WINTER 2015
Rediscover Blanquette de Veau
make the swap with ingredient substitutions
discover the science of cooking as an R&D chef
get inspired by the cuisine of Bulgaria sizzle The American Culinary Federation features Quarterly for Students of Cooking NEXT Publisher 18 Ingredient Substitutions ISSUE American Culinary Federation, Inc. With food allergies becoming more common, • reducing food waste
Editor-in-Chief finding substitutions for everyday ingredients can • Hawaiian cuisine Jessica Ward be a challenge for chefs. Here’s where to start. • social-good chef
Senior Editor Kay Orde 24 Hybrid Desserts Combining two desserts into one takes pastry Graphic Designer know-how. David Ristau
Contributing Editors 30 Research and Rob Benes Suzanne Hall Development Chef Ethel Hammer Chefs with an interest in science can Amelia Levin find a rewarding career in R&D. 18 24 30 Direct all editorial, advertising and subscription inquiries to: American Culinary Federation, Inc. 180 Center Place Way St. Augustine, FL 32095 departments (800) 624-9458 [email protected] 4 President’s Message Subscribe to Sizzle: ACF president Thomas Macrina, CEC, CCA, AAC, talks about different careers www.acfchefs.org/sizzle available for chefs. For information about ACF certification and membership, 6 Amuse-Bouche go to www.acfchefs.org. Student news, opportunities and more.
10 Slice of Life Gain insight into a day of a three-month stagier at The French Laundry. facebook.com/ACFChefs @acfchefs 12 Classical V. Modern Discover how to make blanquette de veau two ways. Sizzle: The American Culinary Federation Quarterly for Students of Cooking (ISSN 1548-1441), Winter Volume 12, Number 4, is owned by the American 36 By Degrees Culinary Federation, Inc., 180 Center Place Way, St. Augustine, FL 32095. Send email address changes Learn how to perfectly prepare broccoli raab. to Sizzle at [email protected]. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written permission 38 International Flavors of the publisher is forbidden. All views and opinions expressed in Sizzle are those of the authors and do Uncover the flavors of Bulgarian cuisine. not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the officers, employees, contractors or members of the American Culinary Federation. 42 The Interview Pasadena, California, chef Claud Beltran shares his experiences transitioning from an engineer to a chef. 46 The Quiz Read this issue? Now test your knowledge. 47 Industry Profile The Flavor Bible authors, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, Cover: The share their life experience and career advice with us. classical version of blanquette de veau from page 12.
2 Sizzle WINTER 15 Here’s to you for loving what you do.
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Young Chef Moves & Oyster, Rick Tramonto, Tramonto SUNY Delhi students shine in Cuisine, and Lee Wolen, Boka, judged competition the final dishes. Mark Garcia, a student at SUNY Delhi, Le Cordon Bleu students place Delhi, New York, and commis Kathryn in Discover Duck contest Eurich, also a student at SUNY Delhi Students Juliana Rezende from Le and ACF’s 2015 Student Chef of the Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts Year, won first place at the Chicago in Los Angeles, Pasadena, California, ment’or BKB Foundation Young Chef and Joyce Mac from Le Cordon Bleu Competition held at Boka. Garcia’s College of Culinary Arts in Chicago, first-place prize was $10,000 and an each received a prize of $500 and a opportunity to stage at a restaurant of knife set as finalists in Maple Leaf his choice. Farms’ annual Discover Duck Recipe The competing chefs were scored on Contest. Rezende placed in the excellence in overall taste, presentation competition with her Maple Leaf Farms and kitchen organization. Competitors Sushi with Duck Chicharrones, citrus had 2 hours, 35 minutes, to cook and 3 gastrique and Asian caviar. Mac placed minutes to plate their dishes. with her Duck Bacon Delight recipe.
Garcia’s winning dish was Mexican This year’s competition theme was inspired wagyu beef: seared rib-eye “duck refined.” Participants were asked steak, braised short rib tostada, black to create a dish that featured duck in bean puree, petite mushroom tamale, a nontraditional way. Recipes were glazed vegetables, avocado-dill crema judged on flavor, creativity, accuracy with mushroom bordelaise. and method. Michigan Student Chef of the above: Mark Garcia Chicago chefs Gerard Craft, Niche, Year honored (left) and Kathryn Graham Elliot, Graham Elliot Bistro, Eurich (right). Richard Rosendale, Rosendale Calie Nelson, of Otisville, Michigan, left: Calie Nelson Collective, Giuseppe Tentori, GT Fish a student at The Culinary Institute
6 Sizzle WINTER 15 of Michigan at Baker College Cook time: 35 minutes (CIM), Port Huron, Michigan, won Prep time: 20 minutes. ACF Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Yield: 6 servings Association’s 2015 Student Chef of the Year Championship. Ingredients: 1 medium avocado, ripe Nelson earned the title by competing 1 ½ medium bananas, very ripe (important) against eight students from other ¼ cup + 2 T. honey college culinary programs in 1T. maple syrup Southeastern Michigan, Aug. 11. Each 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted competitor had 60 minutes to prepare 1 t. vanilla extract two portions of a signature chicken dish 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk and 10 minutes for plating. + 1 T. white vinegar Dry Ingredients “We’re very proud of Calie and how ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder hard she worked to defend the title ½ cup oat flour (ground from gluten- and bring it back to Baker College,” free oats) said Thomas Recinella, CEC, AAC, ½ cup gluten-free bread flour program director at CIM and executive (Anson Mills) chef, COURSES Restaurant at CIM 2 T. coconut flour (Anson Mills) Port Huron. “She cooked at a level far ¼ t. sea salt beyond her age and performed like a 2 t. baking powder true professional.” 2 t. baking soda
Nelson’s winning dish, “A Summer Trio Icing of Chicken,” featured three variations 1 medium avocado, ripe of chicken. Competitors were judged 1⁄3 cup water (add more if needed) on technique, sanitation, organization, 3 T. light agave nectar timing and utilization of food, and the 2 T. cocoa flavor of the food. Garnish Health 30 raspberries Healthy chocolate cake Method: The feature article in this issue ofSizzle Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch is on healthy ingredient swaps that round cake pan with nonstick Teflon; chefs and cooks can make to create set aside. Mash avocado and bananas delicious, healthy dishes for people in medium mixing bowl. Add honey, with food allergies or health problems. maple syrup, melted coconut oil Try this healthy gluten-free chocolate and vanilla extract. Mix until well- cake recipe that uses natural sweeteners. incorporated. Mix almond milk and Then, learn more about healthy, white vinegar; add to avocado/banana allergy-free cooking in “Ingredient mixture. Sift dry ingredients together. Substitutions” on page 18. Combine liquid ingredient mixture with dry mixture; whisk vigorously. Gluten-free chocolate cake Pour in pan. Bake 35 minutes or until By Rich Rosendale, CMC, co-star, toothpick comes out dry; rest 1 hour. “Recipe Rehab” on CBS. (continued on page 8)
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 7 AMUSE-BOUCHE news & opportunities
Place plate on top of cake pan, gently The university has collaborated with flip over to release cake. Repeat with medical schools across the U.S., including second plate so cake is right-side up. Tulane University School of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown For icing University and the University of Colorado Place ingredients in blender; puree. School of Medicine, in an effort to Add water until desired texture bridge the gap between food, nutrition achieved. Spread icing on cake. and medicine. To learn more and view Garnish with raspberries. resources, visit www.jwu.edu/eathealthy. JWU launches health initiative Johnson & Wales University (JWU), Read This Providence, Rhode Island, has unveiled ACF’s blog is unveiled Changing The Way The World Eats, a The American Culinary Federation has public awareness initiative to educate launched its blog for chefs, students consumers on healthy eating. Led by and foodservice professionals. We Are Jonathan Poyourow, assistant professor Chefs publishes in-depth features on at JWU Providence’s culinary nutrition food and culinary workplace topics, department, JWU faculty experts innovative chefs in all segments of will provide healthy eating education the foodservice industry and food through a new website that features a influencers, as well as reports on blog, tips and recipes. culinary news and opportunities, ACF member accomplishments and more. In addition, Poyourow will host a TV To view, read, comment and follow, segment on NBC10’s “Cooking with visit www.wearechefs.com. Class” that airs in Southern New England.
8 Sizzle WINTER 15 Food and travel on a budget Enjoy traveling for food, but have limited funds? The Daily Meal recently released its “Top 10 Food Cities for Your Wallet” for the cost-conscience. Cities considered are off the beaten path, but have a lot to offer food-wise. Criteria used to determine these cities were number of restaurants, range of cuisines and median cost of a three- course meal for two.
Top 10 cities: 10. Providence, Rhode Island 9. Madison, Wisconsin 8. New Orleans 7. Jersey City, New Jersey 6. Austin, Texas 5. Oakland, California Students awarded: 4. Denver Kara Cattion, University of 3. Orlando, Florida Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess 2. Salt Lake City Anne, Maryland. 1. Huntington Beach, California Catherine Lopez, The Art Institute To view suggested restaurants in these of San Antonio. areas and exact price points for a meal, Arti Louisiana, Colorado Mesa visit The Daily Meal. University, Grand Junction, Colorado. Congrats Sarah Mayer, Guilford Technical ACFEF scholarships awarded Community College, Jamestown, The American Culinary Federation North Carolina. Education Foundation (ACFEF) and Dustin Wesley, Louisiana Culinary the American Academy of Chefs Institute, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. in collaboration with Chaîne des Rôtisseurs awarded Correction five postsecondary In the fall issue, Sizzle scholarships of $1,000 to incorrectly reported 2015 be used toward expenses Student Chef of the Year such as tuition, books and winner Kathryn Eurich’s class fees. ACFEF awards medal level and work postsecondary scholarships location. Eurich received in spring and fall. Applications a gold medal in the national are available at www.acfchefs.org/ 2015 ACF Student Chef of the Year scholarships. competition and was a line cook at above: Huntington Laconia Inn, Warwick, New York. Beach, California
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 9 SLICE OF LIFE lyn wells slice of life
Lyn Wells
age 25 education Associate degree in Culinary Arts, 2011, and bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, 2014, from Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah. why I chose to compete in ment’or BKB I felt that the ment’or BKB Young Chefs Competition series could open doors for me that I never thought possible. I received first place in the 2014 LosAngeles Young Chef Competition and received a three-month stage at a restaurant of my choice. work I am currently completing a three-month stage at The French Laundry, Yountville, California. I rotate through three teams: commis, a.m. service and p.m. service. most interesting lesson learned during my externship My biggest take-away has been to have a sense of urgency, work efficiently and be organized. career plans I want to continue to learn every day. For the next couple of years, I want to work for chefs who are great mentors.
