In the Kitchen

Primo Restaurant One of ten best restaurants

Bon Appetit just named Melissa Kelly's Primo restaurant in Rockland, Maine one of the Ten Best Restaurants for the U.S. Long a fan of Melissa, it is an honor well deserved for such a talented chef. Her Primo restaurants at the JW Grande Lakes and JW Tucson Starr Pass are her warm weather haunts when Maine freezes over, and equally worth a visit if in Orlando or Tucson.
Thanks and congrats Melissa!

Because it's the right thing to do

“To create amazing food, we have to start with the right ingredients. Placed in the hands of skilled local culinarians, these ingredients are transformed every day into amazing global guest experiences.”

 Using the above as a philosophy for what we do, Marriott International has taken many steps over the years to ensure our ingredient supply chain is of the highest quality and integrity.  We have led our supplier community on this front, and in effect positively impacted the supply side of our business, through programs such as our 100% traceable burger program (US MFST), 2007 global trans-fat ban, and the 2010 FutureFish sustainable seafood programs. What began as an idea in 2000 has now turned into over 100 kitchen gardens at our hotels across the globe, providing tangible context to customer demand for local and responsibly-sourced product. Over the last ten years we have witnessed a resurgence in locally-sourced foods, increased demand for organic ingredients, heightened awareness of health and nutrition,  and significant demand for ingredient detail.

Furthermore, Marriott considers animal welfare an important consideration as we work toward a more sustainable food supply chain, and is addressing these complex issues with our valued vendors who supply our hotels.  In support of the humane treatment of animals, Marriott International is directing suppliers to use only cage-free eggs and liquid egg products for any Marriott International egg specifications by 2015, expanding on our 2011 breakfast program policy requiring cage-free eggs in JW Marriott Hotels.

Regarding restrictive pens for commercial pork production, we are directing our pork suppliers to discontinue the use of gestation confinement crates in their production processes for any Marriott International pork specification by 2018.

Couple of happy hams at Stone Barns, Westchester, NY

Marriott is partnering with trusted suppliers to lead the industry in changes to the traditional supply chain. This multi-year approach provides the framework for the supply chain to retool in a thoughtful, responsible and financially-sound approach. Through sufficient notice, we expect those suppliers who wish to continue a long-standing relationship with Marriott International to evaluate their production methods to be able to comply within the target dates. Working together with our local chefs and suppliers, national suppliers and contracts, and in support of our responsible-sourcing global strategy, we are doing everything we can to influence how food we serve is raised.     

What's on YOUR plate today?

And the winners are…!

Each year since 1998, Marriott International has recognized outstanding Executive Chefs and emerging Stars with the Award of Culinary Excellence, known as ACE. Collecting nominations from Food & Beverage and hotel leaders throughout our wide range of global Brands, the criteria for these awards is based on professional accomplishment and culinary passion, outstanding chefs who tirelessly exhibit unparalleled dedication to great food and true culinary leadership. Chefs who are nominated are the company’s best culinarians with great technical skills and champions of culinary expertise.

To the ACE Winner, being a good chef does not just mean solid cooking skills or solid managerial skills, but a perfect blend of both. Inspiring others, embodying the Spirit to Serve and Community Footprints, and leading others through the career path of the kitchen are all natural efforts for the winner.

Our 2010 ACE winners in New York City

Of the 111 nominations this year, we have many incredibly talented chefs who are unquestionably the heart and soul of their hotels. From outstanding community service to unparalleled events to impressive guest satisfaction scores, the nominations provide a snapshot to the enthusiasm of the best culinarians in our company.

The Chefs and Rising Stars, once selected to receive the ACE award, are then rescored to determine the Chef of the Year and The Rising Star of the Year for Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East Africa and the Americas the Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Renaissance, and Marriott brands. From this list, we are able to determine the Global Chefs of the Year and Global Rising Stars of the Year, and here they are.

 ACE Chef of the Year

        Sean Woods, The Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes

        Michael Hogan, JW Marriott Bangkok

        Gary Hughes, The Shelbourne

        Subhash Sinha, Pune Marriott and Convention Center

 ACE Rising Star of the Year  

        Christophe Gibert, The Ritz-Carlton Osaka

        Giovanni Seu, JW Cairo

        Paula DeSilva, Renaissance Eden Roc

        Prashant Yewale, London Marriott Twickenham

 Congratulations to the our Award of Culinary Excellence Chefs and Rising Stars of the Year!

 

A Summer Challenge

What would you do with a Roasted Chicken, a few grapes, spinach, pears, almonds, and horseradish?  The most creative use of these ingredients posted back to Bill Marriott's blog by August 15th will be the  Challenge winner, and recieve a personal call from Mr. Marriott.

This all started with our European Marriott Hotels Black Box Challenge.  Teams from each of the Marriott Hotels throughout all of Europe competed in a friendly but serious competition to see which hotel could produce a themed dinner from a basket of mystery ingredients. Over the course of a year and in each major city throughout the continent, teams competed until one hotel was crowned the winner. That team was the Marriott Forest of Arden.

Earlier this year, we brought the team in Washington and cooked with them as they recreated their winning dishes. Some of the members had never been to the US, so in true Chesapeake fashion we not only cooked in the test kitchen, but brought them to a true Baltimore Crab House for Old Bay Steamed Crabs. I have alwaye felt that the best travel experiences are built around the food of the area. Nothing speaks to the US Mid-Atlantic like a pile of steamed Blue Crabs on a paper lined table with nothing but a wooden mallet to get to the tender crab meat under the hard shell. After two hours of cracking and picking, our British chefs became bona fide experts on the art of crab bashing.

Friendly competition is a great thing. We have seen a great deal of interest in this type of activity, especially with groups coming to our hotels as part of larger meetings. Have you ever cooked competively? Try your hand at it by sending Bill Marriott your ideas!

What's on YOUR plate today?    

A Chef's Comfort Food

The Bromberg Brothers original Blue Ribbon restaurant in New York is rumored to have been built on fried chicken, or so would be believed if you listened to their fans. Personally, I agree, it is great fried chicken as is nearly everything else on their menu. Long before they were serious players on the New York restaurant scene, theirs was the place that the city's best chefs went to wind down after a long night. It used to be said that if you walked into Blue Ribbon at 2 in the morning, every chef in the city was there. Some still are in fact.

Now with Blue Ribbon outposts as far away as the Cosmopolitan (an Autograph Collection in Vegas) and being featured in a dozen Renaissance properties in the US, their fried chicken is easier to experience. Paired with their organic honey, the Northern fried chicken wings highlight a simple menu of a half dozen or so of the Bromberg's best, in Renaissance properties from Times Square to Arlington, Virginia, to Vancouver. If you can't get to the Village, maybe Blue Ribbon is already where you are.

Can't  share the recipe, but Bromberg's fried chicken is on my plate today... What's on YOURS?

Will 2012 food trends be any different?

If food is like fashion, then we are sure to see as many new trends in food '12 as this season's newest colors of the new fashion black.  Not really a fashion forward guy, you'll have to check out another blog for whichever shade of purple is in now. As to food and drink though, there certainly are a lot of prognosticators with already published lists.  Who knows, maybe some of them will be right.  I thought I would take a shot at what I see as the trends to watch out for over the next year, and who knows, maybe I will be right on one or two.

 Going soon

• Popups Pop-Out - could there ever be a sillier idea than to pop up a restaurant? Rather than spending months planning a restaurant for a 3-month life span, look to free-standers to design concept spaces that can live for two years and then flip to a fresh concept that requires no infrastructure redesign, and can use existing staff. A restaurant with an exit plan.

• Peruvian - I have heard for years this is the year for Peruvian. Love ceviche, but I am still waiting (see below).

 Gone

• Fennel Pollen
• $100 Burger
• Salt Menus
• Amuse Bouche
• Anti-Griddles
• Micro Anything

In and on the way in '12

• Designer Label Maple Syrup- Vintage and single grove, brix rated, long or short fired syrups from a handful of North country groves will make their way to power breakfast tables, and even show up on forward thinking hunter-gatherer pastry chefs' menus.

• Healthy Comfort Breakfast To-Go- a Whole Grain and Flax Organic Blueberry Muffin sure sounds like a healthy alternative.  Expect the oatmeal with creative toppings to expand. Thankfully though, the drinkable oatbased breakfast shakes will not be with us much longer...

• Dim Sum, the New Taco - Any trip to China is not complete with a proper stop at a Dim Sum house. Cute packages of steamed dough, awesome dipping sauces, perfect for the multi, small meals preferred by busy travelers. Look for these in lobby gathering spots.

• Peruvian - Is this finally the year of the (truly, it is) great cuisine of Peru? (see above). 

• QR Code Menus - Don't believe that sea bass is sustainable? Scan the funny looking block on the menu and learn the day it was caught, where, and by whom. View the recipe...link on to a virtual feed from the kitchen...or pick the best wine match. 

• Moonshine  Spirits- With a show all about distilling spirits now on reality TV, look for the Kentucky entrepreneurs to do for kettle whiskey what Phil and the Hansen brothers did for king crab.

• Coconut Water Long drinks - Brazil exported bikinis, so why not the national thirst quencher in a newly improved pina colada? 

• Trucks Stop - Tired of being chased away by irritated restaurant owners within 200 feet of their doors, look for food truckers to band together for communal prep spaces and rented parking lots to ply their wares. Also, look for fast food to start using mobile trucks to micro-test new ideas before hitting the real test markets.

• Speakeasy Reservations - Like the Premier line at the airport, social media reverse tweets give a badge to flash at the door for an immediate seat and recognition. Like a virtual secret knock, and you don't even have to be Mayor of FourSquare. 

• Free Foods - Gluten, Cage and Nut - Allergy concerned or socially aware, diners have more at stake than just flavor when they demand restaurants provide more detail about what is offered. Cage Free Eggs and the difficult topic of gestation crated commercial pork are next in the headlines.

• Local Treasures - Years ago the best street vendors in Singapore were hired to open Straits Kitchen, now let's see if the maker of It's -It San Francisco or the Saturday Chorizo sandwich guy at Borough's London Market moves to partner on a partial menu instead of the whole restaurant. Think Bromberg Bro's Blue Ribbon Chicken in gateway Renaissance cities? 

