Adrianne Calvo Leading Miami Chef | Restaurateur Cookbook Author | Television Personality
CREDITS: Agency: GMG Advertising Agency. Miami FL Advertiser: Chef Adrianne Calvo Entry Type: Design Press Kit Chairman & CCO: Mike Beovides Art Director: Marco Zuniga Graphic Designer: Marco Zuniga Photographer: Ines Ayra PR Chef Adrianne Calvo: KB Network News Copywriting: KB Network News. kbnetworknews.com See more: http://emezetacreativo.blogspot.com/p/dark-dining-art-direction-photo.html
ADRIANNE CALVO EXECUTIVE CHEF/OWNER, CHEF ADRIANNE’S VINEYARD RESTAURANT & WINE BAR
Fast Facts:
In 2015 Yelp included Chef Adrianne’s in their top 50 local, non-chain Miami eateries.
Prior to that both Miami Magazine and Urban Spoon named in the Best Restaurant Miami in 2013.
Featured on NBC “6 in the Mix” every Thursday as the Panda Kitchen Ambassador and guest chef. After losing my sister to cancer in 2006, I devel-
oped the “Make it Count” Foundation to benefit
children and their families suffering from the tragic disease. My team and I make it our mission to give back as much as possible.
My story begins in 1984. As a young kid growing up in Florida to Cuban born parents, I wasn’t running home after school to kick around a soccer ball or check out the latest video game, I was running into the kitchen to help my mom put dinner on the table. What I would learn later in life is these countless days spent watching her sprinkle a little bit of this and mixing in a little bit of that into sumptuous dishes that my family and I would relish in together is what inevitably started my drive to become a chef. After an accidental scheduling mistake in high school that landed me in a cooking class rather than a journalism class on THE day hospitality giant Johnson & Wales University came to do a presentation, my professional journey began. And yes…I do believe in fate! I entertained my competitive side with a slew of cooking competitions and was fortunate enough to be called upon by the Florida Marlins to cater the 2003 World Series. After graduating Johnson & Wales University I took a position with Five Diamond Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Miami where I learned first hand from Executive Chef Patrick Lassaque the good, the bad and the ugly of the restaurant business. Shortly after I landed in Napa Valley to stage with the great Chef Thomas Keller and Chef Cindy Pawlcyn. I still pinch myself that I was able to gleam even a sliver of knowledge from these remarkable chefs. While some people thought a teenager had no business writing a cookbook, I had so many ideas, recipes, food
memories, etc. in my head since I was a small child that a book seemed like a natural next step. I mustered together what I could and self published my first book “Maximum Flavor” but the sales were struggling. Did I bite off more than I could chew? Then the phone rang and a producer with the “Montell Williams” show claimed to be on the other end (though I was convinced I was being pranked by a friend). They were doing a show on inspiring young entrepreneurs and wanted to invite me, the teenage cookbook author, on the show. I was blown away and humbled beyond belief and it was thanks to that appearance that I sold enough books to start a restaurant in the first place. We opened Chef Adrianne’s in 2007 in a strip mall in Kendall. As a 22 year old just starting out, my resources were limited and this was where I could afford the four walls I needed to realize my dream. There were the obligatory naysayers that quipped about the location but as people started to eat my food and taste my passion on a plate, it was their opinion that mattered most. Soon Chef Adrianne’s began to be noted as a “hidden gem” or a “destination dining must” and that was good enough for me. We saw the restaurant through the recession with just me and my trusted sous chef Eglis Siu in the kitchen and came out on the other side and next year we will celebrate our 10th anniversary! I still don’t know how some of these went from idea to printed word but I can now count four cookbooks under my belt. I know I have many people to thank including my hard working team and my incredibly supportive friends and family. The complete collection now includes: “Maximum Flavor,” (2005), “Chef Adrianne: Driven by Flavor Fueled by Fire,” (2008), “#MaximumFlavorSocial,” (2014) and “Play with Fire” (2015).
