StarChefs Rising Stars Magazine: Issue 32 (Miami) by starchefs

ISSUE 32 | MIAMI

DEAR MIAMI

$5.00 ISBN 978-1-7357675-2-9

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FROM LAOS WITH LOVE REVAMPING THE SOUR ORANGE

THE OVERTOWN OF TOMORROW

DOUBLING DOWN ON MIAMI

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In This Issue 7 8

16 18

I L L U ST R AT I O N S : D A N I E D R A N K WA LT E R , B E C K I KO Z E L , C A R LO S L U C I A N O

DEAR MIAMI

A message from Norman Van Aken.

71 74 48 31

RAW BEAUTY

Andrew Zarzosa’s grouper aguachile makes a stunning presentation—and color palette.

AGAINST THE GRAIN

MAKING THE GREEN

TO STAY OR TO GO

FROM LAOS WITH LOVE

The love story behind Lil' Laos— told through a sai krog muu recipe

THE KARLA SYSTEM

A José Andrés protégé shares what it's like to be on the front lines for World Central Kitchen

DOUBLING DOWN ON MIAMI

Miami’s restaurant culture is no longer grounded on the beach for a seasonal flux of tourists. So what is it now?

These restaurants tried out new menus and promotions to get through quarantine.

On the cover: Beth Rhodes is a Miami-based artist who has worked with numerous restaurant clients around the city. For the cover, StarChefs asked her to illustrate a kitchen that represents the professionalism and vibrancy of the Miami hospitality industry today. In addition to this piece, she created the map on page 87.

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THE OVERTOWN OF TOMORROW

Known as Colored Town during the Segregation Era and a beacon for Black talent, Overtown has one of the most complex histories of any Miami neighborhood. We look back at its legacy as restaurant projects support the community.

The history behind a sushi technique that fell out of favor A salad is the star dish on Henry Hané’s menu at B Bistro + Bakery. We break down the numbers behind it.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

You know those cookie tins that grandmas store buttons or loose ends in? Pastry Chef Devin Braddock reclaimed the box with actual cookies.

THE NAME ON THE DOOR

WE SUPPORT

A sundae recipe for a good cause

THE PASTELITO PAIR

No flavor combination screams Miami more than guava and cheese. Here are some of our favorite takes.

CRUSHING IT

Macarena Carrillo and Mariel Dalmau now host the most talked-about wine club in Miami—without spending a cent of their own money.

NEW OLD FASHIONED

Maria Pottage’s old fashioned takes full advantage of the scraps from a Jamón Ibérico leg.

BEYOND THE STRAWBERRY MARGARITA

Being the executive chef under a celebrity is often a difficult dynamic, but these professionals have figured out how to make the most of the opportunity.

REVAMPING THE SOUR ORANGE

LETTER FROM TEAM STARCHEFS

KITCHEN NOTEBOOK

Commonly serving as a marinade for Cuban pork, the sour orange get a roles in local Miami dishes.

Miami bartenders put refreshing twists on the classics to appeal to tropical-cocktail-loving clients.

I SUPPORT

RECIPES

RISING STARS RESTAURANT MAP

ADVERTISERS GUIDE

67 26 40

17 CHEFS MICHAEL BELTRAN Ariete Hospitality Group

TRISTEN EPPS Red Rooster Overtown

LUCIANA GIANGRANDI & ALEX MEYER Boia De

JON NGUYEN Tran An

PABLO ZITZMANN Zitz Sum

GAME CHANGERS NANDO CHANG & VALERIE CHANG Itamae

CONCEPT MIKA LEON Caja Caliente COMMUNITY JAMILA ROSS & AKINO WEST Rosie’s Miami

ROASTER SERGIO BOPPEL Great Circle Coffee BUTCHERS JASON & MELANIE SCHOENDORFER Babe’s Meat & Counter

SOMMELIER J.C. SANTANA The Bastion Collection

PASTRY CHEF SAMIRA SAADE Bachour

BARTENDER WILL THOMPSON Jaguar Sun

BAKER MATTESON KOCHE El Bagel

MENTOR MICHAEL SCHWARTZ The Genuine Hospitality Group

RESTAURATEURS RANDY ALONSO & CHRIS HUDNALL Lost Boy Dry Goods

Miami Rising Stars Partners Vitamix Commercial, S.Pellegrino, True Aussie Lamb, Symrise, Vnlla Extract Co., Butter of Europe, TCHO Chocolate, Niman Ranch, Kikkoman USA, Steelite International, Wines from Spain, Fresh Origins, Lone Mountain Wagyu, Montague, Campari, Buffalo Trace, Hobart, Feeding South Florida

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Strength. Durability. Resilience. The same qualities you rely on in our products, we see in you. We remain dedicated to developing the best blending solutions to help you reach your goals, no matter how they might change. www.vitamix.com/commercial | Instagram: @VitamixCommercial M IA M I 202 1

Letter from Team StarChefs MOVING THE INDUSTRY FORWARD FOR 26 YEARS StarChefs' mission is to serve as a catalyst for culinary professionals to succeed at the highest possible standard and to give them the tools they need to meet and overcome the many challenges they face.

Antoinette Bruno EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nicole Borden MARKETING DIRECTOR Kendyl Kearly FOOD & DRINKS EDITOR Amelia Schwartz ASSOCIATE EDITOR Julia Abanavas CULINARY AMBASSADOR Aiman Javed EDITORIAL INTERN

Will Blunt MANAGING PARTNER Erin Lettera DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Jaclyn Warren PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Olivia Hebrand MARKETING COORDINATOR Becki Kozel GUEST DESIGN DIRECTOR Lizzie Takimoto DIGITAL MEDIA ASSISTANT

DESIGN BY The Bad Collective CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Briana Balducci, Christine Russo CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Elizabeth Anderson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Eric Barton, Carolyn Guniss, David Rosendorf, Norman Van Aken CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Naya-Cheyenne, Danie Drankwalter, Becki Kozel, Hannah Li, Carlos Luciano, Joslyn Moore, Beth Rhodes

For advertising and special event opportunities, please contact us at market@starchefsinc.com or call 212.966. 7575. For subscription inquiries, email subscribe@starchefsinc.com. PUBLISHED BY STARCHEFS, INC. COPYRIGHT © 2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCE THE BOOK OR PORTIONS THEREOF IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER. STARCHEFS 217 HAVEMEYER STREET, 3RD FLOOR, BROOKLYN, NY 11211 212.966.3775 | STARCHEFS.COM

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Fresh off our New York City and Boston issues—heavily marked by COVID-19 as the cities struggled through the winter—we weren’t sure what to expect as we headed to Miami. A crippled tourism industry? Super-spreading parties under Florida’s comparatively relaxed restrictions? The real picture was more nuanced than either of those answers. When the StarChefs team arrived to meet with scores of chefs, bartenders, bakers, artisans, restaurateurs, and more, we found the hospitality industry just climbing to its feet. Summer had been the difficult season as high temperatures kept locals in their air-conditioned homes. The arrivals of cool weather and indoor dining fostered recovery, and despite having to enforce safety rules with guests, the restaurants were continuing to push ahead. But even more surprising was finding a food scene that now demands national attention. As Norman Van Aken writes in our “Dear Miami” letter (page 7), “There is a resurgence at hand. It is primarily on the mainland that I am seeing and tasting foods that reforge an identity that nearly faded altogether.” That identity is focused on utilizing local ingredients and flavors, uplifting neglected neighborhoods, and cooking from the heart instead of catering to the desires of tourists. Our lead feature, “Doubling Down on Miami” (page 42), explores the shift from haute hotel restaurants in favor of community hubs. Overtown, a historically Black neighborhood that once attracted music greats such as Billie Holiday and Sam Cooke, has helped draw concepts away from the beach, and local journalist Carolyn Guniss chronicles its development (page 36). Honing in on Miami’s roots led to some impressive food along the way. Chefs and bartenders are redefining sour orange as a go-to ingredient (page 51), making classic cocktails more approachable in a tropical setting (page 74), and putting new spins on the beloved Miami guava and cream cheese duo (page 57). And of course, the class of 2021 Miami Rising Stars are examples of the “dedicated, mindful, and intentional” professionals who Van Aken says are helping Miami to find its culinary voice. To name a few, Jamila Ross, Akino West, and Tristen Epps care for Overtown by hiring residents and feeding those in need. Restaurateurs Randy Alonso and Chris Hudnall are aiming to revive the downtown area, and Chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer excite Miami diners with the food they serve out of a Little Haiti strip mall. “The community is why we do this,” Chef Michael Beltran says. “Miami is why we do this. The independent restaurant thing is tough, but it feels so good when it works.” Thanks for having us, Miami. We can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

Team StarChefs

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The rich, decadent flavor of Butter of Europe comes from its higher butterfat content.

THE CONTENT OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT REPRESENTS THE AUTHOR’S POINT OF VIEW ONLY AND IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY USE THAT MAY BE MADE OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN.

Kitchen Notebook A MISO MATTER

While recipe-developing for their pop-up, E&P DMPLNGS, Evan Burgess and Pedro Mederos were inspired by Jeremy Umansky’s and Rising Stars alum Rich Shih’s Koji Alchemy, so they transformed their kitchen into a makeshift science lab. Mederos and Burgess made black sesame miso by fermenting a ball of koji, sesame, and salty water in a crock for three to four months. Originally intending to create a miso glaze for a black cod dish, they realized that the umami miso paste would balance out the sweetness of an ice cream (recipe on page 82). After much custard trial and error with the guidance of Mederos’ pastry chef fiancée, Katherine Randolph, the result was a nutty black ice cream. They topped it with more fermented goodies: coffee shoyu and a sprinkle of the dehydrated coffee lees.

ON THE BALL

Every dish has a story at Finka Table & Tap—most of them retellings of Chef-owner Eileen Andrade’s family history. Her parents are restaurateurs, and her brother provides the croquetas from his factory. So when one of the Finka prep cooks accidentally over-cooked risotto, arancini came to Andrade’s mind, but she tapped into her Latin roots to create arroz con pollo fritters. Spicy, creamy, crunchy, and an ideal bar snack, the fritters capture the essence of arroz con pollo, a homey, filling staple of Latin America, using arborio rice, chicken, red and green peppers, beer, mozzarella, ají carretillero, and ají amarillo mayo. “This represents me because it was my favorite food growing up,” Andrade says. “I don’t want to call this elevated Cuban food; I just gave it my own version without destroying it.”

FORGET HAM AND CHEESE...

At Flour & Weirdoughs, the only things finer than the pop culture references are the freshly milled organic grains. Bakers Renata Ferraro and Carlos Flores serve bread and viennoiserie in Key Biscayne, having assembled their own stone-ground flour mill for the freshest possible product. They take no shortcuts, and the proof is in, well, the proof. It’s Brisket B*tch! (recipe on page 82) is no exception. This 72-hour, croissantDanish hybrid dough gets laminated and blanketed with Canadian-style brisket, a smothering of whole-grain mustard, and gooey, nutty provolone. Ferraro explains, “People kept asking for the ham and cheese croissant over and over and over, so finally, we were like, no, It’s Brisket B*tch!”

CHEESE COURSE

When Navé Pastry Chef Devin Braddock took some time off and the menu needed a new dessert, Chef Justin Flit tried out his long-held interest in pastry. Collaborating with Sous Chef Mario Alegre, Flit developed a butternut squash sformato (recipe on page 82) for the dinner menu, which, in turn, led to the birth of the parmesan sformato. Without being too sweet, the light dessert doubles as a cheese course. “It doesn't really make you feel like you want to go to bed after,” Flit says. Leftover parmesan rinds get boiled in heavy cream and flavor a creamy sformato paired with tangy lemon curd and a luxe white chocolate mousse. The confection is topped with parmesan shavings, delivering an extra touch of umami. P H OTO S : J A C LY N WA R R E N, W I L L B L U N T

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by N o r m a n Va n A ke n • I l l u s t ra t i o n by B e c k i K o z e l Maybe this is a perfect time after all. What in the world can I mean by that? Never before in our global history has chaos rained down like it has in the past year. We are struggling. We are damaged. We are down. Our onceseemingly invincible tourism industry is on life support but with no cavalry coming to the rescue. Yet as Winston Churchill defiantly put it, “If you are going through hell, keep going!” And so we must. I’m writing this letter to our restaurant community. Our collective lives touch many, many other threads on the cosmic web. The restaurant industry’s share of the food dollar has doubled between 1955 and now. Our industry represents a full 10 percent of the working populace of America—back when we could actually go to work. Miami has so often projected an image more about flash than substance, more about looks than character. This is not the Miami that those of us who live and work in the 305 know and believe in. We know better. Our soul is not Photoshopped. There was, not terribly long ago, a period of time that illustrated our potential, our beckoning truth. I was fortunate to be a part of that. It was life-changing for me. We sought to create cuisine that was specific to our city and region. We engaged with our farmers, our fishing men and women, and our diverse cultures that had not previously been part of the cross-culturality of true fusion cooking. And then so much of it lapsed. Who can even count the restaurants from the North that set up shop in Miami in the late ’90s and early 2000s, all financed by wealthy speculators who lived in far-off places? They didn’t take the time to learn Miami. They said, “Money was to be made, goddammit!” And in the process, a Faustian bargain occurred. Once again, Miami’s dynamic DNA was lost on these new menus. But as of late, quietly, slowly, steadily, led by a few dedicated, mindful, and intentional chefs, something’s shifting. There is a resurgence at hand. It is primarily on the mainland that I am seeing and tasting foods that reforge an identity that nearly faded altogether. And they are spiritually far from the glitzy hotel scenes of South Beach. Neighborhood spots came to life. Places that didn’t readily appear on the radars of journalists sent down here to discover what new, carefully engineered starlets “deserved” the attention of travelers who are more than willing to hit the hype pipe. Although horrible by most every measure, the pandemic has burned us clean in some ways. We were thrown off the wheel that we knew all too well. But we also had a chance to reassess our purpose here. I’m feeling, to paraphrase what the old Irish poet Yeats referred to in his poem “The Second Coming,” a “rough beast” being reborn. And this time … this time … I dearly hope it will last. Maybe it is a perfect time.

P H OTO : W I L L B L U N T

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BY KENDYL KEARLY Raw fish with clean flavors was definitely a theme during the making of this Miami issue, but the aguachile (recipe on page 83) at The Betsy Hotel stood out for its balance and the texture of the cured local grouper. “Ceviche is so popular in Miami and sushi too, so I wanted to introduce them to something different for raw fish,” Executive Chef Andrew Zarzosa says. The local ingredients make a stunning presentation—and color palette.

GROUPER Zarzosa softens the texture of the meaty black grouper, caught right off the Florida coast, by curing it in kombu, sake, and rice bran oil.

CUCUMBERS The crunchy Japanese cucumbers are compressed in a vacuum seal with the same sake used to cure the grouper. Zarzosa likes Onda 48; the Junmai Daiginjo is known for its sweet earthiness.

PICKLED ONIONS Red onions and arbol chiles are steeped overnight in apple cider vinegar to add acidity.

TOMATO WATER Clear and speckled with red, the lime-infused tomato water is poured tableside and brings all the components together.

MICROGREENS “All the vegetables and produce come from Harpke Family Farm and Swank Farm,” Zarzosa says. “I was excited to get micro produce from our farms like the huacatay.” With notes resembling tarragon and carrot tops, the huacatay catches dewdrops of finger lime.

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CHE F

Michael Beltran

ARIETE HOSPITALITY GROUP Ever the dreamer, Miamian Michael Beltran once aspired to be a football player, but a middle school teacher told him that would happen when pigs fly. While playing football and studying sociology and criminology at Averett University in Virginia, Beltran discovered a passion for the culinary arts. He toiled away at Applebee’s, and by 2007, he had received his bachelor’s, as well as an associate’s degree from the Florida Culinary Institute. After graduating, he worked the line at Casa Juancho before spending two years at Redfish Grill as sous. When Norman Van Aken opened Norman’s 180 in 2010, Beltran sought out the chef who would become his “culinary godfather.” He dropped off his resume at least 10 times until he was hired as head of production.

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Eight months later, Beltran pivoted to become chef de cuisine at The Local Craft Food & Drink under Rising Stars alum Alberto Cabrera. In 2012, Beltran returned to Van Aken’s tutelage as chef de partie at Tuyo. His break as executive chef came in 2013 with the opening team of Michael Schwartz’s Cypress Room. In 2016, he launched his CubanAmerican concept, Ariete. With business partner Andrew Falsetto, Beltran formed Ariete Hospitality Group and opened two restaurants in 2019: Navé with Chef Justin Flit at the helm and Chug’s diner. Beltran can be heard on Pan Con Podcast, through which he chats with local chefs and food specialists. Now a clear leader in the Miami restaurant industry, he fittingly made his company logo a pig with a parachute.

piginc / arietemiami Favorite kitchen tool: Offset spatula Favorite cookbook: New World Kitchen by Norman Van Aken, The Lutece Cookbook by André Soltner and Seymour Britchky, and White Heat by Marco Pierre White Most important kitchen rule: Teamwork makes the dream work. Where you eat and drink on your nights off: Itamae and Jaguar Sun Advice to your younger self: Enjoy the journey—every step is important.

CHEF

Tamal en Cazuela Chef Michael Beltran of Ariete Adapted by StarChefs

METHOD

INGREDIENTS Uni Butter: 8 ounces French butter, tempered, kept at room temperature 1 teaspoon picked thyme 2 tablespoons salt 4 ounces lime juice 1 teaspoon turmeric 15 uni tongues Sofrito: 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil 2 red bell peppers, small diced 1 Spanish onion, small diced 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon smoked paprika

Pork Fat Espuma: 5 pieces Niman Ranch bacon, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, smashed 2 shallots, roughly chopped 4 cups whole milk 4 sprigs thyme 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

For the Uni Butter: Add butter, thyme, salt, lime, and turmeric to a food processor. Whip 4 to 5 minutes until butter is smooth and air begins to incorporate. Add uni and pulse another 30 seconds. Adjust seasoning as needed. Transfer butter to a nonreactive container and reserve in refrigerator.

Tamal en Cazuela: 4 ounces French butter 8 cups freshly grated corn 2 bay leaves 4 ounces evaporated milk 4 ounces cornmeal Salt

For the Pork Fat Espuma: Add bacon, garlic, and shallots to a medium pot. Turn heat to medium-high and render bacon approximately 8 minutes. Once fat has completely rendered, add milk, thyme, and peppercorns and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and let simmer 30 minutes. Strain liquids from solids and transfer to a nonreactive, airtight container. Store in refrigerator.

