To Forage: The word forage means to use wander or search for food or provisions.
So when I was invited to James Beard nominated and passionate foraging chef, Bun Lai’s farm in upstate Connecticut for lunch, I half expected we would forage for much of our meal.
When I saw on Instagram that Bun and his friend, Greg Grinberg from Actual Food had been diving the prior day for clams for lunch, I knew I was in for a treat.
Chef Bun Lai is a passionate advocate for sustainable farming and eating and sources much of the food he serves at his New Haven sushi restaurant, Miya’s, from his own gardens, from the wooded forest around his 10 acre farm in Woodbridge, CT and from Long Island Sound. His popular restaurant has been a New Haven destination for over 35 years, originally opened by his mother, who is still involved today.
To visit with Bun is a lesson in locally sourced produce, with no pesticides or flavor or color enhancements. He and Greg described foraging as, “the most natural way of eating… the “gathering” part of the hunter/gatherer”.
Chef Silvia Baldini, Founder of New Canaan, CT based culinary group Strawberry and Sage, will compete again on Chopped Champion, the Food Network’s hit series. On April 19st at 10 pm, Baldini will be one of the 16 returning champions chosen to battle it out for a chance to earn the Chopped Champion title and $50,000 in prize money. Four preliminary rounds will determine who gets a spot in the finale. But only one chef from among the four finalists will be named the winner.
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.
Michael Hazen has been named Executive Chef at the highly anticipated new restaurant,Pearl at Longshore in Westport, Connecticut. Hazen, an innovative chef with over 20 years experience, most recently launched the concept for the successful Bartaco restaurants and prior to that spent years building the Barcelonarestaurant brand. Chef Hazen has designed a menu influenced by fresh seasonal and sustainable cuisine, while honoring the stunning Westport waterfront and the community’s focus on a healthy lifestyle. “The menu at Pearl is centered around the food people love to eat, but also has that element of surprise, something a guest didn’t know they wanted but are glad they had it,” said Hazen. “I wanted to create a restaurant that was simple and delicious, yet adds excitement to Westport’s restaurant scene.”
Chef, author, and food activist Alice Waters will visit Yale University on February 2, 2016 at 4 p.m. to give a talk at the Yale Art Gallery titled "Slow Food Values in a Fast Food Culture." The talk is free and open to the public.
Waters is the owner of the ingredient-driven Chez Panisse restaurant that opened in 1971 in Berkeley, a founder of the Edible Schoolyard Project and a recipience of the National Humanities Medal in 2015.
For more information about the event, visit Yale News.
Let's be real people. When the cold weather rolls in, it's time to dig into some serious comfort food. For us, this generally means braised meat and carbs, preferably pasta. Chef Renato Donzelli of Basso Cafe in Norwalk makes beautiful housemade pasta for his guests, and now you can make it in your own house. Enjoy his recipe for Stuffed Ricotta and Spinach Agnolotti.
Meet Minh Tsai, the investment banker turned tofu master, and learn about his company Hodo Soy, an artisanal tofu supplier from Oakland. Minh has been a pioneer in getting chefs and large institutions to use tofu including Chipotle (heard of sofritas?) and Costco. This talk is sure to entertain and inspire and provide an enlightening discussion on how traditional recipes (along with Masters students) can be used to change our future impact on the earth.
Many CT diners were shocked when Bill Taibe announced that LeFarm in Westport was closing its doors after six years. LeFarm was without a doubt one of the most highly celebrated restaurants in Connecticut, a place where local chefs gathered on their nights off and regulars booked a table weekly. So, why did it close? We sat down with Chef Bill Taibe (owner ofKawa Niand The Whelk) to find out why...
LeFarm was a very successful restaurant right up until the day you closed the doors. Why did you decide to sell LeFarm?It was the right time. We had met our goals at LeFarm. It is now time to set our sites on a more focused plan. We want to offer more services. Create new experiences. Push ourselves a bit harder.
CTbites sat down with some of CT's top chefs and restaurant owners at The Greenwich Wine + Food Festival to talk about food trends in CT, their inspiration, favorite foods, the farm-to-table trend, and what their mamas taught them.
Chefs included Christian Petroni, Bill Taibe, Matt Storch (as moderator), Nick Martschenko, Pat Pascarella, Ryan Fibiger, & Rui Correia. (See if you can tell which one of these chefs had a rough night prior to our interview.)
