National Culinary Review (Nov/Dec 2021)

FRENCH CUISINE

MEETS THE

AMERICAN SOUTH

FEATURE STORIES

26

Southern American French Cuisine

Chef Jennifer Hill Booker highlights the ingredients and traditions shared by Southern American and French cooking.

DEPARTMENTS

10 Management

High-volume cooking means relying on equipment and operational changes to do more with less labor.

14

18

20

Main Course

ACF chefs review traditional roasting techniques and new applications as we approach the holiday season.

On the Side

A look at asafoetida, a savory spice commonly used in vegetarian Indian dishes.

Pastry

Pastry chef-educators are teaching the fundamentals, as well as soft skills for a more sustainable future.

24

36

Classical vs. Modern

Two Minnesota chefs present comforting hotdish in its classic form and a deconstructed fashion.

Segment Spotlight

Independent restaurants were hit hard by the pandemic, but the inroads they’ve made set them up for future success.

42 Health

Fermented foods never fail to add variety and healthfulness to menus.

Editor-in-Chief

Amelia Levin

Creative Services Manager

David Ristau

Graphic Designer

Armando Mitra

Advertising and Event Sales

Eric Gershowitz

Director of Marketing and Communications

Alan Sterling

American Culinary Federation, Inc. 6816 Southpoint Parkway Ste 400 Jacksonville, FL 32216 (800) 624-9458 (904) 824-4468 Fax: (904) 940-0741 ncr@acfchefs.net • ACFSales@mci-group.com • www.acfchefs.org

Board of Directors

President

Kimberly Brock Brown, CEPC®, CCA®, AAC®

Immediate Past President

Thomas Macrina, CEC®, CCA, AAC

National Secretary

Jeff Bacon, CEC, CCA, AAC

National Treasurer

David Ivey-Soto, CEC, CCA, MBA

American Academy of Chefs Chair

Americo “Rico” DiFronzo, CEC, CCA, AAC

Vice President Central Region

Rajeev Patgaonkar, CEC, AAC

Vice President Northeast Region

Barry R. Young, CEC, CCE®, AAC, MBA

Vice President Southeast Region

Bryan Frick, CEC, AAC

Vice President Western Region

Greg Matchett, CEC

Executive Director

Heidi Cramb

The National Culinary Review® (ISSN 0747-7716), November/ December 2021, Volume 45, Number 6, is owned by the American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF) and is produced 6 times a year by ACF, located at 6816 Southpoint Parkway, Ste 400, Jacksonville, FL 32216. A digital subscription to the National Culinary Review® is included with ACF membership dues; print subscriptions are available to ACF members for $25 per year, domestic; nonmember subscriptions are $40. Material from the National Culinary Review®, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission. All views and opinions expressed in the National Culinary Review® are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the officers or members of ACF. Changes of mailing address should be sent to ACF’s national office: 6816 Southpoint Parkway, Ste 400, Jacksonville, FL 32216; (800) 624-9458; Fax (904) 940-0741.

The National Culinary Review® is mailed and periodical postage is paid at St. Augustine, Fla., and additional post offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the National Culinary Review®, 6816 Southpoint Parkway, Ste 400, Jacksonville, FL 32216.

Greetings fellow ACF members and friends!

It’s transition time! Care for a pumpkin spice latte or perhaps some apple cider, mulled red wine or eggnog? Why choose? Now is the time to enjoy all the diverse flavors of the season and share a toast (safely).

Speaking of diverse — we have revamped the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force that was created a few years ago, and committee members already have some great ideas in the works. I can’t wait to share those with you soon.

We have also created the Work/Life Balance Task Force to help us find ways to keep our sanity when the whole world is spinning, especially around the holidays. It can be hard to remain focused on what matters when we feel shaken and stirred and can’t get certain ingredients we want or recruit the talent we need as we continue to navigate this pandemic. This is when we need each other’s support the most.

During my first few months as president, I was very excited for our first board of governors and board of directors meetings planned for the year. We had a very engaging virtual governors board meeting in October. In just a couple weeks, at the in-person board of directors meeting in our new office in Jacksonville, Florida, we will be mapping out the 2022 ACF National Convention in Las Vegas, as well as our one-day learning summits and other events in the works. The plan is to then host my first town hall meeting to share these plans and other news.

The holidays are my favorite time of year. They offer a chance to recognize the diversity of our country and the diversity of our own ACF family. It’s important to take note of the many ways people celebrate their holiday, and to be respectful of that and each other. Perhaps now is the turning point when we can embrace that spirit of inclusion and diversity and recognize that while we are all different, we are still all human beings with some of the same wants and needs. That said, have a wonderful holiday season — whatever that might look like this year. We all deserve some kindness and peace. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Joyeux Noel! Geseende Kersfees! Maligayang Pasko! Krismasi Njema! Happy Kwanzaa! Frohes Neues Jahr!

New Year!

Kimberly Brock Brown, CEPC, CCA, AAC National President, American Culinary Federation

Contact

Happy

¡Hola, compañeros y amigos de ACF!

¡Llegó el momento de la transición! ¿Les apetece un café con leche especiado o quizás un poco de sidra de manzana, vino tinto caliente o ponche de huevo? ¿Por qué elegir? Ahora es el momento de disfrutar de todos los diversos sabores que nos ofrece la temporada y compartir un brindis (sin dejar de cuidarnos).

Hablando de diversidad, hemos renovado el Grupo de Trabajo de Diversidad e Inclusión que se creó hace un par de años, y los miembros del comité ya tienen algunas ideas geniales en proceso. No puedo esperar para compartirlas con ustedes pronto.

También hemos creado el Grupo de Trabajo de Equilibrio entre lo laboral y lo personal para encontrar formas de mantener la cordura mientras el mundo entero gira sin parar a nuestro alrededor, especialmente durante las vacaciones. A medida que seguimos transitando la pandemia, puede ser difícil mantenernos enfocados en lo que importa cuando nos sentimos conmovidos y no logramos conseguir ciertos ingredientes que buscamos o el talento que necesitamos. Es en este momento cuando más necesitamos el apoyo de los demás.

Durante mis primeros meses como presidenta, me entusiasmó mucho la primera junta de gobernadores y las reuniones de la junta directiva planeadas para el año. En octubre, la junta de gobernadores celebró una reunión virtual muy interesante. En unas pocas semanas, en la reunión presencial de la junta directiva en nuestra nueva oficina en Jacksonville, Florida, estaremos planificando la Convención Nacional ACF 2022 en Las Vegas, así como también nuestras cumbres de aprendizaje de una jornada y otros eventos que estamos armando. El plan es organizar mi primera reunión en asamblea para compartir estos planes y otras novedades.

Las fiestas son mi época favorita del año. Nos dan la oportunidad de reconocer la diversidad de nuestro país, así como también la de nuestra propia familia de ACF. Es importante tomar nota de las distintas formas en que las personas celebran las fiestas y ser respetuosos con eso y con todos. Quizás sea este el punto de inflexión en que podamos abrazar ese espíritu de inclusión y diversidad y reconocer que, si bien somos diferentes, todos somos seres humanos con algunos de los mismos deseos y necesidades.

Dicho esto, les deseo una maravillosa temporada de fiestas, como sea que vayan a celebrarlas este año. Todos merecemos paz y bondad.

¡Feliz Navidad! ¡Feliz Hanukkah! Joyeux Noel! Geseende Kersfees! Maligayang Pasko! Krismasi Njema! ¡Feliz Kwanzaa! Frohes Neues Jahr! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Kimberly Brock Brown, CEPC, CCA, AAC Presidente Nacional, American Culinary Federation

What’s Cooking on WeAreChefs.com

Visit WeAreChefs.com, the official content hub for the American Culinary Federation, for online exclusives, including interviews, articles on industry trends, recipes and more.

ACF Student Chef of the Year

Marissa Brazell took home the top honor among student competitors at the 2021 ACF National Convention. Her path to success began while baking with family on Sunday afternoons, but it wasn’t until she took an elective class in high school that she realized her true passion. Read more about her story and the dishes that gave her a win.

ACF Student Team of the Year

A menu featuring the bounty of the West Coast’s peak-season summer foods earned Oregon Coast Culinary Institute’s (OCCI) student team the title of national champions at the 2021 ACF Student Team Competition. The long hours of practice paid off for team members Catherine Brown (co-captain), Katherine Duncan, Carter Philbrick, Brayden Saranto, Elena Smith (co-captain) and Shane Wilder, who were coached by OCCI Executive Director Chef Randy Torres, CEC, AAC.

ACF ChefsForum Webinar Series

The ACF ChefsForum Webinar Series has been a smashing success, with high attendance each session. Webinars have covered advanced chocolate-making, working with laminated doughs, new ways to menu pork and more — with additional sessions planned for the coming months. Missed a webinar? All recorded sessions are available online.

Ingredient of the Month

Each month, we highlight a different ingredient in the ACF’s Online Learning Center. Visit the center at acfchefs.org/IOTM to complete a quiz and earn one hour of continuing education credit toward ACF certification and recertification.

The Culinary Insider, the ACF’s bi-weekly newsletter, offers timely information about events, certification, member discounts, the newest blog posts, competitions, contests and much more. Sign up at acfchefs.org/tci

Follow the ACF on your favorite social media platforms: @acfchefs

Twitter question of the month:

What is your favorite holiday dish? Tweet us your answer using the hashtag #ACFasks and we’ll retweet our favorites.

ACF’s Online Learning Center

Check out ACF’s Online Learning Center. There you’ll find NCR quizzes, videos of educational sessions from ACF events, practice exams for certification and more. Visit learn.acfchefs.org to get started.

Jones Fully Cooked Semi-Boneless and Boneless Hams

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Jones is here to help you delight your customers this holiday season

If you would like to try a sample of our All Natural Breakfast Sausage, Dry Aged Bacon, Naturally Smoked Ham, or Organic Veggie Burgers contact: Jim Glynn: 781.710.5061 jimg@jonesdairyfarm.com.

NEWS BITES

New (and Revamped) ACF Task Forces

This fall, the ACF board initiated the development of the Work/Life Balance Task Force and the revamping of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, which was created a few years ago. Stay tuned for developments and messages from the ACF chefs participating in these efforts.

