National Culinary Review (July/Aug 2020)

FEATURE STORIES

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The Cuisine of East Africa

32 Special Report: The Future of Foodservice DEPARTMENTS

12 Management

We are entering a new era of hospitality as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Plus, tips on enhancing sanitation in the workplace from safety guru and Chef Shawn Kohlhaas.

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Main Course

Spring rolls—in fried and fresh form—let chefs find uses for leftovers and endless flavor combinations.

On the Side

Modern applications for mamey, a tropical fruit found in Florida and Latin America that’s in season now.

Pastry

Middle Eastern flatbreads—from Armenia to Iran—offer an easy-to-make, blank canvas for chefs.

Classical vs. Modern

Chef Lance Cook, CEC, AAC, prepares a classic Caprese salad along with a modern-spin.

ACF Chef Profile

We talk to Chef Melinda Burrows, CEC, CCA, executive chef of Hickory Hills Country Club in Springfield, Missouri about her rockstar past and farm-to-table future.

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Health

Comfort food quelled our anxieties during quarantine; now, chefs are helping consumers slim down and shape up. Plus, a look at Ayurvedic cooking for balance.

Editor in Chief Amelia Levin

Creative Services Manager

David Ristau

Graphic Designer

Armando Mitra

Advertising and Event Sales

Eric Gershowitz

Jeff Rhodes

Director of Marketing and Communications

Alan Sterling

American Culinary Federation, Inc.

180 Center Place Way • St. Augustine, FL 32095 (800) 624-9458 (904) 824-4468 Fax: (904) 940-0741 ncr@acfchefs.net ACFSales@mci-group.com www.acfchefs.org

Board of Directors

President

Stafford DeCambra, CEC®, CCE®, CCA®, AAC®

Immediate Past President

Thomas Macrina, CEC, CCA, AAC

National Secretary

Mark Wright, CEC, AAC

National Treasurer

James Taylor, CEC, AAC, MBA

American Academy of Chefs Chair

Americo “Rico” DiFronzo, CEC, CCA, AAC

Vice President Central Region

Steven Jilleba, CMC®, CCE, AAC

Vice President Northeast Region

Barry R. Young, CEC, CCE, AAC

Vice President Southeast Region

Kimberly Brock Brown, CEPC®, CCA, AAC

Vice President Western Region

Robert W. Phillips, CEC, CCA, AAC

Executive Director

Heidi Cramb

The National Culinary Review® (ISSN 0747-7716), July/August

2020, Volume 44, Number 4, is owned by the American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF) and is produced 6 times a year by ACF, located at 180 Center Place Way, St. Augustine, FL 32095. 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: 180 Center Place Way, St. Augustine, FL 32095; (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®, 180 Center Place Way, St. Augustine, FL 32095.

This has been a challenging year, and it’s far from over. First, the world came face-to-face with a pandemic that hit our industry hard and continues to put the world in crisismode. Now, we are facing one of the most important civil rights issues this country has seen in more than 50 years.

I shared three weekly messages regarding my views in support of equity and racial issues. I thank you for the positive feedback, as well as for the criticisms. As I said in my final message: “I now hand over the torch to all of you… begin talking, begin listening, but above all begin hearing each other.”

It’s not enough to simply say that we at ACF do not tolerate racism, discrimination or injustice. We have to reflect, process and evolve— including making important changes to our programming, communication, leadership and content—in order to grow as an organization and help our members grow as well. We remain committed to listening to you, our members, as well as to the Black community and people of color in our society.

Having had to cancel our in-person convention and switch to a digital format this year, we felt there was no better time than now to showcase the diversity of our membership while also focusing on educating about cuisines, cultures and traditions from here and around the globe. The theme for the ACF Virtual Convention, to be held Aug. 3-5, is “Around The World in 80 Plates,” and we have an exciting lineup of keynote speakers and presenters—recruited by ACF team members in just a couple months—who represent a wide array of culinary knowledge. Even if many of us are currently out of work or have had to pivot significantly in the last few months, as chefs, we never have to—and should not—stop learning. Personally, I am incredibly excited to tune into all the sessions that the virtual convention will offer so I can keep learning and growing myself.

The global theme continues with this issue’s content, which was originally scheduled for the May-June issue before we chose to shift gears to focus on special coverage of COVID-19. The timing, however, is perfect as we shift gears yet again to hone in on what makes the ACF membership—and all chefs around the world—such a special group: the rainbow of different cultures, heritages, backgrounds, skill sets and tastes that we choose to share with the greater public on a daily basis.

At this moment, there is much to be said about who we are as humanity, as chefs and as an organization, and who we should strive to become. Diversity, inclusiveness, equality, core values, humility, respect for others, both personally and professionally, must continue to be among the positive attributes which define us. Standing proud, we must never rest on our laurels, and we must continue raising the bar on our guiding standards and philosophies. A few guiding excerpts and reminders to us all...

... “I will place honor, fairness, cooperation and consideration first...”

... “I will keep all comments professional and respectful...”

... “I will protect all members from the use of unfair means, unnecessary risks and unethical behavior...”

... “I will support the success, growth, and future of my colleagues and this great federation.”

-The Culinarian’s Code

... “I acknowledge that “no person is an island” and realize that we must stand together for the betterment of our profession and of our daily lives.” -Oath of the AAC

Be the Change!

Mahalo,

Stafford T. DeCambra, CEC, CCE, CCA, AAC National President American Culinary Federation

Este ha sido un año desafiante, y está lejos de terminar. Primero, el mundo se vio enfrentado cara a cara con una pandemia que golpeó fuertemente a nuestra industria y que continúa poniendo al mundo en estado de crisis. Ahora nos enfrentamos a uno de los problemas más importantes en materia de derechos civiles que este país ha visto en más de 50 años.

Les hice llegar tres mensajes semanales sobre mis puntos de vista en apoyo de la equidad y las cuestiones raciales. Les agradezco los comentarios positivos, así como también las críticas. Como dije en mi último mensaje: “Ahora les paso la posta a todos ustedes... Comiencen a hablar, comiencen a escuchar, pero sobre todo comiencen a escucharse mutuamente.”

No es suficiente con decir simplemente que en ACF no toleramos el racismo, la discriminación o la injusticia. Tenemos que reflexionar, procesar y evolucionar (inclusive hacer cambios importantes en nuestra programación, comunicación, liderazgo y contenido) para mejorar como organización y ayudar a nuestros miembros para que también puedan crecer. Seguimos comprometidos a escucharlos a ustedes, a nuestros miembros, así como a la comunidad negra y a las personas de color en nuestra sociedad.

Dado que tuvimos que cancelar nuestra convención presencial y optar por un formato digital este año, sentimos que es este el mejor momento para mostrar la diversidad de nuestros miembros y al mismo tiempo centrarnos en ofrecer capacitación sobre cocinas, culturas y tradiciones de aquí y de todo el mundo. El tema de la Convención virtual de ACF, programada para el 3 y 5 de agosto, es “La vuelta al mundo en 80 platos,” y tenemos una emocionante lista de oradores principales y presentadores (a quienes la sede de ACF pudo reclutar solo un par de meses antes del evento) que representan una amplia gama de conocimientos culinarios. Incluso si muchos de nosotros estamos sin trabajo o hemos tenido que modificar nuestra actividad considerablemente en los últimos meses, como chefs, nunca debemos dejar de aprender. Personalmente, me siento increíblemente entusiasmado por conectarme a todas las sesiones que ofrecerá la convención virtual para poder seguir aprendiendo y creciendo.

El tema global continúa con el contenido de este evento, que originalmente estaba programado para mayo a junio antes de que decidiéramos cambiar de marcha para centrarnos en una cobertura especial del COVID-19. Sin embargo, estamos en el momento perfecto para cambiar la marcha una vez más y destacar lo que hace que los miembros de ACF, y los chefs de todo el mundo, sean un grupo tan especial: el arco iris de culturas, herencias, antecedentes, habilidades y gustos que elegimos compartir con el gran público a diario.

Hay mucho que decir sobre quiénes somos, en este mismo momento como humanidad, como chefs y como organización, así como también en quiénes debemos esforzarnos por convertirnos. La diversidad, la inclusión, la igualdad, los valores centrales, la humildad y el respeto por los demás, tanto a nivel personal como profesional, deben seguir estando entre los atributos positivos que nos definen.

Siempre con orgullo, no podemos dormirnos nunca en los laureles, y debemos continuar elevando el nivel de aquellos estándares y filosofías que nos guían.

Algunos extractos y recordatorios para todos nosotros...

... “Pondré en primer lugar el honor, la equidad, la cooperación y la consideración...”

... “Siempre que haga un comentario, me aseguraré de que sea profesional y respetuoso...”

... “Protegeré a todos los miembros del uso de medios injustos, riesgos innecesarios y conductas poco éticas...”

... “Contribuiré al éxito, el crecimiento y el futuro de mis colegas y de esta gran federación.” El código del culinario

... “Reconozco que “ninguna persona es una isla” y me doy cuenta de que debemos unirnos para mejorar nuestra profesión y nuestra vida cotidiana.” Juramento de la AAC

¡Sean el cambio!

Mahalo

¿Tienen noticias o inquietudes que compartir, una historia para contar o alguna pregunta para hacer? No sean tímidos: comuníquense con nuestro equipo en pr@acfchefs.net, contáctenme directamente en sdecambra@acfchefs.net o síganme en Facebook @stafforddecambra e Instagram @sdecambra .

¡Queremos saber de ustedes!

Do you have news or concerns to share, a story to tell or questions to ask? Don’t be shy: reach out to our team at pr@acfchefs.net, contact me directly at sdecambra@acfchefs.net or follow me on Facebook @ stafforddecambra and Instagram @sdecambra .

We want to hear from you!

Follow the ACF on your favorite social media platforms:

@acfchefs

@acfchefs

@acf_chefs

@acfchefs

American Culinary Federation

Twitter question of the month:

What is the most inspirational thing you have seen another chef colleague do most recently?

Tweet us your answer using the hashtag #ACFasks and we’ll retweet our favorites.

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

What’s Cooking on We Are Chefs this month

Read these recent digital-only articles (and new stuff each week!) on wearechefs.com

Chef to Chef: Rethinking Re-Opening

John Reed, CEC®, CCA®, AAC®, FCSI, owner of Customized Culinary Solutions, a restaurant, catering and hospitality consultancy, discusses what might or should become permanent changes for restaurants and operators upon reopening for the future.

