Somewhere between the main course and dessert round during a recent tasting at Ore Hill the palette cleansers arrive in the form of a sorbet. The secret ingredient in the dish is habanada peppers a selectively bred variant of the better-known habanero peppers that Executive Chef Ryan Carbone explains retain the flavors of a habanero without the spice. So you get all these green vegetal notes and it feels like it’s about to get spicy but the heat never comes, Carbone says.
The sensation, which Carbone describes perfectly, is one of a kind and exactly the kind of flavor that makes dining at Ore Hill such a treat. The ultra-select, ultra-high-end fine dining experience offers a multicourse immersion in local ingredients and chef-driven cuisine and the kind of big-city tasting menu rarely found in Connecticut. This is accompanied by high-end cocktails and a natural wine-driven wine list that doesn’t shy away from bringing some intriguing and intentional funk.
On Saturday, November 5 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm, Connecticut’s Old State House in Hartford will host its first in-person Election Cake Bake-Off, a competition featuring entries from professional bakers and pastry chefs from across the state….and CTbites will be there to help judge the winner!
Bakers who would like to participate may contact Nicole Sousa at nicole.sousa@cga.ct.gov or 860.522.6766, or can apply directly here: bit.ly/ctosh2022bakeoff.
Inspired by the Early American custom of celebrating Election Day with the traditional Hartford Election Cake, this festive Bake-Off invites chefs to submit their modern interpretation of the traditional spice cake, which will be judged on taste and creativity of decoration.
This year’s judging panel includes Stephanie Webster, founder of the foodie website CTBites, food blogger David Milton of @thedamgram on Instagram, Executive Sous Chef Jamey Maloof of Sift Bakery in Mystic, former Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, and 2022 Connecticut Kid Governor Makhi Etienne-Modeste.
The winning baker will have their cake featured in a statewide publication and on social media, along with other to-be-announced prizes.
So much has changed since we last covered Swyft’s modern tavern concept located on Kent’s main drag.
Like most restaurants, Swyft had to deal with pandemic restrictions. But unlike most restaurants, they had to get up off the mat three more times. Lauded chef and partner Joel Viehland parted ways with Swyft around the time COVID shutdowns hit Connecticut.
Mere weeks after Viehland’s exit, Swyft’s owner, philanthropist Anne Bass, sadly passed away on April 1, 2020, after a battle with ovarian cancer.
And if that wasn’t enough, dynamo pastry chef Anthony D’Amelio went off to pursue other goals sometime last year.
We know, that’s a lot to take in.
According to Allison Mitchell—who’s essentially Swyft’s Swiss Army Knife as she handles social media, does photography, coordinates events, waits tables, bartends, and somehow fits in marketing duties—Swyft went through a “huge overhaul.”
Pastry Chef Kim Wood of French Bakery, Le Banh Patisserie in Simsbury is competing on the upcoming season of Spring Baking Championship, premiering Monday February 28th at 8PM on Food Network and streaming on Discovery+.
Molly Yeh is bringing the farm straight to Spring Baking Championship putting her own colorful spin on every challenge this season, inspiring the bakers to create eye-popping, delicious, and Spring-forward treats to impress judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller. Only one lucky baker will be crowned this year's Spring Baking Champion and walk away with $25,000!
Twelve bakers enter the Spring Baking barn and are challenged to create delicious desserts featuring the freshest fruit and flowers the farm has to offer. You know who we’re rooting for!
Want a front seat at the most fun Taco Tuesday competition event in CT? Taco Daddy is giving away $5k to the prize time winner of 3 elimination rounds in their Royal Rumble competition, the first of which is going down on February 11th. Oh, guess what….I’m going to be judging, so bring your A game people.
This Taco Tuesday event series will feature some talented chefs (we’ll let you know who later), and home cooks. There are two ways to get involved in this event.
1. Watch & Eat. Tickets are $100 per person, can be purchased here. Guests will be served food and unlimited drinks with their purchase of a ticket!
2. Compete! Do you think you have what it takes to be a part of this competition? The Taco Daddy team is looking for foodies, home cooks, and even professional chefs from all walks of life to compete for a grand prize of $5,000! To nominate yourself or someone you know, click here –@TacoDaddyStamford – comment on the post and include why you think the nominee would do well. More info here.
Swyft, historic Kent’s new restaurant featuring wood-fired pizza, is now open offering creative small plates, pastas, rustic entrees, and a large selection of craft beers and natural wines.
Swyft is the brainchild of chef-owner Joel Viehland, formerly of the award-winning Community Table in Litchfield County. The historic 18th-century building is divided to house both a modern tavern and a fine dining restaurant. Swyft, a 40-seat tavern and bar, will offer seasonal comfort fare, with ingredients largely coming from nearby Rock Cobble Farm. Through a separate entrance is Ore Hill, where eventually Viehland will serve a tasting menu that draws upon his experience cooking at Noma, Gramercy Tavern, and other renowned restaurants.
At Swyft, the focus is on adventurous comfort food. Small plates include baby back pork ribs with guanciale-spiked XO sauce, a salad of lightly charred brassicas with crispy grains and pomegranate, and pickled wild mussels on saffron aioli toast, while entrees range from wood-fired chicken for two to rabbit milanese with cardoon gribiche or a burger with old-school tallow fries. Swyft will offer a selection of seasonal pizzas, wood-fired in a Pavesi oven from Naples, Italy. In addition to classics like margherita, Viehland will offer a kale and potato pie, with both the greens and the milk for the housemade ricotta coming from Rock Cobble Farm just minutes away.
In a letter to friends, Joel and Audra Viehland announced the November opening of a new restaurant, Ore Hill & Swyft in Kent, Connecticut. Formerly of Community Table, Chef Joel Viehland is opening the restaurant in two stages, accommodating two distinct dining experiences. We eagerly await their return!
[updated] This summer 109 Cheese will expand to Litchfield County with a pop-up shop on Kent's beautiful Main Street with an expected opening date of June 6, bringing their cheese, charcuterie, sandwiches, Farm Country Soups, and gourmet products to to the former Farm Country Soup location at 14 North Main Street.
We will bring lots of our gourmet goodies, some local artisan favorites and best of all, our sandwiches and grilled cheese, plus we will have indoor and outdoor seating too! We are so excited to be expanding to Kent, an amazing town and destination. - Monica & Todd Brown
109 Cheese and Wine's homebase in "Ridgefield" will be operating as usual throughout the summer.