There’s an App(rentice) For That

Did you know that November 11-17 is National Apprenticeship Week? Here are five reasons you should start an ACFEF apprenticeship program in your kitchen. Apprenticeship programs:

• increase staff retention through committed and loyal employees

• enhance learning through regular on-site demonstrations of culinary techniques

• al low mentors to gain satisfaction in seeing their apprentices graduate and embark on successful culinary careers

• develop connections between industry and educational institutions to meet the growing needs of the culinary industry

• grow chapter membership through exposure to ACF

Don’t Forget About the ACF Job Board

Being an ACF member puts you directly in front of employers who are actively hiring. Launched last year, the ACF Job Board features a directory of both employees and employers, and offers a chance to upload your resume to showcase your skills. Visit jobs.acfchefs.org to get started today.

Read This

The “Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook,” published by Insight Editions, will launch November 23. The book is edited by James Beard-nominated culinary and nature writer Eugenia Bone, a renowned mushroom expert, and features 100 mushroom-centric recipes written by the people who know mushroomcooking best: expert cooks who love using and eating mushrooms. Photographed by noted food photographer Evan Sung, this comprehensive cookbook was built on the mushroom and mycelium movement captured in the internationally acclaimed documentary ”Fantastic Fungi.”

Recertification Dues are Now a Part of Your Membership

On September 1, ACF began including renewal certification fees in ACF membership fees. You will still need to maintain your continuing education hours. ACF also moved to a five-year renewal period with 80 CEHs. In addition, initial certifications will have a one-price model that includes initial and final application fees, written exam fees and practical exam administration fees. Fees for students at ACFEF-accredited and ACFEF apprenticeship programs will remain the same. Visit www.acfchefs.org/certify to read the announcement from ACF Certification Chair John Schopp, CEC, CEPC, CCE, CCA, AAC .

ACF President Kimberly Brock Brown Lends Expertise to #FairKitchens

In September, #FairKitchens launched Leading a Fair Kitchen, a new online leadership training program. #FairKitchens is a movement that was designed to secure a healthier and more sustainable foodservice industry and was co-founded by Unilever Food Solutions and the Culinary Institute of America. Leading a Fair Kitchen is free for chefs and operators who are aiming to improve working environments and address staff retention issues within their business. ACF President Kimberly Brock Brown was among more than 30 chefs and experts who lent their expertise to the ongoing training program. "One of the goals of this leadership training is to help chefs or operators reflect on their own practices, to grow their skills and develop their team,” she says. “If you're in a position of leadership, cultivating open communication amongst your team is vital. The best leaders don't simply talk and instruct; they listen and respond.” The Leading a Fair Kitchen training series consists of seven modules: one introductory module and six detailed modules covering such topics as self-management, communication, building diverse talent and teams, crisis management and more.

Salut

The 2021 ACF chapter of the year, ACF Tampa Bay, held its annual awards dinner at the Bay Club at Westshore Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida. Chefs Gaston D. Merideth, Andy Coniglio, Patrick Artz, Zachary Crossman, Mike Menendez, Mike Cocchi and Vince Blancato received chapter presidential medallions. Chef Rick Eppers was awarded the George Pastor Lifetime Achievement Award. The Partner of the Year Award went to US Foods and Cheney Brothers. Chefs Tim Nicholson and Thom Favorin each received a Member of the Year Award. The chapter’s Chef of the Year Award went to Chef Rene Marquis CEC, CCE, CCA, AAC.

MANAGING HIGH VOLUME TODAY

University, health care and country club chefs share solutions that address labor shortages while meeting production needs //

By Jody Shee

Nowadays you send out a want ad, and you’re lucky if anyone responds. Of those who do, only a few meet your hiring criteria. You set up two interviews, and neither person shows up. This dilemma compounds for high-volume foodservice operations such as universities, health care settings and country clubs. Not only that, but even tenured employees are bailing from the industry.

“A lot has to do with COVID,” says Chef Kristofer Jubinville (above), executive sous chef for Spring Run Golf Club in Estero, Florida. He knows of a sous chef at a fivestar restaurant now working in heating, ventilation and air conditioning for $30 an hour with no nights, weekends or holidays. The pandemic shutdown allowed him to step away from the restaurant hustle and bustle, and he’s not going back.

HIRING AND RETENTION TRICKS

Spring Run Golf Club, which averages 350 to 500 covers a day in peak season (January through May), along with banquet operations, offers employees a cash reward for newhire referrals who stay with the club at least 90 days, Chef Jubinville says.

More substantially, country club members formed an employee retention committee a few years ago. “Club members like to have the same person wait on them each time they dine,” Chef Jubinville says. Thus, the committee meets monthly to discuss ways to help retain these now-familiar employees, many with large families who sometimes share homes.

The committee has organized food drives for the employees, as well as backpack giveaways for their kids at the beginning of the school year. The committee also assembles Thanksgiving boxes with holiday groceries, including turkey and stuffing, and surveys employees to find out their children’s needs — be it a laptop, bicycle or

school supplies. The committee then raises funds from among club members to purchase those items. “This committee always brainstorms ways to engage our staff so that they feel loved and wanted and make them not want to leave,” Chef Jubinville says.

During high season (October through May) at Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, management relies on international workers hired through Peter Petrina of Petrina Group International in Ithaca, New York. “If we depended on local staff, we’d be closed,” says Chef Joseph Watters, CEC (left), the club’s executive chef. In high season, the club operates three restaurants, banqueting services, a buffet kitchen and two snack bars. Events, tournaments and two clubhouses 13 miles apart compound the labor needs.

This year, the far-flung international workers arrived in October from Jamaica, Romania, Mexico and the Philippines — 15 to serve in front-of-house and 22 in back.

“(Petrina) does the interviewing to create a pool of cooks and servers to facilitate the club’s needs,” Chef Watters says. The workers arrive on a three-year work visa to handle the club’s high season, then move up north to work at another club for the rest of the year during their high season, then cycle back the next year, so they are available for three consecutive high seasons. For a nominal fee, the club provides the workers with an apartment or a room and valet transportation to and from work.

During the summer slowdown, a club near Jonathan’s Landing closes for the season, and Chef Watters takes on those employees, which also helps his labor needs.

OPERATIONAL OVERHAUL

Getting up to staff at Michigan State University in East Lansing this fall required some forethought, says Chef Kurt Kwiatkowski, CEC, CCA, AAC (opposite top), corporate executive chef. In a normal world, when school starts in the fall, student workers from the previous year resume where

they left off before summer break to staff the university’s nine dining units and 20 retail operations. But this year, a return from the pandemic hiatus meant hiring an entirely new and inexperienced crew of incoming freshmen. This unique labor crunch required a meeting of the culinary leadership team, including managers and executive chefs, to develop a labor prioritization plan.

“We looked at each operation and asked what we could do and do well if we were at 70% staffing,” Chef Kwiatkowski says. The team then developed plans for 60% staffing down through to 30% staffing. The answers went from closing platforms or venues to tightening and refocusing the menus. One adopted solution to help the dish-room dilemma was to use paper products to serve food until the new staff was up to speed.

To best utilize labor, the team also looked to quick-serve restaurants and street vendors for some fresh menu ideas and operational know-how. “In one platform, we had to think differently and throw away what we knew and what we had been doing and restructure for what we could pull off,” Chef Kwiatkowski says. Instead of offering a selection of several proteins and three sides and a sauce, the team scaled down the menu to include one protein, available in a grain bowl, as a salad or as a wrap. This allowed one person to batch cook the protein and come out and help the other worker serve it in whichever form the customer requested.

MENU AND PREPARATION SHORTCUTS

For the sake of labor, menus and ingredients have come under the microscope and knife. This is especially true in health care for Chef Timothy Schoonmaker, CEC (left), corporate director of nutrition services, Centra Rosemary and George Dawson Inn, Lynchburg, Virginia. He has cross-trained his culinary team to handle multiple jobs at multiple outlets spread across 150 miles in various venues, including patient room service.

High-Volume Equipment Standouts

The right equipment, often automated, reduces labor. Combi ovens are a valuable labor-saver for Centra Health in Lynchburg, Virginia, says Chef Timothy Schoonmaker, CEC, corporate director of nutrition services. “We cook our proteins overnight in the ovens, using a probe to cook and hold,” he says. The oven then retherms the cooked items. Additionally, for one of the hospital’s Meals on Wheels programs, a conveyor meal packaging system allows workers to fill containers with food and place them on the conveyor that seals and packages the meals. “We were able to move away from having three people preparing and packaging meals to one person,” he says.

The flexibility of the rapid-speed conveyor oven at Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, helps to alleviate pressure on the line for certain hot items, Executive Chef Joseph Watters, CEC, says. He can program the time and temperature specifications for various items, like lobster rolls and flatbread, for example. With the machine’s conveyor belt system, the staff can manage the cooking of two items at once.

“When we put the flatbread in the [oven], we push the flatbread button. It controls the air flow from the top and bottom, the temperature and the cook time.” When the flatbread goes in, the lobster rolls shoot out the other end. The two items can jockey in and out with an automatic time and temperature recalculation. Because of the oven's catalytic converter, there’s no need for a hood, and thus the oven can go anywhere, Chef Watters says.

“We have a wide variety of menus and try to systemize everything as best as possible, which includes standardized recipes, technology, purchasing specs and equipment,” he says. In some cases, his team switched from all-scratch cooking to speed scratch — as in, mixes to make muffins, scones, biscuits, cakes and sauces. Chef Schoonmaker even purchases some items fully ready to eat, including macaroni and cheese, certain muffins and a few sauces and dressings.

With less labor available, some of the cafes Chef Schoonmaker oversees have closed some food stations and combined a few formats. “A great example is combining our salad bar/made-to-order salad and our healthy bowl program into one large format that has a combination of hot plant-based items, traditional proteins and both salad bar and bowl toppings,” he says.

While all these methods help the labor challenge temporarily, Chef Jubinville with Spring Run Golf Club believes it’s time to invest in youth, bringing younger workers into the industry, starting in high school and college. Of his own accord, he’s gone into a few schools to rustle up interest among students to come in as prep cooks.

