StarChefs Rising Stars Magazine: Issue 31 (New York)

ISSUE 31 | NEW YORK CITY

BREAD WI N N ERS

DEAR NEW YORK

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

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9 781735 767512

THE RESET BUTTON PERFECT PAIRINGS GOOD TO GO THE WAY TO GLASS NOODLES

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In This Issue

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DEAR NEW YORK

A message from Marcus Samuelsson.

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26

31

THE DOS AND DON’TS OF OPENING A COMMUNITY FOOD HUB

Winston Chiu of Rethink Food and Femi Rodney Frazer of Collective Fare give advice on how to start an emergency food program.

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BODY AND SOL

How do you maintain mental and physical health while working 50-plus hours a week during a pandemic? Francesca Chaney has some answers.

38

BOOK REPORT

Passed through generations and marked up with substitutions, industry professionals share their favorite cookbooks.

42 On the cover: Danie Drankwalter is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and designer whose work spans across editorial, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and more. For the cover, we asked her to illustrate a closed New York City street that captures the 2020 dining experience. In addition to this piece, she created the map on page 88. Find her on instagram @danieblobwater

TECHNIQUE: THE WAY TO GLASS NOODLES

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THE NEW HOSPITALITY

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Victor Huang provides a step-bystep guide to making slurpable glass noodles with a QQ texture that won’t quit.

ON THE PLATE: PRESERVING THE DUCK

Left with a fridge full of ducks, Olmsted’s Taylor Hester turned to pastrami brine.

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Carrying the weight of New Yorkers’ livelihoods, restaurant professionals like Sommelier Emmeline Zhao are leveling with their guests to make operations a bit simpler.

MARKET VALUE

When Greenpoint institution Maria’s Deli closed, the proprietor was reluctant to pass down her space, until her friend Edouard Massih promised to pay homage to the deli through his new concept, Edy’s Grocer.

THE RESET BUTTON

Through redefined menus, paredback but highly trained staff and a focus on employee welfare, these culinary professionals share how they’ve emerged victorious through COVID-19.

NO MORTADELLA LEFT BEHIND

At Carmenta’s, America's finest mortadella is the foundation of their meaty, unctuous vodka sauce.

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BLONDE AMBITION

Auzerais Bellamy is a blondie business maven.

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BREAD WINNERS

During the most difficult times, New York bakers are still churning out accessible, fresh-out-of-theoven products. Here are our favorites.

PERFECT PAIRINGS

An accompanying wine, beer or cocktail takes these dishes to the next level.

GOOD TO GO

Bartenders across the city are taking advantage of the legalization of to-go cocktails with creative methods and packaging.

EMBRACING CHANGE

Natasha David tells the story of closing Nitecap and reckoning with the state of the hospitality community.

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LETTER FROM TEAM STARCHEFS

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KITCHEN NOTEBOOK

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I SUPPORT

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RECIPES

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ADVERTISERS GUIDE

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RISING STARS RESTAURANT MAP

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33

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CHEFS PAUL DONNELLY Tuxedo Hospitality

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COMMUNITY ERIC SEE Ursula PASTRY CHEFS JULIE ELKIND Bâtard

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SOMMELIERS ELIZA CHRISTEN Lilia and Misi

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JAE LEE Nowon

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DIEGO MOYA Racines NY

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70

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KYO PANG Kopitiam

MICHELLE PALAZZO Frenchette

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SUNGCHUL SHIM Kochi

CAROLINE SCHIFF Gage & Tollner

HARRISON GINSBERG Crown Shy

BAKERS ADIR MICHAELI Michaeli Bakery

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SHANNON TEBAY Death & Co

AUTUMN MOULTRIE & BRIAN VILLANUEVA Back Alley Bread

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SAKE BREWERS BRANDON DOUGHAN & BRIAN POLEN Brooklyn Kura

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MENTOR JAMES KENT Crown Shy

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JAY WOLMAN LaLou

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GAME CHANGER ALAN DELGADO Oxomoco

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CONCEPT JIHAN LEE, LISA LIMB, & TAKA SAKAEDA Nami Nori

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MASA MAKERS MATTHEW DIAZ & CARLOS MACÍAS For All Things Good

JHONEL FAELNAR Atomix BARTENDERS BRIAN EVANS Sunday Hospitality

National Rising Stars Partners Symrise, Steelite International, Vitamix Commercial, Niman Ranch, S.Pellegrino, Kikkoman USA, TCHO Chocolate, True Aussie Lamb, Wines from Spain, Singer M.Tucker, Centerline by Hobart, Fresh Origins, Lone Mountain Wagyu, Savencia Cheese USA, Buffalo Trace 2

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Photography by Michelle Demuth-Bibb at The Culinary Vegetable Institute

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Equipment · Supplies · Disposables · PPE www.mtucker.com marketing@singerequipment.com N E W YORK CI T Y 2020

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Letter from Team StarChefs MOVING THE INDUSTRY FORWARD FOR 25 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

Will Blunt MANAGING PARTNER Erin Lettera DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Kendyl Kearly FOOD & DRINKS EDITOR

Jaclyn Warren PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Ivy Croteau ASSOCIATE MARKETING MANAGER

Olivia Hebrand MARKETING COORDINATOR

Amelia Schwartz ASSOCIATE EDITOR Julia Abanavas CULINARY AMBASSADOR

Becki Kozel DESIGN DIRECTOR Madeline Mark DIGITAL MEDIA ASSISTANT

CONTRIBUTING RECIPE EDITOR Dominick Costantino CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Natasha David, Marisel Salazar, Marcus Samuelsson, Hannah Selinger, Emmeline Zhao CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Danie Drankwalter, Hannah Li, Becki Kozel, Jaclyn Warren CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS Briana Balducci, Daniel Tornatore DESIGN BY The Bad Collective

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For StarChefs, New York is different from other markets—this is our home. Instead of flying in with the unbiased palates of outsiders, our Brooklyn-based team dines at these restaurants and bars every week on our own time. And we saw first-hand what the city’s hospitality industry has been going through this year. We heard the same sirens, trudged through the same rainstorms that lost business, worried over news from the mayor’s and governor’s offices, and ordered local food to our tiny apartments during quarantine. We watched this industry crisis unfold in real time.

It has been a true privilege to taste with and interview 108 restaurant professionals while developing this issue. As we talked through masks, they opened up about their worries and financial difficulties. Despite the uncertainty, we tasted some damn good food and drinks, relished each other's company, and even managed to have a few laughs.

We were amazed to see our Rising Stars Award winners innovate during these stressful times. Bakers Autumn Moultrie and Brian Villanueva founded Back Alley Bread out of their apartment because they no longer had work as chefs and loved baking. Chef Diego Moya of Racines NY created two community gardens to continue his legacy of highlighting produce. After closing his business this year, Chef Eric See opened a second, Ursula, to serve the Crown Heights community.

“The Reset Button” feature (page 38) offers a look at how some businesses have used this time as a jumping-off point to try new things and reinvent rather than just adapt. “Good to Go” (page 72) delves into the newly sprouted culture surrounding to-go cocktails, now that it’s legal to stroll down the street with a bottled negroni in hand.

In addition to practical information such as a glass noodle tutorial (page 27), an homage to mortadella (page 42) and a personality quiz about NYC baked goods (page 58), we tried to get to the heart of what the industry is going through this year.

We know that it’s not the healthiest time for most chefs, so we asked Sol Sips’ Francesca Chaney for kitchen wellness tips (page 22). For chefs who want to feed those in need, Rethink Food’s Winston Chiu and Collective Fare’s Femi Rodney Frazer share the dos and don’ts of starting a community food hub (page 14).

We’re honored to share some first-person anecdotes from the voices of industry professionals. Silver Apricot’s Emmeline Zhao explains how hospitality expectations have changed for both staff and diners (page 31). Natasha David tells the story of closing her bar, Nitecap, with a call to action for restaurateurs (page 82). And Marcus Samuelsson opens the issue with a letter to New York (page 7), declaring, “Hospitality workers are essential workers, and it’s time to celebrate them with the recognition and respect they deserve.”

So we thank the restaurant community for its contributions to the city and hope you enjoy this issue, our small way to celebrate you.

Team StarChefs

Kitchen Notebook SCRAP IT ALL

Da Toscano Chef de Cuisine William Tuggle fiddled with a lobster recipe for days, but it just wasn’t coming together. The lobster component, which Tuggle thought would be the easiest, seemed forced. Feeling defeated, he looked down at his empty lobster shells and remembered the goldmine sitting in his freezer: three months’ worth of seafood shells and scraps that he had hoarded during quarantine. So Tuggle threw the shells—mostly composed of lobster and carabineros shrimp—into a pot and simmered them into sugo. He serves it beneath the layers and layers of a celery root millefeuille. As the celery root is pressed and seared, it exchanges its sweetness for a deep savoriness. But Tuggle adds that sweetness right back in with celery root cream and macerated Granny Smith apples. So Tuggle did make a lobster dish—it was just a little scrappier than expected.

FAT CHANCE

When a corzetti dish at Kindred left the kitchen with 19 quarts of ‘nduja, Head Bartender Charlotte Mirzoeff had a savory, smoky idea. For the Daisy Verde cocktail (“margarita” means “daisy” in Spanish), she renders the pork, reserving its juices to fat-wash with mezcal in glass jars. To replace the lime that would normally accent a margarita, she makes an acid-adjusted celery juice with a centrifuge juicer. Mirzoeff says, “By adjusting the acid of the celery juice, the drink stays balanced without watering down the desired flavor.” The juice then gets mixed with Giffard Pineapple, simple syrup and saline solution. (Mirzoeff believes that the most underappreciated ingredient in cocktails is salt.) She has tried variations with coconut oil, olive oil, chicken fat, and bacon fat, but some chile must be added to replicate the ‘nduja’s spicy finish (full recipe on page 84).

THE CORN DUMPLING CURE

When all goes to hell, we lean on the foods that evoke a sense of nostalgia and sweet childhood memories. At Mokyo, Chef Kyungmin Kay Hyun’s small plates channel just that. Hyun seamlessly blends her Korean heritage with playful, globally inspired flavors. Take her dumplings. The delicate, steamed dumpling wrapper is reminiscent of a ravioli, stuffed with corn that’s smoked in grits and mixed with heavy cream. “This idea comes from elote,” says Hyun. “I love Mexican food, so I made my own version of a dumpling with a Mexican feel.” It’s treated with a drizzle of truffle oil and a punchy salsa verde, balancing out the dumplings’ oh-so-rich stickiness.

It’s all tied together with freshly shaved fennel and parmesan. One bite will send any diner back to eating elotes with a face smothered in juicy, grilled corn, crema and queso fresco.

DOWN BY THE BOARDWALK

Mirchi pakora might be an Indian street food staple, but there’s something so very Nathan's-corn-dog-at-the-Coney Island-boardwalk-on-the-Fourthof-July about Rahi Chef Eric Valdez’s version. Let us explain: Although the fried-chickpea flour crust is fairly traditional, Valdez’s stuffing swaps out the typical potatoes, onions, and chaat masala for chanterelle mushrooms coated in amul cheese (essentially the American cheese of India: highly processed and often served in a can). Valdez balances the dish with a tamarind-date chutney, spicy mayo, and crispy shoestring potatoes. Unlike a corndog, it’s best that this pepper is not served on a stick because as soon as you cut it open, the melty cheese oozes out and mingles with the chutney and mayo. The dish becomes sweet, salty, spicy and indulgent in the best possible way (full recipe on page 84).

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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dear new york

by Marcus Samuelsson

There’s no denying that COVID-19 has dealt brutal blows to us all. The reach of the pandemic has extended to everyone, regardless of race, age or class. Back in March, Chef Floyd Cardoz became my first close friend to pass away from the coronavirus. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Americans have succumbed to this cruel disease.

In the midst of so much darkness, it can be difficult to find any light. However, it's important to remember the old adage that the worst of times can bring out the best in people. If this pandemic has taught me anything, it’s that the saying is truer now than it’s ever been.

Over these past few months, I’ve witnessed my companions and colleagues from the hospitality community step up in ways greater than I could have imagined. Through partnerships with organizations like World Central Kitchen, cooks, servers, dishwashers, porters, and more have risen to the challenge and supported their communities. In just our restaurants in Harlem, Newark and Miami, we’ve served over 200,000 meals to those who have needed it the most.

Seeing massive queues of folks waiting outside of our restaurants for a long-overdue meal made me reflect on what I cook and who I cook for. The thought of serving amuse bouches and tasting menus on white tablecloths and fine china became something rooted in the past. As chefs, we love to create and push boundaries, but there’s more to cooking than that. Going forward, we must find a balance between cooking to feed our souls and cooking to feed those in need.

Today, running a restaurant is so much about nourishing and healing the communities in which we live and work. And by communities, I mean our neighborhoods but also the hospitality community at large. After some of the most stressful and uncertain times ever in our industry, it’s paramount for cooks and chefs to check in on one another. My dear friend Jonathan Waxman recommended that I call or text two fellow chefs and restaurant workers every day, just to stay connected. Hearing the voices of chefs such as Nyesha Arrington, Edouardo Jordan, Daniel Boulud, and Eric Ripert really helped me stay sane and engaged. But it was the voices of the line cooks and dishwashers I talked to that proved just how strong this industry is. These folks who are the backbone of everything we do exuded dedication and commitment to service in the face of danger and uncertainty, setting an example for all of us.

The post-COVID-19 restaurant industry will certainly look dramatically different. Not only have so many establishments closed their doors for good, but there’s been a massive reevaluation of how restaurants should operate and build healthy cultures. We need to build an industry that supports not only the diners, but our staffs as well. Hospitality workers are essential workers, and it’s time to celebrate them with the recognition and respect they deserve.

For cooks and chefs, cooking is our way of healing and connecting with others. It’s time for all of us to keep cooking and creating. When this passes, our communities will need to be nourished by the experience that restaurants offer. I know that when that day comes, we’ll be there for them. I’ve never been prouder of being a part of this industry. Keep cooking and keep rising.