• Sodium the new Carb - Healthy now takes its aim at salt, so chefs will be reducing sodium with more flavored and acidic pickles, even replacing bread baskets with pickled local vegetables, maybe from their gardens.  Could be at the bar soon instead of salty carbs. 

• Customized Healthy - Ok, I am sure the broccoli spread is a fine alternative to butter, but really, is that my only choice? Diners want to eat better, but the food better make sense and be balanced with the experience they are paying for. Reminds me of the time I ordered 12-course vegetarian tasting menu at a to-be-unnamed Chicago restaurant..then stopped for a burger on the way home because I was still hungry.

Not going anywhere:

• Burgers
• Deluxe Fried Chicken
• Food Trucks
•  Nose-to-Tail Eating
• Gardens
• TV Food
• Arabic Mezze
• Organic Everything
• Offal Saturdays
• GreenWashing & Calling out Greenwashers
• Brussels Sprouts
• Fast casual Chinese
• Foods with a Story
• Cupcake Mania

What's on YOUR plate today? 

A New Game in Town

For the 70 million people said to be playing Facebook generated games at any one time, there is now a new option. Rather than worrying about when to harvest the cyber vegetables or feed the virtual goats, gamers can now feel the rush of adrenaline that comes naturally to chefs on a restaurant line, especially when tickets start to back up and the servers get grouchy…or is it the chefs?

  Launched today on Facebook and accessible by visiting the the Marriott Careers page, www.facebook.com/marriottjobsandcareers,  My Marriott Hotel™ offers a virtual glimpse into what happens in the heart of the hotel, the kitchen. Gamers set up their facility by selecting equipment and ingredients, planning a menu, and ultimately preparing the orders for waiting guests. As I said in my first blog, “You’re only as good as your last meal”. Here, the chef watches for guest satisfaction (by way of a clean and green returned plate) while balancing the restaurant manager mood as the restaurant gets busier and busier. Serve a lot of meals to happy customers, the manager smiles…make the manager deal with disappointed guests, not so many smiles.

 

We started working on this many months ago with the idea of linking the unique opportunities of a career in hospitality with the surge in social online gaming. Available globally and in five languages (English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Mandarin), My Marriott Hotel™ will build on the kitchen experience with future modules of restaurant service, housekeeping, front desk, etc. Each of these departments represent where the majority of today's hotel leaders started their careers, and with 50,000 positions to fill this year alone, we hope to be tapping the prospect of a hospitality career of those playing the My Marriott Hotel™ game.

 

As part of the launch, over 350 Marriott HQ Associates joined our test kitchen team for a tour through the game and a non-virtual snack. With mini burgers flying off the grill, it gave the sense of playing the game for real. There is nothing more exciting than a busy restaurant, so if you want to try running one of your own, check out the game and how it works on You Tube at http://bit.ly/MyMarriottHotelOverview .  

What’s on YOUR plate today? Check out the game and see what’s cooking!

Sustainable Gardening

Ten years ago I had the opportunity to tour Alice Waters’ Sustainable Schoolyard garden at the Martin Luther King School in Berkeley, California.  I was incredibly impressed with the facility and humbled by the good work being done. It began our discussions about garden friendly hotels. In the ten years since my visit to Berkeley, we have built many similar gardens throughout our system- JW Marriott Grande Lakes, Boston Marriott Burlington, Cleveland Airport Marriott, JW Tucson Star Pass, and now our Corporate Headquarters.

Constructed in April and just planted on May 5 (a bit late, but we will take full advantage of the Washington summer), the Corporate Kitchen Garden will supply the development test kitchens and the surplus will go to support a local school’s culinary training program. The Culinary team gardeners also plan at least one Farmers Market this summer for the colleagues at headquarters.

While in Napa Valley recently, I popped into the Napa Valley Marriott and got a chance to s ee for    the first time the exceptionally designed lobby; their new bar, Vin Eleven; and their huge garden. Even by Napa standards, to see Chef Brian Whitmer’s garden is an impressive glimpse into what so many of our hotels are doing to activate our sustainable goals.

Brian Whitmer says “Our menu takes inspiration and guidance from the seasons,our new heirloom garden, supporting local artisans  and a passion for great food”. Seafood is sourced sustainably of course, but Brian also uses local cage free eggs, single farmstead cheeses, natural beef and poultry and additional organic produce. In fact, Brian is not alone when it comes to implementing our approach to integrity minded food.

 
The JW San Antonio Hill Country is a benchmark example. I wrote about this spectacular property in February of 2010 and talked about what they were doing, but recent vistors there have come back just raving about the food Chef Ryan Littman’s team is preparing. Breakfast in Cibolo Moon features items such as Huevos Rancheros with cage-free eggs. In fact, all of the shell eggs are cage-free, as is the case at many of our properties. Our JW Life approach to organic, sustainable, and responsibly-sourced food has included cage-free eggs as a key component. I have met with and continue to meet with the Humane Society of the United States, suppliers and distributors, and global sourcing as we discuss our desire to achieve a completely cage-free egg for our shell egg uses. Similar to FutureFish, our global approach to sustainable seafood, our approach to sourcing eggs and other protein hinges on humane treatment of animals and support for the environment. 

What’s on YOUR plate today?

 
 
 

Football, Wings, and Kung Pao

Super Bowl Sunday in the US. The final game of the season, winner crowned World Champion (debatable however as I was reminded by a European colleague recently that Spain is the real World Champion Football club).  Pizza, secret recipe chili, chips, salsa, and of course chicken wings dominate this day of sports bar food. Even though the Buffalo Bills will be watching from their couches instead of playing, the most famous contribution from this great city will be the star of many menus. In fact, it is estimated that over 100 million pounds of Chicken Wings will be eaten on Super Bowl Sunday…1.25 billion wings.

For the last 19 years the city of Philadelphia, home of the Cheesesteak, has had an annual "Wing Bowl" held the day before the Super Bowl. This year the winner, Jon “Super” Squibb, ate 255 chicken wings in front of 20,000 fans at the Wells Fargo Center.  That is 40,000 calories and 2,550 grams of fat. Only in Philly!

Beyond the spicy buffalo style, made famous in 1964 as a drink encouraging snack at the Buffalo’s Anchor Bar, wings are popular in countless varieties. The simple sauce is 2/3 bottled hot sauce like Frank’s and 1/3 butter. Asian is popular, whether Thai style (as is offered in the Courtyard Bistros) or Chinese. In fact, the Champions Sports Bar menu at the Boston Copley Marriott has a great “Kung Pao” version popular with the Patriots fans. However they are finished, wings will be part of nearly every Super Bowl party and menu.

 
 Kung Pao wings at Champions

Planning a party? Fry if you can, or bake if you can’t, 2 pounds of chicken wings till crispy and brown. Toss in 1 cup of any sauce like BBQ or Thai Sweet Chili. Alternatively, toss the wings in parmesan cheese and black pepper or even lemon and thyme for something not so messy.  However you choose, nothing will go better with the game than a pile of wings…but maybe not 255 in one sitting!

Enjoy the game!

This just in from Chef Raman Natarajan of the Austin Renaissance. Lucky chef has tickets for the game and has sent this from the stadium!

 

A Day In Chicago

On my trip to Asia I had an unexpected 12 hour layover in Chicago, thanks to a mechanical issue on the flight. Though a hassle, I always appreciate the airline making the call not to go if everything is not working right!  What to do in Chicago for 12 hours? I took a cab straight to the new JW Marriott to see The Florentine.

The Florentine is the newest Italian addition to a city filled with Italian restaurants. A member of the BLT Group, I was excited to see their newest concept and the new JW Marriott. I am a big fan of BLT Steak at the JW Camelback and San Juan Ritz-Carlton, and Florentine has gotten great press. It did not disappoint.

The waiter looked at me kind of funny when I ordered a fill size pasta and pizza at 11 am. I am sure he thought I was expecting someone to join me, but pretty soon out came the Bucatini Carbonara and Bacon-Leek Pizza. The pasta is topped with a duck egg, lending brilliant creaminess to the smoky bacon laced pasta. Really great, really simple. The pizza crust was thin and perfect, (hard to find in Chicago). Topped with winter leeks and more bacon (it was brunch time, so I figured two bacon items were ok), I intended only to eat about half of the pizza but soon found it too good to leave.

 
 
I finally made the flight after spending the day in the lobby of the hotel working on my computer. This hotel is well designed for this. I was able to use the Great Room communal table and stay plugged in all day. Business travel is always full of surprises, but I was actually thankful to have been forced to wait 12 hours for my continuing flight and have the chance to see Florentine and the new JW Marriott Chicago.

What’s on YOUR plate today? Bacon pizza I suppose.

 

The Growth in Asia is Astounding.

The first JW Marriott Asia Chefs Workshop has been an unrivaled success. I am in Bangkok, Thailand with 15 of our executive chefs from the JW Marriott Hotels in the Asia Pacific region. With more and more hotels opening in some of the world’s most exciting cities, it is also a phenomenal opportunity to share food stories with other chefs. What an experience it has been to work with this elite group. As of today we have 17 hotels under the JW Marriott flag in Asia, but soon there will be nearly double that. We need to cultivate and inspire culinary talent to bring this growth to life.

Bangkok is a true food city. Want street food? Every corner seems to have stands and stalls putting out incredibly diverse food. The national heritage Pad Thai Goong, unimaginable Satay, Som Tum (a spicy papaya salad that I cannot get enough of), curries of coconut and chili and the shrimp soup Tom Yum Goong that is so bright with lemongrass and chili that the only thing to stop you from eating more is the size of the bowl. It is the fresh fruit  however, that will change forever your benchmark of what fruit should taste like. Obviously, I really love the food of Thailand.

Home base has been the spectacular Renaissance Ratchprasong, a simply stunning hotel in the heart of this vibrant city. But I came here to do more than just eat street food. Bringing all of the JW chefs together, our mission has been to chart the course for our growth through unique and focused menus. We have cooked, shared ideas, worked with suppliers of plates and innovative buffet pieces, heard from seafood specialists on sustainable seafood in Asia, and of course, ate amazing food. Our focus was on defining authentic food, intuitive menus  and crafted artistry. After four days of cooking, the chefs are charging back to their hotels with a mission to get every detail right. Watch out, these guys are motivated!