“You leave behind your legacy. What are you leaving behind?” he asks. “You don’t leave your food behind, but young chefs who came up the right way and learned from you.”

Jody Shee is a Kauai, Hawaii-based freelance writer and editor with more than 25 years of food-writing experience. She blogs at sheefood.com.

ATLANTA CHEFS ASSOCIATION

The Atlanta Chefs Association (ACF-ACA) celebrates its 52nd anniversary this year servicing the Atlanta Metro area and most of the state of Georgia. At 250 members strong with more than 500 unofficial “members” (regular event attendees and allied partners), the chapter has been busier than ever during the pandemic. Most notably, chapter members and vendor partners teamed up to deliver thousands of meals to families and restaurant workers in need.

“Last year, we handed out just over 50,000 family meals,” says ACF-ACA President Nick Barrington , CEC, ACE, the executive chef at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, who is currently running for his second term as chapter president. “We fed everyone from veterans to first responders to families on the holidays. This year, we focused on transitioning to helping restaurants find chefs and purveyors.”

The chapter has also expanded its partnerships with other nonprofit organizations, including C.H.O.I.C.E.S., or The Center Helping Obesity in Children End Successfully. It was started by chapter member and 2020 ACF-ACA Humanitarian of the Year Ashley Keyes in an effort to drum up more awareness in the fight against childhood obesity. Most recently, Chef Keyes’ community outreach landed her a spot as one of the Walt Disney Company’s 50 Magic Makers.

Almost all of the funds raised by ACF-ACA go to Giving Kitchen, which provides financial relief for restaurant workers and families who are in need for a number of reasons, including illness, loss of work and loss of business due to fires, floods or other natural disasters. Part of the proceeds from an upcoming golf tournament hosted by ACF-ACA will go to the charity, which, in addition to offering relief for workers, recently teamed up with doctors and nurses who donated their time to offer free medical checkups and COVID-19 vaccines.

Giving Kitchen referred program participants in need of groceries and meals to ACF-ACA. “We would have cars and cars lined up to receive food and had to have police officers come direct traffic,” Chef Barrington says.

The chapter relied on longtime partnerships with vendors and food suppliers for food donations and other connections. Equipment partner TriMark supplied the chapter with bags and boxes, while US Foods and Sysco donated refrigerated trucks to move the food. Chapter members also partnered with local YMCAs to feed people at the local level, especially in hard-hit communities.

What Chef Barrington says is most unique about ACF-ACA is that “we try to do things outside of the box so that we’re maintaining an impact in the community. Our tag is ‘Uniting Atlanta’s Culinary Community,’ and that’s what we do — we try to connect restaurants, chefs and companies.” The aforementioned partnerships set the chapter apart.

“We don’t have ‘sponsors.’ We have ‘partners,’” Chef Barrington says. “We have 18 going on 19 partners now. We help each other out; it’s not a one-way street. We help connect our partner companies with welltrained chefs, and we celebrate the accomplishments of everyone in our chapter, from students to master chefs."

This ACF chapter puts a strong emphasis on parnerships within the industry, as well as on philanthropy and collaborative events // By Amelia Levin

ACF-ACA President Nick Barrington presents the Humanitarian of the Year Award to Chef Ashley Keyes for her work in combattting childhood obesity.

The chapter even maintains a free online job posting forum on its website. “We placed two chefs just today,” Chef Barrington says.

Most recently, the chapter has begun to ramp up events, at least outdoors. This past summer, the chapter held a burger bash with corporate chefs from area suppliers. About 160 people attended, and Chef Barrington says the chapter gained six new members as a result.

ACF-ACA Executive Director Polly Barrington says videos are the next wave of efforts. “Between myself and a few board members, we take 300 pictures per event, and I’ll put them together in a three- to five-minute video that everyone loves to watch,” she says. The group also takes footage at all demonstrations and plans to do more with the medium to support the chapter’s active social media presence.

“We want to create an atmosphere that’s not a typical meeting where you sit down and watch someone demo, but rather have more interactive events to keep everyone engaged,” Chef Nick Barrington says. This is especially helpful for the chapter’s goal of engaging more students.

“We network with close to a dozen schools in the Atlanta area and make sure we are there to support

them,” Chef Nick Barrington says. “We plan to dedicate two events this upcoming year to students and in October will be partnering with Boar’s Head to do a student sandwich showdown.” Atlanta is the host city for the SkillsUSA finals for the next five years.

“Our chapter message to younger chefs is that they have the power,” Chef Nick Barrington says. “Before the pandemic, it was difficult to find jobs and employers, but that’s flipped now. There is a bigger opportunity for young chefs right now that is unprecedented.”

Polly Barrington points out that this year, student members will have the opportunity to apply for grants to go to the 2022 ACF National Convention for free. “We found that students seem to be more excited about an all-expense-paid trip to an experience, rather than just money applied to their tuition, which they don’t really ‘see,’” she says. “Having that experience and coming back from it is like a walking billboard for ACF. We feel our chapter is leading the way in community involvement, member and partner engagement. In 2022, we will be partnering with other chapters in Georgia for monthly meetups and field trips. We’ve found we are stronger together, so we’re trying not to lose that momentum. Let’s all keep moving forward!”

Photos from ACF-ACA’s recent Burger Bash (top row); A shot of chapter members and partners from a pre-pandemic event (bottom).

Amelia Levin is the editor-in-chief of the National Culinary Review.

RELISH THE ROAST

As a chill settles into the air and summer salads give way to cauldrons of bubbling soup and the rich orange hues of fall squash, chefs and diners alike turn their culinary fantasies toward comfort foods like large, juicy cuts of meat. It’s the time of year to celebrate roasting and to increase your repertoire with new flavor profiles. Whether you roast for weekly Sunday meals or special occasions like Thanksgiving or Christmas, roasts are a tantalizing way to teach the fundamentals and tempt diners of all types.

It’s hard to go wrong with menuing a roast in the fall and winter, when diners are seeking heartier fare and those large cuts of meat are sought after. “The body craves the warmth and nourishment of these large proteins this time of year as a comfort from the cold weather,” says Chef Robert Velarde, kitchen manager at Chartwells School Dining Services in Minneapolis.

Chef Wook Kang , program director of culinary arts at Chicago’s Kendall College, agrees. “People love looking at a big roast rib of beef or the quintessential Norman Rockwell picture of that roast turkey,” he says.

Both chefs teach roasting as a classic foundational technique. “Whether we’re teaching high-heat roasting, low-heat roasting, searing first or searing in the

This traditional technique has many applications, just in time for the holidays

// By Lauren Kramer

Slow-roasting a whole hog over fire results in super crisp skin, rendered fat and succulent meat.

oven, this is a technique that allows tender cuts of meat or vegetables to develop a crust and the flavor profiles that allow them to shine while aiding in the presentation,” Chef Kang says. “When we roast turkey, beef or root vegetables, roasting allows the food to be the main highlight rather than anything else.”

One amazing byproduct of roasting is the aroma that wafts through a dining room as the meat is cooking. “When a guest is greeted with that smell as they enter the dining room, it already begins the process of them getting ready to

eat,” says Chef Christopher Diehl , an instructor at the online-based Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. Roasts also help balance other dishes that might require greater attention to detail for lastminute technique. “Roasts provide value to the menu while easing up the workload on the kitchen, as most of the work of a roast is done in advance and the plate up in service is relatively easy,” he says.

ROASTING TECHNIQUES

Chef Kang notes more chefs are using sous vide techniques for their roast, cooking

Chef Matthew Raiford uses an underground roasting method on his farm.

it under vacuum and searing in the oven for minimal time. “The advantage of this is it saves you time in the back end, allowing you to do things faster ahead of time,” he says.

Chef Velarde recommends chefs try covering their roasting meat in a layer of rock salt to lock in the juices and flavoring. “At a couple of restaurants I’ve worked at, we would roast whole prime ribs with the fat cap on this way, removing the rock salt for service and brushing off any residue so the meat is not too salty,” he says. “Those were the juiciest prime ribs I’ve ever tasted. We’d do two prime ribs at a time with a large-grain rock salt and use 20 pounds of salt on a pan. You can reuse the salt multiple times.”

FUN WITH FLAVORS

North African and Moroccan flavors are trending right now, especially the spice blends baharat and ras el hanout, Chef Velarde says. He uses ras el hanout, an earthy, Moroccan blend of up to 15 spices, to season a leg of goat wrapped in banana leaves and roasted on the grill. He says both baharat and ras el hanout are readily available for purchase but can also be assembled by chefs themselves by combining different spice ingredients, most notably cinnamon, cumin, coriander, allspice, black pepper and ginger.

Both blends also work well on lamb, but he notes that goat meat is exceptionally tasty and one of his favorite cuts of meat to roast as a great alternative to traditional roasting meats. “It’s a much-underutilized meat that tends to be lean and lends

itself well to roasting, as long as you don’t overcook it,” he says. Chef Velarde recommends using a larding needle to inject fat, such as bacon, into the meat.

“As it roasts, the fat melts and helps create a juicier cut of roast,” he says. “Lamb has been done to death, but chefs don’t do much with goat, especially in the United States.”

Chef Kang recommends that chefs look out for zabuton, a tender, marbled segment of the chuck, and the teres major, a part of the shoulder. Meat cuts like these are hard to find unless you go to a specialty butcher, he says, but they’re worth looking for.

For Chef Diehl, hanger steak, chuck eye and tri-tip are his preferred cuts. “Hanger steak is a relatively small cut as far as roasts go, but it has a very unique, somewhat game-like flavor, especially if you’re getting certified Angus beef,” he says. “I also favor the chuck eye, which is the very end of the rib, as it’s much more economical per pound.”

TEMPERING THE TEMPERATURE

One of the mistakes some chefs often make when roasting is not getting the temperature right. “Some chefs put the heat way too high and don’t account for the size of their roast, which means it browns too quickly, or depending on the fat and fiber content, can be brown on the outside but raw in the middle,” Chef Kang says. There’s a ratio of time and cooking temperature to roast

Cover for Bress 'n' Nyam, a collection of Gullah Geechee recipes from Chef Matthew Raiford.

weight, he adds, and it’s a good idea to research these numbers until you have the experience to gauge it accurately without reference checks.