10 Sizzle WINTER 15 5:50 a.m. I walk out of the Bordeaux House in Yountville, where I stay, and across the gravel to the dry storage area where I select my chef jacket for the day. I roll up my sleeves, walk through the kitchen and tell everyone good morning.
6:00 a.m. I put on my blue apron and two side towels and begin to set up the to work on my pistachio farce and kitchen, which has to be finished by egg yolk gnocchi. 6:15 a.m. every day. Setup includes: weighing out tapioca pearls, oven 7:30 a.m. on, trash bins, filling salt and pepper, Egg terrine is finished. I mix the hanging the flag and making menu pistachio farce and place it the garde copies to hang on the wall. manger fridge.
6:15 a.m. 8:30 a.m. We have a group meeting to go I work on dough for the gnocchi until 1:30 p.m. over our projects for the day and produce arrives. I start to cut the mirepoix for the assign staff meal tasks. My morning stocks that are going to be put up projects include: egg terrine, egg yolk 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. gnocchi, juices—butternut and red The deliveries for the day start to pepper—pistachio date farce and arrive: produce, dry goods and farm 2:30p.m. cutting mirepoix for veal and chicken products. I have to organize, label I start work on final projects, one stocks. The goal is to have as and date everything and deliver each of which is torching peppers that many of these items done item to the station that ordered it. are then cleaned and preserved in as possible before the pickling liquid. produce arrives. 11:30 a.m. My first move of 4:30 p.m. the day it to pull I work on the staff meal. Today I am in off and strain charge of the salad. I use vegetables I do an inventory check. I pull the bouillons from The French Laundry’s farm everything out of its box and write that are on the such as tomatoes, cucumbers and down how much inventory there is stove. radishes. I chop romaine lettuce and and consolidate. make a simple vinaigrette. 6:45 a.m. 5:30 p.m. 11:55 a.m. I start to work I start the cleanup process in the on my egg Staff meal is put up. I make a plate, back kitchen. Scrub out all the terrine. I put a eat quickly and go back to work. fridges, tables and sinks, wash the label on the oven walls, sweep and mop the floor and and measure out 12:15 p.m. lay the rugs down. my mise en place. I move everything to the back kitchen. While I wait for the I portion out the gnocchi and kit them 7:00 p.m. terrine to cook, I start up for the meat station. I shake out and head home for the night.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 11 CLASSICAL V. MODERN blanquette de veau classical v. modern
hite sauce, white meat and methods and presentation. “Look at the white vegetables make up classic plate and determine what the W blanquette de veau. The dish, important points are,” Crull says. “For veal in cream sauce, is a perennial favorite example, you don’t want to use a really of the French and was a popular dish of heavy sauce in a dish that requires a light the bourgeois—France’s middle class sauce and vice versa.” Cooking methods that came to power in the late 1700s. It is should resemble the traditional version, a mix of haute and peasant cuisines. as well, he says.
The stark white dish is achieved by Mastering the dish means that students cooking everything in broth to ensure will master skills they can use in several that the meat and vegetables do not applications: hot food, cold food, brown. Each component is cooked appetizers and entrees. “The techniques separately and then brought together used to create this dish are versatile,” at the end to create a rich stew. It is Crull says. traditionally served with rice, and sometimes, potatoes. A blanquette This was the first time that Natalie recipe in Escoffier’sLe Guide Culinaire Heinrich, first-year apprentice at the suggests serving it with noodles, and University Club of Missouri, had made another recipe calls for celery and the dish, and she struggled to get the endive. Recipes have included carrots, sauce and plating correct. “I had to make but some disagree as this adds color to this dish twice,” she says. But in the the traditionally white dish. process, she learned how to fix a broken sauce, how to best plate a dish such as When modern chefs recreate the dish, this and that practice makes perfect. they stay close to traditional methods and ingredients. Reed Crull, dining “I think classical versions of dishes are room sous chef, University Club of important for students to master,” she Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, began says. “I learned a lot cooking this dish, top: Reed Crull working on the modern dish by and the techniques will help young bottom: Natalie Heinrich considering what was in season, cooking cooks be successful in this industry.”
12 Sizzle WINTER 15 classical modern BLANQUETTE DE VEAU BLANQUETTE DE VEAU 1. A creamy velouté sauce with mushrooms coats the 1. Honshimeji mushrooms fill the extra space around veal and white onions, which are cooked in broth to the plate. 2. Celery root puree references an Escoffier prevent the meat and vegetables from browning. blanquette de veau recipe. 3. Puff pastry provides 2. A fleuron garnish is ideal for this dish and ties it a division between the celery root puree and the to the modern version. 3. Blanquette de veau is crepinettes. 4. Veal and sweetbreads crepinettes, glazed traditionally served over rice, though some recipes use in sauce, are the updated version of the veal stew meat potatoes or noodles. typically used in this dish. 5. White pearl onions are carried over from the classical recipe and and continue to contribute to the classic white look. 6. The pièce de résistance of the dish is the orange baby carrots. Included in certain recipes, some refused to use carrots because it brought color to the traditionally white dish.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 13 CLASSICAL V. MODERN blanquette de veau classical Natalie Heinrich didn’t spend Since she was young, she When students make skill for culinary students to her childhood attending a has enjoyed creating things blanquette de veau, Heinrich possess. “Students can use traditional school system. that people love when advises that it is important to this technique when making She was homeschooled until cooking with her mother remember to let the roux and Bavarian cream, which her senior year, when she and grandmother. Her stock cook long enough. “My requires tempering the eggs attended Hickman High first experience with world first sauce broke, because I the same way,” Heinrich says. School, Columbia. She cuisines in her high school didn’t give the gluten enough She was pleasantly surprised took a culinary arts class cooking class solidified her time to expand,” she says. by the creaminess of the dish. love of the industry. “The dish through the career center “And add the cream and egg If she was serving it at her that we chose was posole, a and discovered she wanted to yolk enrichment at the very own restaurant, Heinrich says Mexican soup with pork and make it a career. end, otherwise, it will curdle.” she wouldn’t change a thing. hominy. It was fun, and it “It is a simple, classic dish Cooking has always been opened my mind to leadership Mastering the cream and egg that people will enjoy.” a part of Heinrich’s life. and trust of my partner.” yolk enrichment is a versatile
Blanquette de veau Yield: 6 servings Veal bowl. Rinse pot. Return meat, Method: Flour Ingredients: removing any bones. 1. In saucepan, melt butter. Add Egg wash (1 egg yolk, 1 T. water) flour; stir over low heat 2 minutes, 3 lbs. veal stew meat, cut in 2-inch Method: Onions until foams together. cubes 1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Roll pastry Ingredients: 2. Remove from heat; add veal Cold water out thin. 18-24 white pearl onions stock, beating vigorously with 5-6 cups cold white veal stock 2. Cut out disc with pastry cutter; ½ cup veal stock wire whip. Return sauce to heat; 1 large onion studded with 1 clove with pastry cutter, cut away one ¼ t. salt bring to a boil, stirring constantly. 1 large carrot, peeled, quartered side to form crescent shape. 1 T. butter Simmer for 10 minutes, frequently Herb bouquet, in cheesecloth: 3. Grease sheet pan. Place skim film. Fold in mushroom 8 parsley stems (reserve leaves for Method: crescents on pan; brush with caps; simmer for additional 10 garnish) 1. While blanquette is simmering, egg wash. Using tip of knife, minutes, skimming. ½ bay leaf pierce cross in root ends of score crisscross pattern on each. 3. Add salt, pepper and lemon ½ t. thyme onions. Simmer for 30-40 minutes Bake for 20 minutes or until juice, to taste. 2 medium celery stalks in small covered saucepan with golden. Reserve warm for service. Salt, to taste veal stock, salt and butter. 4. Pour sauce and mushrooms 2. Arrange cooked onions over over veal. Film top of sauce with To plate: Method: veal in pot. 2 T. cream or stock to prevent 1. In shallow bowl, fill halfway from 1. Place veal in large pot; cover in skin forming. rim with veal and sauce. cold water by 2 inches. Simmer Sauce velouté with 2. Place metal cylinder in middle for 2 minutes. Drain veal; wash mushrooms Cream and egg yolk enrichment of plate; fill with rice or potatoes. with cold water to remove Ingredients: 3. Garnish with chopped parsley Method: scum. Wash out pot. Return 4 T. butter and fleuron. veal to pot. 5 T. flour 1. In bowl, blend egg yolks and 2. Add stock, covering veal 3¼ cups veal stock cream with wire whip. about ½ inch. Bring slowly to a 18-24 mushroom caps, sliced 2. Beat in, by spoonfuls, 1 cup hot simmer; skim, as necessary, for Salt velouté sauce. several minutes. White pepper 3. Pour mixture into pot with veal; 3. Add onion, carrot and herb 2 T. lemon juice tilt pot to blend rest of sauce bouquet; taste, salt lightly, if 2 T. cream or stock with egg yolk mixture. Simmer necessary. Cover partially; Cream and egg yolk enrichment: until thick. simmer for 1¼-1½ hours or until 3 egg yolks veal is tender when pierced Fleuron ½ cup whipping cream Ingredients: with fork. 6 oz. frozen puff pastry, thawed 4. Pour out into colander set over
14 Sizzle WINTER 15
CLASSICAL V. MODERN blanquette de veau modern Nine years ago, Reed Crull started as to different stations, learning the training him took the time to teach handling, to not tear it. The fat should a dishwasher at the University Club competencies for each position. Crull how to braise properly, finish be laid out on parchment paper to dry the sauce and adjust the seasoning. after soaking and the thick parts cut off. of Missouri. It was just a job, he says, “The apprenticeship was great,” says but then, he got hooked. “I liked the Crull. “It was more than going to For the modern version, instead Incorporating sweetbreads shows idea of cooking.” He enjoyed the class, reading and making a recipe of a heavy sauce, he used a classic skill and adds value to the plate, Crull passion and sense of urgency that is one time.” School gave him the technique, glaçage, for saucing says. Sweetbreads should be soaked required to work in a kitchen. foundation—the program partners the meat. Crull created a rich and in salt water for about an hour before After several months of washing with Johnson County Community flavorful sauce, and then gently using, then, poached and peeled. “A dishes, he started doing banquet College, Overland Park, Kansas, for coated the meat to keep the sauce good sauce is required when bringing prep: peeling vegetables, deveining the required classroom instruction— from overpowering the components. sweetbreads to the plate,” he adds. “The sauce should be sweet or sour shrimp and making dressings. He but he was able to build on the He included harder-to-work-with and salty to work with the protein’s kept moving up, from banquet fundamentals in the apprenticeship. ingredients in this dish, such as slightly iron taste.” vegetable station to bread “I like to think of our kitchen as a sweetbreads and caulfat, or “lace” baking, and then enrolled in an learning kitchen,” he says. “A cook is fat, which require extra work. Before Crull’s career goal is to work toward apprenticeship program run by able to learn from just about anybody.” using both ingredients, it is important an executive chef position. He has Daniel Pliska, CEC, AAC, the club’s Blanquette de veau was one of the to soak them. “Soak the caulfat until considered owning a restaurant, but executive chef/assistant general first dishes he learned a year into his it is white to remove the blood,” he doesn’t believe he will be able to enjoy manager. Soon, Crull was moving apprenticeship. The chef who was says. Further advice is to take care in his family if that were the case.