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PRESERVING THE DUCK

by Amelia Schwartz

When Olmsted was forced to halt service, the kitchen was left with a fridge full of produce, condiments and way too many ducks. Chef de Cuisine Taylor Hester refused to waste the precious birds. “The night everything was closed, we had to do something [to the ducks],” says Hester. So he turned to the brine being used for Olmsted’s beef pastrami, and three days later, his duck pastrami was born. In May, Olmsted owner Greg Baxtrom and Hester reopened the restaurant as Olmsted Trading Post, selling artisanal, packaged items straight from the kitchen. The duck pastrami was an immediate hit, and when it came time to open for outdoor dining, Hester had to put it on the menu. This dish’s success is more than just the protein but also in that radicchio, that pecan jus, that duck heart sidecar—all of its complex elements acting in harmony to elevate that noble duck pastrami. Let’s break it down (full recipe on page 84).

THE DUCK PASTRAMI Hester treats his duck breasts to a wet brine packed with aromatics, and after 48 hours, it’s removed and rubbed with a mixture of black pepper, coriander and brown mustard seed. The duck gets transferred to a smoker, where it smokes for two hours over hickory wood chips. Hester slices the duck to reveal its tender meat and a thin, melt-in-yourmouth layer of fat, a contrast to the blackened, peppery skin.

THE HERB OIL

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

The parsley-chive-bay leaf oil follows the jus, providing a pop of color and bright herbaceousness to balance the decadent pastrami, jus and radicchio.

THE GRILLED RADICCHIO Hester halves and lightly blanches local Treviso radicchio and seasons it with grapeseed oil, salt and pepper before it gets grilled over coals. The radicchio, with its charred, wilted edges, is plated beside the pastrami.

THE FIGS Raw, halved figs are delicately laid atop each collection of duck pastrami and radicchio.

You’ve gotta dip and smother the fig in the pecan-duck jus for the optimal fall flavor bomb.

Think duck figgy pudding.

THE PECAN DUCK JUS Reserved duck bones and feet are roasted, then added to a pot with mirepoix and water and simmered overnight. The next morning, Hester reduces the broth, mounts it in butter, and simmers it more to thicken. He folds in pecan oil, toasted pecans, braised radicchio, and figs. This sticky jus gets spooned over the duck pastrami and grilled radicchio like gravy on Turkey Day.

THE DUCK HEART SIDECAR Hester channels Maison Yaki, the famed French-Japanese yakitori restaurant where he was once chef de cuisine, for a grilled duck heart skewer. Hester brines duck hearts for 12 hours, then skewers them with radicchio and fig. He grills the skewer and dips it in that immaculate duck jus to form a glaze. The flavor of the skewer is akin to the pastrami plate but much more pronounced and concentrated.

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CHE F

Paul Donnelly

TUXEDO HOSPITALITY Born and raised a Scot, Paul Donnelly was once ashamed to be the only boy in his class who was killing it in home economics. But all he wanted to do was cook, so he decided to attend culinary school at Glasgow Metropolitan College while working at Cameron's Restaurant and staging at Gordon Ramsay’s Amaryllis. Upon graduation, Donnelly found limited culinary opportunities to cook Asian food in Scotland but was inspired by the nature documentaries he loved so dearly. With visions of Australian wildlife (edible and otherwise), he moved to Sydney.

The first job he landed there was on the wok at Japanese restaurant Ivy Teppanyaki, followed by Sailors Thai.

In 2010, Donnelly interned with David Thompson at the Bangkok location of 10

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Nahm. He then returned to Sydney to work as head chef at Ms. G’s under the tutelage of the award-winning Vietnamese chef and restaurateur Dan Hong. In 2016, longtime friend Eddy Buckingham approached Donnelly about opening a Chinese restaurant in Manhattan.

By the time Donnelly arrived, he had no suppliers and almost no staff, only a menu and a sous chef. They opened Chinese Tuxedo two weeks later inside a historic Chinatown opera house.

Although Chinese Tuxedo was forced to temporarily close due to the pandemic, Donnelly’s team has remained busy. They opened the more casual, Pan-Asian The Tyger this September, right around the corner from Chinese Tuxedo, which reopened in November.

pdonnelly1 / chinesetuxedo / thetygernyc Favorite kitchen tool: KitchenAid Tool you wish you had: Extruder Favorite cookbook: Thai Food by David Thompson. It’s like the Bible of Thai food.

Most important kitchen rule: Respect and appreciate your colleagues; they will hold you up and you them throughout busy and demanding services.

Where you eat on your nights off: I love Via Carota, Ruffian, Ping's, and many more.

Place to visit for culinary travel: Tel Aviv Advice you'd give to young cooks: Take the younger years to listen and learn and research. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will your career. Take the time to determine what kind of chef you want to be.

CHEF

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

Egg noodles, oyster mushrooms, katsuobushi Chef Paul Donnelly of The Tyger Adapted by StarChefs

METHOD

INGREDIENTS Egg Noodles: Yield: 4 servings 280 grams 00 flour 120 grams semolina 4 eggs 50 milliliters extra virgin olive oil Salt

To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Salt 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 12 grams shio kombu 1 lemon cheek 1 tablespoon chopped chives 1 tablespoon cracked Kampot black pepper 100 grams oyster mushrooms Sugar Katsuobushi 40 grams butter 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 sprig parsley, chopped

For the Egg Noodles: This can be made in a KitchenAid or the traditional way, on a bench, the way everyone's nonna makes it. If using a KitchenAid, fit with a dough hook and combine flour, semolina and salt into the bowl. On low speed, add eggs one at a time and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the dough has lost its stickiness. Turn the speed up a touch and knead 5 minutes to work the gluten and gain elasticity. Remove onto a clean bench top and shape into a ball, wrap the pasta dough tightly in plastic wrap, and allow to rest for minimum 2 hours or overnight.

Lightly flour the bench top and cut the pasta ball in half. With a rolling pin, roll out each half into a squarish shape, lightly flouring the dough as it gets thinner to prevent stickiness or tears. If you have a pasta roller attachment, feed dough into the machine. If you don't, hand-cut dough with a

sharp knife. Divide pasta into 100-gram portions.

Leave uncovered in a dry area until ready to cook.

To Assemble and Serve: Prepare a medium-sized pot with salted, boiling water. Drop a portion of pasta to the pot and cook 1 minute or until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a separate saucepan over a medium-high flame.

Add oyster mushrooms and lightly fry to a golden brown color. Add shio kombu, soy and sugar and toss. Remove from heat. Add cooked pasta, butter and a little pasta water; stir to emulsify.

Add a squeeze of lemon and parsley and toss to combine. Transfer the pasta to the middle of a serving plate, sprinkle with chives and black pepper, and top with katsuobushi.

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CHE F

P H OTO : E R I N L E T T E R A

Jae Lee

NOWON At 8 years old, Jae Lee left Seoul with his family and a travel visa. He spent the next 12 years in America without a green card or social security card and never looked back, though he kept his heritage at heart. Lee began his culinary career in 2007 at the age of 18 at an East Village ramen shop. While simultaneously studying hospitality management and administration at the City University of New York, Lee fell in love with the craftsmanship of ramen but didn’t feel a personal connection to the food. All of the noodle shops popping up were Japanese, but he missed the Korean ramyun version.

For the next few years, Lee spent time as executive sous chef of Tribeca Canvas and met one of his mentors, Director of Operations Shik Ahn, then became a sous chef at Zuma. In 2015, Lee’s former boss, Masaharu Morimoto, opened Momosan Ramen & Sake in Murray Hill, and Lee landed the executive chef title. But a big job opportunity came Lee’s way again in 2017: executive chef at Hotel 50 Bowery and its accompanying restaurant, Rice & Gold. Here, Lee found another mentor, Dale Talde.

As the two developed menus together, Talde pushed Lee with thoughtful questions that helped him develop his vision as a chef. Before the restaurant closed in 2019, Lee founded a pop-up series, Him, which means “strength” in Korean. In late 2019, the resilient chef returned to the East Village to open Nowon, where he represents his Korean culture as an American citizen.

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jae.s.lee / nowon.nyc Favorite kitchen tool: Chef ’s knife Tool you wish you had: Big smoker Most important kitchen rule: Work as a team.

Where you eat on your nights off: Home cooking is best. Otherwise, any neighboring restaurants in the East Village.

Place to visit for culinary travel: All of Asia Advice you'd give to your younger self: Don’t look for fame. Only do this for the love of cooking and feeding guests great food.

Royal Kimchi Fried Rice

CHEF

Chef Jae Lee of Nowon Adapted by StarChefs

METHOD

INGREDIENTS Rice: Yield: 5 cups 1 kilogram sushi rice, washed 5 times Canola oil Braised Short Ribs: Yield: 6 to 8 servings 5 ounces Aussie beef short rib 1 ¼ cups Kikkoman soy sauce 2 cups Kikkoman aji mirin 1 cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 8 cloves garlic, smashed 1 teaspoon minced ginger Buttered Kimchi: 1 cup kimchi, chopped 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon sugar 2 teaspoons Kikkoman sesame oil

To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Canola oil 1 tablespoon fish sauce 1 tablespoon Kikkoman soy sauce 1 tablespoon gochujang 2 teaspoons Kikkoman sesame oil 1 tablespoon sliced scallion or chopped cilantro 2 ounces bean sprouts 1 egg, fried sunny-side-up 1 tablespoon torn seaweed 2 teaspoons sesame seeds Fresh Origins nasturtium leaves Fresh Origins micro shiso mix Bonito flakes

For the Rice: Cook rice in a rice cooker with 1.1 kilograms water. Once cooked, rest 10 minutes. Lay rice out on sheet trays; let dry in the fridge 1 day or overnight. Remove rice from fridge and crumble. Massage with canola oil to keep the grains separated.

For the Braised Short Rib: Preheat oven to 400°F. Add short rib and 1 quart water to a large pot; blanche 30 minutes. Transfer short rib to a hotel pan with remaining ingredients. Wrap tightly with aluminum foil and braise 2 to 2½ hours or until tender. Cool in its own liquid.

For the Buttered Kimchi: Chop kimchi into small, bite-size pieces. In a saute pan over medium heat, add butter and kimchi. Cook until butter is melted and kimchi is warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and sesame oil.

Transfer to a nonreactive container; reserve.

To Assemble and Serve: In a nonstick saute pan over high heat, add canola oil and ½ cup Buttered Kimchi and cook down until wilted. Add 1½ cups Rice and cook for 1 minute, tossing frequently. Season with fish sauce, soy sauce, gochujang, and sesame oil. Transfer kimchi rice to a skillet over medium heat and stir in scallions and bean sprouts, and let the rice caramelize. Dice 5 ounces Braised Short Rib and warm in the oven.

Transfer kimchi rice to a serving plate and top with Braised Short Rib, egg, seaweed, sesame, Fresh Origins nasturtium, Fresh Origins micro shiso mix, and bonito.

Soy sauce, sesame oil and aji mirin provided

by Kikkoman USA Beef short rib provided by True Aussie Beef Nasturtium leaves and micro shiso mix provided by Fresh Origins

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

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T H E

D O S

A N D

D O N ' T S

O F

OPENING A COMMUNITY FOOD HUB BY

As the industry buckles under the strain of the pandemic, inspirational stories about restaurateurs feeding their lowincome neighborhoods have been heralded through the city. But issues of finance and sustainability leave these programs in question. After all, approximately 1.4 million New Yorkers (including 339,000 children) rely on emergency food programs, according to the Food Bank for New York City, and that’s before COVID-19 shriveled resources. Winston Chiu founded Rethink Food to serve more than 1.25 million fresh meals through its restaurant network, cafe and food truck. Femi Rodney Frazer is executive chef and co-founder of Collective Fare catering company, which pivoted in March to distributing meals, now 2,000 per day, from the Brownsville Community Culinary Center. Frazer’s biggest piece of advice: “Find it in yourself. Make sure you’re committed. This is a long ride.”

Do: Reach out to the government.

When he had a surplus of food at the beginning of the pandemic, Chiu contacted elected leaders to ensure soup kitchens were surviving and still operating with donations. Frazer has been working with local politicians Eric Adams, Alicka Ampry-Samuel and Latrice Walker. If a restaurant is feeding people, it can adapt its financial model by applying for government grants.

Do: Work with nonprofits.

“Get involved with nonprofits that are committed to and aligned with your mission statement,” says Frazer, who points out that there are 704 nonprofits in Brownsville alone. Many of his nonprofit partners aren’t even related to food but financers, health care professionals and housing advocates to attack the problem from all sides.

Collective Fare has worked with Rethink, World Central Kitchen, North Brooklyn Angels, Men Elevating Leadership Inc, the James Hemings Society, the Isabahlia Ladies of Elegance Foundation, and more.

Frazer recommends doing research into the local nonprofit scene, going on site visits, and, “Don’t exhaust resources, but try to keep fuel in the tank until the next thing comes up.”

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K E N DY L

K E A R LY

Do: Ingrain yourself in the community.

Frazer suggests that the first thing to do after opening a restaurant is to meet with community board members. Then, during hard times, people will remember that you once donated food or hired a loved one who needed a job. “It’s a good place to build the foundation,” Frazer says.

Do: Cut out the middleman.

Zoning has forced Brownsville to be a mostly industrialized market and food desert. If your local grocery store doesn’t have much to donate, forge direct links with farmers, distributors or community growing programs.

Don’t: Forget the area’s culture.

Seniors are one of the most vulnerable populations during a disaster, and Chiu wanted to aid those living in Chinatown.

He knew PB&Js weren’t going to cut it for elderly Chinese-Americans, so Rethink came in with rice-based dishes.

Don’t: Ignore the needs of your staff.

Restaurant staff are often the ones hit on the lower end of the K-shaped recovery, meaning as the rich get richer, bussers and dishwashers are having an even more difficult time. Remember that some of the people in need might work in your kitchen. To combat this, Rethink put together grocery bags for employees. At Collective Fare, Frazer is all about upward mobility. He doesn’t like for anyone to work under him for more than two years and encourages a flexible schedule for people to pursue their other jobs and passions. “To get the team to quickly pivot, you can only do something of that magnitude when you have built up a tremendous amount of trust,” says owner Yvette Leeper-Bueno, whose Vinatería restaurant in Harlem has been feeding 300 to 500 needy people per day. “A lot of the role you wear as a restaurateur is keeping that barometer on how people are feeling.”

Don’t: Throw out the scraps.

