I am honored that Chef Michel Nischan agreed to play along with us for our latest installment of Where do Chefs Eat Out? The chef and co-founder of The Dressing Room - one of the first farm to table restaurants in the state - shifted gears in 2014 to focus on Wholesome Wave, a not for profit he founded that provides healthy food choices to underserved consumers by increasing affordable access to fresh, local, and healthy items. A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to talk with him about this incredible project. What began as a dream in our own backyard is now thriving in 48 states.
I've always wondered where the chefs from our favorite local restaurants eat when they finally get some time away from their busy schedules. Do they prefer to go home and relax? Or do they like to go out? If the latter, what are some of their favorite places, locally and beyond? Do they might have any secret hole in the wall places and would they be willing to share these with us? This column will be on ongoing feature. We start our series with Chris Gonzales of Hapa Food Truck.
Oh so many fish in da sea! And that’s only the beginning....what kind of fish do you want to prepare? Do you know how to prepare it? Oh, yeah, and where should you go to get this fish, short of heading out into open waters yourself? And wait, and here’s the $100,000 question: is the fish you are buying everything it says it is? Good grief. It’s almost easier dating and looking for *those* fish in the sea. Well, fear not, CTBites sat down recently with one of the Big Fish out there, Jim Thistle of Fjord Fish Market, and he helped guide us through seemingly murky waters...
It feels like an ordinary morning in South Norwalk. Restaurants are opening their doors and a few pedestrians have started to meander down Main Street. People are easing into their daily routines. There is no fanfare or paparazzi… no indication that culinary legend Lidia Bastianich and her team have quietly taken over Clarke Kitchens to film the latest season of Lidia’s Kitchen!
Lidia Bastianich’s extensive career is filled with an array of accomplishments. Her four New York City restaurants, Felidia, Becco, Esca and Del Posto, as well as Lidia’s Pittsburgh and Lidia’s Kansas City, have received widespread acclaim. She also joined forces with her son Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali, and Oscar Farinetti to open Eataly, an Italian food and wine marketplace. In addition to her achievements as a restaurateur, she is an Emmy award-winning public television host, cookbook author, broadcast production company founder, and businesswoman.
Bastianich has chosen Norwalk to film 26 episodes for the fourth season of Lidia’s Kitchen. The television series, which is sponsored by Cento and Grana Padano, will air on PBS Public Television Network starting October 8, 2016. Each 30 minute episode revolves around a certain theme or ingredient and presents recipes based on it.
We recently gave you a sneak peek at Savor: A Celebration of Wine, Food, & Spirits, that will unfold in Hartford from April 7-9. The event’s Grand Tasting will give guests the chance to try hundreds of wine, spirits, and beers, indulge in dishes from area restaurants, and watch celebrity chef demonstrations.
Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine will headline the event while proceeds go toward the Robert Irvine foundation. A few weeks ago, he spoke with CTBites and told us about the foundation, upcoming Food Network shows, his varied food projects, and what to expect this year.
Savor just announced another addition to its celebrity chef line-up: Chef Zac Young. Fun, gregarious, and whimsical, Young currently works as the Executive Pastry Chef for the David Burke Restaurants. I became a fan of his when I watched him compete on Top Chef: Just Desserts. This past holiday season, his Thanksgiving “PieCaken” became a bona fide sensation.
You eat at their restaurants, you love their food, but what do you know about the chefs who work to bring you culinary pleasure? Here are 10 Questions with The Whelk's Chef Anthony Kostelis. Find out what inspires him, his favorite chef, most memorable meal and more...Get to know your chef.
What made you decide to be a chef?
I had always been involved in restaurants in some form. My father had his own food distribution company. My first jobs were working a few shifts in the kitchens at one of his customer's restaurants. I moved on to the front of house when I was 18 or so. That landed me at Scoozzi in New Haven for a few years. It was there, that I decided to pursue cooking. I remember looking at my class schedule when I was enrolled at Southern Connecticut State University; I was totally uninspired by my class list. I just happened to have dinner later that day at my favorite restaurant at the time when I realized that food is what I am passionate about.
Classically trained pastry chef, baking expert, cookbook author, and baking instructor Abby Dodge is a Fairfield, CT native on a mission to “bake the world a better place one recipe at a time.” She is a long-time contributing editor to Fine Cooking magazine, founding its test kitchen. In addition to her contributions in print, Abby is also leads a baking boot camp called “Cakes and Pies” you can enroll in on Craftsy.com, and an avid blogger where she hosts the online community #baketogether..