This video originally aired via Periscope. Make sure you don't miss upcoming CTbites Periscope content, download Periscope here. https://appsto.re/us/TXw_5.i
Top Chefs from all around Fairfield County gathered at the CTbites Chef Demo Tent to delight guests at the Blues, Views & BBQ Festival this past weekend in Westport. They grilled, demoed recipes, and served up some great eats to thousands of eager fans. Was it fun? Heck yeah. The chefs you see above hail from: Match, Walrus + Carpenter, The Spread, Fleishers Craft Butchery, Bobby Q’s, Vespa, Can Tiin & NEAT, as well as Da Pietro's. They made brisket, pork buns, sliders, pork belly, and every other cut of every meat imaginable. Good times were had by all. Check out the pics!
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.
Patrons of Washington Prime will find comfort in the cuisine of its new Executive Chef Howard McCall Jr. This unassuming chef is not new to SoNo nor the kitchen at Washington Prime; he started in the kitchen at Barcelona twenty years ago and was the opening Sous Chef at Washington Prime last summer. Prior to joining Washington Prime he oversaw the kitchen at Mint restaurant in North Carolina which influenced his new Southern style cuisine.
CTbites was invited to meet the chef and sample some of his new additions to the menu. Chef Howard exudes a soft personality, allowing his culinary talents to speak. His recent changes to the new menu range from a creative American Soul Rolls to a Braised Lamb Shank, plus modifications of previous favorites. Each maintained the focus on the main ingredient with delightful accompaniments…more akin to Southern comfort food.
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.
If you're still looking for the unique gift for that special person. Give them a memorable experience that is both fun & useful. Sign them up for a cooking class at The Schoolhouse at Cannondale Restaurant in Wilton Ct. In fact, sign up with them. Chef Tim LaBant & his staff will be sharing their years of experience each Tuesday evening beginning in February. You'll also savor the finished culinary delights after the class. The schedule and focus for each evening is as follows:
February 3...Winter Braising and knife skills February 10...Appetizers and ingredient pairing guidlines February 17...How to prepare our most favorite soups and stocks February 24...Duck cookery and grain preparation March 3...Fish cookery; wet and dry cooking methods.When to use each method
We, Westport Farmers’ Market, wanted to find a way to say thank you for the support our communities continue to provide us, so……
We have collaborated with the best of the best in Fairfield County to bring you a local, delicious and certainly special Thanksgiving menu. You might even say it is a celebrity chef Thanksgiving menu created just for WFM. We've gathered recipes from the likes of: Bill Taibe, Matt Storch, Mischel Nischan and so many more. View The Complete Recipe Guide Here & view the list of chefs below.
Looking for the perfect recipe - heck, the perfect menu? Look no further! Each recipe will include a grocery list for Saturday's market at Gilbertie’s Herb Garden in Westport.
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.
This is not a kid cookbook – well, of course it is, but it’s not the type of cookbook you’d expect from a bunch of kids. This is a book to be gifted, passed on and shared, especially among children and teenagers. It’s inspiring and thought-provoking. Future Chefs: Recipes by Tomorrow’s Cooks Across the Nation and the World is the brainchild of chef, food writer and author, Ramin Ganeshram. Future Chefs is a remarkable collection of stories and recipes from extraordinary children world-wide. Some of the recipes are quite complex, others couldn’t be more simple, but the messages about the food and around the food are what inspires.
We are introduced to a new generation of chefs, foodies and tastemakers and we see the ever changing world of food through their eyes. Today’s children are smart and savvy. They are aware of all that lies around them. Many of these children are keenly aware of health and nutrition, the importance of fresh, wholesome ingredients, supporting local businesses and farms and using organic ingredients. In Future Chefs you will meet all sorts of children from a wide array of socio-economic backgrounds – some are privileged, others are not, and many have remarkable stories to share. These children, are focused and determined. Collectively they have published recipes, have food blogs, have been invited to the White House as guests of Mrs. Obama, and have made appearances on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, NPR, and Chopped.
Temperatures have started dipping and a fall chill is in the air! CTBites has collected recipes from local chefs and popular restaurants that embody the seasonal harvest. We've compiled some of our favorites below- and included three new fall inspired recipes. Try Chef Frederic Kieffer's Acorn Squash Cappuccino Soup, Chef Matt Storch's Quince and Hazelnut Torte, and Cask Republic's Harvest Vegetable Medley.
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!
To Forage: The word forage means to use wander or search for food or provisions. 