Rethink has built a cycle of sorts through its partners. Honey from Annie’s Ginger Elixir gets sent to Kings County Distillery to produce spirits, and extra whiskey goes to Mast Brothers chocolate to fill their sweets. Rethink has a compost program that serves Brooklyn Grange, where Chiu sources some of his ingredients. So communicate with your neighbors on what is available to be reused.

Don’t: Follow the status quo.

Chiu and Frazer both champion creativity to diversify restaurant portfolios. Rethink created an incubation lab out of its commissary kitchen to work with new businesses, and Collective Fare is trying a pilot program to accept SNAP benefits for healthy dishes at its restaurant. “The restaurant model is very antiquated,” Chiu says. “It’s the only industry that doesn’t make sense as an investor. We make excuses for it. But we do it because we love it.”

CHEF

Diego Moya RACINES NY

In his native Chile, Diego Moya would cook and preserve the fruit growing in his family’s backyard. When he was 6, they moved to Long Island, where his parents opened a pizzeria. He spent every day there, prepping ingredients and learning the ins and outs of the kitchen.

Moya traveled to Peru to cook at Astrid y Gaston, then Paris at Le Comptoir and L’Arpège, where he met his mentor, Alain Passard. As he journeyed, Moya worked on farms and studied biodynamics and permaculture, developing an appreciation for fine produce.

After returning to New York, Moya spent time at Dovetail, Kin Shop and Casa Mono before founding a supper club, Cure, out of his Williamsburg apartment in 2012. The experiment, which focused on food and drink pairings, helped him prepare to open his Lower East Side vegforward restaurant, Hemlock, in 2016.

(Diners swooned over his sweet potato loaf with burned leaf butter.)

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With the shuttering of Hemlock came a new opportunity: the formidable Racines NY wine bar in Tribeca. As executive chef, Moya creates a host of brightly colored dishes featuring his signature affinity for vegetables, coupled with ethically sourced meat. When Racines temporarily closed due to the coronavirus, Moya volunteered at a community garden on Randall’s Island and started two of his own in Battery Park and Alphabet City.

diegomoya / racines_ny Favorite kitchen tool: Rational combi oven Kitchen tool you wish you had: Kopa charcoal oven Most important kitchen rule: Cleanliness Favorite cookbook: Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables Advice to your younger self: Take care of your body if you want to have a long career.

Place to visit for culinary travel: Oaxaca Where you eat on your nights off: Ugly Baby, Atoboy, and Ayada N E W YORK CI T Y 2020

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CHEF

Avocado squash, labneh, pumpkin seed, burnt lime Chef Diego Moya of Racines NY Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Herbed Labneh: 4 cups whole milk Greek yogurt Salt 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 tablespoon chopped anise hyssop flower 1 clove garlic, grated 2 tablespoons fennel oil (can be substituted with a quality, grassy olive oil)

For the Herbed Labneh: Line a medium bowl with cheesecloth so all of the surface is covered. Place yogurt in the center of the cloth, trying to keep it as tall as possible. Bring each corner of the cheesecloth together and gently tie all four corners with a bit of twine. Place the bundle over a perforated strainer over another bowl to allow whey to drain. Let drain in the refrigerator for 2 days, until the texture has thickened and it resembles a creamy, young goat cheese. Place in a medium bowl and season with salt, herbs and garlic. Add fennel oil and stir until emulsified. Reserve.

Pumpkin Seed Purée: 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds 2 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon dried urfa biber pepper (or aleppo pepper) 2 tablespoons honey Juice of 4 limes, reserving spent lime shells Burnt Lime Powder: Dried urfa biber pepper (or aleppo) Reserved lime shells To Assemble and Serve: 1 avocado squash Salt Olive oil

For the Pumpkin Seed Purée: To a Vitamix blender, add pumpkin seeds, garlic, urfa biber, 2 cups water, and honey. Let soak for 30 minutes. Blend on high speed until the container is warm and the mixture looks like smooth peanut butter. Season with lime juice to taste, reserve any remaining juice.

For the Burnt Lime Powder: Preheat an oven to 375°F. On a medium sheet tray lined with parchment, roast reserved lime cores until charred and black. If there is still a little moisture, lower heat to 200°F and dehydrate until the cores are completely dry; cool. Place into a Vitamix blender container and blitz at high speed until pulverized. Pass through a fine mesh sieve. Combine with 1 part urfa biber.

To Assemble and Serve Slice avocado squash into thin, wedge-like chunks. Marinate the cut squash pieces with reserved lime juice, salt and olive oil. In a small serving bowl, place a dollop of Herbed Labneh and smear across the bottom. Add a spoonful of the Pumpkin Seed Purée to the center of the plate. Top with slices of marinated squash and garnish each piece with Burnt Lime Powder.

Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender Featured plateware: Anfora Crete by Steelite

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

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®

AND CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY

We’re standing with the restaurant industry during these uncertain times.

Our all natural beef, pork, and lamb are raised sustainably and humanely by independent U.S. family farmers and ranchers to produce The Finest Tasting Meat in the World®.

Let’s connect 18

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Discover more about us at nimanranch.com

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

Kyo Pang KOPITIAM

Kyo Pang is a third-generation Baba Nyonya (also called Peranakan)—an ethnic group that was the result of a centuries-long history of transculturation and interracial marriage. Pang grew up in Penang, Malaysia, following the culture’s matriarchal traditions. Her mom came from traditional Nyonyas who specialize in sweets, and Pang’s father’s family was known for making coffees and savory food.

He inherited a coffee shop and turned it into a restaurant; by the time Pang was 16, she helped her father manage four restaurants across the city.

But even though Pang was raised in the food industry, she was taught that it was for the poorly educated. So, when she moved to New York in 2009, she studied public relations, advertising, and marketing at the City University of New York. For the next five years, she dabbled in nightlife, hotels, fashion, events, and PR.

In 2015, feeling nostalgic for the food she grew up with, Pang began cooking and selling Malaysian snacks and coffee at street fairs. She’d sell out in two hours.

Later that year, Pang opened Kopitiam— named after traditional Malaysian coffee shops—as a tiny four-seat, to-go shop in Chinatown. Torn between pursuing event planning versus following her heart and family legacy, Pang closed the space, only to reopen Kopitiam one year later as a larger cafe. Serving traditional Malaysian dishes like pan mee, nasi lemak, and pandan chicken, in addition to signature pulledcoffee drinks, Kopitiam made Bon Appétit’s 2019 “Hot 10” list. In addition to Pang's #kopitiamcares charitable program, Pang works with Rethink Food to feed low- and no-income people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

kyo_pang78 / kopitiamnyc Favorite kitchen tool: Hands. They’re the bridge that connects the food with your soul.

Favorite cookbook: James Syhabout and John Birdsall’s Hawker Fare.

Most important kitchen rule: Energy and patience. I understand that the kitchen can be hectic, but patience is the key to good energy.

Places to visit for culinary travel: China and Japan Advice you’d give to younger chefs: Passion, patience, proceed. Acknowledge your passion, be patient throughout the whole process, and proceed with both.

Repeat.

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CHE F

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Mee Hun Kueh Chef Kyo Pang of Kopitiam Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

METHOD:

Noodle Dough: 200 grams all-purpose flour 1 egg 5 grams sea salt 10 milliliters vegetable oil

For the Noodle Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook, combine flour, egg, and salt. While mixing, gradually add 100 milliliters each of water, then oil. Keep mixing until smooth and no longer sticky. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with kitchen towel, and let rest 30 minutes.

Anchovy Broth: 100 grams fried anchovies Oil for frying 10 grams chicken stock 10 grams salt

For the Anchovy Broth: In a frying pan over medium-high heat, fry anchovies with oil until golden brown and crispy. Remove from heat; transfer half of the fried anchovies to a spice bag and reserve for topping. In a medium pot over high heat, add 1½ liters water, stock and salt. Bring to boil and remove any scum that appears on the surface. Keep warm and set aside.

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Pork and Mushroom Topping: 100 milliliters vegetable oil 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 150 grams ground Niman Ranch pork 10 milliliters caramelized dark soy sauce 2 tablespoons Kikkoman oyster sauce 10 milliliters cooking wine 20 milliliters Kikkoman sesame oil 25 grams wood ear mushrooms, washed and soaked for 10 minutes 5 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked for 10 minutes, stems removed and sliced 50 grams rock sugar To Assemble and Serve: 1 bunch spinach 2 ounces fried shallots 50 grams fried anchovies Fresh Thai red chile 10 milliliters light soy sauce

For the Pork and Mushroom Topping: Heat vegetable oil in a wok over a medium-high flame. Add garlic and stir-fry until aromatic. Add pork, and use spatula to break up into smaller pieces. Stir in dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, wine, and sesame oil. Add mushrooms, continuing to stir for 2 minutes. Add sugar and turn down heat to low, letting the pork braise while the sugar dissolves. Once dissolved, remove from heat and set aside.

To Assemble and Serve: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Divide the Noodle Dough into 4 portions. Hand-pull and tear the dough into flat shapes and drop them into the boiling water. When the noodles float to the surface, strain and transfer to serving bowls. Return Anchovy Broth to a boil and add spinach. Transfer and divide Anchovy Broth and spinach into serving bowls over the noodles. Add 2 tablespoons Pork and Mushroom Topping to each bowl. Garnish with fried anchovies and shallots. Serve hot with red chiles and soy sauce.

Oyster sauce and sesame oil provided by Kikkoman USA Ground pork provided by Niman Ranch

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& Y SOL D O B How is the industry taking care of itself?

B Y K E N DY L K E A R LY

In a 2017 study conducted by London-based trade union Unite, almost half of chefs reported working between 48 and 60 hours per week, and 14 percent worked more than 60. Due to the hours and fatigue, 69 percent believed their health has been negatively impacted, 51 percent have had depression, and 78 percent have had or nearly had an accident at work from tiredness.

“My biggest tip for self-care is that I’ve been going into the kitchen more at night—night has been very peaceful,” says Francesca Chaney, chef and owner of Sol Sips. “I can blast my music, be really creative, and enjoy the kitchen without the intensity of having tickets coming in. It allows me to love the space and appreciate it.”

Wellness is intrinsically connected to Chaney’s business model. After working at an apothecary shop, she started selling her own health drinks. Sol Sips is now a plant-based concept that aims to make wellness more accessible to its Bushwick, Brooklyn community by providing meal kits and hosting sliding-income-scale brunches.

When things settle down, Chaney wants to keep working toward a nutritionist degree so she can serve personalized plates based on health. Oh yeah, and she’s also a doula.

“The wellness world has been hyperinflated,” Chaney says. “My family has used these herbs and things for years that are now becoming buzz words. [Sol Sips] is reclaiming the things my parents and grandparents worked with.”

To respect the needs of her team, Chaney has been checking in with everyone, allowing flexibility in scheduling, and understanding that interactions with strangers can be more draining than usual, so she swaps employees off between front- and back-of-house roles. For overworked chefs, Chaney recommends smoothies with maca root, yoga (A few sun salutations never hurt anyone), and eating breakfast, not just tasting from the line. She says, “It helps me to know that I've had time to nourish myself before I nourish everyone else.”

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“I meet with my therapist biweekly on Zoom. When this all first started, I had a beautiful balance of yoga, biking and focusing on physical health and mental wellbeing, which has fallen by the wayside. That balance has been hard to strike but something I am working on.”

– Bartender Haley Traub, Attaboy

“I used to dance and wanted to get back into it. Dance is very cathartic.”

– Chef Adrienne Cheatham, Sunday Best

“I started surfing a lot this summer.

That is my source of respite. Getting in the water is so restorative.”

– Roaster Reagan Petrehn, Felix Roasting Co.

“I meditate and teach meditation.

The hard thing about COVID is you spend time in the kitchen and want to drink after.”

– Chef Matt Le-Khac, Bolero

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

In our 100-plus restaurant visits for this issue of Rising Stars, we asked almost everyone the same question: During all this chaos, how are you taking care of yourself? Many of the responses were encouraging—running, biking, yoga—but we also received a lot of blank pauses with the unspoken answer: “I’m not.”

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

CHEF

Sungchul Shim KOCHI

Sungchul Shim’s love for food began with French toast in South Korea. He loved the breakfast item so much that he taught himself how to make it. As he soaked and pan-fried milk bread, he watched cooking shows and took cooking classes in high school. He went to culinary school in Seoul and got his first job washing dishes in a hotel.

After spending a few years in the military and learning English in Utah, Shim came to New York in 2005. He attended the Culinary Institute of America and scored an externship at Le Bernardin. In 2006, Shim worked

on the line at Aureole and Peacock Alley at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel before becoming chef de partie at Gordon Ramsay in The London Hotel. Shim began working for the three-Michelin-starred Per Se in 2009 and stayed for more than two years.

In 2014, Shim was hired as executive chef of Neta, where his 19-course Japanese tasting menu received two stars from The New York Times. Shim’s first solo project, Kochi, opened in November 2019. The 7-course menu is inspired by the Korean royal court (and a good value at $95), but Shim still uses the same milk bread from his French toast days.

sung.shim / kochinyc

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CHEF

Wagyu-foie gras mandu, black rice vinegar, chile oil Chef Sungchul Shim of Kochi Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 15 dumplings

INGREDIENTS Bulgogi Marinade: 150 grams onion purée 90 grams garlic purée 90 grams ginger juice 200 grams Asian pear purée 450 grams Kikkoman soy sauce 150 grams sugar 150 grams Kikkoman aji mirin 70 grams Kikkoman sesame oil 8 grams black pepper Wagyu Brisket: 2 pounds trimmed Lone Mountain Wagyu brisket Salt Black pepper Mandu Dough: 145 grams all-purpose flour 25 grams sweet rice flour 1 gram salt

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

Chile Oil: 100 grams soybean paste 50 grams Kikkoman aji mirin 50 grams fine gochugaru

METHOD 30 grams coarse gochugaru 200 grams roasted garlic oil 30 grams rayu 100 grams minced dehydrated onion 300 grams roasted garlic, chopped 50 grams Kikkoman soy sauce

For the Bulgogi Marinade: In a nonreactive container, combine all ingredients with 150 grams water. Set aside.

For the Brisket: Season brisket with salt and pepper. Prep a water bath with an immersion circulator set to 58°C. To a vacuum bag, add brisket and 250 grams Bulgogi Marinade. Cook sous vide for 48 hours.