These chefs come from hotels that I would stack up against any in the world.   The JW Marriott Bangkok is still amazing at the age of 13, JW Marriott Shenzen is stunning and just open barely a year, JW Marriott Hong Kong, has been the best in the city for 25 years, and the JW Marriott Mumbai is an oasis of luxury in a city of millions. We calculated that there was more than 300 years of culinary experience cooking together over the last few days. Pretty impressive. Last year on a tour through Asia I met a young sous chef at the JW Marriott Shenzen in China, who impressed me with his passion and enthusiasm. Jack  Zhou is now the hotel's executive chef and is a testament to the opportunities created by our rapid growth. I am really proud of the team of chefs we have throughout Asia, in all of our brands. This group from the JW Marriott Hotels has truly impressed me. I will be talking a lot more about Asia in the future, but my suggestion is to see the real thing and check out the hotels where chefs like Jack are creating amazing food experiences. If you are a “foodie,” get to Asia, it is worth every minute of the long plane ride.

What’s on YOUR plate today?  Mine -  Dim Sum for breakfast, Pad Thai for lunch, and Peking Duck for dinner.
 

Thanksgiving, the American (?) Holiday

How did it come about that Americans are compelled to cook a turkey on the final Thursday of the month of November?  One of the first history lessons in school is the story of the three-day feast of Thanks in 1621 shared by the Plymouth settlers and the Wampanoag Indian tribes, a loose tradition followed every autumn until enacted into law in 1863 by Abe Lincoln. But let’s get back to the turkey.

The early settlers were British, and English meals of significance always have a star dish, usually a large roast. The largest bird of the new America was the turkey, and presented a very impressive centerpiece for a real feast of Thanks. Thus, by default the turkey became the star, 45 million of them each Thanksgiving.

The Future of Our Fish

We serve a lot of fish in our hotels and restaurants and though an exact tally is difficult to determine, it is safe to say it is in the million kilo range on a global annual basis. Figure the average fish is around 2-5 kilos. 200-400 thousand fish a year? Probably a number not too far off.  So it is with that as a background that we ask the question about the future supply and question how our current stock of fish is being managed.

 

Fact: 40% of menu sales come from fish and seafood, a number that continues to grow.
Myth: There are plenty of fish in the sea.

Best Poke Recipe in Hawaii

In 1979, I left Seattle to take a job as  the banquet chef at a hotel near San Francisco, California. Then operated by Omni hotels, that hotel is now the San Mateo Marriott.  Two years later in 1981, I jumped at the opportunity to move to the Big Island of Hawaii to open a new resort for Sheraton, the Sheraton Royal Waikoloa...now the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa. Maybe I was just early, but it seems nearly every hotel I have worked at eventually becomes a Marriott!

Food Safety is Never Optional

Every day as thousands of meals are prepared in our global kitchens there is one thing built into every recipe and every task. Food safety and the proper care for food is always a first thought, never an option. Every associate who handles food is thoroughly trained in the science of food handling and the relationship of time and temperature as it relates to how we serve every meal. In fact, a thermometer is a regular part of every cook’s uniform globally; the kitchens in all of our brands perform internal audits and log temperatures of food in preparation and temperatures of coolers. The first step in food safety is knowing where the food comes form, and we take every step to insure that the ingredients we buy are traceable and have the highest standards of quality, supply chain integrity, and source.

Doug Davis heads up our Food Safety protocols in his role as Director of Culinary, Food Safety. Doug is also a chef, and uses his knowledge of food preparation and food science to lead 

Hot Shoppes' Link to Social Media

   The first "social media" outlets were the local restaurants were people would gather regularly to share stories, catch up on old friends, meet new friends, and establish lifelong relationships. before we had Facebook and Twitter, we had the local drive in and coffee shop. In Washington and all along the I-95 corridor, Hot Shoppes was that place. Not being from the Washington area, it has amazed me how many native Washingtonians  have such vivid memories of their experiences at Hot Shoppes. Long married couples who had their first date there, skipped school to meet there, or worked their first job in one of the iconic drive-ins. J Willard Marriott created such an amazing destination, long before the concept of destination restaurants became in vogue.

The last Hot Shoppes closed in December 1999. Facebook started in August 2005.  Social media is now online and Hot Shoppes has its own fanpage on Facebook. "Friends of The Mighty Mo and Hot Shoppes" is a group page with now over 1,000 members, all with amazing stories of their personal memories of their times spent at Hot Shoppes. These memories always include the Mighty Mo. A simple burger-triple split bun, two patties, lettuce, cheese, and of course the Mighty Mo Sauce. Eerily similar to another iconic burger, the Mighty Mo was served at Hot Shoppes since the 1940's, and named after the WWII battleship Missouri, the Mighty Mo. Now, some 60 years later, the Mighty Mo lives on...on the pages of Facebook.

   

You can still find the Mighty Mo in some of our hotels such as the Key Bridge Marriott, just across the river from the first Hot Shoppes.

Make your own Mo by adding the classic Mighty Mo sauce:

Mighty Mo Sauce

1/2 cup     ketchup

1/4 cup     chili sauce

1 1/2 tsp   A-1 sauce

1/2 tsp     Worcestershire sauce

2 drops     Tabasco sauce

1/2 cup     chopped fine pickles

1 1/4 cup  mayonnaise

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl combine the ketchup, chili sauce, A-1 sauce, Worcestershire sauce and

tabasco sauce.

2. Add the chopped pickles.

3. Add the mayonnaise and stir until well blended.

 

What's on YOUR plate today?

Different Focus to Courtyard Menu Development

The Courtyard Bistro has to be the fastest growing restaurant concept in the US. In three short years the concept has grown from a single hotel in Fairfax, Virginia to now nearly 160 nationwide, with a lot more opening every month. Building a concept of this size so quickly requires a great deal of attention by a team dedicated to the single idea of bringing life to the fabulous new lobby. Built around a core of quick breakfasts, refreshing salads, great sandwiches and shareable appetizers to pair with the pretty impressive bar, our menu development takes a great deal of time in our development kitchen. Countless taste panels, recipe fine tuning, and more tasting. That's fine, but it can't just be chefs tasting the food.

What Chefs Read

I have read every issue of Food Arts since it first began publishing in 1988. Targeted for the industry when most trade mags columns were mainly advertorials , there has been no more influential publication for chefs and the restaurant industry. It is written like a retail magazine, and when you met founder and publishers Michael and Arianne Batterberry you knew why it was so good. After all, their first magazine was Food and Wine, which they started in 1978.

Filled with interesting stories and informative features, you can credit the magazine and publisher for unearthing many of the new ideas that would become trends. If you were a chef in NYC,  a mention by Food Arts could springboard your career, and there are plenty of chefs that today can credit their success to just a few kind words by the publisher.

Sadly, Mr. Batterberry passed away on July 28th at the age of 78.  He was a giant in the industry, and has done more for chefs and the restaurant world than anyone can ever imagine. I had dinner with Mr Batterberry and his lovely wife recently at Dan Barber's Blue Hill at Stone Barns. An incredible evening of food and inspiring stories that only he could tell.

Mr and Mrs Batterberry were our guests in the test kitchen in 2001, but my relationship with Food Arts goes back to 1988 and the second issue of the magazine. I was an executive chef in Palm Springs when I got a call out of the blue from a frantic guest asking to speak with the chef. One of the groups in house was a large potato manufacturing company, and our guest had flown from New York to pitch a leap of faith advertising idea to them for a new magazine they had never heard of...Food Arts. By the way, they had only one published issue in their history. "Had I ever heard of it?" she asked. I invited her to the kitchen and showed her my copy. "Great magazine," I said. I then spoke with the execs she was to see, telling them that I thought Food Arts had the potential to be the only magazine I would read. They booked the ad deal, and are still a client. Barb is still with Food Arts, and I am still an avid reader 22 years later.

The Batterberry's were honored in May with the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award. His legacy will be with us for many years, and voice missed by all the chefs he has so deeply influenced.

Chef's Move To Schools

Posted on our refrigerator at home are all the usual things that for some reason just have to be displayed- photo of the dog (as if he is never around to see), a kids birthday invitation, some magnet that I still don't know why we bought, and other items that seem to have no other home. But centered for all to see is the school lunch menu from my kids schools. Consulted every day, the menu determines whether 3 lunches will be packed, or if trip through the cafeteria line is in order.  Nine out of ten days, the kids ask for a packed lunch...thankfully.

I say thankfully because though our schools have made progress, we still have a long way to go to find great tasting healthy menus in the modern school cafeteria. Many of the vending machines are being removed, but we can surely do more. Chefs can be the link, and a new program called "Chefs Move To Schools" is a timely and innovative vehicle for us to get involved and bring a focus of help to the hard working school cafeteria and culinary workers. I call this "Operation Lunch Lady" in my house, though I don't think Jamie Oliver or Michelle Obama would prefer that moniker to the groundbreaking work they are doing. 

Las month, I had the opportunity, no, make that "duty," to be a part of the White House launch of "Chefs Move To Schools".  Michael Poompan of the Long Beach Renaissance was there as well, joining the nearly 1,000 chefs and culinary educators being hosted on the South Lawn by Michelle Obama and White House Assistant Chef Sam Kass. That's alot of white jackets touring the garden and collaborating on a national movement to provide culinary expertise to schools. This is really a local movement with global backing, the idea of pairing local chefs with schools in their communities. Simple really, chefs in the US have a website they can link to sign up and adopt a school. Likewise, chefs can sign up and be adopted by school that may want our help but have not been chosen. Really brilliant when you think about it.

 
  
 I am encouraging all of our chefs to adopt a school and be a part of this on a national level. Globally, we have the ability as well in each of our 66 countries to be involved on a local level, as the subject of child nutrition is not a single country discussion, it is a global need. I mentioned Jamie Oliver and the efforts he began in the UK. This is not just a US goal, this is a global perspective.