Modern blanquette de veau Yield: 2 servings Veal and sweetbreads juice, mirepoix, bay leaf, Method: Method: crepinettes peppercorns, thyme, parsley 1. Large dice celery root. 1. Fill small saute pan with 8 oz. and salt. Poach sweetbreads Ingredients: 2. In small saucepot, add veal stock; bring to 170°F. in court-bouillon, remove, peel; milk, water and celery root. 2. Poach veal crepinettes 5 1 t. fresh thyme medium dice. Reserve court- Cover with parchment paper minutes. Remove caulfat. 1 t. fresh parsley bouillon for plating. cartouche; cook until tender. Reserve veal crepinettes in small 1 shallot, julienned 5. Chill poached sweetbreads. 3. Strain cooking liquid; discard. amount of hot poaching liquid. 8 oz. white wine, divided Reserve 2 oz. for garnish; mix 2 oz. Puree celery root and cream 3. Reduce 4 oz. veal stock by half. 6 oz. veal sirloin with forcemeat. Form six 1 x 1-inch in blender until smooth. Add With butter and flour, make 2 2 oz. pork fat crepinettes; partially freeze. salt and white pepper, to taste. T. roux. Mix in reduced veal Salt and white pepper, to taste 6. Wrap in caulfat and trim. Hold warm. stock; simmer. 1 qt. water 4. Make liaison with cream and 1 oz. lemon juice Mixed vegetables Puff pastry egg yolk; add to reduced stock. 6 oz. mirepoix, medium dice Ingredients: Ingredients: Add creme fraiche to sauce until 1 bay leaf 6 small bunches honshimeji 2 5 x 2-inch sheets puff pastry desired consistency. Season, to 2 peppercorns mushrooms Egg wash (1 egg yolk, 1 T. water) taste. Garnish with parsley. 1 sprig thyme 4 whole baby carrots 1 sprig parsley 6 whole pearl onions Method: To plate: Salt 4 oz. water 1. Brush puff pastry with egg wash; 1. Spread celery root puree on plate. 4 oz. veal sweetbreads, divided 1½ sticks butter press between two half sheet 2. Place puff pastry on puree. 1 caulfat, 6 x 6-inches, soaked in salt trays and Silpats. Bake at 300ºF 3. Set 3 crepinettes on top; sauce. water 1 hour Method: for 15 minutes, or until light 4. Reheat 2 oz. sweetbreads in 1. Blanch vegetables; cool. golden-brown and flaky. Method: court-bouillon. Arrange 4 pieces Reserve. At service, make beurre around plate; sauce. 1. Make marinade with thyme, Sauce fondue with water and butter. 5. Place 3 pearl onions off-center parsley, shallot and 2 oz. white Ingredients: Add vegetables to reheat. at top and sides around center wine. Add sirloin; marinate 12 oz. white veal stock, divided of plate. overnight. Grind. Celery puree 8 oz. butter, melted 6. Add mushrooms to fill 2. Coarsely grind pork fat. Ingredients: 8 oz. flour empty space. 3. Mix ground sirloin and fat 8 oz. celery root 3 oz. cream 7. Lay 2 baby carrots across dish, together for 5 minutes; add salt 16 oz. milk 2 egg yolks off-center. and white pepper. 16 oz. water 2 oz. creme fraiche 4. Make court-bouillon with 4 oz. cream Salt and white pepper, to taste water, 6 oz. white wine, lemon Salt and white pepper, to taste Parsley, finely chopped
16 Sizzle WINTER 15
Ingredient Substitutions
These days, it seems that everyone has special dietary needs. From gluten and lactose allergies to eating more “cleanly,” consumers are demanding that the foodservice world becomes more customizable. // By Amelia Levin
hat started as life-threatening peanut and shellfish allergies has evolved to other worrisome reactions from eating tree nuts, soy and eggs. Then there W are those who either refrain from dairy and gluten out of more serious conditions such as celiac disease or for diet-related reasons to banish bloat, eat more “cleanly” or go the vegan route.
Whether by need or by choice, these days, consumers expect more options when it comes to food offerings outside the home.
Anthony Stewart of Pritikin Longevity Center, Miami, trains his staff to treat all special requests as life-or-death situations, because the truth is, you don’t always know. “It’s not worth the risk,” says Stewart, executive chef of the center, which focuses on health and nutrition for customers suffering from or at risk of developing deadly diseases such as diabetes and heart conditions. “Once a dietary request comes in, we prepare the food separately and make everything from scratch, so we know exactly what is in our food.”
All this has made it more important than ever for chefs and food producers—from grocery stores to fast-casual chains and fine-dining restaurants—to arm themselves with the best information, techniques and tricks to develop delicious meals within the boundaries of dietary needs and requests. Knowing great ingredient substitutions is the first step. Photos of everyday dishes for families from Cooking For Your Gluten-Free Teen: Everyday Foods the Whole Family will Love by Carlyn Berghoff and Sarah Berghoff McClure. Photos courtesy of Carlyn Berghoff. healthy subs meat, fish and vegetables to add flavor without sodium. More consumers these days define a healthier way of life as eating more “Our bodies need some salt and sugar, “cleanly.” This means more fruits, and it will take from the natural sources vegetables, grains and proteins in their and let go of the excess as long as there whole form versus processed foods that is no added refined salt and sugar,” says can contain extra salt, refined sugars Stewart. Some kinds of produce have and chemical-laden additives. more natural salt than others, making them great stand-ins for sodium, he “We’re going back to basics and using says. Celery blended into hummus with more natural ingredients rather than roasted garbanzo beans, lemon and garlic pre-prepped products,” says Lisa makes hummus that is just as delicious Falcone, RD, CEC, CP-FS, operations as one loaded with salt. And citrus fruits support director for Aramark’s West such as lemon, lime, grapefruit and Coast K-12 and healthcare operations. orange add natural salt and brightness to Paying attention to sodium and salads, fish and other dishes. sugar levels remains important for all customers, but primarily for patients Rich Rosendale and Vikki Krinsky, co- with high blood pressure, digestive stars of the popular CBS show “Recipe issues and diabetes, and as preventative Rehab,” follow similar protocols. care for children. In addition to serious health concerns, The good news about cooking from “salt is the cause of a lot of puffiness scratch, Falcone says, is that you have and uncomfortable water retention,” more control over the ingredients or says Krinsky, a private chef for many substitutions you want to make. in the acting community. Besides using citrus, she uses natural amino At Pritikin, Stewart focuses on making acids in place of soy sauce and other things delicious by combining different refined salts. flavors in their most natural form. He easily swaps refined sugars for naturally Fresh vegetables in colorful sweet fruits and vegetables. He adds combinations with fresh herbs and roasted butternut squash to a gluten- exotic spices also add natural flavor to free, nut-crusted pumpkin pie to add dishes, says Rosendale, a certified master sweetness without sugar. Roasted sweet chef who had to “retrain” his palate potatoes and blueberries are mixed in after years of cooking in fine-dining with unsweetened cocoa powder for a restaurants focused on classic salt/ healthier chocolate mousse. butter/cream-heavy French cuisine.
The Jamaican native also adds a touch “You don’t have to use a stick of butter, of apple juice concentrate to a salt-free you can easily swap out different jerk sauce with fresh peppers, herbs ingredients and still maintain the and spices that he uses to marinate tofu, integrity of the traditional dish,” he says.