Sure, digital is environmentally friendly... but paper smells better.

A digital subscription to NCR is included with ACF membership, but members can now get a one-year print subscription for just $25! Visit acfchefs.org/ncr to get yours today.

World Around the in Plates 80

Experience new flavors, trends, and world cuisines as we virtually travel around the globe. Join top chefs, culinary thought leaders and foodservice industry experts, as they share the inspiration behind their favorite dishes. Expand your palate and mind by attending these can’t miss demos, discussions, and interactive presentations which have been curated to define the plates of the future in the presence of our homes.

To learn more and to register, visit acfchefs.org/events

AUGUST 3-5

EXPERIENCE THE BEEF INDUSTRY THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHEF

Get an interactive, behind-the-scenes look at how beef is produced from pasture to plate and how that influences the beef dishes you create.

Earn continuing education credit from the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation. For more information, visit RawTruthAboutBeef.com

NEWS BITES

Chef Kevin Storm Named Manager of ACF Culinary Team USA

Chef J. Kevin Storm, CEC, CCA, AAC, executive chef, Persimmon Woods Golf Club in Weldon Spring, Missouri, has been named the manager of ACF Culinary Team USA. Chef Storm will be responsible for overseeing the 2024 team as it partakes in various international competitions. Every four years, the best chefs from around the world come together at Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA) in Germany, where they compete to win gold, silver and bronze medals in a variety of categories.

ACF Awards Winners of NASA HUNCH Culinary Challenge

ACF awarded the winning team of NASA’s HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) Culinary Challenge with $2,000 in scholarship funds. The four-member team from Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama, will also receive complimentary access to ACF’s Virtual Convention, Aug. 3-5, as well free access to the ACF Online Learning center and the opportunity to test for their ACF Certificate of Culinary Essentials with all costs waived. The winning dish, prepared by Madeline Curd, Lucy Prince, Kaylie Love and Abigail Mitchell, was Moroccan chicken tagine, part of an “ethnic” theme that drew many heirloom family recipe submissions, and will be sent to the International Space Station at a later date. Student participants also had to research food science and prepare a report about how their dish follows strict nutritional guidelines because of the astronauts’ experience in microgravity. In addition to the winning team, the 2nd- and 3rd-place teams from Secchia Institute for Culinary Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Bridging Communities Technical Center in Newcant, Virginia, respectively, will receive complementary access to the ACF virtual convention, Online Learning Center and certification testing opportunities. To read more about the HUNCH program and modifications made this year because of COVID-19, visit wearechefs.com

ACF-Accredited School Turns Closed Kitchen into Soup Kitchen

Chef-Instructors at Hudson County Community College Culinary Arts Institute News in Jersey City, New Jersey, this summer used their kitchen—closed during the coronavirus pandemic—to prepare more than 900 meals for customers of Let’s Celebrate Food Pantry and Square Meal Community Kitchen, a non-profit organization that feeds the homeless in the area through soup kitchens and food pantries. The CAI is accredited by the American Culinary Federation Accrediting Commission, and it is also accredited by the American Culinary Federation Educational Foundation. For a full list of ACF accredited schools, visit https://www.acfchefs.org/ACF/ Education/ACF/Education/.

Free ACF Certificate of Culinary Essentials Exam for Students

In celebration of the Class of 2020, ACF is offering all culinary students the opportunity to take the ACF Certificate of Culinary Essentials exam for free. This certificate demonstrates proficiency in industry-standard competencies and is the first step towards earning ACF certification. Access the exam from the ACF Online Learning Center at acfchefs.org and use code ACF2020STU. Valid through August 31.

Chapter News

ACF West Palm Beach

ACF West Palm Beach chapter donated $5,000 to The Lord’s Place, a supportive housing and social impact agency assisting the homeless and others in need. Chef Robert Coleman, the center’s director of food service, has been busy during the pandemic feeding residents and others from the community while maintaining employment and training for his staff, which includes formerly homeless men and women as well as those who have been incarcerated or face other barriers to employment. The team has been preparing hot meals to-go as well as bags of groceries, including toilet paper and hard-tofind meats, out of The Lord’s Place Joshua Catering Company kitchen for pickup at Café Joshua, the onsite café for the homeless. “We haven’t had to furlough anyone; we’re finding plenty of work for everyone to do,” said Coleman. “At the same time, to be safe, we are maintaining social distancing and rotating crews so not everyone is working at the same time, and everyone is wearing masks, gloves and hair coverings.”

The ACF Professional Chefs Association of South Jersey (ACF PCASJ), ACF New York and ACF Long Island Chapters (ACFLI)

ACF PCASJ, ACF New York and ACFLI members picked up 75 cases of pizza doughs, bread and breadsticks, cookies and toppings donated by Rich’s Foodservice at Stockton University through Chartwells, and then delivered the food to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission and the Salvation Army. At press time, the ACFLI—in coordination with other regional ACF chapters and at least 22 non-profits and institutions of higher education—had cooked and deliver more than 115,000 pounds of food to feed food-insecure families. In all, Rich’s Foodservice delivered more than 96,450 pounds of product for the cause. Oumph USA and Rivera Produce donated cases

of plant-based proteins and produce and Always Fast Freight donated the freight used for shipping the product. Kraft Heinz Oscar Mayer, Tyson, Zyn and CulinArt Group also donated product. “I was just praying this morning for food to fill these shelves, refrigerators, and help us be more capable to feed the community,” said Pastor Mike Caiazzo, youth director at Lighthouse Mission, a recipient of the donations delivered by ACF members. Vivian Hart, president of the board of directors, Pronto Long Island, said, “We can't thank you enough for helping our families in need during this crisis. On behalf of the

Eastern Iowa ACF Chapter

entire Pronto community please stay well and know that your generosity and continued support is directly impacting those who need help the most.”

ACF Chef Las Vegas

ACF Chefs Las Vegas President Chef Justin Franco said thanks to the collected efforts of local ACF members and other chefs, brokers, vendors and volunteers in the community, #Chefs4Vegas and we had fed more than 1,000 families at press time. Franco, the executive banquet chef for Tropicana Casino Hotel Resort Las Vegas, was contacted by vendors looking to move extra product. “We set up in a dirt lot, bagged everything up and set the food in the back of people’s cars as they drove through,” said Chef Franco. “We were blown away by the amount of people we helped and by all the support from our vendors and volunteers. We worked on extreme short notice and the turnout was unbelievable. We try to assemble the bags so there is something for breakfast, lunch and dinner—we’re not just throwing in a bag of potato chips and container of fruit. We don’t cook anything, but received 10-pound cases of pre-cooked pulled pork, and 95 percent of the food is ready-to-serve or can be easily heated up in the oven,” As the program has grown, Chef Franco said the group was gearing up to move production to one of the supplier kitchens—all the while still wearing masks and gloves.

Chapter Vice President Robert Newell, CEC, executive chef at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa, Iowa, reached out to Ottumwa Superintendent Nicole Kooiker when schools closed to offer to prepare meals for the children using his kitchen. Kooiker directed him to the local YMCA, which helped coordinate a food distribution program for children and young adults ages 2-18. With a convention center kitchen four or five times the size of that at the YMCA, Chef Newell was able to produce up to 2,000 meals (versus the YMCA’s existing summer program, which produces about 150 to 200 meals) in the form of sack lunches with a sandwich, fruit and whole grain, while still adhering to the school’s nutritional guidelines. He even drew a smiley face on one of the bags because the child requested a “happy meal.” Chef Newell was able to start adding some reheat-able meals like Sloppy Joe’s and chicken parmesan with pasta thanks to donations from a pork producer and other vendors, and by buying product through his connections. One week, he sent out banana bread kits using donated bananas from a local food bank, along with the dry ingredients and a recipe. “The kids all miss their teachers and friends so helping them in this way feels good and makes all the hard work worth it,” he said. “During this pandemic I have been impressed with how many people have been able to step up and volunteer their time, energy and resources to help put a program like this together and keep it together.”

gather joyfully. eat soulfully. live deliciously.

When you choose Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO, Grana Padano PDO and Prosciutto di Parma PDO, you show a passion for the Italian way of life that includes incomparably delicious, natural food that’s never mass-produced or processed. Each of these products carries the Protected Designation of Origin seal, the European Union’s guarantee of quality and authenticity, so you know they are from a specific geographical region in Italy and are created using traditional techniques that have set the standard of culinary excellence for generations. Learn more about these icons of European taste at iconsofeuropeantaste.eu

CAMPAIGN FINANCED WITH AID FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION.

THE EUROPEAN UNION SUPPORTS

CAMPAIGNS THAT PROMOTE HIGH QUALITY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

The content of this promotion campaign represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission and the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA) do not accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

THE NEW ERA OF HOSPITALITY

With restaurants slowly reopening during the pandemic, what might hospitality look like moving forward?

By Samantha Lande

“The quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” That is how one online dictionary defines hospitality and what the restaurants we love have always done – made us feel welcome and cared for.

Before COVID-19, restaurants were places to linger over a glass of wine with friends, a chance to catch up with your favorite bartender or chat with your server about menu favorites.

As restaurants slowly start to reopen with limited capacity and stringent safety measures, hospitality as we once knew it has changed. That doesn’t mean that the heart and soul of a restaurant is gone; rather, the approach to bringing it to the forefront is what’s different. We spoke with restaurant consultants and operators across the country, from drive-thru and quick-service operators to more formal dining institutions, to get their view on what hospitality will look like for the foreseeable future.

Safety is the new hospitality

When customers return to restaurants, they know things won’t be as they left them. Priorities have shifted just as much for the consumer, and they are focused on one major element of their experience: safety.

“Think about walking into a restaurant and seeing fingerprints on the door,” says Kathleen Wood, founder of Suzy’s Swirl, a frozen yogurt shop in Lake Bluff, Illinois, and Kathleen Wood Partners, a business consultancy. “Would that make you feel safe and welcome?”

Customers want to feel supported the minute they walk in the door and Wood suggests that that may involve designating one sanitation person as a part of your front of house staff. What once was something that guests were confident was happening behind the scenes they now want to see at the forefront. “They want to know that tables are being frequently

Personalized birthday packs at Suzy's Swirl in Lake Bluff, Illinois.

share generously. eat naturally. live deliciously.

