Todd English's Olives turns 20

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The original Olives Restaurant, chef/restaurateur Todd English's interpretive Mediterranean-style restaurant in Charlestown, Mass., turns 20 in April. In a nod to the success of Olives--which since has opened in New York City, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.--the Charlestown and New York locations will feature signature menu items at their 1989 prices each week through the end of April.
The "Throwback Menu" will be available on Fridays at the Charlestown location and Tuesdays at the New York location. Among the classic dishes from the original Olives menu are: Beef Carpaccio with Roquefort Polenta for $5.50, Brick Oven Roasted Half Chicken for $12.95 and Olives Bouillabaise for $15.95.

More information is available at www.toddenglish.com.
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Savor event to showcase American beer and food pairings

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As food and beer pairings gain headway in restaurants nationwide amid the influx of independent brewing companies, the Brewers Association on May 30 will host the second annual Savor: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

This year, 65 small, independent and traditional craft brewers representing all regions of the United States will offer 120 craft beers to be sampled at tasting salons during the event, which takes place from 7:30 to 11 p.m. The brewers will pair each beer with sweet and savory appetizers that they have selected. Educational workshops will offer additional opportunities for attendees to interact with brewers.

Visit www.savorcraftbeer.com to purchase tickets or see a list of participating breweries. There are more than 1,400 brewing companies in the United States today, up from 42 in the late 1970s. The majority of these are craft breweries, meaning they are independently owned and produce small batches of beer. For more information on craft brewing, visit the Brewers Association Web site.
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South Pacific Markea Prawns available for worldwide export

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On New Caledonia, an island in the southwestern Pacific about half the size of Taiwan, the Blue Lagoon Farm Group (BLF) is sustainably producing Pacific Blue Shrimp for worldwide export under the brand name Markea Prawns.

This unique species of shrimp with a sweet flavor and firm, crunchy texture isn't popular with most farming countries because it is extremely sensitive to its environment and thus requires more care and monitoring than other species. As such, BLF raises the shrimp using sustainable aquaculture practices and heeds principles that ensure quality control at every step of production from the hatchery to the packing plant.

At the hatchery, broodstock are raised in an independent cycle from the farms and are not captured in the wild. To boost the quality of the larvae, broodstock feed contains no hormones, antibiotics or by-products from land animals. Fresh seawater is constantly pumped into the ponds, which are constructed to preserve the surrounding mangrove forests. Aside from the environmental benefits of preserving these forests, mangroves provide a natural filtration system for the ponds when they are drained at harvest.

Only flawless prawns are selected for packing and export, and they transported to the plant at no more than 2ºC. Once sorted and weighed, the prawns are quick frozen in a brine solution, their temperature is lowered to negative 16ºC and they are glazed in filtered water to preserve their flavor and protect them from subfreezing temperatures. Markea Prawns are only available whole and individually quick frozen (IQF).

For more information visit Markea Prawns' Web site.
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Cocktail culture: A San Francisco bar-chef shares tips for making signature drinks

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by Evan Noetzel, Chef Magazine

This article is the Beverages & Spirits online exclusive for the March 2009 issue of Chef Magazine.

The saloon on the corner of 16th Street and Guerrero in what is now the Mission Dolores area of San Francisco has a storied history that dates back to 1858. Over the years, the bar that has occupied this intersection has changed names and ownership many times; has been destroyed by an earthquake only to be rebuilt; and has witnessed the dramatic evolution of its clientele--from the demimonde of the city's Barbary Coast days, to the gunslingers of the Wild West, to the, let's say, discrete regulars of the "soft drink parlor" Prohibition era, to the Latino immigrants and the gay community of the late '80s and early '90s, respectively.

