THE HYGGE TIMES Lemon Olive Oil Cake - Michael Emerson
After countless hours in the kitchen, I go home and cook for myself. I have a sick addiction to cooking. Artistic expression in general is a lifelong discipline of mine. Starting with the martial arts, I hold two gold medals from the U.S. Open karate championships. As a contributing member of a live performance musical group, I was taken all over Germany and Japan to play for screaming fans. Now, after working with some of the finest culinary groups in NYC, I have the honor to brush shoulders with the world’s finest chefs in a truly unparalleled setting. From training our Brownsville culinary students to menu creation, from coordinating preparation in the kitchen to organizing processes for any of our many made-to-order quick-service assembly lines, I am acquiescently challenged everyday.
A Day in the Life of Bryan Flodmand
Independence Day from the USA to Denmark
- Donna Lee
- Ashley Sinon
For those of you at Grand Central Terminal, you have probably seen Bryan Flodmand, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, the most! Bryan’s position as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer entails many responsibilities, from working with Managers and Chefs on building the best team to making sure all back-office teams (Accounting, Marketing, HR, and more!) are maintaining accurate information to make the best business decisions for the company.
Temperatures are soaring which means it’s summer in the city and almost time for Fourth of July! Celebrating the day the United States of America declared itself as a nation separate from Great Britain, Independence Day is a widely celebrated, absolute party of a holiday in the States. In modern times it’s less about the signing the Declaration of Independence and more about praising the nation as a whole. By day, there’s an abundance of music-filled barbecues with pinwheels, waving flags and flashing necklaces all red, white, and blue. Parades of wailing fire engines lead the way into night where explosions of fireworks fill the sky above brightly lit carnival rides. During this no-holds-barred approach to the festivity, food is plentiful; burgers and hot dogs sizzle on the grill, deep fried corn dogs are wrapped in paper, and ice cream cones are piled high.
Here is a favorite sweet dish of mine. It goes great with coffee. This is a wonderfully light, bright cake with no milk or butter. Having high quality olive oil, farm fresh eggs and a Meyer lemon are good enough reasons to make this. Michael Emerson is a Junior Sous Chef at the Great Northern Food Hall who, like he mentioned, has a sick addiction to cooking. Try baking his Lemon Olive Oil Cake and have it with a cup of coffee!
Lemon Olive Oil Cake • • • • • •
162g olive oil 120g white flour 1 lemon 5 egg yolks 4 egg white 150g granulated sugar
Add lemon zest to flour Whip egg whites stiff Whip yolks and sugar add oil and lemon juice Fold together gently Pour into 9” spring form pan lined with parchment on the bottom Bake 350 25-45min Let cool and use a knife or offset spatula to make sure the sides aren’t sticking before unhinging the spring form. Enjoy!
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As the Chief Financial Officer, he deals with numbers and sales, but as the Chief Operating Officer, he works to build his team and makes sure his team is on the right track to succeed and grow at MeyersUSA. He knows that it is difficult to build a great company without great people, and he is working every single day with Claus to keep improving MeyersUSA and push everyone to be the best. When Bryan is not in meetings or talking about MeyersUSA, he is hanging out with his daughter, Charlotte Bee (see picture above!). Bryan travels from one location to another, but when he is home, he gets to enjoy living at the beach in New Jersey and watching hockey. If you see him, tell him that you saw him in the Hygge Times, and just say ‘Hi’.
In comparison, Denmark, the country of MeyersUSA’s origin, observed their day of independence last month on June 5th. The Danish Independence Day equivalent is Constitution Day which commemorates the signing of the Danish Constitution which established Denmark as a constitutional monarchy back in 1849. Far from the flamboyant spectacle of colors across the pond, Danes spend June 5th attending speeches about democracy given by politicians and members of the government. Picnics in public plazas and small family gatherings in parks honor the day, which also coincides with their Father’s Day. While there isn’t any specific Constitution Day dish, plenty of traditional summer foods are enjoyed amongst the picnic goers. Some of these foods are boiled new potatoes, leafy vegetables, fresh strawberries with cream and for dessert Koldskål, a delicious cool buttermilk soup. To accompany these dishes is an elderflower cordial made from fresh picked wild elderflowers. However you spend your Independence Day, be sure to fill it with family, friends, and of course food! A special thanks to Hygge Times trusty Danish Correspondent Marie Leth, whom you might find at either Norman or our Culinary Center at Brownsville!