Ok, so we adopt, then what? Simple really, the chef and school administrator get together and collaborate on what each can do. It may be an agreement to do a series of cooking demos, speak to a class, help plant a garden and then cook meals with the students using what they have grown, or even make a special of the day with the school culinary staff, then help serve it to the kids. Imagine the response of the kids when they see a chef in uniform serving up a healthy stir fry instead of macaroni and cheese! Besides, what kid doesn't like talking to the chef? There is not a lot of investment or cost, just an investment of time and knowledge.

 
 

Words of advice, caution the creators of this program, "Remember, the school culinary professionals do this every day and have strict guidelines by which they must follow. Purchasing, food safety, approved nutritional balance, etc, are all very, very tightly controlled. You, the chefs, should approach the task of assisting with the understanding that you are going into someone else's kitchen. Learn what they do, what the challenges are, what they would like to do before rolling in to 'change' ". Well said. Oftentimes it is just a procedural idea- cook in smaller batches, keep the vegetables fresher, add a salad bar, make a scratch low fat dressing, etc - that can make all the difference.  Each school is unique, each need is local. Marriott's Spirit to Serve is a global thought with local action, and the idea of our chefs helping schools is perfectly aligned.

Want to sign up? Click on the link Chefs Move To Schools . I am adopting two schools in the Fairfax County Virginia Public School system, and I hope to see many of our chefs do the same in their communities. Together, we can make enormous impact.

What's on YOUR plate today? Healthy school lunches I hope! 

Making Tom Yam Goong in Bangkok

 Bangkok, Thailand, is known as the Land of Smiles...and the land of amazing food. I love the foods of Southeast Asia. Fragrant rice paper rolls from Vietnam, Singaporean Laksa, Philippine Pansit, etc. The incredible array of street foods available at every corner make traveling anywhere in this part of the world a culinary treat. But personally, the food of Thailand is amazing and something I never tire of.

I was in Bangkok in April to present food trends and attend a meeting of our top operations leaders in Asia. It was three days of great food and cutting edge presentations at the spectacular JW Marriott Bangkok. Though my purpose was to share the latest in global food, and to reacquaint with old friends, my real goal was to steal away for a few minutes into the Thai kitchen and learn from the real expert, the chefs at the hotel's Thai cuisine restaurant White Elephant. I was lucky enough to have Chef Pairoj Kaoropwongchai take me through how simple it is to make one of my favorite soups, Tom Yam Goong. Tom means soup, Yum means the flavor of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy, and Goong means prawns. This just has to be good.

JW steaks out London

Steakhouses are iconic American concepts, rivaled only by the global appeal of that other American classic, the burger joint. We have over 40 steakhouses around the globe, but the one I am most excited about is the new JW Steakhouse, just opened at the historic Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel on Park Lane, London.

Filling the space of a former Bistro, the JW Steakhouse brings a true American steakhouse to London with a design that is comfortable and modern. The bar features small batch Bourbons, the most extensive list in London in fact. Though I generally stick with martinis, the Kentucky Bourbon Mint Julep is outstanding and already a winner in the cocktail loving city of London.  The bar itself is a great place to linger, with high communal tables to perch and take in all that this space has to offer.

The real stars here are the steaks and the searing accomplished by a grill firing away at 650 degrees C. Featuring US Beef, including

Feeding the first responders and fisherman volunteers

 _{The Gulf Coast and wetlands of the Louisiana Delta harbor some of the richest marine life in the US. Argued as the true “American” cuisine, the food of New Orleans blends French Canadian (Cajun) and the Haitian/Santa Dominguez (Creole) styles of cooking balanced within the backdrop of the native ingredients. The Europeans brought sausage, and the Africans brought okra, all they had to do was add the great local seafood. Nowhere else can you find such rich culinary heritage and unique flavors blending with the abundant seafood native to Gulf waters… and the occasional alligator.}

 

 

_{Above: Executive Chefs Chuck Subra & Matt Murphy}

 

_{The recent oil spill is a cause for great concern, not only to the now threatened environment, but also to}

_{the rich source of shrimp, shellfish, and fish that make up so many of our menus in the region. To add to the concern, many of these important species are in the spring spawn, posing a real risk to their immediate future. The fishing industry of the Gulf has not yet fully recovered to pre-Katrina}

Hill Country, Barbeque, and the new JW San Antonio

I just left the newly opened JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country, the latest entry into the JW portfolio of spectacular hotels. Located just miles from downtown San Antonio, this 1,000 room property is already a great place to visit, and a great place to dine.
 
Cibolo Moonis the three-meal answer to the question “What to eat while in the Hill Country?”  Try simple Texas cooking with three meals of bold flavor and a surprising nod to the German heritage of the first hill country settlers. Nearby New Braunfels was the first predominantly German settlement in 1860’s Texas, which explains the spattering of locally made sausages, tart and German potato salad, and house pickled vegetables. Much of the menu is full-on Texas barbeque, for those wanting the roadhouse experience without the roadhouse. Great side dishes, lunchtime chopped brisket on house baked Pullman loaf, butter slathered cast iron baked biscuits, simply grilled fish and  sweet wild Gulf shrimp take their rightful place next to smoky salt and pepper ribs, plate sized chicken fried steak, and “burnt ends”, the smoky bits off the bbq to wrap in soft flour tortillas.

Carefully selected redfish is prepared “on the half shell,” a unique Texas style that causes the fillet to curve up when grilled with the skin and scales still on. The scales protect the meat as it cooks, keeping the fish moist and tender before being mopped with a citrusy chile butter.  Authentic cooking, just as it is done along the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Breakfast is simply outstanding – pecan sticky loaf for the whole table, organic egg “huevos rancheros,” bbq local sausages, a serious burrito with serious Texas red, and real biscuits with real gravy. Cibolo Moon’s copper clad exhibition kitchen provides a direct view to Executive Chef Ryan Littman’s talented culinary staff and the dynamic Melissa Hendrickson, who runs the Cibolo Moon kitchen.

The restaurant 18 Oaks, boasts Prime, small ranch, and naturally-raised steaks as the showpiece to this striking steakhouse, located just off the golf course. Steakhouses are timeless but sometimes tired.  Not so here. There is a great balance of the expected with the unexpected. Order the local cut 100 mile radius beef (from Windy Bar Ranch), these well aged Steaks pair perfectly with truffled creamed corn, charred cippolini & foraged mushrooms, and crisp Rosti potatoes. Still a creamed spinach and au gratin steakhouse side fan? 18 Oaks’ examples are memorable. Steak toppings of made in-house grain mustards, classic béarnaise, peppercorn sauce or grated to order horseradish round out this well executed menu.

  
 
With a wall of screens and 24 beer taps, High Velocityis an amped up sports bar with great and interesting food to fit any game. Outside and just being finished, the Rivertop pool bar anchors a water park my kids have already claimed they simply must see, and in fact have already stated that no matter what, our next vacation is in San Antonio

If the Hill Country is considered the culinary breadbasket of Texas, the new JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country is the best place to experience it.

What’s on YOUR plate today? BBQ, Texas style.

Classic Desserts, Perfected Traditions

The dessert course. To some it is the whole purpose of going to a restaurant, a justified indulgence, a required and fitting end to any meal out. Rich chocolate, buttery crusts, sweet caramel, and tart fruit  all compete for the limelight on dessert menus. Whether it be a simple coffee kiosk or trendy destination restaurant, every restaurant concept has some form of dessert. Pastry chefs, like savory chefs, strive to capture creative inspiration, unique pairings, and a memorable end to the meal. So what are the latest trends in dessert? No surprise really, just think classic and comfort.

Generally without exception, the top five desserts are as follows:

1. Ice Cream, house churned if possible with flavors of vanilla bean (always) to even bacon (rarely)

2. Chocolate of course, in all forms

3. Crème brulee

4. Fruit, often apple, hot with a cold ice cream

5. Key Lime or Lemon pie/cream/custard

It seems that everyone has a childhood memory or tradition that includes a dessert. For me, it was always a simple chocolate pudding, though years later I learned it had a fancy name, Chocolate Pot du Creme.We make this recipe often in the test kitchen, incredibly simple and delicious. Give it a try!

Chocolate Pudding (Pot du Creme)

Ingredients:

1 qt heavy cream, 2/3 cup sugar, 12 ounces Semi Sweet Chocolate, 1 cup egg yolks, 2 tsp vanilla.

Method:

1. Cut the chocolate into pieces about 1/2" and place into a stainless steel mixing bowl.

2. Place the cream and chocolate into a sauce pot to melt the chocolate, do not boil.

3. Whisk in the sugar, egg yolks and the vanilla.

4. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve.

5. Pour 8 oz. into individual jumbo cappuccino mugs.

6. Place into a water bath with enough water to cover the cups halfway. Cover loosely with foil and bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven until set, generally 45-60 minutes.

7. Cool and serve with a dollop of whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.

The  What’s on YOUR plate today?

      

Reclaiming cooking oil for a greener kitchen

The National Restaurant Association's annual trend survey of Professional Chefs identifies sustainability as one of the top trends to guide 2010 culinary thinking. No surprise there, the global concern of our precious natural resources has been on the focal point of our industry for years. Local foods with a smaller carbon footprint, sustainable fishing and farming, recycling and composting, and purposeful menus have all shared in the shaping of our chefs' collective environmental awakening. 

When we announced in 2007 that we eliminated trans fats in our food preparation, I wondered how we could tap into the small but growing Bio Diesel market. 5.5 million pounds of cooking oil is a conservative estimate of what our hotel and restaurant kitchens consume annually. Typically, the used oils are manufactured into animal feed or consumer products.  We prefer to direct these oils into a more sustainable platform, one that ultimately provides ecological benefits in line with our global green initiatives. 

Reclaiming 5.5 million pounds of used cooking oil will:

Produce 362,000 gallons of usable biofuel
Be the equivalent of planting 92,000 trees due to reduced CO2 emissions

Finding a reliable BioFuel company to partner in these efforts have been hindered by the lack of a nationwide or global presence. Greenlight Biofuels, a subsidiary of Greenlight Energy Resources based in Charlottesville, Virginia, is one of the  companies with the capability to service a multi-state area.  Greenlight now services the majority of the Washington, DC-area hotels and is providing a model for other regions to identify similar companies in other areas capable of the same service. Wherever the infrastructure allows, we will globally direct our used cooking oil to be reclaimed into the Bio Diesel system.