To Assemble and Serve: Uni shell Soy lecithin Uni tongues Popcorn

For the Sofrito: Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-high flame. Add peppers, onion, and garlic and sweat for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add paprika and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the Tamal en Cazuela: To a medium pot over medium-high heat, add butter and 3 tablespoons Sofrito. Sweat 5 minutes. Add corn, bay leaves, and evaporated milk. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that the corn does not scorch. Once corn releases all its moisture and the liquid begins to thicken, add cornmeal and stir to combine. Cook for 5 more minutes or until the cornmeal is fully cooked. Remove from heat and set aside. Adjust seasoning as needed. To Assemble and Serve: In a small pot, heat a portion of Tamal en Cazuela. Mount with Uni Butter and adjust seasoning as needed. Plate Tamal en Cazuela in an uni shell and scatter 3 pieces uni on the surface. Next to the uni, place dollops of Sofrito. Add lecithin to Pork Fat Espuma. Buzz with a hand blender until foamy. Sparingly distribute Pork Fat Espuma around the bowl and top with popcorn. Accompany with a soup spoon filled with 1 whole uni tongue, a dollop of Sofrito, and popcorn. Serve on a large serving plate, side by side. Featured ingredients: Niman Ranch bacon, Butter of Europe M IA M I 202 1

If there is a single flavor that defines Japanese cooking, it is the flavor of soy sauce. Savory, complex and rich in umami, it is the soul of the cuisine. For us, being stewards of that fundamental flavor has been a privilege and a joy for more than three centuries. And for the last six decades, we have been proud to share it with chefs and home cooks here in America. You have not only embraced our soy sauce and other Asian sauces. In the openhearted spirit of American invention, you have made them your own — using them to create new dishes and tell new stories. We are honored that the treasure of our culinary

Arigato – Thank you

heritage has become such a valued part of yours. And for that, we thank you.

www.KikkomanUSA.com/foodservice

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CHEF

P H OTO : W I L L B L U N T

Unlike most teenagers who flip burgers for minimum wage, Tristen Epps actually liked his part-time job at McDonald's; it allowed him to get out of the house for a while and, even better, make people happy. Raised by a single mom who traveled for her military job, he learned to feed himself early on. In 2009, he graduated from Johnson & Wales’ Charlotte campus and began a string of hotel kitchen jobs with The RitzCarlton, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and The Greenbrier. There, he ascended from the apprentice program to tournant in 2012, working closely with certified Master Chef Richard Rosendale, who delivered rigorous, classical training. In 2014, Epps was a contestant on ABC’s The Taste, where Marcus Samuelsson became his on- and off-screen mentor. Epps was a finalist on the show but gained something arguably more prestigious than the win: the sous chef position at Samuelsson’s Red Rooster in Harlem. Samuelsson encouraged Epps to represent himself on the plate—from his Trinidadian background to his military brat travels—which gave him the confidence to open the farm-totable Cooks & Captains as executive chef in 2016. When Samuelsson needed an executive chef for Red Rooster’s Miami offshoot, Epps returned to the Marcus Samuelsson Group and moved down south in 2020. The restaurant stays true to Samuelsson’s style but is enriched by the essence of Overtown, a historically Black neighborhood, and Epps’ global vision as a chef. eppsandflows / roosterovertown Favorite kitchen tool: Grinder

Tristen Epps RED ROOSTER OVERTOWN

Tool you wish you had: ThermoMix What you eat on your nights off: I like to eat at home on my nights off—I’m barely there. I love making Trinidadian food or, honestly, a great hot dog. Favorite food resource: Anything involving preservation or pastry Place to visit for culinary travel: Southeast Asia or West Africa Advice to your younger self: Pay attention, work hard, and surround yourself with the same type of people. Most important kitchen rule: Improve everything you touch and respect each other. M IA M I 202 1

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CHEF

Charred octopus, foie gras, turnip, zhug Chef Tristen Epps of Red Rooster Overtown Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Zhug: 110 grams very fresh parsley, blanched 56 grams cilantro, blanched 56 grams turnip leaves, blanched 2 cardamom pods, toasted and ground 10 grams coriander seeds, toasted and ground 6 grams cumin seeds, toasted and ground 2 serrano chiles, finely chopped Kosher salt 28 grams fresh lemon juice 15 grams roasted garlic cloves 2 grams xanthan gum 120 milliliters extra virgin olive oil Dukkah Butter: ¼ cup crushed peanuts 3 tablespoons sesame seeds 2 tablespoons cumin seeds 3 tablespoons coriander seeds 2 tablespoons crushed almonds 2 tablespoons crushed cashews 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 2 dried ancho chiles, ground into powder 1 tablespoon red chile flakes or Aleppo chile flakes 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar 2 cups Kikkoman panko bread crumbs Sea salt 8 ounces salted French butter, melted 1 bunch mint, chopped Charred Octopus: 1 octopus, blanched Olive oil

METHOD Black Barbecue Sauce: 30 grams chopped shallots 40 grams chopped ginger 40 grams chopped garlic 60 grams crushed peanuts French butter 150 grams gochujang 200 grams sugar 400 grams apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste 10 grams octopus ink 56 grams foie gras Salt Black pepper Baby Turnips: 1 bunch baby Tokyo turnips, washed, scrubbed, blanched, and halved 56 grams French butter, cold Sugar Salt Lemon juice To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving 2 ounces foie gras Salt Black pepper Fresh Origins micro cilantro Fresh Origins petite watercress Fresh Origins petite nasturtium leaf Pickled red onion Extra virgin olive oil

For the Zhug: Add herbs, spices, and a few ice cubes to a Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. Add enough ice-cold water needed to get the mixture spinning freely. Add chiles and continue to blend, keeping the mixture cold. Season with salt and lemon juice, then add garlic and blend. While blending, sprinkle in xanthan gum. After 1 minute, the mixture should slightly thicken. Stream in olive oil and emulsify. Transfer to a squeeze bottle and store in refrigerator. For the Dukkah Butter: Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and toss to coat seeds and nuts in butter. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet tray and bake until toasted and fragrant. Let cool to room temperature, then crush with a mortar and pestle. Reserve. For the Charred Octopus: Slice octopus between the limbs to create 4 separate portions. Place octopus legs in a vacuum seal bag and add plenty of olive oil. Sous vide 5 hours at 84°C. Once cooked, remove octopus from the bag, and dry on a paper towel, reserving all liquid in the bag. Drizzle octopus with a little more olive oil and place over a very hot grill; char on both sides. Remove from grill and set aside. For the Black Barbecue Sauce: In a sauté pan, sauté shallots, ginger, garlic, and peanuts in butter until fragrant. Add gochujang and continue to cook as if it were tomato paste. Add sugar and caramelize, remaining careful not to burn. Deglaze with vinegar and bring to a boil. Add 500 grams reserved octopus stock from vacuum seal bag and simmer 15 minutes. Transfer all ingredients to a Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. Add ink and foie gras and blend on low speed until the sauce turns black. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Add more vinegar as needed to reach desired consistency. For the Baby Turnips: In a sauté pan over medium heat, add turnips, butter, a splash of water, and a pinch of sugar; reduce until glazed. Season with salt and lemon juice. To Assemble and Serve: Season foie gras with salt and pepper and sear until lightly charred on both sides. To a serving plate, drizzle a generous amount of Zhug and Black Barbecue Sauce. Coat one side of 1 Charred Octopus leg with Dukkah Butter and place in the middle of serving plate, Dukkah-sideup. Top with seared foie, 1 Baby Turnip half, herbs, pickled red onion, and olive oil. Featured ingredients: Kikkoman panko bread crumbs, Butter of Europe, Fresh Origins microgreens Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender M IA M I 202 1

By Kendyl Kearly

Although it technically only has two components, the art of nigiri is far from a simple one. Masayuki Komatsu, executive sushi chef of Hiyakawa, has honed the skill for 19 years, namely at the esteemed Morimoto and Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill. Here, we break down the two elements of Komatsu’s chub mackerel nigiri (recipe on page 83).

御飯 (The Rice)

The most striking thing about the nigiri at Hiyakawa is the rice’s brown hue. It’s not actually brown rice but California shortgrain that has been seasoned with akazu (red rice vinegar) for a fuller flavor. Komatsu says that the technique is fairly traditional to the edomae style but is something that was dropped from mainstream sushi. The red vinegar typically comes from the leftovers of sakemaking. Sushi historian Dr. Eric C. Rath, author of Oishii: The History of Sushi, says that the process for making sushi vinegar developed hundreds of years ago with the discovery that it could be produced cheaply by sealing sake, water, and vinegar in a tub for about 30 days. But, he says, “[Red vinegar is] not as widely used as other types, and it's not an indispensable ingredient for any kind of sushi that I know of.”

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Komatsu says that after World War II, many Japanese people associated the brown rice with the moldy rice that was imported during food shortages. Rath confirms that white rice became a dietary mainstay in the early 1960s, though shoguns and emperors used to prefer it so much that they got beriberi, a vitamin deficiency disease.

鯖 (The Fish)

Most of Komatsu’s fish is served simply raw, but the chub mackerel, imported from Chiba, Japan near Tokyo, is cured to add a saltiness to its silky fat and remove the strong fishiness. Komatsu cures it with kosher salt for up to three hours, gives it an ice bath, then marinates it in vinegar and kombu. The result is a strong flesh with integrity and just the right hit of oiliness. Komatsu tops the fish with a tiny bit of grated ginger and scallion and serves it with soy sauce.

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king the gre BY A ima n J ave d • photog raphed by wi l l blunt

When Chef-owner Henry Hané developed the menu of B Bistro + Bakery, he knew his star dish was going to be a salad: flashy with three purées, shrimp, crab, edible flowers, and even gold leaf, but still, a salad. Luxurious salads are being proudly displayed at the top of menus all over Miami, from Boia De’s Luci’s Chopped Salad to Da Lida’s little gem Caesar with Calabrian chile and breadcrumbs. The large-format dishes are shareable and can therefore increase marginal revenues. The idea for Hané’s La Causa Salad (recipe on page 83) hailed

400 Pounds of potatoes used each month

$1.85

Cost of botija olives and avocados per salad

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Number of ingredients in the salad

from his hometown of Lima, Peru and is a deconstructed causa, traditionally a potato and ají amarillo terrine sandwiched with chicken or seafood. At $21 (with $5 extra for shrimp), it’s an expensive lunch for the typical Financial District diner, but the dish has become a staple anyway. Despite its many ingredients, high food cost, and long prep time, Hané considers it too valuable to take off the menu and a proud representation of his heritage. Here, we take a by-the-numbers look at how a salad can be such a successful menu item.

$11

Approximate food cost per salad with the shrimp add-on

Minutes needed to prepare each salad

$55

Cost of Belmont’s 15-pound tubs of ají amarillo and ají panca pastes

100 Approximate number of salads sold each week

Cost of 4 ounces of crab and 4 ounces of shrimp per salad

P H OTO : W I L L B L U N T

CHEFS

Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer BOIA DE

Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer had to jump through a few hoops before they finally met. In 2008, Giangrandi completed a non-fiction writing degree at The New School while Meyer studied economics at Emory University. An aspiring food writer, she interned at Scarpetta and ended up staying for three years. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, he worked under Rising Stars alumni Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo at Animal and helped them open Son of a Gun. With a move to New York, Meyer staged at Eleven Madison Park before being hired full-time. The couple’s paths crossed as part of the opening team of Daniel Humm and Will Guidara’s The NoMad Restaurant in 2012.

Within a year, Meyer became sous chef, and Giangrandi moved on to Carbone. She visited Italy to spend a summer cooking in Tuscany, and Meyer quit his job and followed. The partners traveled to Mexico and Japan, consulted and catered in Meyer’s native Los Angeles, and settled hometown in Giangrandi’s of Miami. By 2018, she and Meyer were drawing attention with the launch of their Design District taco cart, La Pollita. Despite a loyal following, they closed down in 2019 but opened Boia De (Italian for “Oh my!”) a month later. With their combined chops, the Italian restaurant was named Eater Miami’s Best Restaurant in 2019.

stinkyfishtales / akmeyer4 / boiaderestaurant Luciana

Alex

Favorite kitchen tool: My Takamura chef knife and a cake tester

Favorite kitchen tool: Powderfree latex gloves. I never really thought of them in those terms until the great latex glove shortage of 2020-2021. They’ve been almost impossible to find, and like Joni Mitchell said, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”

Favorite cookbook: I’ve had a copy of Il Talismano della Felicità for as long as I can remember. My mom had a copy in our kitchen, and although it's not meant for professional cooks, it’s a great reference of Italian cuisine. Where you eat on your nights off: I really like eating and drinking the complete opposite of what we offer at the restaurant—I like going out for cocktails and steak at Jaguar Sun, sake and sushi at one of the great omakase experiences around town, or anything from Lil’ Laos. Advice to your younger self: Be patient, put your head down, work hard, and absorb all you can from the talented people you come across in your career, and never leave a job on bad terms.

Tool you wish you had: ThermoMix Favorite food resource: Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking. It’s pure, concentrated knowledge. Most important kitchen rule: Taste everything. Place to visit for culinary travel: I’d love to go back to Japan and explore more of the regional cuisines. Advice to your younger self: There are too many loud, obnoxious, and arrogant cooks out there who can’t back up their talk, so I say, “Stay humble and shut up.” M IA M I 202 1

CHE F

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CHEFS

Tagliolini al nero, king crab, vin jaune Chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer of Boia De Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Dressing: 1 cup Kewpie mayonnaise 4 teaspoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons black truffle paste 2½ tablespoons vin jaune

For the Dressing: Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Tagliolini al Nero: 1¼ cups all-purpose flour 10 egg yolks 1 tablespoon squid ink Salt Olive oil

Blanch the pasta in salted water for 1½ minutes, then shock in ice water. Transfer noodles to a bowl and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking. To Assemble and Serve: Toss ¾ cup Tagliolini al Nero with crab, scallions, and enough Dressing to coat, about ¼ cup. Transfer to a serving plate and top with a drizzle of olive oil, herbs, and more scallions. Featured ingredients: Fresh Origins microgreens

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To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving ¼ cup cleaned king crab 2 teaspoons sliced scallions, plus more to garnish Good-quality olive oil 3 pinches of equal parts parsley, tarragon, dill, chervil, and chive batons Fresh Origins micro chervil Fresh Origins micro parsley curled

For the Tagliolini al Nero: To a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, add flour. While running on medium speed, in 3 separate batches, gradually incorporate yolks and squid ink until dough is formed. Transfer dough to a clean work surface and knead 8 to 10 minutes, adding flour and water as needed, until dough springs back when you press a finger into it. Let dough rest 30 minutes. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough enough to pass through the widest setting on your pasta roller. Pass the dough through the roller, once at each setting, until your sheet is 1/16 inch thick. Cut 9-inch-long sheets and run them through the tagliolini or spaghetti cutter of your pasta roller.

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Chef Bobby Frank called together the kitchen staff of his seafood restaurant, Mignonette Mignonette, last July. You know those lobster rolls we do that everyone loves? You know the charred octopus, the lobster deviled eggs, the clams casino? Yeah, we’re eighty-sixing all of that, he told them. The idea, he explained to the staff: “Lobster tails really don’t travel well, but chicken parm does.” So they set out to deplete perishable supplies before switching over the entire menu. Ordering strategically and running lean, Mignonette then converted to a pop-up they called Red Sauce, full of Italian classics that would travel and reheat well in the days of the lockdown. “What we realized is that during this time, people want to feel comfortable, and Italian is homey,” Frank says. “We realized they don’t want fancy for home delivery; they want a sense of being safe.” It was like that at a lot of places around Miami last year. The county ordered some form of restaurant closures twice in 2020, and suddenly, many of the city’s favorite sit-down spots converted to groceries or revamped menus when chefs realized the well-composed dishes that usually kill it in the dining room just don’t look the same in Styrofoam. At beloved Brickell pizza place Stanzione 87, 87 a collab with Chef Aaron Brooks became a pop-up offering pide, a stuffed Turkish flatbread. South Beach taco spot Taquiza from Rising Stars alum Steve Santana hosted Naan as an Indian pop-up. At Boia De, De Rising Star Chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer stopped doing takeout except for a Sandwich Sundays promo. Downtown favorite Fooq’s invited Lil’ Laos in, and Zak the Baker, Baker another Rising Star alum, added evening falafel pop-ups. At his Cuban diner, Chug’s Chug’s, Rising Star Chef Michael Beltran began selling grocery items that were in short

supply at the beginning of quarantine, and Pastry Chef Devin Braddock baked loaves of bread when those disappeared from store shelves. Last summer, when Beltran began offering a midweek tasting menu at sister restaurant Ariete Ariete, trying out entirely new recipes and offering themes around exotic ingredients, the tickets would sell out within hours. “Pivoting, albeit mentally exhausting, was really what let us survive,” Beltran says. “We really learned about the job and life in general.” At the end of August, after a brutally hot summer of outdoor dining, the county allowed restaurants to reopen dining rooms. But the ownership and management of South Beach favorite Macchialina decided against it, instead negotiating with the landlord to take over an extra outdoor area out back. Chef de Cuisine John Kreidich says people wait an hour or more for a seat. While they were doing 150 to 200 covers before the lockdown, Kreidich says that the bigger outdoor area and a strong takeout business, featuring tons of specials like Baby Back Rib Friday and Risotto Wednesday, have allowed them to do even more. “It’s a hustle. Everything is a hustle,” Kreidich says. “We have to be constantly thinking of something new. We have the regulars, but still we have to keep bringing in people with fresh ideas.” At Mignonette, the menu switched back to its seafood focus when the city allowed indoor dining to return. The pop-up was fun, but Frank says it felt good getting back to the core business. “We’re fortunate that we have a big local following and see a lot of the same faces,” Frank says. “When we opened again after Red Sauce, people were clapping when they came through the door because they were so excited to see us.”

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HOW ARE YOU HANGING ON? The coronavirus hit Miami’s hospitality industry differently than it did other cities. Tourism took a hit, and the difficult season was summer, not winter, because locals didn’t want to sit in the blazing heat. We asked the community about the changes.

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P H OTO S : W I L L B L U N T & J A C LY N WA R R E N

“I feel like the role of the somm will change. It should always be more than selling wine. We are there to assist in all areas: clearing, running, etc. I think that crossover will happen in smaller restaurants where that is already partly the case." → Sommelier Jen Schmitt, Zuma

“Having to lay off my staff was the hardest thing I've ever done in my career. I was calling them, hosting dinners. We were able to gobble up toilet paper and fruit and give them to staff, letting them know that they weren’t just a number in the system.” → Chef Daniel Roy, Ruby Dee’s

“We were predominantly wholesale, but all the hotels shut down, so that was 90 percent of our business gone. It ramped back up just as quickly, but people also wanted to sit on the couch and eat ice cream. We started sending our clients pints, which actually was a great way to get brand recognition that we hadn't had before.” → Ice Cream Maker Alissa Frice, Frice Cream

By Aiman Javed

llustrated by Jaclyn Warren

When Sakhone Sayarath misses home, she makes khao poon gai (shredded chicken noodle soup) like her mom’s. If the nostalgia is strong, she’ll also make sai krog muu (fermented rice and pork sausage) like her dad’s. At Lil’ Laos, a food stall by Sayarath and her life partner, Chef Curtis Rhodes, the street-food-style Laotian menu has both. Until she turned eight, Sayarath lived in a refugee camp in Thailand, where resources were limited. But she has always cooked with her parents. “These are the foods that we were forced to eat and make and create ourselves,” she says. When she met Rhodes in Miami, he was a sous chef at The Oceanaire Seafood Room. “He made cooking seem so simple,” she says. From friends to partners, they were always tastetesting each other’s cooking. As a professional chef, he journeyed into her food culture on dinners with her family. At home, she whipped up soups every day, and he helped her explore new cuisines. What began as a pop-up in 2016 became a full-time venture during the pandemic. Sayarath took charge of soups and sauces at Lil’ Laos, while Rhodes was responsible for meat. “She gave me the foundation [for Laotian food],” he says. Sayarath envisioned educating the public about the food’s origins as the flavors came together. “It is a blend of community, memories, and family,” she says. Lil’ Laos embraces eating in a family-style setting with your hands and letting nothing go to waste.

P H OTO : W I L L B L U N T

The sai krog muu on the Lil’ Laos menu is inspired by Sayarath’s father’s recipe, who would stuff sausages using a soda bottle and grill them outside. Her sausages missed the mark, so Rhodes used his own techniques with Sayarath’s palate guiding the taste. Their creative collaboration resulted in the salty, bold, and spicy flavors true to Laotian cuisine and reflective of a zero-waste ethos. “There's a common interest that we both have, which is to make good, simple, delicious food that people will love,” says Sayarath. Here’s the process behind the two main elements of their sausage: fermented rice and pork (full recipe on page 83). First, the sweet sticky rice is soaked for up to three days to ferment. For the sausage, Rhodes originally used pork belly for its fat content but then realized he could also grind in the leftover fat he had from the pork shoulders or fatback.