Today, the bar's incarnation is Elixir, a haven for cocktail enthusiasts that's uniquely Californian: The saloon's ambiance and drink menu are at once a nod to San Francisco's pre-Prohibition past and its artistic, culinary-forward present. Behind its bar on most days, you'll find H. Joseph Ehrmann (pictured below), Elixir's proprietor, mixologist and resident historian. Ehrmann recently talked to Chef Magazine about the knowledge, passion and tools necessary for concocting drinks that please palates and drive bar sales.
(Photo by Darren Edwards, www.darrenedwardsphotographs.com)

Chef Magazine: Mixology seems to be experiencing a renaissance of sorts, and many bars and restaurants are looking to create signature drinks to capitalize on that trend. What makes a great cocktail?
Ehrmann: It's all about balance. A cocktail is a new being; it's the sum of its parts. If you wanted a glass of whiskey, you'd just order a glass of whiskey. But if you want a cocktail, you're taking that whiskey and turning it into something new. ... One of the reasons the Sazerac is such a great cocktail is it's so old and so venerable, and yet it's still around because it's the perfect execution of balancing simplicity--from 10,000 feet, it does look like a very simple drink--and precision--if you do it wrong by even a half or quarter ounce in any one of the ingredients, then you've lost it, and it's not a perfect Sazerac. If it's unbalanced, then that final creation, that final flavor sensation you expect to have on every sip of a Sazerac is gone. If you use too much sugar, which is generally the way most Sazeracs are ruined, then all you taste is that sweetness. But if you pare back that sweetness just a little bit, all of a sudden that drink opens up, and it's something completely different--you can taste the rye, you can taste the pastis, you taste the absinthe. And you can choose to focus on whichever one of those flavors you want.

Chef Magazine: At Elixir, your menu aims to "revive the pre-Prohibition cocktail culture of the Barbary Coast while incorporating a focus on utilizing California's abundant agricultural resources and San Francisco's infamous creativity and artistic vision." How do you synthesize those inspirational elements and translate that philosophy into the cocktails you create?
Ehrmann: I start with a respect for the classics, because the classics that are pre-Prohibition are kind of the fundamental formulas. Classic drinks--and rules we've learned from chefs--give us what we know about balance and the chemistry of what works and what doesn't work on a very simple level.

The original cocktails--the oldest, most simple ones--are all mostly spirits and not produce-driven. They give us the foundations for juleps, flips, etc., and from there, we can take them and spin them in different directions based on core flavor combinations.

Chef Magazine: What is your creative process for coming up with a new cocktail concept?
Ehrmann: I rotate my menu every month and put out six to eight drinks that are seasonal and thematically appropriate for that month, based on produce that's around that month. While we're in March, I'm going to put some Irish whiskey drinks in there. I'm also probably still going to be playing off the tail end of Mardi Gras, or maybe some certain produce is coming in a little early. I look at all that the week or two or before I want to change the menu. And if I'm not inspired by a seasonal ingredient or theme, I'll try a new take on a classic that I haven't done before. Like I did with a Collins recently.

We're in Meyer lemon season, so I recently took a basic Collins--lemon, sugar, soda and a spirit--and used Square One Cucumber Vodka with organic Meyer lemon and a little bit of rosemary, and suddenly I've got a new drink. You would call this a vodka Collins, but calling it a cucumber vodka, Meyer lemon, rosemary Collins sounds too long. So, because all of those flavors and that produce come out the San Joaquin Valley that we have right here, I called it the San Joaquin Collins.

Chef Magazine: Do you ever work backward from a desired taste or finish?
Ehrmann: Oh, sure. There's a real nice, little boutique creamery and ice cream shop in the neighborhood called Bi-Rite Creamery. They have a honey lavender-flavored ice cream, and I was walking down the street eating this ice cream, and I thought, "God, this is so good, I have to recreate this as a cocktail. How can I get this flavor, this mouthfeel, this richness and creaminess without using the ice cream?" So, I focused on organic ingredients: I got some lavender honey, and I tasted it, and it didn't really have enough strong lavender flavor. Eventually, I found another type of lavender honey that had more lavender taste to it, so it was perfect. I mixed that with some vodka and half and half, which I later bumped up to heavy cream. But the mouthfeel still wasn't quite there, so I thought, an egg white will add some body to it; I popped some in there, and it was perfect—rich and creamy and just as decadent as the ice cream but in a cocktail. [Recipe follows.]

Chef Magazine: In addition to mixing a mean cocktail yourself, you also teach your craft to aspiring mixologists. When it comes to making innovative cocktails, what basic advice do you give to emerging bar-chefs?
Ehrmann: If they have the benefit of being in a place that's a restaurant as well [as a bar] and they have a chef they can work with, then it makes sense to have a work partnership with your chef to learn as much as you can about [food and drink] pairings. I started as a cook when I was 16 years old, and I cooked for five years before I ever really got into the front of the house. So, my knowledge is all founded in the kitchen. ...