ADRIANNE CALVO CONTINUES TO PROVE KENDALL HAS CULINARY CHOPS WITH DEBUT OF NEW SPRING MENU Miami Embraces Chef Adrianne’s and Keeps Restaurant Top Choice for Nine Years and Counting
Miami, FL, March 2016: Chef Adrianne Calvo set out nearly nine years ago with the unabashed idea to open a restaurant in Kendall, Florida at age 22. Despite naysayers that said the neighborhood wouldn’t support a chef driven concept such as what she had in mind and in spite of those that thought she was too young for such an ambition, Calvo rolled up her sleeves, dipped into her small but mighty savings account and put Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar (11510 SW 147 Avenue, Miami, FL 33196, 305-408-8386, www.chefadriannes.com) to the test. Now almost a decade later the restaurant has taken its claim as one of the Top 50 Miami Restaurants, according to a recent Yelp survey, and has become a local gem compelling Floridians and tourists to seek out Calvo’s bold and brilliantly brazen cuisine. The restaurant is not defined by a cuisine or technique but rather a showcase of what Calvo calls “Maximum Flavor,” a nod to her own mantra and growing brand (four cookbooks and a soon-to-launch spice mix). It was after graduating from culinary school and a life-altering trip to Napa Valley that Calvo was inspired to put her dream into motion, looking
to embrace the seasonal flavors and all around enjoyment of life that Napa evokes. At Chef Adrianne’s, she layers seasonal ingredients with a variety of spices, innovation and a respect for comfort dishes that make people get in the car and drive for THAT dish. At only 32-years old, Calvo already has four cookbooks under her belt, an exercise that really allowed her to develop her rolodex of recipes and fine tune her tried-and-true dishes. Now diving into Spring 2016, Calvo has launched a NEW menu embracing her signatures and pushing the envelope with new seasonal bites. Tuesday through Sunday, Calvo has curated a Weekly Rotation of nightly indulgences, celebrating some of her favorite dishes and new finds. Swing by on a Wednesday and you’ll be treated to her Market Driven seasonal specialty, like the recent Organic Carrots with horseradish, salsa verde aioli and butter cracker crunch or settle in on Sunday for her Handcrafted Pasta of the night. From her greatest hits, diners have demanded the Sweet Corn Tamalito, a bed of buttery masa topped with wild shrimp, scallion & garlic cream and Slow Roasted Pork Wontons, crispy pillows teeming with juicy pork, soy, guava and queso blanco never leave the menu. For those hot Florida days, there are salads a plenty, a sweet and savory Vineyard Salad with maple lardons, goat cheese, cranberries and Dijon or an Amalfi Caprese with fresh tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, basil and onions, while the bounty of the Florida Coast shines brightly with a variety of wild caught options including Brown Sugar Crusted Salmon with sweet chili oil, a tender Corvina encrusted in pistachios and
finished with a touch of truffle and the delicate Mahi Mahi all done up with a lemon caper butter. For the carnivores amongst us, Calvo has figured out throughout her years as owner and executive chef of this Miami hot spot how to make a piece of meat sing. The showstopper for sure is the 12 oz Aged Five Diamond Reserve, a towering piece of filet mignon taken from the top 3% Black Angus cattle and humbly seared to perfection. Meanwhile Beef Short Ribs sweat slowly in a 24-hour braise, succulent Pork Tenderloin is given the Argentine treatment with a vibrant chimichurri sauce and the luxurious Lamb Rack takes on a French touch with a merlot demi-glace and an essence
of truffle to boot. The restaurant is a hidden hideaway that is still undiscovered by some but thoroughly beloved by throngs of others. Fans of the restaurant are numerous and loyal and have taken to writing Calvo “chef love notes� as she calls them to express their admiration for the care and finesse she puts into each dish. A feat into itself considering Calvo and her longtime sous chef are typically the only two chefs churning out each and every dish, six days a week (and have been since Day One). Beyond starting her concept for her fifth cookbook, Calvo always takes the time to participate in as many charitable initiatives and industry fundraisers as she can, recently appointed the South Miami Culinary Captain for
the recent South Beach Wine and Food Festival. You can catch her weekly on NBC 6 in the Mix as the culinary ambassador of Panda Kitchen & Bath where she shows viewers how to make her dish of the week and once a year Calvo hosts a “Dining in the Dark” dinner at the restaurant where she guides the always sold-out crowd through a multi-course meal completely in the dark. Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar is open for Lunch and Dinner Tuesday – Sunday and can be found on Social Media via @ChefAdrianne on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
facebook.com/chefadrianne
chefadriannes.com
twitter.com/chefadrianne
adriannecalvo.com
instagram.com/chefadrianne
makeitcountcharities.org
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For more information on Adrianne, her restaurant, upcoming apperances and cookbooks, check out www.chefadriannes.com and www.adriannecalvo.com Š Copyright and Photo Credit Ines Ayra & GMG Advertising
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