Then, the ground pork is mixed with dill, cilantro, scallions, bird's eye chiles, garlic, shallots, makrut lime leaves, galanga, and fish sauce. After grinding a few more times, he adds the drained fermented rice, a binder that provides even more texture. Finally, he stuffs the mixture into a casing to create a sausage full of fermented flavor. Lightly pan-seared, it’s finished in the oven at 525°F and served on a bed of shredded cabbage with a tamarind-chile sauce.

Jon Nguyen

P H OTO S : J A C LY N WA R R E N

CHE F

TRAN AN

Even before Jon Nguyen wanted to be a chef, his grandfather encouraged him to open a Vietnamese restaurant. With a huge Vietnamese community, his hometown of Houston was bursting with bánh mì and pho shops, and his grandfather believed that Nguyen could eventually create one of the greats. He started down a different route, studying government at the University of Texas at Austin. But after graduating in 2005, he found himself barbacking at Benjy’s in Houston's Rice Village, where he worked beside his first mentor, Restaurateur Benjy Levit. In 2009, Nguyen moved to Hanoi to work for his uncle’s retail business. Although he absorbed the food culture around him, Nguyen quickly realized that he did not belong in the retail industry or Vietnam. After a stint in Hong Kong, Nguyen enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu Paris. He 26

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graduated in 2013 and moved to NYC to open Tien Ho’s Chelsea restaurant, Montmartre, followed by Danny Meyer’s The Modern. Nguyen took the jump to Miami in 2014 to consult for The Mondrian hotel. He was introduced to Rising Stars alum Dale Talde and eventually opened his South Beach restaurant, Talde, in the Thompson Hotel. In 2018, St. Roch Market approached Nguyen about opening his own concept. The business, a fast-casual Vietnamese shop, had been laid out in his head for years. All that was missing was a name; he decided on Tran An, named after his grandfather. Nguyen opened the stall in 2018 to instant success. Now with a brick-and-mortar sit-down location in the Little River neighborhood and a locally driven market next door called DYL’s (named after his son), Nguyen’s homestyle cooking and hospitality make every visitor feel like family.

jonnguyenlovespho / trananmiami Favorite kitchen tool: Offset spatula or spoon Tool you wish you had: Vegetable slicer Favorite cookbook: The Complete Nose to Tail by Fergus Henderson Most important kitchen rule: Have fun. Place to visit for culinary travel: Peru Where you eat on your nights off: Pretty much anything that is not Vietnamese food Advice to your younger self: Don't put too much pressure on yourself to reach your goals within a time frame you've made up in your head. Let your life happen organically and be patient. As long as you always do the right thing and have the right mindset, the universe will reward you.

CHEF

Lemongrass beef stew

Chef Jon Nguyen of Tran An Adapted by StarChefs Yield: About sixty 4-ounce portions

INGREDIENTS Beef Stew: 3 ounces ginger, charred 12 ounces white onion, peeled and cleaned 16 ounces daikon radish, peeled and cleaned 12 ounces carrot, peeled and cleaned 3 ounces garlic, peeled and cleaned 16 ounces grapeseed oil 20 pounds whole Aussie beef brisket, trimmed, cleaned, and cut into 1-inch cubes 9 ounces tomato paste 64 ounces red wine 2 ounces Chinese five-spice 5 ounces honey

2 ounces frozen lemongrass 20 bay leaves 4 ounces sambal 10 ounces diluted 100% natural fish sauce (1:2 fish sauce to water) 5 ounces salt To Assemble and Serve: Shredded cabbage Fresh Origins micro Chinese cabbage Cilantro Thai basil Scallion Sliced red onions Fried garlic or shallots Lime Broken rice

METHOD For the Beef Stew: Add ginger, onion, daikon, carrot, and garlic to a food processor; pulse thoroughly until almost puréed. In a wide surface pot over high flame, heat oil to smoking point. Without overcrowding the pot, sear brisket until golden dark brown, then transfer to a hotel pan. Add processed vegetables and tomato paste to the pot and sweat. Deglaze with wine and let reduce by ¼. Add remaining ingredients and 1 gallon water; bring to a simmer, then pour over seared brisket. Double-wrap hotel pan with aluminum foil and transfer to a 325°F oven. Braise 2½ to 3 hours or until meat is fork-tender.

To Assemble and Serve: Spoon 4 ounces Beef Stew onto a serving plate. Top with cabbages, herbs, onions, fried garlic or shallots, and lime. Serve with a side of broken rice. Featured ingredients: Australian beef brisket, Fresh Origins micro Chinese cabbage

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CHE F The day after graduation from Academia de Cocina Verde Oliva culinary school in Bogota, Colombia, Pablo Zitzmann moved to live with his dad in Miami—his first step in a culinary career that would take him all over the world. Aside from working as a dishwasher/tortilla-maker at age 14, his first restaurant job was as a line cook at Señora Martínez by Michelle Bernstein, then Nobu under Chef Thomas Buckley. Zitzmann staged around NYC before landing the sous gig at Matador Room and Market at EDITION by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Interested in Asian cuisine, Zitzmann traveled to Hawaii in 2013 to stage at The Pig and the Lady in Honolulu’s Chinatown. From there, he moved on to Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant in Honolulu and Yardbird in Hong Kong. When he was ready to return to Miami in 2014, he opened the 75-seat No Name Chinese in South Miami as executive chef. The restaurant drew praise from local media but closed in 2019, and Zitzmann took an executive chef position at the THesis Hotel. When the coronavirus crippled the hotel industry, he launched his own business, Zitz Sum, a tribute to his nickname and love of dim sum. He was cooking out of his home and selling through Instagram until January, when the owner of a space in Coral Gables approached him about opening there. So in early 2021, Zitzmann’s dumplings found a kitchen of their own.

ZITZ SUM

pablozitzmann / zitzsum

Favorite kitchen tool: Cake tester and cast-iron pan

Most important kitchen rule: Be respectful and mindful.

Tool you wish you had: Rational oven

Place to visit for culinary travel: NYC

Favorite cookbook: Night + Market by Kris Yenbamroong and Garrett Snyder. Fantastic stories, great wine pairings.

What you eat on your nights off: I love Itamae and Ariete. Both are Miami’s culinary driving forces and inspiration sources for me. Great people, good friends.

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P H OTO S : J A C Y L N WA R R E N ; I L L U ST R AT I O N : C A R LO S L U C I A N O

Pablo Zitzmann

CHEF

Hakurei turnips, málà vinaigrette, tofu, labneh, lemon balm Chef Pablo Zitzmann of Zitz Sum Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 serving

INGREDIENTS Turnips: Salt 1 bunch Hakurei or baby turnips, vertically halved Málà Vinaigrette: 55.5 grams Kikkoman sesame oil 63 grams white sugar 100 grams chopped garlic 80 grams grated ginger 18 grams ground Szechuan peppercorns 80 grams Kikkoman soy sauce 200 grams chinkiang vinegar 40 grams chile crisp

Whipped Labneh Tofu: 180 grams firm tofu, drained and patted dry 60 grams labneh 6 grams yuzu salt 55 grams extra virgin olive oil 10 grams Kikkoman sesame oil To Assemble and Serve: Salt Freshly ground green Szechuan peppercorns Sliced chives Thinly sliced persimmons Extra virgin olive oil Fresh Origins micro lemon balm Fresh Origins micro shiso bicolor Shaved raw turnips

METHOD For the Turnips:

To Assemble and Serve:

In salted boiling water, blanch turnips approximately 2 minutes. Using a cake tester or the tip of a knife, test for doneness. (They should be al dente.) Immediately shock turnips in ice water bath and transfer to a sheet tray lined with paper towels. Dry the turnips well; reserve.

Season Turnips with salt and Szechuan. On a hot flat-top or sauté pan, roast Turnips flat-side-down until golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with a few tablespoons Málà Vinaigrette and a dash of Whipped Labneh Tofu. Mix, then add chives.

For the Málà Vinaigrette:

Spoon a generous dollop of Whipped Labneh Tofu onto a serving plate and, using the back of the spoon, spread it out evenly through the center of the plate. Place roasted Turnips roasted-side-up, one next to the other. Spoon remaining Málà Vinaigrette over the Turnips. Garnish with persimmons and drizzle with olive oil. Finish with lemon balm, shiso bicolor, and raw turnips.

In a saucepot, heat sesame oil. Add sugar and melt. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook until oil reaches 235°F. Slowly add garlic, ginger, and Szechuan and whisk carefully. Cook 3 minutes until garlic is caramelized. Lower the heat, add soy sauce, vinegar, and 65 grams water and whisk until fully incorporated. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, add chile crisp, and let cool to room temperature. For the Whipped Labneh Tofu: In a Vitamix blender at low speed, blend tofu, labneh, and yuzu salt. Once puréed, increase the speed, add oils, and emulsify. Transfer to a nonreactive container and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Featured ingredients: Kikkoman soy sauce and sesame oil, Fresh Origins micro lemon balm and micro shiso bicolor Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, Chef Karla Hoyos used her corporate catering experience to lead disaster relief operations through World Central Kitchen. Impressed by Hoyos, co-founder José Andrés offered her a position as chef de cuisine at The Bazaar by José Andrés Miami. Since she accepted the job, Hoyos has also been on the front lines of WCK efforts in the Bahamas, Spain, and Miami. We spoke with Hoyos about her role in disaster relief and what her colleagues refer to as The Karla System.

T h e K a rl a

How did you first become involved in community work? In 2010, there was a huge hurricane in my hometown in Veracruz. My family and I—since I had a catering business— brought a lot of equipment. And I just started cooking at the shelter for people. It was 200 people a day, but I was a culinary student, and for me, that was a lot. What was it like to be in Spain during the pandemic last year? One day, you would have five volunteers arrive; another day, you would have 20, but you need to make the same amount of food. This kitchen was on the second floor, and the elevator would break. So we made human chains to bring all the purchases up and all the food down. We started making 950 meals a day. By the third week, we were making 14,000 a day. What memories come to mind when you think about your time in disaster relief? During Hurricane Maria, we were some of the first ones to this island. We’d fill [the World Central Kitchen private charter] up with food, supplies, a couple of solar water filters. When we got there, people didn't even know what time it was. One of the ladies was like, "We just haven't eaten in days. There's people that don't have water." It was shocking to see. The kids were soaking the humidity from the dirt because they were so thirsty.

the karla system

by aiman javed

In Spain, I broke down. I'm not gonna lie. We went to this area in Madrid. I remember this girl. She was like 14 years old. She had no shoes. We gave her food, and she ate the sandwich super fast. And then she stood up for only five minutes. I had to go to the car, and I was like, "I can't. I can't." What is The Karla System? I'm very methodical in how we do things depending on the equipment that we have to make sure we are as efficient as possible. Every single situation, every single kitchen is different. In Spain, the method was that somebody was cooking all the proteins, somebody was cooking all the veggies, and somebody was cooking all the starch. You need to create systems that people can repeat easily. Because if you do a lot of steps, people get confused. It needs to be very efficient, very practical, and fast. How has José Andrés mentored you in this area? He remembers everything he promises, and when you're working side by side, he thinks of everything. I've seen him almost fainting but trying to help. He just cares. Makes you want to do more. What’s something you wish people knew about being a chef in disaster relief? It's not for everyone. If you don't make it on a disaster relief operation, it's your responsibility that families are not going to be eating that day. And that's a different kind of pressure. The stress, oh my God, I cannot even explain. But you want to help. That joy, you can't compare it to anything.

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t's in the

bo x ?

✤

t h n e i s box ✿ ' t ? ha

by Amelia Schwartz

✽

We’ve all been there (or seen it on Instagram lately): walking into Grandma’s house and spotting that blue tin of Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies. Any kid would anticipate a sweet, buttery scent when opening the lid. But wait, what’s that? Buttons. String. Needles. Not a cookie in sight. For Pastry Chef Devin Braddock of Ariete Hospitality Group, this disappointing childhood memory is especially poignant, so she reclaimed the cookie box with actual cookies. When guests order Grandma’s Cookie Tin at Ariete, they get the cookies they’ve always yearned for—and not even the semi-stale biscuits that Dansk provides. Sold together for $9, a trio of Braddock’s fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies, all with their own distinct eccentricities, is placed on a bed of buttons for a tongue-in-cheek twist. Here’s what’s in the cookie box:

Goat Cheese Oat Tuile

This variation of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies boasts a goat cheese frosting sandwiched between two steel-cut-oat wafers. The traditional creme pie’s chew is replaced with a satisfying snap, thanks to the cookies’ delicate exterior.

Sea Salt & Chocolate Chip

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“[My cookie] is a play off of the Toll House recipe,” says Braddock. “I want it to be nostalgic but still restaurant-worthy.” Braddock packs the cookie with four different types of high-quality chocolate (from light to dark) and sprinkles sea salt over it in order to balance out the Toll House signature sweetness.

Pecan Blondie

Braddock uses a combination of caramelized white chocolate, sea salt, ginger, sugar (and a lot of it), and pecans for this ooey-gooey blondie cookie, finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.

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21 MIAM

GAME CHANGER AWARD PR

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NTED

LLEGRIN

P H OTO S : W I L L B L U N T

Nando Chang, Valerie Chang ITAMAE

As children in Chiclayo, Peru, the Chang siblings feasted on Chifa, the ChinesePeruvian cuisine cooked by their grandmother. When their father, Fernando, immigrated to the U.S. for work, Nando would peel potatoes in a restaurant, and Valerie became her grandmother’s kitchen helper. In 2001, they joined their father in Miami. A businessman in Peru, Papa Chang found his calling in America as a sushi chef. A friend of Fernando’s hired Nando as a dishwasher, and he worked his way up until he became his father’s right-hand man. Fourteen-year-old Valerie picked up an absent server’s shift and got hooked on the restaurant lifestyle. Laboring away at a chain bakery, she dreamed of culinary school until she attended and realized it wasn’t for her. She traveled around the world, working at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Las Vegas and delving into the Nikkei cuisine of her homeland while staging at Albert Adrià’s Michelin-starred Pakta in Barcelona. From 2014 to 2016, the family reunited to open a kosher Japanese restaurant in Surfside. By 2018, Valerie had left Peruvian traces on James Beard Awardwinning Chef Michael Solomonov’s Dizengoff and Federal Donuts. Meanwhile, Nando pursued a career in rap music and pushed through 40-hour sushi shifts. The Chang Gang partnered with Eric Saltzman and David Morales to set up their own venture in 2018: Itamae, a Nikkei food stall. The next year, they opened B-side Sushi by Itamae and took over the sushi bar in the Miami Heat’s AmericanAirlines Arena. The stand-alone Itamae, a dream since the beginning, opened this past November. The siblings were semifinalists for James Beard’s Rising Star Chef in 2019, and Valerie received the honor again the next year. 32

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nandochang_ / chifitachang / itamaemiami Nando Tool you wish you had: Fish-aging fridge Favorite food resource: Mukoita I and II, Cutting Techniques Most important kitchen rule: Treating our tools and equipment with respect Where you eat on your nights off: I eat a lot of burgers from USBS. Place to visit for culinary travel: San Sebastián with my whole team Valerie Favorite kitchen tool: Knife because with a knife, I can transfer anything. Most important kitchen rule: Don't freak out. Where you eat on your nights off: I love, love, love eating at home or at work. If not, catch me at Boia De or Jaguar Sun. Place to visit for culinary travel: South Korea Advice to your younger self: Keep calm, learn on.

GA ME C H ANG ERS

Conchitas a la Parmesana Chefs Nando and Valerie Chang of Itamae Adapted by StarChefs

METHOD

INGREDIENTS Parmesan Leche de Tigre: Yield: Enough leche de tigre for 8 rolls 2½ cups lime juice 1 clove garlic 1 ají limo chile 250 grams cream cheese ½ can evaporated milk 150 grams grated parmesan 2 tablespoons salt Sushi Roll: Yield: 1 roll Sushi rice ½ sheet nori Daily catch from your local market ¼ avocado

To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving 4 fresh scallops Olive oil Black pepper Freshly grated parmesan Lime zest

For the Parmesan Leche de Tigre: Add all ingredients to a Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. For the Sushi Roll: Spread sushi rice out on nori. Add fish and avocado and tightly roll up. Cut roll into 4 pieces. To Assemble and Serve: Transfer sushi to a serving plate. Top each piece with a scallop, then smother with Parmesan Leche de Tigre and olive oil. Season with black pepper, then torch to preference. Finish each piece with a generous amount of parmesan and lime zest. Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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P H OTO : C H R I ST I N E RU S S O

CONC E PT

Mika Leon CAJA CALIENTE

Monica “Mika” Leon comes from a family of ever-busy restaurant professionals—her grandfather was a restaurateur in Spain, and her mother owned a catering company. Leon always gravitated toward food and restaurants, but her mom warned against the long hours and stress. Leon went on to study business and PR at the University of Florida but couldn’t keep away from hospitality. In 2011, she started a food blog, Mikabites, and converted her mom’s garage into a wholesale bakery. (Local supermarkets couldn’t get enough of her empanadas.) She bought a food truck in 2016 and named the new enterprise Caja Caliente. Although Leon’s mother thought she was nuts, she immediately jumped in to help make the truck a hit. They began with Cuban pork tacos and some juices in Wynwood, and the truck’s success led to a brick-and-mortar in Coral Gables in 2019. Leon has since been named an Eater Young Gun semifinalist and competed on Food Network’s Beat 34

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Bobby Flay and Guy’s Grocery Games. She’s now working on a line of retail cooking products. At only 30, she’s given Miami a strong appetite for her family recipes, which her mother, uncles, and cousins still prepare together in the Caja Caliente kitchen. mikabites / cajacaliente Favorite kitchen tool: My stand-up mixer. I’m an avid baker and find it really relaxes me, especially in our very stressful industry. Tool you wish you had: I have way too many tools to the point where my guest room is now a storage of cooking equipment, but I don’t have a pizza oven, which I really, really want! Favorite cookbook: My family cookbook. The handwritten messages are the best. Most important kitchen rule: Prep. Always prep and clean as you go. What you eat on your nights off: I cook at home with my boyfriend, and we love baking and making homemade pasta or barbecue. Amazing comfort food and PJ's! Nothing better!

El Lechón If there’s a secret to Caja Caliente’s success, it would have to be the family recipe for lechón. The pork shoulder filled the first taco that Mika Leon served out of her food truck, and the menu now features it in seven different ways. Her grandfather made a name for his Cuban restaurants in Spain with the crispy, sweet meat, and Leon has done the same. The recipe is top secret, but we can share that Leon marinates it overnight to give it strong flavors of garlic, sour orange, and oregano. Depending on the size, it’s baked for four to six hours, deboned, shredded, and weighed into equal portions for consistency, a hallmark of Caja Caliente. “[My grandfather] made it every Christmas Eve,” Leon says. “I ate it on my birthday. I spruced up the traditional tamal that we grew up eating.”