Black Rice Vinegar Foam: 6 gelatin sheets, bloomed 350 grams Kikkoman soy sauce 330 grams black rice vinegar 300 grams Kikkoman rice vinegar 350 grams sherry vinegar 100 grams sugar 10 grams salt 6 grams xanthan gum

For the Mandu Dough: In a sieve placed over a bowl, combine flours and salt; sift.

Add 25 grams boiling water. Knead 4 minutes to form dough, adding up to 40 grams cold water until dough is soft and flexible. Let rest 1 hour. Roll out dough into a long rope 1 inch in diameter. Cut 8-gram portions and roll out to 3¾-inch circles. Dust each with flour and cover with plastic wrap.

To Assemble and Serve: 265 grams Lone Mountain Wagyu, medium diced 125 grams duck foie gras, chopped 50 grams chopped scallion whites 25 grams chopped garlic 25 grams black rice vinegar 7 to 12 grams potato starch

Black Rice Vinegar Foam: Add all ingredients to a Vitamix blender. Blend until combined; pass through a fine mesh sieve. Pour mixture into a foam canister to the indicated fill line. Charge twice and keep in ice water for 5 minutes before using.

For the Chile Oil: To a pan, combine all ingredients. Simmer for 1 hour. Turn off heat and cool.

To Assemble and Serve: To a medium bowl, combine all ingredients with 265 grams chopped Brisket and 90 grams Bulgogi Marinade. Separate into 75-gram portions. Press filling into the middle of each Mandu Dough wrapper. To seal the mandu, lift and pull the top edge of skin, using your thumb and index finger to make 15 small pleats. Repeat for each wrapper. Steam for 7 minutes at 100°F. Serve hot with 1 teaspoon of Chile Oil and a dash of Black Rice Vinegar Foam.

Soy sauce, sesame oil and aji mirin provided by Kikkoman USA Wagyu provided by Lone Mountain Wagyu Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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Book Report

by Jaclyn Warren

Passed through the generations and marked up with substitutions, cookbooks often hold a place of sentimentality for those who love food. We asked industry professionals about their favorite ones.

"Edna Lewis was the real first of the farmto-table movement. White men get all the credit. That's why I love her and The Country Cookbook. We wanted a bread service, so I started looking at Edna’s cookbooks, and our savory chef decided to execute the rolls with me. Baked in the cast-iron to get that crust, this bread is important to me. It’s so welcoming.”

–Pastry Chef Caroline Schiff, Gage & Tollner

“I first came across The Flavor Bible while bartending in San Francisco about 10 years ago! It has been an integral part of my journey as a bartender. It allowed me to really widen my base of flavor pairings. Over the years, I have used it to find that magic something that was missing from a drink I was crafting.”

–Bartender Crystal Chasse, Talk Story Rooftop at McCarren Hotel

“The New Pillsbury Family Cookbook—it was the first cookbook I ever read. My auntie had it in her library when I was growing up. She wouldn’t let me touch it because I had doodled in it as a toddler, but when I got older, I’d take it. I would make things out of the book, then hide everything and clean up before everyone got home because I wasn’t supposed to touch the stove! I told [my partner, Brian Villanueva] that story a couple of years ago, and he found the book online for my birthday.

Whenever I need inspiration, I pull it out and thumb through the faded pages. It’s so inspiring to look at the basic recipes I used to marvel at as a child and try to recreate them.” –Baker Autumn Moultrie, Back Alley Bread 26

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“My cookbook is due out next year. The process has been more consuming than I thought. I’ve worked on cookbooks with Eric [Ripert] and Marcus [Samuelsson], but the year of work that goes into it is intense. I still have a lot of my favorite books. I’m focusing now on books

by Black chefs like Toni-Tipton Martin, who did Jubilee and The Jemima Code.” –Chef Adrienne Cheatham, Sunday Best

THE WAY TO

glass noodles

Step 1 Start your steamer. You can use any type of steamer.

Bamboo steamer, steel steamer or even a makeshift wok steamer.

Step 2 Prepare the batter. Huang combines 200 grams of water and 800 grams of mung bean starch, but any 1:4 ratio will work. The batter should be thin and cloudy white like milk.

Step 3 Ladle. Scoop 12 ounces of the mung bean noodle

batter out onto a greased round cake pan. Make sure to thinly and uniformly coat the entire surface area of the pan.

Step 4 Steam. Gently transfer the cake pan over to your steamer. The pan should be able to stay flat and steady—if not, your noodles will come out uneven. Cover and steam for 1½ to 3 minutes.

Step 5 Check. Take a peek at your mung bean pancake.

It should now be clear like a pane of glass with a gelatin-like consistency. If it’s not there, just give it some more time.

Step 6 Cool. Grab the cake pan and plunge it into an ice bath, cooling the mung bean pancake completely.

Or you could stick it in your refrigerator or freezer instead, but be careful not to dry out or freeze it up.

Step 7 Release. Using a dough scraper or your

hands, very gently release the mung bean pancake from the cooled-down cake pan and lay it out onto a cutting board.

Step 8 Fold and slice. Fold the pancake in thirds

and slice heightwise to make about 2-inch-wide noodles or to the width of your choosing. But no matter how you slice it, you will end up with a pile of jiggly, handcut glass noodles.

Step 9 Top It. The glass noodles are super customizable, but we encourage you to follow Huang’s footsteps.

At Very Fresh Noodles, he tosses them with scallions, sesame sauce, toasted sesame seeds, cucumbers, suì mĭ yá cài (preserved mustard green stems native to Yibin, Sichuan), chile oil, fermented black beans, wood ear mushrooms, and seitan. That’s right, for all those who care, these noodles are gluten-free and vegan (full recipe on page 85).

Photos by Will Blunt

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PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

by Amelia Schwartz // Huddled in the narrow kitchen of Very Fresh Noodles’ Chelsea Market stall stand Chef Victor Huang and his small but mighty team, hands stretched wide as they pull flour-based dough. Huang gained recognition for these biang biang noodles— sometimes mixed with tingly Sichuan braised lamb, or dropped into a beef noodle soup, but always served in a to-go bowl that reads “Send Noodz.” But Huang has mastered the technique for a noodle that contains no flour and no stretching at all: glass noodles. Most often, glass noodles are made out of a pre-molded block of mung bean starch that is grated thin or chopped thick. In order to make his glass noodles more similar to the biang biang-style, Huang steams and slices the noodles flat and wide, so they’re light and slurpable with a QQ texture that won’t quit. Here’s how it’s done:

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

CHE F

Jay Wolman LALOU

Born in Houston and raised in Miami with a family from South Africa and London, Jay Wolman was the exception in a family of picky eaters. By the time he moved to New York at 21, he knew he liked to cook, but was apprehensive about entering such a competitive restaurant industry without formal culinary training.

So he read books, watched Jamie Oliver (among other cooking shows), and got a job at Cheeky Sandwiches on Orchard Street: his own personal culinary school.

He then met chef, farmer, and Rising Stars alum Chris Fischer, who encouraged Wolman to cook with him in Martha’s Vineyard. While there, Fischer introduced him to Restaurateur Andrew Tarlow, who hired Wolman as an oystershucker. Wolman spent the next four

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years between Tarlow’s Williamsburg restaurants, Marlow & Sons and Diner, and worked his way up to garde manger, to junior sous, to sous.

In 2016, Wolman followed his colleague, Chef Nick Perkins, to his newly opened Bedford-Stuyvesant restaurant Hart's, before spending time at Southern Italian restaurant King. Wolman returned to the Tarlow empire at both Roman’s and Reynard, where he served as executive sous chef. Hungry for a kitchen of his own, Wolman joined Fausto owner and Rising Stars alum Joe Campanale at his natural wine bar, LaLou. There, Wolman built a menu of market-driven, seasonal, precise plates, like a crisp kohlrabi caesar and a hearty, cured Boston mackerel with pancetta and salsa verde.

jay_wolman / laloubrooklyn Favorite kitchen tool: The basic Microplane.

I cannot imagine cooking without it.

Tool you wish you had: A wood-burning oven! An ice cream machine would be very fun to have around too.

Most important kitchen rule: Don’t ever put out a dish you wouldn’t want to eat yourself.

Where you eat on your nights off: I love a date with my partner at I Sodi or Frenchette.

Place to visit for culinary inspiration: London has all my favorite restaurants: Rochelle Canteen, Brawn, BRAT, P.Franco, and River Cafe.

Advice to your younger self: I wouldn’t give my younger self any advice. Everything is a process, and we get to where we want to be through each experience, both good and bad.

CHEF

Caraflex cabbage, Stilton, garlic oil, apricot Chef Jay Wolman of LaLou Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS Garlic Oil: 1 clove of garlic, microplaned 3 tablespoons high-quality extra virgin olive oil Apricot Paste: 1 handful dried apricots 1 cup white wine or sherry Stilton Sauce: 1 pound Colston Bassett Stilton, with rind 1 cup heavy cream To Assemble and Serve: 1 head Caraflex cabbage Fresh, cracked black pepper

METHOD For the Garlic Oil: Combine garlic and olive oil; reserve.

For the Apricot Paste: To a nonreactive container, combine apricots and wine. Cover and let soak until plump, about 1 hour. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until it forms a paste.

For the Stilton Sauce: To a saucepan over medium-low heat, add Stilton and melt. Add cream and cook, being careful not to boil, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

To Assemble and Serve: To a steamer basket, add cabbage and steam 7 minutes. Remove, cool, and quarter. To a cast-iron pan over high heat, add cabbage and sear until charred and crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes. Dress with Garlic Oil and 1 tablespoon Apricot Paste. Transfer cabbage to a plate and top with a tablespoon of Stilton Sauce and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper.

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MICRO HERB MIX™, MICRO MARIGOLD™, Pear Marigold Salad, Spice Pork Tenderloin, Coffee Oil, Maple Dressing Chef Roberto Cortez

The New Hospitality

By Emmeline Zhao, Managing Partner and Sommelier at Silver Apricot

We had a plan for 2020. My partners and I were on track to open a new restaurant in the West Village and had our eyes on continued growth for our three noodle shop locations. On the eve of the new year, we toasted to new beginnings and the start of what we hoped would be our biggest year yet.

By summer, we had permanently closed two locations and were grappling with how to handle our new restaurant space that had been sitting empty for several months.

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

This experience isn’t unique to us; we were just three of the more than 1,000 New York City restaurants that shuttered during the pandemic and one of the thousands more that had to shift gears to survive. Nearly overnight, we went from being small business owners and hospitality professionals to guardians of every member of our team and every guest that walks through our doors.

Never before have I felt the weight of an entire community on my shoulders.

The main principles that I’ve gleaned through opening and operating a restaurant during a pandemic is to have plans A, B, C, and D; to collaborate and communicate; to be transparent; and to set priorities. We’ve been able to make tough decisions, like whether to open indoors or on stormy days, because we towed clear and hard lines on our priorities. The health and safety of our team and our patrons are paramount. The joy of our guests falls squarely next in line. And when we explain to them why we make the decisions that we do—to protect their and our collective wellbeing—they’ve not only been largely understanding but appreciative.

We’ve made a concerted effort to be clear with guests on our operating norms and safety protocols. While we don’t set restrictions on how long they may occupy a table, on nights with tighter turns, we’re transparent with guests about when the next reservation is slated to come in, asking them to work with us to allow the seating of a new table in a timely fashion.

We’ve also found guests to be very thoughtful and self-governing on wearing masks while not eating or drinking. We’ve seen the most success when we make our process clear and when we ask guests to be our collaborators, rather than the subjects of our rules.

To say “yes” to the best of our ability and to always leave the guest walking out happier than when they came in is in many ways our Hippocratic Oath.

Through 2020, ensuring safety has become a new article to that oath. In our work, it’s easy to fall into seeing just the short-term in our desire to push through a busy service or a long week, despite the increased urgent need to consider the long-term. But the most that we can ask of ourselves right now as hospitality professionals is to be empathetic and implore our guests to do the same.

How are restaurants leveling with their customers?

At Attaboy, the staff makes sure that no one is clamoring for seating or expecting special requests that the bar can’t accommodate. “A lot of customers don’t realize that every bar has its quirks and different ways of operating. This is not a place where you shout over a million people for a tequila soda,” Head Bartender Haley Traub says. “When you come through the door, you play by our rules.”

Opening right before COVID-19 hit the city, Mokyo can’t afford to allow diners to camp out at tables all day. The restaurant asks on the menu that parties of two to four limit themselves to 90 minutes and those with five to eight stay less than two hours.

By telling diners that they must use QR codes, restaurants can minimize contact and avoid the hassle of printing menus.

Llama San’s code sends diners to Instagram so they can see how drinks are prepared and how much work goes into them.

Bed-Stuy’s Greenberg’s Bagels transitioned from operating as a primarily counterservice operation to exclusively doing online orders. As customers called or stopped by, owner Julian Cavin had to gracefully redirect them to ChowNow. Cavin says. “It was very personal. I was taking every call [with customers], and it’s really worked!”

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Market Value

by Kendyl Kearly ♥ Illustrated by Becki Kozel At 10 years old, Edouard Massih visited an American supermarket for the first time—it absolutely blew his mind. The future chef had just moved from Lebanon to Boston and missed the homey foods of his family’s Greek Orthodox fishing village. “I had to start eating Starbursts and Chips Ahoy; I didn’t like it,” he says. “When I first brought hummus to the sixth grade, I got made fun of relentlessly.” His version of the American dream was always to bring Lebanese food to America in the form of a grocery store.

It was far from easy. Suspended from school and financially cut off from his parents, Massih divided his young adulthood in New York between interning at Wine & Spirits magazine and working the line at Corkbuzz, punctuated by ramen meals. “Learning about yourself in a city that you are just a number in, you don't feel human,” he says.

He learned the catering business at Poppy’s Catering and Union Square Hospitality and lived right by Maria’s Deli, a Polish institution operated by Maria Puk for 43 years.

As Massih started his own catering company, he and Puk swapped food and joked that he’d take over her Greenpoint business one day.

Maria’s closed during COVID-19, so Massih reached out: Would she let him take over the space? No way. But as the pandemic continued through the spring, Puk was ready. Without any work of his own at the time, Massih cleaned out the deli with Puk, painted the floors, created more of a chef ’s kitchen, and opened Edy’s Grocer five weeks later.