I had the pleasure of interviewing Abby on the occasion of the release of her tenth and latest cookbook called The Everyday Baker. You won’t want to miss her advice for home cooks on baking during the holiday season (advice I am promising myself to heed this year!), which is transcends baking and is really applicable to all things in life.
If you have questions for Abby, she has graciously agreed to answer your baking questions left in the comments section below.
The National, the newest restaurant from celebrated chef, restaurateur, TV host, author, and philanthropist Geoffrey Zakarian, is now open in the heart of downtown Greenwich, at 376 Greenwich Avenue.
We were invited to sit down with the chef just 24 hours after he opened the doors to the public. Sitting in a corner banquette, our candid conversation spanned his 30-year career, including his love for Greenwich, formative culinary influences, and his advice for aspiring chefs.
The National feels like an extension of Zakarian himself. They both exude a studied yet casual New York elegance, are utterly charming, and yet quite approachable. A former Greenwich resident, it is no surprise he chose to open the restaurant within this community he knows so well. The modern american bistro feels at home on the Avenue and inside, boasts the welcoming charm of a neighborhood café with a seasonal menu positioned to please.
This summer marks the 10 year anniversary for Sono Baking Company. To celebrate the milestone of this beloved local bakery, we sat down with owner, John Barricelli, to talk about the business of baking and his plans for the future.
What made you decide to launch Sono Baking Company?
We launched Sono 10 years ago because we found that the need for baked goods and breads were hard to find in this area....everything was being brought up from the city....I always wanted to bake bread in a big oven early in the morning with no days off!
Has the business of baking changed in the past 10 year? How?
The business has not changed, but competition has grown a little....we still think we are superior to anything out there...we bake fresh everyday....bake locally, distribute locally.
As we go to print on this article, chef, CEO and humanitarian Michel Nischan is in Chicago receiving another James Beard Award, as Humanitarian of the Year. This honor has been bestowed on few, including Art Smith, Emeril Lagasse and the late Charlie Trotter. The award signifies Michel’s commitment to making a difference in how and where we buy food, food education, and Wholesome Wave programs that offer affordable access to all consumers, especially the food insecure. As a longtime Westport resident, I have fond memories of The Dressing Room next to the Westport Country Playhouse. The buzz surrounding the restaurant when it opened in 2006 was driven by the friendship and collaboration between the co-owners, Paul Newman and chef Michel Nischan and their shared beliefs about food. Together they contributed to Connecticut’s nascent farm-to-table movement, not only sourcing from local farms and purveyors, but also listing their products as part of the menu. Paul could be found there many evenings with his wife Joanne, and family and “sightings” were always a treat to patrons.
Ben McCrea is a gentle-giant of a man, but don't let his warm, friendly facade fool you. Underneath that kind-hearted shell is a mean, Auss-een, grilling machine.
In the WAY back of the lot on Fairfield Ave in Bridgeport that Walrus + Carpenter calls home, is the perch where Ben keeps watch. His job... smoking all types of meat to perfection. But what makes the man that makes the meat?
Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Ben gained his skills from watching his grandfather grill on the "barbie," but becoming a grill master wasn't his first passion. Ben came to the States as a boxer and did very well in that 'arena.' However, boxing is a short career and Ben knew something more awaited. What he didn't know was that it would be a smoker with a 500 gallon propane tank, commissioned by Walrus co-owner Joe Farrell (along with Adam Roytman.)
The Women's Business Council of Danbury is hosting their fifth annual Conversations with Extraordinary Women on April 23 at 5 to 8 pm at the Matrix Conference Center in Danbury, including CTbites' Executive Editor Amy Kundrat and best-selling author of Sneaky Chef Foods, Missy Chase Lapine.
Chefs Tyler Anderson, Bill Taibe, and Joel Viehland were recently recognized by the James Beard Foundation as semifinalists in the 2015 Best Chef: Northeast category. On the occasion of their nomination, we asked each of them to answer a few questions, from the serious (key influences and mentors) to the hypothetical (a CTbites blank check to open a new restaurant).
Want to know where Chef Tyler Anderson's next restaurant could be, who Chef Viehland would love to cook for, and who is one of Chef Taibe's biggest influences (hint: he is a chef in one of his kitchens)?