20 Sizzle WINTER 15 top substitution foods at-a-glance vegan/vegetarian When it comes to cooking meat-free, Chia or ground flax seeds + water = eggs ideas Krinsky looks to umami-rich vegetables Soaked, blended cashews = cream such as mushrooms and cauliflower as Nutritional yeast = ground parmesan More diners are looking to reduce or cut Unsweetened applesauce and coconut great stand-ins for grilled meats and steak. oil = baking butter meat completely from their diets. Others Overripe bananas, dates, prunes, are more selective, opting for grass-fed Stewart cuts down on protein in sweet potatoes or butternut squash = and pastured proteins and wild-caught or meatloaf and burgers by adding equal refined sugar and texture in baking Avocados = healthy binder for mousse sustainably farmed fish. And a growing parts chopped mirepoix vegetables to and brownies group of vegans has excluded dairy and lean ground beef and chicken. Celery, mushrooms or citrus = salt eggs from their diets. Nuts and nut flours = gluten-free baking ingredients allergen add-ins Quinoa or puffed rice cereal = gluten- “We use applesauce, avocados and free breading coconut oil in place of shortening, oil Eggs complicate matters for two types Cornstarch or arrowroot flour + water = roux and butter, which adds natural moisture of individuals: vegans and those with Mashed potatoes = soup thickener and is healthier,” says Rosendale. an allergy to eggs, considered one of the Coconut also adds a natural sheen to Big-8 allergens. Eggs can be especially opposite from top: 1. Anthony Stewart is fudge sauce and chocolate, and it gives concerning at schools. To recreate the same texture, taste and utility, Margie executive chef of Pritikin Longevity Center a “luxurious texture” to soft-scrambled in Miami. Courtesy of Pritikin Longevity eggs over low heat, he adds. Saidel, vice president of nutrition services Center 2. Lisa Falcone, a registered for K-12 at Compass Group North dietician and chef, is operations support Krinsky says that soaked and blended America, Charlotte, North Carolina, uses director for Aramark’s West Coast K-12 cashews make an excellent replacement silken tofu in scrambled dishes. and healthcare operations. left: Rich Rosendale, co-star of CBS' for heavy cream and milk, even cheese However, some students are allergic to soy. "Recipe Rehab" with chef Vikki Krinsky and cream cheese, in both sweet and right: Vikki Krinsky, co-star on "Recipe savory dishes. Krinksy recreates the binding property Rehab." Photos courtesy of Core PR.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 21 of eggs by mixing chia seeds with water scratch doesn’t have to be hard. “You can and letting them sit for several hours to easily take a No. 8 can of tomatoes and thicken. The mixture can be used in place add herbs and spices to make your own of a scrambled egg dish or in puddings and marinara sauce,” says Fouch. mousses, and even in baked items. gluten-free swaps Instead of pesto, some chefs make pistou, a blend of fresh herbs, garlic, acid The degree of seriousness when it comes and oil without pine nuts or walnuts. to gluten allergies ranges from low-carb “Many of our schools use sunflower dieters looking to lighten up their regime seeds to replace nuts and peanuts, which and those with some gluten sensitivities work well,” says Seidel. “We find other to those with celiac disease resulting in flavors and textures to add interest, extreme gastrointestinal problems, rash like crunchy baked tortilla strips and and other harmful reactions that can last roasted sunflower seeds on salads and for weeks and cause long-term damage. homemade granola without nuts.” As such, more chefs are finding they Kyle Fouch, a former chef at Valparaiso need to understand how to make certain University, Valparaiso, Indiana, who gluten substitutions considering the became an allergen consultant after growing concern. One way is to simply discovering his child had severe eliminate processed items such as allergies, takes a backward approach bottled condiments, sauces and dressings when working with allergen-friendly that contain gluten in hidden ways. Even ingredient substitutions. processed meats and cheeses can contain gluten and other allergens. “I look at dishes and recipes and think about what can be removed or Though many restaurants use gluten- substituted to be allergen-free,” says free pizza and other pre-made products, Fouch. He looks at ethnic dishes first, gluten can still sneak into from-scratch because they are packed with flavor but dishes. “Roux is the basis for a lot of offer easy opportunities for swaps. ethnic dishes,” Fouch says.
For his standard egg replacer, Fouch The deadly combination of flour and butter mixes a little water with ground flax seeds for some can be swapped for cornstarch or or sometimes tapioca or potato starch arrowroot and water. Use mashed potatoes to make an absorbent, binding paste. to thicken soups. But watch out for tapioca Toasted chickpeas provide peanut-like in a slurry. It can create a stringy texture flavor to peanut sauces in Asian cooking. similar to the not-so-lovely bodily fluid from our noses, Fouch says. When it comes to researching processed foods, one never really knows if a Carlyn Berghoff, owner of the iconic, product could be problematic because century-old Berghoff Restaurant in Chicago, the risk of cross-contamination at began to make adaptations at home and facilities is high. But cooking from then at the restaurant after her daughter
22 Sizzle WINTER 15 NEXT ISSUE reducing food waste was diagnosed with celiac disease. She even co-authored a cookbook with her daughter Sarah Berghoff McClure, Cooking For Your Gluten-Free Teen: Everyday Foods Your Family Will Love (Andrew McMeel Publishing, 2013) And she has completed the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness GREAT Kitchens/GREAT Schools program, a comprehensive training program for foodservice professionals looking to boost their knowledge of gluten-free cooking and certify their businesses as safe.
Instead of a roux, the basis for a lot of German cooking and gravies, Berghoff uses slurries made with cornstarch However, corn, once considered one of or, in some cases, arrowroot, for her the best gluten-free replacements, could sauerbraten or marinated roast sirloin potentially now be labeled as another with a thickened sweet and sour sauce. allergen as we consume more processed Beurre blancs are also safe, because butter foods made with corn and corn is the only thickener at the end of the byproduct. This knocks that cornstarch cooking process. For breading substitutions, slurry out of the game. Berghoff has used quinoa and puffed rice The best thing chefs and operators cereal to coat schnitzel and fish sticks that can do amidst all the information and are baked instead of pan-fried. confusion is to read up on everything “Make sure there is a resting process they can, train staff and managers before you bake,” says Berghoff, who lets thoroughly, and keep all lines of the protein sit for a few minutes after communication open, says Berghoff. breading to make sure the cereal adheres But most important is to pick your and to prevent a soggy crust. battles when it comes to which allergens Gluten-free baking also requires this and intolerances you’re going to tackle, opposite from top: 1. This cookbook was created as a “resting” process. Just as yeast needs and what you’ll substitute or not resource for parents whose to proof, gluten-free flours and other substitute. And then be clear to your children suffer from celiac ingredients for brownies, cookies and cakes customer about the path you’ve taken. disease. 2. Carlyn Berghoff, also need to sit before baking to “activate.” chef/owner of Berghoff Amelia Levin is an award-winning food Catering & Restaurant Group Nuts, ground or as a flour, make excellent industry writer, certified chef and cookbook in Chicago. author. Her work has appeared in a variety above: Glazed, baked stand-ins for crisps, crusts and other baking of restaurant industry trade magazines as doughnuts from Cooking for essentials. But the potential allergens need well as in the Chicago Tribune, Health and Your Gluten-Free Teen. Photos to be communicated to the guest. Cooking Light magazines. courtesy of Carlyn Berghoff.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 23 Courtesy of Dominique Ansel Bakery Hybrid Desserts Hybrid desserts require experience to master, but can result in flavorful combinations and pleasing textures. by Rob Benes with the best components of each in a unique combination.”
do’s and don’ts Combining two desserts does not give one liberty to throw ingredients together. When done properly, a marriage of two different flavors and textures are achieved that is appealing Bakery and interesting. Ansel “It’s difficult to combine two or more desserts in one, and the appearance is Dominique oftentimes strange and not appealing of
to customers,” says Sebastien Cannone,
Courtesy MOF, co-founder/academic dean for faculty and programs, The French ebuting in 2013, the Cronut® Pastry School, Chicago. takes credit for the current Dtrend to find the next big “If you misapply ingredients and hybrid. The croissant/doughnut techniques when combining two pastry, invented by pastry chef desserts, you’ll end up with a Franken Dominique Ansel and trademarked by dessert,” says Lynch. “Instead of the his bakery in New York, is a laminated dessert being recognizable, bringing out dough fried in grapeseed oil that is the best or complementing each other, then sugared, filled and glazed. Patrons you end up with something that loses start lining up an hour before the its perspective and relevance.” bakery opens, and there is a two- Cronut® limit per customer. simple, but sweet A combo of cake and lollipop, the cake Hybrid desserts can be simple in pop, which debuted in 2006, can be design, for example, the Panini Gelato, a looked on as the grandfather of hybrid panini-pressed Hawaiian roll filled with desserts. Though it has faded from gelato made at Freddo in Miami Beach, menus, it is still popular at wedding Florida. “The combination of warm, showers and birthday parties. sweet bread and cold gelato provides contrasting temperatures,” says Jimena “Hybrid desserts are a buy one, get Duran, owner, “which people find both one,” says Paul Lynch, executive chef, interesting and confusing to eat.” FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar, Bloomington, Minnesota. “Two A slit is made in a roll, gelato is stuffed desserts that have high appeal are paired inside and the roll is flash-pressed. The together to end up with one dessert panini press has a form that fits over
26 Sizzle WINTER 15 School
Pastry
French
The
of
Pastaria Courtesy
of the roll so that it’s not flattened like a sandwich. Instead, it warms the roll and Courtesy seals it to keep in the gelato. additional crisp when deep-fried. She The original recipe calls for peanut pipes gelato into cooled shells, dips butter gelato or soft nougat, which is them in chocolate, garnishes, and puts neutral in flavor and complements the them into a blast chiller until service. bread, but guests can choose any type of gelato, with dulce de leche being She made three unique Gelonis for a most popular. When the roll is plated, recent fundraiser: roasted banana gelato it’s dusted with powdered sugar, cut on dipped in Askinosie dark chocolate and a bias and garnished with peanut butter sprinkled with toasted coconut salt; crunch sauce on one side and forest raspberry gelato dipped in a Japanese berry sauce on the other. matcha with Askinosie white chocolate; and avocado/lychee gelato dipped in Pastaria in St. Louis is an Italian Askinosie milk chocolate sprinkled restaurant that generally features with Kampot pepper (which has a floral traditional Italian desserts. “Not essence with a peppery bite). A serving all desserts need to be homey or was one of each Geloni garnished with previous spread and opposite ® homespun, so there’s room for frozen raspberries pearls. page: The Cronut is a croissant/ doughnut pastry invented by experimentation without going pastry chef Dominique Ansel. overboard,” says Anne Croy, pastry chef. have your cake Photos by Thomas Schauer. Her hybrid dessert is the Geloni, which and pie left: Sebastien Cannone, MOF, is a combination of gelato and a cannoli. co-founder/academic dean Lynch admits he’s a pie guy. His wife for faculty and programs, The Cannoli shells are usually made with is cake lover. So, on a whim, to please French Pastry School, Chicago. right: To make a Geloni, gelato both, he made an apple pie spice cake. all-purpose flour, but Croy uses a blend is piped into a cannoli shell, of wheat, almond and rice flours to It was so good that it made it to his dipped in chocolate and then give the shells a nutty taste and provide restaurant’s menu. stored in a blast chiller.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 27 compote, which makes the dessert approachable,” Lynch says.
