their eyes given me a good base to share with

40 Sizzle SUmmer 16 students at The Culinary Institute of America’s California campus. The most important focus is to build relationships with the people providing us with the products and learn what they have available. If the local farmers do not have it or it’s not available at the farmers market, it is not time. If I ica Amer call Connie Green, proprietor of Wine of Forest Wild Foods, Napa, and ask Institute

her for mushrooms before they are in season, she will sigh and remind me Culinary that nature does not stick to a chef’s The

calendar. We can easily become lazy of and rely on a computer to place orders,

or large produce companies that can Courtesy source from around the world, but we have seasons, and we should not cheat those seasons for our comfort.

The restaurant menus in California can tell you what season it is almost as easily Group as the farmers can. Fall and winter bring citrus salads, sauce à l’orange, beet salad Restaurant with Burrata cheese, brassicas, apples, Patina quince and pears. of

Then you get spring onions, green garlic, peas and favas with the first of Courtesy the morels. But it’s not just produce The CIA students here in the Napa by which you can set your calendar; Valley have the opportunity to be Alaskan halibut season opens around some of the best farmers in the simultaneously. Next is tomato salad world, amazing restaurants and great and warm fresh mozzarella with some wines. There is no better place in the salt and a drizzle of balsamic and basil world than California to experience all still fragrant from the garden. aspects of the hospitality industry.  Along come white and yellow corn and Victor Scargle oversees the restaurant, amazing melons with sugar levels off as well as wine-tasting experiences and the charts that you can smell through other special events, at the CIA’s Copia the rind. These are some of the fantastic location. He was executive chef of Julia’s Kitchen at Copia from 2003-2007 and dishes and ingredients that you will find Click here for a Confit Garden has more than 20 years of experience Recipe! Carrot Salad with Madras Curry all up and down California, depending cooking in renowned restaurants in the and Confit Shallot Dressing recipe. on the time of year. San Francisco Bay area. www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 41 the interview jeremy barlow the interview

Jeremy Barlow By Ethel Hammer

born Bar named Best Restaurant, Nashville Jackson, Mississippi Lifestyle Magazine; Best Trendsetter, Best Environmentally Friendly Business, resides Best Creative Chef and Best Culinary Nashville, Tennessee Instigator, Nashville Scene; Best Menu learned the trade Award, Flavors of Nashville; Sustainable From dishwasher to line cook, White Dog Leader of the Year, Lipscomb University Cafe, Nantucket, Massachusetts, 1989- Institute of Sustainable Practices, 1994; line cook, Harbor House, Nantucket, Nashville, 2011, 2012; released self- summer 1994; internship, Blackberry published cookbook Chefs Can Save the Farm, Walland, Tennessee, 1996; World, 2012; chair, Food Policy Council associate degree in occupational studies for Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson from The Culinary Institute of America County, Nashville, 2012-present. (CIA), Hyde Park, New York, 1997. culinary path is list of achievements and awards Various jobs in Nashville, 1997-2002, is longer than most peoples’ including sous chef, Trace Restaurant; H arms. Still, the glitz, glamour and chef, Midtown Cafe; corporate training, falderal that pervade the culinary world Ruth’s Chris; chef/owner, Tayst do not impress Jeremy Barlow, chef/ Restaurant & Wine Bar, Nashville, 2003-2013; chef/owner Sloco, Nashville, owner of Sloco and The Meet Room in 2011-present; chef/owner, The Meet Nashville. He’s been featured in The New Room, Nashville, 2015-present. York Times and Food & Wine magazine select achievements, as well as in Southwest, Delta and Continental airlines’ in-flight magazines. awards, accolades Named one of 40 Chefs Under 40, Mother “I can take them or leave them,” he says Nature Network, Atlanta, 2009; between of awards and accolades. “They are not 2003 and 2013, Tayst Restaurant & Wine why I do what I do.”

42 Sizzle SUmmer 16 The real power that chefs hold comes from the centrality of food in the web of society, communities and people, he explains. “Name anything—economics, politics, the environment, health, health care, city planning and fossil fuels—and they all connect to food.”