Read on for this and more from three of Connecticut's best chefs.
Mimi Sheraton, award-winning author and former restaurant critic for The New York Times, will be at the Westport Public Library on Saturday, February 28 to discuss her new book, 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List.
Sheraton's appearance will be a conversation with Matt Storch, chef and owner of Match Restaurant.
About Mimi Sheraton
Mimi Sheraton is a journalist, restaurant critic, lecturer, IACP and James Beard Award–winning cookbook author, and the woman about whom famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten declared, “Her knowledge knows no bounds, her glossary of flavors is ultimate. Her opinion is like gold.” The former restaurant critic of the New York Times,
How does it feel to be hired as the new Chef de Cuisine for one of Fairfield County’s most successful restaurants? Chef Anthony Kostelis, of The Whelk in Westport, would say it is like a dream come true. In fact, ever since Kostelis started working with Bill Taibe in 2010, he knew he didn't want to be anywhere else.
Kostelis’ love of food began at the ripe age of 15 when he started work in a Manchester pizza restaurant. Half Greek, half Italian, and the son of a food purveyor for high end ingredients, Anthony seemed fated to head down a culinary path. By age 20, he was working in New Haven as a server and bartender at Ibiza, when he decided to leave college and pursue his real passion, cooking. Working his way through the CIA, he was mentored by Executive Chef Jeff Caputo of Scoozzi, also in New Haven, who took him under his wing and “set me up for success,” says Anthony.
Good times were had at this year's Greenwich Wine + Food Festival as National and local celebrity chefs sat down with Chef Matt Storch and Serendipity Editor, Danielle Manion at the CTbites & Serendipity Blogger Lounge. Here is the first installment, our interview with the formidable Adam Richman, made famous with his hit show "Man V. Food" on The Travel Channel.
Adam even has some great local restaurant recommendations!
Co-Founders Nina and Tim Zagat of the indespensible dining guide, the Zagat Survey, will be visiting the Yale School of Management this Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 11:45 am. The event is open only to the Yale community but luckily for us, they will be broadcasting it live.
Zagat has been an essential resource guiding diners on the best places to eat, drink and shop for over three decades using crowd-sourced diner reviews, their own editors, and their well-known 30 point scale.
Like Oprah or Madonna in pop culture, Lidia is one-name-famous to foodies, a television star (Lidia's Italy -- PBS), renowned restaurateur (Felidia, Eataly, Delposto, Becco), a worldwide brand (Lidia's Sauces and Pasta), bestselling author (Lidia’s Commonsense Guide to Italian Cooking is her latest), mom, grandmother, whew, one name so many roles.
Incidentally, Lidia is no stranger to Connecticut. Her son Joe and his family live in Greenwich, she tapes her PBS show in Norwalk, and of course the Bastianich clan is associated with Tarry Lodge in both Westport and Port Chester.
We began the conversation, wondering what Lidia the little girl would think if she could peer into a crystal ball and see the famous Lidia of today.
“When I was nine years old we had fled from Communist Yugoslavia and my family was in a refugee camp,” she told us, “I think that little girl, her mouth would be open at what I’ve accomplished.” Then Lidia thought about that youngster for a moment and resolutely stated, “But you know, I always had confidence I was going to amount to something And food was so very important to me, because we didn’t have much.”
Chef Entertainer Neil Fuentes (a.k.a. "The Singing Chef") was recently featured on the Food Channel giving audiences a tour of one of his favorite New Haven spots. Rubamba. We sat down with Neil to discuss his favorite ingredients, kitchen nightmares, and go-to dishes.
1. If you had unexpected guests arriving at your home for dinner in one hour, what would you whip up?
One of the most effective recipes I like to make when I am in a rush is my Mustard Chicken, It’s fast, with deep flavors and really quick. I grab whatever I have in the freezer, chicken breast, chicken thighs, a whole chicken or whatever. I place the chicken in in a large soup pot! I put water until it’s covered with water. Put on the stove on high and covered. To that I add a 3/4 cup of good old yellow mustard. 1 tbsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste. I let the chicken boil covered for 15 minutes. Then I uncover the chicken and keep it on high. The liquid will start reducing creating a super delicious sauce. One the sauce is thick I shut the stove off. At that pout I take the chicken off the pot and place it on a baking sheet with a rack and put it older the broiler in the oven until is nice and brown. I serve this chicken with a simple rice and sweet fried plantains.