Our hotel kitchens pride themselves on being good stewards of their environment, with the attainable goal of reducing our carbon footprint to the lowest possible. Running a kitchen takes a lot of energy (both physically and environmentally). Stoves, refrigerators, daily deliveries, and shipping packaging account for the obvious energy burners, but there are many more hidden opportunities. Turning our used oil into non-fossil fuel is just one more thing we can do for the environment and cities in which we live, globally supporting our local communities. 

A Great Apple Cake, Family Traditions, and Thanksgiving

No meal is more universally recognized than the Thanksgiving Day menu.

Globally, our hotels offer Thanksgiving menus for holiday travelers, expats, and locals wishing to join the US in the annual celebration of thanks for the nation's first settlers and their native hosts. Tables across the globe will be filled with the US staple of sweet and mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, green beans, the famous Turkey and pumpkin pie. How many turkeys are cooked for Thanksgiving? Some estimates say well over 600 million pounds of turkey are purchased in the month of November. However you calculate it, that's a lot of birds.

Every family has a wide range of "traditions" that make the holiday unique, embellishing the core staples with flavors and side dishes carried from one generation to the next. Do you put sausage in your stuffing? Oysters maybe? Cornbread or not? Cook an extra dozen legs to satisfy the giant drumstick fans, or just use the legs to make the gravy because no one eats the dark meat? I remember my grandmother's amazing rhubarb pie and her mashed potatoes, always a bit lumpy and buttery. To this day, I prefer her style of Thanksgiving fork-smashed potatoes streaked with buttermilk and flakes of black pepper. No classic "pommes puree" for me on the last Thursday of November for me. The variety is endless, and always unique to a family's tradition.  The food is important, yet secondary to the memories it creates.

My mother is a great cook and had a profound influence on my own culinary interest. In addition to our backyard garden, we had an old apple tree that produced beautiful Honey Crisp apples. These heirloom apples were sweet and tart, and the base of her amazing apple cake. A perfect fall recipe that always works, and a nice accompaniment to the traditional pumpkin pie. I made it recently for a high profile lunch meeting and thought I'd share her recipe, though I did dress it up with more caramelized apples and a bit of ice cream. Try it out, though according to my mother "it should only be served with a bit of lightly whipped cream", and not the ice cream we added!

Apple Cake

3/4 cup shortening  

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs   

1 1/2 cups flour   

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda    

2 cups diced, peeled tart apples that hold their shape during baking.  

§     Cream together until smooth

§     Add eggs, beat until smooth

§     Measure dry ingredients and sift together

§     Add the dry ingredients a little at a time until mixed and then fold the apples into the batter

§     Grease and flour a cast iron skillet (or cake pan)

§     (I add: 4 apples peeled and halved, caramelized in 1 cup of caramelized sugar until soft and browned, layered on the bottom of the greased pan)

§     pour in the batter and spread the batter so it is flat. 

§     Place into a 325°F(170°C)oven. Bake about 1 hr and 10 minutes, checking after 1 hour with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.

Place on a cake rack and within a couple of minutes turn the pan over and remove pan no more than 10 minutes later.  A hint is to take a knife and be sure the cake is loosened around the side.  If you have greased and floured the pan well, it will come out very easily.  

(Mom’s note: BE CAREFUL AS THE PAN IS HOT AND CUMBERSOME WHEN INVERTING THE PAN. This is one of my most popular desserts.  Personally, I like it plain, but is great with a little whipped cream and a cherry on top if serving company.  It is almost better the next day and freezes well.)   

 

What's on YOUR plate today?  

Renaissance 606 Congress teams up with Slow Food Boston

Today, time is the new currency and there is nothing worse than food that's slow, unless it's meant to be Slowfood.

Began in 1989, allegedly in protest to a large American burger chain opening in small town in Italy, the Slowfood organization has spread to 100,000 members in 132 countries. What is Slowfood? According to slowfood.com, "Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world."

 This past October 21st, Executive Chef Greg Griffie hosted a slow food event at 606 Congress at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. Partnering with Slowfood Boston and Border Bay Junction Farm, Chef Griffie prepared a tasting of lamb, using classic techniques and menu preparations from a time when we all had more time to cook. Many consider lamb to be just a rack of lamb (typically one lamb serves only 4 ppl if they just order the rack!), so Greg took the challenge of using one lamb for the entire group, committing his skill and creativity to the nearly forgotten ways of cooking.

On the menu this night: 

Grilled lamb loin/chops,

arugula, almonds, lemon, extra virgin olive oil

Antis Malbec, 2007

Confit of lamb,

broth, barley, mushrooms

L Pira dolcetto, 2007

Rolled shoulder,

capers, anchovies, Gilfeather turnip purée

Vieux Chene Cotes du Rhones, 2006

Lamb breast au gratin,

mustard, white beans, kale

Albert Bichot Vieilles Vignes Bourgogne Rouge 2005

Glazed shanks,

raisins, garlic, sherry, white polenta

Clos Mimi La Petite Rousse 2005

Caramelized local apples,

pecan streusel topping, ginger ice cream

If you haven't been to a Slowfood dinner, it really is a wonderful way to relearn the uniqueness of eating as in the past, and discovering local foods/traditions. Photographer Mark Brierley documented the evening with great behind the scenes shots of what goes on in the kitchen during a serious dinner. Nothing slow here, just good food. Greg tells me he has more events planned, including a January dinner that promises to warm the cool of a Boston winter. Call 606 Congress to find out more!

What's on YOUR plate today? Lamb maybe?

 

Connecting Marriott Chefs and Foothill Farmers

A while back I spoke about the great work Jean-Pierre Marechal was doing from the Charlotte Marriott City Center with a network of North Carolina farmers. Soon, Jean-Pierre will be featured on the CBS World News Tonight with Katie Couric at the end of the broadcast as part of the "American Hero" segment showcasing the success of their simple idea of connecting farmers and chefs.

Begun as an idea to enable transformation of the textile towns and tobacco farms into sustainable communities, the Foothills Connect project was the brainchild of Tim Will, a retired telecom exec who had relocated to the Appalachians. Initially, the goal was to provide broadband service to the over 6,000 small farms, each with 5-20 arable acres. Most of these plots were no longer farmed, having given way to the textile industry until the 90's bust. The area needed a new industry.

Through divine luck, Tim met Jean-Pierre and discovered that what Charlotte's restaurants needed was access to fresh, local produce. "If farmers will grow what I need at a reasonable price, I'll buy theirs instead of having it trucked from California or Florida...and, I'll tell my chef friends to do the same" said JP, which was all Tim needed to hear.

 

With JP championing the chefs, Tim built an online ordering and communication network that has grown to 87 farmers in just two years. Jim Searcy is the most active farmer in the co-op, now growing 70 different crops that  two years ago had not even been considered. His produce can be found now on many Charlotte restaurant menus, including of course the first to offer local Rutherford County produce, Chef Marechel's Savannah Red at the Charlotte Marriott.

 

These accomplishments are garnering national attention, including the recent Purpose Prize award and $100,000 grant won by Foothills Connect. Providing viable sustainability through a dedicated chef's passion and network, Jean-Pierre Marechel has proven that by working with his community, a chef can make a real difference.

Read more about the Purpose Prize and Tim Will.

http://www.encore.org/prize/nominate?ref=winners.cfm

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/1020170.html

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/reinventing/articles/purpose_prize_winner_helps_farmers_and_chefs_connect.html 

What's on YOUR plate today?

The Marriott Test Kitchen is Cooking!

 

I've discussed the Marriott Test Kitchen many times in this blog.  There is always a flurry of activity in this 1st floor facility and the word is getting out about its many functions.  It was recently featured in Fortune magazine and USA Today.  As I told you a few weeks ago, BLT chef-owner Laurent Tourondel cooked burgers from BLT Burger for Mr. Marriott, who also discussed the lunch in his blog, Marriott On The Move. The main question I generally get is “what do you do in the test kitchen?”

That’s a great question with many great answers. What it is NOT is an executive dining room.

The test kitchen provides a wonderful platform for our talented hotel chefs to work with the corporate culinary team as they develop key program menu items, signature dishes, food promotions, beverage promotions, etc. In September and October, the Food and Beverage teams of the soon-to-open JW San Antonio and the under remodel Harbor Beach Marriott spent time in the test kitchen working through their menu ideas and concept strategies. There are menu program workshops, train the trainer courses, photo shoots and hotel specific culinary development. And, they all revolve around Marriott's CookSmart principles….deliver simple, fresh chef-crafted food.  In addition, the facility provides a forum for senior leadership to view and discuss the many interpretations of today's food trends and how they are incorporated into our global culinary philosophy. 

Bart Hosmer, Thomas Rebler, and the rest of the culinary team are constantly manning the stoves and shooting wonderful photos of food in development, providing actionable and realistic solutions to the challenge of keeping our menus exciting, approachable, and guest appropriate. Whether it be Renaissance targeted breakfast signatures, Marriott lounge menus, SpringHill Suites breakfast muffins, JW Organic strategies, or Courtyard Bistro seasonal promotion items, the Test Kitchen is where the ideas come to life. 

Occasionally when the kitchen is not busy developing new items, there are the hosted luncheons for development groups looking to understand the Marriott F&B roles and how it will impact their acquisition,  tours with industry executives, and sales professionals focused on marketing our great brands. Product and specification reviews are held regularly, with many vendors jockeying for a chance to show their latest products. It is a busy place that hopefully benefits all of our culinary operations in the global Marriott community and your dining experience in our hotels.

Cooking in the Test Kitchen is on my plate today.  What's on YOUR plate today?

A New Champions in Boston

A new sports bar recently opened in Boston. Reopened actually, since the Champions Sports Bar has been a local favorite for many years in this sports obsessed city. Champions Sports Bar is a global concept and in 31 hotels including Warsaw, Shanghai, Dubai, and Frankfurt. The American Sports Bar is iconic. I was just in Frankfurt and was able to watch F-1 Racing, Premier league football (soccer), and a Steelers game all at the same time, all with an order of wings and a platter of local sausages and kraut. A true global experience!