When you choose Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO, Grana Padano PDO and Prosciutto di Parma PDO, you show a passion for the Italian way of life that includes incomparably delicious, natural food that’s never mass-produced or processed. Each of these products carries the Protected Designation of Origin seal, the European Union’s guarantee of quality and authenticity, so you know they are from a specific geographical region in Italy and are created using traditional techniques that have set the standard of culinary excellence for generations. Learn more about these icons of European taste at iconsofeuropeantaste.eu

THE EUROPEAN UNION SUPPORTS CAMPAIGNS THAT PROMOTE HIGH QUALITY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

CAMPAIGN FINANCED WITH AID FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION.

The content of this promotion campaign represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission and the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA) do not accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

cleaned, along with doorknobs, the bathrooms, et cetera,” Wood says.

Serah Morrissey (above), senior director of human resources for InterContinental Hotel Minneapolis St. Paul Airport and president of CHART, an association of hospitality trainers, agrees. “The most important way that hotels and restaurants can obtain, earn or protect loyalty is all through safety and cleanliness precautions,” she says. “Give every single, visual cue you can give your guests that this is this is the cleanest place you’ll ever be.” That might also include signage, providing an overabundance of hand sanitizer, requiring staff to wear masks and gloves and closely following sanitation and safety guidelines offered by the CDC and other governing bodies.

Wood suggests chefs and restaurateurs communicate about these new safety measures like they would with their use of farm-to-table ingredients.

“Talk about what you are doing on your menu, in signage and on your website –consumers will appreciate it.”

Accuracy and Words Matter

While higher-touch service and more interactions with the server and front of house staff used to equate better service, that’s been replaced with limited interactions for the protection of everyone. More now than ever, accuracy has become of the utmost importance. “Guests don’t want to continuously call servers back to the table; it has to be perfect and accurate on the first try,” says Patrick Yearout (below), director of innovation and training for Ivar's and Kidd Valley restaurants out of Seattle. “The same goes for takeout orders. It’s a huge pain—and riskier—for anyone to have to return their food order these days if there is a problem. Instead, they’ll just find a different restaurant to go to versus coming back and giving that spot another try.”

That limited interaction also means fewer words, so what hosts, servers and even drive-thru attendants say needs to be impactful. James Ledbetter, a corporate field trainer for Galardi Group, Inc., the parent company of Weinerschnitzel, The Hamburger Stand and Tastee Freeze, has emphasized the importance of this to his franchisees. “The greeting becomes of the utmost importance; it sets the tone for the entire experience,” he says. Ledbetter encourages employees to have short conversations through their masks, keeping in mind that “this may be the only connection they have outside of their family in a day.”

Morrissey agrees, and trains her employees to “keep their voice steady and empathetic” even if customers may be frustrated by some of the new safety measures.

Many restaurants are expressing their gratitude through written words as well. “Include little notes of gratitude with meals for take-out, and personal sentiments for your longtime customers,” Yearout suggests. At Suzy’s Swirls, Wood follows a similar sentiment, creating special birthday packs with confetti cannons and personalized notes. “You can do meaningful things that don’t cost a ton of money,” she says. “Have your staff wave at pickup, draw a smiley face on a bag, or acknowledge a special occasion.” These days, every little show of gratitude and positivity counts.

Samantha Lande is a freelance writer based in Chicago. Her work has appeared in Food Network, Chowhound, Time Out and other local and national publications.

Creativity Can’t Hurt

Restaurants around the world are trying out new ways to fill in the gaps of hospitality with creative – sometimes even outlandishsolutions. Take a look.

• The Inn at Little Washington, a three-Michelin star restaurant at the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains, is following their mantra of their restaurant as a “living theatre” and dressing up mannequins in “post-war” style to fill the dining room, lighten the mood and give something for people to talk about and photograph.

In Traverse City Michigan, Trattoria Stella, has been putting paper bags with handwritten notes under the place settings, encouraging diners to store their masks there while they eat.

• At Mediamatic Etan in Amsterdam, parties of two can eat by the water in little enclosed pods that resemble greenhouses.

At Fish Tales in Ocean City, Maryland, diners can eat in giant bumper tables, which look like huge inflatable inner tubes that do their job keeping distance between patrons.

SAFETY AND SANITATION NOW

ACF Chef and food safety consultant Shawn Kohlhaas teaches us how to nail safety in a pandemic

By Amanda Baltazar

Having a safe and clean restaurant has always been a priority. But now, in the throes of a pandemic, chefs and restaurants are having to be extra vigilant and extra careful about safety and sanitation. What’s more, they must make it clear to guests—who may be apprehensive about eating out—exactly what they’re doing to take care of them.

Chef Shawn Kohlhaas is the principal partner at Culinary Cultivations, a food safety consulting firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He talked to us about what he expects restaurants to be dealing with for the immediate future.

NCR: What are the new safety and sanitation requirements?

SK: There aren’t solid requirements specific to everyone except to follow current ServSafe Food Safety training. All the other items we’re seeing are either strong recommendations, guidance tools or best practices mixed in with basic requirements for different areas such as employee testing. ServSafe has developed some great tools and learning videos specific to the current COVID-19 situation to help develop and execute best practices for take-out, delivery and opening your foodservice operation.

NCR: How can restaurants showcase their safety measures?

SK: It’s by doing what you say. Nothing says you’re providing a safe environment and safe food by making it very clear in your actions and the actions of your team that you’re taking precautions seriously and consistently. Use signs outside your building about your safety measures and the requirements you

have for your operation to keep everyone safe. Having a person who greets your customers as they enter helps not only showcases your safety standards, but it also helps manage them and make sure they’re being adhered to.

NCR: How do you update your training for your staff?

SK: Always follow your normal safety training protocols. Everything we do on a daily basis, that we’ve learned and practiced before all this happened, is what we need to continue to do. Have shift meetings every day, at every shift, with all personnel, to review your current food safety protocols. Update and remind staff of the current COVID-19 protocols you have in place, and continue inservice trainings for food safety using written tools. That’s how we can continue to ensure that our staff has the knowledge to keep us all safe. It’s a good idea, once you’ve trained your staff, to provide them with written documents on safety so they can refer to them. Providing them digitally and printed is a good idea; the more communication you can give them, and the more repetition there is, the better. Also, have the safety policies easily reviewed in your restaurant — on a wall or in an accessible location such as an employee notification station.

NCR: What will be the biggest concerns in a post-COVID-19 world?

SK: Continuing to monitor factual data we gather from our governmental and regulatory agencies. You’ll get your best news from the direct sources, such as your state officials — the governor’s office, health departments and regulatory agencies such as the CDC, OSHA, FDA and USDA.

NCR: Are there any challenges you feel will be difficult for restaurants to implement/comply with?

SK: People — customers and employees — will be our biggest challenge. We are our own greatest enemy. Monitoring and controlling behaviors in our operation is imperative to help subdue the spread of this contagion. Having systems in place to sustain monitoring and having accountability measures in place with corrective action protocol will be most effective in keeping our operation and its environment safe. It’s important to have someone monitor and discipline employees and guests if they don’t uphold your standards. This could include expulsion from the restaurant or operation.

NCR: Will you be changing your teaching methods?

SK: We’re taking every protocol measure and viable suggestion to ensure a safe environment for our students. Everything from pre-entry COVID-19 screening (mostly asking them questions about exposure, but this could include taking temperatures) to social distancing; minimal contact, and constant sanitation practices before, during and after our classes and examinations is how we’re controlling the risk.

NCR: Do you think these changes will be permanent?

SK: I hope not. We’re a species that not only enjoys social interaction but it’s part of our nature. If changes become

permanent, it’ll be because they were changes that should have been or need to have been made and the virus was the catalyst to spark the change.

NCR: What are the most important changes, going forward, for restaurants and foodservice operations to consider?

SK: Following the protocols of social distancing, COVID-19 screening, minimal contact, wearing masks indoors and especially when coming in closer contact with others is very important. Washing your hands properly, limiting your contact with hands to your face, restricting barehand contact with ready-to-eat food and sanitizing frequent touch points such as door handles, chairs, tables and menus all have to happen. Following regular food safety protocols is also of the utmost importance.

NCR: Do you think the new requirements are too much or too lenient?

SK: I think we’re right on point. We are constantly evaluating factual data to devise and execute protocols to keep us all safe.

NCR: What type of restaurants will have the biggest learning curve in adapting?

SK: Full-service by far will have the biggest challenge, due to being an operation that requires service. There are a lot of touch points and a lot of human contact that are a normal part of doing business for these operations. Expectations for service are lower as we look at fast-casual and quick-serve, as service is not the largest draw for these operations. It will be easier to justify to a customer a $5 hamburger verses a $10 hamburger if they have to retrieve their order from a counter or receive less service than normally received.

Amanda Baltazar is a food and beverage reporter based in the soggy Pacific Northwest, who’s taken to making her own pasta during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CRUNCH, TEXTURE AND HEAVENLY BITES

Spring rolls offer a blank canvas for creative flavor and ingredient combinations

By Lauren Kramer

Spring rolls are the ultimate comfort food. With a long history that reaches into cultural origins in South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia, these staples have been easily adopted by Western diners and today are just as likely found at mainstream American restaurant menus as they are at Asian eateries.

Served fresh or fried, spring rolls are beloved for their mouthsatisfying crunch, their combination of multiple vegetables and proteins, their accompaniment of delicious dipping sauces and their versatility. Whether vegan, vegetarian or filled with different proteins, they accommodate many different ingredients and flavors.

At Sweet Basil, an Asian-inspired restaurant in the Boston area, Chef Dave Becker doesn’t dare remove his crispy spring rolls from the menu. Earlier this year he introduced the rolls, filled with braised beef and charred pineapple and

served with a roasted jalapeno aioli. “People love them; they flip over them,” he says. “For the culinary team, the real beauty of having spring rolls on the menu is that the ingredients can all be prepared in advance, and they don’t require much skill. The labor involved is more relaxing and methodical than it is technical or stressful; you can make a massive quantity and then freeze them without sacrificing any quality.”

Chef Becker says spring rolls accommodate many variations of ingredients easily, with a few caveats. “Choose ingredients that break apart easily, like shredded and chopped vegetables or meats, so you don’t inadvertently pull out all the stuffing on your first bite,” he cautions. “I avoid ingredients that contain a lot of liquid, like cucumbers, because these ingredients tend to get soggy.”