Gone is the chalkboard advertising corned beef, cabbage and gulasz. Mechaalany pickled goods and Master Potato Chips from Lebanon replace the neat lines of Skinny Pop and Arizona tea. Shoppers can find Massih’s homemade green lentils and labneh toast, as well as a hummus to be proud of. But before she retired in Florida, Puk taught Massih some of her own recipes: beet borscht, mushroom gravy, sauerkraut, and kielbasa. Residents of the Polish neighborhood still sometimes wander in asking for pierogies, but at least Massih can offer a rotating menu with some of these comfort foods.

“Maria moved here from Poland at the age of 10, and I moved here from Lebanon at 10,” Massih says. “It's different generations and different times, but she brought her cooking to the community, and I am bringing mine.”

Edy's rotating menu features a variety of Lebenese and Polish items. Clockwise, from top: Massih's za'atar flatbread; Puk's beet borcht; Puk's chicken burgers; Massih's shakshuka.

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Alan Delgado OXOMOCO

Growing up in El Paso, Alan Delgado’s mother would wake him up with traditional tortitas de papa. But when she became ill, he stepped into the kitchen and taught himself how to prepare healthy, vegetable-centric dishes.

After briefly studying civil engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso in 2009, Delgado moved to Austin to attend the Texas Culinary Academy. He began cooking wherever he could: Sway, Olivia, Apis, and Carpenter’s Hall before becoming sous chef at Launderette in 2016. Delgado moved on to Patika, where he founded the pop-up, collaborative chef series Tumahye Supper Club.

In 2017, Delgado took over the kitchen at Counter.3.Five.VII as the executive

chef before joining Chef Gabe Erales and Rising Stars alum Philip Speer at Mexican hot spot Comedor as sous. In 2020, Delgado left the Lone Star State for a new opportunity: director of recipe and development of Brooklyn’s Michelinstarred Oxomoco.

Delgado works alongside Rising Stars alum Justin Bazdarich to create the woodfired, Mexican-inspired menu for the original Greenpoint location, along with its Tokyo offshoot. Delgado is currently tasked to design the menu for Oxomoco’s upcoming, plant-forward Mexican spot Xilonen, a callback to his childhood, opening in Brooklyn in 2021. Delgado was the winner of StarChefs’ 10th Annual Vitamix Challenge, presumably inspiring his badass Vitamix tattoo.

pigporkswine / _oxomoco_ Favorite kitchen tool: My Bloodroot Blade utility knife and a rubber spatula Favorite cookbook: Relæ, Eleven Madison Park Most important kitchen rule: Consolidate as you go, but also use a spatula to scrape every last bit.

What you eat on your nights off: Leo with the chop salad, meatballs and mortadella sandwich.

Caesar salad and chicken box at Win Son Bakery.

Green Lasagna at LaRina. Piadine at Lella Alimentari. And all the pickles and sushi from Rosella.

Place to visit for culinary travel: I always want to be eating in Mexico, but I’d also love to go to Berlin or Tokyo.

Advice to your younger self: Be more mindful.

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Grilled pork chop, corn husk glaze, mole rojo Chef Alan Delgado of Oxomoco Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Pork Chops: 10 grams black peppercorns 5 bay leaves 20 grams achiote powder 10 grams cumin 10 grams oregano 40 grams ancho powder 40 grams guajillo powder 5 cloves 200 grams salt 1 head garlic, charred Niman Ranch pork chops

For the Pork Chops: In a dry pan, toast all spices until the oils are released. Place in a large stock pot with salt, garlic and 8 quarts water. Bring to a boil. Strain to a nonreactive container and cool. Add pork chops and cover with the brine; refrigerate for 24 hours.

Grilled Corn Husk Glaze: Yield: 2 quarts 20 corn husks 5 grams achiote paste 40 grams chile costeño 1 quart fermented honey Salt Lime juice Zest of 6 limes Mole Rojo: Yield: 6 quarts 200 grams fermented ancho chiles 100 grams fermented chilhuacle rojo chiles

80 grams fermented cascabel peppers 60 grams fermented chile de árbol 60 grams fermented guajillo chiles 12 cloves, toasted 12 allspice berries, toasted 6 grams oregano, toasted 40 grams black peppercorns, toasted 20 grams hoja santa, toasted 5 grams avocado leaves 100 grams white sesame seeds, toasted 200 grams smoked pecans, toasted 100 grams Roma tomatoes, charred 2 heads garlic, charred 200 grams caramelized onion 60 grams masa Neutral oil or lard Salt Apple cider vinegar To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Salt Neutral oil Maldon salt

For the Grilled Corn Husk Glaze: Heavily grill the corn husks. Transfer husks to a stock pot with 4 quarts water and boil until the water becomes aromatic; strain. Transfer the corn husk water to a pot and add achiote, chile, honey, and salt. Reduce the liquid, then season with lime juice and zest.

For the Mole Rojo: To a Vitamix blender, add all chiles; blend, adding enough water or corn husk to form a smooth purée. Transfer to a pot over medium-low heat and cook until the bitter flavors are gone. Clean the Vitamix container and blend toasted spices, adding enough water to form a smooth purée. In a clean container, blend tomatoes, garlic and onion.

Transfer all three purées to a large pot. Cook until the flavors are combined and balanced. Add masa, transfer back to the blender, and blend until smooth. Pass mole through a chinois to a nonreactive container. Transfer to a large pan with oil or lard and refry the mole. Season with salt and apple cider vinegar.

To Assemble and Serve: Heavily season one Pork Chop with salt and temper. Brush with a little oil and grill until medium. Transfer Pork Chop to a cutting board and let rest 20 minutes.

Before serving, return Pork Chop to grill, rotating it and glazing with Corn Husk Glaze. Slice the Pork Chop evenly and transfer to a large plate. Brush once more with Corn Husk Glaze and place the desired amount of Mole Rojo next to the Pork Chop. Sprinkle with Maldon salt and serve.

Pork chops provided by Niman Ranch Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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CONC E PT

Jihan Lee, Lisa Limb, Taka Sakaeda NAMI NORI Although they didn’t want him to go to culinary school right away, Taka Sakaeda’s parents prepared him to be a chef early on: His mother was a hospital nutritionist and an excellent cook, and his father was the house’s food critic. Sakaeda got a job in a sushi restaurant as a dishwasher, then he began prepping and eventually took over the entire sushi station. From this mom-and-pop spot, Sakaeda applied for a line cook position at Manhattan’s prestigious Masa. A sushi chef abruptly quit, and Sakaeda suddenly had a bigger job than he anticipated. Chef Masayoshi “Masa” Takayama’s mentorship would define Sakaeda’s knowledge of food and business for years. He eventually became the number two at Masa and helped expand their empire with outposts in Tribeca and Las Vegas.

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Lisa Limb. In 2018, Sakaeda teamed up with Lee and Limb to open Nami Nori (“naminori” meaning “to surf ” or “to ride the wave”). At the more affordable, sustainability-focused, temaki-centric concept, the three owners—Executive Chef Sakaeda, Chef de Cuisine Lee and Managing Partner Limb—plan to open multiple Nami Nori locations across the nation, starting with a second Brooklyn location in 2021. jihan.lee88 / llimbski / sabatakahama / naminori.nyc Taka Favorite kitchen tool: Knife Tool you wish you had: Another knife Most important kitchen rule: Be nice.

Place to visit for culinary travel: Spain, Basque Country Advice to your younger self: This is what my mother tells me all the time: “Be nice. Smile more.” Can’t be said enough.

Jihan Favorite kitchen tool: Turning vegetable slicer Tool you wish you had: Electric citrus juicer Most important kitchen rule: Consistency and cleanliness Where you eat on your nights off: Cote.

Because I deal with fish all day, I think about beef more than anything.

Advice to your younger self: Find your passion and commit to it sooner than later.

Lisa Favorite kitchen tool: Microplane Tool you wish you had: Mandolin Most important kitchen rule: Clean as you go.

Favorite off-the-beaten-path restaurant: Not off the beaten path, but Via Carota. Isn’t everybody’s favorite restaurant Via Carota?

Advice to your younger self: Take time to enjoy life and spend time with old friends.

CONCEPT

XO scallop temaki, tobiko, lemon Chef Taka Sakaeda of Nami Nori Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS XO Sauce: 1.2 kilograms dried scallop 600 grams dried shrimp 1½ cups cooking sake 116 grams dry Thai chiles 5¼ quarts canola oil 1.964 kilograms minced shallots 690 grams garlic, minced 6 tablespoons Kikkoman soy sauce ¾ to 1 pint fish sauce 6 tablespoons brown sugar From left: XO scallop temaki, tobiko, lemon; cucumber-black sesame temaki, shiso, plum; spicy sea bass temaki; daikon, perilla, chojang.

Sushi Rice: 1 pint Kikkoman rice vinegar ¾ cups sugar ¼ cup salt One 3-by-3-inch piece of kombu 1 cup sushi rice, rinsed To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Wasabi Fresh scallop, diced Zest and juice of 1 lemon Tobiko Nori, whole sheet cut into sixths

METHOD: For the XO Sauce: Separate scallop and shrimp to two large bowls. Add boiling water to bowls so that the water is 2 inches above the scallop and shrimp. Add ¾ cup sake to each bowl. Let bowls sit at room temperature 3 hours or until water has completely cooled. Strain the liquid out of each bowl, separating and reserving the shellfish and their juices. Prepare a steamer at full boil. In separate heat-proof bowls, steam scallop and shrimp for 15 minutes. Remove bowls from the steamer and let cool completely. To a food processor, add shrimp and pulse until they break down to small pieces; transfer to a bowl and reserve. Crush scallops by hand, separating each strand; reserve. To a clean food processor, add chiles and process to a powder. In a sauté pan, heat oil to 250°F. Add shallots and fry for 15 minutes. Add garlic and fry for another 15 minutes. Add chiles and fry for 5 minutes. Strain the solids from the oil and reserve. Return the oil to the stove and heat back to 250°F. Add the scallop and fry for 15 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the shrimp and fry for another 15 minutes, stirring constantly.

Strain the oil and set aside. In a large bowl, combine all reserved solids. In a separate bowl, combine 3½ cups reserved shellfish juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar. In a new pan, add solids and shellfish sauce; cook down until

all liquid has evaporated. Lower the heat and continue to cook until the solids get crispy, being careful not to burn. Return the crispy solids to the oil.

For the Sushi Rice: In a nonreactive container, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and kombu. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Set aside. To a rice cooker, add rice and water and cook according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer cooked rice to a big bowl or hangiri. Pour ⅕ cup sushi vinegar evenly over the rice and, using a spatula or shamoji, fold and cut the rice so that each grain has been seasoned with vinegar; cool. Return rice to the rice cooker and leave it on the warm setting.

To Assemble and Serve: Form 20 grams of Sushi Rice into a ball topped with a dollop of wasabi. In a small bowl, lightly dress scallops with lemon juice. Place cubed scallops on top of Sushi Rice. Top with XO Sauce, tobiko and lemon zest. Place on nori.

Eat right away.

Soy sauce and rice vinegar provided by Kikkoman USA N E W YORK CI T Y 2020

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Reset Button The by marisel salazar

Photos by will blunt & jaclyn warren

When outdoor dining began this summer, the stories coming from restaurant professionals were primarily those of struggle: back-and-forth with contractors to build the proper street barriers, tents blowing over in thunderstorms, masks hiding the hospitality worker's trademark smile.

Everyone wondered, how can an industry built on the basis of hospitality and socializing maintain its identity through takeout, delivery and a constant 6-foot distance? How can you deliver warmth and service with cardboard packaging, plexiglass and latex-gloved hands?

But constraint breeds creativity, and some of the stories were of positive transformation rather than just-scraping-by survival.

Some New York City dining and drinking establishments have risen as models for what we call the “reset” rather than the “pivot.” Through redefined menus, pared-back but highly trained staff, and a focus on employee welfare, these culinary professionals share how they’ve emerged victorious through COVID-19.

At first, the chef started following everyone else in an overnight move to takeout. But the fine dining tasting menu and elaborate plating didn’t translate to delivery and to-go packaging. So Attea and her team came up with a completely separate menu with more takeout-friendly, comforting items that could be finished or heated at home, like a roasted chicken or endive salad.

“The endive salad and chicken are a bit heartier and able to withstand some time sitting or travelling,” Attea says. “We roast the chicken over bread, so in the time it travels, the bread is able to absorb the juices— which is one of the reasons it is so delicious. So in that case, the delivery time actually enhances the dish.”

Fine Dining, Redefined Chef Mary Attea of one-Michelin-starred The Musket Room upended the restaurant’s concept during the pandemic. Steps toward transitioning the menu from its former New Zealand cuisine to contemporary American were already underway when Attea assumed the position as the executive chef a mere three weeks before restaurant closures commenced across New York City in mid-March.

“A small silver lining for us is that [the coronavirus] has allowed us to regroup, refocus, and reassess how we wanted to move forward,” Attea says.

From top:The roast chicken at The Musket Room travels well for delivery; Partner Jennifer Vitagliano and Chef Mary Attea. Opposite page, from top: Union Square Cafe Chef Lena Ciardullo; Strangeways Bar Manager Daniel McGee.

The warmth of service, as much of an essential ingredient at Union Square Cafe as the edible components of the menu, went through a revival. Outdoor dining was a new beast that required different systems, furniture, traffic patterns for workers, and food-running logistics. “Everything is constantly evolving. Each week, assuming we can continue to grow sales, we are adding more people and roles to the schedule,” says Ciardullo.

From a culinary perspective, it became important to watch the weather, as rain can mean no covers and more food waste. Heat waves or cool days can completely mess up the menu mix. “I watch the weather like a bride on her wedding day,” she says.

But the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants menu-planning ironically gave Ciardullo the freedom she’d been wanting in order to make the menu more flexible.

“One of the big things I wanted was to keep the menu everchanging,” she says. “Changing the menu keeps your spirit light and fun. So if I taste something and say ‘That’s delicious,’ I’m going to put that on the menu tomorrow.”