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CONCEPT

Tamal Cubano Chef Mika Leon of Caja Caliente Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Tamal: 2 pounds Niman Ranch pork shoulder, cut into small pieces ¼ cup olive oil 1 large red bell pepper, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped 8 ounces tomato sauce 4 cups corn kernels 2 sticks butter 2 cups chicken broth 2 cups cornmeal Salt 30 corn husks (depending on size) Spicy Aïoli: 2 cups mayonnaise 2 canned chipotle peppers 3 tablespoons adobo sauce from canned chipotles 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 tablespoons lime juice 1 teaspoon salt

METHOD Pico de Gallo: 2 white onions, diced 8 ripe plum tomatoes, diced 2 jalapeños, deseeded and diced 1 can of black beans, drained Salt 2 cups cilantro, chopped Juice of 2 limes 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil To Assemble and Serve: Avocado, sliced Cotija cheese Niman Ranch pork, crisped up and shredded Fresh Origins micro cilantro

For the Tamal: In a pot over medium flame, cook pork in a bit of oil until browned and cooked down. Remove pork from pot and set aside. Add remaining olive oil, pepper, onion, and garlic and cook until soft and translucent. Add a few small pieces of cooked-down pork and tomato sauce; stir and let simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine corn and butter until a thick paste forms. Add chicken broth and cornmeal and mix. Remove simmering meat mixture from heat and add corn mixture. Stir until fully combined. Season with salt. Let cool. Form tamales in corn husks, rectangular in shape, doublewrapped, and tied with cooking twine. Place them in the freezer for at least a few hours until frozen and firm. For the Spicy Aïoli: Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. For the Pico de Gallo: In a large mixing bowl, add onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, and black beans. Season with salt and mix gently. Add cilantro, lime juice, and oil. Mix again and season with salt. To Assemble and Serve: In a large pot of boiling water, add Tamales; boil 30 minutes. Remove and discard excess water. Top a tamal with avocado, cotija cheese, Spicy Aïoli, Pico de Gallo, crispy shredded pork, and micro cilantro. Featured ingredients: Niman Ranch pork shoulder and Fresh Origins micro cilantro M IA M I 202 1

By Carolyn Guniss

The Miami neighborhood of Overtown has always been intriguing; it can be vexingly dark and the brightest star at the same time. The streets echo the jazz greats of an era gone, when Overtown served as the epicenter of commerce and prosperity of Black Americans in Miami.

highway started about a year ago, and an $818 million state transportation project will reconnect Overtown to nearby Downtown Miami and Miami Beach. Expected to be completed in 2024, a signature bridge will span 1,025

But in the 1960s, a mess of concrete and asphalt crashed down in the form of Interstate 95, jutting through Overtown and cutting it off from the progress that completely surrounds it. By 1971, a path for I-395 was also erected in the neighborhood. At times, the residents’ efforts to succeed were drowned by social ailments—drug epidemics and homeless people living under that interstate—and, less often now, the pop pop of unresolved conflicts. Always present, though, is the waft of flavor and promise, and that is what has drawn talented chefs and their concepts. Overtown personifies the resilience of a people who seek opportunity and restoration. The removal of the implanted

feet through Miami’s skyline, linking a double-decker SR 836 to an expanded I-95 and a widened I-395, which could give Overtown the break it needs.

Young chefs such as Tristen Epps of Red Rooster Overtown and Akino West and Jamila Ross of The Copper Door B&B and Rosie’s Miami understand the pull of Overtown and answer it with their own food experiences, but they also also honor the ancestors and the history of a place that was known as Colored Town during the era of Jim Crow. These young Black entrepreneurs and chefs are attracted to the energy of the residential neighborhood, anchored by structures such as the Historic Lyric Theater, the Ward Rooming House, and century-old churches. The revitalization of Overtown is spurred on by the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency, charged with the mission to improve conditions. The organization has granted millions of dollars for residential and commercial restoration in Overtown. Red Rooster inherited the former Clyde Killens Pool Hall, which had already undergone an $850,000 renovation, and the CRA then poured another $1.75 million into the venture.

TO P P H OTO C O U RT E S Y O F T H E M I A M I-D A D E P U B L I C L I B R A RY S Y ST E M ; B OT TO M A N D O P P O S I T E PA G E : W I L L B L U N T, J A C LY N WA R R E N TO P P H OTO C O U RT E S Y O F T H E M I A M I-D A D E P U B L I C L I B R A RY S Y ST E M ; B OT TO M A N D O P P O S I T E PA G E : W I L L B L U N T, J A C LY N WA R R E N

The Overtown of Tomorrow

Clockwise from left: Jamila Ross and Akino West; The Copper Door B&B opened in 2018 after a restoration; Chef Tristen Epps' foie gras and plantain terrine; The Copper Door B&B stands on the site of the former Demetree Hotel. Opposite page, from top: A group of kids in Overtown during the Segregation Era; Chef Tristen Epps at Red Rooster Overtown.

• • • Red Rooster is located on Northwest Second Avenue, known in its heyday as “Little Broadway,” “The Strip,” and “The Great Black Way,” as the area was a beacon for artists such as Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. In hope of recreating the mix of performing arts locations and small businesses, the CRA created the Historic Overtown Culture and Entertainment District in 2019. Epps rolled into Overtown as executive chef, ready to continue the legacy of the Marcus Samuelsson Group. But it’s a delicate dance to acknowledge the past while at the same time etch itself in the psyche of the Overtown of tomorrow. Epps, who has a Trinidadian upbringing, hopes to connect to Miami through the food. He ate at holes-in-the-wall, sampled Latin and Afro-Caribbean food, then let those flavors guide his menu. “From the moment I started writing the menu, I talked to other chefs to find out, ‘What do I need to have?’” Epps says.

He made the signature yard bird more citrus-forward, dumped the mashed potatoes for pigeon peas, added a raw bar and ceviches, and took inspiration from his international employees. “We tried to put all of that into the food to create a great, relatable menu with those small touches from Red Rooster Harlem,” Epps says. “We made this restaurant for this community.” The Copper Door B&B opened in 2018 after a meticulous restoration. (Keeping as much of the historial nuances as possible, Ross and West found a liquor bottle from the 1920s and a bullet shell in a closet.) The hotel developed a steady business from millennials and cruise ship passengers from the nearby port. Now, it’s meeting the culinary demands of the neighborhood through a restaurant, Rosie’s Miami, where people can delight in hot chicken, biscuits, waffles, cheddar grits, and croissants. But becoming a thread of the community means not assuming a one-size-fits-all approach to restoration. One of West’s

mentors (and Rising Star Mentor Award winner), Michael Schwartz, was considered a pioneer when he opened Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink 14 years ago in the Design District, then an underdeveloped area of Miami about three miles from Overtown. But the Design District didn’t have the history and residences of Overtown, and today, the district’s streets are lined with posh designers such as Hermès, Cartier, and Louis Vuitton. Both Red Rooster and Rosie’s Miami worked with World Central Kitchen to feed the neighborhood during the coronavirus and are committed to hiring Overtown residents. But West says that there’s a lack of qualified resumes, so he and Ross hope to create an educational arm of their Independent Hospitality. “When it comes to guests, we steer them to Overtown, Wynwood, Downtown, Little Havana, etc., as opposed to typical tourist locations,” Ross says. “We are advocates for cultural and historical Miami.”

1930s

1937

The Central Negro District, later to be known as Overtown, is established due to segregation.

Overtown has become overcrowded, and many white employers complain that their Black employees are bringing disease to their homes. Liberty Square public housing is built to relocate Black people outside of the city limits.

1956

Overtown, 1940s

Interstate 95 plans are finalized. It reaches the southern end of the state in the 1960s and is built in the middle of Overtown, decimating homes and businesses. I-395 follows.

1950s

Overtown becomes the Miami center for Black prosperity, where arts and entertainment venues and other businesses thrived.

1964

With segregation abolished, residents have another reason to start migrating all over Miami-Dade County. The decline of Overtown continues. Children march for integrated schools, 1958

1982

The Dorsey Memorial Library opened in 1941 and is named after Dana A. Dorsey, Miami's first Black millionaire.

The Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency is founded.

2018

The Copper Door B&B opens, newly restored.

1989

The Lyric Theater, constructed in 1913, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The restoration process continues today.

2019

The Historic Overtown Culture and Entertainment District plan is released. The Copper Door B&B, 2021

2020

Red Rooster Overtown opens. Red Rooster Overtown, 2021

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P R OT E ST P H OTO C O U RT E S Y O F T H E N AT I O N A L A R C H I V E S A N D R E C O R D S A D M I N I ST R AT I O N ; R E STA U R A N T P H OTO S B Y W I L L B L U N T, J A C LY N WA R R E N ; A L L OT H E R S C O U RT E S Y O F T H E M I A M I-D A D E P U B L I C L I B R A RY S Y ST E M

Overtown Through the Years

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COMMUNI TY

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COMMUNITY AWARD

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P H OTO S : J A C LY N WA R R E N

Jamila Ross and Akino West ROSIE'S MIAMI Akino West spent most of his childhood cooking alongside his mother, Katrina, in their Riviera Beach home. While attending Palm Beach Gardens High School, Akino took a beginner's culinary class. His teacher, Chef Tammy Johnson Newman, witnessed passion and a competitive drive for cooking and encouraged him to enter culinary competitions. Meanwhile, Jamila Ross grew up in Yonkers, N.Y. and always had a fascination with restaurants. After working at a bagel shop, she scored a line cook job within garde manger at X20, Xavier’s on the Hudson. At 15, she jumped in right after the interview and stayed for three summers. She graduated from both the CIA and Johnson & Wales in Florida, where she met West. After graduation in 2015, West became sous of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, where he met one of his mentors, Michael 40

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Schwartz. West took eight months off for a life-changing stage at Noma before returning to Michael’s. He then moved on to 2016 Rising Star Niven Patel’s Ghee. Ross found an externship at The Bazaar by José Andrés LA and transitioned to frontof-house. Staying with the group, she helped open the SLS South Beach before being promoted to the company’s Kuwaiti arm. Ross moved back to Miami in 2015 for The Langford Hotel and reconnected with West—they’re getting married in May. They opened The Copper Door B&B in 2018 with a company mission to promote cultural tourism in underdeveloped areas. COVID-19 led to the addition of Rosie’s Miami. With quality ingredients and service, the restaurant brings guests to the Overtown neighborhood, where Ross and West hire locals, partner with nonprofits, and host free events for the community.

findmewherefoodis / chef_west / rosiesmia Jamila Favorite kitchen tool: Microplane Tool you wish you had: Blast chiller Advice to your younger self: Have confidence. Speak up. What you eat on your nights off: I love having pasta on days off, whether fine dining or at a greasy spoon. My favorite pasta spot in Miami is Macchialina. Akino Favorite kitchen tool: Plating spoon Tool you wish you had: Pasta extruder Where you eat on your nights off: Itamae Most important kitchen rule: Taste everything; serve food that you'd only be willing to serve to your parents or significant other.

Wild mushroom southern polenta

COM M UNITY

Jamila Ross & Akino West of Rosie’s Miami Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 4 portions

INGREDIENTS Herb Gremolata: 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped ½ bunch mint, chiffonade (or any fresh herbs you prefer) 5 cloves garlic, grated finely 2 lemons, juiced and zested finely 1 cup good-quality olive oil 1 tablespoon salt Southern Polenta: 3 cups grits 1 cup fine polenta ¼ pound unsalted butter 1½ cups whole milk 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 3 tablespoons salt

Crispy Mushrooms: Canola oil ½ cup oyster mushrooms, torn into thin sections ½ cup shiitake mushrooms, cut into thin pieces Salt Charred Kale: ½ pound Tuscan kale, destemmed and hand-torn into medium-sized pieces Salt Poached Eggs: ½ cup white distilled vinegar 4 large eggs To Assemble and Serve: Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated Cracked black pepper Fresh Origins micro lemon balm

METHOD For the Herb Gremolata: In a mixing bowl, combine herbs, garlic, and lemon. Add olive oil and mix to combine. Season with salt. Reserve, periodically mixing to incorporate the oil. For the Southern Polenta: In a medium pot, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. In a separate bowl, mix grits and polenta. Slowly add to boiling water while continuously whisking, ensuring that it does not stick or settle to the bottom. Once it’s fully incorporated, reduce heat to low. Add butter until fully incorporated. Then add milk, cheese, and salt. For the Crispy Mushrooms: Add oil to a medium pan on low heat. Once pan is hot but not smoking, add mushrooms. Keep moving the mushrooms in pan until golden brown and crispy, then season with salt. Remove pan from heat, then, using a perforated spoon, transfer mushrooms to a wire rack to drain any excess oil.

For the Charred Kale: Heat the same sauté pan used for the mushrooms over high flame. Once the pan is smoking hot, add kale. Sauté until kale begins to char, toss, then season with salt. Remove from heat. For the Poached Eggs: Add 2 quarts water to a 3-quart pot. Bring to a simmer and add vinegar. Crack egg into pot and poach until soft and the white is completely cooked. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to a paper-towel-lined sheet tray to remove excess water. To Assemble and Serve: In a wide, shallow serving bowl, add 8 ounces Southern Polenta. Top with Charred Kale, followed by the Crispy Mushrooms. Place a Poached Egg in the middle of the bowl. Lightly pour Herb Gremolata around the dish and on top of the Poached Egg. Grate Parmigiano Reggiano in a straight line on one side of the bowl. Finish with cracked black pepper and micro lemon balm on top of the Poached Egg. Featured ingredient: Fresh Origins micro lemon balm

M IA M I 202 1

CHEF JAMES MCNEAL, OVER/UNDER

By David Rosendorf Photographs by Briana Balducci, Jaclyn Warren, and Will Blunt

The Miami restaurant world is used to waves. We’ve seen our Mango Gang wave, our Nueva Latina wave, our farm-to-table wave, and wave after wave of out-of-town, big-name chefs with their tourist-friendly steakhouses and big-box concepts. But this latest wave seems different. Call it a rogue wave. A new generation of chefs—some locally born and bred, others who worked at top spots around the country before finding their ways here—are doubling down on Miami. There isn’t necessarily a unifying theme or style: Some tap South Florida’s culture and ingredients for inspiration, while others find different ways to connect with the community. And many are looking away from the high rents of South Beach and Brickell, instead finding more opportunityies in less touristy neighborhoods. What they share is a confidence that Miami is ready to embrace their diverse viewpoints, a confidence the city has eagerly rewarded.

Born and Raised You can taste local flavors at many of these new places but not in the ways that outsiders might expect. There’s no mango salsa at Rising Star Chef Michael Beltran’s Ariete, but you might find crema de malanga—a tuber that’s a staple in Latin American supermarkets—or a local snapper ceviche with papaya leche de tigre. A Cuban-American Miamian, Beltran is as 305 as they come. After working with two of the city’s culinary godfathers, Norman Van Aken and Michael Schwartz, his goal is “to be as Miami as possible.” Beltran explains: “We serve a lot of things that in Miami are not common. When people say the food culture here is bad, I disagree. The food culture is young.” He wants to be the chef who brings Michelin stars to Miami, but if Michelin never comes, that’s OK, too: “The community is why we do this. Miami is why we do this. The independent restaurant thing is tough, but it feels so good when it works.”

What chefs like Beltran do with food, Restaurateur Matt Kuscher does with decor and vibe. “I want people to know they’re in Miami,” he says. But not the tourists’ version of Miami: “It’s like Times Square. That’s what South Beach is to us.” His places are all about the details. La Cocina, “Hialeah’s First Cocktail Bar,” is attached to Stephen’s Deli, a Jewish landmark that dates back to the 1950s. References to local lore like the Ñooo Que Barato discount store and the Hialeah Spider-Man might charm or confound the tourists. “I want people from other places to know they’re in Miami and to not understand the references and to know we have our own language,” Kuscher says. But it’s not really for them anyway. Kuscher’s playing the long game: “I don’t want to be the hot spot. I want to be the place you go for Tuesday dinner for 20 years.” Over/Under, a self-described “subtropical honky-tonk” is another place made by and for locals. South Florida native

C H E F C A R E Y H Y N E S, JAGUAR SUN

Moving to Miami The “local flavor” here in Miami can be an amorphous concept. We’re a city of immigrants—not just from Cuba but from all over the Caribbean, Latin America, and beyond. So it makes sense that many of the recent contributions to Miami’s dining culture are by chefs from other places.

James McNeal’s menu might sound like simple bar food, but there’s a lot going on underneath the surface, and the local presence is stealthy but pervasive: local mahi mahi smoked in-house for fish dip and sour orange pie (more about that on page 51). Amanda Fraga, director of beverage and social media for The Genuine Hospitality Group, grew up in Hialeah and Kendall and has seen the restaurant community become more interactive with professionals hosting events at one another’s restaurants, for example. “I love what's happening in Miami right now,” she says. “People have really come together, so distributors are also coming together. It’s not about grabbing sales from each other anymore.”

When Pedro Mederos of the E&P DMPLNGS pop-up left his home of Miami, he learned about how lacking Miami was in terms of sustainability. (It broke his heart when his niece said that apples come from the grocery store.) “I know Miami, and I love Miami,” he says. “It hurt that I had to leave Miami to find extraordinary food and extraordinary food systems to learn.” But now, Mederos is back, and he and his fiancée, Pastry Chef Katherine Randolph, want to play a role in creating sustainable food systems here. He says, “I don’t want to be one of those people from Miami that left and then never came back.”

Many of these transplants actually want to stay, make Miami their homes, and set up businesses that will carry them to retirement. We no longer consider Miami a stomping ground for new talent, a place to slap together fish tacos and club sandwiches for a couple of years before moving on at the first opportunity. Chefs are staying to build something that Miami can be proud of. Coming from Chicago, Jaguar Sun’s Chef Carey Hynes says that the Miami dining scene is rapidly evolving, and despite the challenge of this, he plans to stay for a long time: “It does feel good to be part of something from the ground floor.” Chef Pedro Lara immigrated to Miami and found ways to show off the area’s mostly untapped produce. At Palmar, a hot spot that meshes Chinese food with tropical flavors and decor, Lara makes a shrimp dumpling feel Floridian with the additions of local scallops, dill, and avocado mousse.

When Pastry Chef John Maieli’s local ice cream business closed, he debated whether to settle in Miami or New York, where he’s from. He picked Miami, landed the executive pastry chef gig at Beaker & Gray, and eventually saw the local dessert scene expand with more cookie and ice cream shops opening. “Miami's food scene is young and energetic with exciting new concepts opening all the time,” he says. “Growing up in New York felt like such exposure to food culture. Then you come to Miami, and there is all of this totally different food culture, and it's just amazing."

Keeping Up the Neighborhood With Miami’s metamorphosis has come a reinvigoration of neighborhoods that don’t usually attract tourists: Little River, Little Haiti, and Overtown, to name a few. The Citadel, for example, essentially serves as a business incubator for Little River food stalls such as Lil’ Laos and Frice Cream, 44

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and the hall has attracted more residential customers during COVID-19. Despite their amazing collective resume (Scarpetta, Carbone, The NoMad, Eleven Madison Park), Rising Star Chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer opened a taco truck inside a garden center and an Italian restaurant between a coin laundry and a walk-in medical center. Away from the beach, happily in a strip mall, and the furthest thing from a tourist trap, Little Haiti’s Boia De can go old-school with a Tuscan pappardelle alla lepre but also do things more tailored to Miami’s climate like kampachi aglio e olio. "We want to be part of the community," Meyer says. "We want to support other people who want to have restaurants.” And they have high hopes for that community. Giangrandi says: “In Miami, there’s a lot of room for growth. In Miami, you can have a bigger impact.” Rising Star Chef Jon Nguyen has worked both sides of the bay; he came down from New York to consult for Mondrian South

Beach and stuck around to start Tran An in a Design District food hall. It’s now become a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Little Haiti. He’s integrated his restaurant into the local community, a neighborhood of predominantly Haitian immigrants that’s now experiencing rapid gentrification. “I didn’t want the community to feel like they weren’t accepted here and that we were running them out,” Nguyen says. “I want to take care of them for letting us in.” Tran An started giving out free food to passersby every Sunday during COVID-19 as a thank you. Nguyen says he never would have been able to afford to open Tran An in New York and appreciates the opportunity. “I hope people come to Miami and respect the talent that’s here. I don’t think culinary talent is the first thing that comes to mind here, but there is so much freedom to express yourself,” he says. “Miami has given talented people a platform to do what they love to do.”