When assembling his braised beef spring rolls, Chef Becker is cognizant of the need for every component of this dish to stand the taste test alone. “The shredded beef is good with rice and the caramelized pineapple and onions could be a topping for a short rib entrée,” he says. “But the combinations of stuffing ingredients are endless.” He has even considered doing a riff on a Reuben, using chicken skin as the wrapper.

Fried versus fresh

Chef Uno Immanivong, owner of RedStix Street Food in Dallas, stuffs fried spring rolls with ground chicken, cabbage, onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, mushrooms and vermicelli. “Our fried spring rolls sell better than the fresh ones because people are more familiar with them,” she says. “They’re easy and more resilient than fresh because you can eat them

warm, and they hold well. With fresh spring rolls, if the skin is dry and you don’t eat them within 24 hours, they’re no good.”

Fresh spring rolls offer a healthier choice for customers.

Chef Immanivong’s “Kale Yes!” rolls are stuffed with kale, onion, cilantro, Thai basil, fried tofu and rice noodles tossed with garlic chips. Wrapped in rice paper, the rolls are served with a choice of peanut sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

“Adding ingredients like kale and collard greens gives the rolls a memorable look and adds important macronutrients for a balanced diet,” she says.

Chef Yia Vang, who menus Hmong food from Union Hmong Kitchen, a pop-up restaurant in Minnesota, fills his fresh spring rolls with carrots, cucumbers, mint, vermicelli noodles and shrimp, ingredients that serve well cold.

“It’s great knife skill practice chopping those vegetables so small, and if you’re going to add tofu, make sure you flavor it well first,” he says.

For fried spring rolls choose ingredients that will easily withstand frying, and throw egg in as a binder.

“Stay away from putting fish inside a fried spring roll, but anything you can grind down, such as chicken, beef or pork, will work well,” says Chef Vang, who notes that it’s also important to know when you have enough stuffing for your spring rolls,

a judgment that only comes with trial and error. “Less is more with spring rolls; chefs often get excited with all the ingredients, throw them all in and find the rolls break when they try to roll it up.”

Don’t skip the dip

Dipping sauces are an important accompaniment to spring rolls of all types. “Use something as simple as hoisin and sriracha, or combine simple syrup, fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and chilies to make your own,” Chef Immanivong says.

Chef Becker describes himself as a ‘condiment guy’ because he’s keen on making his own sauces. “Get a jug of sambal, mix it with some mayo and put that on anything,” he suggests. “Some people just use fish sauce for a dip, or creamy peanut butter mixed with mayo or even a hot mustard.”

Whatever your filling and spring roll style, this nostalgic food offers chefs the chance to showcase authentic flavors and play with modern variations in a format that is low cost, fun to eat and continues to remain popular among diners.

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 ten years.

MODERN APPLICATIONS FOR MAMEY

With its versatile applications in both sweet and savory dishes, this tropical fruit’s one to watch

By Robert Wemischner

Cherimoya. Sapote. Maracuja. Guanabana. Mamey. Evocative of lush, palm-fronded tropical hills, these names evoke images of a fruit lover’s paradise. Now, many of these highly-flavored fruits are making their way to ethnic markets and menus across the country with chefs incorporating them into both savory and sweet dishes as well as in cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. Take mamey (pronounced mah-may), also known as mamey sapote , for example. With its sandpapery, russet-colored rind and deep orange-colored, unique-tasting pulp, the fruit, which is native to Central American countries, makes a perfect base

for smoothies and other blended drinks, sorbets, ice creams, dressings and more. If you crossed a papaya with an avocado, you’d yield the color of the first and the texture of the second.

Each mature mamey tree, from 40-60 feet tall, with its clusters of large elliptical leaves at the ends of small branches, can boast hundreds of fruits in high season. Thought to have been first found in Panama in the early 16th century, mamey is now grown in Mexico, Central America, parts of South America, the Caribbean and Puerto Rico as well as stateside in south Florida. Somewhat reminiscent of apricot with hints of sweet potato, stone fruit, persimmon and honey, it makes a colorful splash on fruit plates and as a topping for a tart. Once peeled and devoid of its hard pit or pits, depending on the size of the fruit, it is silky and creamy in texture.

The fresh fruit, which is harvested from May to September, comes in the form of an oblong bulb that's about five to 10 inches long and five inches wide. If you can't get your

hands on the fresh fruit, however, frozen purees-mostly sourced from Guatemala—are available year—round. Like the Hachiya variety of persimmon, which is incredibly tannic when eaten underripe, mamey at its best should be fully ripened so its soft and easy to mash or purée.

The key is to enhance the fruit’s delicate flavor and not overwhelm it. No need to over sweeten it, either. A jolt of lime juice can balance and brighten the fruit’s sweetness. When pureeing, it helps to add a bit of liquid such as a tropical fruit juice. The fruit puree can also be used to flavor the cream for a milk chocolate ganache, mousse, or filling for a cake.

With growing interest in placing more plant-forward items on menus, chefs might find mamey’s versatility appealing. Exotic no longer has to be off-putting. Think avocado and papaya and you’re almost there.

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 and Cooking With Tea. He also teaches a course in restaurant management and in his spare time creates crossword puzzles for major publications like the L.A. Times and the Wall Street Journal

Mamey on the Menu

Mamey batido, or Latin American shake, with milk and ice

- La Isla, Hoboken, New Jersey

Mamey grapefruit salad with watercress, compressed papaya, fresh grapefruit, heirloom tomato, pumpkin seed, puffed amaranth and mamey vinaigrette

– Mexo, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Chilled mamey soup with beets, feta and herbs

- Ariete in Coconut Grove, Florida

Spicy Mamey Hot cocktail with Cristalino Anejo tequila, Licor 43, Thai chile and lime

- The Wilder, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Sapote Smash cocktail with bourbon, mamey, lemon juice and Aperol

- SUGARCANE Raw Bar Grill, Miami

FLATBREADS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

These authentic renditions offer the perfect canvas for pastry experimentation

By Robert Wemischner

Across a wide swath of the Middle East, in regions north into Turkey and Armenia and west into North Africa, flatbreads have been the staple food for thousands of years. Other than the inevitable nod to modernity where machinery is replacing making products by hand, the basic process of making these simple breads using flour, water, yeast (or a piece of dough from a previous batch) and salt has remained largely unchanged.

Cooks and bakers in these parts of the world are endlessly inventive when it comes to flatbreads, cooking them in outdoor pits, in ash or in skillets on the stovetop and adding all sorts of toppings and fillings like meat and cheeses, fresh greens and spices, including sesame and za’atar. In Iran, flatbreads are sweetened with date juice, and in Morocco, berber flatbreads are spread with butter, griddled, and then drizzled with honey. No matter which version rules in a particular place, flatbread is a given on tables at every meal, and makes for a delicious breakfast option or any-time-of-day snack.

The story gets more interesting when flatbreads are enjoyed with an assortment of dips, cheeses, olives and other condiments favored by different regions. As Anissa Helou notes in her book,

Feast: Food of the Islamic World , that in Islam, bread is sacred. “It is considered a sin to let bread fall on the floor, and if it does, it is immediately picked up and forgiveness is asked of God for having allowed the bread to be desecrated,” she says. Oftentimes, forks and spoons are forgone, as flatbreads used for scooping stews, curries and more.

Speaking to Kate Leahy and Chef Ara Zada, the authors of Lavash , a travelogue cookbook through the foodways of Armenia, you learn that bakeries in Syria nowadays are being run by Armenian emigrants. “Displaced by war, Syrian Armenians are reinvigorating the local restaurant scene, offering polished hospitality and Middle Eastern flavors,” Chef Zada says, and that includes breads. They write in their book, “It’s likely that bread has been made in Armenia since prehistoric times. The primordial act of grinding wheat berries to make flour, kneading a dough, and baking it on the walls of a clay firepit continues today with lavash.”

Chef Zada points out that in a small republic adjacent to eastern Armenia is a place called Artsakh where you will find a regional specialty, jingalov hats (“hats” means bread). These local breads are

made from a simple dough of flour, salt and water, which is then filled with more than 20 kinds of locally-foraged greens. The dough is rolled thinly first into a round and then pinched to seal in the filling before being browned, seam-side down, on a griddle.

Southwest from Armenia in Oman, according to Felicia Campbell, author of The Food of Oman, flatbreads are typically cooked in a skillet coated with ghee or oil. This kind of bread, called khubz ragag , is made by breaking off a golf ball-sized piece of dough—a simple mixture of flour, water and a pinch of salt—and quickly smearing it into a thin layer onto a hot pan, creating a thin and flaky product. Somewhat echoing Moroccan bread traditions, Omani breads may be spiced, sweetened with date syrup, layered with butter, pan-fried or deep-fried.

When asked about the bread traditions of her homeland, Najmieh Batmanglij, author of Cooking in Iran, writes, “all the love, energy and hundreds of years of traditions and stories that go into making a loaf of handmade bread cannot be replicated by machine-made bread. A good example is Layla, a baker who I watched making flatbread sweetened with date juice ( gerdeh-ye bushhehr) in Bushehr, a town in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf. In her face and hands, you can see that the bread is made with her soul and heart.” Bhatmanglij notes that this semi-sweet bread is typically baked outside in an half-sunken earthenware oven (tanur). Both baking powder and yeast are used in this flatbread, which is stretched to a 9-inch diameter, encrusted with sesame seeds and brushed with toasted sesame oil before baking.

Firmly believing in the superiority of handmade bread, Sahar Shomali, an Iranian-born pastry chef started Kouzeh Bakery in Los Angeles, a city with a large Persian population. Here she is creating breads in small batches using only natural starter. She says, “Selling at farmers

markets and online, I started making Iranian bread because I missed having the authentic barbari of my homeland. On my way home from grade school, I recall stopping at a local bakery and before I got home had polished off the whole loaf. It was that good and that seductive.”

The quartet of other signature Iranian breads includes the oblong shaped barbari (thin unleavened lavash); whole wheat sangak (which is baked on pebbles in a very hot oven by indirect heat), and medium thick, yeasted taftun , which is often used as a spoon of sorts to pick up rice or meats or as wrappers for mini-sandwiches. Shomali’s flatbreads each reflect a unique sensibility—some are stuffed with caramelized onions, walnuts and turmeric while others are filled with scallions, parsley, cilantro and garlic, proving that traditions are only a starting point.

