The Last Word

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"It's 5:15 p.m. on a cold, dreary Saturday evening. Four hopefuls arrive at the reception desk only to be told, with a regretful smile, 'I'm so sorry. There's at least a two-hour wait for a table.'

What's this? All the other restaurants in the neighborhood are languishing, pining away for more business, and here's Maggiano's--hopping."
--Irena Chalmers, "Recipe for success,"
"The Last Word" column, April 2009, Chef Magazine

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April 2009


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ACF SE Regional Conference winners announced

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The American Culinary Federation (ACF) announced the 2009 award recipients at the ACF Southeast Regional Conference held April 18 to 20. The winners will compete for national titles against their winning regional counterparts at the 2009 ACF National Convention in Orlando, Fla. July 11 to 14.

And the winners are:
  • Chef of the Year P. Richard Brumm (photo below), CEC, executive sous chef, La Gorce Country Club, Miami Beach, Fla.
  • Chef Educator of the Year David Weir (photo below), CEC, CCE, associate professor at Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, Fla.
  • Hermann G. Rusch Chef's Achievement Award Wolfgang Bierer (photo below), CMPC, CEC, CCE, AAC, retired, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
  • Chef Professionalism Award Edmund Chinners (photo below), CEC, CCA, operations manager, Sodexo, Columbia, S.C.
  • Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl ACF Greater Miami Chapter Epicurean Club, Johnson & Wales University-Miami, North Miami, Fla.: Alissa Ebel; Catherine Gonzalez, CC; Victoria Gonzalez; Rebecca Lerman; and Marisa Roussell. The team is coached by Alan Lazar, CCE
  • Student Team Regional Championship ACF Western North Carolina Culinary Association; Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Asheville, N.C.: Michael Aanonsen, Shannon Ginn, Steven Goff, Anna McClintock and Travis McCloud. The team was coached by Charles deVries, CEPC
  • Chapter of the Year ACF Midlands Chapter, Columbia, S.C.
  • Chapter Achievement Award ACF Midlands Chapter; ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter, Nashville Tenn.; ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association, Tampa, Fla.
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Move Ahead with the Summer Fancy Food Show

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SPONSORED POST

The best way to keep your business moving ahead is by being a part of North America's largest specialty food show: the 55th Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City June 28 to 30.

The Summer Fancy Food Show will bring you the new ideas, new products and new momentum to help you Move Ahead and keep your menus fresh and innovative:

Discover new sauces for everything from your best-selling hot wings to your scrumptious desserts, or find organic ingredients to create new, healthful dishes. You'll find everything from cheese to chocolate, spices to sorbets, pastas to pastries--all in volumes designed for your business and your budget!

Our biggest show of the year gives you another way to Move Ahead. It's in the heart of New York
City--one of the best live learning labs for innovation in dining. The city's restaurants welcome you as an attendee and will provide inspiration for your next great ideas. Browse restaurant deals and more.

Don't wait for the economy to bring your customers back: Come Move Ahead with us. Register now at www.fancyfoodshows.com/attend.
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Craft beer for tableservice

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by Lacey Griebeler, Chef Magazine

This article is the Beverage & Spirits column for the April 2009 issue of Chef Magazine.

The Brewers Association reported in late February that small, independent craft brewers are continuing to gain in the alcohol market share. Estimated sales by craft brewers were up 5.8 percent by volume and 10.5 percent in dollars between 2007 and 2008, and nearly a half million new barrels of craft beer were sold in 2008. These stats support data from Gallup, which reported that 47 percent of U.S. adults prefer to drink beer (while 31 percent pick wine and 23 percent chose liquor).

Here's why these numbers matter to restaurants: Consumers are now expecting craft beer on your menu, and they're looking for full-flavored choices that will complement your food. Even the National Restaurant Association's What's Hot survey reflected that craft beer is transitioning from a hot trend to a perennial favorite.

Adding beer to your menu is easier to embrace if your concept is more casual. But fine-dining still seems to be struggling to get on board. I was talking with Mike Roper about beer and white-tablecloth restaurants last November at a pairing event he hosted at his restaurant/bar Hopleaf in Chicago; he told me that a certain acclaimed Chicago chef (with a highly regarded wine list at his restaurant) once said to him, "You will never, ever find beer on my menu"--that a 12-ounce bottle of beer with a goofy label would just not be at home atop his pressed linens.