Another mistake often made is not giving the meat time to rest once it’s out of the oven. It’s necessary to account for the carry-over cooking from the residual heat that occurs once your roast has left the oven. “Remember that your roast will continue to cook even when out of the oven, for another 25 minutes or so,” Chef Velarde says. “Account for that carry-over cooking time in advance to ensure your roast is not overdone.”

LOW AND SLOW

For some chefs, ovens just don’t do the trick when it comes to roasting. Chef

prefers roasting outside in a pit fire. In his book “Bress ‘n’ Nyam,” he celebrates and pays tribute to Gullah Geechee cuisine, which has roots in West Africa. Whole-hog roasting is a well-loved Gullah tradition that results in super crisp skin, rendered fat and extremely succulent meat, he says.

“The men dug giant holes, put wood into the holes and built smokehouses or skewers to hold the meat above the fire,” Chef Raiford says. “If the hog was going to be cooked overnight, they would regulate the heat by covering the meat with tin and the hole with soil to create an insulated box in the earth.”

A sixth-generation farmer, Chef Raiford says whole-hog roasting is something that helps him feel connected to nature and to the particular ingredients in his immediate area – rosemary bushes, wild sumac and pecan trees.

“Anyone who tries this technique knows it’s an amazing way to put flavor into your meat and vegetables, and it’s a technique that’s all about low and slow heat,” he says. “Cooking outside allows you to manipulate how much heat that meat or vegetable will get and allows you to see the meat developing. So, even if you’re in a big city, if you have the room to dig a hole and create your own outdoor pit for roasting, I’d recommend giving it a try.”

Matthew Raiford , owner of Gilliard Farms in Brunswick, Georgia,

much

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As the premier certifying body for cooks and chefs in America, The American Culinary Federation remains committed to providing you with the tools to achieve your professional goals. We are pleased to announce the launch of a new way to communicate the ACF credentials you have earned in the ever-expanding online marketplace — at no cost to you!

Lauren Kramer is an award-winning writer based in the Pacific Northwest. She has been a regular contributor to the National Culinary Review for the past 16 years.

ALL ABOUT ASAFOETIDA

One of the joys of being a chef is the discovery process – finding out about previously unheard of ingredients (at least for some) that can create and enhance culinary flavors we never knew existed. Asafoetida is one of those ingredients. This savory spice, common in Indian cuisine, is known for its ability to bring out the flavors of other ingredients in dishes. Derived from the tap root of the perennial herb ferula, a plant native to the desert, asafoetida has a pungent odor in its raw state that earned it the nickname the “devil’s dung.” Begin cooking with asafoetida, however, and the odor dissipates immediately. What emerges instead is a flavor akin to garlic, leeks and onions.

“Asafoetida is a massive flavor enhancer that brings harmony to many dishes, balancing out sweet, sour, salty and spicy components,” says Chef Keith Sarasin, owner of the pop-up dining experience Aatma and The Farmer’s Dinner, an event company in New Hampshire. The spice releases its flavor when added to hot oil and can be used to enhance the flavor of onions and garlic, or as a substitute for these ingredients.

This earthy spice is commonly used in Indian cuisine and heartier dishes // by Lauren Kramer

Moong Dal with asafoetida and other spices.

Asafoetida is known to aid with digestion and is favored by consumers who have difficulty digesting onions and garlic. It’s a staple ingredient for the highly religious Jains, who avoid eating certain animals and some plants like onion, garlic and root vegetables that grow underground because they could cause harm to unseen organisms that live under the soil. Asafoetida is also used in pickling and in Iranian cuisine.

Third-party research firm Datassential notes that consumers are becoming increasingly interested in trying Indian dishes and that as people become more knowledgeable about the cuisine’s specific flavors and ingredients, asafoetida’s presence on restaurant menus will likely grow. Its versatility is one of the features that make it remarkable. Asafoetida pairs well with vegetables like potatoes, onions, cauliflower and leafy greens, and can also be used to flavor meat and rice dishes.

Chef Sarasin points out that at Keeva Indian Kitchen in San Francisco, asafoetida is used to make dal tadka with yellow lentils, onion and garlic. Indus Valley Restaurant in New York City menus a chaat masala with the spice, while at Batika Indian Bistro in Novato, California, asafoetida is used to temper lentils in mulligatawny soup with coconut milk, mustard seed and curry.

Chef Sarasin has deep respect for asafoetida and says that nothing else quite compares to it. “It opens an entire world of flavor to chefs who aren’t familiar with South Asian cuisine, and a whole realm of flavors and possibilities for dishes,” he says.

Chefs seeking asafoetida will typically find it in a spice form, either online or in a Middle Eastern, Indian or Asian grocery store.

Moong Dal

Recipe Courtesy of Chef Keith Sarasin

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the Dal:

• 1/2 cup yellow moong dal

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1 cinnamon stick

Salt, to taste

For the Tadka:

• 2 tablespoons ghee

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 teaspoon asafoetida

• 2 dried red chiles

7 fresh curry leaves

3 cloves garlic, finely sliced

For the Garnish:

• 1 teaspoon ginger, julienned

• 2 teaspoons coriander, chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala

• 1/2 lemon

Method:

1. Soak the moong dal in water for 30 minutes and drain.

2. Place the dal in a pot with the turmeric, chili powder, cinnamon stick and salt. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and allow it to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, adding more water to the pot as needed. Once the lentils are soft and easy to mash, turn off the heat and whisk the mixture to create the consistency of a thick soup.

3. To prepare the tadka, heat the ghee in a small pan and splutter the cumin seeds. Add the asafoetida and garlic and cook until just slightly browned. Add the dried red chiles and the curry leaves. Cook for about 15 seconds until fragrant. Pour mixture into the dal and fold to combine.

4. Garnish with the coriander, ginger, a squeeze of the lemon and a sprinkle of garam masala. Serve hot with white rice and pickled onions.

“ASAFOETIDA IS A MASSIVE FLAVOR ENHANCER THAT BRINGS HARMONY TO MANY DISHES, BALANCING OUT SWEET, SOUR, SALTY AND SPICY COMPONENTS.”

-CHEF KEITH SARASIN

PASTRY EDUCATION

Instructors today teach the fundamentals, plus the added ingredient of social consciousness // By Robert Wemischner

Just like the rest of the educational world, pastry education today is fluid and dynamic, offering both in-person and online classes or a hybrid model. But whether instructors are teaching the classics or newer techniques, educators are confronting new realities.

Baking programs are seeing a healthy increase in attendees, partially as a result of an increased interest in learning how to bake professionally fueled by a period of intense home baking during the earlier stages of the pandemic. Adding to this boom is the record number of openings for welltrained pastry cooks, as many have chosen to move away from the culinary industry in search of other work. It’s truly an employee’s market, and pastry education is rising to the occasion.

“There has never been a better time to get into the industry the right way and grow up into management,” says Chef John Schopp, CEC, CEPC, CCA, AAC , an instructor at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, Virginia. On the flip side, he says, “there has never been a worse time to be untrained and uncertified looking for hospitality work. Moving through a grab bag of techniques quickly without reinforcement isn’t education as we need it to be today.”

Focusing on life lessons is also an important part of today’s pastry education. “Thirty percent of our industry is never coming back, but what remains needs to be staffed by educated professional bakers who are trained to be business leaders,” Chef Schopp says. “Efficiency and profitability are paramount, and as educators we need to try to connect the dots between the classroom and the real world.”

Chef John Schopp, CEC, CEPC, CCA, AAC, with pastry students at Virginia Western Community College (top); Fresh baked bread (bottom).

Giving Back

From the outset, Chef Annie Greenslade, owner of The Sweet Life Chef, a private pastry chef consultancy, and the 2020 Texas Pastry Chef of the Year, has focused her pastry education on improving lifestyles and giving back to the earth. She believes in the importance — now more than ever — of changing the baking and restaurant industry by paying people a living wage, minimizing the menu of offerings and hiring less staff by concentrating on retaining those who are loyal and devoted to their craft. “This will encourage longevity in the staff and put an end to the unsustainable practice of filling the ranks with parttime employees who have no benefits and therefore have only a tenuous tie to the business,” she says.

As part of her mission to “give back to the earth,” Chef Greenslade, a pastry instructor at Grayson College in Denison, Texas, teaches her students to make environmentally sound choices and aspire to healthier eating. She sees no contradiction teaching others to create sweet treats as long as what they produce is seen as an indulgence and enjoyed on a limited and diet-aware basis. “If we are eating mindlessly, we are not eating healthily,” she says. “I’m not just teaching the students about food. I am also teaching them about life, to be good human beings and help evolve humanity to a better place.”

One dessert at a time, one class at a time, she is committed to leading by example. “Small changes can cumulatively make a big impact on the world,”

An Italian cream cake with black walnuts, enrobed in chocolate ganache with wafer paper feathers and gumpaste rose by Chef Annie Greenslade (left); Pastry Chef Annie Greenslade, the 2020 Texas Pastry Chef of the Year (right).

she says. “Vote with your dollars: Buy and eat local wherever possible.” For her classroom supply, Chef Greenslade primarily focuses on using dairy, eggs and other ingredients from producers within a limited radius in her vast state of Texas.

Diversity and Inclusion

For Chef Schopp, encouraging certification and a culture of inclusion is key to growing the body of passionate professional pastry chefs for the future. “We follow the ACF’s ladder, encouraging students to take that journey toward being certified by the organization,” he says. “Our students can also learn by listening to all perspectives, with students of all races, genders, sexual orientations, all within a vast age range. A positive workplace implies diversity.”

“We are in the business of comforting people, encouraging the bridging of perceived gaps in our society,” Chef Schopp continues. “We succeed together as a class or fail together as a class. We

need to be deft and dynamic. We will either make it together or go up in flames.”