Every one of those bottles on your back bar is like the paint that a painter has on his palette, and until you really understand each one of them and how they perform, you won't be able to get incredibly creative. If you only know five flavors, there's only so many ways you can mix five flavors, but when you know a couple hundred bottles on your back bar, you can say, "I've got these three things together, but something's missing; it needs some spice. Where can I get some spice from? I could use fresh spices, hot sauce, a pepper infusion, a tincture." You have to understand all of those different things in order to really find that one ingredient that's gonna make that recipe stand out and stand on it's own. Just because it's original and you think it's creative, doesn't mean it's good—or that's it's gonna sell. The last part is to really understand your customer base, know what they're going to grab hold of. You could make the most esoteric, weird, off-the-wall drink in the world; that doesn't mean anyone is going to buy it.

Chef Magazine: What are the bar/kitchen tools that every mixologist needs to operate a bar and make a good drink?
Ehrmann: A good, solid Boston shaker with a tempered pint glass—everything can be built from there. And from there, you'd need the two types of strainers: a julep and a hawthorne—a hawthorne will work in a pinch for everything, but a julep is nice and elegant for spirits, your core drinks—a good bar spoon; a muddler; a hand citrus squeezer; a small, fine double strainer for hand straining with a tea strainer; a sharp paring knife with a cutting board.

Chef Magazine: What advice would you give to bar owners looking to promote signature cocktails at their establishments?
Ehrmann: With the whole culinary cocktail side of [the business], you have to approach your bar operations with a different perspective. You have to train your staff to think differently if they've never worked in a culinary cocktail bar. ... You have to come in like a prep cook: make sure you've got all your fresh produce out, make sure your citrus is at room temperature so that you can get the most juice from it, you've got your cutting board ready and your hand juicer ready so that you can cut or hand juice lemons and limes into each cocktail. ... You get to understand the preparation and storage needs of fresh produce and herbs, so that you have everything properly set up and space allocated for storage behind the bar so you can work efficiently and get these drinks out quickly. The thing that keeps most people from doing these kind of drinks is a lack of understanding of how to set their bar up so that they can get their drinks out quickly.

Chef Magazine: Whether it's with respect to ingredients, technique or application, what new trends do you see emerging in mixology?
Ehrmann: I think we're seeing a slow down in new trends, actually. If you look back over the past year or two, whether it was wine cocktails or tea cocktails or molecular mixology, things were just popping up from everywhere, and it seemed like everyday, there was a new way to mix cocktails. And now, I think we've slowed that pace down and refocused on education. We're seeing a big boom in bartenders finally taking a real interest in their craft as a craft, as a profession. ... As far as ingredients, though, I'm starting to see a lot more focus on botanical, floral flavorings.

Lavender Honey Cream
H. Joseph Ehrmann, Elixir, San Francisco, www.elixirsf.com

Yield: 1 drink

1 c. water
1 c. lavender honey
1 1/2 oz. Square One Organic Vodka
1 oz. organic heavy cream
1 oz. organic egg white
Ice, as needed

Method (1) Boil one cup of water, and slowly stir in lavender honey until dissolved. Lower heat and reduce for 3 minutes. Let cool and add to a squeeze bottle. (2) Combine 1 oz lavender honey syrup (reserving remaining syrup for future drinks), Vodka, heavy cream and egg white over ice in a shaker; shake gently for 30 seconds. (3) Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a piece of lavender to add to the nose of each sip.
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NFI finds bipartisan effort promotes Food Safety Modernization Act

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A review of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 by the National Fisheries Institute Inc. (NFI) found that the bill updates and improves earlier food safety efforts without unnecessary restrictions or redundancies, according to an NFI statement.

A coalition of legislators led by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) on March 3 introduced the bill as part of an effort to amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act with regard to the safety of the food supply.

"Forward thinking has recognized that as a country we can't just inspect our way to perfect food safety and we can't simply legislate our way there, either," said NFI president John Connelly in a statement. "This bill recognizes the hard work the FDA has done and continues to do and the need to provide incentives for members of the seafood community who are dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the food we all enjoy today."