This new look Champions on the second level of the Boston Copley Marriott is filled with tv's, including a huge 12 x 24-foot screen centered in the main bar area. The bar itself is framed in a wall of screens, backdropped by fiber optics that change in a wave of color. Very cool and comfortable, a great place to watch a game. With dozens of beers, micro to macro, crafted cocktails based on fresh juices, and wines for every taste, this bar is a long way from the "pitchers of beer and greasy nacho crowd."

Sports bar food has also come a long way, and the menu at the new Champions balances tradition with  a new style of casual. No sports bar is complete without chicken wings. Here you'll find Kung Pao wings alongside three levels of spicy buffalo wings.

Mini burger sliders and sliders of a great bbq pulled pork, and a Boston mini lobster roll, perfect for social snacking. Of course, full size burgers are king, especially when customized with add-ons designed to make each a personal, custom burger.

  

The new Champions also brings marinanted skirt steak, rubbed in garlic butter; a simple grilled fish that changes depending on the Gloucester daily catch; a beautifully pressed cuban sandwich, big fish tacos, and some of the best meatballs made from the Chefs own Grandmother's recipe.

 

Mike Panasuk, Executive Chef, and Jack Rutigliano, Director of Food and Beverage, are really proud of this new Champions, and they should be as it really is a great refuge in one of America's first cities. Hotels magazine did a great review on the space . 
 

 When in Boston, check it out at the Boston Copley Marriott.

What's on YOUR plate today?

Egyptian Nights in the Cairo Marriott

Our collection of Marriott hotels span the globe in over 60 countries, each a unique destination providing business and leisure travelers experiences designed to inspire and explore. Some cities have recent history, some of old history, but it is fair to say that none have the ancient history of Cairo. Filled with history of the early...and the traffic of the modern. For thousands of years the Nile has flowed majestically past this cradle of civilization, bringing with it trade, war, and water for crops. In fact, the first crops grown were grains, meant to provide sustaining bread for the subjects of ancient pharaohs. Better to build pyramids when the workers have been fed.

I hadn't thought of all this history when I first saw the Cairo Marriott in 2001, just that this was an amazing place. Now back for the first time since that first visit, I marvel at the beauty of this palace.  This majestic hotel, a museum of a property anchored by the 1869 Palace Gizera, boasts 12 destination quality restaurants and a garden oasis in the middle of this bustling city. Centered in that garden is the outdoor venue Egyptian Nights, where guests relax, dine, and converse under the desert sky. Anchoring that beautiful space is a simple stone oven, championed by two amazing ladies making bread. Watching them make this simple bread is like witnessing thousands of years of history unfolding into one simple constant, that of baking bread to feed the hungry masses of the Nile Delta. 

 

Every day, these two make as many as 1,000 loaves of this puffed, pita-like bread. A slurry of ground semolina, flour and yeast is fermented into a very loose dough. The recipe is written, but what cannot be written is the years of experience that these ladies have. Some things have to be learned over years of practice. When the dough is right, they scoop it up into individual portions and drop it onto a semolina coated disk, about 6 feet wide. Carefully one coaxes the dough into shallow disks, then rotates the ready to bake dough to the master baker, who slides it onto a short paddle to be dropped directly onto the hot oben floor. There, the intense heat seals the crust.

45 seconds later, the trapped air inside expands, puffing the bread into 3 times it's original size. She immediately pierces the crust to prevent the bread from splitting, then gently moves it around the oven to finish baking. This whole process of baking takes 2 1/2 minutes, but thousands of years of history.

 

    The bread is the star of this show, and the menu is built to support it's star. From spectacular mezze of  tabbouleh, babaghanoush, muhamara, and kibbe to kofta, shewarma of chicken or beef and foul, a bean stew considered an Egyptian staple. If food offers a sense of place for the traveler, the experience at Egyptian Nights offers the ultimate taste of Egypt. Come to Cairo for the Pyramids, the Nile, and King Tut, but don't miss the bread at Egyptian Nights.

What's on YOUR plate today?

A BLT Burger Lunch in the Test Kitchen

Our Test Kitchen has hosted many chefs over the years, and we have seen incredible food. Melissa Kelly once made amazing Ricotta ravioli;   Bradley Ogden's lamb loin was spectacular; Eric Ripert took a break from fish with his grandmother's roast chicken; and countless of our own chefs have graced our stoves.  

While with Laurent Tourondel a few months back, the LT of BLT Restaurants, I invited the famed chef to join me in the test kitchen. "Let's just cook lunch, we'll invite Mr Marriott and fire up the stoves" was my pitch, and he graciously and enthusiastically agreed.

No one is busier than Laurent these days, as is evident by his recent appearance as Top Judge on Top Chef, in addition to operating 6 concepts covering 16 great restaurants. Which concept did he choose to represent? None other than BLT Burger. The two outposts, New York and Las Vegas, offer innovative burgers, great sides, and amazing shakes. I blogged about my visit to the New York store earlier this year.

The menu for this day started with a few appetizers, some of which were just ideas Laurent was working on as ideas for BLT Steak and BLT Market. Beautiful Burratta cheese wrapped in prosciutto, Heirloom tomato salad, Ahi tuna and giant head on prawns grilled with a subtle light curry aioli. All great, all simple yet expertly crafted.

The main course was all burgers. Three were offered, from the BLT with balsamic onions and Great Hills blue cheese, to a turkey burger with great flavor. Laurent likes to have fun with food, like with the Campfire Milkshake. Who knew burnt marshmallows, ice cream, and milk could taste so good when poured from a blender!

A great day, a great lunch, and a great chef. Check out the Flicker site for more pictures of our day in the kitchen with Laurent.

What's on YOUR plate today?

Gone Fishing…When Fish Taste Better With A Name To Sell

There is something about fishing towns. Maybe it’s the idyllic scenes of the foggy docks, pleasure and commercial boats moored alongside one another, or the alluring smell of the sea. Whether it be Gloucester or Bangor, Steveston or Westport, I always feel at home in these small villages.

With that in mind, I worked in a quick salmon charter out of the port of Ilwaco, Washington while in Seattle last week. It had been many years since I have fished there, having done so many times as a kid vacationing in Long Beach, Washington. Ilwaco is positioned at the mouth of the Columbia River and the fishing grounds are out a few miles out in the Pacific, around Buoy 10. Traversing the treacherous space where the two great bodies of water meet, the “Bar” as it’s called, is as much fun as the fishing itself, if you don’t mind swells of 4-9 feet. This trip was as expected, with swells topping around 9 feet, perfectly suited for the 43 foot charter boat Comanche that I and my 5 new fishing partners were on. Once there and trolling, it took only a few minutes until the first hooked fish, a small keeper. Our deckhand checked each fish to insure they were not “native”, which are not legal to catch. You can tell the difference as hatchery fish have their andipose fin, the small find between the dorsal and tail clipped. It’s a keeper without the fin; back they go with the fin. I hooked two natives and three keepers, small but respectable Silvers by 2009 standards at around 8 pounds. All told, our boat caught the limit of two per person in just over 2 hours. No big clunkers, though I did give my third fish to a fishing mate who had only caught one.

As we were steaming back to port, I recalled how much larger the fish were 30 years earlier. Maybe they just seemed bigger because I was a kid, but I remember well the big 25 pound native Kings regularly caught in this area back in the 70’s. Not anymore though, a fish that size is a rare catch indeed.

Fishery management has always stressed the importance of regulated resources, but often it is nearly too late. A study just released in the journal Science, states that targeted fishing of species once considered bycatch, trash fish thought to be unmarketable, has led to 63% of these species being at unsustainable levels.

David Farenthold’s well written article in The Washington Post also points a defining finger at seafood marketing, and the impact of simply changing a name. Remember the power fish of the 80’s? What if that fish was called by its original name, the Slimehead, instead of Orange Roughy? It probably would not have been on many menus. Does Goosefish sound like something tasty? For some reason, Monkfish sells better than Goosefish. If you are a Monkfish though, you would rather be called by your original name.

Anytime there is a discussion about overfishing, the story of the Patagonian Toothfish is immediately cited. This slow growing, deep water fish of the Antarctic has been nearly wiped out, after being improperly renamed “Chilean Sea Bass” by creative fish mongers in order to market this unknown species. Neither a sea bass nor Chilean, this great tasting white fish has been the darling of many menus because it is simply impossible to overcook, stays moist, and is so mild it barely tastes like fish. Fish that never dries out and can carry any flavor is a winner, and quickly showed up on every foodie’s hot list of the 90’s. But a species that takes 17 years to grow to a market size will never be able to keep up with a hungry public, and within just a few years there were cries of panic as the resource was nearly decimated. Let’s just hope the environmental efforts under way to manage this resource work, and we can all enjoy the Patagonian Toothfish for years to come. In the meantime though, let's give the species a break and use better managed species like Black Bass, Alaskan Halibut, or Mahi-Mahi.

There are some great guides for sustainable shopping, most notably the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch List of species to avoid or enjoy.

As the world turns to healthier seafood, managing these fragile systems will largely be influenced by chefs and their menus. More and more is known about what it takes to sustain our intricate ecological systems, yet the challenge we all face is finding the balance of providing appealing food in sustainable ways. Seafood is not the only precarious resource, but the world’s oceans must be cared for. One way to do it is to encourage chefs to menu sustainably and conscientiously species that can be supported, giving the overfished a chance to bounce back.

What’s on YOUR Plate today? On mine, it is a small but well managed salmon, caught 3 miles offshore of Ilwaco, Washington.

;

Good fishing site, nice stuff. Love fishing myself on my 60' whaler.

- Island Hood

Marriott Pastry Teams WIN Gold and Bronze!

Each year since 2002, many of the world's best pastry minds gather for four days of intense chocolate work, creative cakes, and mind blowing sugar sculpture at the World Pastry Forum.  Held July 1-5 at the JW Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, the World Pastry Forum is a destination showcase of chefs specializing in the fine art of pastry. Albert Adria, Stephed Durfee, Colette Peters and others provided expert demos, both educational and entertaining, over the course of the four day conference.