Personalized Education

Chef Josie Wolfe, culinary and baking instructor at the Center of Applied Technology North in Severn, Maryland, believes strongly in tailoring education to the segment of the industry looking to hire her graduates. “Having the students for all four years of their high school education means that I get to know them well and understand how each of the students learns, including those who have special needs,” she says. “In our program, we have shifted from the old-school mentality that one size fits all. Innovation in pedagogy and open-mindedness leads to efficiency — saving time, energy and money. We have flexibility to use and choose any content that we deem valuable.”

Although never losing sight of the importance of European-based classics, students are encouraged

Hand-blown, sugar-based apple created by Chef John Schopp that he broke after class to demonstrate the delicate nature of these pastries.

"I’M NOT JUST TEACHING THE STUDENTS ABOUT FOOD. I AM ALSO TEACHING THEM ABOUT LIFE, TO BE GOOD HUMAN BEINGS AND HELP EVOLVE HUMANITY TO A BETTER PLACE."

- CHEF ANNIE GREENSLADE OWNER, THE SWEET LIFE CHEF

to bring their cultures to class by sharing ethnic recipes from their heritage. “I would call ours an internationalist approach,” Chef Wolfe says. “Everybody learns and is valued.”

Chef Wolfe is also mindful of the value of developing and maintaining strong relationships with business partners in her market area. “They support the program in many ways and are often outlets for internships during the students’ high school years and will eventually provide jobs when the students graduate,” she says.

“There’s never a better time for pastry,” Chef Schopp says. Why? “Because the American public is energized by food. They are more experimental and knowledgeable than they have ever been. We as professional educators teaching our students to be professionals always need to innovate. More and more, a discerning audience of consumers are getting away from manufactured products and instead looking for the artisan experience, handmade from locally produced food as much as possible — one that is reflective of the community and the region in which we pastry chefs practice and teach our craft.”

Robert Wemischner is a longtime instructor of professional baking at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and the author of four books, including “The Dessert Architect.”

Pastry students at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, Virginia, learn the fundamentals of pastry arts, as well as soft skills such as communication, collaboration and creating an inclusive culture in the kitchen.

Classical

When tasked to come up with a truly Minnesotan dish, Chef Mary Levinski, culinary instructor and a ProStart coach at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, looked no further than hotdish. This comforting casserole, perfect for a snowy winter day, traditionally combines tater tots with ground beef, cream of mushroom soup and frozen or canned corn and peas. Here, Chef Levinski elevates the classic version of the dish using shredded braised brisket or flank steak instead of ground beef, plus a homemade Swiss cheesebased bechamel instead of the canned stuff. For an elevated presentation, she presses crushed tater tots together in a mold to create two “cakes” that are then layered with sauteed mushrooms, peas and caramelized corn, bound together by the creamy sauce.

Credits: Leigh Loftus (photos), Shelagh Mullen (styling)

Modern

“Growing up as a kid in Minnesota, I ate so much hotdish that I can’t stand it anymore,” says Chef Scott Parks, CC, who is executive chef of Jordan Supper Club & Tap Room, chairman of the board for the ACF Minneapolis Chef’s Chapter and immediate past certification chair for ACF National. That’s why when Chef Parks teamed up with longtime friend and peer Chef Levinski for this CvM challenge, he took the reins on a modern twist, one that would combine all of the elements of hotdish but in a more composed fashion. The result was a perfect plating of juicy spice-rubbed short ribs cooked sous-vide style and served alongside crispy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside potato croquettes, bright green pea puree, corn puree, corn relish and a rich mushroom and beef demi-glace. “I didn’t want the dish to be too soft on the palate, so the corn relish is there for extra flavor and texture,” Chef Parks says. “I chose a pea puree because a green bean puree wouldn’t really work.” Of course, he had to do something other than basic cream of mushroom soup, so he went with the earthy demi-glace. Lightly sauteed trumpet mushrooms and fresh pea tendrils round out the plating.

See the classical and modern recipes, as well as more photos, at wearechefs.com

SOUTHERN AMERICAN

CUISINE FRENCH

French cuisine and the American South are more interwoven than one might think

//

By Chef Jennifer Hill Booker

My family is from the deep South — the Mississippi Delta to be exact. We come from a long line of farmers and great cooks. I grew up watching my grandparents and great aunts and uncles grow and harvest crops, as well as fish and raise livestock, and then turn all of those beautiful fruits and vegetables, fresh eggs and seafood, butter, milk, chickens and hogs into delicious meals. What wasn’t immediately eaten was canned or preserved for a rainy day — my favorites being my grandmother’s peach preserves and Aunt Sis’s fresh churned butter. Years later as an adult, I grew to appreciate my mother’s elderberry wine.

I knew that many of the ingredients I grew up eating, like black-eyed peas

and okra, were brought to America by African slaves. What I didn’t realize until later, however, is that many of the dishes and cooking methods I grew up with were influenced by the French.

I believe my culinary ignorance was due to the fact that when asked where to find French food in the South, most people — and myself included — only considered the city of New Orleans. There, you will definitely find a strong food scene where both Creole and Cajun cuisines have their origins firmly rooted in the French occupation of Louisiana. Creole dishes like red beans and rice and shrimp Creole or Cajun favorites like boudin and jambalaya, in that regard, are undeniably French. But if you look closer,

you will find other, more subtle, Frenchinspired dishes all over the South. You just have to know where to look.

It took going to culinary school for me to find them. Through my culinary training here in the United States and in France, I was taught classical French cooking methods. I learned how to cut and chop, make sauces and stews, bake and roast and even became a decent baker. What I remember most was that a lot of the cooking methods I was taught were the same I learned from family while growing up. Even while

studying in Paris, I used many of the same ingredients I cooked with at home, including purple-hulled peas, rabbit and even just good quality cheese, pasta and milk for a fancy version of macaroni and cheese. That’s what surprised me the most: discovering the huge influence French cuisine has had on the food of the American South.

Once back to cooking in the States, I easily recognized which cooking methods, ingredients and presentations had French roots — but that Southerners had made their own.

Chef Jennifer Hill Booker (opposite) is a cookbook author who specializes in Southern-American-French cuisine; Sweet potato crepes (left) and collard greens salad (right) by Chef Booker.

Southern Twists

There are many traditional French favorites that Southerners have made their own. Take a look.

A souffle is a dish that is made from a sauce of egg yolks, beaten egg whites and a flavoring or puree — and then baked until puffed up. The Southern version of a French souffle has taken shape as a casserole, often topped with chopped nuts, marshmallows or meringue. These are very popular desserts during Thanksgiving and the winter holidays.

A meringue is a light mixture of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar, baked until crisp or used as a fluffy topping on desserts. A light and fluffy meringue is a must-have as a baked garnish on top of classic Southern desserts like banana pudding and key lime pie. In these parts, the higher the meringue, the higher the praise for the cook.

A roux is a cooked mixture of equal parts flour and fat. When combined with liquid, such as milk or stock, a roux creates a thick and smooth sauce. It is the base that makes seafood gumbos in the South thick and creamy. A properly made roux makes for a lump-free sauce — just ask anyone from Louisiana.

Fondue refers to a dish made by warming cheese, oil or chocolate in a specially designed container over a small flame. A variety of foods can be dipped into the melted contents of the pot and then eaten as a starter, main course or as a dessert. Fondue made its debut in the South as a pot of melted cheese that you dipped chunks of bread in. Over the years, fondue has evolved into a chocolate fountain where you dip chunks of cake into melted chocolate.

In traditional French cuisine, a terrine is a loaf of chopped meat, spices and gelatin baked in a covered pottery mold, which is also referred to as a terrine. Taking inspiration from classic French terrines of chopped wild game, such as duck, boar or rabbit, many Southern-style terrines are made from the trimmings of butchered pigs. These terrines of spiced pork are chilled instead of baked and fondly called hog head cheese or souse.

So, what have we Southerners taken from the French and adopted as our own? I immediately think of the low and slow cooking method of braising, which you’ll see used on a pot of pinto beans or turkey wings. The way I roll and cut my greens into long strips for a salad is another example of French cuisine’s seamless influence on our everyday cooking.

When it comes to Southern favorites, I think we’ve taken the best of what a classic French dish has to offer and added our indigenous ingredients to create dishes that are truly our own. Take for example sweet potato souffle or banana pudding. Both use a French-style custard made of egg yolks, cream, sugar and flavoring, but with sweet potatoes or bananas as their main ingredients.

The cheese sauce in the macaroni and cheese recipes Southern cooks are known for has its foundation in a French “mother sauce,” but the types of cheeses, addition of bacon or pimentos and a topping of buttered crackers is truly Southern. I would go so far as to say that a Thanksgiving favorite, the turducken, is essentially a French ballotine.

Much of that influence has to do with the reputation French chefs have in the American food scene, along with the many French cooking techniques and kitchen management styles adopted in American commercial kitchens. And of course, there are still culinary schools that teach classical French cooking as the only acceptable cooking method. That — plus the food legacy left behind by freed French-owned slaves — meant that French methods, ingredients and dishes have remained a robust part of the Southern culinary landscape. Many freed slaves remained in the South, cooking the foods of their former owners, mixed with ingredients and cooking techniques from the freed slaves’ homelands.

I’m not saying that French and Southern cuisines are the same since both are unique in what they offer and how food is prepared and presented. But in the end, I will say that French and Southern Cuisine are indeed different sides of the same culinary coin.

Southern-born Chef Jennifer Hill Booker traveled to Paris to study French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts only to discover that rustic French and Southern dishes use many of the same ingredients. That’s the basis for culinary exploration in her cookbooks, including “Dinner Déjà Vu: Southern Tonight, French Tomorrow” and “Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent.” Chef Booker is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Paris. In addition to her work as a chef, entrepreneur and cookbook author, Chef Booker is a reality TV personality, culinary educator, an Impact Fellow with the James Beard Foundation and a Georgia Grown Executive Chef for the state’s Department of Agriculture. Learn more at ChefJenniferHillBooker.com.

Hog Head Cheese

Recipe by Chef Jennifer Hill Booker

This truly Southern dish, also known as souse, takes its lead from the French terrine.

Hog head cheese closely resembles pâté — minus the gelatin, which isn’t needed since the pork bones cook down into a flavorful collagen that binds tender pieces of pork with bright herbs and spices.