Looking at the story of breads from these parts of the world, there is a wide range of variations that chefs in restaurants with bread programs might wish to incorporate in their housemade offerings. But, be patient. Per Leahy and Chef Zada, “griddling the first lavash is like cooking the first pancake in the batch, and you may have to adjust the heat of the cooking surface to prevent parts of it from burning before the rest is cooked.” They point out a famous Armenian poet who weighed in on the subject this way: “the first lavash baked in the fire is like a first love—it’s too hot to last.” That most certainly is not be the case for the public, with its lasting hunger for flatbreads of all kinds.

Classical

The simplicity of the Caprese salad (insalata Caprese) is what Chef Lance Cook, CEC, CCA, executive chef at Hammock Dunes Club in Palm Coast, Florida, likes most about it. A hallmark of Italian cuisine, the dish “is a celebration of the season and locality,” Chef Cook says. Legend has it that the salad’s origins date back to post-World War I Italy, when a patriotic cook wanted to showcase the colors of the country’s flag in a dish. It first appeared on a restaurant menu at the Hotel Quisisana in the early 1920s, but it was only in the 1950s when the salad was turned into a sandwich that its popularity peaked and it became a staple in Capri. The addition of other ingredients, including Balsamic vinegar, and the switch to bufala (Buffalo) mozzarella came in later years.

Modern

For a modern spin on the Caprese salad, Chef Cook introduces some of the molecular gastronomy techniques he picked up throughout his career and years ago at the Culinary Institute of America as part of the “Experimental Kitchen” curriculum. For the dish, Chef Cook still starts off with housemade mozzarella (from curd), but instead of slicing it, forms it into an airy balloon, which can be filled with anything from tomato aspic to foams and garlic-infused air. He then swaps liquid caviar pearls for the balsamic vinegar to add texture and turns lemon oil into a powder for a little pop of flavor and color. For the basil, instead of a chiffonade, he adds micro basil leaves as well as a pesto-pignoli component. He also uses baby heirloom tomatoes and adds some charred onions for a little smokiness. “Although, I love the simplicity of the classic Caprese, this modern-day spin offers more eye appeal, thanks to the colorful ingredients, while still accentuating the freshness of the tomatoes,” he says. See the classical and modern recipes as well as more photos at wearechefs.com.

Photos credit: Miguel Emmannuelli

Whether pronounced in Amharic as in Ethiopia, Swahili as in Kenya, or in any of the numerous other dialects spoken across each of the 18 countries that comprise East Africa—the names of innumerable spices and traditional dishes evoke the flavors, aromas and memories of home. For American chefs, these dishes and ingredients offer a whole new lexicon and toolbox to explore as consumers seek adventurous, global flavors.

Like many others, Mumbi (Margaret) Baskin came to the United States from Kenya seeking opportunity. She was 33 years old when she arrived in Dallas to attend a leadership conference; more than a decade later, she was laid-off from her position with a multi-national bank and opened Afrika Fusion, where she prepares recipes from Kenya that she learned from her mother and paternal grandmother.

With all items prepared from scratch using all natural ingredients, Baskin’s biggest challenge is sourcing indigenous ingredients from her native country. “For example, the kind of curry powder I grew up with isn’t the same color here,” she points out. As a substitution, per her mother’s suggestion, Baskin mixes turmeric with fresh or dried whole cumin, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. “You can use this in many ways, including for making pilau, which is basmati rice made with all of these spices,” she says.

Another dish using these and other spices is mutura, a traditional Kenyan sausage made with ground goat meat seasoned with ginger, garlic, coriander and chiles. And, no authentic Kenyan menu is complete without nyama choma, which is Swahili for roast meat. “Considered a staple, our best seller is grilled lamb or goat grilled over charcoal,” says Baskin. “The meat is delivered in pre-cut pieces with a case equivalent to one goat or one lamb.” Goat stew, oxtail stew and lamb stir-fry are also popular entrees at Afrika Fusion.

Githeri , a blend of white corn and beans (usually kidney beans) is slow cooked in a pot with tomatoes for a stew. This very authentic dish from the Central Kenya Kikuyu tribe is currently Baskin’s best-selling vegetarian dish, and is viewed by East Africans as a delicacy with many health benefits.

Ethiopian and Kenyan dishes provide a new lexicon of bold flavors for American chefs to explore by Karen Weisberg

Heat, fire and sauce

Menuing the bold, authentic cuisine of Kenya is the mission of Chef Kevin Onyona, owner of Swahili Village Bar & Grill in Beltsville, Maryland. Goat is the “go-to meat” at the restaurant, where heat and fire also have a huge impact on flavor.

“You need the right amount of heat and time to achieve balance,” says Chef Onyona. “I start at a high temperature, and then slow down and slow down even more to a simmer. I feel I get the most out of my seasoning that way.”

Born into the Luo tribe, Chef Onyona was used to eating all kinds of fish, but tilapia that’s been fried whole on the bone (samaki kanga) is a rare delicacy. “Here in the U.S., we make tilapia in many different ways; after goat and grilled meat, it is the most popular entrée.” His personal favorite (and bestselling) tilapia dish is samaki wa nazi, or coconut fish. “We make a sauce of onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger, plus seasonings, and then we add coconut milk,” Onyona says. He then deep-fries the fish and then simmers it in the coconut sauce for about three to five minutes to soak up the flavors. The dish is typically served with pilau rice and collard greens, the iconic vegetable in East African cuisine lovingly referred to as sukuma wiki, meaning “what you have on your plate every day,” Chef Onyona says.

Plant-based dishes and injera

Rave-worthy dishes served at Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian restaurant in Lafayette, Colorado, are closely based upon recipes created and followed by generations of Chef/Owner Tsehay (pronounced “see-high”) Hailu’s family in Ethiopia. Chef Hailu—at the helm of her restaurant for 32 years—has been steadfast in adhering to traditional recipes. “You can lose the original taste as soon as you put something else into it,” she contends.

While Ras Kassa’s (named for an Ethiopian king from the 1850s) is located approximately 20 miles from Denver where there’s a fairly large Ethiopian population, local customers are primarily U.S.-born citizens of varied ethnic and culinary backgrounds. Vegetarian dishes take center stage here, with red lentils and collard greens ( yemisir wot) being among the top sellers. “This is my personal favorite,” Chef Hailu says. “I grew up with it and still can’t get over the taste of it. We make it with the spice of berbere, which is exactly how we make it at home.”

Ethiopian plates with injera at Ras Kassa's Ethiopian restaurant in Lafayette, Colorado.

Regulars also flock to Ras Kassa’s for the homemade injera, of which Chef Hailu says she easily makes enough daily to feed about 100 customers. Teff, which she’s sourced from Idaho for the past three decades, is used to prepare this Ethiopian staple that Chef Hailu describes as “a little thinner than a pancake but a little thicker than a crepe. The flour-like batter is poured onto a griddle then served at room temperature.” Customers tear off bitesize pieces of injera to spoon or wrap around morsels of food including doro wot (classic spicy chicken stew simmered in berbere); kitfo (spicy, lean chopped steak tartare served raw or sautéed) and yebeg alecha (ground lamb stewed in a garlic turmeric sauce), among other dishes.

Split peas and more

Chef Beniyam (Benny) Yohannes came from Addis Ababa, the bustling capital of Ethiopia, in 1991 when he was seven years old. Chef Ababa often

worked in the kitchen of Ras Kassa’s with Chef Hailu, his aunt.

Today, Chef Yohannes and his wife Madison run Saba’s Ethiopian Food Truck, which operates primarily in the metro Denver area. The couple’s 3-yearold daughter, Sabina (or Saba, for whom their truck is named) and newborn son are often along for the ride. Saba’s favorite dish is yellow split peas (kik alicha). Chef Yohannes also favors those yellow split peas, but with beef. To prepare the sweet and savory dish, he cooks onions in a pan with oil until the onions are caramelized, and then adds garlic, the peas and water. When peas are al dente, he mixes in ginger and turmeric in the final moments of cooking so they don’t burn. In addition to this popular menu item, customers may also choose from lamb sauté, lamb stew, chicken stew, spicy beef and potato

stew, red lentils, collard greens, cabbage and carrots, and sautéed mushrooms—not to mention fried pastries made with lentils.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Chef Yohannes worked with a local brewery to source spent teff, which he uses to prepare his injera in a commercial prep kitchen. “It’s a twoday process that involves fermentation and takes about 18 hours,” he says.

Bold spices and blends

It was in the late 1970s during the Ethiopian Civil War when Fetlework Tefferi came to the U.S. as a teenager, bringing along five small, precious bags filled with spices her mother gave her as she left.

Like Chef Yohannes, Tefferi initially pursued a career in banking following college graduation. Later on, after relocating to Oakland, California, friends asked her to help out at their start-up Italian/pizza restaurant, Café Colucci. Little by little, Tefferi added more recipes from home to the menu which served as a draw for the many Ethiopians living or working in the Bay Area. She also started up Brundo Organic Flavors of Ethiopia in 2009, which is an all-woman-run spice company based in the Ethiopian town of Mojo.

Nyama Choma and collard greens: chunky beef cubes on bone, marinated in tropical spices; served with Ugali (cornmeal mash), Sikuma Wiki (collard greens), and Kachumbari (combo of tomato, onion and cilantro).

At the Café, kitfo, or spiced steak, is a top seller. “Mita is a chili pepper used especially for that meal, plus clarified butter seasoned with a special herb, kosseret, which is grown by small growers and processed in Ethiopia, and then imported to our West Oakland warehouse/ distribution company,” says Tefferi.

Kitfo is traditionally served raw, so depending on local health department regulations, preparing it in that authentic way can pose challenges. Tefferi makes her version by seasoning finely minced meat with mitmita, a powdered seasoning made from African Bird’s Eye chile peppers that pack a punch. She adds to that mixture raw onions, jalapeno, Ethiopian cardamom (korerima) and melted butter. Occasionally, she’ll throw cinnamon, cumin and ginger into the mix.

Beso bela is an integral part of many Ethiopian dishes including marinades,

rubs and sauces. “It’s an incredibly delicate herb that is sundried and often ground to a powder,” Tefferi says. “Because of its purple flower, it’s also referred to as ‘sacred basil.’”