Icing on the cake, so to speak, is the National Pastry Team Championship held directly after the Forum wraps up. The competition featured 8 teams, each with 3 professional pastry chefs who compete for 13 hours over the course of two days. All they have to make is... a plated dessert, an entremet, an entremet glace, bonbons, petits gateaux, and chocolate and sugar showpieces. Fittingly, the theme was "Time", something the chefs never had enough of from the moment the bell sounded. The criteria-taste, presentation, technique, and creativity. The goal-win the National's, qualify to go to the World Pastry Chef Competition in 2010 to compete for the World Title.

Marriott was very well represented with four of the eight teams :
Team Chowdhury - Kaushik Chowdhury, Captain, Melynda Gilmore, and Keith Taylor - all from Desert Ridge. In addition to worrying about their competition, as host hotel they also had to stay focused on the events, especially with all of those pastry chefs running around the hotel.  

Team Co - Loan Co, Captain, Panida Garrett, Paul John R Padua. Loan Co is our pastry chef at the San Francisco Marriott. Loan has won more awards than I can recall, and has competed in the Culinary Olympics in Germany as well as countless other competitions.

Team Hasmuller - Klaus Hasmuller, Captain, Daniel Keadle, and Jeffrey Ontiveros. Klaus is our pastry chef at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter.

Team Dadzie - Ebow Dadzie - Captain, Bill Foltz, and Anthony Smith. Chef Dadzie is the Assistant Pastry Chef at the New York Marriott Marquis, led by the infinetely talened Steve Evetts.

And the winners are...Team Chowdury and Team Dadzie! Team Chowdhury really did well, winning the competition with a Gold and the degustation (Best Taste) award, with Team Dadzie a very competitive Bronze showing These are really phenomenal accomplishments. The teams practiced every chance they had and it is great to see all that hard work pay off. Not one to rest on their laurels, the Team Chowdhury is already discussing their strategy for the World Competition.

Good luck Team Chowdhury, and congratulations to all the teams who competed.

What's on YOUR plate today?

 

Love the post.  I wish Marriott could incorporate some of your healthy eating ideas into the regular menus at Residence Inn, and Courtyard.  I would love to see grilled Zucchini, and maybe some grilled tomatoes and salad items on the breakfast menu.  Right now if want to eat a healthy breakfast I have to make it myself.

- Nick Archibald

This is a great idea for families on a budget!

- Jerry L. Morgan

JW Marriott Hong Kong Chefs' Wok This Way

Street foods are the culinary equivalent of a national anthem…from the first note, musical or flavor, you know exactly the source of inspiration. A tamarind water filled panipuri speaks immediately of India; a corn tortilla wrapped around a comal seared skirt steak takes me back to Guadalajara, and a red chili prawn reminds of the hustle and bustle of Singapore’s night food stalls.

With this in mind, imagine the thrill of traveling on a tour of the best Asian street food markets, all in the name of research for a new Street Food concept in the JW Marriott Hong Kong. Now that’s what I call a tough day at the office.
 
Hector Pliego and William Cheng Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef respectively of the JW Hong Kong, take you through their personal journey on their blog Asian Street Foods, Wok This Way. Beginning in Singapore and eating their way through Kuala Lumpur, Saigon and Bangkok, Hector guides a magical journey of the arguably the world's best street food destinations. His photography and writing make even the most uncourageous eater want to jump on a plane for Asia, eager to tuck into a Singaporean Laksa or the Rojak Buah salad from Bangsa, KL.
 
Check out the blog, you’ll be inspired. Better yet, check out the new restaurant on the Lobby Level of the JW Hong Kong Marriott for a one stop shop of Asia’s best street foods, courtesy of the grueling research conducted by Chefs Pliego and Cheng.

What’s on YOUR plate today? On mine, Newton Circus’ Singapore Red Chili Skate…or anything Hector and his inspired staff conjure up from their travels.

Burgers, Shopping Lists, and Firing Up the Grill at Residence Inn

The one thing about burgers is that on any given summer weekend, even those that don’t regularly cook can be found working the backyard grill. Missing those weekend moments is one of the toughest things about summer travel, but we have that covered for those that who will be on the road this summer. Fact is, we see a lot of travelers “cook their own” while staying at Residence Inn, using the grill conveniently available to all guests. Located in the "Gatehouse" area, every Residence Inn is prepared to be your own “private backyard on the road” with a grill ready to use, and no worries of running out of propane

Even easier, guests can give their shopping list to the front desk and have all of the fixins in the in-room refrigerator by the time they get back from the day's business. How about a great Mediterranean burger with a simple salad and healthy grilled zucchini? For this burger, I made it even easier by mixing the cheese directly into the meat so as not to have to gauge when the cheese needs to go on the burger, avoiding the embarrassingly undercooked but perfectly melted cheeseburger or even worse perfectly cooked burger topped with melted away cheese. Just give them this list of 10 ingredients and let the hotel do the shopping. Don’t worry this takes less than 20 minutes to set up and 10 minutes to cook. No long hours in the kitchen to grill this perfect burger retreat. Best of all, the grill is already set up!

Mediterranean Burger Bash Shopping List for 4 burgers 
1 pound fresh ground Angus Chuck or ground Brisket
8 oz shredded aged cheddar, gorgonzola, jack, or whatever cheese you like the most
1 package sesame buns
2 heads butter lettuce
1 cup marinated, mixed pitted olives (from the deli section)
¼ cup sundried tomatoes with garlic in olive oil (from the deli section)
2 each medium zucchini
2 large lemons
1 tub Sabra roasted pepper hummus
1 bag pita chips

Countdown to burger time:
Minutes 1-10
1. Place the meat and cheese in a bowl, mix thoroughly but gently using a fork to incorporate the cheese evenly. Form into 4 equal balls. Gently flatten to about ¾’ of an inch.
2. pull the leaves off the lettuce heads and wash under cold running water. Drain well, even patting down the leaves with a paper towel to remove the excess water. Save the larger outer leaves for the burgers. Hand tear the rest into bite sized pieces, place into a large bowl.
3. Drain the oils off the olives and tomatoes together into a bowl.
4. Rough chop the olives, set aside.
5. Slice the zucchini into long planks as thinly as you can from end to end. Drizzle half of the combined oil over the sliced zucchini. Set aside
6. Open the hummus and place the pita chips into a bowl. Set aside.

Minutes 11-15
1. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the chopped olives.
2. Squeeze the juice of the second lemon into the remaining combined oils, stir vigorously to combine. This will be the salad dressing for the lettuce to toss at the last minute
3. Have someone make sure the grill is on!

Minutes 16-18
1. Take everything and walk to the grill

Minutes 19-30
1. Season the burgers with salt and pepper and place them on the grill. These will take about 5 minutes per side for a medium rare burger on a hot grill.
2. Next, place the marinated zucchini on the grill, cooking until they just begin to soften. I like zucchini like this to be still a bit crisp as it will continue to wilt even after it comes off.
3. About the time you flip the burgers, take off the zucchini and place into a bowl. Toss with the sundried tomatoes.
4. Whatever you do, don’t smash the burgers! That squeezes all of the juice out of them.
5. Toss the salad, toast the buns
6. Take the toasted buns off and spread the top side with a bit of the hummus, setting the rest of the hummus on the table with the chips, the tossed salad and the warm zucchini salad.
7. When the burgers are cooked to your liking, take them off the fire an let them rest for just a minute. The resting is the secret to having a juicy burger without a soaked bun.
8. Place the patty on the bottom half of the bun, divide the olive relish evenly over the patty and top with the lettuce leaf and then finally the hummus spread top.
9. Bring to the table, dunk a few pit chips in the hummus and enjoy with the two salads. A glass of red wine is also not out of the question!

Don’t like Mediterranean? Switch the olives for guacamole and the hummus for salsa for a Southwestern style burger.

What’s on YOUR plate today? On mine, it’s a burger bash I just made from 10 simple ingredients…11 if you count the wine.

Building Better Burgers

  Burgers are considered the original All-American food, but the pedigree of this American culinary icon has roots in Europe. Hamburg, Germany was a jumping off point for early 20th century immigrants to the US, and the grilled meat patty in bread often served in this port city may have been just the memory of home these early citizens needed in their new country. Fast forward 100 years and the hamburger is a worldwide menu staple. In fact, Marriott hotels globally serve over 2 million hamburgers a year.

The Marriott burger is a classic bacon and cheddar burger with 7 oz of pure Angus Chuck. I like Chuck because it is the perfect natural balance of lean to fat, roughly an 80/20. Chuck also has great flavor, and infinitely more consistent than the plethora of trim product patties out there. Simply adorned with crisp lettuce and ripe tomato, crisp fries and the classic pickle, I can always count on our hotels doing a great burger. Anywhere. Want to know the world’s best selling burger? No surprises, the cheddar and bacon burger outsells all other flavor profiles combined two to one in every market in the world. All thanks to a small town in Germany…who woulda thought?
  
Where to get the best burger? While in New York last week I had the chance to get to Laurent Tourondel’s West Village BLT Burger . From this simply designed space, Laurent turns out some of the best burgers, all with a creative chef’s touch. Laurent uses a combination of sirloin, short rib, chuck, and brisket for his patties, but the ratios are a closely guarded secret. You won’t find a monster patty here, as the largest is a 7 oz burger. Laurent, like me, believes that the secret to a good burger the perfect balance of the patty and toppings. The huge patties are more of a marketing gimmick than a serious approach to food, and at BLT, the food is taken very seriously.

Our group ordered the bacon topped “BLT”, a Lamb Merguez burger of Colorado lamb with a special sauce of minted cilantro yogurt, and a Falafel burger made of well balanced grains and vegetables that tasted great (something very few veggie burgers can claim!). Sides here go well beyond fries, though they were pretty darn good. Try the fried pickles, waffle bites (think individual waffle potato nachos), and Vidalia onion rings. Where BLT Burger really shines are in the shakes. Creatively inspired Americana like the Lunch Box shake with vanilla ice cream, grape jelly, and peanut butter or the Twinkie shake (yes, a whole Twinkie is blended into the ice cream and milk. Remarkably “real tasting” considering the questionable ingredient label on a Twinkie).