a classic revisited People might think of baked Alaska as something their grandparents used to eat: a dessert consisting of ice cream and sponge cake topped with browned meringue. Jeremy Intille, pastry chef, Dinerant The Original Dinerant, Portland,
Original Oregon, modernized it as the Spumaska.
The
of Using housemade airy semifreddo, blush Swiss meringue and Amarena
Courtesy cherries, Intille starts by piping a few large mounds of meringue on a plate He starts by making a traditional 9-inch and spreading the meringue with apple pie using Haralson apples, which the back of a spoon to make unique are an iconic Northern apple preferred patterns of dips and mounds. The for baking and cooking in Minnesota. meringue is then toasted with a torch. The apple holds its texture and has a nice tart/sweet balance that gives it a For the spumoni part of the dish, distinct forward apple flavor. Next, he instead of a sliced ice cream, it’s a dome. makes a classic spice cake batter, similar The semifreddo spumoni has three to carrot cake. A 10-inch cake pan is layers of cherry, pistachio and white filled one-third with cake batter, and the chocolate vanilla in a half-sphere mold baked apple pie is placed on top. More placed in a spot where a meringue dip cake batter covers the pie, and it’s baked is formed. A few cherries are added and in a hot oven. cherry juice drizzled on the meringue. above: Baked Alaska is reinvented as the “All things in the center of cake are the Spumaska, with an hybrid adult airy semifreddo, blush last things to bake, so the crust and Swiss meringue and apples may warm up, but they do not beverages Amarena cherries. cook a second time,” Lynch says. “It’s “You need to keep the interest of guests, opposite from left: almost like the pie gets preserved.” and hybrid adult dessert beverages is 1. Layers of ladyfingers one way to do that,” says Andy Wild, and mascarpone When the cake is sliced, you see it topped with a beer chef/owner, Wild About Food & Drink, surrounding the pie, which holds reduction and Calistoga, California. sabayon make the its own identity. The spice cake and Biramisu. 2. The Belgian tender apples complement each He made a Belgian hot apple cider for hot apple cider tastes other, and the piecrust adds a textural the California Milk Marketing Board like a combination of warm apple cider and component. “It’s like eating an upside- that tastes like a combination of warm a slice of apple pie. down cake or a cake with a fruit apple cider and a slice of apple pie. The
28 Sizzle WINTER 15 NEXT ISSUE Hawaiian cuisine
Board
Marketing
Milk
California Portobello
of of
Courtesy Courtesy dessert has vanilla ice cream, green beer, because if an IPA is used, a bitter Dessert Trends apple lambic beer and Calvados (apple flavor would be achieved from the According to a report by Technomic, brandy). The alcohol ingredients can be reduction, and a light beer would not a food industry research specialist, dessert consumption is growing, with switched to a cherry lambic beer and provide the intense and rich flavor 40% of consumers eating dessert at Kirschwasser (cherry brandy). needed in a tiramisu flavor profile,” least twice a week, an increase from explains Lopez. 36% in 2010. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream are put The 4% increase is due to: in a glass, a flaming shot of Calvados Sabayon, a French version of a foamy Consumer moods. Seventy-eight is poured over and beer is added to Italian custard, is made by whisking eggs percent of consumers say they’re and sugar over gently boiling water until more likely to eat dessert when extinguish the flame. A foaming cascade they want to treat or reward forms on top, which mimics the head on the eggs thicken but do not scramble. themselves. Sixty percent say a beer. “Just because you’re being taught To assemble, a pint glass is layered they order dessert because they with ladyfingers that have been cut in feel happy. to cook a recipe one way does not mean What others do. Many consumers it’s the only way to cook it,” says Wild. circles and soaked in the beer reduction. will only order dessert if someone Mascarpone is spooned on top, followed shares it with them. Forty-four “There are 10,000 chefs making the percent of desserts at full-service by another ladyfinger, more mascarpone same recipe 10,000 different ways.” restaurants are shared. and a final ladyfinger layer. The beer Available “healthy” options. Thirty- Cristobal Lopez, executive chef, reduction is poured on top and slowly six percent of consumers say they are more likely to order dessert if Portobello, Downtown Disney, seeps down, with a scoop of sabayon a mini portion is available. Orlando, Florida, combines beer and placed on top to make it look like a tiramisu for the Biramisu. freshly poured glass of beer.
A beer reduction is made by combining Rob Benes, a Chicago-based hospitality sugar with porter beer and reducing industry writer, reports on recipe development, beverage programs, business 48 ounces of the beer by half. “It’s trends, equipment and chefs for trade, important to use a darker and flavorful educational and consumer publications.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 29 Science Explains It All
A chef with an inquisitive mind and an interest in science can uncover a rewarding career in research and development.
By Suzanne Hall
work for food boards, supermarket chains, restaurants and manufacturers developing new products, recipes and menus. These jobs require an understanding of food trends, food production techniques, food science and consumer lifestyles. It’s a good job for the right person. R&D chefs get paid vacation time, retirement and insurance benefits. When not traveling, they typically work a 40- to 50-hour week with holidays and weekends off. The pay is more Miniat
Ed
than competitive with the rest of the of foodservice industry. “Manufacturers and restaurant chains have deeper Courtesy pockets than independent restaurants,” f you like science, enjoy a challenge, says John Draz, CEC, CCE, CRC, can work closely with others and executive research chef for Ed Miniat, I have an interest in sales, a career Inc., a South Holland, Illinois, supplier in research and development (R&D) of custom protein. might be for you. “It’s a great ride,” “Totally green employees might start says Michael Holleman. As director of out around $35,000 a year. Those with culinary development for InHarvest, a lot of good experience could expect Inc., a Bemidji, Minnesota-based around $85,000,” says Jennifer Holwill, company, Holleman oversees R&D for director, research and development, the producer and supplier of specialty Cinnabon®, Atlanta. grains, beans, legumes and blends for foodservice. He supervises a team of In addition to that “good experience,” potential R&D chefs need strong Miniat
three chefs, works on new products Ed culinary skills, an interest in, or, better of
and creates recipes. He also interacts with manufacturers, suppliers and chefs yet, a degree in food science, and the ability to interact with a wide variety of Courtesy around the world as both the head of people. They have inquiring minds and research and spokesman for InHarvest. love the challenge of getting food from His responsibilities epitomize the variety concept to table and creating products in a research and development job. and menu items for others to cook. And because they often work with food what’s it all about? scientists, sales staff and marketing R&D chefs such as Holleman are specialists, they need to be team players. culinary professionals who work While research might sound like a on ideation, development, costing solitary endeavor, food research often is and testing of new products. They a group project. It includes interaction