Also on the menu at Café Colucci is minchet abish alicha, a stew of lean ground beef seasoned with beso bela, ginger and garlic. Minchet abish wot is lean ground beef simmered in a sauce made with berbere spice, garlic and bishop weed (tekur azmud).

For a vegetarian version, Tefferi simmers split pea lentils in a sauce made with bebere, a spice mixture that typically includes African chile peppers, coriander, garlic, ginger and basil, fenugreek, along with more beso bela, garlic and red onions. Azifa is a dish that boasts whole organic lentils seasoned with Ethiopian mustard (senafich), garlic, onions, jalapeno, oil and lemon.

From plant-based, legume-rich dishes to more meat-forward ones, a few things connect the dishes and traditions of East African cuisine: bold spice blends and sauces, plenty of slowcooking and simmering, and in some cases, the fermented flatbread to soak it all up.

Chef Kevin Onyono stands in front of his combi oven holding a chicken curry dish with pilau rice and shredded collard greens.

New York-based award-winning journalist Karen Weisberg has covered the issues and luminaries of the food-and-beverage world— both commercial and noncommercial—for more than 25 years.

The Future of Foodservice

Temporary solutions become permanent changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic //

By Liz Barrett Foster

Curbside pick-up, hands-free delivery and family-size entrees have been patchwork solutions to a problem that is not going away any time soon.

The hospitality industry responded swiftly when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March. Restaurant doors were closed across the nation and operators and distributors provided alternate ways to obtain food supplies and meals.

Now, as the country slowly reopens, many restaurants, universities, hospitals, and corporate dining services are choosing to retain temporary fixes as permanent changes. They believe that the measures will help maintain social distancing; create a safe environment for employees and guests, and ensure a reliable revenue stream that can help carry their businesses into the future.

Three days before everything closed, Chef Jenna Arcidiacono (pictured left) and her husband watched the pandemic play out in Italy, and had a feeling it would reach the United States soon. “We took out all of our barstools and most of the tables so everyone was six feet apart,” says Chef Arcidiacono, owner of Amore Trattoria in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Two days later they told us to close.” The couple devised a plan overnight to create a handwritten menu that changed daily and incorporated what they had on hand.

“We’ll continue to offer curbside pickup and maybe build an enclosed awning off the back for the winter months,” says Arcidiacono. “We’ll also definitely keep the pizza kits, to-go soups and sauces, and take-and-bake lasagna.” She also says Amore Trattoria will continue with curbside pickup and to-go orders for the foreseeable future.

Natale Servino, managing partner of Tiburon, Californiabased Servino Ristorante and sister restaurant Caffe Acri, installed online ordering due to the pandemic, which he says will remain in addition to takeout and delivery. A popular mercato set up during COVID-19 will be kept in place inside Servino, retailing items such as house-made pasta, sauces and pizza kits along with produce, wine, liquor, and household supplies. Caffe Acri’s corner store, just a short walk

from Servino, similarly offers baking ingredients, pantry staples and fresh produce inside the cafe.

At TriBecca Allie Cafe in Sardis, Mississippi, new and longtime local customers have been keeping owners Dutch and Becca van Oostendorp busy with curbside pickup orders of pizza, homemade bread and familysize dinners. Becca says that when the restaurant reopens, they will make several changes to protect guests and employees, including changing the business model from a sit-down service model to a fast-casual, order-at-the-

counter model. “We’ll be closing our upstairs dining room and no longer allowing tables to seat parties larger than six people,” she says. The restaurant’s outdoor patio is being expanded to accommodate additional al fresco seating, and tabletop cheese and chili flake shakers are being replaced with single-serve packets to minimize the number of touch points.

Chef Brandon LaVielle (pictured far right), CEC, is director of culinary and partner at Lavish Roots, a successful catering business in Burien, Washington, employing more than 200 staff members that, prior to the pandemic, fed workers at busy tech companies. The catering clients who used to request weekly buffets have now been switched over to cold grab-and-go food that does not require reheating. “The revenue isn’t as high as when you provide a fullservice lunch or dinner,” says Chef LaVielle. “But we’re not too proud. We get our heads down. I have a family that relies on me to get the job done.” In addition to changing his business model from catering to grab-n-go, Chef LaVielle says that a month ago, Lavish Roots was in the process of buying a new building to build a state-of-the-art kitchen for catering operations. Now, the new building will feature a takeout window, something that was never in the original plans.

Whether changes are made to your core operation, business model, staffing or everything in between, be mindful of keeping customers and clients in the loop and informed each step of the way.

Liz Barrett Foster is an award-winning business journalist specializing in the restaurant industry. Learn more at lizbarrettfoster.com.

The legality of reopening

The legalities of reopening should be discussed with your attorney and insurance provider before, during and after reopening in order to protect yourself, your employees, your guests and your business. Consider how you might address a claim brought against your business by a guest or employee who say they contracted COVID-19 inside your business.

Attorney Kara M. Maciel, a founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey in Washington, D.C., says that restauranteurs and operators who want to reopen need a COVID-19 prevention plan. “It’s a written plan that describes the practices to prevent employee and customer exposure to COVID-19, including what protective measures are being taken, what protective equipment and work practice controls are being used, what the cleaning and disinfecting procedures are, and what happens if a restaurant employee or a customer becomes sick,” says Maciel.

The risk of not having a prevention plan in place is potential liability from OSHA or the state, according to Maciel, who says her firm is already seeing OSHA complaints on the rise for businesses that are currently open. Additionally, when you put your prevention plan into action, if you choose to enforce requirements such as face masks and temperature checks, ensure that these measures are enforced equally by all staff members.

Photo credits: From left: Courtesy Amore Trattoria; Courtesy of Servino; Courtesy of Liz Foster; Courtesy of Louise Coats

CHEF MELINDA BURROWS, CEC, CCA

Executive Chef, Hickory Hills Country Club, Springfield, Missouri

By Amelia Levin

INXS. Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Even Sir Paul McCartney and Phil Collins. These are just a few of the legendary rock stars and A-list celebrities Chef Melinda (Delgado) Burrows, CEC, CCA, cooked for when she was a traveling personal chef many years ago. It’s also how she met her husband, Darren Burrows, perhaps best known for playing the role of Ed on the hit TV show “Northern Exposure.” They have been married since 1993 and have four sons—a 17-year-old and the rest in their twenties.

These days, the Burrows live a quieter life—for the past six years, Chef Melinda Burrows has helmed the kitchen at the prestigious and serene, private and member-owned Hickory Hills Country Club in Springfield, Missouri, while Darren Burrows tends to the couple’s hobby farm in the area with the help of their teenage son, Cochise. Though she regularly dons her chef’s coat and toque, a streak of pink hair, houndstooth skirts and funky glasses pay homage to her edgy past.

The honor of being able to cook—and cook well—for such high-profile clients demonstrates Chef Burrows’ commitment and dedication to the craft. Many celebrities are notorious for requesting very specific foods, meals and customs from their private chefs; Chef Burrows was no exception to this rule.

“Michael Hutchence’s champagne in his room after the gig better be ice-cold,” says Chef Burrows, who once even cooked for INXS in a bullfighting ring in Spain with no running water. “They were great experiences and everyone treated us well, the work was hard; the kitchen crew was the first one off the truck in the morning and the last to get on at night.”

Chef Burrows, a Seattle native and graduate of Seattle Central Community College’s Culinary Arts program, also earned savory and pastry diplomas from an apprenticeship program at the Ritz Escoffier in Paris. Upon returning to Seattle from France in 1992, Chef Burrows joined forces with the catering company, Special Occasions Catering, as executive chef, and was also a food stylist for “Northern Exposure.” Around this time, she was the traveling chef for Sir Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, INXS and local personal chef to members of Guns N’ Roses, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam. The Burrows clan moved to Los Angeles in 1996 where Chef Burrows took some time off to care for her

family. In 2001, she established Your Personal Chef, a catering business for Hollywood’s elite, a clientele base that included the likes of George Clooney, Dermott Mulroney, Catherine Keener and David Fincher. She joined Morrison Management Specialists in 2004 as catering manager at the Motion Picture Television Fund in Woodland Hills, California, where she catered events for other Hollywood notables such as Marisa Tomei, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kate Beckinsale.

In 2009, Chef Burrows transferred with Morrison Management Specialists to California P.E.O. Home in Alhambra as their executive chef and director of dining services. In September 2010, Chef Burrows answered First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative to reduce childhood obesity in the United States by adopting Fremont School in Alhambra, California, through the Chefs Move to Schools program.

After 15 years in L.A., the Burrows moved back to Darren Burrows’ hometown of Wichita, Kansas, where Chef Burrows served as the campus executive chef for Wichita State University from 2011 to 2013. Another move took Chef Burrows and family to Missouri, where she served as executive chef of The Branson Convention Center, Hilton Branson Convention Center hotel and Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing from 2013 to 2014, before being recruited by Hickory Hills Country Club.

Still, an impressive resume wasn’t enough. “I was an executive chef, but I wanted those three letters—CEC—after my name, and I didn’t want to attend another ACF convention without them,” says Chef Burrows, who accomplished that bucket list item in 2016 after a year of diligent study. She went on to earn her CCA in 2018 and credits Chef Robert Philips, CEC, CCA, AAC, the current ACF Western Regional vice president, as well as ACF Chefs David Ivey-Soto, CEC, CCA, Elizabeth Mikesell, CEC, AAC, Michael Ty, CEC, AAC, and Michael McGreal, CEC, CCE, for encouraging her to seek accreditation through ACF and remain active. Last year, Chef Burrows was asked to participate on the committee to update the CCA exam. She was elected President of the Wichita ACF Chapter in December 2012.

In a male-dominated industry, It’s hard not to ask about how her gender and Mexican heritage factored into her career path as

well. “The female chef contingency has grown over the years,” says Chef Burrows. “What’s nice is we share a ‘Culinarian Code’ of helping each other.

Chef Burrows credits her family for support as well. “My Catholic, maternal Grandma Sendejar was my primary influence and mentor; she taught me how to cook, how to be a good mother, a devoted wife and a hard worker,” says Chef Burrows. “Also, my awesome husband, Darren, continues to support my chef career and is my biggest fan.”

In addition to ACF, Chef Burrows remains active in Women’s Chefs & Restaurateurs, with which ACF shares a partnership. “Together, we are working to develop the next generation of female culinarians.” she says.