C H E F S A L E X M E Y E R & L U C I A N A G I A N G R A N D I, B O I A D E

C H E F S E VA N B U R G E S S A N D P E D R O M E D E R O S, E&P DMPLNGS

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R ESTAURATEURS

P H OTO : J A C LY N WA R R E N

Randy Alonso, Chris Hudnall 20

21 MIAM

RESTAURATEUR AWARD

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raaaaaaaaaandy / chudnall10 / lostboydrygoods Randy Most important rule in restaurant management: Always keep the glasses full. Most fun part of your job: Creating spaces that people get to share experiences in. Restaurant trend you’d like to see: I'd like to see restaurants/bars exploring more Sherry options on their menus. Restaurant trend you’re sick of: QR codes Advice to your younger self: I would tell myself to get into the hospitality industry sooner. Chris Most important rule in restaurant management: You don't need fireworks and production to be successful. Focus on your product and your people (guests and staff culture). Most fun part of your job: The people Restaurant trend you’d like to see: I've always had a love for open-fire kitchens. Watching the beauty and romance of cooking everything on open fire intrigues me and makes me wonder why more chefs don't focus on mastering the skill. Restaurant trend you’re sick of: Deconstructing everything Advice to your younger self: You don't know everything—just listen.

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LOST BOY DRY GOODS

The story of Lost Boy Dry Goods by Restaurateurs Randy Alonso and Chris Hudnall starts with the Downtown Miami neighborhood. In 1965, Alonso's father fled Cuba, where he owned a department store. He and Alonso's grandfather opened the store in a cavernous building on Flagler Street, steps away from where Lost Boy stands today. Alonso studied engineering at Duke University but entered the family business in 2006. With a vision to build the neighborhood, he opened Lost Boy Dry Goods, a second store down the block that sold denim and cowboy boots. When the retail landscape changed, the family closed both stores. But after putting in so much work to make Downtown Miami a destination, Alonso didn't want to give up the denim shop space or the name. He'd always dreamed of having a bar but didn't know the business. Enter Hudnall, a longtime hospitality professional from Arizona who began in the industry as a 16-year-old busser. In 2005, he started his hotel career with Morgans Hotel Group at the Mondrian Scottsdale. As the hotel struggled, he transferred to the Mondrian South Beach in 2008. Two years later, he led the opening beverage team at Soho Beach House. He became the North American director of bars in 2014. Additionally, he has consulted for restaurant groups, hotel operators, and commercial real estate developers. Hudnall and Alonso founded Lost Boy in 2018, intending to become the neighborhood bar for people who love well-made cocktails and beer. Their next venture is a gin and tapas bar/ restaurant, Tropezón, coming this spring, in addition to six other openings scheduled through 2021.

P H OTO : C H R I ST I N E RU S S O

RESTAU RATEURS

Cafe Americano

Bartender Derek Tormes of Lost Boy Dry Goods Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS Coffee-Rum Cordial: 17 grams whole Hawaiian coffee beans 200 grams dark Caribbean rum 100 grams sugar To Assemble and Serve: 2 ounces Buffalo Trace bourbon 0.5 ounce Amaro Nonino 2 dashes orange bitters Orange expression

METHOD For the Coffee-Rum Cordial: Using a muddler, crack (not grind) coffee beans. Transfer coffee to a saucepan over medium-high flame and heat for 5 minutes or until coffee is nice and fragrant. Reduce heat and add rum; stir for 1 minute. Add sugar and stir until properly diluted. Remove from heat and cool. Strain into a nonreactive container. To Assemble and Serve: Add all ingredients and 0.5 ounces Coffee-Rum Cordial to a mixing glass and stir. Fill with ice, then stir until diluted. Strain into a rocks glass with 1 large ice cube. Garnish with orange expression and peel. Featured ingredient: Buffalo Trace bourbon

Orange peel

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THE NAME ON THE DOOR BY KENDYL KEARLY

Marcus Samuelsson was not on board with the oxtail. Executive Chef (and Miami StarChefs Rising Star) Tristen Epps was trying to nail down a menu for Samuelsson’s newest restaurant, Red Rooster Overtown, and Epps was confident in his wagyu oxtail, a shareable experience that runs for $105. Samuelsson argued that the dish might be too unfamiliar or expensive to the diner. But he’d never tasted it, so Epps put the wholeroasted oxtail on the menu anyway and hoped for the best. The stunt paid off when Samuelsson returned to Miami and sampled the brisket-like meat, punctuated by shaved black truffles and plantains. The oxtail stayed. The role of executive chef under a big-name chef is usually a prestigious one but can also be associated with lack of creativity and pressure to live up to the brand. So how do you make a name for yourself when it’s not your name on the door?

 ILLUSTRATED BY DANI DRANKWALTER For Epps, the collaborative push and pull is part of what makes his relationship with Samuelsson so special. “The compromise is where the beauty always lies,” says Epps, who built trust with his mentor through the years as sous chef of Red Rooster Harlem. Samuelsson sent him on tasting trips, helped him learn from other cuisines, and took the time to understand Epps’ own background. “He knows my mom. He knows my girlfriend, my family, my upbringing,” Epps says. “I’m really open to what he has to say. It used to be whatever chef said went. Now, it’s more of a discussion, even an argument, but it’s two minds working instead of just one.” At The Alley and LT Steak & Seafood, named for the famed Laurent Tourondel, Executive Chef Andrew Zarzosa caters to The Betsy Hotel guests with Tourondel’s menus featuring prime steaks, seafood, and pizzas. But Zarzosa has a

constant rotation of specials and dinner events that are all his own, and he likes to reinterpret the Tourondel classics with local, seasonal ingredients. “Whenever I choose to work, it’s always about the place, about what they’re doing, the potential to do more,” Zarzosa says. “I always want to learn something, and I always want to contribute something. I learn a lot from Laurent. [His menu] only helps me as a chef.” For example, Tourondel’s menu taught Zarzosa to steam hen of the woods with aromatics before cooking. And sometimes, it’s Zarzosa who takes an idea further. LT had a char-broiled broccoli side dish, simple and meant to accompany the flashier entrees, but Tourondel’s technique gave Zarzosa an idea. He developed an elegant special starring char-broiled broccoli, deepfried florets, broccoli-lemon mousse, and black truffle.

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A large and heavily corporate restaurant structure can make these collaborations more difficult, but Ilkay Suuctugu, who is executive chef of the venerable Matador Room, takes ownership under JeanGeorges Vongerichten. When the season changes, she gathers a menu together featuring local ingredients, and Rising Stars alum Gregory Brainin, executive vice president of culinary development, works on building out the recipes with Vongerichten. “But it's up to me whether or not I want to utilize it,” Suuctugu says. “Then we talk about it, I send them pictures and recipes of my dishes, and we go back and forth to come to a final decision. They really have given me freedom.” Rising Star Pastry Chef Samira Saade wants to stay with her mentor, pastry godfather Antonio Bachour, to learn as much as she can. “Antonio eats, sleeps, breathes pastry,” she says. At Bachour, it’s a collaboration among three instead of two. Saade

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keeps her sous looped into the brainstorming sessions because she often comes up with ideas that Saade can then replicate. They supplement the classic desserts with new creations as Bachour gets bored with the menu. Likewise, dessert-making is exacting but collaborative at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Miami. Head Baker Melissa Catra has to live up to the standards of Executive Pastry Chef Salvatore Martone, Culinary Director Alain Verzeroli, and the late Robuchon himself, whose name conjures expectations of Michelin stars. “[Martone] was here this week, and he already has an idea about what to do [with a dessert], and we’ll bounce ideas back and forth,” Catra says. “There’s a creative process to it. You have to build it and see if it’s OK with a few trials and errors.” Martone usually starts with the basic concept, and Catra chimes in until they have the right balance

of sweetness and acidity with seasonal ingredients. Only a year into his post at The Betsy Hotel, Zarzosa reminds his peers to look at it from the other chef ’s perspective. It’s his name on the door, so he’s the one with the financial stake and reputation to uphold. The boss needs time to trust whoever is in charge of the kitchen. "You go to work for a specific chef for a reason,” Zarzosa says. “I really wanted to learn from [Tourondel]. Whether or not he gave me freedom or control, that was my understanding walking in. You learn what you can until it’s your name on the door.”

revamping the

sour orange By Amelia Schwartz photos by will blunt

Out of all the citruses in the Sunshine State, the sour orange might be the most overlooked. With their wrinkled skin and mouth-puckering bitterness, sour oranges are known for very few applications. In Miami, they are most often associated with mojo criollo, a Cuban marinade for grilled chicken or pork. It’s traditional for a reason, but with all its complexities and abundance of growth in Florida, the ugly little fruit is capable of so much more. These two chefs have given sour oranges a new purpose.

Pork Belly with Sour-Orange-Persimmon Mojo Pork and sour orange mojo are an obvious coupling, but Chef James McNeal of Over/Under flips the pair on its head. Rather than marinating his Watson Farms pork belly in the mojo (recipe on page 84), he uses it as a jammy sauce. McNeal blends up charred, pork-fat-brushed persimmons with onion, thyme, Florida wildflower honey, and sour orange juice. The fragrant sauce sits beneath fried plantains, charred green onion, chiles, and McNeal’s jerk-spiced pork belly. The mojo plays an essential role, brightening up the pork’s melt-in-your-mouth umami.

Sour Orange Pie The sour orange’s reputation with savory cuisine can hold chefs back from using it in pastry, but with a similar flavor profile to its key lime counterpart, McNeal’s confident slice of sour orange pie proves that the fruit can belong in any course. He switches out the conventional graham cracker crust for one made of saltines and tops the sour orange cream with toasted meringue. Think an orange creamsicle with a sprinkle of zest.

The Foreign Orange To Rising Star Chef Michael Beltran, sour orange is the flavor that represents his childhood in Miami. “I have a thing with reinventing how people view the sour orange,” Beltran says. “My grandparents have a sour orange tree, and we used it every day.” The Foreign Orange, featured on Ariete’s tasting menu, is basically an ode to the bitter fruit and all things Miami. Beltran shapes foie gras mousse, sour orange gelée, and duck confit into an “ugly orange.” The intensely rich mousse is placed upon bitter charcoal and chocolate “dirt,” along with amaranth and mint leaves. Additionally, Beltran showcases sour oranges as a mouth-coating caramel over a plantain pavé with seared foie, demonstrating how varied the wrinkly fruit can be.

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PAST RY CHEF

21 MIAM

PASTRY CHEF AWARD PR

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ER OF EUR

P H OTO : W I L L B L U N T

Samira Saade BACHOUR

Pastry started as just a hobby for Samira Saade. Born in Ecuador, she grew up baking with her mother but went on to study computer science. But a nagging desire to get her hands dirty with flour pushed Saade to culinary school. The Culinary Arts School Ecuador didn’t have a pastry-specific program, so she spent two years focused on savory cooking and two in human resources. But Saade set her sights on an internship in the dessert world, specifically with Antonio Bachour. Her family friend introduced her to the award-winning pastry chef, who welcomed her to Miami’s Bachour Bakery & Bistro in 2016. Saade hoped to concentrate on Bachour’s French patisserie-style desserts, but when a spot opened in the viennoiserie department, she volunteered.

Saade fell in love with the process of waking up at the break of dawn to laminate and bake Bachour’s signature croissants. So much so that when she completed her internship, she was promoted to assistant baker. After a couple of years, Saade stepped away from the Miami kitchen to travel the world with Bachour, observing and assisting in his demos and classes. When they returned stateside in 2019, Bachour hired her as sous pastry chef of his new location in Coral Gables. In just one year, she worked her way up to executive pastry chef of the airy cafe and bakery. Today, Saade collaborates with Bachour to craft striking, meticulous desserts and pastries, such as her strawberry cheesecake croissant and cookies & cream petit gâteau.

samirasaadeb / bachourmiami Favorite kitchen tool: My KitchenAid stand mixer Tool you wish you had: I wish I had a ThermoMix at home. Favorite cookbooks: My go-to books would be Bachour: Simply Beautiful, Fruit by Cédric Grolet, and Chocolate by Ramon Morató. Most important kitchen rule: Be consistent. Place to visit for culinary travel: Mexico Advice to your younger self: Take risks.

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Salted caramel croissant Pastry Chef Samira Saade of Bachour Adapted by StarChefs

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PAST RY CHEF INGREDIENTS Croissant Dough: 375 grams bread flour 375 grams all-purpose flour 112 grams granulated sugar Salt 400 grams whole milk 50 grams unsalted French butter, cold 35 grams fresh yeast Nonstick cooking spray Lamination: 450 grams unsalted French butter, cold Flour

Caramel Pastry Cream: 720 grams heavy cream 360 grams whole milk 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 1½ teaspoons kosher salt 1 whole egg 3 egg yolks 5 tablespoons cornstarch 5 tablespoons unsalted French butter, melted ½ tablespoon vnlla pure vanilla extract 1½ tablespoons dark rum

375 grams sugar 60 grams glucose 185 grams cream 1 vanilla bean ½ teaspoon vnlla pure vanilla extract ½ tablespoon sea salt 300 grams French butter, softened

Sea Salt Caramel:

METHOD: For the Croissant Dough: In a mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add flours, sugar, salt, milk, and butter. Mix at low speed for 3 minutes, add yeast, then mix for 17 minutes. Pick up a handful of dough and stretch. If it does not break and creates a thin elastic dough, it is ready to rise. Place dough in a large bowl greased with cooking spray, then wrap well with plastic. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Using a dough sheeter, flatten dough until it is roughly the size of a sheet pan. Place in a greased sheet pan and wrap well with plastic. Place sheet pan in blast freezer for 20 minutes to stop the fermentation, then refrigerate overnight. For the Lamination: Place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Center butter on the paper. Top butter with another piece of parchment, then, using a rolling pin, pound the top from left to right to flatten into a rectangular shape. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Once the butter is chilled, unwrap and roll to a 4-millimeter thickness. Wrap again and refrigerate. The following day, using a dough sheeter, sheet and fold Croissant Dough to a 4-millimeter thickness. Lay Croissant Dough out on your work surface and place unwrapped butter block on its upper half. Fold bottom half of Croissant Dough over the butter block and run it all through the dough sheeter, lengthening its width. Turn the dough sideways and flatten dough to 4 millimeters again. Fold the laminated Croissant Dough’s lower half 2 times toward the middle then again on top of the upper half. Flatten the dough a bit, wrap, and place in freezer for about 1 hour. Remove Croissant Dough from freezer, unwrap, then sheet the dough to add width. Turn Croissant Dough sideways and sheet until it is 3 millimeters thick. Dust work surface with flour and place Croissant Dough on top. Fold top half down halfway, cut lengthwise, then lay

one half on top of the other. Cut out triangles, place on a sheet pan, wrap, and refrigerate 15 minutes. Remove from cooler and roll each triangle out to 8 by 35 centimeters and 3 millimeters thick. Each triangle should weigh 70 grams. Roll triangles into a croissant shape and freeze until needed. For the Caramel Pastry Cream: In a large bowl, combine cream and milk; set aside. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, combine brown sugar, ½ cup water, and salt. Cook until it becomes an amber color. Immediately deglaze with cream mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Temper the hot caramel cream into the egg mixture by adding a cupful of caramel at a time, whisking constantly, until half is incorporated. Pour the egg mixture back into remaining caramel, stirring constantly with a whisk until the custard is very thick and the cornstarch is cooked, about 2 minutes. Remove the custard from heat and whisk in butter, vanilla extract, and rum. Transfer custard to a hotel pan, cover, and refrigerate. For the Sea Salt Caramel: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and glucose. Cook, stirring often, until it becomes a golden caramel. Deglaze with cream and continue stirring. Add vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and salt. Strain solids from liquid, remove from heat, and stir in butter. Let cool. To Assemble and Serve: Heat a proofing box to 82°F. Place croissants on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Proof in proofing box about 2 hours. Bake in a 350°F convection oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack. Once the croissants have cooled, use a knife to slice a hole at the bottom. Pipe in the Caramel Pastry Cream, followed by the Sea Salt Caramel. Featured ingredients: vnlla pure vanilla extract, Butter of Europe

P H OTO : C H R I ST I N E RU S S O

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We Support P H OTO : C H R I ST I N E RU S S O

TCHO Chocolate Sundae

We partnered with Frice Cream and TCHO Chocolate to benefit Feeding South Florida, a hunger relief organization that distributed 176 million pounds of food in 2020. For every sundae ordered during the Rising Stars Restaurant Week from March 17 to 31, StarChefs will donate $5, which equates to 45 meals for those in need.

Ice Cream Makers Alissa & Jeremy Frice of Frice Cream Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

METHOD:

Chocolate Meringues: 225 grams egg whites 450 grams powdered sugar 50 grams TCHO cocoa powder 62% TCHO chocolate, for shaving

For the Chocolate Meringues: On a double boiler, gently heat egg whites and powdered sugar until all sugar is dissolved and whites are just barely warm. In a mixer, whip on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in cocoa powder. Spread or pipe into desired shape onto sheets for dehydrator. With a microplane, shave chocolate over meringues. Place in dehydrator at 110°F overnight.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache: 900 grams heavy cream 225 grams 39% TCHO chocolate Salt 3 sheets gelatin, bloomed and drained

For the Whipped Chocolate Ganache: Heat half of the cream on the stove. Pour over chocolate and a pinch of salt. Add gelatin, completely emulsify, then add remaining cream. Let set for 6 hours or overnight. Once cream is set, whip on medium-high to form soft peaks. Put whipped ganache into a piping bag and set aside until ready to serve.

Brownie: 397 grams butter 709 grams sugar 175 grams eggs 1 teaspoon vnlla pure vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon sea salt 312 grams all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon baking powder 62 grams TCHO cocoa powder 95 grams 81% TCHO chocolate, chopped Dark Chocolate Magic Shell: 200 grams 70% TCHO chocolate 25 grams coconut oil

For the Brownie: In a pot, melt butter. Turn off heat. Add sugar and mix well. Add eggs and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients and mix well. Line a quarter sheet tray with parchment paper. Bake brownies at 325°F for 12 minutes or until set but still very moist. Allow to completely cool and cut into desired shape and size. For the Dark Chocolate Magic Shell: In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together. Set aside until ready to serve. To Assemble and Serve: Warm Brownie in oven, then place in a small serving bowl. Place a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top. Pour Dark Chocolate Magic Shell over ice cream and sprinkle cocoa nibs on while the Magic Shell is still liquid. Pipe Whipped Chocolate Ganache on top, add Chocolate Meringues, then top with a Bordeaux cherry. Featured ingredients: TCHO chocolate, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs; vnlla pure vanilla extract

To Assemble: Vanilla bean ice cream TCHO cocoa nibs Bordeaux cherry

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The The Pastelito Pastelito Pair Pair

By Amelia Schwartz No flavor combination arguably screams Miami more than guava and cheese. Most commonly found inside flaky Cuban pastelitos, sticky-sweet guayaba marmalade is complemented by the slight tang of cream cheese. With his King Guava bagel sandwich, Rising Star Baker Matteson Koche is one of many Miamians who have played with the guava and cheese combination. Here are some of our other favorite takes.

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Chef-owner Henry Hané of B Bistro + Bakery replaces the flake of a pastelito with the fluff of Japanese-style pancakes. He tops them with cream cheese mousse, guava preserves, brown butter maple syrup, and a vanilla crumble.