32 Sizzle WINTER 15 with colleagues in various disciplines and in companies other than their own.
Being part of a team is one of the things Holleman likes about his job, which he began laying the groundwork for when he joined InHarvest 20 years ago. Although he started cooking at 16 and cooked his way through college, he went to work at InHarvest as a graphic designer, setting up websites and doing other computer-related projects. Part of his job included picking up the slack in Cinnabon
the culinary department. That time in of the kitchen gradually increased to full time and his current position. Courtesy Variety is a staple of Holleman’s work life Paul Rockwell, CEC, CFS, also enjoys and another thing he values about his the variety that comes with his job as job. He might be at the bench working executive R&D chef for Diversified on a new recipe one day and the next Foods & Seasonings, Inc., Madisonville, day, flying off to Istanbul for a nine- Louisiana. He says that a good deal of course tasting with chefs and the media. his job is spent working at his bench The bulk of his travel is not that exotic, developing and perfecting products but it does take him around the country. and recipes for the soups, sauces, sides, He considers that a plus of his job. entrees and dried blends Diversified Cinnabon
manufactures. The products he develops of Draz is another chef who doesn’t mind the 20 percent of time he spends for the foodservice industry are sold traveling. He’s part of a 10-member worldwide. His job is to ensure they are Courtesy exactly what customers want. “We start team at Miniat that develops cooked previous spread: Making the with an idea, develop a prototype and protein for the frozen food industry and Cinnabon Classic Roll® includes national chain restaurants. Draz, who then tweak it to get the flavor, color and Makara cinnamon, fresh-baked dough texture just right,” he says. and the signature rich cream cheese has owned his own restaurant and taught frosting. Photo courtesy of Cinnabon.® culinary school, has responsibilities in That’s one part of Rockwell’s job. opposite from top: 1. Angus two areas: new products and ingredients Another is research for product steakhouse skillet concept delevoped or formulas. This includes introducing development and future trends. He’s for a client by John Draz. 2. John Draz, executive research chef for Ed Miniat, Miniat’s products to culinary teams. A always looking for “the next big thing” is working on a development project. full-time chef and a part-time student in food. Working with the sales force Photos by Elizabeth Sartain. report to Draz. They all perform a variety and traveling to make presentations top: The Caramel Pecanbon® is ® of duties that range from working on for chefs and customers consumes the classic Cinnabon topped with caramel and pecans. formulas to interacting with customers. about 20 percent of his time. It’s an bottom: Jennifer Holwill is There is no typical day. That’s what keeps important part of what he does because director of research and the job interesting for him. “chefs like to talk to chefs,” he says. The development for Cinnabon.®
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 33 experience creating documents and manuals and being responsible for culinary operations at Ted’s Montana Grill, a Columbus, Ohio-based restaurant chain, helped prepare her for the corporate world at Focus Brands, Cinnabon’s parent company. She’s part of a team of two that “works our buns off” developing products and line extensions for Cinnabon’s domestic and international customers. She also develops products for the international Rockwell segment of Seattle’s Best Coffee, Paul
of
another Focus brand.
“In my job you need to wear many Courtesy hats,” she says. “You need to be able to earn a Culinology® degree limited travel is a plus, but he admits he see the final product and know how to Thirteen colleges and universities wouldn’t want to travel more. commercialize the item. You also need throughout the U.S. and one in Malaysia offer Research Chefs Association (RCA)- to speak the customer’s language and It was a winding road that led Rockwell approved undergraduate degree programs in know how to work with them.” Culinology. In addition, one U.S. high school, to Diversified Foods & Seasonings. Bergen County Technical High School, He worked in restaurants for 12 years The R&D job market is limited for Teterboro, New Jersey, offers a Culinology program in conjunction with Rutgers and knew that food was his career. He newcomers, Holwill believes. She University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. was looking, though, for other options suggests that would-be applicants besides restaurants. He looked into Find a complete list of Culinology schools here. volunteer to shadow an R&D chef R&D and decided to go back to school to gain experience and networking for a food science degree. While there, opportunities. Once in a position, there he had the opportunity to fill in for are numerous chances to move between an R&D chef on maternity leave, at companies and move up. Wayne Farms, Oakwood, Georgia- based poultry producer. During those above: Paul Rockwell get a foot in the door is executive R&D chef three months, he networked as much for Diversified Food & as possible and began moving up in the Getting into R&D “is the best career Seasonings, Inc. field. Moving up is still possible for him. move I’ve ever made,” Draz says. “Our opposite from top: 1. profession is collaborative and used The 2015 RCA Student There are director and vice president Culinology Competition positions at Diversified, or he could to working with other chefs. That’s featured six student teams. move into another department. rewarding and exciting,” 2. RCA Student Culinology Competition teams formulate Although she has a culinary degree Those chefs are willing to reach out their gold-standard recipes and worked in fine- and casual-dining, to students looking to enter the on-site, serving them side by profession. They do that individually side with the commercialized Holwill wanted something different product. Photos courtesy of from the long hours involved with a and through the Research Chefs Research Chefs of America. career in restaurants. She believes her Association (RCA). Members of the
34 Sizzle WINTER 15 NEXT ISSUE RCA social-good chef activities for students Participating in Research Chefs Association (RCA) activities and events for students is a good way to get a clear idea of what the research and development field is like, as well as to network and find a potential mentor.
Among the activities is an annual competition. To participate, students must earn a spot on one of the teams by completing an online application. Students must develop a plan to produce organization provide mentoring and a product made on a budget of other assistance to culinary students. $500,000. Sixteen participants are selected for the competition. Suzanne Bohle is executive director The RCA welcomes students as of the 2,200 member Atlanta-based members. The annual student organization. She says the goals of membership fee is $30, and the professional group include being recent graduates are free. For more information, visit www. the future of food, and supporting culinology.org/membership. manufacturers’ and consumers’ needs for new products that acknowledge trends and contribute to the growth of the field. “Our members touch all the pieces of the food chain,” she says. see the many ways products will be Bohle’s advice to students looking seen and used.” for a career in R&D includes getting a degree in Culinology®, a phrase the Rockwell recommends that students organization coined to define the consider a food science degree, blending of culinary arts and science, or at least learn as much about seeking internships at manufacturing food processing and food science companies, networking with RCA chefs as possible. Finally, he suggests and getting involved in RCA activities approaching someone in R&D to be for students. a mentor. “People in this industry are receptive and will help new people To those suggestions, Holleman out,” he says. adds the need for a broad culinary background. “Chefs whose only Suzanne Hall has been writing about chefs, restaurants, food and wine from her experience is in independent home in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, for more restaurants are not a good fit,” he says. than 25 years. Holwill agrees. “Students need to experience a little bit of everything to
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 35 BY DEGREES broccoli raab by degrees
Broccoli raab Recipe by Cindy Komarinski, CCC, CCE, HAAC, Ph.D. Photography by Gloria Cook
roccoli raab is a trendy, tasty cancer-fighting properties and lower the green that is taking menus by risk of heart disease, as well as to detox B storm. Some of its many names and help heal. are broccoli di rapa, broccoletti de rape, rape and rapini. The only When buying broccoli raab, look for similarity to broccoli, however, is moist stems and dark-green leaves. Cindy Komarinski, CCC, the small buds on top. It is a member Younger broccoli raab has broccoli-like CCE, HAAC, Ph.D., professor/ of the turnip family and has a rich buds, which should be tightly closed program director, Westmoreland and green. Do not buy if it is wilted, County Community College Center green color and slightly bitter taste. has yellowish leaves, open buds, or for Culinary Arts and Hospitality, The green leaves, buds and stems are Youngwood, Pennsylvania. edible. It is an integral part of Italian brown or curled stems. Store it in the cuisine, and although its flavor is refrigerator wrapped in wet paper complex, it is intriguing and balanced. towel and plastic wrap for up to five days. The vegetable can also be frozen Broccoli raab is a cool-season crop. if it is blanched, blotted and then The ideal time to cultivate it is in fall or cooled before freezing. early spring, and it needs to be gathered before the florets open. It’s possible to Cooking broccoli raab correctly is key. have numerous cuttings from a plant, if It must be blanched to remove some of it is harvested while the weather is cool. the bitterness and the greens wilted to absorb oil and garlic flavor when sauteed. Broccoli raab has vitamins A, B, C and This is a great fall vegetable to use in pasta K, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, dishes, serve alongside fried potatoes or, potassium and zinc. This wonder- when chopped, top a pizza. vegetable is also believed to have
36 Sizzle WINTER 15 ingredients Step 1 1 head broccoli raab Trim thick stems about 2 inches from where 3-4 T. olive oil leaves start. 4 garlic cloves, chopped Kosher salt, to taste
equipment Skillet 6 qt. pot Cutting board Chef’s knife Sheet pan Step 4 Tongs In heavy skillet over medium heat, heat olive helpful hint oil. Add chopped garlic; saute until tender Broccoli raab is great to cook on a grill (do not brown). after blanching. Just drizzle with olive oil and slightly char. This is a good vegetable to experiment with. Don’t be afraid to try different ways to incorporate this healthy vegetable into your cooking.
Step 2 Bring heavily salted water to a boil; blanch trimmed broccoli raab for approximately Step 5 five minutes. Add broccoli raab; saute until tender. It should remain bright green. Add salt, to taste.
Step 3 Remove from boiling water; shock in ice Step 6 water to stop cooking. Place on sheet tray; Serve on platter or chop to add to favorite meal. blot dry.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 37 INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS bulgaria international flavors
Bulgaria By Tina Powers, CEC, CEPC, CCE, baking/pastry coordinator at Oregon Coast Culinary Institute at Southwestern Oregon Community College, Coos Bay, Oregon.
ne of the great things about being a chef is the opportunity O to explore the world and exchange and learn from chefs and students in other countries.
When the opportunity came to travel to Dobrich and Sophia, Bulgaria, as part of a team of accreditation site evaluators for a potential American Culinary Federation Education Foundation accreditation of HRC Academy, I jumped at the chance to get up-close to my culinary roots.