In addition, the menu became more homey and a simple homage to Italian-American cooking. “We wanted to say, ‘How do you take Grandma’s food and make it really comfortable?’” Ciardullo says. “People are looking less for molecular gastronomy. We have a new G.M. who was at Manhatta to give [the restaurant] a trendy, youthful vibe. I was lucky because we had this chance to reset.”

And although not every dish is applicable to takeout, Attea was able to make a quick transition from The Musket Room’s New Zealand past to her own style, a process that would normally have to be waded into slowly.

One of the biggest alterations made at Union Square Cafe which USHG was famous for: checks are no longer gratuity-included.

But it was always Ciardullo’s hope to lower the price of the dining experience.

“The clients here before were getting a very different experience,” she says. “This was a big tourist spot. Now that we're hitting the local scene, people are excited for a new tasting experience and excited to get a half chicken.”

Strategizing Hospitality Like Attea, Chef Lena Ciardullo took over a restaurant just shy of the pandemic closures. After working with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group for nearly a decade, she started as executive chef of Union Square Cafe in early February, just weeks before restaurants were forced to close.

USHG has long been considered the gold standard in hospitality and prioritizing employees. When customers step through the doors of Union Square Cafe, they are going to expect certain things: old-school refinement, outstanding service, impeccable food. Upholding this reputation is a formidable undertaking for any new executive chef.

“I wanted to have a lot of change and reset, and it would have taken a lot longer if it wasn't for COVID-19,” Ciardullo says.

“You can't turn over the whole menu of a living, breathing restaurant. This restaurant has the history of chefs being here for a long time. Being able to bring a fresh viewpoint is really incredible.”

“We wanted to make Union Square Cafe a more affordable restaurant for everyone, where young professionals would want to go out without breaking the bank,” the chef says. “People should be able to enjoy good food and have a special occasion every day outside of the typical, infrequent ‘special occasion’ motivations for dining out.”

When Front-of-House Meets Back-of-House “It was a bold move opening during the middle of a pandemic,” says Strangeways Bar Manager Daniel McGee. “We were going to train our opening staff and set up the service flow of our entire

LIVE

restaurant but for the current times—a safety-first kind of way.”

Strangeways, a natural wine bar, opened in Williamsburg this July with a rustic, new American menu.

Due to the current restrictions, New York bar culture has become vastly different. People can’t sit at the bar and socialize. Servers must keep contact minimal.

Though people are still going out, less of that entertainment is coming directly from the purveyors.

The Impact Despite the potentially pending second winter wave of the coronavirus and restrictions on dining, restaurant professionals are hopeful for the future of their industry. “I know that even if there were another lockdown or closure, we are now set up to handle that, and we can continue to produce takeout or delivery,” Chef Attea says. “We can continue to show up, employ staff, and work together to make sure we can provide sustenance to our neighborhoods.”

Once regulations are lifted and business volume increases, McGee predicts a rise in the demand for labor and amount of staff needed to operate will rise back to pre-COVID levels. He also thinks that capacity caps will be around for quite some time but hopes the sanitation procedures the industry has learned will be permanent.

“Social distancing, to some degree, will influence seat and table spacing for some time into the future,” McGee says. “I’m pouring a shot out for everyone struggling in our industry. We’ll get through this long rough night; we always do.”

To that end, McGee reduced his staff and began to employ a blended front- and back-of-house hybrid model. To make shifts worth while for his staff, McGee knew he would have to run lean.

But in order to still maintain high standards of service, “you have to blend the traditional roles quite a bit,” he says.

For example, he no longer needed two bartenders and a barback to run the bar anymore since there was no bar seating. “So we have one to two bartenders running what is basically service well for the restaurant,” McGee says. “They’re also cleaning all the glassware. Making the coffees, barbacking for themselves, running drinks. Since they aren't interacting with guests, they have more downtime to help with the flow of service.”

This model extends to servers as well. “As far as cross-training goes, most of our servers are career bartenders, as well,” McGee explains. “Not only are they taking turns working the floor and the bar, they are providing excellent service on all fronts, while knowing the menu inside and out.”

Employees work a backwaiter and a runner shift to understand all the protocols and be able to step in at a moment’s notice.

Hospitality professionals working now are learning versatility, gaining experience in different roles, and training in more areas of a restaurant's operation than they normally would. McGee believes that short-term, mixed roles will become the norm.

Likewise, the hybrid front-of-house and back-of-house roles have always been a part of Michelin-starred Jeju Noodle Bar, perhaps giving the establishment a mild advantage during the pandemic.

Everyone is hired to be trained as a cook for all stations, a server and a food-runner.

“You give good service as a server or runner, good food as a cook— everyone wins,” Chef de Cuisine Jane Peang says. She remembers at past jobs, she saw a lot of inconsistencies during service due to a lack of connection from servers. A cross-functional method makes for more accountability and a better understanding of the menu.

“I think what we are doing is the future” Peang says. “The generation now wants to do everything. They have a broader range of knowledge they want to gain.”

From top: At Strangeways, bartenders barback for themselves and run drinks like the One Big Bed cocktail; Jeju Noodle Bar Chef de Cuisine Jane Peang.

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

KIKKOMAN is a registered trademark of KIKKOMAN CORPORATION. ©2018 Kikkoman Sales USA, Inc.

No Mortadella Left Behind No New York dining experience is arguably as comforting as ordering pasta from the neighborhood spot on a snow day. With parmesan spidering over the top, a simple vodka sauce and pasta have great profit margins during the December sequester blues. But not all vodka sauces are created equal. Carmenta’s rigatoni vodka, a staple since the eatery opened, contains a game-changing ingredient: America’s finest mortadella. Chicago’s Tempesta maintains that their product is the best in the country due to its family-farm-raised, vegetarian-fed, heritage Berkshire and Duroc pigs. Chefs Paul Cacici and Domenick Gianfrancesco bring in this creamy, peppery mortadella for their sandwiches, and save the ends for vodka sauce. A Berkshire version of the classic from Emilia-Romagna, the mortadella scraps get grinded up with a base of guanciale (also from Tempesta). The chefs sweat the meats with a bit of olive oil and onion, add tomato paste, Calabrian chile, white wine, vodka, tomato, garlic confit, and cream.

The result is deep and unctuous with Calabrian chiles kicking up all of the melty, meaty goodness. 👌 42

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Eric See URSULA

Eric See thrived as a restaurant worker from a young age. At 11, he’d go to work with his father at an airport in New Mexico, cracking eggs and waiting tables at the airport diner. See attended culinary school in Albuquerque, but through a table-waiting competition with SkillsUSA, won a scholarship to the New England Culinary Institute.

See interned at Locanda Verde with James Beard Award-winning Pastry Chef Karen DeMasco for almost a year. He went on to work at Bouley, Olivier Cheng Catering, The Core Club, Salume, and Mary Giuliani Catering + Events, where he has been pastry chef for seven years. In 2014, See founded The Awkward Scone.

With a shortage of Southwestern cuisine nearby, New Yorkers lined up for See’s decadent breakfast burritos packed with hash browns, eggs and green chile.

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The effects of COVID-19 forced See to shutter The Awkward Scone in June.

Frustrated, See and his dog went on a road trip to New Mexico. But in the desert, he reconnected with his love of New Mexican food and had a “screw it” realization. He could start over. Thanks to the help of his devoted fanbase and the local Crown Heights restaurant community, See opened Ursula in September.

This summer, he has been using his kitchen as a hub for relief work to serve meals and grocery kits to the Ali Forney Center and the Street Vendor Project. Passionate about combating food insecurity, he has worked with Immigration Equality, The Center, Services & Advocacy for LGBT Elders (SAGE), The Okra Project, and many others.

erictheawkwardscone / ursula_brooklyn Favorite kitchen tool: I actually really, really love bowl scrapers. Probably one of the cheapest, simplest tools in the kitchen, but it provides so much gratification to be able to get everything out of a bowl.

Tool you wish you had: A dough sheeter Favorite cookbook: Either My Sweet Mexico by Fany Gerson, The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox, Zumbo by Adriano Zumbo, or Dolce Italiano by Gina DePalma.

Most important kitchen rule: Learn some things and have fun.

The best dish you’ve ever made: A riff on a dessert from Elena Reygadas using mamey.

Mamey is creamy and pumpkin-like but with a tropical papaya nuance. So, I made a mamey pie for Thanksgiving one year in a red corn and achiote pie crust with a bitter almond meringue.

COM M UNITY

Sopaipilla, beef, refried beans, chile Chef Eric See of Ursula Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS Sopaipilla Dough: 270 grams all-purpose flour 10 grams cornstarch 12 grams baking powder 6 grams salt 12 grams sugar 24 grams plant-based butter, shortening, or lard, softened Oil for frying Beef-Green-Chile Filling: 2 pounds Aussie ground beef Olive oil 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin 300 grams roasted, peeled and chopped New Mexican green chiles* Salt Black pepper Red Chile Sauce: 30 to 40 New Mexican red chile pods, stems and seeds removed 6 cloves garlic ½ teaspoon Turkish oregano 10 grams kosher salt 65 milliliters olive oil 12 grams gluten-free flour Refried Pinto Beans 453 grams dried pinto beans 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon Turkish oregano 18 grams kosher salt 2 grams ground black pepper 1 ham hock (optional) 227 grams butter, shortening or lard To Assemble and Serve 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded 1 head of green leaf lettuce, shredded 3 tomatoes, diced

METHOD For the Sopaipilla Dough: In a bowl, mix dry ingredients together and cut in fat. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook and add 170 milliliters water. Mix on lowmedium speed for 5 minutes. Let dough rest, covered on the tabletop for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Roll out on a floured surface to about ¼ inch thick and cut into 6 squares. Prepare a pot of oil to 375°F for frying.

Gently place dough in hot oil, 1 to 2 pieces at a time.

Wait for the dough to puff before turning and frying on the other side until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a rack or paper towel; reserve for filling.

For the Beef-Green-Chile Filling: In a wide sauté pan over medium heat, add beef and break up with a little olive oil. Add garlic, green chile, salt and black pepper. Sauté until cooked thoroughly.

Reserve.

For the Red Chile Sauce: In a stock pot filled with 1½ liters water, place chile, garlic, oregano, and salt. Use more water if needed to cover chiles entirely. Simmer 20 minutes or until chiles are tender. Remove from heat and transfer to a Vitamix blender; blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or a rice mill to remove seeds and

peels. In a saucepan over low heat, cook oil and glutenfree flour to a roux. Add strained chile purée and cook until thickened.

For the Refried Pinto Beans: To a saucepan over high heat, add beans, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, 3 to 4 liters water, and ham hock if using; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered. Use reserved water to add, if needed, to be sure that beans are always covered. Cook 2 to 2½ hours until tender. In a separate large skillet, melt fat, add beans, then use a whisk or potato masher to break down beans. Stir with a spatula, cooking for about 10 minutes until excess liquid has been cooked off. Beans should still pool but not look watery. Season with salt.

To Assemble and Serve: Slice sopaipilla in half and layer with Refried Pinto Beans, Beef-Green-Chile Filling and cheese. Top with the second half of sopaipilla and ladle Red Chile Sauce over top. Top with lettuce and tomatoes. *"Zia Hatch Green Chile Company has a great readyto-use green chile available in stores and online."‒ES Ground beef provided by True Aussie Beef Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial Blender

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

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TCHO.COM/PRO • (844) 877-8246 • STA RCH EFS RISI NG STA RS

@TCHOCHOCOLATE

Blonde Ambition

by Erin Lettera

“My family is honest with me, but it was a reassurance to know that other people thought it was good,” Bellamy says. “My strategy was always to go where my customer is, and my customer is someone who appreciates the skill and importance of all natural, ethically sourced ingredients.”

To get Blondery name recognition across the city, Bellamy started doing pop-ups. For a preCOVID-19 farmers market, she would bring 100 to 200 boxes. “But [during COVID-19], selling is much different,” Bellamy says. “I can't draw people in with samples anymore. Pricing has to be transparently displayed, and I can only take preorders. But I'm a great saleswoman."

As a full-time content manager for Food Network, Bellamy knows the importance of branding and marketing; she has turned herself and Blondery into a social media knockout, garnering more than 100,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel. Her PR maven Deborah Kwan connected Bellamy with The Financial Gym, who were donating money to Black entrepreneurs that were leveling up their businesses.

They gave Bellamy three months of financial advice, constructed her financial model and provided her

with a graphic designer. Otherwise, the core “we” of Blondery is just Bellamy, her assistant, an apprentice, and a slew of industry friends at the ready to help bake off orders at the One Girl Cookies kitchen in Industry City. The idea is to grow Blondery into a ready-to-bake, chef-driven collection of goods.

But the Blondery brand is about more than the rich, buttery squares. As a Black female business owner, Bellamy hopes to be a mentor to all those aspiring to do the same. She’s building a YouTube channel with topics related to Black-owned businesses and Black people in the restaurant industry. While training at Bouchon Bakery, Bellamy was unable to find a mentor who looked like her. “I always said, ‘Yes, chef ’ because I knew whatever criticisms I was getting was going to make me a better chef and person,” Bellamy says. “But when it’s someone who looks like you, it comes more from a place of love, rather than a ‘Hurry up and get it done.’”

Bellamy hopes Blondery will be a safe space to teach people of color how to move through their careers with confidence, but the concept will require more help, more hands and a full-time kitchen space.

“There are hurdles with everything, though,” says Bellamy. “As an entrepreneur, there are hurdles being Black, white, Mexican...to lead a large team is hard.

To lead a small team is hard.

Our world just needs a little more compassion.”

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

Auzerais Bellamy starts every recipe the same way: European butter, Domino brown sugar, eggs, chocolate, cocoa powder, and King Arthur flour.

She’s been working on this blondie recipe for 13 years, something she started while getting her associates in pastry at Johnson & Wales University.

At first, the blondies were a treat that she sold to her family and friends in California. “I started a website because I couldn’t keep up with the [blondie] orders,” says Bellamy. “I kept selling out so I had to make it a business.” Ever since, Bellamy has sold eight blondie flavors—four signature and four seasonal—through her website, Blondery.com.

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Julie Elkind BÂTARD

P H OTO S : E R I N L E T T E R A

It’s not surprising that Bâtard Pastry Chef Julie Elkind was once an art major. The would-be painter and art historian was drawn to the science of pastry and now creates plates that reflect the spirit of an artist. After realizing where her true passions lay, Elkind abandoned her art studies degree at Hofstra University for the Culinary Academy of New York, where she completed both savory and pastry programs.