AVE MARIA COOKIE

P H OTO S : W I L L B L U N T, J A A C LY N WA R R E N

At Night Owl Cookies, owner and Baker Andrew Gonzalez pays homage to Miami with his guava and white chocolate chip cookies. Each cookie is finished with a graham cracker cookie crumble, guava chunks, and guava marmalade and cream cheese drizzles.

GUAVA+CHEESE DONUT

“Guava and cheese has been a staple for us growing up,” The Salty Donut coowner Amanda Pizarro-Rodriguez says. So naturally, she and her husband, Andy Rodriguez, had to have a guava and cheese donut. The brioche dough is filled with both guava jam and sweetened cream cheese then topped with a cream cheese glaze and house-made pastelito puff pastry.

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BAK E R

Bagels and lox were always breakfast staples in the Koche family, but with access only to corporate bagel delis, Matteson Koche didn’t know what he was missing. After studying international relations at the University of Central Florida and receiving his masters in urban planning at Florida State University in 2015, Koche became a projects coordinator for an architecture firm. One year later, he quit his unfulfilling job and embarked upon a surfing trip across South America. In Buenos Aires, he met Sheikob’s Bagels owner Jacob Eichenbaum-Pikser, who inspired Koche to hand-roll some bagels of his own. He returned home to study from the internet and master the art of bagel-making. In January 2017, El Bagel was born out of his home in Little Haiti to specialize in hand-rolled, long-fermented, home-baked sourdough bagels, delivered from Koche’s car. Five months later, he got a ’91 Cushman Truckster pastelito cart to start a pop-up every Saturday at Wynwood’s Boxelder Craft Beer Market. He left urban planning entirely in 2018 to focus on El Bagel, which had by then upgraded to a full-size food truck.

Matteson Koche EL BAGEL

While he baked out of a commissary kitchen, Koche felt a pull to have his own brick-andmortar. He spent a year setting up the shop, which opened in March 2020 on Miami’s Upper East Side. Nine days later, the pandemic prevented guests from entering. Koche adapted quickly, moving the truck to Lincoln Road for walk-up orders and making the shop pickuponly. With long digital queues of customers waiting for his bagels—by the dozen and by the sandwich—Koche shows no signs of slowing down or looking back.

mattteson / elbagel Favorite kitchen tool: Spiral mixer Tool you wish you had: A second spiral mixer Favorite food resource: My mother Most important kitchen rule: Don't be scared to 86—it's better than forcing it and messing everything up. Where you eat on your nights off: If it's a Sunday night, I usually need to acquire the most substantial meal I can find to recover from the weekend. These days, it’s been a ribeye from Jaguar Sun accompanied by light beers and mezcal shots at the darkest bar I can find. Advice to your younger self: You can do it, too.

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BAKER

King Guava Baker Matteson Koche of El Bagel Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 bagel sandwich

INGREDIENTS Lemon Cream Cheese: Salt Lemon juice Plain cream cheese Papitas: Shredded potatoes, soaked in water Oil for deep frying Salt

METHOD Guava Marmalade: Guava, pureéd Sugar To Assemble and Serve: 1 salt bagel, halved Fried over-medium egg Crispy bacon (optional)

For the Lemon Cream Cheese: Add salt and a couple drops of lemon juice to cream cheese. Lightly whip to incorporate air. For the Papitas: Strain potatoes, squeezing out as much water as possible. Place on paper towels to dry. Place potatoes in a deep fryer and fry for 4 minutes or until golden brown. Season with salt. For the Guava Marmalade: Add guava purée to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a soft boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and add sugar. Continue to cook until slightly thickened and sugar completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Transfer to a nonreactive container and reserve. To Assemble and Serve: Schmear Lemon Cream Cheese on both bagel halves. On one half, spread a generous amount of Guava Marmalade and top with fried egg, followed by Papitas and bacon (if using). Sandwich with the other half, slice, wrap in paper, and serve.

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ROASTE R

Sergio Boppel GREAT CIRCLE COFFEE Sergio Boppel was born in Guatemala, the land of full-bodied coffee beans grown on farms so green that they almost hurt to look at. His great-grandfather was a coffee farmer, and although Boppel moved to Brussels at age 14, his uncle and cousin continued the legacy of growing and harvesting high-quality coffee. Boppel studied chemical engineering at Purdue University and got an MBA from Babson College in 2007 before working in engineering and finance for more than a decade. But in 2015, Boppel and his wife, Carolina Jaar, invested in their own idea: a coffee company with the vision to make a positive impact in every step of the supply 60

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chain. They loved Miami, where they had family, and knew the city had a particular appreciation for coffee, though there wasn’t a large variety in the specialty category. But Boppel doesn’t mind sharing stories with customers about coffee regions, farmers, suppliers, and all the ecological factors that can make coffee production sustainable. In 2016, he started roasting in his own Little Haiti space and grew his wholesale model with restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, and hotels as clients. Today, Great Circle Coffee retails precisely roasted, sustainably sourced coffees from around the world, including some from Boppel’s uncle’s farm in Guatemala.

seboppel / greatcirclecoffee Favorite roasting resource: My friends in the industry Coffee region you're most excited about: Guatemala and Ethiopia Coffee trend you’d like to see: Although I love espresso, more filter coffee! How you brew coffee at home: Currently with an Origami Dripper Advice to your younger self: Think long term.

ROASTER

Great Circle's Ethiopia Shantawene Honey Process Coffee

FROM START TO FINISH 1

This coffee’s story begins in the Bensa, Sidama region of Ethiopia in Shantawene Village. In most parts of the world, coffee trees are planted in nurseries and transferred to the field, but in Ethiopia, they grow in the wild. “It’s the birthplace of coffee,” Great Circle Coffee owner Sergio Boppel says. “There are forests that grow naturally, and most coffee there is de facto organic.” Because of limited resources, many Ethiopian coffee farmers rely on organic, natural materials rather than expensive and difficult-tosource fertilizers and pesticides.

Once the coffee seed germinates and is planted, it takes up to six years for the coffee tree to grow and bear enough fruit for harvest. The coffees are grown at a high elevation and, when the coffee cherries are ripe enough, picked by hand.

The cherries are then treated to a honey process, which is a hybrid of the fully washed and dry processes. Coffee farmers will depulp the seeds, leaving some of their sticky mucilage on, then lay them on drying tables. Once the cherries reach the desired humidity level, they enter a drying mill that dehulls a second layer, called parchment, from the seeds.

4 The seeds are sorted and separated by size and

density. “The goal is to provide more uniform coffee beans because at the end, you want them all to roast the same way,” Boppel says.

Throughout the entire process, coffee farmers are plucking out defective seeds. Discolored seeds are out. Insect-damaged seeds are out. Seeds that float in water (meaning they’re insufficiently dense) are out. Boppel says, “The big picture message is that there is a lot of human work involved in high-quality coffee.”

6 Here’s where the coffee buyer comes in. For this coffee, Boppel works with Portland-based

supplier Catalyst, which has a lot of experience in Ethiopia. “The closer you are to the people, the more you’re able to play a role, the better the quality,” Boppel says. The supplier takes samples by roasting and tasting different cuts of coffee before deciding on a batch to export.

7 The coffee is shipped to Catalyst by way of Houston. Catalyst samples it once more upon arrival, assuring that its quality survived the travel, before it makes its way to Great Circle Coffee’s roastery by truck.

Once it arrives, Boppel begins experimenting with his roaster—he calls it “profiling the coffee.” “As we’re roasting, we’re seeing how the coffee behaves under different applications of heat and taking samples, and we end up choosing a profile that we like best,” says Boppel. Since the honey process seeds are extremely uniform in size, shape, and their high density, Boppel is able to roast them hot and fast in under 10 minutes. “Our goal is to not influence the taste of the seed or the flavor,” he says. “We want the natural flavors to shine through.”

9 Boppel recommends that his Shantawene Honey Process coffee is brewed as

a pourover using a paper filter, which is “probably the best way to get a lot of flavor clarity out of this coffee.” He says, “You may sacrifice some of the body, but you remove a lot more of the sediment.” The resulting coffee is aromatic, bright, and intense with notes of jasmine, stone fruit, and papaya. M IA M I 202 1

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B U TC H E RS

Jason and Melanie Schoendorfer BABE'S MEAT & COUNTER

Melanie Schoendorfer’s Italian grandparents made all kinds of meat products from scratch in Canada—prosciutto, pepperettes, Italian sausage. Her family, plus 11 years of experience at a gourmet grocery, Joanna's Marketplace, gave her a solid appreciation for butchery. (The woman does hotdog-eating competitions!) Her husband, Jason, started in audio engineering and spent more than a decade with the family business, a pet cemetery and crematory. The two met at the Starbucks where Jason worked while studying; Melanie had a job at the Canada Pavilion at Disney World’s Epcot Center. They both enjoyed a good sausage but couldn’t find any they liked once they moved to Miami. Neither had formal 62

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butchery training, so they began experimenting at Joanna’s in 2013, starting with sausage and bacon then simple sandwiches, and selling at Pinecrest Gardens Farmers Market. In 2018, they jumped into Babe’s Meat & Counter fulltime. The Schoendorfers increased to four farmers markets per week, secured a commercial kitchen, and worked seven days a week for years. When COVID-19 hit, grocery stores couldn’t keep meat in stock, and Babe’s demand exploded. In addition to their house-smoked and -cured meats, the Schoendorfers now push out Cuban sandwiches, Montrealstyle smoked meat, roast pork, cheesesteaks, and carefully made sausages.

thatdumbfacesausagehag / elpandeyayson / babefroman305 Jason Favorite kitchen tool: Spatula Tool you wish you had: Band saw Favorite cookbook: Louisiana Real & Rustic by Emeril Lagasse Advice to your younger self: Worry about quality of work before speed. Speed will come with repetition. Melanie Favorite kitchen tool: Tie knife or sausage prick Tool you wish you had: Buffalo chopper Favorite cookbook: Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas Most important kitchen rule: Keep hair tied up and covered. Advice to your younger self: Always pay attention when with others who are more experienced.

B U TCHERS

Cuban sandwich Butchers Jason and Melanie Schoendorfer of Babe’s Meat & Counter Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Smoked Ham: Yield: 1 ham 1½ cups salt 8 teaspoons pink curing salt 2 cups brown sugar 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper ½ teaspoon black peppercorns 10 bay leaves 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 tablespoons thyme 1 tablespoon garlic powder 4 cloves garlic 1 onion, quartered 1 Niman Ranch ham

METHOD For the Smoked Ham: In a large pot, bring salts, sugar, and 1 gallon water to a simmer. Place all remaining ingredients in a large, nonreactive container. Add hot liquid and stir to combine. Allow to cool, preferably overnight. The following day, using a brine injector, pump ham with brine, then fully submerge in brine. Allow ham to sit 4 to 10 days, overhauling every 2 days. Rinse hams, transfer to walk-in, and let cool overnight. The following day, smoke at 150°F with fruit wood until internal temperature reaches 150°F. Let cool overnight, uncovered. Using a deli slicer, thinly slice ham. Portion out 2.5-ounce portions; reserve. For the Italian Roast Pork: In a large mixing bowl, combine salt, peppers, herbs, and spices. Rub pork shoulder with spice mix, making sure the surface and all parts are well-coated. Loosely cover, transfer to walk-in, and let sit overnight. The following day, preheat oven to 225°F. Set pork shoulder in a roasting pan over a bed of onions. Roast, covered, about 2½ hours or until internal temperature reaches 150°F. Separate pork from juices, transferring juices to a nonreactive container to reserve. Let pork cool completely. Using a deli slicer, thinly slice pork shoulder. Portion out 2.5-ounce portions; reserve. For the Curry Bread & Butter Pickles: In a large, nonreactive container, combine cucumbers and salt; mix gently but thoroughly. Let rest in walk-in 1 to 2 hours. In a medium pot, add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, stirring to incorporate.

Italian Roast Pork: Yield: 1 pork shoulder 540 grams salt 80 grams ground black pepper 36 grams crushed red pepper 20 grams dried rosemary 20 grams dried thyme 200 grams garlic powder 24 grams of oregano 120 grams ground fennel seed 40 grams ground cumin 1 Niman Ranch pork shoulder 6 to 8 onions, halved

Curry Bread & Butter Pickles: Yield: 1 batch 12 seedless cucumbers, sliced on a mandoline 9 tablespoons salt 1.35 kilograms white sugar 1.1 kilograms white vinegar 640 grams apple cider vinegar 230 grams brown sugar 80 grams mustard seeds 8 grams celery seeds 8 grams curry powder 8 grams crushed red pepper Yellow Mustard: 1.2 kilograms mustard powder 54 grams salt 20 grams turmeric powder 16 grams garlic powder 8 grams paprika 1.5 kilograms apple cider vinegar To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 sandwich Butter 6-inch piece of Cuban bread, halved lengthwise Swiss cheese

Meanwhile, rinse cucumbers, then return them to the nonreactive container. Pour hot brine over cucumbers and mix well. Allow to rest overnight in walk-in. The following day, distribute to quart containers, making sure to submerge pickles in brine. For the Yellow Mustard: In a tall half pan, add dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Add vinegar and 1.5 kilograms water and mix thoroughly. Transfer mixture to a saucepan over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until desired thickness is reached. To Assemble and Serve: Butter the inside of both bread halves, then griddle butter-side-down until golden brown. Meanwhile, throw one portion of Italian Roast Pork onto a flat-top and add several spoonfuls of reserved pork juices. Top with cheese and continue to cook until cheese begins to melt. Spread a light amount of Yellow Mustard on the inside of both bread halves. On one half, layer 1 portion Smoked Ham, warm Italian Roast Pork with cheese, then 5 to 6 Curry Bread & Butter Pickles. Top it with other bread half. Transfer the whole sandwich to the flat-top and press with a steak weight. Flip to finish both sides. Slice in half and serve hot. Featured ingredients: Niman Ranch pork shoulder and ham M IA M I 202 1

P H OTO : J A C Y L N WA R R E N

Two wine industry underdogs now host the most talked-about wine club in Miami—without spending a cent of their own money. by Erin Lettera When BFFs Macarena Carrillo and Mariel Dalmau were preparing for their introduction to the Court of Master Sommeliers, they would often find themselves at corporate wine tastings feeling like the underdogs. Instead of being educated, the young women were treated as though they didn’t belong and questioned for their tastes. So they brought together a group of like-minded friends for a wine study club where they could taste, talk, and share without judgement. “Wine is so steeped in history, it’s a neverending hunt for knowledge,” Carrillo says. As they continued to learn, they realized that Miami’s nightlife scene was stifling the progression of local wine culture. “You go to a bar, crush a few shots, then head to the clubs and get bottle service,” Carrillo says. “Miami also doesn’t have any ‘wine country,’ so the wine culture here is forced to be very traditional.” But with the growth of non-Miami natives moving down to open restaurants, more of a demand exists for unusual wines. During a shift at Fooq’s restaurant, where they both worked as sommeliers, “Maca and Mari” got to talking about expanding their wine club. The playful conversation evolved into a flyer and an idea centered around raw wine. Using Fooq’s as their first location, Grape Crush by Natty Times launched as a ticketed event for about 30 people. It wasn’t a money-maker, just a place for them to practice and share their knowledge. Totally winging it, they poured a crémant, alpine nebbiolo, and rosado txakolina and just kept pouring 64

and pouring until the wine ran out. With each event, attendance morphed from an industry crowd to a larger, more diverse mix. COVID-19 altered the whole model of Grape Crush. Tastings went from a ticketed to à la carte format so guests could choose who to sit with and for how long. “This was the major shift for Grape Crush,” Dalmau says. “We have found major success in this new format that it's now almost like a barrier to have it be ticketed.” It was a big change from the early days, when the somms limited themselves to three wines and took on all the risk. But with à la carte, they do the purchasing through the hosting businesses. Carrillo and Dalmau send a list of up to nine wines and build relationships between the hosts and small distributors. “The more places we do it, the more natural wines we put on their lists, the more people come back looking for it, so it increases the demand for natural wine,” Dalmau says. She and Carrillo are aware of the fact that the natural wine tosimilar learn more! movement comes with its own set of pretentiousness, to what they faced early on in their careers. “No matter the level of expertise or certifications we have, if you like it, then it’s a good wine,” Carrillo says. They vow to continue doing what they do, letting people know that wine is subjective, wine is exciting, and wine is a never-ending learning process. P H OTO : J A C LY N WA R R E N

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@nimanranch | Learn more at nimanranch.com M IA M I 202 1

EAT & DRINK PASSION

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Passion is for real in Spain. It’s in our sun. In our roots and in the roots of what we produce. In what we cultivate. In our efforts to make sure they grow to their best. Spanish passion is the result of our tireless hard work. Spanish passion is in our land. In how we take care of it. To learn more, please visit

foodswinesfromspain.com/spainfoodnation

# SpainFoodNation

J.C. Santana

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SOMMELIER AWARD

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Drawn to Miami’s nightlife, Juan Carlos “J.C.” Santana aspired to be an international DJ. But as he says, cool doesn’t always pay the bills. DJing did bring him to the hospitality world, which developed his interests in whiskey and craft beer. He attended FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management with the intention of becoming a brewer, but a study abroad trip to Rioja set him on a path toward wine. In 2014, he applied to one job at a brewery and one as an assistant sommelier at Juvia, and Juvia got back to him first. He stayed on for a year before getting hired at the newly opened Coya Miami in 2015 as a sommelier. He knew he wasn’t ready to run his own wine program but faked it until Wine Spectator lauded Coya’s wine list and he was promoted to bar manager. When Coya closed in 2017, Santana stayed with the company to help open and manage other concepts. But by 2019, he wasn’t sure he wanted to settle in Miami. He traveled for work and tried to decide what to do, but then he received an offer that he wouldn’t turn down for anything: the opening of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Miami. At the beginning of 2021, he was promoted to beverage director of the entire company, The Bastion Collection. Pairing with the famed dishes of these restaurants is no easy task, but Santana does it with thoughtfulness and passion.

jota_se_ / thebastioncollection Favorite tool: I was gifted a Code38 wine key, and I am now completely spoiled by this luxury. That being said, I use my bell jigger with equal frequency and joy. Most important pairing rule: Find the balance. Favorite high-low pairing: I have really been loving the wines of Château La Négly from La Clape in the Languedoc with a spiced duck. Wine list you admire from afar: Some of my fondest memories exploring old wine were at Bern's Steak House in Tampa. Advice to your younger self: Putting menus/concepts together is a lot like DJing. If you only play music you love and no one is dancing, have you done a good job? M IA M I 202 1

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P H OTO : C H R I ST I N E RU S S O

SO MM ELIER

Wagyu ribeye, spring onion, rhubarb, bell pepper, parsley Chef James Friedberg of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Parsley Purée: 500 grams parsley, large stems removed Salt 6.2 grams agar agar 25 grams mayonnaise Black pepper Rhubarb Compote: 50 grams sugar 150 grams red wine vinegar 2 grams black peppercorns 2 grams cardamom 5 grams ginger ¼ white onion, minced Olive oil 400 grams rhubarb, peeled and diced Juice and zest of 1 lemon

METHOD Blistered Bell Pepper: 1 bell pepper, seeds removed 20 grams clarified French butter 2 grams salt Pastry Cups: 1 package feuilles de brick French butter, softened To Assemble and Serve: Fresh Origins edible flowers Herbs Lone Mountain Wagyu ribeye, trimmed to 5-ounce portions Sea salt Black pepper mignonette

For the Parsley Pureé: Blanch parsley in salted boiling water until tender. Shock in ice water, then transfer to a Vitamix blender. Add agar agar, then blend until smooth. Transfer blended parsley to a small pot. Over high heat, bring to a boil, then immediately remove parsley from heat and spread onto a flat tray or baking sheet. Let chill until solid. Transfer back to Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh strainer, then stir in mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. For the Rhubarb Compote: In a small sauce pot, caramelize sugar until light brown. Quickly deglaze with vinegar, then add peppercorns, cardamom, and ginger. Cook to syrupy consistency, then remove from heat and set aside. In a separate pot, add onion and a small amount of olive oil; sweat until soft and translucent. Remove ginger and spices from sugar mixture, then add sugar mixture to rhubarb. Cook until all liquid has evaporated. Finish with lemon zest and juice. Let cool to room temperature. For the Spring Onion Soubise: In a medium pot over medium heat, cook spring onions in butter until soft. Add potato and chicken bouillon; cook until most of the moisture has evaporated and potato is tender. Transfer to a Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. Lightly blend in crème fraîche, then pass through a mesh strainer. Adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper.