THE HYGGE TIMES
July 2017
Agern Reopens July 19th!
Day in the Life of Anthony Rivera
Kid’s Table 2017
- Katie Bell
- Donna Lee
We are beyond excited to be calling back our team from all corners of the city (and world!), sweeping up the dust, dusting off our plates, starting to order wine, and generally getting our ducks in order. As you all can probably understand - we are so excited to get back to doing what we do and doing what we love. We have missed our team, missed our guests, and missed daily service.
MeyersUSA Commissary, also known as “Rhubarb,” is located in Long Island City, Queens right off of the 7 train, and there we have a group of amazing team members who prep, butcher, and cook food items before being delivered to the various MeyersUSA locations, like Great Northern Food Hall and Agern. At Rhubarb we have Anthony Rivera, a Cook who started as a Steward and moved his way up to the Cook position.
The June Edition of the Hygge Times introduced the Kid’s Table event for 2017. The event took place on June 8th at various restaurants in New York, from n’eat and Decoy to Perry Street and Great Northern Food Hall. Young diners enjoyed healthy and seasonal dishes crafted by selective Chefs. Magnus Sogaard, our Project Manager, and other representatives of MeyersUSA helped facilitate this event and compiled things that the “Kids” had to say!
Don't forget - we are still hiring! If you know anyone who would like to join Agern 2.0, refer them to hello@agernrestaurant.com and tell them to mention you. When you refer Servers, Bartenders, and Cooks, you are eligible for the Referral Bonus! Thank you to everyone for your support during this challenging time, for embracing our staff that have joined you, and for the high fives along the way - we couldn't have done it without our big family. All best... and can't wait to welcome you all back to Agern soon!
401K: What is it and how can I enroll? - Donna Lee
The way to start saving for the future starts with you enrolling in our company’s 401K plan. A 401K is a retirement savings plan that allows employees invest part of their paycheck pre-taxed. The company matches 100% up to the first 6% of your contribution. ADP now makes it easier for you to enroll and start saving! To enroll, please login to ADP Workforcenow, and you will see the Home screen. Click “More Info/Enroll” in the Retirement box, and you will be taken to the Great Dane OPCO LLC 401K Plan. From there you will go through steps to enroll in the 401K plan. If you have any questions, please email HR@meyersusa.com or visit HR during HR Hours.
- Donna Lee
“I’ve never tried asparagus before, but I can now say that I like it a whole lot!” “Can you give my dad the recipe for the strawberry dessert?!” “I’ve been working on a recipe for vegan caramel.. would the chef like it?” – This is coming from a six-year old diner. “The green sauce looks like it has glitter in it.” Anthony does everything from frying chips for Great Northern Food Hall to cutting vegetables. As an important part of the team, he makes sure his station is clean and helps anyone who needs the extra help. What he most likes about being a part of the Rhubarb team is that even though he was a Steward, he expressed a strong interest in being a Cook. He had to work hard to show the team that he wanted to move up, and Chef Rasmus saw this in him, gave him the chance to train, and he became the new Cook! Although work is an important part of his life, Anthony does other things on his days off. He likes to ride his bike around his neighborhood in the Bronx, plays games on his playstation, and watches movies. Rhubarb is just a train away, so come by to say hello to Anthony and the team!
Talking about the Guinea Hen, “It was my favorite because I love chicken and this was better than chicken.” “Twice-in-a-lifetime experience!” One young diner went to Del Posto last year and decided to join Kid’s Table again this year. All proceeds from the Kid’s Table event will be divided equally between the melting pot foundation and charities selected by the participating restauranteurs. We hope more restaurants are able to join us next time!