She took on her first professional pastry role at Le Cirque in 2008, but quickly accepted jobs with La Fonda del Sol’s opening team in 2009 and Convivio in 2010.

julieelkind / batardny Favorite kitchen tool: My Olfa retractable blade and a small offset spatula. Magic is made with these two tools.

Tool you wish you had: A blast freezer to be able to make rapid menu changes for my impatient, creative mind to see instant results when testing and producing. Or a dough sheeter because my arms are very tired.

Most important kitchen rule: Have fun, be respectful, and create and cook with love, honesty and intention.

Where you eat on your nights off: Sushi Daizen in Long Island City is one of my favorite hidden gems for omakase sushi.

Place to visit for culinary travel: The UAE Favorite cookbook: Right now, my favorite book is Pastry Love by Joanne Chang. She makes such beautiful and delicious pastries so honestly, and it shows.

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At 25, Elkind was named corporate executive pastry chef at Esquared Hospitality and moved to BLT Restaurants in 2011. In 2012, Zagat honored her as one of its “30 Under 30,” and she filmed her starring role in E!’s reality series Playing with Fire. In 2013, Elkind became executive pastry chef of Mint Catering NYC, the high-end catering company for Tour de France NYC Restaurant Group.

In 2017, Elkind joined Chef Markus Glocker at the Michelin-starred and James Beard Awardwinning European bistro Bâtard. As executive pastry chef, Elkind channels childhood nostalgia to prepare elegant, eccentric and seasonal desserts.

PAST RY CHEF

Bâtard Candy Bar Pastry Chef Julie Elkind of Bâtard Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Feuilletine: Yield: 3 quarts 160 grams 32% blond chocolate 175 grams Nutella 200 grams Pâte à Glacer Brune 650 grams feuilletine flakes 100 grams hazelnut crunchies Mirror Glaze: Yield: 3 quarts 322 grams cream 1140 grams sugar 140 grams TCHO dark chocolate 312 grams cocoa powder 24 sheets gelatin, bloomed

METHOD To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 40 candy Bars 1550 grams TCHO dark chocolate 550 grams Nutella 1520 grams 41%-fat heavy cream 5 grams salt Flaky sea salt Candied hazelnuts Sugar tuile Sweet cream ice cream Almond dacquoise

For the Feuilletine:

In a double boiler, melt all chocolates. Fold in feuilletine and hazelnut; keep warm.

For the Mirror Glaze:

In a saucepan, bring 496 grams water, cream and sugar to a boil. Add cocoa powder and chocolate and cook 5 minutes.

Add gelatin to hot liquid and mix until melted in. Strain through a chinois and store in pint containers.

To Assemble and Serve:

To a large mixing bowl, combine chocolate and Nutella. In a saucepan, bring cream and salt to a boil and pour over the chocolate mixture. Allow to sit 2 minutes, then slowly stir together to homogenate.

Pour ganache into rectangular candy bar molds, leaving ¼ inch for feuilletine bottoms. Transfer to freezer and freeze

until solid. Distribute the warm Feuilletine while still to molds, using a rolling pin to make sure it is evenly pressed without gaps in the bottom. Return them to freezer; freeze until ganache is frozen and feuilletine bottoms are set. Unmold the candy bars and place them on a wire rack with a sheet tray underneath to catch the runoff of Mirror Glaze. Reheat Mirror Glaze and transfer to squeeze bottle or piping bag. Evenly coat the candy bars with Mirror Glaze. Transfer candy bars to a sheet tray and refrigerate to temper 1 to 2 hours. Sprinkle with sea salt and candied hazelnuts and top with tuile. Serve with sweet cream ice cream and almond dacquoise.

Dark chocolate provided by TCHO Chocolate

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Frenchette Pastry Chef Michelle Palazzo knew she wanted to get into the food world since her childhood in Massapequa, New York. She loved cooking shows, learned to poach an egg and bake a soufflé at Viking’s cooking camp (Yes, this is a thing), and volunteered for bake sales all through high school. After graduation, she moved to the city to attend the Institute of Culinary Education for pastry and restaurant management. Although she didn’t love culinary school, a trip to Italy and an impactful externship at Nico solidified her commitment to pastry work.

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

Palazzo’s first full-time gig was in 2012 at Reynard at the Wythe Hotel, where she quickly worked up to pastry sous. When her mentor, Rising Stars alum Erin Kanagy-Loux, took maternity leave, Palazzo subbed as executive pastry chef. Palazzo spent a brief stint back with Kanagy-Loux at Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery before connecting with the team behind Balthazar and Pastis, Chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, who were planning to open a new French bistro, Frenchette. With Palazzo running the dessert brigade, Frenchette has received accolades from Eater, Bon Appétit, the James Beard Awards, and The New York Times. (Pete Wells was dining during Palazzo’s first night of service—they received three stars.) In her twoyear tenure there, Palazzo has developed some of her most creative plates yet, such as a cloudlike tarte au riz and a borderline-savory olive oil tarte tatin.

michelle__palazzo / frenchettenyc

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Favorite kitchen tool: Vitamix blender and copper candy pot Tool you wish you had: Pacojet or the new induction burners that temper chocolate Favorite cookbook: It changes often. Right now, François Perret’s Pastry Ritz Paris and Martin Picard’s Au Pied de Cochon Sugar Shack: Maple Syrup.

Most important kitchen rule: Pressure twice, cut once.

What you eat on your nights off: A lot of dim sum.

Advice to your younger self: Take your time. Nothing comes naturally, and it’s okay to mess up. Learn from your mistakes.

PAST RY CHEF

Paris Brest à la Pistache

Pastry Chef Michelle Palazzo of FrenchetteAdapted by StarChefs Yield: 24

INGREDIENTS Pistachio Croquant: 750 grams sugar 390 grams toasted pistachios, chopped Craquelin: 720 grams butter, softened 200 grams white sugar 520 grams brown sugar 720 grams all-purpose flour Choux Dough: 400 grams cream 400 grams milk 35 grams sugar 35 grams salt 750 grams butter 900 grams all-purpose flour 1.5 kilograms whole eggs

Pistachio Cream: 1 kilogram sugar 2.1 kilograms butter 32 egg yolks 320 grams pistachio paste 20 grams fine sea salt Pistachio Praline: 300 grams sugar 505 grams pistachios Pistachio paste Salt To Assemble and Serve: Powdered sugar Chopped pistachios

METHOD For the Pistachio Croquant: In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine sugar and 300 grams water. Gently stir until sugar dissolves.

Continue to cook over high heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in pistachios. Pour pistachio mixture over sheet tray lined with parchment. Once cool, transfer to a food processor and grind until crumbled.

For the Craquelin: In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and 120 grams Pistachio Croquant using a spatula. Place dough between 2 sheets of wax paper and roll out to 1-millimeter thickness. Set aside.

For the Choux Pastry: To a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, milk, 800 grams water, sugar, salt, and butter. Stir to melt butter then bring the mixture to a simmer. Remove from heat and sift in flour; stir to incorporate, forming a thick dough. Return to heat; continue to mix and move the dough for 1 to 3 minutes, until dough pulls away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle; cool. Mix dough on low speed while slowly adding eggs. Keep mixing until dough is shiny, thick and smooth.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Prepare a parchment-lined baking sheet; lightly spray with water. Transfer choux dough to a piping bag fitted with an 807 tip. To the baking sheet, pipe out medium-sized rings of choux, at least 3 inches apart. Using cookie cutters, punch out rings of Craquelin so that they are about the same size as the choux. Top each choux ring with a Craquelin ring, lightly pushing the crusts down to secure them.

Transfer choux rings to the oven and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 30 minutes or until pastry has risen and top has browned without opening the oven door. Cool and set aside.

For the Pistachio Cream: In a saucepan, heat sugar and 667 grams water to 121°F. To a large bowl, add egg yolks and whisk, streaming in the hot sugar liquid until the bowl is cool to the touch. Stir in butter, pistachio paste and salt. Reserve.

For the Pistachio Praline: In a saucepan, heat sugar and 170 grams water to 165°F, stirring until a caramel forms. Pour caramel over pistachios; cool. Grind until it forms a paste consistency. Add pistachio paste until a nutty green color is reached. Season with salt.

To Assemble and Serve: Cut Choux Pastry in half lengthwise. On the bottom half, pipe Pistachio Praline. Layer with Pistachio Croquant; pipe a ring of Pistachio Cream. Sandwich with top half of Choux Pastry and top with more Pistachio Praline, powdered sugar, and chopped pistachios. Cover Pistachio Cream with more chopped pistachios and serve.

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Caroline Schiff GAGE & TOLLNER

At 23, Caroline Schiff was living in a cheap apartment with no culinary training to her name, but she knew she wanted to be a chef. She was fresh from her travels through the Swiss Alps and Scotland, where she studied French at the University of St. Andrews. Back in her native New York City, Schiff was excited by the local mom-and-pop scene, but no one would give her a chance—until Chef and Restaurateur Sohui Kim. Kim hired Schiff in 2008 at The Good Fork as a line cook, subsidized by working part-time as a cheesemonger at The Greene Grape. When Schiff’s interest settled on pastry, Kim recommended that she go to a restaurant with a highlevel pastry program. So she moved on to James Beard Award-winning Chef Galen Zamarra’s Mas (farmhouse), followed by wood-fired grill offshoot Mas (la grillade),

where Schiff developed the seasonal pastry menu. In 2014, she moved on to Southern whiskey bar Maysville and subsequently opened the New Orleans location called Kenton's.

Schiff returned to New York and The Greene Grape in 2016—this time as executive pastry chef. She founded her own consulting business in 2018, ParadigmSchiff, in addition to working as head chef at snack bar company Slow Up and showcasing her baked goods at Red Hook destination Fort Defiance.

She was also a consulting chef at Edith’s, a Jewish, deli-style pop-up that featured Schiff’s bagels. Now, she is back with Kim and her partners, St. John Frizell and Ben Schneider, to reopen Downtown Brooklyn's historic oyster and chop house, Gage & Tollner, as pastry chef in 2021.

@pastryschiff / gage.and.tollner Favorite kitchen tool: My flexible plastic bowl scraper Tool that you wish you had: A dough sheeter Most important kitchen rule: Don't lose your temper.

Where you eat on your nights off: I love cooking simple veggie dishes at home or stopping by my neighborhood falafel joint.

Places to visit for culinary travel: Throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean, the Nordic countries, Eastern Europe, and Russia to connect more with my heritage—so many places.

Advice you’d give to younger chefs: Work in kitchens that are respectful and supportive.

There is no excuse for abusive kitchen culture.

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PAST RY CHEF

Coconut layer cake, lime, cashew-pink peppercorn brittle Pastry Chef Caroline Schiff of Gage & Tollner Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cake

INGREDIENTS Coconut Cake: Yield: Six half-sheet cakes 740 grams cake flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons salt 6 eggs 894 grams sugar Zest of 2 limes 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 550 grams canola oil 682 grams full-fat coconut milk

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Lime Curd: 8 fluid ounces lime juice 4 whole eggs 3 egg yolks 223 grams sugar 1 pinch of salt 5 ounces butter, softened Coconut Pastry Cream: Yield: 2 quarts 782 grams Coco Lopez 578 grams full-fat coconut milk ½ teaspoon salt 1 vanilla bean 56 grams cornstarch 18 grams all-purpose flour 8 egg yolks 114 grams butter

METHOD: Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Yield: 3 quarts 8 fluid ounces egg whites 14 ounces granulated sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon salt 20 ounces butter Nut Brittle: Yield: 2 quarts 594 grams sugar 42 grams butter 12 grams salt 1 tablespoon vanilla 9 grams baking soda 14 ounces cashews, toasted and chopped Sea salt Pink peppercorn dust To Assemble and Serve: Lime zest Toasted coconut

For the Coconut Cake: Preheat convection oven to 325°F with a low fan. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside. To a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip eggs with sugar and lime zest until pale yellow and doubled in volume. Continuing to whisk, drizzle the oil in slowly so the mixture emulsifies (like making mayonnaise). On low speed, add half the dry ingredients and the coconut milk, finishing with the remaining dry ingredients. Divide the batter evenly between 6 parchment-lined, sprayed, half-sheet trays with 500 grams of batter each.

Bake until pale golden and set, rotating when halfway done, about 15 minutes total.

For the Lime Curd: In a non-reactive bowl over a double boiler, combine the juice, eggs, sugar, and salt.

Blend with an immersion blender until uniform.

Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly with a spatula until it starts to thicken. Stir in butter and allow to further thicken. Strain and transfer to quart containers, pressing a layer of plastic directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill.

For the Coconut Pastry Cream: In a pot over low heat, gently melt the Coco Lopez until smooth and uniform. In another pot, combine half the coconut milk, thickened Coco Lopez, salt, and vanilla. In a bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, flour, yolks, and the remaining coconut milk. Temper the yolk mixture into the liquid and whisk until thick and bubbling; it should hit 165°F with the candy thermometer. Strain through a chinois and immediately whisk in the butter to fully combine. Buzz with an immersion blender.

Transfer to a nonreactive container and press a piece of plastic directly on the surface so a skin doesn’t form as it cools.

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream: In a mixing bowl set over a double boiler, stir together egg whites and sugar until sugar is fully dissolved and foamy and it reaches 160°F. Transfer to the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip on high until stiff, glossy peaks form. Add vanilla and salt. Switch to the paddle attachment and add butter, about 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing each piece to fully mix in before adding the next. Once butter is incorporated, transfer to quarts or pastry bags and store at room temp up to 3 days.

For the Nut Brittle: Set up a full sheet tray, upside-down and lined with a Silpat. In a large deep pot over mediumhigh heat, combine sugar and add enough water to reach a wet sand consistency. Add butter, salt, and vanilla. Bring sugar to a very pale caramel, then add baking soda and stir vigorously with a spatula. It will foam up and take on a bright orange color. Working quickly, remove pot from heat and fold in cashews. Dump cashew caramel out onto the Silpat and spread into an even layer. Top with another Silpat and use a rolling pin to press out into a flat layer. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt and pink peppercorn dust.