Spring Onion Soubise: 500 grams spring onions, green tops removed and sliced 20 grams French butter 250 grams Idaho potato, peeled and diced 50 grams chicken bouillon 25 grams crème fraîche Salt Black pepper

For the Blistered Bell Pepper: Using a blow torch, burn the skin of the pepper. Transfer to a sous vide bag with clarified butter and salt. Cook in a water bath at 88°C for 15 minutes. Cool at room temperature and cut out with ring molds.

SUGGESTED PAIRING Garnacha Tintorera/Moravia Agria, Envínate, “Albahra,” Vinos Mediterraneos, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, 2018 “This lovely, organic wine from the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain showcases red fruits, floral characteristics, baking spices, and herbs. Its structure and acidity make it excellent for cutting through the richness of the petite wagyu ribeye while the floral and spice notes play with the blistered bell pepper and rhubarb tartlet. A match that, in my humble opinion, brings a smile to the guest with every bite.” –J.C. Santana

For the Pastry Cups: Brush 1 sheet of feuilles de brick with butter. Stack with another sheet and repeat process until you achieve 3 layers. Punch out rounds with a ring mold, then set each round between two metal tart molds. Cook at 375°F for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from molds and let cool to room temperature. To Assemble and Serve: Place one Pastry Cup on the right side of a serving plate. Spoon a small amount of Rhubarb Compote inside the Pastry Cup. Top with a Blistered Bell Pepper ring, then fill with Spring Onion Soubise. Garnish Pastry Cup with flowers and herbs. On the left side of the serving plate, place a small dot of Parsley Purée, then make 3 points out of the dot using a toothpick. Cook ribeye as desired, slice, then place 4 slices in the middle of the serving plate. Garnish ribeye with sea salt and black pepper mignonette and sauce with natural beef jus split generously with beef fat. Featured ingredients: Lone Mountain Wagyu ribeye, Butter of Europe, Fresh Origins edible flowers Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

M IA M I 202 1

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ILLUSTRATED BY BECKI KOZEL

At Basque-inspired restaurant Leku, the Jamón Ibérico is a pillar of the menu (and rightfully so). The salty, sweet, nutty, cured ham synonymous with the Iberian Peninsula takes many forms throughout the menu, including in unexpected territory: the cocktail list. With an ingredient as precious to Spain as cheese is to France or Modelos are to a kitchen walk-in, why let any of it go to waste? Beverage Director Maria Pottage assures us that Leku uses as much of the precious pork as possible to pay respect to the farmers and artisans behind it. So she crafted the Pan con Tomate Old Fashioned (recipe on page 84), a super sippable umami bomb of a cocktail with the added bonus of reduced waste.

First, Pottage uses scraps left behind after the Ibérico leg is sliced to fatwash bourbon, infusing the whiskey with silky body and the smoky salinity found in markets throughout Spain.

Pottage then makes a crystal-clear tomato water by triplefiltering seasonal tomato juice, which leaves behind a rich, purée-like substance for Leku’s Gazpacho Maria cocktail. And so one ingredient inspires a handful of items fit for La Boqueria.

All that’s left is to add a couple of bar spoons full of simple syrup and a garnish of that Cinco Jotas Jamón Ibérico, thinly sliced and skewered, and you’ve got yourself a ham cocktail, no pig left behind. TO : PHO

WILL

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BARTE N DE R

Will Thompson 20

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JAGUAR SUN Despite his Quaker upbringing, bars have always attracted Will Thompson. At the high school parties where he informally bartended, whiskey sours replaced beer, just as Thompson introduces unfamiliar drinks to Miamians today. Originally from the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, he knocked around in cafes until he turned 21. With a fake-it-til-you-make-it philosophy, the underqualified Thompson graduated to serving at The Independent and fibbed his way into bartending at a Moroccan restaurant. A 2009 barback gig at Barbara Lynch’s award-winning cocktail bar, Drink, turned into four years of working through bar positions alongside Misty Kalkofen and Rising Stars alum John Gertsen. Thompson also ran into future business partner Chef Carey Hynes, who hung out at Drink. The next several years were marked by stints at Lone Star Taco Bar, Deep Ellum, Brick & Mortar, and No. 9 Park, as well as consulting around the country. (He was an ambassador for The Bon Vivants, a national cocktail consultancy founded by Rising Stars alums Scott Baird and Josh Harris.) As beverage director for COJE Management Group in 2015, Thompson helped put Boston projects Yvonne’s, Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar, and RUKA on the map. By 2017, he relocated to New York as Grand Marnier’s fulltime brand ambassador. But a year of travelling to bars around the world helped Thompson recognize Miami’s potential opportunities. So he moved again to launch his very own Jaguar Sun bar and restaurant with Hynes. With recognitions from Eater Boston, Boston Magazine, and Food & Wine under his belt, Thompson has carved Jaguar Sun into a must-try tropical bar paired with Italian bites, recognized as Eater Miami’s 2018 Bar of the Year. Since June, Jaguar Sun has been stationed at Lot 6 in Little River as the pop-up Sunny’s Someday Steakhouse, where Thompson flexes his creativity with bright, bold twists on the classics.

P H OTO S : W I L L B L U N T

eastcoastwill / jaguarsunmia Favorite bar tool: It used to be a Sharpie, but after this year, I'd say a wine key. It’s great for taking the lids off fire pits and trimming dead branches off plants. Tool you wish you had: Better tents. (We got rained on a lot in October and November.) Favorite bar resource: The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury or Jones' Complete Barguide by Stan Jones Where you eat on your nights off: I don't get out a ton because there is a pandemic, but Boia De and Macchialina are always great. Most important bar rule: There's a George Orwell essay where he talks about a bunch of guidelines for writing coherently and then says at the end, "Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous," which is very much how I feel about any kind of rule in a restaurant.

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Very Strong Baby Bartender Will Thompson of Jaguar Sun Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS Strawberry Campari: 1 liter Campari 16 ounces strawberries, halved To Assemble and Serve: 1 ounce Charanda 1 ounce sweet vermouth ½ ounce St. George Pear Brandy Salt

METHOD For the Strawberry Campari: In a large bottle, combine ingredients. Set aside and let infuse for at least 24 hours. To Assemble and Serve: In a rocks glass, combine 1 ounce Strawberry Campari with all remaining ingredients. Garnish with a pinch of salt on the ice. Featured ingredient: Campari

M IA M I 202 1

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G OI N G C O A S TA L

TEELING FLIP

Miami is definitely known for its drinking culture. Even now, when customers must remain seated unless masked, Miami bars have remained busy. But although top-notch craft cocktail bars now dot the city, most guests prefer drinks that lean toward boozy and refreshing. This can frustrate the average bartender, who might want guests to step out of their comfort zones, learn about new spirits, or order anything but another strawberry margarita. But many bartenders have used this as an opportunity to serve cocktails that are both familiar and new. These drinks are purposefully approachable while sneakily broadening the bar-goer’s cocktail encyclopedia.

Formerly of the SLS Brickell Miami and with a new place, Salvaje, in the works, Bartender Anthony Lopez has a fascination with the classics. “What I’ve seen in Miami is a lot of people need for you to make the classics approachable,” Lopez says. “I tried to present a whiskey sour in a way that’s not straight, lighter, and has a look that people want to see.” The Teeling Flip (recipe on page 85) takes all the elements of a whiskey sour— lemon, egg white, and whiskey (Lopez uses Teeling Irish.)—and freshens it up with honey citron tea and a splash of local Veza Sur Mangolandia blonde ale. Lopez pours the creamy, shandylike drink into a chalice, assuring a gorgeous head.

At Little River’s upscale food hall, The Citadel, Citadel, Bar Manager Rudy Abreu serves his riff on the Pegu Club (recipe on page 85), a gin-andorange-liqueur-based tiki cocktail. But to adjust to Miami’s fruit-forward palate, Abreu adds local Chinola passionfruit liqueur and raspberry syrup. Although a Pegu is served straight-up, the Going Coastal is poured over crushed ice and topped with an umbrella and a dehydrated citrus wheel. “It’s always a fun time to really explain the cocktail and tell them that it’s from the ’30s,” Abreu says. “It transforms people’s mentality to really dive in and speak to the bartender. They’re like, ‘This is great, and I’ve never heard of it, so let’s try something else that I’ve never tried.’”

FINO MARTINI

MARKET JULEP #5

Since Over/Under opened in Downtown Miami, owner Brian Griffiths has had a Market Julep on the menu. “The julep is a cool way to utilize herbs and seasonal fruit and spice up a traditional cocktail,” Griffiths says. “It’s spirit-forward but also more refreshing and crushable than an old fashioned.” The fifth variation (recipe on page 85) features vanilla Angostura bitters, black-sapote-infused rye, and chocolate-mint syrup. Jam-packed with mint, Market Julep #5 has converted both mojito and old fashioned loyalists. But for Griffiths, changing the guest’s preferences isn’t the goal. “We’re making sure that people are drinking cocktails because they actually want it,” he says. “I want somebody that enjoys strawberry margaritas to take one step in another direction, but I also want them to know that it’s cool if they just want a strawberry margarita.”

“This is the first time I’ve actually been able to convince people to drink martinis,” says Rising Star Bartender Will Thompson. Thompson At Jaguar Sun, Thompson’s cocktail menu reflected the Sun consumer’s desire to drink something tropical and modern. But since Jaguar Sun reopened as the Sunny’s Someday Steakhouse pop-up at Lot 6, people have been ordering martinis and Manhattans galore. “People like to drink what they’re supposed to drink,” says Thompson. And at a steakhouse, you’re “supposed” to drink martinis and Manhattans. In creating the popular Fino Martini, he wanted to deliver something that was fitting to the theme while still being exciting. This takes shape as gin, fino Sherry, and a bit of clarified passionfruit for a clean, bright (unsweetened) lift. M IA M I 202 1

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MENTOR 20

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MENTOR AWARD

Michael Schwartz The 2021 class of Miami Rising Stars anonymously voted on a Mentor Chef Award, presented by Vitamix. The award goes to the chef who supports and inspires young chefs in their city. Previous Miami honorees include Michelle Bernstein and Norman Van Aken. For his ability to nurture talent, combined with his generosity, skill, and vision, Michael Schwartz is the recipient of the 2021 Miami Rising Stars Mentor Award. When people think of Miami’s best cuisine, Chef and Restaurateur Michael Schwartz immediately comes to mind, but he actually hails from Philadelphia. Starting in the industry as a busser at DiLullo, he then trained at Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois in California before he moved to Colorado, New York, then Miami, where he finally settled.

Schwartz opened Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in 2007, attracting diners to the newly developed Design District. Since then, Schwartz founded The Genuine Hospitality Group, including Amara at Paraiso, Tigertail & Mary, and an additional Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Harry’s Pizzeria now has two locations and a third in development. In 2019, the COMO Metropolitan Miami Beach unveiled Traymore by Michael Schwartz. Schwartz won the 2010 James Beard’s Best Chef: South award for his seasonal, locally driven meals at Michael’s. Outside of the restaurant, Schwartz uses his influence and resources to support causes such as Share Our Strength, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Slow Food (from which he received its Miami convivium’s first Snail of Approval), and Wellness in the Schools.

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M EN TO R

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MENTOR

Lamb chops a la plancha, heirloom tomatoes, labneh, za’atar Chef Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS Labneh: 1 tablespoon salt 2 cups Greek yogurt 1 lemon, zested and juiced 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Lamb: 2 Aussie lamb racks, cut into single-bone chops Olive oil 2 tablespoons kosher salt ¼ cup za’atar

Heirloom Tomato Salad: 2 cups medium-diced heirloom tomatoes 1 cup seeded and medium-diced English cucumber ½ cup small-diced red onion 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

To Assemble and Serve: ¼ cup picked dill ¼ cup picked mint ¼ cup chives, cut into 1-inch batons Extra virgin olive oil

METHOD For the Labneh: Mix salt into the yogurt, then line either a kitchen towel or cheesecloth in a strainer and set it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth, cover, and allow to drain overnight in the fridge. The next morning, remove from cheesecloth and mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and oil. Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

P H OTO : C H R I ST I N E RU S S O

For the Lamb: Season both sides of lamb with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and za’atar. Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle a small amount of oil into the pan. Once you see small wisps of smoke rising, cook the lamb in batches without overcrowding the pan. Sear lamb for 2 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from pan and repeat until all chops are cooked. Let rest.

For the Heirloom Tomato Salad: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside. To Assemble and Serve: In a small bowl, combine all herbs and set aside. Spread the Labneh on the base of a large serving plate. Arrange the Lamb on the Labneh, then spoon over the Heirloom Tomato Salad. Garnish with picked herbs and a nice drizzle of olive oil. Featured ingredient: Australian lamb rack

M IA M I 202 1

WORLD’S TOP-TEN BEST-SELLING AND TRENDING LIQUEUR 1

HEART OF THE ICONIC NEGRONI 1 WORLD'S #2 BEST-SELLING COCKTAIL 1

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I Support

I L L U ST R AT I O N : H A N N A H L I

RISING STARS AND THE CAUSES THEY BELIEVE IN BATTIER TAKE CHARGE FOUNDATION | BATTIERTAKECHARGE.ORG Founded by former NBA star Shane Battier and his wife, Heidi, Battier Take Charge distributes resources for the development and education of underserved youth in Miami, Houston, and Detroit. Randy Alonso

CAFÉ FEMENINO FOUNDATION | CFFOUNDATION.ORG By providing direct compensation and the resources to enact change in the community, Café Femenino is determined to give female coffee farmers the credit they deserve. Sergio Boppel

COLOR OF CHANGE | COLOROFCHANGE.ORG Through powerful campaigns, Color of Change moves decision-makers in corporations and governments to end practices that hold Black people back. Will Thompson

GREEN HAVEN PROJECT | GREENHAVENPROJECT.ORG The Green Haven Project works to create community gardens and sustainable ecosystems in Miami’s food deserts and gives horticultural education to youth in order to encourage healthy lives. Luciana Giangrandi, Alex Meyer

KIDS OF IMMIGRANTS | KIDSOFIMMIGRANTS.US With the mission statement, “Do the best we can with what we have,” Kids of Immigrants is a purpose-driven clothing brand that inspires community and unity amongst first-generation Americans and beyond. Nando Chang

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FOOD RESCUE US-MIAMI | FOODRESCUE.US In coordination with Food Rescue US, this organization coordinates volunteers to donate and deliver excess food to receiving agencies, such as food shelters and community kitchens. Jamila Ross, Akino West

MIAMI RESCUE MISSION | MIAMIRESCUEMISSION.COM The Miami Rescue Mission strives to end homelessness through comprehensive residential programs that empower individuals to be selfsufficient. Samira Saade

NO KID HUNGRY | NOKIDHUNGRY.ORG NKH aims to end childhood hunger in America by giving nutritious food and food preparation instructions to children and families. Chris Hudnall

RECIPES FOR CHANGE | RECIPESFORCHANGE.ORG Recipes for Change is a Miami-based society that aims to unite the community, educate the next generation, and nourish at-risk individuals with the power of culinary teachings. Pablo Zitzmann

SURFRIDER FOUNDATION | SURFRIDER.ORG Fighting for ocean protection, fair beach access, coastal preservation, clean water, and the reduction of plastic pollution, the Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to protecting the earth’s water for all people. Matteson Koche

MIAMI WATERKEEPER | MIAMIWATERKEEPER.ORG Through community engagement and activism, MWK defends, protects, and preserves Miami’s watershed in order to ensure everyone’s rights to clean, drinkable, swimmable water. Luciana Giangrandi, Alex Meyer

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WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN | WCK.ORG Founded by Chef José Andrés, WCK provides fresh food to communities in times of crisis, most recently supplying hundreds of thousands of meals per day to those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Valerie Chang, Tristen Epps, Jamila Ross, Will Thompson, Akino West

M IA M I 202 1

Recipes

Kitchen Notebook BLACK SESAME MISO ICE CREAM Chefs Evan Burgess and Pedro Mederos of E&P DMPLNGS Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Black Sesame Miso: 333 grams koji 500 grams black sesame seeds 55 grams salt, plus more for fermentation Salt brine (6% salt to water) Coffee Shoyu: 50 grams unbrewed coffee grounds 150 grams brewed coffee grounds 1 kilogram koji 50 grams salt Ice Cream: Yield: 2 quarts 52 ounces milk 18 egg yolks 16 ounces sugar 20 ounces cream 6 ounces glucose METHOD For the Black Sesame Miso: Using a meat grinder, grind koji and sesame together. Add salt and mix thoroughly. Add enough salt brine so that the miso comes together in a ball without crumbling or losing its shape. Sprinkle a nonreactive fermentation vessel with salt, add miso, and sprinkle with more salt. Seal, date, and label the vessel. Allow to ferment 3 to 4 months. For the Coffee Shoyu: In a large, nonreactive container, combine all ingredients. Hold at 60°C for 1 month. Strain through coffee filters until you reach your desired consistency. Transfer excess shoyu lees to a dehydrator and dehydrate. For the Ice Cream: Add milk, yolks, and sugar to a Vitamix blender and blend until sugar is completely incorporated. Transfer egg mixture to a large mixing bowl. To a clean Vitamix blender, add cream, glucose, and 188 grams Black Sesame Miso; 82

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blend until homogenous. Add miso mixture to egg mixture and stir to combine. Transfer 1 quart of custard base into medium-sized vacuum seal bags. In a 85°C water bath, sous vide custard bags 1 hour. Transfer custard bags to an ice bath to cool. Allow to chill in the refrigerator overnight. The following day, empty custard from vacuum seal bags. Using the churning method of your choice, churn custard until it becomes thick and creamy. Store in freezer. To Assemble and Serve: Spoon a scoop of Ice Cream into a serving bowl. Top with Coffee Shoyu and a sprinkle of dehydrated shoyu lees. IT'S BRISKET B*TCH! Bakers Renata Ferraro and Carlos Flores of Flour & Weirdoughs Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Croissant Dough: Yield: 50 croissants 125 grams butter, softened 3 kilograms bread flour 275 grams sugar 60 grams salt 32 grams yeast 200 grams eggs 700 grams milk 130 grams milk solids Beurrage: 1.8 kilograms butter Lamination: 100 ounces Montreal-style brisket 50 ounces provolone Grain mustard Bake: Egg wash METHOD For the Croissant Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add butter, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix on medium-low speed to combine. Add remaining ingredients and mix on speed 1 until gluten develops, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to 2 and continue to mix for 4 minutes. Form dough into a rough ball, place on a parchment-lined sheet tray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest at least 8 hours in cooler.

For the Beurrage: Line your work surface with plastic wrap. Place butter in the center of the plastic wrap and top it with another layer of plastic wrap. Roll out butter so that it is 10 inches by

7 inches and ½ inch thick. Wrap butter block in plastic wrap and place in cooler.