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THE HYGGE TIMES
July 2017
JULY HR HOURS Sunday 25
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Quote of the Month -Wendell L. Wilkie
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Donna Lee 10 AM - 2 PM Rhubarb
Angela Wang Erin Massano 10 AM - 2 PM 10 AM - 2 PM Jonagold GCT
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Angela Wang Angela Wang 10 AM - 2 PM 9:30 AM 3 PM GCT Jonagold 16
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Erin Massano 10 AM - 2 PM GCT
Erin Massano Angela Wang 9 AM - 12 PM 10 AM - 2 PM Norman Jonagold
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“I believe in America because we have great dreams, and because we have the opportunity to make those dreams come true.”
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Work Anniversaries Name Location Date Collins, Denasia B Great Northern Food Hall 5 July Capers, Dexter L Great Northern Food Hall 7 July Uzhca, Estevan Jonagold 9 July Uribe, Kevin E Great Northern Food Hall 11 July Mahoney, Brianna Great Northern Food Hall 12 July Youngblood, Bobby T Norman 12 July Barbosa, Carlos Great Northern Food Hall 14 July Grannum, Christopher Great Northern Food Hall 14 July Emerson, Michael Great Northern Food Hall 17 July McDougall, Lauren Kristen Great Northern Food Hall 18 July Robinson, Jenna Marie Great Northern Food Hall 18 July Pizarro Hernandez, Nelson Great Northern Food Hall 20 July Ferreira, Gary Vaughn Great Northern Food Hal 23 July Pura, Jenny MeyersUSA 25 July Rivera, Anthony Rhubarb 25 July Segui, Juan Ramon Jonagold 28 July Matrab, Yasin Jonagold 17 July Aguilar, Xavier Carmelo Great Northern Food Hall 21 July
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Delivery Stork Sightings We would like to welcome the newborns being introduced to the world by staff at MeyersUSA! In June, Donnel Johnson, a Cook at the Great Northern Food Hall, became the father of a little girl named Madison. Congratulations and all the best to your family!
THE HYGGE TIMES
July 2017
Yeast Comic - Isabel Coss
Birthdays Name Location Date Alcantara, Adriana E Great Northern Food Hall 15 July Bengtsson, Julie Great Northern Food Hall 16 July Castellon, Sergio Norman 17 July Diankha, Cheick T Great Northern Food Hall 18 July Diaz, Vincent Norman 19 July Greenberg, Corie Beth Agern 20 July Guilavogui, Delphine Great Northern Food Hall 21 July Matrab, Yasin Jonagold 23 July McGrath, Christine Agern 24 July McMullen, Alison Agern 25 July Akimushkin, Pavel Great Northern Food Hall 26 July Ojeda, Claudia Purchasing 26 July Paisley, Brenton Great Northern Food Hall 27 July Robinson, Jenna Marie Great Northern Food Hal 28 Julyl Runco, Dahlia MeyersUSA 29 July Sorensen, Jonas Great Northern Food Hall 30 July Wesley, Nadia Great Northern Food Hall 31 July
Welcome Daisy Zeijlon Marketing Manager Daisy grew up in DC, Ukraine and Turkey and went to university in Scotland. She lives in Fort Greene, and in her spare she likes to hunt for new donut places, make and sell jam and read vintage cookbooks. She will be working part-time as she finishes a degree in Graphic Design but she will join the team full-time in August!
Hygge Times Editorial Board Claus Meyer............................................................. Publisher, Chairman Donna Lee............................................................... Executive V.P., Talent and Inclusion Angela Wang........................................................... Executive V.P., Print Products Hannah Kramer....................................................... Executive V.P., Editorial Committee Jenny Pura.............................................................. Co-Editorial Page Editor Daisy Zeijlon............................................................ Co-Editorial Page Editor Ashley Sinon............................................................ Journalist Michael Emerson..................................................... Journalist 4