As a young child, I was exposed to the foods of Hungary and Eastern Europe. My father’s family came to the United States in 1904 on the steamship Philadelphia, and brought with them the cooking of Slavic and Magyar traditions. I vividly remember these flavors and smells, including rich stews redolent with paprika that was sent to my grandmother from her sisters in the old country. She made cultured milk and
38 Sizzle WINTER 15 soured cream and stirred them into the stews to give them a rich, tangy note.
Bulgaria, like Hungary, has a past influenced by conquering tribes and countries. The food is heavily inspired by Turkey, Yugoslavia, Greece and other Balkan states. As I prepared for this trip, I researched Bulgaria’s cuisine, customs and foodways. Food in Bulgaria is not just based on what is grown or available; it is influenced by how it is prepared. In Bulgaria, many foods are prepared by stewing in large clay pots. We arrived in Bulgaria in the city Clay in this part of the world is heavy clockwise from top left: 1. The clay of Sophia, where young folk were with iron, which makes it red in color pot was created in 5000 B.C. and is skateboarding and chatting in perfect and produces some of the hardest considered one of the earliest chaffing English. We changed planes and flew dishes. 2. Specialty items of olives, and toughest pots. Being the most into the old town of Varna, then drove beans and nuts at the Dobrich market. accessible material, these pots shaped 3. Local produce of peppers and to our final destination in Dobrich. It the destiny of food, predating many cucumbers at the Housewife's Market was there that we found the true picture local cultures by thousands of years. My in Dobrich. These two ingredients are of Bulgarian cuisine, such as kyufteta, the life blood of Bulgarian cuisine. team and I were invited by the Bulgarian a dish of seasoned spicy ground meat 4. Kyufteta is a spicy ground meat government to visit the local historical patty that is grilled and served with patty grilled and served with a pepper- museum, and saw pots and other articles a pepper-based sauce, shredded based sauce, shredded pickled cabbage pickled cabbage and bean salad. that were 7,000 years old. and bean salad. Photos by Tina Powers.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 39 INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS bulgaria
Bulgarian eggplant and pepper sauce Ingredients: 2 lbs. red pimento or bell peppers 1 medium eggplant 2 tomatoes 5 cloves garlic, minced 2 oz. olive oil 1 T. white wine vinegar 2 t. sea salt
Method: Char peppers over a grill. Remove peppers from grill, place in bowl; cover. Steam for 15 minutes. Remove blistered skins and seeds. Reserve. Blister eggplant skin over a grill, peel; reserve flesh. Char tomatoes; remove skin. Put all charred vegetables in food processor with garlic, olive oil, vinegar and salt; pulse for 30-60 seconds. In nonreactive pan, simmer mixture for 30 minutes, until thick and spreadable. Taste; adjust seasonings. Serve on grilled bread, crackers or as an accompaniment to grilled meat patties.
I was able to take a side trip to the countries in the European Union, so Housewife’s Market, one of many farmers can’t afford pesticides and daily farmers markets that dot the other man-made chemical additives countryside and cities. The unending for fertilization and pest control. selection of seasonal vegetables, fruits This creates a quality of produce that and nuts, olives, breads, dairy and is hard to find, even in the U.S. The cheese, as well as smoked, cured and common practice of crop rotation fresh meats, fresh fish from the Black and utilizing composted animal and Sea and dried and smoked fish, spices plant waste and other older, more and oils, along with dry goods, pottery sustainable, methods ensures a robust for cooking and tools, made me want farm economy. The flavors of the to take it all home and cook. Bulgaria produce were intense, loaded with is considered one of the poorer amazing aromas and colors.
40 Sizzle WINTER 15 tarator A Bulgarian cucumber and yogurt soup.
Ingredients: 2 English cucumbers 4-5 fresh garlic cloves, crushed 1 pint plain Bulgarian or Greek yogurt 8 oz. cold water 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped fine 2-3 T. walnuts, chopped fine 2 t. sea salt For beverage version, add 8 oz. ice cubes
Method: Peel cucumbers; dice into ½-inch squares. Place cucumbers and garlic in food processor or blender; pulse to chop fine. Add yogurt, dill, walnuts and sea salt. Add cold water until desired consistency. Pulse 10 seconds to blend. Add ice Fresh vegetables and organic dairy cubes, pulse another 10-15 seconds. For products heavily influence the Bulgarian a finer texture, blend the ingredients 30 diet. Rich, thick yogurts are a part seconds. Serve in chilled glasses or in bowls; top with sprigs of dill, snipped fine, of the daily diet for most Bulgarians. and a dusting of sharena sol. Beverages, desserts, sauces, soups and sharena sol main dishes are enriched with this An all-purpose Bulgarian seasoning for product. When the team arrived at meats of all kinds, fish and vegetables. the school in Dobrich, one of the first the beverage of choice. Everywhere I Ingredients: courses we were served was tarator, one 2 oz. paprika traveled, I saw large grapevines growing of the most popular dishes in Bulgaria. 2 oz. dried summer savory on arbors and the fences of homes, as 1 oz. garlic powder It is a cold soup or beverage made 1 oz. ground cumin most families make their own wines. of yogurt, and is popular during the ½ oz. fenugreek, ground Bulgarian wines are famous and can 1 oz. sea salt summer months as a beverage for its stand toe-to-toe with some of the best cooling and health-giving effects. Method: European, Californian and Oregon Grind paprika, summer savory, garlic The tarator was served in a chilled vintages. Brandy made from fruits such powder, cumin, fenugreek and salt together in mortar or spice grinder. tall glass and topped with a light as plums, cherries and apricots is called Remove and store in an airtight container. sprinkling of sharena sol, or colorful rakia. It is considered the national drink salt. Bulgarians use this seasoning on of Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Romania opposite from top: 1. Local just about everything savory. It is a and other Balkan states. organic cheese and dairy mixture of paprika, pepper, savory and products at a market in My trip to Bulgaria was a trip to the garlic powder mixed with salt. Other Sophia. 2. Modern handmade past as well as the present. It was spices can be added, such as cumin and tools and equipment at the one of old familiarity and fresh new Housewife's Market in Dobrich. ground fenugreek. ideas combined with millenniums of top: Tarator is a Bulgarian cucumber and yogurt soup Bulgaria has an immense wine- influences and materials to create one that also subs as a beverage. producing region. While beer is of the most flavorful and interesting bottom: Traditional Bulgarian common and inexpensive, wine is food cultures. grilled meats and vegetables.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 41 THE INTERVIEW claud beltran the interview Claud Beltran By Ethel Hammer
born arly in his career, Claud Beltran Los Angeles worked for Thomas Keller, a E demanding perfectionist, even resides though Beltran is admittedly casual and Monrovia, California free-form. Surviving in the business learned the trade for over a quarter of century, Beltran Attended University of California, Los is inventive and adaptable. Take the Angeles Extension; prep cook, Checkers fluidity with which he treats The Hotel, Los Angeles, 1990-1992. Eatery. It sits on a corner where you selective culinary path can barely see the sign. Four nights Executive chef, Dickenson West, Pasadena, a week, it’s a restaurant where the California, 1992-1995; executive chef/owner, menu changes every month. The rest Cayo Restaurant, Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, 1995-1998; chef de cuisine/ of the time it’s a small catering hall catering chef, executive dining room, Warner with 40 seats, ideal for cozy gatherings Bros. Studio, Burbank, California,1997-1998; under a chandelier composed of corporate chef, Cacique Cheeses, City of upside-down wine bottles. His food Industry, California, 1998-1999; executive concept is decidedly fluid, too. When chef/co-owner, Claud & Co. Catering, functioning as a restaurant, The Eatery Pasadena, 2004-present; executive chef/co- moves around the globe doing special owner, The Eatery, Pasadena, 2013-present; monthly menus that have included executive chef/co-owner, Bacchus’ Kitchen, Pasadena, 2015-present. the foods of Germany, the American South, French Savoie, the Caribbean, selective achievements, the Mediterranean and Mexico, plus awards, accolades Southeast Asian cuisine influenced by Named in “Best Chefs America,” 2013; Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. “Cocinando con las estrellas,” Univision TV pilot, 2001; winner, “Guys Grocery Games,” Beltran grew up in the late 60s/early Food Network, 2014; Bacchus' Kitchen 70s. Reveling in vintage culinary ideas, named “Best New Restaurant” and Beltran he based one of his monthly menus on named “Best Chef” by Pasadena Weekly, 2015; The Eatery and Bacchus Kitchen the TV show “Mad Men.” He delighted were named on “Six Restaurants to Try in guests with the nostalgia of steak Pasadena” by Los Angeles Times, 2014. Diane with cognac and butter, as well
42 Sizzle WINTER 15 as trout almondine and crêpes suzette So, it’s no fluke that Beltran turned flambéed tableside. Because Beltran is Bacchus’ Kitchen, his second Pasadena a guy who just jumps in, the first time restaurant, into a jazz club–with food, he flamed crêpes for diners, he used too of course. “Music is one of my biggest much Grand Marnier and seared his passions,” he says. He knows how to eyebrows. After that, he flamed them in integrate what he loves outside the the kitchen under a hood. During his food world into his business. Recently, German festivity, he introduced diners Bacchus’ Kitchen featured jazz singer to rinderrouladen, beef with mustard and Barbara Morrison in a night of “Bebop onion rolled around a sour pickle. At and Blues.” And the eight annual first, Beltran had doubts about the dish, Claud Beltran’s Gumbo Fest Pasadena but he persisted. “I thought it might featured The Swinging 8-Balls, a be disgusting, but I loved it,” he says. rockabilly group. And he featured more accessible dishes, Currently, Beltran sits on the board of such as chicken schnitzel and potato the Pasadena Symphony, for which he above: Seared ahi tuna pancakes topped with applesauce. with caper/pepper does four yearly pop-up restaurants. relish and mâche salad. Like jazz musicians, many chefs learn Meanwhile, let’s ask him what’s Photos courtesy of to improvise to survive and thrive. popping up next. Claud & Co. Catering.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 43 THE INTERVIEW claud beltran
please tell us about what’s new? amazing. This was the time of Star Wars, working at Warner cb: My newest venture is Claud & Co. at and our project was in the $15 million Bros. Studio the Hotel Constance Pasadena. We’re range. I didn’t have an engineering Early in my career, I worked as coming in with a chef de cuisine who degree, and normally people without chef de cuisine in Warner Bros.’ one could not advance, but I was one executive dining room for studio knows how to interpret my ideas and with musicians, many of whom played whom I’ve worked for a long time. It’s of the only people who could make the music for cartoons. I didn’t know mainly bar and lobby dining right now, machines work, so I moved up. When anything about celebrities and with a restaurant to come, plus hotel the aerospace industry experienced acted smart-alecky because I didn’t a downturn, I realized that I had to do know who anybody was. When banquet facilities. I met Danny Elfman, a famous something else. composer, I didn’t know who he what kind of kid were you? was, either. But we hit it off, and he cb: I was rambunctious, and to this day how did you get involved invited me to sit next to him in the I’m still hyperactive. Every day after with cooking? recording booth. I have to admit school I was out of the house, and I’d cb: As a child, I observed my grandmother that sitting with the musicians was wait to see what was going to happen. Guadalupe, a French woman born in the thrill of a lifetime. I always relate food to music, with food as the As a kid, I loved tinkering with things. Mexico, who was an accomplished cook. bass and wine as the treble. In high school I was into cars and had She was a tiny woman who dressed six pre-1970 muscle cars that I used for fancy and wore big earrings and a golden racing. Also, the family across the street medallion with the image of Guadalupe, left: The sign for Bacchus' Kitchen. ran an X-ray company, and because her patron saint. All meals were big deals, right: Porchetta with butternut I had a natural mechanical sense, I and she’d prepare all day. She was a squash on top of Parmesan started working for them. After a few powerful woman with big energy who risotto garnished with chive oil. years, the man in charge of the shop always spoke her mind. I recently learned opposite from the top: retired and I took over. I was about 20 that my great-great-grandfather had 1. Grilled rib-eye steak with restaurants and was an early caterer who béarnaise sauce and cremini or 21. Later, when the company was mushrooms. 2. A wine bottle bought out, I went to work for Northrop did banquets for the elite. I found this kind chandelier is a central part of Electronics, the company that built of spooky. I had no idea anybody in the the decor at The Eatery. navigational systems for missiles. It was family was in the food business.