2 whole eggs 3 grams kosher salt 85 grams butter

For the Lamination: One hour before lamination, remove Beurrage from cooler and let rest until pliable but still cold. Remove Croissant Dough from cooler and roll out to a ¼-inchthick rectangle that’s large enough to close the Beurrage inside. Place Beurrage in the center and enclose it with Croissant Dough like a package. The dough should meet perfectly in the center. (Be sure to not pull the dough to enclose the butter, as it weakens the structure of the dough and will affect the layers.) Wrap the rectangle in plastic and chill. After 30 minutes, unwrap, turn the rectangle 90 degrees so that the short side is nearest to you, and roll out to ¼ inch thick. Turn dough and repeat; roll and fold. Cover again with plastic wrap and cool. After another 30 minutes, repeat the lamination process, making 2 full turns. With a sharp knife or croissant cutter, cut 8-inch-by-4inch triangles. In the middle of each triangle, spread a generous amount of mustard and place 2 ounces brisket and 1 ounce cheese. Starting with the flat side, gently roll Croissant Dough up into a crescent. Transfer crescents to a parchment-lined baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and let proof at room temperature at least 1 hour or until doubled in size.

White Chocolate Mousse: 190 grams white chocolate 95 grams butter 6 eggs, separated 85 grams sugar

For the Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush croissants with egg wash. Place croissants in oven and bake for 7 minutes, flip the sheet tray, then bake for additional 7 minutes. Serve warm.

PARMESAN SFORMATO Chef Justin Flit of Navé Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Parmesan-infused Cream: 1 quart heavy cream 325 grams parmesan rinds Sformato: 400 grams ricotta 100 grams parmesan 8 eggs 50 grams sugar Lemon Curd: 125 milliliters lemon juice 100 grams sugar 2 egg yolks

To Assemble and Serve: Freshly grated parmesan METHOD For the Parmesan-infused Cream: In a medium pot over medium flame, heat heavy cream and parmesan rinds for 20 minutes. Strain through a chinois and set liquid aside.

For the Sformato: Add all ingredients to a Vitamix blender and purée until smooth. Pass through a chinois, then add 600 grams Parmesan-infused Cream. Spray souffle molds or ramekins with nonstick spray. Distribute the Parmesan-infused Cream to molds or ramekins, weighing out 50 grams per portion. Cover each mold with plastic wrap, place on a sheet tray, then wrap entire sheet tray with plastic wrap. Transfer to a steamer and steam 20 minutes or until fully set. Remove plastic wrap and let cool at room temperature. For the Lemon Curd: In a heavy-bottom sauce pot, add lemon, sugar, yolks, eggs, and salt. Over low-medium heat, whisk continuously until the mixture is thick, but be careful not to curdle the eggs. Remove from heat, add butter, and whisk until incorporated. Strain through a chinois into a nonreactive container and cover with plastic wrap so the curd doesn't form a film. Place in a refrigerator to cool immediately. White Chocolate Mousse: Over a double boiler, melt the white chocolate and butter using a rubber spatula to stir. Once melted, remove from heat and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add yolks and 45 grams sugar; whip until light and doubled in size. Transfer yolk mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in melted white chocolate; set aside. Dry and clean stand mixer’s bowl and whisk attachment. Return to stand mixer, add egg whites and remaining sugar, and whisk on highest speed until stiff peaks

form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold egg whites into the yolk mixture, ⅓ at a time. Transfer mousse to quart containers, place in refrigerator, and let cool for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight. To Assemble and Serve: Turn Sformato out onto a serving plate. Cover with Lemon Curd, then cover Lemon Curd with White Chocolate Mousse. Top with a generous amount of parmesan!

Raw Beauty BLACK GROUPER AGUACHILE Chef Andrew Zarzosa of The Betsy Hotel Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS Tomato Water: One 100-gram sheet kombu 8 pounds heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped Kosher salt Salt 100 milliliters lime juice Pickled Onions: 25 grams julienned red onion 125 milliliters apple cider vinegar Chile Arbol Sauce: 50 grams arbol chiles, deseeded 125 milliliters apple cider vinegar Salt Cured Grouper: Two 100-gram sheets kombu Junmai Daiginjo sake 100 milliliters rice bran oil 100 grams black grouper, sliced thinly into 10 pieces Compressed Cucumber: 1 Japanese cucumber, sliced with mandoline 140 milliliters Junmai Daiginjo sake Zest of 1 lime To Assemble and Serve: 1 radish, sliced with a sharp knife or mandoline Finger lime Salt 30 sprigs sprouting huacatay METHOD For the Tomato Water: Place kombu in a deep, nonreactive container. In a separate mixing bowl, season tomatoes with

kosher salt. Transfer tomatoes to a cheesecloth-lined chinois and sit it on top of the deep container with kombu. Let sit 24 to 32 hours to collect tomato water. Season tomato water with salt and lime juice. For the Pickled Onions: In a nonreactive container, combine onions and vinegar. Let onions soak overnight.

For the Chile Arbol Sauce: In a nonreactive container, combine chiles and vinegar. Let soak overnight. The next day, transfer chiles and vinegar to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then continue to cook 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a Vitamix blender and blend until you reach the consistency of a hot sauce. Season with salt. For the Cured Grouper: Lay out kombu sheets and brush with sake and oil. Lay the 10 slices of grouper onto one sheet. Place the other sheet of kombu on top so both sake-brushed sides are touching the fish. Wrap in plastic and place in the cooler to cure for about 1 hour. For the Compressed Cucumber: Place cucumber, sake, and lime zest into a vacuum bag and seal until air-tight. To Assemble and Serve: Place radish in ice water and set aside. Arrange five slices of Cured Grouper per serving plate. Season with Chile Arbol Sauce, finger lime, and salt. Arrange Compressed Cucumbers, radishes, and Pickled Onions over the top of the fish. Place the huacatay around the radish. Finish tableside with a pour of Tomato Water.

1 ounce dried kombu

1 cup ají amarillo paste

Sushi Rice: 3.5 ounces rice vinegar 0.8 ounce kosher salt 2 ounces sugar 2 cups short-grain rice

Crab Salad: 1 cup lump crab meat ½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise ½ cup ají panca paste

To Assemble and Serve: Ginger, grated Green scallion, finely chopped Soy sauce METHOD For the Chub Mackerel: Cover both sides of the fish with salt and cure in refrigerator for 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on fish size and fat content. Combine rice vinegar and kombu and store in refrigerator. Rinse salt away from the fish, then let sit in ice water to extract the saltiness for 5 to 15 minutes. Dry with paper towels. Marinate in the cold vinegar for ⅓ of the cure time, making sure the fish is fully submerged in the vinegar. Dry with paper towels and remove bones and skin. Let rest in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. For the Sushi Rice: Combine the vinegar, salt, and sugar. Wash rice with 1⅘ cups water. Change the water and wash 3 to 5 more times. Drain for 10 minutes. Put rice and water into a rice cooker and soak for 30 minutes before cooking. Steam rice for 12 minutes after it’s cooked. Put rice in a large mixing bowl, then evenly mix in the sushi vinegar mixture. Cool down until it reaches room temperature. To Assemble and Serve: Slice the Chub Mackerel and form bite-sized balls of Sushi Rice. Place the slices of fish over the balls. Put a little ginger and scallion over the top. Serve with or dip into soy sauce.

Anticucho Aïoli: 1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise 1 cup ají panca paste To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving 6 shrimp, grilled 1 soft-boiled egg, quartered 2 tablespoons pickled onions 3 tablespoons puréed Peruvian botija olives 3 tablespoons puréed avocado 1 cup chopped romaine 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro 10 carrot slices 10 radish slices Gold leaf METHOD For the Gold Potato Ají Mix: While they’re still hot, pass potatoes through a potato ricer. Let cool. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. For the Crab Salad: Mix all ingredients and set aside. For the Anticucho Aïoli: Mix both ingredients well and set aside. To Assemble and Serve: Cover a serving plate with an even layer of 1½ cups Gold Potato Ají Mix. Top with shrimp and 2 tablespoons Crab Salad, followed by egg and onions. Decorate the salad with 4 to 5 dots of purées and 3 tablespoons Anticucho Aïoli. Add romaine and garnish with remaining ingredients.

From Laos With Love

Against the Grain SABA NIGIRI SUSHI Chef Masayuki Komatsu of Hiyakawa Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Chub Mackerel: One 1-to-2-pound whole mackerel, scaled, gutted, and filleted with head off 8 ounces kosher salt 32 ounces rice vinegar

SAI KROG MUU

Making the Green LA CAUSA SALAD Chef Henry Hané of B Bistro + Bakery Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Gold Potato Ají Mix: 3 Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled and peeled ½ cup lime juice

Chef Curtis Rhodes of Lil’ Laos Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Pork Sausage: Yield: 8 to 10 sausages 1 pound ground pork shoulder 2 pounds ground pork belly 2 tablespoons makrut lime leaves, chopped ½ cup chopped dill ½ cup chopped cilantro ½ cup chopped scallions M IA M I 202 1

Recipes 2 to 3 fresh bird’s eye chiles, chopped 1 tablespoon chopped galangal ½ cup chopped garlic 2 cups chopped shallots ½ cup fish sauce 1 to 2 cups sweet rice, soaked for 2 to 3 days, then drained Sausage casing To Assemble and Serve: Shredded cabbage Tamarind-chile sauce Sliced cucumbers Green beans METHOD For the Pork Sausage: Using a meat grinder, grind pork shoulder and pork belly together. Transfer pork mixture to a mixing bowl, add herbs, chiles, galangal, garlic, shallots, and fish sauce; combine. Pass the entire mixture through a meat grinder at least 2 more times. Stir in sweet rice. Grind through the casing, stuffing the mixture into a sausage. To Assemble and Serve: Lightly sear sausage on a hot pan and finish in the oven at 525°F. Slice and serve on a bed of cabbage with a side of tamarindchile sauce, cucumbers, and green beans.

1 Spanish onion, roughly chopped 6 knobs ginger, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 3 tablespoons allspice berries, toasted then ground in coffee grinder 4 cinnamon sticks, toasted then ground in coffee grinder 3 tablespoons gochujang 1 cup tamari 2 tablespoons picked thyme Pork Belly: 1 skinless heritage pork belly, halved 2 tablespoons kosher salt Sour-Orange-Persimmon Mojo: 2 ripe hachiya persimmons, halved ½ Spanish onion, finely diced Kosher salt 1 teaspoon picked thyme 1 cup freshly squeezed sour orange juice 1 tablespoon Florida wildflower honey Plantains: Peanut oil Ripe plantains, sliced into 3.5inch rounds Salt Green Onions: 2 green onions, trimmed 1 teaspoon peanut oil Salt Fresno Chile: 1 small Fresno chile, thinly sliced Salt Sugar Lime To Assemble and Serve: Neutral oil

Revamping the Sour Orange HERITAGE JERK PORK BELLY, PLANTAINS, GREEN ONIONS, SOUR-ORANGEPERSIMMON MOJO Chef James McNeal of Over/Under Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Pumpkin Seed Dukkah: ½ cup pumpkin seeds 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 1 tablespoon cumin seeds 1 tablespoon nigella seeds 1 tablespoon fried garlic 1 tablespoon Maldon sea salt Jerk Spice Blend: ½ cup peanut oil 2 bunches green onions, sliced into 1-inch pieces 1 head garlic, peeled 84

STA RCH EFS RISI NG STA RS

METHOD For the Pumpkin Seed Dukkah: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place seeds and garlic on a sheet tray and toast in oven 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer dukkah to a mortar, add salt, and grind with pestle. For the Jerk Spice Blend: Add all ingredients to a Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. For the Pork Belly: Using a sharp chef ’s knife, score pork fat in a crosshatch pattern. Season both sides of pork belly with salt. Rub with Jerk Spice Blend, massaging into the cuts of the fat cap. Transfer pork to a wire rack set inside of a roasting pan. Refrigerate overnight. The following day, let pork come to room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Roast pork belly uncovered for 2 to 2½ hours until internal temperature

reaches 205°F on an instant-read thermometer. Reserve rendered pork fat and let pork belly rest 30 minutes then cut into 4-to-5ounce pieces. For the Sour-OrangePersimmon Mojo: Brush persimmons with 1 tablespoon rendered pork fat. Using a grill, flat-top, or castiron, char persimmon flesh until browned. Once cool, scoop out persimmon flesh with a kitchen spoon and discard the skins. In a medium-sized, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-low flame, heat 1 tablespoon rendered pork fat. Add onion and a pinch of salt and cook until soft and translucent. Add persimmon and thyme and continue to cook 5 to 10 minutes. Add sour orange juice and honey, then reduce by half. Transfer mixture to a Vitamix blender and purée until smooth. Season with salt. For the Plantains: Prepare a deep fryer with peanut oil heated to 350°F. Deepfry plantains until soft and caramelized. Transfer plantains to paper towels to absorb excess oil. Season with salt. For the Green Onions: Using a grill, flat-top, or cast-iron, brown green onions with peanut oil and salt until caramelized. For the Fresno Chile: In a small bowl, season chile with remaining ingredients. To Assemble and Serve: Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add Pork Belly and sear on both sides. Spoon 2 tablespoons Sour-OrangePersimmon Mojo to the center of a warm serving plate. Add seared Pork Belly, Plantains, and Green Onions. Finish with 3 to 4 slices of Fresno Chile and a sprinkle of Pumpkin Seed Dukkah.

New Old Fashioned PAN CON TOMATE OLD FASHIONED Beverage Director Maria Pottage of Leku Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS Fat-washed Bourbon: 50 grams Cinco Jotas Jamón Ibérico fat 750 milliliters bourbon Filtered Tomato Water: Roughly 2 pounds seasonal tomatoes, juiced To Assemble & Serve: 2 bar spoons simple syrup (1:1 ratio) Jamón Ibérico METHOD For the Fat-washed Bourbon: Melt the fat and vacuum-seal with bourbon. Freeze overnight. The next day, separate liquid from fat solids. Strain with a coconut milk filter bag. For the Filtered Tomato Water: Let juice sit in cooler. Carefully separate any solids from liquid. Triple-strain with a coconut milk filter bag lined with coffee filters, making sure remaining liquid is clear.

To Assemble and Serve: Stir 2 ounces Fat-washed Bourbon, 0.75 ounce Filtered Tomato Water, and simple syrup with ice. Pour over large ice cube (2 inches by 2 inches) in a double rocks glass. Garnish with a skewer of Jamón Ibérico.

Black Sapote-infused Rye Whiskey: 100 grams black sapote flesh 1 liter rye whiskey Chocolate Mint Syrup: 8 sprigs chocolate mint 16 ounces cane sugar

Beyond the Strawberry Margarita TEELING FLIP Bartender Anthony Lopez of SLS Brickell Miami Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS 2 ounces Teeling Irish whiskey ¾ ounce fresh lemon ½ ounce honey citron tea 2 dashes Angostura bitters 1 egg white Veza Sur Mangolandia blonde ale METHOD Add all ingredients except Mangolandia to a shaker. Dry shake, add ice, then shake again. Strain and pour into a chalice and top with Mangolandia. GOING COASTAL Bar Manager Rudy Abreu of The Citadel Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS 2 ounces Fords Gin ¾ ounce lime juice ½ ounce Grand Marnier ½ ounce Chinola passionfruit liqueur ½ ounce raspberry syrup Orange bitters Angostura bitters Dehydrated orange and lime slices

To Assemble and Serve: 2 sprigs mint 1 sprig chocolate mint METHOD For the Vanilla Angostura Bitters: Add vanilla bean and black peppercorns to the bottle of Angostura. Let steep for 1 week.

For the Black Sapote-Infused Rye Whiskey: In a large nonreactive container, combine black sapote and whiskey. Transfer to a cooler and refrigerate for 5 days. For the Chocolate Mint Syrup: To a pot, add chocolate mint and 16 ounces water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Blend using an immersion blender, then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Add sugar and stir to combine. To Assemble and Serve: Add some picked mint and chocolate mint leaves to the bottom of a julep cup. Add 2 ounces Black Sapote-Infused Rye Whiskey, 2 dashes Vanilla Angostura Bitters, and 0.4 ounce Chocolate Mint Syrup. Fill cup about halfway with crushed ice and swizzle to incorporate and dilute. Top with more crushed ice. Garnish with mint bouquet and tuck a straw deep behind the mint.

METHOD Combine gin, lime juice, Grand Marnier, Chinola, syrup, and orange bitters in a cocktail shaker. Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Spray Angostura bitters and garnish with dehydrated orange and lime slices.

I L L U ST R AT I O N S : B E C K I KO Z E L

MARKET JULEP #5 Bartender-owner Brian Griffiths of Over/Under Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS Vanilla Angostura Bitters: 1 split vanilla bean 1 teaspoon black peppercorns One 16-ounce bottle of Angostura bitters M IA M I 202 1

STA RCH EFS RISI NG STA RS

Rising Stars Map

1. BABE'S MEAT & COUNTER

13. GREAT CIRCLE COFFEE

920 N.W. Second Ave., Miami

382 N.E. 56th St., Miami

2. ZITZ SUM

8. LOST BOY DRY GOODS

14. EL BAGEL

lostboydrygoods.com

elbagel.miami

babefroman.com

396 Alhambra Circle, Ste. 155, Coral Gables zitzsum.com

3. BACHOUR

2020 Salzedo St., Coral Gables antoniobachour.com

M A P I L L U ST R AT I O N : B E T H R H O D E S

7. RED ROOSTER OVERTOWN

9216 S.W. 156th St., Miami

redroosterovertown.com

157 E. Flagler St., Miami

6910 Biscayne Blvd., Miami

9. ITAMAE

15. JAGUAR SUN AT LOT 6

itamaemiami.com

jaguarsunmia.com

140 N.E. 39th St., Ste. 136, Miami

4. CAJA CALIENTE

10. MICHAEL'S GENUINE FOOD & DRINK

caja-caliente.com

michaelsgenuine.com

808 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables

130 N.E. 40th St., Miami

5. ARIETE

11. L'ATELIER DE JOËL ROBUCHON

arietecoconutgrove.com

latelier-miami.com

3540 Main Highway, Miami

151 N.E. 41st St., Ste. 235, Miami

6. ROSIE'S MIAMI

12. BOIA DE

rosiesmia.com

boiaderestaurant.com

439 N.W. Fourth Ave., Miami

greatcirclecoffee.com

7357 N.W. Miami Court, Miami 16. TRAN AN

215 N.E. 82nd St., Miami trananmiami.com

5205 N.E. Second Ave., Miami

M IA M I 202 1

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together, we’re feeding south florida

at your side, always Inside cover S.PELLEGRINO sanpellegrino.com

FEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA feedingsouthflorida.org on top of the world’s finest cuisine P. 70 FRESH ORIGINS freshorigins.com

natural inspired warmth P. 86 STEELITE INTERNATIONAL us.steelite.com

TCHO CHOCOLATE tcho.com natural choice for the inspired menu P. 76 TRUE AUSSIE LAMB trueaussiebeefandlamb.com strength. durability. resilience. P. 3 VITAMIX COMMERCIAL vitamix.com eat & drink passion P. 66 WINES FROM SPAIN foodswinesfromspain.com

I L L U ST R AT I O N : J O S LY N M O O R E

Back cover

Inside back cover

THE DELICIOUS IS IN THE DETAILS. BETTER CACAO BEANS MAKE BETTER CHOCOLATE.

TCHO.COM/PRO • (844) 877-8246 •

@TCHOCHOCOLATE

StarChefs Rising Stars Magazine: Issue 32 (Miami)

Articles inside

MENTOR

BARTENDER

SOMMELIER

ROASTER

BAKER

PASTRY CHEF

RESTAURATEURS

CONCEPT

GAME CHANGERS

TRISTEN EPPS

PABLO ZITZMANN

COMMUNITY

LUCIANA GIANGRANDI ALEX MEYER

JON NGUYEN

CHEFS