Yield: about 16 servings

1 large hog head, brain removed, about 10 pounds

4 large onions, peeled and quartered

8 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons sea salt

1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1 cup cider vinegar

1. Clean hog head by removing eyes and any remaining bristles.

2. In an extra large stock pot, bring the hog’s head, onions, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, vinegar and enough cold water to cover by 2 inches to a rolling boil.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until meat is falling off the bones, about 3 hours.

4. Allow meat to cool in the cooking liquid until able to handle with bare hands.

5. Pick the meat off the bones, chopping the meat and cooked onions to desired consistency. Reserve 2 to 3 cups of cooking liquid and discard the bones.

6. Pour reserved cooking liquid into meat and onion mixture. Add vinegar, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and sage to taste.

7. Pour meat and spice mixture into large 9 -x 12-inch pans and allow to cool refrigerated overnight.

8. Once chilled, cut the hog head cheese into squares and serve with saltine crackers or slices of white bread.

Sweet Potato Crepes with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Recipe by Chef Jennifer

Hill Booker

This Southern spin on a French classic is a flavorful way to use leftover roasted sweet potatoes. If you have leftover bourbon caramel sauce (which I doubt), it’s delicious on muffins and over ice cream.

Yield: about 1 dozen crepes

1/2 cup mashed roasted sweet potato, skin removed

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch ground cloves

4 tablespoons melted butter, plus more for greasing

Pinch salt

1. Combine all of the crepe ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until smooth and lump free, about 10 minutes.

2. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour to overnight. This allows the air bubbles in the batter to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking.

3. Heat a 6-inch nonstick crepe pan over medium heat, until pan is hot but not smoking.

4. Add butter to coat, about 1 teaspoon, swirl over bottom of pan and pour off any extra butter. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds.

5. Remove the pan from the stove and using a rubber spatula, quickly loosen the edges of the batter away from the pan, then, using the spatula and your fingers, flip the crepe over very carefully.

6. Place the pan back on the stove and cook the crepe for another 30 seconds and remove, placing the crepe flat on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue until all batter is used. Refrigerated leftover batter will keep for up to 2 days.

7. After the crepes have cooled, you can fill them with your choice of filling, like ice cream, and serve warm with bourbon caramel sauce

Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Recipe by Chef Jennifer Hill Booker

A decadent blend of browned sugar, rich cream and smoky bourbon. This sauce is delightful on sweet potato crepes, waffles and, of course, over your favorite ice cream.

Yield: about 1 cup

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons bourbon

1/4 teasponn salt

1. Simmer sugar and water in a small heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Swirl the pan, occasionally, until the sugar water is a dark amber color, about 30 minutes. Brush the sides of the pan down with a pastry brush dipped in cold water; this will keep any sugar on the sides of the pan from burning.

2. Do not walk away from the pan. Once the mixture starts to brown, it goes very quickly.

3. Remove the pan from heat and slowly stir in the cream. Add the salt and bourbon, place back on the burner and cook until the caramel sauce is thick, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heat-safe dish or bottle and serve warm.

4. Store any remaining sauce in an airtight container and refrigerate.

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MICHAEL J. SHANNON, CEC

Executive Chef, Somerset Club, Boston, Massachusetts // By Amelia Levin

Chef Michael Shannon, CEC, was always surrounded by good food as a child, growing up in a Italian-Irish household in the suburbs of Chicago. “We had dinner every night as a family and our conversations around the dinner table deepened my appreciation for food and cooking,” says the 2021 ACF Chef of the Year (more on that in a bit).

Spurred by this passion, Chef Shannon decided to enroll in the culinary arts program at Joliet Junior College, during which time he worked part-time at some local restaurants in the area.

But it was competitions and the private club world that would eventually call his name, having met ACF members and club chefs as part of the 2011 ACF Culinary Student Team that won nationals. “My Chef-Instructor Tim Bucci (CMC) at the time was on the Culinary Olympic team with Chef Joe Leonardi (CMC), so I connected with him,” says Chef Shannon, who would later to go work for Leonardi at Somerset Club in Boston after graduation.

“I have been at Somerset for nine years now,” says Chef Shannon, who worked up the ranks as line cook, sous chef and now executive chef. Watching Chef Leonardi study for and earn his CMC caused Chef Shannon to have an even deeper respect for his mentor.

“[Going for my CMC] is something that I consider a career goal of mine,” he says.

Taking over the executive chef position at Somerset was a key step toward

that goal. “I was just 26 years old at the time. Looking back, that was a lot of a responsibility at that age,” says, Chef Shannon, noting that was about five years ago. “I was lucky to have one of my best friends Geoffrey Lanez as my sous chef at the time. For as much as this was a big step for me, we did it together.”

Cool, collected and well-spoken, Chef since then focused on running his kitchen with order and organization, respect for each other, and with an embrace of all the different personalities that can come about in an elaborate kitchen structure, such as at Somerset.

When asked what his strength is, Chef Shannon remains humble, but goes on to suggest that perhaps it is his ability to “manage personalities.” “A lot of the time I feel like I’m falling short in that regard because everyone is so different, but I try to work hardest on mentorship and creating a good culture. It’s definitely something I feel like I’m always working on.”

Chef Shannon says he enjoys working in the club sector primarily because of the support from membership. “That’s something I have really valued throughout the years,” he says. “With a membership base, you have to be continually evolving because you might see some of the same people multiple times a week. You have to keep the menu fresh, otherwise things can get stagnant pretty quickly.”

That means Chef Shannon has to stay on top of his game at all times. He gets his inspiration for new dishes and menu ideas by reading cookbooks, focusing on seasonal ingredients, and social media platforms. “I personally get really inspired by my cooks at the club when they are excited to learn about something new or share their ideas with me,” he says. “When you have multiple dining outlets, you need a strong team — It’s all part of a collaborative effort.”

Competitions are also a way for Chef Shannon to get new ideas and hone his craft. His first experience with competition came during culinary school at a regional competition in Columbus, Ohio, where he took home gold medal in a K category at the student level. “It was a happy drive back,” he says.

Later, Chef Shannon went on to win Best in Show in 2012 for a cold food platter he presented at a competition in

New York. He also won gold and Best in Show at a mystery basket competition in Cincinnati in 2018. To practice for this competition, he had his cooks and sous chefs put together mystery boxes for him and hide it just before practice time.

“Competitions are not for everyone –they are demanding both physically and mentally,” says Chef Shannon. “But I find them to be a great way to keep learning, develop good work habits and improve your time management skills—which is like a secret weapon as a cook. [Competitions] are also great for building comradery in the kitchen because they create an outside goal that the whole culinary team can all rally behind.”

For his most recent competition at the 2021 ACF National Convention in Orlando, Chef Shannon pulled these tricks out of his sleeve to remain cool, calm and collected under the pressure. It was his rabbit, arctic char, and peach salad that helped him beat out nine other competitors. For the rabbit, Chef Shannon made a sausage utilizing the leg of the rabbit, rabbit liver, along with some bacon and roasted garlic. He then boned out and stuffed the rabbit saddle with the sausage. The dish also was composed of a savory cornbread pudding with braised rabbit and slow-cooked summer vegetables with basil and truffle. For the fish appetizer, he made a poached arctic char dish featuring a terrine made with the loin, a mousseline with the trimmings and some char meat from the tail, as well as a stuffed pasta made with the belly, which he smoked for extra flavor.

For the salad course, Chef Shannon went for a play on peaches and cream using peaches macerated with mint and Riesling wine, a light buttermilk panna, and a simple, lemon verbena-Champaign vinaigrette. The dish also featured a black pepper and peach chutney made with the leftover trimmings and a brioche crisp for texture.

“Finding ways to utilize the whole fish, whole animal or whole vegetable is really important to me and builds good habits in the kitchen so there is no waste,” he says.

Chef Shannon’s goals for the short term are to continue to strive to create a positive environment and a place where younger cooks, especially recent culinary student graduates, are excited to come to work at. “Work-life balance is an important part of that,” says Chef Shannon, who believes in supporting time off and moving away from an industry culture that has been “kind of rough for a very long time.”

The future is here, though, and Chef Shannon wants to be a part of change to come in the industry. “I still have a note that Chef Leonardi wrote on the inside of a notebook hanging in my office,” he says. “It says ‘promise to give so much time to improve yourself and your team that you have no time to criticize others.’ There has been a lot of negativity in our society and industry lately so I try to focus on things I can control. I focus on not taking my team for granted and always putting my best foot forward.”

"THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF NEGATIVITY IN OUR SOCIETY AND INDUSTRY LATELY, SO I TRY TO FOCUS ON THINGS I CAN CONTROL. I FOCUS ON NOT TAKING MY TEAM FOR GRANTED AND ALWAYS PUTTING MY BEST FOOT FORWARD.”

Michael J. Shannon, CEC, Executive Chef, Somerset Club, Boston, Massachusetts

Blue Skies Ahead

Independent restaurant operators are hopeful about the business climate, despite crippling challenges in the past year

By Amanda Baltazar

Catering constitutes about half of the revenue at The Cook and The Cork in Coral Springs, Florida. So when COVID-19 arrived, the impact was even more devastating to that side of the business for owner Chef Keith Blauschild, CEC (top), than to the main restaurant operation. However, he’s hopeful that whenever this pandemic is over, his catering customers will come out en masse and book bigger and more lavish events to make up for lost time.

Chef Blauschild also expects his restaurant business to see bigger spenders, in part through necessity — food prices and labor costs are up — and in part because many diners, tired of cooking and eating at home night after night, will be more likely to splash out.

Chef Blauschild is not alone. After many bleak months, other independent restaurant operators are cautiously optimistic about the future.

Chef Sam Hart (bottom) has a different story than most. He opened his restaurant, Counter-, in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September 2021 and had plenty of qualified labor to choose

from as many chefs and cooks had recently been laid off from other restaurants.

Counter- is a ticketed restaurant offering orchestrated meals that pair food with music. Business is going so well that Chef Hart is planning to move to a larger operation in early 2022 and open a second concept.

Lingering Labor Issues

Operators are being creative to combat the current shortage of labor.

