Food

Keeping Up Appearances

As food festivals proliferate, San Antonio chefs face tough choices about whether they’re worth the eff ort

BY NINA RANGEL

Grilled cheese. Brunch. Mole.

In recent years, it seems like a food festival has percolated up in San Antonio celebrating just about any dish — or cuisine — you can name.

Theoretically, when culinary pros participate in those events, they stand to raise their profi les with foodies, promote their latest ventures and benefi t from mingling with others in the industry.

But there’s also a downside to the facetime with fans. The events can be high-pressure additions to chefs’ already busy schedules, not to mention, they can be money-losing propositions.

For each fest, restaurants are asked to prepare sample bites of signature dishes, which requires a major outlay of time and labor. Beyond prepping the food, chefs often need to bring employees along to help set up, serve and break down. In many cases, restaurant teams aren’t compensated for their materials or time.

“The asks are just beginning to be too much. Three-thousand samples is a lot of food, no ma er how you slice it,” said Terry Koval, a visiting Atlanta chef, at this year’s Austin Food & Wine Festival, which took place Nov. 4-6. “It really takes a setup like this, where the organizers make sure [my crew and I] have somewhere to stay, tickets to the whole thing, you know. It takes all of that to make it worth making the trip.”

In the end, Koval enlisted the help of San Antonio-area pros to supplement his team for the fest so he could avoid racking up major travel expenses to make the appearance.

Jorge Luis Hernández — the new executive chef for San Antonio’s Hotel Emma — also appeared at the Austin Food & Wine Festival. Even though he works for a luxury hotel with multiple culinary destinations, he was the only kitchen employee who made the trip.

“I literally could not have pulled anyone from any of my kitchens to be here today,” Hernández said. “I couldn’t have spared anyone. If these [volunteer culinary students] weren’t here, I’d have been screwed.”

Staff shortages

increased since the pandemic.

The exodus of foodservice workers during the COVID crisis has required chef-owners to take on even more responsibility for facilitating these events. At the same time, the number of festivals is growing, creating an untenable situation for many.

During the weekend of the Austin Food & Wine festival, area chefs also had to consider whether to participate in Texas Monthly’s BBQ Fest in Lockhart, Fredericksburg’s Oktoberfest, Brenham’s Butchers Ball and CultureMap Austin’s The Tailgate.

Nicola Blaque, chef-owner of San Antonio’s The Jerk Shack, a ended three off site events that weekend. She appeared at the Butcher’s ball, won the Tastemaker Award at The Tailgate for her Caribbean ceviche, then competed against 13 other chefs at Austin Food & Wine’s Rock Your Taco event.

Blaque’s husband and two kids accompanied her on the trip to Austin. While they were ge ing ready for bed, she was preparing a Jamaican jerk-inspired Boombastic Taco fi lling for the taco event. Though she was still feeling the high from winning the Tastemaker Award, by the time Rock Your Taco rolled around, she was exhausted.

Rising costs

Those commitments of time and energy also come as restaurant operators grapple with the worst infl ation in 40 years. That means, they’re spending more on labor, fuel and supplies — all needed to participate in food festivals. At the same time, rising prices are cu ing into customers’ willingness to dine out, potentially making an event appearance an expensive drain on resources.

Many food festivals off er stipends and vendor credits to help off set participation costs. But for some San Antonio chefs, they’re not enough of an incentive to make a diff erence.

“A $300 credit to [wholesale food distributor] Sysco is nice, but what if I don’t use Sysco? I just lose out on that incentive?” asked John Russ, owner and executive chef at Clementine. “It’s just go en to the point where so many of these events make it very diffi cult to get a return on your investments.”

So, is there still any appeal for participating in food festivals? As the sun dipped low on the fi rst day of Austin Food & Wine, Hotel Emma’s Hernández noted that the expenses and hassles may remain worthwhile for some chefs.

“It can be really challenging work … and very diff erent from what we’re used to on a day-to-day basis. But there’s something to be said for working over an open fl ame all day alongside some of the city’s top talent,” he said. “Showing the community what we bring to the table, what we’re passionate about, it can also be an incredible opportunity to open guests’ eyes.”

food

Dusana Risovic

Find more food & drink news at sacurrent.com

OPENINGS

New bar Summer Camp has taken over the space that formerly housed Hello Paradise, serving up burgers and all-beef coneys as well as a small menu of specialty cocktails. 520 E. Grayson St., instagram.com/summercampbar.

Magnolia Pancake Haus is whipping up plans for its fourth San Antonio location. The new Hollywood Park restaurant is expected to open next spring. 2070 N. Loop 1604, magnoliapancakehaus.com.

Local pastry chef Jenn Riesman has opened her long-awaited shop Rooster Crow Baking Co. The business is selling kolaches, focaccia and scones in Shavano Park. 4421 De Zavala Road, roostercrowbakingco.com.

New St. Paul Square basement bar Versa — from the couple behind salon Beauty Haus and coff ee-and-vinyl shop Vice — is now serving up live jazz and cocktails on Friday and Saturday nights. 123 Heiman St., instagram.com/viceversa. sanantonio.

Rooftop bar 1 Watson has set a Dec. 9 opening date in downtown San Antonio. The hotel drinkery will off er beer and wine from Texas vineyards, and many of its cocktails will feature Texas-made spirits. 111 Soledad, 1watsonrooftop.com.

All-you-can-eat sushi chain Trapper’s has set a Dec. 5 opening date in San Antonio, marking the Washington State-based chain’s fi rst foray into Texas. 415 W. Loop 1604 South, Suite 112, trapperssushi.com.

NEWS

Rosario’s Mexican Cafe Y Cantina in Southtown has closed. The restaurant is expected to reopen in larger digs on South St. Mary’s Street sometime in December.

Co-Op Marketplace, a new mixed-use development similar to San Antonio’s Pearl, is planned for nearby New Braunfels, repurposing agricultural buildings into restaurants, bars, coff ee shops and retail shops.

San Antonio’s two-day La Gran Tamalada is returning to Market Square Dec. 10-11, off ering free, family-friendly activities centered around tamales, a favorite local food during the holidays.

San Antonio’s StreetFare SA food truck park has closed permanently, ending a four-year run of hosting mobile kitchens, live music nights, themed parties and food festivals.

Lazo with Don Strange restaurant at San Antonio’s Estancia del Norte hotel has closed. The eatery was billed as an experimental collaboration between the hotel and catering outfi t Don Strange of Texas.

San Antonio’s Chamoy City Limits has closed its brick-and-mortar shop after a string of thefts. The business is expected to return later this year as a mobile kitchen that will be part of The Point Park and Eats food truck park in Leon Springs.

BENEFITING

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