The NFI hopes funding for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition will reach $725 million by 2010, Connelly added.
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Deep Plate to chefs: Are you up for a 'Challenge?'

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Deep Plate, a blog and creative outlet for and by professional chefs, has launched a new component called "Challenge."

Chefs who have previously posted a monthly exercise on Deep Plate and who want to showcase their creativity and plating ability can challenge other qualifying chefs. Challenges are limited to two chefs. Deep Plate will select and randomly submit tests to each participating chef, and tests may consist of a single piece requiring multiple courses or multiple pieces. The competitors mutually decide on a timetable to submit to Deep Plate, though Challenges are not structured like the monthly exercises, and thus can take place anytime. The results are posted and voted on by Deep Plate participants.

Qualifying chefs who want to participate in a Challenge should send an e-mail to jeffrey@bauscherinc.com, or visit Deep Plate.
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Bison making menu inroads

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From the gourmet table alongside truffle potatoes to the burger joint on a bun, bison as an entrée is showing great potential as consumers seek healthy and sustainably raised meat options, according to the National Bison Association (NBA).

Bison is a nutrient-dense food. Research comparing bison with beef, pork, chicken and salmon shows that bison is the highest in protein and iron while providing the fewest overall fat and calories. Current per capital U.S. consumption of bison is about 1/10 pound annually, a figure that is encouraging for NBA executive director Dave Carter. He says the NBA is in the position of recruiting people to raise bison due to concerns from bison processors and wholesalers that demand could outstrip supply.

"The NBA is very aware of the importance of restoring buffalo to the American landscape," Carter said in a statement. "Once an endangered species, bison were restored by the efforts of many, including hardworking bison ranchers who have given commercial value to bison."

According to the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture, the number of small operations continues to grow while large bison ranches are in decline. Eighty-five percent of bison operations today have less than 100 animals.

"Consumers are seeking food that tastes good, is healthy and is sustainably and humanely raised," said NBA president Gail Griffin, owner of Rockie Hill Bison, Winona, Minn., in a statement. "We are very excited for the future of bison ranching as it so perfectly fits what consumers are seeking."

For more information, visit the NBA's Web site.

(Photo courtesy of Gary Leppart)
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Bucci named Chef Educator of the Year at ACF Conference

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Timothy Bucci, certified executive chef, certified culinary educator and associate chef-instructor at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Ill., received the 2009 American Culinary Federation (ACF) Central Region Chef Educator of the Year award at this year's ACF Central Regional Conference held in Schaumburg, Ill., Feb. 21 to 23. The award honors an active culinary educator whose knowledge, skills and expertise have provided leadership and guidance to culinary students.

(l to r) David Russell, ACF's central regional vice president and Timothy Bucci

Bucci was executive chef at House of Hughes, Crestwood, Ill., before joining the faculty at Joliet Junior College. He holds an associate degree from Joliet Junior College in culinary arts and a bachelor's degree in restaurant hospitality and institutional management from Purdue University Calument, Hammond, Ind. He is a member of ACF Louis Joliet chapter and an ACF-certified culinary judge. He was awarded Educator of the Year from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago in 2001 and 2004. As a competitor, Bucci was a gold medalist in individual competition at the 2008 Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA) competition in Erfurt, Germany. He also competed at the IKA "culinary Olympics" in Germany in 2004, where he was a silver medalist.

As recipient of the Central Region Educator of the Year award, Bucci will compete for the national title against three other candidates at the 2009 ACF National Convention in Orlando, Fla., July 11 to 14. Candidates will participate in a lecture and demonstration for a panel of judges who will decide the winner.
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Culinary Tourism Association offers certification

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The International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) has launched its Certified Culinary Tourism Professional (CCTP) program for hospitality, tourism and foodservice professionals.

The certification process consists of five modules of online training and research with a final paper. It costs $1,295.

Culinary tourism, which was incepted in 2001, is defined as the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences, often through travel. The definition does not just refer to high-end culinary and wine experiences, which are a subcategory called gourmet tourism under the broad definition.

This is the first certification program to focus exclusively on culinary tourism. It was created in response to requests from ICTA members and other culinary and travel professionals to fill a learning gap in the travel industry. For more information on ICTA or to register for CCTP certification, visit ICTA's Web site.
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