44 Sizzle WINTER 15 how does a free-form man like you run a business with two restaurants, a new evolving hotel concept and lots of catering? cb: I‘ve learned to let things roll off my back. I do the best I can with what I have. I do a hundred percent of the artistic side and have a great business manager Stewart Suckling. Everyone has a vision, and the business vision and the artistic vision don’t always meet. To make things work, you have to be creative. how did you get to work with a perfectionist like Thomas Keller? cb: I wanted to work with Thomas, a culinary genius, so I went to Checkers Hotel, where he was the chef, and kept 45 percent of my customer base. This bugging him to hire me. Finally, he got culture is appreciative of food and they tired of my bugging him. The main thing don’t mind spending money to eat well. I learned was that there is a proper So, for example, I can do something like way of doing things. It was his way a Japanese wedge salad with a dressing or no way. He taught me how to build made with a pickled mountain radish flavors on top of flavors and how to take called gobo root, typically served in proper care of ingredients. All food was salmon-skin salad. But my customers do handled delicately. I learned to turn fish not come to my restaurants because I’m at a 45-degree angle to get the perfect doing perfect Asian food. Rather, they crust. Everything was very, very clean. want to experience Asian-inspired food in If he saw a speck on anything, you’d get a non-Asian restaurant. yelled at. best advice to culinary students? Just the fact that I worked in the kitchen cb: Be ready to make a lot of sacrifices. with Thomas Keller was an act of God. I Be patient. It takes time to learn a craft. wanted to quit every day, but I’d go back Most people give up in the fifth or sixth and it would get better. Then it would year. Believe in what you’re doing. Make get hard again, but I persisted. In the as few compromises as you can. And end, I was learning a lot from a great don’t give up. person and a great chef and that made all the difference. Ethel Hammer is a writer, lecturer and cartoonist based in Chicago. why so many Asian influences on your menu? cb: I love Asian food. It’s 50 percent of what I eat. I love the flavors. There is a large Asian population in the San Gabriel Valley. The Asian culture is about
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 45 THE QUIZ winter 2015 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. 18 30 42
1. How did Slice of Life’s Lyn Wells receive a 6. What is a hybrid dessert? 11. Which vegetables are considered the “life- stage at The French Laundry? a. Simply throwing together two of your blood” of Bulgarian cuisine? a. Applied by email favorite desserts a. Beans b. Called the restaurant and asked b. Combining salty and sweet flavors b. Cabbage and potatoes c. Won a ment’or BKB Young Chef c. Filling classic desserts with different c. Peppers and cucumbers Competition flavored fillings d. Olives and cucumbers d. Applied through her school d. Combining the best components of two desserts to make a unique combination 12. Which one of Claud Beltran’s restaurants 2. What is blanquette de veau? features a monthly globe-trotting menu? a. A French beef stew 7. What is the name of the hybrid dessert based a. Claud & Co. b. A French veal ragout off the classic baked Alaska? b. The Eatery c. A red wine a. Geloni c. Bacchus’ Kitchen d. A white cream sauce b. Biramisu d. Claud & Co. Catering c. Spumaska 3. What does to cook en blanquette mean? d. Freddo 13. Which international cuisine most influences a. To prepare white meat in stock and Claud Beltran’s style? aromatics to avoid browning 8. A research and development chef’s only task is a. German b. To cook meat by browning in fat to create recipes b. French c. To stew veal with such items as celery and a. True c. Creole mushrooms b. False d. Asian d. To cook with cream 9. What does the phrase Culinology® mean? 14. Broccoli raab is best in which seasons? 4. Which is a good substitute for eggs when a. Love of all things culinary a. Early spring and fall cooking for someone with allergies? b. Blending culinary arts and science b. Late spring and summer a. Avocadoes c. Food science c. Winter and fall b. Tapioca and water d. None of the above d. Summer and fall c. Nutritional yeast d. Flax seeds soaked in water 10. Tarator is a yogurt-based soup popular in 15. Freezing broccoli raab is not a good idea. which country? a. True 5. Once considered the best gluten-free a. Bulgaria b. False replacement, this ingredient may now be b. Hungary another growing allergen. c. Greece a. Tapioca d. Turkey b. Corn c. Arrowroot d. Potatoes
46 Sizzle WINTER 15 INDUSTRY PROFILE karen page and andrew dornenburg industry profile
Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
How long have you been involved in the a chef and was told that one didn’t exist. culinary industry? When our research turned up the fact that KP: I got my first waitressing job at 16 and the chef profession had been named one of waitressed during high school and college, the top 10 careers for the coming decade, we where I operated my own birthday cake knew there was a large potential market and delivery company. After business school, I decided to write Becoming a Chef. worked as a strategy consultant to Fortune The Flavor Bible is a perennial top favorite 500 companies, including several in the food book on cooking. When and how did both and beverage industries. of you realize the need for the book? AD: At 15, I landed a job at McDonald’s. After we finished our first bookBecoming In its early days, it was still cooking—we a Chef, we realized we’d written a guide to had a flattop grill that was treated with entering the profession but little about food wo-time James Beard award-winning great respect and seared each burger before itself, which led us to write Culinary Artistry. authors Karen Page and Andrew seasoning it with salt and pepper. Karen kept asking chef after chef how they T Dornenburg brought us such Tell us how you became interested in knew which ingredients went together, and books as Culinary Artistry (John Wiley cooking and chefs. was told by some that they could “taste the & Sons, Inc., 1996), Becoming a Chef combinations in their mind.” Our interest in KP: I really became interested in chefs after flavor compatibility led us to consider the (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003) and The falling in love with Andrew. I was amazed compatibility between what was on the plate Flavor Bible (Little, Brown and Company, by the physical, emotional, mental and and what was in the glass, which led to What 2008) among others. The books hold even spiritual demands of his profession— to Drink with What You Eat (Bulfinch Press, cult-like status for chefs everywhere and something I had never seen at this level in 2006) and, then, The Flavor Bible. have received a long-list of accolades and any other profession I’d encountered. tremendous praise from readers. The Flavor What is your advice to someone who wants Bible has stayed No. 1 on Amazon’s best- AD: I worked in the front of the house as a to write a cookbook or be a food writer? waiter and wine list consultant. I realized that seller list for books for professional cooking. the people in the kitchen were having the Start where you are: Write about what interests you. If you don’t have a blog and Where did you receive your most fun. I later learned that “fun” entailed postsecondary education? working six days a week doing doubles for aren’t on social media yet, why not? Start the next year or so. now. Make sure you have something new to KP: After studying at Northwestern say and/or are saying it in a new way, and University’s Medill School of Journalism, What influenced both of you to write your work to build an audience of followers by Evanston, Illinois, I earned a bachelor’s in first bookBecoming a Chef ? educating and/or entertaining your readers. economics and a certificate in women’s studies We’ve always written books that we, Study the work of those who have carved out from Northwestern and an MBA at Harvard. ourselves, have wanted to read that didn’t their own niches successfully, such as Shauna AD: I studied with legendary cook/author exist. In this case, Andrew was trying to and Danny Ahern, also known as “Gluten- Madeleine Kamman at the School for decide whether to go to cooking school or to Free-Girl and the Chef,” and Paris-based American Chefs at Beringer Vineyards in work his way up in the restaurant business. pastry chef David Lebovitz, who always Napa Valley, California. Karen told him to buy a book on becoming makes us laugh as we learn.
WWW.ACFCHEFS.ORG www.sizzle-digital.com 47 AMERICAN CULINARY FEDERATION 2016 EVENTS
July 15 – 19, 2016 JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa | Phoenix
March 13 – 15, 2016 2016 ACF Regional Culinary Hyatt Regency Atlanta Salon Competitions Atlanta, Georgia SOUTHEAST REGION January 29 – 31, 2016 Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta Tucker, Georgia April 3 – 5, 2016 Waikoloa Beach Marriott WESTERN REGION Resort & Spa February 5 – 7, 2016 Waikoloa Village, Hawaii The Academy of Arts, Careers & Technology Reno, Nevada
NORTHEAST REGION February 19 – 21, 2016 Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts Lancaster, Pennsylvania
CENTRAL REGION March 11 – 13, 2016 Culinary Institute of St. Louis at Hickey College St. Louis