Barlow loved being at the CIA where everyone’s extreme passion for cooking resonated with him. As the winner of the 1997 Francis L. Roth award for excellence in academic and extracurricular performance, he volunteered to prep for every visiting chef that passed through the school doors, including Charlie Trotter, Jeremiah Tower and the president of a German chefs association. “Doing all Barlow realizes that fast food has its this puts a feather in your toque,” he says. place, but it doesn’t have to mean sacrificing sustainable practices. He Barlow never followed in anyone’s footsteps or worked for a notable chef. recently spent a week as a solo dad, It was harder back then to find a mentor, and he and his children didn’t eat at so he had to blaze his own trail. He home once. He envisions combining had a successful 10-year run with Tayst sustainable practices with the best Restaurant & Wine Bar, an upscale techniques from the fast-food world. restaurant that became Nashville’s first Clearly, Barlow is no ordinary man, and certified green restaurant by the Green neither are his restaurants ordinary. Restaurant Association. Employees receive equal pay, from cooks With his current two-outlet sandwich and dishwashers at Sloco, to bartenders shop Sloco, he wants to “flip the fast at The Meet Place, his new establishment food world on its head.” He aims to that functions like an old-fashioned create reasonably priced sandwiches that pub serving wine and craft beers. “It’s a fit people’s lifestyles using sustainable, little community joint, the kind of place organic ingredients that are locally and where chefs can discuss how to move regionally grown. Someday he hopes the food system forward,” Barlow says. to have 40,000 outlets and become the He closes The Meet Place whenever it sustainable equivalent of Subway. He is comfortable for him. It could be 8:30 above: The Shaved feels that if he can realize one-tenth of p.m. or 12:30 a.m. There is no website. Seitan features house- his goal to serve what he calls “real food” And because he doesn’t want The Meet made seitan, pan-fired chickpeas, squash, and create a sustainable food-sourcing Place to be described as a new super-cool micro herbs and sesame infrastructure, he will have successfully bar, he shies away from media attention, dressing on a sub roll. accomplished his mission. but loves to share his views. Photos courtesy of Sloco www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 43 the interview jeremy barlow

You’re the son of a world- renowned professor of psychology and psychiatry who specialized in anxiety disorders at Boston University until he retired. What was it like growing up as the son of David H. Barlow? jb: I was very lucky. My father is awesome. In high school and college, I was high-energy, somewhat wild and not as studious as I wish I had been. It was only when I got to culinary school that I understood the need to succeed. Before that, I studied psychology at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, and dabbled in philosophy. It was the reading that got to me. I didn’t have the necessary focus, but I liked the thought of discussing philosophical ideas.

You talk a lot about sustainability. My father has an amazing work ethic, How would you define the term? which I think I emulate. He has a knack jb: That's the $100,000 question. If we for observation, and picks up on the had a definitive answer, it would be signals people give as they interact much easier to get there. You could in their surroundings. Figuring out say it’s a theory, practice and method personalities and how people work is integrating economic, social and a huge part of being a chef. It’s a great environmental systems and concerns to way to bring together individuals with ensure a good future. different backgrounds and temperaments to form a team. How can chefs move product ordering toward greater sustainability? Explain how your interest in jb: Look at how and from where you cooking evolved. source your food. One-fifth to one- jb: I got hooked on cooking when I was left: Sloco bills itself as a third of greenhouse gases are directly about 9 years old. I saw Paul Prudhomme sandwich shop serving local related to agriculture, so you want your and sustainable sandwiches at in a store in Albany, New York, and affordable prices. products to travel as little as possible thought cooking was interesting. right: The Slow-Roasted Veggie to cut down on the use of fossil fuels. sandwich is made of marinated But there is a balance. I’d rather have When I got to the CIA, I loved the seasonal vegetables, micro sustainably raised beef from Georgia environment. Everyone was extremely herbs, whole-grain mustard and than grain-fed beef from Nashville. passionate about cooking. Food was the tofu spread on multigrain bread. The difference between the two is 400 only thing people talked about. When I opposite top: For its sandwiches, miles. But sustainability is more than did my internship at Blackberry Farm, Sloco uses nose-to-tail cookery, just purchasing local food. In the future, it was all about seamless service— utilizing the most sustainable product available. agriculture must combine the ideals of from the people pulling weeds in the opposite bottom: Sloco operates the local movement with the Industrial restaurant garden to the people working in a small space, part of its small- Age’s best practices. Having a farmer on in the kitchen. At that time, they were carbon-footprint ethos. every corner is not realistic. just starting to grow their own garden,

44 Sizzle SUmmer 16 and I didn’t make the connection to how growing your own food contributed to sustainability. I wasn’t even thinking about sustainability back then. Now that I am, I find that fighting for it in an effort to save humanity and the planet is very difficult.