Chef Blauschild is hiring more highly qualified employees for entry-level jobs. This means he pays the employees more and, subsequently, is raising menu prices slightly. He’s offering health insurance benefits and looking for employees who want to move ahead, “if not with our company then to run their own kitchen some day.”

Chef Rena Frost (below) is the owner of ReWard Restaurant Group in Grapevine, Texas, which includes two restaurants, Mac’s on Main and Mac’s Bar & Grill. She has implemented a hiring bonus: Current employees who recommend a new hire receive $300, and new staff members receive $500.

She’s considering keeping this perk even when the labor market looks up. “The incentive works,” she says. “If it helps someone out, and it’s a safety net between bills, it’s worth it. I don’t see it going away this year, and it might be the way we do things now.”

Chef Frost has also sped up training from five days to four to get new hires on to the restaurant floor. She has mostly dropped POS training and wine and alcohol education, opting instead to do the latter as a pre-shift.

//

To keep the staff he’s hired, Chef Hart has a simple tactic — he pays them all superlatively. “Our lowest makes over $35,000 with four weeks of vacation and benefits,” he says. “We’re trying to make it a more livable and workable environment. When staff are paid accordingly, guests will pay the extra $1 or $2.”

Positive Business Changes

Chef Blauschild has been forced to make changes to his business due to COVID-19 but thinks many of these changes may stay. Last year he added outdoor dining, and those 24 seats help boost revenue, he says.

Because sourcing became so difficult in the early days of the pandemic, chefs were forced to source more locally, Chef Hart says. More than 50% of meat and 60% of produce for Counter- comes from North Carolina.

He works with a Charlotte company, Freshlist, which “does the dirty work and finds the farmers and creates a distributor for all these farmers — which redistributes food out to chefs,” he says.

Clockwise from upper left: Brunch dishes at Mac’s on Main; shots from the restaurant’s main dining room; burrata, shrimp tamales and Korean short ribs by Mac’s Chef Rena Frost.

This costs him 30% more than if he were dealing with the farmers himself. “I can communicate directly with these farmers; it’s much more personal, and you can count on it much more.”

The pandemic has also paved the way for smaller restaurants like his, which is just 18 seats, as consumers want to reduce their exposure to other people. “The 150-seat restaurant is dead,” Chef Hart says.

Chef Americo DiFronzo, CEC, CCA, AAC (left), executive chef at the historic Union Oyster House in Boston, says the supply chain is still suffering and “it’s a challenge purchasing items we need.” This is due to both employee and product shortages, he says. “In the past, I would order week to week. Now I need to carry more inventory to stay ahead [and] have enough product to operate.”

Another big change for Chef DiFronzo was that Union Oyster House last year offered outdoor seating for the first time in its 195-year history. “That was a positive because the alfresco dining scene in Boston wasn’t that strong,” he says. The restaurant placed tables on the

sidewalk, together with other cafes on the street, so, he says, “it looks beautiful with the different colored umbrellas and designs.” He’s hoping this will become a permanent fixture.

Menu Matters

Due to both the labor shortage and high food costs, chefs have been making significant changes to their menus.

Chef Blauschild took high-labor dishes off his menu. His house-made potato pierogies are gone, replaced by burrata cheese with grilled peaches and a balsamic glaze, which, he says, “is a higher food cost but hardly any labor.” Eventually some higher labor items will come back, he says, “if there is still customer demand and we can produce it.”

Chef Frost also shrank her menu, by about 20%, to keep the pressure off her chefs and to order less inventory. She realized some menu items didn’t translate well to takeout, such as dishes with delicate sauces like shrimp with a beurre blanc or those that would steam in the to-go containers.

In addition, she removed some items due to high costs like crab cakes, several steak items and a lamb burger dinner.

Chef DiFronzo also scaled back his menu, removing about 20% of items for several reasons. “We didn’t have sufficient labor to work all of the previous stations, nor enough guests, and because the menus, which became paper and disposable, went down to one page,” he says.

After an incredibly difficult 18 months, chefs are finding positives as we stumble through what’s hopefully the end of this pandemic.

“People want restaurants; they went out of their way to show us that,” Chef Frost says. “I’m very optimistic.”

Amanda Baltazar is a Pacific Northwest-based writer who covers food, beverages, restaurants and retail and is excited to see independent restaurants get back on their feet.

A dish by Chef Sam Hart, owner of Counter- in Charlotte, North Carolina (left); The main dining room at The Cook and the Cork in Coral Springs, Florida (right).

Let your customers know you have their safety in mind.

New ACF COVID-19 Safety Training

Take the ACF COVID-19 Safety Training for Foodservice course and earn a certificate and verifiable digital badge that can be displayed on your website and social media channels.

Available in the ACF Online Learning Center. Visit acfchefs.org/OLC

Topics Covered:

• Key Features of COVID-19

• Minimizing Risk and Preventing Spread

• Best Practices for Foodservice

• Examples from Chefs in the Industry

SPRINGING INTO ACTION

Considerations and steps to take for a successful volunteer effort in a disaster // By

Amy Sins

When Hurricane Ida was about to hit — in the middle of a pandemic, no less — I feared for the worst. My brain shifted immediately to my Hurricane Katrina experience when I lost my home, and my heart sank. Born in New Orleans and raised in southern Louisiana, I’m no stranger to hurricane season. I’ve been through more than I can count.

Hurricane Ida was a tough one. She came in fast, was much more powerful than anticipated and wreaked havoc on southeast Louisiana. The damage was significant: Homes and businesses were destroyed, and our power grid was devastated.

I reached out immediately to my employees and chef friends to see how they fared. The responses ranged from minor roof damage to the loss of hundreds of pounds of meat and seafood that one of my friends purchased for her restaurant — that had just opened. Another dear friend completely lost her home and everything in it. Relatively speaking, this was not another Katrina because no levees broke. But it was still important to spring into action to help others find safe shelter, water and food.

Chefs naturally want to help when disaster strikes by running to the scene to get to cooking and feeding. That is nothing short of noble or heartfelt. Feeding people is what we do. But after working through so many disasters, I have learned that on-site cooking is one of the last things that actually happens in the weeks following a natural disaster. Sadly, there will always be disasters in our future, so allow me to share with you some of what I have learned so that you can be prepared to jump in with both feet and make an immediate impact in your community.

Safety is No. 1. In the hierarchy of needs, making sure everyone is safe is the No. 1 priority during and after a disaster. That means assessing any injuries and seeking treatment, as well as making sure people have a safe place to sleep at night.

Oftentimes, I get calls from chefs who right away want to help out and cook food. I wish we could logistically make that happen, but too many things work against such efforts in the immediate days after a disaster. Often, there is no running water, limited or no power, no refrigeration and even dangerous conditions that can make it difficult to go from point A to point B. Trees are down, power lines are live, and entire communities

may be flooded. People are being evacuated to safe locations, and that could change hourly. You showing up unannounced in a disaster zone that is still in triage may sadly hurt more than help. You could be in danger, you could put others in danger, and you may take valuable resources away from people in need.

Water, water, water. Nine times out of 10, the first thing people ask for and need immediately following a disaster is water. Water is always in short supply, and shelves are bare. We’ve had the most success purchasing 18-wheelers of water and having that water trucked into areas where it can be distributed. Waiting for the standard supply chain can take weeks.

Once that need is met or partially met, we start to move on to food, particularly nonperishables. Consider the fact that most people don’t have running water. Cleaning their hands is tough, so you don’t want people touching too much food. Choose wrapped items that don’t need to be cooked or refrigerated and are healthy, high in calories and protein-rich — simple things like granola bars or nut bars with protein and fat, as well as shelf-stable protein drinks. Don’t forget about shelfstable fruit cups.

Connect with people on the ground who you can trust. I cannot stress this enough! There are a lot of shady people and organizations out there, and disasters can be full of misinformation. Accurate intel, boots on the ground and people who you trust are key to success in any disaster relief mission. For me, this is about building a network, whether that’s through churches, volunteer groups or even small-town government officials. I find partners who have the right priorities in place, along with some experience working disaster relief. We work as a team to determine the needs in impacted areas. Local contacts are best: They understand the community and are deeply ingrained in it.

The most efficient way to safely feed large groups of people after a disaster is to connect with a community organization or company that has a commercial kitchen, preferably in an area not directly impacted by the disaster and try to process as much food there as possible. Trained chefs put out exponentially more food than a group of volunteers with a chef manager. I partner with Second Harvest Food Bank, Mercy Chefs and Culture Aid NOLA because they are trustworthy and reliable partners. They have volunteers and huge commercial kitchens with backup systems and are part of our regional disaster relief network.

Food safety is crucial, especially during a natural disaster. During a natural disaster, hospitals are often shut down or hard to get to because of dangerous conditions, so the last thing we want to do is make people sick. We have found the most efficient and safe way to produce food is to create boil-in-a-bag meals. To do this, a group of trained professional chefs and I will prepare the meals at a central commercial kitchen. Or in the case of the 2016 flood, ask restaurants to prepare the meals in their kitchen.

Once the food is cooled or blast-chilled and bagged, it can be frozen for transport. We recommend bagging in 10-serving packages or up to 100 servings a bag depending on the restaurant’s capability. This then allows us to safely transport the food, without the need for ice, to a response team on the ground. We often send these bags to police stations, fire stations and local churches. Here in southern Louisiana, everyone has a giant crawfish boil pot or two and propane tanks. Now, any community hub can safely boil food in a bag, heat it to the required temperature and serve a meal without compromising the product or contaminating it. The health department will still come out and do an inspection if you’re running a cooking operation, even in the middle of a disaster. ALWAYS mind your temperatures and have thermometers at the ready everywhere.

Be creative, but not too creative. Everyone wants to know what we cook when we are able to cook. We cook GOOD FOOD. Just because you’re hungry, just because you’re dealing with a disaster, does not mean you do not deserve a delicious and beautiful meal. If it reheats well, the sky’s the limit.