It’s no surprise, then, that Chef Burrows is a known mentor for her staff, especially her female employees. “Mentorship is an important part of my work at this point in my career,” she says. “I told my executive sous chef, who recently left in February, to give me three years when I first hired her and I would teach her everything she needed for her next big job. She did just that and the job she just accepted was for executive chef. It’s amazing to see your people grow like that.”

With all the glitz and glamor in the past, one has to ask Chef Burrows if she misses her former life. “Not at all,” she says. “I grew up in Seattle—not Tacoma or on the East Side, but in the city— and lived in L.A. for many years, but I love the state of Missouri and the quality of life here and what it offers for our family.”

At the club, Chef Burrows enjoys table-touching, greeting and talking to members. People naturally gravitate toward her calm demeanor and warm and friendly personality. “I love talking to people in the dining room rather than always staying in the kitchen,” she says. “It’s exciting to be able to create memories through dining for my members.”

Her current role also allows her much more flexibility to develop more creative menus using seasonal ingredients from her own farm. She’s also known for hosting many special dinners, from wine dinners to farm-to-table and chef tasting events. “I maintain a typical bar and grill menu with a little bit of everything, from Hereford burgers to vegan options, salmon, different salads and soups, but I like to play around with specials,” says Chef Burrows, who brings in fresh tomatoes that her family grows just for the club, along with beets, garlic, asparagus, turnips and more. They also have hogs and chicken on the farm for eggs, so she’ll often bring in those products as well. “I care about what our guests eat and how I feed them. I want them to have the most nutritious and satisfying meals

possible. What’s great is they seem to get excited about that.”

Bringing in whole animals also helps Chef Burrows teach her cook staff butchery and processing. “One of my members last November brought in a deer he had taken that morning and by 3 p.m., I had a 100-pound deer on my table and I processed it,” she says. “We also filet whole salmon and part out all of our whole chickens. When I hire staff I tell them they’re going to have to do a lot of things by scratch, and I promise to teach them those skills.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, Chef Burrows continued to cook for her members via curbside pickup until the dining room reopened in May with occupancy restrictions. She continues to offer the take-out option, however, because it is still popular with members. “To reassure our members, we made videos talking about our enhanced safety and sanitation procedures,” says Chef Burrows, who has also spread out her staff in the back of house and requires single-use gloves. A timer goes off every hour reminding staff to stop what they are doing and wash hands. In addition, the team uses single-use sanitation wipes versus those ubiquitous red buckets.

“My dream was always to be a hotel chef; at least that’s what I thought was my big dream,” she says, reflecting on her diverse culinary career. “It’s truly an honor to work as a chef at a country club; it’s so hard to land that job because no one ever leaves and I had to pull out all the stops during my interview and demo. What I love most about the job is being able to be a visible presence and engage the members because that fits with my personality. And the members expect and love that.” Indeed, a win-win for all.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

Cooking for Health When the World Is Sick // By Kelsey Casselbury

When the coronavirus pandemic struck, Americans collectively felt the stress and anxiety caused by closures and quarantining. In an effort to calm nerves, people turned to an old mainstay— comfort food, whether homemade (or home-baked, as noted by trending photos of sourdough starters and Dutch oven loaves on social media), or from local restaurants in the form of takeout and delivery. Data from Uber Eats during the month of March revealed which items were most-ordered during the weeks that COVID-19 prompted strict closures, and French fries took the top spot nationally. In Georgia, it was pad Thai. In Maryland, customers ordered egg, bacon and cheese sandwiches. In Oregon, fried chicken.

“Initially, when COVID-19 happened, [consumers] were eating for comfort,” says Chef Jeffrey Quasha, corporate R&D chef for Morrison Healthcare. Months in, however, and folks might be feeling the ramifications of some of those choices, whether due to weight gain or just the way they feel. Now, Quasha says, “They’re looking for healthier, elevated experiences.”

These days, consumers realize that eating a nutritious diet is one way to keep the immune system in tip-top shape to fight off potential diseases. “Food is medicine, point blank,” says Chef Andre Rush (left), a former White House executive chef, United States military chef, member of the ACF’s U.S. Military Team and owner of ChefRush LLC, and the nonprofit 2,222 Inc. He credits healthy food with saving his life after an illness left him close to death, calling himself a “sometime vegan,” who loves to cook vegetables along with whole grains and plant-based proteins, such as pea burgers.

Don’t forget that creating a menu for health could mean mental health as well, which is more important than ever during these trying times. Chef Rush recommends incorporating sources of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna and free-range chicken and turkey into diets. “They are especially helpful for depression,” he adds.

Even if a person ramps up healthy cooking at home, they need a break from time to time—so they’re still going to

be calling on chefs for some of those meals, whether that means they’re stopping for lunch at a hospital cafe or ordering takeout from a local restaurant. Consumers are going to want healthier options on the menu, and it’s up to chefs to develop those options while maintaining the quality, taste and consistency of every other menu item.

CHANGING TIMES

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Chef Quasha said there was a gradual change in how people were eating. “We noticed that people were looking for authenticity, but on the other side of it, they were looking at sustainability and the ‘food is medicine’ approach,” he comments. “A lot of it has been pushed by Keto, Paleo and flexitarian diets.”

On top of that, there has been a significant push for plant-based diets, including incorporating additional plantbased proteins. “The centers-of-the-plate meat, which used to be 6 to 8 ounces, with a vegetable and starch doesn’t identify with our consumers anymore,” Chef Quasha says.

Offering more plant-based options tracks with potential meat shortages, due to the pandemic. “If you take a half-cup of grains with one cup of vegetables—roasted, fermented, pickled or just raw—and use protein

as a garnish, that’s a healthier option,” he suggests. “If you look at the meat shortages that are happening right now because of the pandemic, a bigger push for grains and vegetables completely works with that script.”

GAINING TRUST

Even if a customer logically knows they need to be opting for healthier menu items, they don’t always want to hear it. “Nobody wants to hear ‘you need to stop binging out,’” says Chef Nina Curtis (right), MBA, director and executive chef, Roseville Café & Culinary Arts, Adventist Health, in Roseville, California, nor do they necessarily trust a chef to provide them with a nutritious meal that’s still worth the money charged.

“If I can make it taste as you’re expecting it to, there’s that first level of trust you have with me,” she adds, explaining how she might take a favorite comfort food—say, spaghetti and meatballs—and turn it into a dish free from grains and meat. “I could take the pasta you’re used to, and I would ‘zoodle’

a zucchini or butternut squash. It’s a no-brainer to make marinara; that’s already plant-based vegan.” Then, if her customers didn’t have nut allergies, she would soak walnuts, dehydrate them—that makes them crisper, she says—and then pulse them in a food processor until they resemble a ground meat texture. Season them with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and form the walnuts like a meatball, using a little bit of olive oil. Finally, put those meatballs in a dehydrator “to remove water and dehydrate the outer shell, because you’re used to having the outer portion of a meatball crisp when they’re seared,” Chef Curtis says.

Other ways that you can make food healthier without sacrificing too much includes baking foods instead of frying them, switching from less-healthy canola oil to something like algae oil and always adding leafy greens to a plate.

Instead of approaching a dish by thinking you need to cut certain ingredients out, consider what can be added in to make it healthier. Take a taco bar, for example, says Chef Timothy Schoonmaker (below, left), CEC, CCA, director and executive chef, Centra Culinary Creations/ Food and Nutrition at Centra Health in Lynchburg, Virginia. “Tacos are extremely popular, and it can be a comfort food for some,” he notes. “So, how do you take a taco bar and make it

healthier?” Rather than take away what makes a taco a taco—like the tortillas— consider adding sliced vegetables for toppings or thinned-out Greek yogurt mixed with cilantro for a drizzle that's lighter than traditional sour cream.

In some cases, gaining trust might mean educating your customers. Chef Schoonmaker says they often bring in different types of fruits and vegetables, but patrons don’t always take them

Cooking the Mindful Way

Ayurveda is a food science and philosophy dating back around 5,000 years ago in India with the same ancient origins as yoga. Although Ayurveda addresses health and wellness in general, when it comes to cooking, it is a holistic approach that focuses on balance and nature.

“The easiest way to describe it is the ‘yoga of food,’ which uses food to balance yourself and your personality,” says Chef Nalini Mehta, founder of the Happy Chef Project as well as Route to India and a longtime teacher of Ayurvedic cooking who has held roles as culinary instructor at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health and Institute of Culinary Education in New York. “The same sentiment that you would have on the mat, you also have through food.”

The word “Ayurveda” translates to “the knowledge of life”, with “ayur” meaning “life” and “veda” meaning “knowledge.” As such, the main crux of the philosophy is to be more mindful: mindful of your body, your brain, your energy and the environment around you. It’s no surprise, then, why many ayurvedic chefs also practice and/or teach meditation, including Chef Mehta, who is also a meditation and breath work instructor.

In essence, our bodies and the environment is made up of five elements: water, air, earth, spice and fire, and the idea is to find balance, not just through general wellness, but also through food. You first need to find your dosha (energy or personality). For vata types, air and space elements dominate. The fire element dominates pitta types. For kapha types, earth and water dominate.

“For example, if I have a fiery personality, or if I’m feeling burnt out or anxious and stressed like so many of us are these days, I should eat foods that are calming and cooling, such as salads and greens,” says Chef Mehta. “If you’re a very creative person, with your head often in the clouds, you should eat foods that are grounding, such as sweet potatoes and root vegetables, and even pasta and other complex carbohydrates. If you are stuck in the same routine over and over, and are maybe even a bit of a couch potato, you should eat spicy foods to perk you up and get your adrenal glands going.”

You could also have two doshas, Chef Mehta points out. Vata-pitta types tend to be both creative (air and space) and ambitious (fire), so it’s no wonder many musicians, artists, writers, and of course, chefs, fall into this group.

Ayurveda also focuses on using a wide variety of herbs as natural medicine.

Ashwagandha as of late has gotten more traction for its immunity-boosting and stress reduction properties. We’ve all heard more about how turmeric and black pepper have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties as well. And then there’s ginger, fennel and carraway for gut/digestive health, stinging nettle for bone health, and many others. In addition to whole form, many of these herbs are available in powder or droplet form that can be added to foods and beverages as a concentrate. “I like to call it a kitchen pharmacy,” Chef Mehta says.