How do sandwiches at Sloco support sustainability? jb: An American sandwich is generally composed of seven ingredients, each component traveling 1,500 to 2,000 miles. This makes the distance traveled by a normal American sandwich 14,000 miles. At Sloco, we serve local and sustainable sandwiches and list the carbon output they create on our menu board. The brisket sandwich with pickle relish, yellow mustard, smoked brisket, mixed hydroponic greens, sub roll and squash travels 379 miles. The chicken salad sandwich with pulled chicken leg, seasonal fixings, paprika mayo, mixed hydroponic greens and multigrain bread travels 372 miles. The breakfast sammi what could a food with cheddar cheese, steamed egg, bacon czar do? and multigrain bread travels 249 miles. At the Food Policy Council for Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, which I chair, We must eliminate the excessive use of we’ve discussed what it would fossil fuels in this time of global warming be like if we had a food czar. We and rising sea levels. Listing the carbon examined the importance of doing burden of each sandwich allows people a detailed food assessment so to assess the environmental impact of we knew how and where we grow our food, as well as what else what they eat. Even in a 400-square- farmers were growing. If we added foot kitchen, we bring in whole animals an assessment of what people and break them down. This is a key were eating from the consumer factor in our ability to be sustainable and side, we’d have the information necessary to understand how to affordable at the same time. move toward a sustainable future. What is it like working in Nashville? tasting menus, helped me spread the your best advice to jb: Nashville has seen unbelievable word about supporting local farms and students and aspiring growth. We have lots of chefs, but not sustainability. However, a fancy restaurant culinary professionals? enough cooks. Then again, I think every is not an effective platform for educating a Only one in 1,000 chefs attains city is facing this problem. For a long large number of people. But I can reach a star status, so if social media, time, Nashville was the No. 1 spot for magazines and TV motivate you, lot of people at Sloco, which explains why get out now. Choose passion over chain testing. Then the old guard turned I’m making sandwiches.  money, and, hopefully, passion Nashville into a great culinary city in will equate to a happier life. Chefs the early 1990s through the 2000s. My Ethel Hammer is a writer, lecturer and should be involved in sustainability; restaurant Tayst, a fancy place with cartoonist based in Chicago. be a part of the community. www.acfchefs.org www.sizzle-digital.com 45 the quiz summer 2016 Get the answers Click here to find out the correct the quiz answers.

Did you read all the articles in this issue? Take the Sizzle Quiz to test your knowledge. 24 38 42

1. What type of wood is most common for 6. Energy Star appliances are available in how 11. More than many other consumers, what do smoking brisket in Central Texas? many categories? Californians focus on? a. Pine a. 10 a. Healthy living and eating b. Oak b. 30 b. Diversity c. Maple c. 50 c. Drinking d. Railroad ties d. More than 70 d. Sweets

2. Central Texas barbecue cooking style emphasizes: 7. Installing aerators on sink faucets can 12. Years ago, farmers, communities and the a. The more, the merrier! potentially cut water use by what percentage? dining public in California told the hospitality b. Less is best a. 25% industry that they did not want to participate c. Low and slow b. 50% in what kind of cuisine? d. Thick and juicy c. 75% a. Processed d. 80% b. Imported 3. The ordw “bark” used in connection with c. Fast barbecued brisket refers to: 8. A large part of Southern cuisine is about doing d. Complicated a. The part of the tree added to the smoker what to reduce waste? b. The sound made by the wood burning a. Recycling and reusing 13. Corporate training chefs get to enjoy what? c. The burnt outer edge on the meat b. Preserving/Pickling a. Travel d. None of the above c. Using secondary cuts of meat b. A high salary d. Serving smaller portions c. Prestige 4. Sweetbreads, as in Sweetbreads Grenoble, d. A work-life balance refers to what gland in the animal? 9. What is a key ingredient in Gullah cuisine? a. Thymus a. Rice 14. What must a culinarian have before b. Pituitary b. Shrimp becoming a corporate training chef? c. Adrenal c. Chicken a. Experience d. Thyroid d. Potatoes b. Mastery of a foreign language c. A teaching degree 5. Before preparation, what must sweetbreads 10. What is unique about California that leads to d. Restaurant success first be soaked in? classic California cuisine? a. Vinegar a. Its large size 15. What key career advice does Catherine b. Port b. Its location in relation to Mexico Proper give to students who want to be c. Olive oil c. Its climate and environment research-and-development chefs? d. Water d. The diversity of plants a. Network b. Get a food science or Culinology degree c. Get an internship in product development d. All of the above