I am always on the hunt for great burger joints. Here are my favorites:
Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack
BLT Burger
SmashBurger
Five Guys
IN-N-OUT
Mark Bucher’s Burger Joint
Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace
Taylor’s Refresher

Have a favorite not on this list? Send it to me and we’ll add it.

What’s on YOUR plate today

Burgers are considered the original All-American food, but the pedigree of this American culinary icon has roots in Europe. Hamburg, Germany was a jumping off point for early 20th century immigrants to the US, and the grilled meat patty in bread often served in this port city may have been just the memory of home these early citizens needed in their new country. Fast forward 100 years and the hamburger is a worldwide menu staple. In fact, Marriott hotels globally serve over 2 million hamburgers a year.

The Marriott burger is a classic bacon and cheddar burger with 7 oz of pure Angus Chuck. I like Chuck because it is the perfect natural balance of lean to fat, roughly an 80/20. Chuck also has great flavor, and infinitely more consistent than the plethora of trim product patties out there. Simply adorned with crisp lettuce and ripe tomato, crisp fries and the classic pickle, I can always count on our hotels doing a great burger. Anywhere. Want to know the world’s best selling burger? No surprises, the cheddar and bacon burger outsells all other flavor profiles combined two to one in every market in the world. All thanks to a small town in Germany…who woulda thought?
  
Where to get the best burger? While in New York last week I had the chance to get to Laurent Tourondel’s West Village BLT Burger . From this simply designed space, Laurent turns out some of the best burgers, all with a creative chef’s touch. Laurent uses a combination of sirloin, short rib, chuck, and brisket for his patties, but the ratios are a closely guarded secret. You won’t find a monster patty here, as the largest is a 7 oz burger. Laurent, like me, believes that the secret to a good burger the perfect balance of the patty and toppings. The huge patties are more of a marketing gimmick than a serious approach to food, and at BLT, the food is taken very seriously.

Our group ordered the bacon topped “BLT”, a Lamb Merguez burger of Colorado lamb with a special sauce of minted cilantro yogurt, and a Falafel burger made of well balanced grains and vegetables that tasted great (something very few veggie burgers can claim!). Sides here go well beyond fries, though they were pretty darn good. Try the fried pickles, waffle bites (think individual waffle potato nachos), and Vidalia onion rings. Where BLT Burger really shines are in the shakes. Creatively inspired Americana like the Lunch Box shake with vanilla ice cream, grape jelly, and peanut butter or the Twinkie shake (yes, a whole Twinkie is blended into the ice cream and milk. Remarkably “real tasting” considering the questionable ingredient label on a Twinkie).

I am always on the hunt for great burger joints. Here are my favorites:
Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack
BLT Burger
SmashBurger
Five Guys
IN-N-OUT
Mark Bucher’s Burger Joint
Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace
Taylor’s Refresher

Have a favorite not on this list? Send it to me and we’ll add it.

What’s on YOUR plate today

Great Article Chef Brad,

Burgers- An All-American favorite with a well warn trail cemented in all parts of world.

Happy cooking.

Matthew Goudge

http://www.prochef360blog.com

About making better burgers I have a good one for you, just simply make your own ground meat, but do not make it too fine, it has worked for me very well

- Yanko Kolevski

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Fortune Cookies, General Tso's, and the Story of American Chinese Food

  I just finished an easy read but fascinating book, the Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee. For many in America, the point of Chinese food is to get to the fortune. Real or not, that tiny slip of paper tucked in between the folds of the crispy, sugary vanilla flavored cookie may hold powerful words of wisdom, winning lottery numbers…or make no sense at all. Millions of people, most of whom would never dream of going to a fortune teller, have torn into the little plastic wrapped package holding what they hope to be good news.

There is a catch however. If you eat in a Chinese restaurant outside of the US, don’t expect a fortune folded into a cookie. Fortune cookies are not Chinese at all, but, in fact, traced to a Japanese tradition, made and marketed by an entrepreneurial Japanese baker in California, then embraced in the 1940’s by Americans as exotic cuisine. Another little known fact, the Chinese food to-go container (you know, the white paper square sided box with red lettering “Thank You” on the side) isn’t Chinese either.   

Fortune cookies are cool again, with entrepreneurs like specialfortunecookies.com, myluckyfortune.com and the very cool yoursweetfortunes.com all providing custom fortunes in upscale fashion.

Jennifer Lee’s book provides an insider's look into the fascinating world of Chinese restaurants outside of China. It defines the globalization of Chinese food with an investigative reporter style, unearthing the myths and history of American Chinese food. General Tso’s Chicken (New York), Chop Suey (San Francisco), Fortune Cookies (Japan/California), and the originator of Chinese food delivery make this a cool summer read. Jennifer also has an insightful blog, well worth.

What’s on YOUR plate today?

A great blog with some interesting information. Thanks.

-Chilli pickles

A Day at Borough Market

   London is a great food city. Don’t believe the press of uninteresting food in     the UK, it is a myth of the misinformed. Beyond fish and chips, Yorkshire pudding, steak & kidney pie, and treacle, there lies an incredible reservoir of fantastic restaurants and great ingredients. And at the epicenter, sits Borough Market.

The original Borough Market was located literally on the famous London Bridge, around 1014. 300 years later it moved to the grounds of St Thomas Hospital on what is now Borough High Street. It stayed at the Hospital until 1801, when it moved to where it is now, off of Southwark Street. The glass enclosure was constructed in 1875, and later split by the installation of the rail line. Today, trains still pass over the market on a regular basis. So with nearly 1000 years of history behind it, a visit to Borough Market is nearly a required trek for the true foodie. In May and June, English strawberries are everywhere. If you haven’t had a true English scone with true English strawberries you haven’t lived. Better yet, try the best Tea in London at the Grosvenor House. No better scones in London!

Fish fresh from the Atlantic, cheese and cream from Devon, fresh produce and flowers, and British meat pies share the market grounds with grill stands, mezze dealers, and breads from Rose Bakery. Famous for the carrot cake, the breads offered at the market are unbelievable as well. Line up by 10:30 in front of Brindisa for a grilled chorizo, roasted pepper and arugula sandwich, a true example of food that is a simple combination of three ingredients destined to be together.

Cheese? Steps off the Market is Neal’s Yard. Cheese lovers should make the trip to London just for this. I am a huge fan of Montgomery’s Cheddar, made by Jamie Montgomery in Somerset. Drier than most and with an unmistakable crunch from the crystalline salts in the interior, this cheese will forever change any preconceived notions of what a cheddar should be.

The appropriately named restaurant Roast sits above the market. Not a surprise, Roast specializes in sustainable, naturally raised meats and organic produce. Fresh laid hens' eggs adorn their impressive breakfast menu, and breakfast at Roast is a great way to start the day foraging through the stalls. As a farmers market, Borough has to be on the “10 markets to see in the world list.”

Check out a few photos taken on a beautifully sunny spring day at Borough Market.

What’s on YOUR Plate today? On mine, it’s a huge chunk of Montgomery Cheddar.

A great place to grab a quick but DELICIOUS lunch while picking up few essentials for the evening meal.  For lunch, I love Roast (which you have pictured) for their amazing sandwiches.  Whenever I get the opportunity to work in South London, I make sure to pop by Borough Market.

- Greg Wesson

Pizza in a Chef's Hands

Though it is has been argued to have originated as a sauce and cheese topped Arabic bread, in food genealogy, pizza is pure Italian. Purely a function of the proximity of perfect San Marzano tomatoes from the foothills of Mount Vesuvius, Buffalo Mozzarella from the marshlands of Campania and Lazio, and hard wheat flour, pizza was and still is a food of the everyday person. Since the 1940’s, pizza has evolved to be a global food, and one of Italy’s generous culinary contributions. I have had the pleasure of eating pizza in Rome, Florence, Pisa, and Venice, but not yet in Naples, the birthplace of Pizza Napoletana. 

There are as many best pizza opinions as there are pizzas– just ask how a New Yorker feels about a Chicago deep dish or an aficionado's opinion regarding whether a true pizza can have pineapple on it. (For the record, Hawaiian pizza is not my style, but it must be to some because the big chains sure sell a lot of pineapple pies!)

It started with a few chefs taking the artisan approach to pizza, but is now on the verge of being the next casual upscale restaurant trend. Restaurants like Two Amy’s in Washington DC, Mario Balati and Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza in LA, and Tom Douglas Serious Pie in Seattle all take pizza to a new level. I know of two big name chefs currently working on their own pizza concepts. With the burger now destination-worthy, pizza seems like the next logical food myth to rewrite.  Pizza sounds simple, but there is a lot that goes into the perfect flour-yeast-salt-water-oil formula. 

So who makes the best pizza? Oprah says it is Pizzeria Bianco (in Phoenix of all places). Pizzeria Bianco opened 5 years ago and has had a line at the door ever since. I finally made the quest last week, and yes, there was a 1 hour wait…at 9:45 PM. Inside this small brick building, with its sister wine bar next door built just for waiting diners, was a monolithic oven. The oven, round and covered in brick, was filled with pizzas, each needing only 90 seconds to bake. Hot and wood fired, the pizzas escaped the oven ultra thin with crisp bubbles of crunchy crust. Only a few to choose from, but other bar diners recommended these as the best:

Margherita – The classic with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil
Biancoverde - mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, ricotta, arugula
Wiseguy - roasted onion, house smoked mozzarella, and fennel sausage.  

I ordered the Margherita, figuring that the original pizza was probably the best judge of the craftsman’s skill. Speaking of the craftsman, Chris Bianco is the owner of Pizzeria Bianco and his care of how each pizza is topped and baked are one reason his pizza's are so fantastic

The sauce was tart, fresh tomato and the cheese a clean tasting fresh mozzarella.  Though the middle was a bit floppy, this truly was a great pie. I am a believer now in Pizzeria Bianco. Organic ingredients, dough that is rumored to take 34 hours to develop, and a true pizza master is what makes this place special. Oh, and the oven is pretty cool too.

What’s on YOUR plate today?

My mother and I have been staying at the Fairfield Inn Marriott is Gainesville, FL. Amy whom works in the kitchen is an excellent employee and we are pleased about the food quality we have been served.  Thanks

- Julie LaRossa