Favorites include New Orleans red beans and rice, chicken and andouille gumbo and crawfish and corn bisque. The No. 1 item people love are our grillades and grits. I personally love our okra and tomato stew and broccoli-and-cheese rice. It’s important to keep in mind that not everyone eats meat. We try to incorporate vegetables as much as possible and balance the nutrition where we can with the donations we have. Did I mention red beans and rice? SO MUCH RED BEANS AND RICE.

At the same time, it’s important to know your audience. I once had a Vietnamese restaurant offer to donate a bunch of banh mi sandwiches. Not everyone in Louisiana has been exposed to a variety of international flavors. A disaster when people are hungry and want the familiar is not necessarily the time to broaden their palates. In that situation, we ended up finding a church with a diverse population that had been exposed to a variety of different foods; the congregation was ecstatic not to have to eat more red beans and rice. Again, people on the ground who you trust and who know the community are key.

Label anything and everything. Just because there’s a disaster doesn’t mean food allergies no longer exist. That’s why it’s important when cooking for others to label everything with

the date produced, location produced and any allergens that may be present. People on-site laugh that I label the labels. There is blue tape everywhere and sharpies within reach at all times. Consider the fact that if you’re running a relief mission you have volunteers who have never cooked in a kitchen, volunteers who don’t know where to look for items and the occasional volunteer who doesn’t know that raw chicken does not go in the same ice chest as lettuce. Labeling everything — the ice chests, the tables, the cutting boards, the clean/dirty bin, the handwashing sink — keeps things organized and minimizes the need for you to answer questions during chaotic times. If everything is labeled, when a volunteer shows up, your orientation time is cut down significantly.

As chefs, we all want to cook, but during a disaster there are sometimes better ways we can truly step up and make an impact. Our knowledge of food safety, the way we manage stressful situations and complex personalities, our understanding of the brigade system and our ability to handle logistics while making difficult decisions all make us successful leaders during a disaster. This article has been condensed for space. To read the full story, visit WeAreChefs.com .

A New Orleans-born Louisiana native, Chef Amy Sins is an award-winning cookbook author, radio host, media personality, former restaurant owner and founder of Langlois, a culinary event business for private gatherings, international travel tours and business conferences. She has played many roles over the course of her 20-plus-year professional journey, including that of “girl with a cellphone” who has developed a template for quick and effective disaster relief. Follow her on Instagram @chefamysins.

FERMENTATION FEVER

Experts share their tips on new ways to preserve

Each year, a Whole Foods Market trends council comprising more than 50 team members — foragers, regional and global buyers and culinary experts among them — predicts food trends for the following year, based on decades of expertise in product sourcing, the food industry and consumer preference.

Needless to say, the 2021 results showed a food evolution on account of COVID-19. The pandemic led people to reevaluate everything, from where they live and work to what they eat. Lockdowns also limited grocery store visits, a fact that played out in interesting ways.

According to Sonya Gafsi Oblisk , chief marketing officer at Whole Foods Market, the shift in food trends has included a notable uptick in the purchase of fermented foods, as consumers are more focused on wellness, avoiding food waste and living more simply and sustainably.

As early as 7,000 B.C. in Neolithic China, there is evidence of alcoholic beverages made of fermented fruits and rice. Fermentation has been key to food preparation in cultures worldwide ever since. Humans discovered early on that the process not only made foods and beverages taste better, but also acted as an effective preservation technique, making foods safer to consume over long periods of time. Lucky for us, the technique also introduced a world of flavor to savory foods and drinks.

Beyond extending the life of food and upping its flavor factor, there’s something elemental about the fermentation process. In the case of chefs, recent dabbling with fermentation taps into that notion. It also makes sense given rampant supply chain issues. As more health departments begin to allow fermentation (provided there’s an HACCP program in place), odds are interest will grow and experimentation will ensue.

“The act of fermentation connects people and food with something larger,” says Kirsten Shockey, author, instructor and co-founder of The Fermentation School, a womenowned and women-led virtual education company based in Asheville, North Carolina. “Watching microbes transform cucumbers from a very perishable vegetable to a much more stable and complex-tasting pickle is pretty magical.”

// By Jennifer Olvera

But it’s also about getting down to brass tacks.

“There are practical benefits to fermentation,” says Sandor Katz, fermentation revivalist and author of “Fermentation Journeys,” “Fermentation as Metaphor,” “Wild Fermentation,” “The Art of Fermentation” and “The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved.” “Your food is not decomposing or rotting. Instead, microorganisms are doing one or more of the following: creating alcohol; preserving food; making it more flavorful; making nutrients more bioavailable; breaking down potential toxins; enhancing nutrition and synthesizing unique metabolic byproducts; and creating living probiotic bacteria.”

The health benefits are plentiful, given the antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and antiatherosclerotic properties of fermented foods. Health benefits like gut health aside, fermentation opens the door for creativity.

Rose yeast starter at The Fermentation School.

“The act of food preservation lets individuals put their personal identity into a food,” says Chef Jeremy Umansky, author of “Koji Alchemy: Rediscovering the Magic of MoldBased Fermentation (Soy Sauce, Miso, Sake, Mirin, Amazake, Charcuterie),” and co-owner of Larder Delicatessen & Bakery in Cleveland, Ohio. “It creates a story about said food that is unique to the time and place it was created.”

That’s everything to those living in cold weather climates.

“All summer I've been eating garlicky dilly crunchy sour pickles, in small batches from my garden,” says Katz, a resident of rural Tennessee. “And I just planted fall radishes for fermenting.”

In the dead of winter, such reminders of the growing season are priceless. “Eating fermented peas in late fall brings just the right amount of spring’s joys,” Chef Umansky says.

Truly, the sky is the limit with what you can do.

Chef Katz notes, “My new book, ‘Fermentation Journeys,’ features Thai pork ribs fermented in a paste of rice, garlic and salt. This is just one of many recipes that show most anything can be fermented. The possibilities are expansive and exciting.”

Much like the nose-to-tail movement, fermentation lends itself to mindful living.

“It could be from years of living far from any grocery store or just how I operate, but I feel strongly about using what’s available to me at any given moment,” Shockey says. “Fermentation lets me fully utilize the entirety of any one ingredient — from peels to cores to giant zucchinis — or lets me save ingredients I am running out of to use as a fresh ingredient later.”

Shockey saves citrus peels, for example, using them to make a scrap vinegar to use when a recipe calls for lemon or

lime. That’s a boon when fresh citrus is in short supply.

“It bursts with lemon flavor so I can totally ‘cheat,’” she says. When combining ingredients, though, there’s an interesting rule of thumb.

“Things that grow together (at the same time) go together,” says Chef Umansky, who currently has chanterelles and peaches fermenting together. “They have the same growing season and are ripe to use at the same time.”

It’s in that seeming disparity that magic is made.

“I am always trying to surprise myself and others,” Shockey says. “This week’s favorite is a peach chutney that was made with black garlic.”

Although it’s one of the world’s oldest food processing techniques, fermentation has boundless flavor potential. As the bold, international flavors of savory fermented foods gain mainstream acceptance and recognition for their tangible health benefits, food and beverage professionals have an opportunity not only to make their mark but also do their part in limiting food waste and minimizing their environmental footprint — making food enthusiasts happier and healthier in the process.

Chef Jeremy Umansky (right), author of "Koji Alchemy: Rediscovering the Magic of Mold-Based Fermentation" makes a variety of ferments using soy sauce, sake, amazake and more (Credit: Angelo Merendino and Peter Larson).

Jennifer Olvera is a food and travel writer and the author of eight books. She has served as a dining critic for Chicago magazine, has penned stories and tested recipes for the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times and has developed a recipe column for the award-winning website Serious Eats.

Thank You to All Our 2021 ACF Event Sponsors

Las Vegas, Nevada

Caesars Forum

July 25-28, 2022

Board of Governors Meeting

AAC Fellows Meeting and Dinner

July 24, 2022

TBD

Register now at ACFChefs.org/Convention

NCR Quiz

November/December 2021

By LeeAnn Corrao, CFC®

What is an example of French influence on Southern cooking?

a. French custard in banana pudding

b. Meringue to top key lime pie

c. The cheese sauce in macaroni and cheese recipes

d. A ll of the above

In French cuisine, what is a terrine?

a. A d ish that is made from a sauce of egg yolks, beaten egg whites and a flavoring or purée

b. A loaf of chopped meat, spices and gelatin baked in a covered pottery mold

c. A specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose

d. A paste, pie or loaf filled with a forcemeat

Offering a reward for new hire referrals that stay under employment for a designated period is an example of which segment of management?

a. Hiring and retention

b. Ongoing improvement

c. Project management

According to Chef Michael Shannon, what is a benefit of competitions?

a. Competitions are a great way to keep learning

b. Competitions help develop good habits

c. Competitions improve your time management skills

d. A ll of the above

Which of the following is not a traditional component in hotdish?

a. Tater tots

b. Ground beef

c. R ice

d. Co rn

Hotdish is a common dish in which part of the United States?

a. Minnesota

b. New York

c. Texas

d. L ouisiana

d. Consumer engagement

How did some establishments such as the Michigan State University accommodate understaffed kitchens?

a. Shut down certain venues

b. Tighten menus

c. R ely on paper products

d. A ll of the above

What type of oven allows a chef to cook proteins overnight, using a probe to cook and hold?

a. Convection oven

b. Combi oven

c. Dr ying oven

d. R apid-speed conveyor oven

In 2021 the Atlanta Chefs Association (ACFACA) celebrates its anniversary.

a. 38th

b. 40th

c. 46th

d . 52nd

Which organization provides financial relief for restaurant workers and families who are in need for a number of reasons, including illness, loss of work and loss of business?

a. Giving Kitchen

b. C.H.O.I.C.E.S

c. World Central Kitchen

d. Atlanta Community Food Bank

What is ras el hanout?

a. A roasting technique

b. A Moroccan spice blend

c. A North African herb

d. A goat and banana recipe

Why is chuck eye one of Chef Diehl preferred cuts for roasting?

a. It is economical per pound

b. It has a game-like flavor

c. It is most tender

d. It is not easily overcooked

Which of the following is a common mistake when roasting?

a. Cooking at too high temperatures

b. Not giving the meat time to rest once it’s out of the oven

c. R oasting low and slow

d. Both a and b