46 Sizzle SUmmer 16 Industry Profile catherine proper industry profile

Catherine Proper

Name a few of the products you’re proudest product development and regulatory for of that you’ve developed for SUPERVALU. frozen meals and snacks. CP: My favorites are in our Wild Harvest® When and why did you become involved products—a “free from” and organic in the RCA? brand that is growing in popularity with CP: While working on my bachelor’s degree conventional shoppers. There are more in food science and nutrition, one of my than 100 “undesirable” ingredients that professors gave me an industry periodical are prohibited in these products, such as with an RCA advertisement. I joined the artificial colors, artificial flavors, MSG, organization immediately and went to the HFCS, nitrates/nitrites, etc. It can be a next conference in Miami. I immediately atherine Proper, CEC, is senior challenge to develop these products without felt like I had found “my crew” in the RCA director of product development/ these functional ingredients, but it pushes us membership. I have been involved ever since. to find alternate ingredients that maintain the C quality assurance for SUPERVALU What do you like most about the RCA? Private Brands, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, products’ shelf life, texture and flavor while and is in the middle of a two-year term as allowing for a cleaner ingredient label. CP: The RCA is one of my “secret president of the Research Chefs Association What do you like most about your job? ingredients” to career success. It is a great (RCA), Atlanta. The foundation for her place to network with other food-product CP: I get paid to eat and talk about food. It’s developers, chefs and culinologists. food-product development career was my responsibility to know how to combine formed and solidified as she earned an When I face a technical challenge in my food trends and functional ingredients job, I know there is an expert within associate of science degree from Johnson into a packaged food product that appeals & Wales University, Providence, Rhode the RCA membership who can help me to consumers. Working in retail product troubleshoot the issue. Island; a bachelor’s in food science and development, I impact consumers across the nutrition from the University of Rhode country, versus feeding only local consumers What education and career advice would you Island, North Kingston; and a master’s in a single-location restaurant. give to students who want to be R&D chefs? in business administration from Carlson CP: Network, network, network. Who School of Management, University of You worked for some high-profile companies leading up to your current job. Explain. you know is important, as is being in the Minnesota, Minneapolis. right place at the right time. The best CP: I spent 11 years in kitchens. After student resumes I receive for jobs include What are your main responsibilities cooking my way through two degrees, I with SUPERVALU? 1) a culinary degree plus a food science started my product development career or Culinology degree, 2) commercial CP: I’m responsible for the product at ConAgra Foods, Omaha, Nebraska, in kitchen experience, and 3) an internship development, quality assurance and a variety of roles ranging from benchtop in product development. Additionally, I regulatory compliance of over 6,000 private- development to menu application to up- highly encourage certification. For students, label product stock keeping units (SKUs). front ideation/innovation. Later I moved I would expect to see Certified Culinarian My team comprises food scientists, chefs, to Target Corporation, Minneapolis, (CC) certification from ACF. It is not only chemical engineers and regulatory specialists where I was the first chef hired to work a differentiator from other applicants, it also who ensure products meet SUPERVALU’s in product development of fresh private- is a steppingstone to higher certification quality standards. We spend our day brand products. After Target, I went to levels that will serve to distinguish you as a preparing, tasting and evaluating food Bellisio Foods, Minneapolis, a frozen foods candidate throughout your career.  products from across the grocery store. manufacturer, where I was responsible for

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