But craft brewers are reacting to restaurateurs' concerns by producing more larger bottles--650 mL (a.k.a. bombers) and 750 mL sizes--with attractive labels and often special branded glassware, perfect for tableservice. Here are just a few:
  • Juliet (pictured, right), Goose Island Beer Co.--A Belgian-style sour ale aged with sour blackberries and partially fermented in Cabernet barrels; pairs well with rotisserie chicken, rabbit, roast pork, lamb and aged Cheddar (6.7 percent ABV)
  • Four (pictured, below), Allagash Brewing Co.--A dark Belgian quadrupel ale brewed with four malts, four hops, four sugars and four Belgian yeast strains; pairs well with bacon-wrapped scallops, crab-stuffed mushrooms, filet mignon, chocolate crêpes (10.0 percent ABV)
  • Pangaea, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery--A slightly spicy strong ale brewed with ingredients from every continent (like crystallized ginger from Australia, water from Antarctica, basmati rice from Asia); pairs well with grilled red meat and game (7.0 percent ABV)
  • Dead Guy Ale, Rouge Brewery--The brewery's signature malty maibock, brewed with local ingredients; pairs well with pork and hot or spicy foods (6.5 percent ABV)

Explore craft beer, and you never know: You just might find that it pairs better with your menu than wine--and it doesn't have to compromise the look of your table.

Quick tips for finding the right craft beers:
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Tabasco opens 2009 Hottest Chef Contest

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McIllhenny Co., maker of Tabasco Pepper Sauce, has launched the 2009 Hottest Chef Contest, inviting professional chefs, sous chefs and lead line cooks in the United States and Canada to create and submit an original menu item using easily sourced, fresh ingredients. To qualify, entries must include Original Tabasco Pepper sauce, Tabasco Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce or Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce. Additionally, featured dishes must be considered profitable for a restaurant to sell. Entries can be submitted online at www.tabascofoodservice.com until July 17.

The professional chef with the winning recipe will receive $10,000. For more information, visit Tabasco's Web site, or call 1-888-HOT-DASH.
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A rosé by any other name...

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Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Provence (CIVP), an organization representing more than 750 vineyards in Provence, France, has condemned a new European Commission initiative that would accept the blending of 5 percent red wine and 95 percent white wine to produce rosé. If the proposed ruling is approved on June 19, the blending technique could go into effect as early as Aug. 1. The European Union says that allowing the creation of a blended rosé would open additional export markets for Italian and Spanish wine producers who have an oversupply of red and white wines.

French winemakers create dry rosé by briefly macerating red grapes and removing the juice before it becomes heavily colored, giving the wine its unique flavor profile. Thus, the CIVP says that simply mixing a solution of white wine "with a dash of red" is by nature not true rosé, despite its pink color, and that it will mislead consumers.

"It has taken man years of patience, professionalism and exacting attention to quality control to persuade consumers that rosé is a distinctive, refreshing selection for wine lovers throughout the world," said Francois Millo, director of CIVP-Wines of Provence, in a statement. "This proposal will destroy the true wine's hard-earned image and undermine a time-honored tradition of production excellence."

For more information, visit www.vinsdeprovence.com.
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RCA elects new board of directors

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The Research Chefs Association (RCA) recently announced the results of its recent board of directors election for the 2009-2010 term.

2009-2010 Board of directors:
  • President: Harry J. Crane (executive chef, Culinary Center of Excellence, Kraft Foods Global; photo, right)
  • Vice President: Terry Van Winkle (vice president of sales, TIC Gums Inc.)
  • Treasurer: Janet Carver (culinary group leader, National Starch Food Innovation)
  • Secretary: Marilyn Carlson (senior manager, research & development, Oberto Sausage Co.)
  • Immediate Past President: Stephen A. Kalil, CEC, CRC (corporate executive research chef, Culinary Innovation Center, Frito-Lay)
Directors:
Founded in 1996, the RCA has rapidly grown to approximately 2,500 members, including chefs, food scientists, technologists, writers, nutritionists, academicians, researchers, consultants, sales and marketing professionals, suppliers, co-packers, distributors and students. RCA is the premier source of culinary and technical information for the food industry, and is committed to the advancement of Culinology, the blending of the culinary arts and food science. For more information, please visit the RCA Web site at www.culinology.org.
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LDEI launches Legacy Awards competition

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Les Dames d'Escoffier International (LDEI) is holding its first-ever Legacy Awards competition. The competition is open to women in the United States and Canada who have been working in the food, beverage or hospitality industry for at least two years. Applications are due May 15, and the winners will be announced on June 15.

The LDEI Legacy Awards winners will receive week-long internships with accomplished dames in the food, beverage and hospitality industry in New York City's catering scene, Washington State's wine country or at a premier hotel property in Dallas. For more information, visit www.ldei.org.
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