Fort Myers Florida Weekly 4-15-15 Foodie
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WEEK OF APRIL 15-21, 2015 www.FloridaWeekly.com INSIDE SPRING 2015 LEE COUNTY EDITION Inside: Vol. IX, No. 1 • FREE FLORIDA WEEKLY’S RESTAURANT GUIDE Out today: by Gina Birch ■ / 8 Check out the A new generation of culinary stars tastiest ■ /11 spots to Cultivating a farm-to-table trend dine in /11 town. ■ Food porn: Do it well with tips, tricks X ATION WITH FOOD TELEVISION GOING MAINSTREAM AND THE WHOLE FARM-TO-TABLE TREND CONTINUING TO GROW, EVEN KIDS WANT TTHEIRH KALE. WE HAVE BECOME A Livin’ the Countrylife Reba, Hank Williams Jr. and more coming. C1 X COURTESY PHOTOS; ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC RADDATZ / FLORIDA WEEKLY BY SCOTT SIMMONS ssimmons@fl oridaweekly.com WE HAVE BECOME A NATION OF foodies. We dine out more than ever — 5.8 times a week, compared to 2.4 in decades past. At the Blues on the Bay same time, our fear of GMOs Society snapshots around inin foods has led us to grow our town. ownowown food,fof with one in three U.S.S.S C36-39 householdshohoususe now gardening. Chefsefefs X arearare thetht new rock stars, thanks toto televisionte and the popularitytyty ofof theth Food Network, Cookingngg ChannelC and Bravo; 9-year-oldsr-r-ololdsds now are competing on main-maiain-n- stream network shows ssuchucuch asas Classic cars and tunes evoke memories,“MasterChef help Junior.”raise funds for museum SEE FOODIE, A10X Food truckin’ Celebrity chefs have brought atten- Good grub on the go. tion to foods more than ever before. B1 X BY GLENN MILLER Florida Weekly Correspondent Alan Wright understands that vintage cars and old music share an ability to Both sensations can be experienced Sat- spark memories and emotions. urday, April 25, at Harborside Event Cen- Listening to the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” or ter at the History Rocks concert, which “Eleanor Rigby” or especially in this case will benefit the Southwest Florida Muse- It does a big body MARGO HARRISON / SHUTTERSTOCK “Drive My Car” can transport people to a um of History. good time and place in their past. Music will be provided by The Beatle- Milk can help reduce pain for The same happens when one walks maniax and Memphis 56, bands that evoke within steps of an old car. time, styles and moods from long ago. the obese. A36 So do Mr. Wright’s cars. He’s a collector X of vintage vehicles such as a 1957 Chevrolet, Download our FREE PRSRT STD App today U.S. POSTAGE COMMENTARY A2 Available on FORT MYERS,PAID FL SEE CARS, A20 OPINION the iTunes and PERMIT NO. 715 X ANTIQUES A13 HEALTHY LIVING A36-37 Android App Store. A4 NEWS OF THE WEIRD A16 PETS A38 BUSINESS B1 ARTS REAL ESTATE B9 EVENTS SOCIETY C36-39 C1 C6-9 CUISINE C43 A10 NEWS WEEK OF APRIL 15-21, 2015 www.FloridaWeekly.com FLORIDA WEEKLY COURTESY PHOTO / DAVID MOIR Good eating: Ken Oringer laughs with Gail Simmons on “The First Thanksgiving,” from season 12 of “Top Chef.” the National Restaurant Association. FOODIE “There’s a much higher level of engage- Restaurant Industry Sales ment.” From page 1 Each year, the restaurant association (*in billions of current dollars) lists its top 20 food trends. The top three trends: Locally sourced And we’re all self-styled critics, too, meats and seafood, locally grown pro- posting images and reviews on Face- duce and environmental sustainability. book, Yelp and other social media. In addition to one-third of U.S. After all, who doesn’t want to see — households growing at least some and comment on — that exquisite kale of their own food, consumers spent salad we just ordered? $3.5 billion on food gardening in 2013, All that obsession translates into dol- up from $2.5 billion in 2008, and a 40 lars. percent increase in five years, accord- Restaurant sales in the United States ing to the National Gardening Asso- are expected to reach $709.2 billion this ciation’s report, “Garden to Table: year, an increase of nearly $123 billion A 5-Year Look at Food Gardening in since 2010, according to the National America.” Restaurant Association. The restaurant “In ’80s and ’90s, there was such a industry claimed 25 percent of the food push for convenience foods. I think as dollar in 1955; that has risen to 47 per- a society we got away from cooking at cent today. home,” said Ms. Autry. “Now I think it’s People are growing and preparing chef. They know what a chiffonade is biggest influence. Maybe once you got great that