Ayruvedic cooking has other benefits; it’s a natural way to cook with the seasons, which helps the environment as well as our own tastes and dietary needs. “We crave grounding root vegetables in the winter because there is more air and space in the form of cold, blowing winds,” Chef Mehta she says. “We crave cooling salads in the summer when there’s more fire in the air.”

In a world as uncertain and changing as the current one, Ayurveda and Ayruvedic cooking offers just another route toward achieving balance, mindfulness and enlightenment through the wide variety of food at our fingertips. -Amelia Levin

because of a lack of familiarity. He recalls bringing in Swiss chard and serving it as a side, and “People didn’t really know what it was,” he says. “I said, let’s take that unique vegetable, let’s put it out and sample it one day. The next time you put it out, it sells considerably.”

ADAPTING TO THE NEW NORMAL

Salad bars have long been a staple of healthy eating, especially in foodservice segments such as healthcare and colleges—but they might be a thing of the past, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. That doesn’t mean that nutritious salads are off-limits entirely, though. “We can’t open salad bars, but you can build a madeto-order salad station,” Chef Quasha states. “Why can’t you have a signature item where you’re featuring a beautiful composed strawberry salad with candied pecans, onions and feta cheese, and put a wild Alaskan salmon on there?”

The salad bars were immensely popular in Chef Curtis’ cafe, too, but she’s figured out a new way to get those vegetables to her customers while they’re at home during closures. Her “Veg Out” boxes are much like a CSA box in that they are full of produce that can feed up to three people and can be picked up curbside. The cafe launched the sale of the boxes in May. “I’m selling it as you still get the salad bar in the comfort of your home,” she explains.

No matter what, good marketing and food composition still matters, but it’s even more important to encourage customers to choose healthier options. “If you have an amazing buffalo cauliflower sandwich and you have beautiful marketing,” Chef Quasha says, “people will be more inclined to have that.”

Kelsey Casselbury is a freelance writer, editor and designer who focuses on food and health. She has a degree in journalism from The Pennsylvania State University and lives near Annapolis, Maryland.

FARM-TO-TABLE IN TODAY’S WORLD

By

The local farming world post COVID-19 is thriving as people are waking up to a world where food insecurity is at their doorstep. For the last eight years, I have worked hand-in-hand with local farms to produce special dinner events in fields across New England, serving more than 10,000 customers and raising more than $125,000 for farming communities. As chefs, we need to continue to support our local farms-now more than ever.

COVID-19 has changed the game for the food industry. As social distancing and masks have become the norm, we work to pivot our businesses to keep up with an ever-changing landscape of pandemic-stricken communities. My company, The Farmers Dinner, works with more than 30 local farms across New England to purchase food and host

farm-to-table dinner events that help educate the community about the local farms that exist.

Since COVID-19, I have reached out to many of the farms we work with asking how we can support them during this time. Many of the same stories started to surface. Most of these farms are seeing a massive uptick in sales as grocery stores struggle to keep up with the ever-increasing demand of consumer hoarding. Many local farms are finally able to move product and develop a sustainable base of customers for the first time in their history. Why did it take a pandemic for us to support local farms?

Before COVID-19, the global supply chain moved along like it did for decades: orders came in and a handful of major companies would fill the orders. The pandemic put stress on a supply chain

Chef Keith Sarasin, founder, The Farmers Dinner

that was controlled by a small number of corporations. Amidst processing plant shutdowns and consumer hoarding, the average person turned to local farms to fulfill their grocery needs.

Local farms became a salvation for the fearmongering that ensued as consumer demand for meats and proteins continued to rise. This demand has rippled into the fabric of our communities with a hopeful ending to the story. As we support the local farms in our community, we develop an infrastructure that can support us and provide for so many in times of systematic breakdown. When we support local farms, we aren’t just supporting the local economy, we are supporting holistic change.

As we face reopening, we have entered into a “post-pandemic” world that has fundamentally changed our industry. The real fears of a second wave, customer anxieties and the polarization of ideologies have created a virtual cornucopia of fear that affects everyone who thinks about dining out. Now is the time when we can rally around local community farms and help them by pledging our support and purchasing product to move forward a new narrative: local farms supporting the local community.

In the last decade of working with farms across New England, I have seen a major shift in the public demand for locally-sourced food. This movement has changed the landscape of my communities and many communities across America. As chefs, we vote with our dollars. You have the power to change your communities with a simple decision. Pledging to purchase just one item on your menu from a local source puts immediate change into action. I don’t know what “post-pandemic” America looks like, but I do see this moment in time as an opportunity to shift the reliance on a fractured food system toward a community-centric approach

where farms help feed the community rather than factories.

This isn’t a utopian dream, we hold the power in our pens to write the checks that change lives. Our decisions now will impact those around us in profound ways.

Chef Keith Sarasin is founder of The Farmers Dinner, which has fed more than 17,000 customers and raised more than $125,000 for local farms. Chef Sarasin is also the author of Perfect Turkey Cookbook: More Than 100 Mouthwatering Recipes for the Ultimate Feast (Cider Mill Press, 2018) and The Farmers Dinner Cookbook: A Story in Every Bite (Cider Mill Press, 2019).

HistoryMaking in the

For the first time in its 91-year-history, the American Culinary Federation was not able to hold its annual convention as planned, due to a global pandemic. Looking at the situation more optimistically, however, this is the first year in ACF history when the Federation has the chance to host a virtual convention that—as a digital platform—will showcase chefs from around the world. The 2020 ACF Virtual Convention, appropriately themed “Around the World in 80 Days,” will take place Aug. 3-5.

“Technology today allows us to open up our convention to the whole world, so why not?” says Jayme Booth, senior events manager for ACF. “Why not bring everyone to us and open our doors for others to experience what our members get to experience?”

ACF is featuring three registration options this year. “The first is a free access pass for those who want to view our education and also see what the ACF is about,” says Booth. “The second is an all-access pass for members at the discounted price of $199 that includes a virtual swag bag with things like coupons, badges and other gifts as well as 24 continuing education hours that they can put toward recertifying. The third is an all-access pass with the swag bag for non-members priced at $299. This is a great option

for those who have not yet joined ACF, but who still want the opportunity to be immersed in our organization.”

Logistically-speaking, the ACF events team certainly faced its share of challenges by having to shift from an in-person platform to an entirely digital one in a matter of weeks. However, there was an immediate reaction from those who wished to share their expertise with the ACF community. “It was amazing how so many chefs stepped forward so quickly to want to be a part of this educational— and hopefully very inspirational—event,” says Jacqui Pressigner, director of strategic partnerships for ACF, who helped to curate the virtual convention’s new educational agenda in just a few weeks.

This year has already proven to be the year of massive, sweeping changes, and the events industry is not immune (no pun intended) to that. “We have had to do a complete 360 when it comes to our events,” says Booth, who as a veteran event planner, has listened to countless podcasts and webinars, consulted with fellow event planners, and admits she and the whole industry are still learning. “But, this opportunity has allowed us to be able to offer members and non-members a unique educational experience and the chance to feature an even more diverse array of presenters than ever before. I think there is going to be an exciting new wave of how we host events going forward.”

Thanks to a partnership with a media company, all of the sessions will be pre-recorded and viewers can choose to watch at the scheduled days and times that they are released, or watch as their schedules permit. There’s another benefit behind the decision to go with pre-recorded sessions; not only does it take the stress off of the speakers having to go live, but it also prevents any interruptions in service because of a poor connection or Internet speeds. To make the experience more interactive, attendees who watch the sessions as scheduled will be able to live-chat with presenters and other attendees as well as ask questions.

Legendary Chef Jacques Pépin will kick-off the event as keynote speaker with a brief demo and discussion about apprenticeships. Other sessions include the State of the Culinary Industry with a panel of ACF Certified Master Chefs; “Cook What You GetCooking With Hawaiian Island Perspective” with Chef

Mark Noguchi; “Techniques of Culinary Cannabis” with Chef Brandon Allen; “Celebration of African Gastronomy” with Chef Antwon Brinson and Chef Nompumelelo Mqwebu, “International Pastry Trends & Flavors” with Chef Jason Licker; “Native and Indigenous Flavors of North America” with Chef Joseph Shawana, and much more. There will also be a digital trade show; live-streamed morning workouts with Eric the Trainer and workshops for honing your competition plating and photography skills.

Chef Rocco Paradiso, an ACF Tampa Bay member, will MC the event.

“We are hoping that with this amazing group of speakers and getting different perspectives on a worldwide scale, we can all band together as chefs and perhaps even change the face of what is considered ‘American’ cuisine,” Pressinger says.

To learn more and to register, visit the registration page on acfchefs.org/events

From top: Chef Jacques Pépin, Chef Nompumelelo Mqwebu, Chef Brandon Allen, Chef Mark Noguchi

“TECHNOLOGY TODAY ALLOWS US TO OPEN UP OUR CONVENTION TO THE WHOLE WORLD”

American Egg Board

NCR Quiz

July/August 2020

By LeeAnn Corrao

Which type of bean is usually blended with white corn to create githeri?

a. l ima beans

b. k idney beans

c. p into beans

d. cranberry beans

The Ethiopian staple is often wrapped around morsels or other food including doro wot and yebeg alecha.

a. k itfo

b. mutura

c. p ilau

d. samaki kanga

e. i njera

Chef Becker recommends using spring roll ingredients that

a. break apart easily

b. that don’t have strong flavors

c. that don’t contain a lot of liquid

d. both A and C

Consumers are currently prioritizing safety over other factors of their dining experience.

a. Tr ue

b. Fa lse

What color are the flowers of a beso bela herb?

a. Yellow

b. W hite

c. Purple

d. R ed

In Morocco, berber flatbreads are topped with .

a. butter, griddled, and then drizzled with honey

b. melted cheese

c. an assortment of meats and cheese

d. sp ices including za’atar

What is the risk of not having a COVID-19 prevention plan in place when reopening restaurants?

a. Employee or customer exposure to COVID-19

b. Potential liability from OSHA

c. Potential liability from the state

d. A ll of the Above

Chef Vang recommends not adding to fried spring rolls.

a. eg g

b. f ish

c. to fu

d. beef

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FERDINAND

RELIEF FUND

The Ferdinand Metz / American Culinary Federation Relief Fund was established to provide timely financial assistance to chefs, cooks, culinarians and foodservice workers across America who are experiencing financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Visit ACFChefs.org for more info.