we’re getting back to cook- more of their own food. From 2008 or what a quince is. I think that kind of on TV, and the celebrity chef thing was ing. To me, cooking is a life skill, just to 2013, the number of home gardens expanding of the horizons in the culi- happening in the ’80s and ’90s. Now like driving a car.” increased by 4 million to 37 million nary landscape is why ‘Top Chef’ was you have so many young people want- People are gaining those life skills, households, while community gardens started in the first place. It was a way ing to be chefs.” according to Robert Irvine. tripled from 1 million to 3 million, a to get our voices heard by a much When Mr. Max started in the Or at least they’re buying the good- 200 percent increase, according to the wider audience.” ’70s, most chefs in the United ies. National Gardening Association. It cuts across generations. States came from a European “The products that they buy grow Food Network chefs such as Guy “Six-year-olds eat kale sal- tradition, and most stayed in 28 percent per year because we want Fieri, Robert Irvine, Alton Brown, ads now,” said “Top Chef” the kitchen. these gadgets,” said Mr. Irvine, star of Bobby Flay and Giada De Lauren- contestant Lindsay Autry. “Now young people see it “Restaurant: Impossible.” “We become tiis are now household names, “It’s amazing that as a nation as a profession and are striv- a society of instant gratification. So, thanks to the 240 or so shows we’re so aware of what ing to do it. They want yes, we are cooking more and we are the television network airs 24 we eat. I think it’s to get to the front of dining out more.” hours a day. because of the house, maybe And, hopefully, engaging that young- And it is television that has the abun- become the som- er generation. driven much of that obsession. dance of melier,” he said. “People are still living lives where “I think there’s a confluence knowledge All that expo- they don’t have time to cook. Just of a lot of things happening because of sure translates because they talk about it doesn’t mean at the same time. There’s technology.” into knowledge they have time to make it at home, or more interest in food. It sort “The Food for diners. can afford the fresh, high-quality ingre- of becomes a cycle,” said Gail Network has “Consumers dients,” Ms. Simmons said. “I have to Simmons, a judge on Bravo’s been a huge seek out not only think that the more you teach young “Top Chef.” “I think that ‘Top part of it,” said where the food is children about food and fresh ingredi- Chef’ has been a huge influence restaurateur Dennis from but how it’s ents, the more development in it, the in that way. I can’t tell you the Max, who has opened prepped,” said Hud- more they’ll talk about it with their number of times someone has more than 40 restau- son Riehle, a senior family, and I think it will be a huge said their rants in Florida over vice president at influence in the next generation. Oth- the past four decades. child wants Giada De Laurentiis “Restaurant: Impossible” erwise, I think we’re headed in a very to become a hosts “Giada at Home.” “That’s had the single star Robert Irvine. dark direction.” ■ A8 NEWS WEEK OF APRIL 15-21, 2015 www.FloridaWeekly.com FLORIDA WEEKLY COURTESY PHOTO / DAVID MOIR Katsuji Tanabe, Gail Simmons and Richard Blais during an episode from season 12 of Bravo’s “Top Chef” competition. A new generation of culinary stars Foodies of a certain age will remem- Lindsay Autry, now based in West Palm ber Julia Child and “The French Chef.” Beach. “I knew people watched ‘Top But the cheery Mrs. Child, who was Chef,’ but I didn’t expect to get the a household name, recognition of people in an airport or died 11 years ago. at Target buying a bottle of ketchup. I So who has filled feel like I can’t leave the house in sweat- that void? pants anymore. I have to make myself Alton Brown hit presentable.” the road last year After all, she is a star — at least in with his “Edible certain circles. Inevitable Tour,” “I think that chefs are part of pop which rolled through culture and I don’t think that’s going Florida in February. away. ‘Top Chef’ is filming their 13th CHILD Robert Irvine also is season right now and that sort of says doing a stage show, a lot. Even major networks have some with cooking demonstrations and VIP food truck or master chef program,” Ms. tastings. Autry said. Perhaps, thanks to TV, they’re the It makes for a much more food-savvy new rock stars.