Once cool, break into chunks and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

To Assemble and Serve: Layer Coconut Cake with Lime Curd and Coconut Pastry Cream, alternating fillings and starting and ending with the Lime Curd. Wrap and chill overnight, then slice and portion.

Finish each slice with piped Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Nut Brittle, fresh lime zest, and coconut.

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BAK E R

Adir Michaeli has always been drawn to a challenge. After growing up in central Israel and serving his time in the Israel Defense Forces, the 21-year-old waited tables in hotels, jumping between jobs to pay for his first baking course. Once he learned the basics, Michaeli was determined to work with the best pastry chefs in Israel.

He found a job at the InterContinental David Hotel in Tel Aviv, where he met his mentor, acclaimed Pastry Chef Roni Fredy Mordechai. Mordechai became not only Michaeli’s baking guru but also essentially a chemistry teacher. Even after Michaeli clocked out, he would stay late just to keep practicing with Mordechai.

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Ready for a new hurdle, Michaeli set his sights on Lehamim Bakery in Tel Aviv.

Although they weren’t hiring at the time, Michaeli assured the manager that he’d be the best worker they’d ever had. He was hired, and just one year later, he became the executive pastry chef.

Adir Michaeli

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In 2013, Lehamim Chef and owner Uri Scheft, together with Rinat Tzadok and Michaeli, brought Breads Bakery to New York City, where the bread and pastries (especially Michaeli’s chocolate babka) found national recognition. Michaeli left Breads in 2016 to tackle the ultimate challenge: opening his own bakery. In 2019, he founded Michaeli Bakery on the Lower East Side, where New Yorkers can pick up Michaeli’s takes on classic Israeli baked goods, such as burekas, rugelach, challah, and babka with his own name on it. michaelibakerynyc Favorite kitchen tool: My hands Tool you wish you had: Another hand Favorite food resource: At the beginning of my career, I loved to read professional books. Then I discovered the satisfaction of figuring things out yourself.

Most important kitchen rule: Never mess up simple actions.

What you eat on your nights off: Cooked, homemade food and no bread.

Advice to your younger self: Dare, but stay humble.

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BAKER

Burikitas Baker Adir Michaeli of Michaeli Bakery Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 40 to 50 burikitas

INGREDIENTS Cheese Dough: 240 grams butter 10 grams salt 15 grams sugar 150 grams Smithfield cream cheese 150 grams sour cream 450 grams all-purpose flour Cheese Filling: 150 grams sour cream 500 grams feta 80 grams all-purpose flour To Assemble and Serve: Egg wash Sesame seeds

METHOD For the Cheese Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix butter, salt and sugar to form a paste. Add cream cheese, sour cream and 50 grams of the flour until combined. Add the remaining flour and mix, just to combine. Flatten and wrap the dough. Refrigerate overnight.

For the Cheese Filling: In a large bowl, break up the feta and mix all ingredients together by hand.

To Assemble and Serve: Roll out the Cheese Dough so it is 3 millimeters thick. Cut 40 to 50 small circles using a dough cutter. Pipe in the Cheese Filling and fold over the dough. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds. Keep in the freezer until ready to bake. Bake at 380°F for 20 minutes.

Smithfield cream cheese provided by Savencia Cheese USA

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BREAD WINNERS

by Amelia Schwartz Flo Andreytchenko grew up in France knowing the value of good bread and pastries. “During World War I in France, when everything was closed, bakeries always stayed open,” says the owner of La Bicyclette Bakery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Bread and pastries take practice, consistency, science, and hours—sometimes days—to make.

Finally having some time, chefs and home cooks alike baked during their quarantines. Whether they went down the sourdough, banana bread or pizza rabbithole, many gained a deeper understanding of the hard work and reward that goes into a baked good. Thanks to this, New York bakeries have enjoyed a renaissance. Lines are stretched out the door for what has become a new category of comfort food. And with a consistent revenue, bread and pastries are now many restaurants’ saving grace. New York bakers have followed the French’s footsteps; during the most difficult times, they are still churning out accessible, affordable, fresh-out-of-the-oven products. Here, find out which of our favorites is right for you.

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Tartine Bread Tartine Bread

King Arthur King Flour Arthur Baker’s Flour Companion Baker’s Companion

Pick a Pick a cookbook: cookbook:

Flour Water Salt Yeast Flour Water Salt Yeast

The Flavor The Bible Flavor Bible

How you mixin’?

How you mixin’?

Stand mixer Stand mixer

By hand By hand

After shift After shift drink? drink?

PBR PBR

How you How you risin’? risin’?

Naturally Naturally leavened leavened

Yeasted Yeasted

Negroni Negroni

Beef Beefempanada empanada atatLove, Love,Nelly Nelly

This Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn bakeshop This Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn bakeshop is ais love letter to toand a love letter andfrom fromNelly, Nelly, thetheColombian Colombianmother motherofofBaker Baker Stephanie Stephanie Gallardo.

Gallardo. The The beef beef empanada empanadawith withraisins, raisins, olives, olives, hard-boiled hard-boiledeggs, eggs,and andcumin cumincan can also be be found at at Attaboy. also found Attaboy.This Thiswas was Gallardo’s Gallardo’sfavorite favoritegrowing growing up, up, though thoughNelly Nellybaked bakedthem themwith with frozen empanada dough. frozen empanada dough.

Delta Deltabacon bacon kolache kolache at Kings at Kings Kolache Kolache Dressed Dressed inin adorable adorable gas gas station station attendant attendantuniforms, uniforms,Paul Paul and and Sarah Sarah Ashey Ashey cook cook up up kolaches—sweet kolaches—sweet and andsavory savoryCzech-Tex Czech-Tex filled filled buns.

Their Their Delta Delta Bacon Bacon is is aa standout with with its its pillowy, pillowy, yeast-leavened yeast-leavened pastrystuffed stuffed with with onion onion dip and pastry hickory-smokedbacon. bacon. hickory-smoked

What’s on your feet?

What’s on your feet?

Feeding your Feeding starter your with: starter with:

Sneakers Sneakers

Rye Rye

Whole wheat

Whole wheat

Clogs Clogs

Fat of Fat of choice: choice:

What’s on your head?

What’s on your head?

Butter Butter

Bandana Bandana

Ha

t

Ha

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Olive Olive oil oil

Baguette Baguette at La Bicyclette at La Bicyclette

Baker Flo Andreytchenko Baker Flo Andreytchenko sells his baguette for a sells his baguette for a slim $2. Accessible but in slim $2. Accessible but in no way ordinary, this no way ordinary, this perfect baguette is chewy perfect baguette is chewy with a light, open crumb. with a light, open crumb.

Peach bomboloni Peach bomboloni Andreytchenko urges Andreytchenko urges his his atLeo Leo guests to spread butter at guests to spread butter andand cheese on the cut bread, Leo is heaven for sourdough cheese on the cut bread, Leo is heaven for sourdough as they in Paris. as they do do in Paris. fanatics. InIn addition addition to to thethe justjust fanatics. sourdoughpizza, pizza,Pastry PastryChef Chef Eva sourdough Eva Milcetic’speach peachbomboloni, bomboloni, filled Milcetic’s filled with peach peachjam jamand andpeach peachleaf leaf with pastrycream creamand andcoated coated with sugar, pastry with sugar, are to to warrant areenough enoughonontheir theirown own warrant aa trip trip totoWilliamsburg Williamsburgbefore beforea a weekend weekendbrunch brunchshift. shift.

Black pepper, Black pepper, cheddar, and cheddar, and polenta sourdough polenta sourdough at Winner at Winner

Gold country Gold country loafloaf Frenchette at at Frenchette

at noon, EveryEvery day atday noon, Baker Baker a differKevinKevin BruceBruce bakes bakes a different “Special Sourdough.” ent “Special Sourdough.”

On Thursdays, he prepares On Thursdays, he prepares Frenchette Baker Peter Edris Frenchette Baker Peter Edris a black pepper and polenta a black pepper and polenta experiments unexpected experiments with with unexpected sourdough a velvety sourdough with awith velvety combinations of local combinations of local wholewhole crumb, pockets of sharp crumb, pockets of sharp grains produce.

His gold grains and and produce.

His gold cheddar andinsanely an insanely cheddar and an country 100 percent country loaf,loaf, with with 100 percent crisp crisp crust. crust.

Make Make sure tosure to durum 94 percent durum flourflour and and 94 percent pre-order thevia loaf via email pre-order the loaf email hydration, defies expectations. hydration, defies expectations. because sells out quickly. because it sellsitout quickly.

It an haseggshell-thin an eggshell-thin a It has crust,crust, a soft soft but but tighttight crumb, and aand a crumb, bright, golden hue. hue. bright, golden N E W YORK CI T Y 2020

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BAK E RS For Bakers Autumn Moultrie and Brian Villanueva, nothing is more homey than some fresh bread, still warm from the oven. The couple are both from Los Angeles, where they unknowingly attended rival high schools. She left the state for culinary school at the College of Southern Nevada; he stayed close to home at California State Polytechnic University, where he studied hospitality management. In Las Vegas, Moultrie cooked at Giada, followed by Carbone and Momofuku Las Vegas. In 2017, Moultrie moved to New York to open Mario Carbone’s The Grill as chef de tournant.

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Villanueva stuck around in California, where he was hired as a line cook at Nancy Silverton’s Mozzaplex. During his five-year tenure, he climbed the ladder to sous chef. Villanueva moved across the country for a role at Blue Hill before moving on to become chef de cuisine at Chefs Club. A Giada De Laurentiis pop-up there finally brought him and Moultrie together. She was focused on cooking, but Villanueva’s charms and persistence won out.

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When COVID-19 hit, Villanueva was in the banquet kitchen at Stone Barns, and Moultrie had broken into food styling. As work dried up, she started baking out of nervousness, and Back Alley Bread was born out of their Ditmas Park apartment. Moultrie and Villanueva bake and hand-deliver their bread and baked items in Brooklyn. Their products are influenced by their childhoods—from sourdough loaves inspired by a hometown grocery store to Moultrie’s greataunt’s biscuit recipe—but show off the skill of true professionals. @almondjoi88 / back_alley_bread Autumn Favorite kitchen tool: Baby spat (spatula)! I need it!

Tool you wish you had: Dough sheeter Favorite cookbook: The New Pillsbury Family Cookbook Most important kitchen rule: Taste everything.

Advice to your younger self: Don’t be intimidated or discouraged if no one looks like you in these kitchens.

Let that encourage you to keep pushing forward.

Keep your head down and keep cooking, and you never know where you may end up!

Brian Favorite kitchen tool: My slicer knife. I love cutting and carving meat.

Tool you wish you had: A Rofco bread oven Most important kitchen rule: Wash your hands after every task.

What you eat on your nights off: Mostly at home.

Autumn makes the best dinners.

Advice to your younger self: Don't waste money on school. Save money, travel, be a sponge, and have a good attitude.

Angel Donuts Bakers Autumn Moultrie and Brian Villanueva of Back Alley Bread Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 72-76 donuts

BAKERS

METHOD: For the Donut Dough: Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook, sift in flour, salt and yeast. In a separate bowl, whisk together 430 grams cold water, 90 grams buttermilk, sugar, and 2 eggs. Start beating dry ingredients on low. Stream in wet ingredients.

Once partially mixed, add 66 grams softened butter and turn mixer speed up. Mix dough 4 to 5 minutes or until smooth and slightly elastic.

Use a plastic pastry scraper to transfer dough onto a clean, dry surface. Press dough into a rough 8-by-6-inch rectangle and wrap tightly in plastic, making sure no dough is exposed to air. Transfer dough to a sheet tray and refrigerate overnight.

On the following day, place 1 pound cold butter in between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Pound butter into a 10-by-7-inch block, wrap, and set aside. Remove dough from the fridge, unwrap, and place on a large, lightly floured work surface. Roll dough into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Unwrap and place butter block in the center of dough. Fold the exposed dough on both sides to meet in the center, completely encasing the butter in dough. Press with fingertips to seal.

Transfer dough to a sheet tray, wrap tightly, and return to fridge to chill 1 hour. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle dough with flour and roll out the 10-inch-long side of the dough until it is 25 inches long, applying even pressure while trying not to shatter the butter. Brush the middle third of the dough with a very scant amount of the remaining buttermilk.

Fold the left third into the center and brush the third with buttermilk. Fold the right and final third in, stacking it perfectly on top of the left fold. The dough should be folded like a letter.

Wrap and refrigerate dough for 2 hours. Repeat the folding process again. Refrigerate dough 1 hour and proceed with the last set of folds. Refrigerate dough 1 more hour, transfer to work surface, and roll out entire dough block until it is 1¼ inch thick. Transfer dough sheet to freezer; freeze until partially frozen and can stand up to a sharp knife.

Cut the edges of the dough sheet into 2-by-2-inch squares, saving the scraps for another use. Place all donut dough on a lightly floured sheet tray lined with parchment. Cover sheet tray with a proofing bag and refrigerate overnight.

For the Angel Sugar: Combine all ingredients and set aside.

INGREDIENTS: Donut Dough: 1120 grams all-purpose flour 20 grams sea salt 10 grams active dry yeast 110 grams buttermilk 70 grams sugar 2 large eggs, beaten 1 pound plus 66 grams butter

Angel Sugar: 150 grams granulated cane sugar 150 grams turbinado sugar 100 grams cinnamon 2 grams fine sea salt

To Assemble and Serve: Oil for frying 4 ounces wildflower honey 2 ounces Seké Wild African Honey

To Assemble and Serve: Proof Donut Dough at room temperature 1 hour to 1½ hours. When the Donut Dough has doubled in size and is light and fluffy, it is ready to fry. Heat oil to 325°F and fry donuts 1 to 2 minutes on both sides or until golden brown and cooked through the center. Drain and blot excess oil. Toss with wildflower honey and sprinkle with Angel Sugar.

Drizzle with Seké Wild African Honey and enjoy hot.

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M ASA MA K E RS

Matt Diaz, Carlos Macías FOR ALL THINGS GOOD Before Matt Diaz and Carlos Macías were masa masters, they met studying in Argentina.

They became fast friends, sharing an interest in Latin American culture and food.

Diaz’s background is in anthropology and enology, and Macías comes from architecture (he worked for the secretary of agrarian, territorial and urban development in Mexico). They visited each other and devoured loads of tacos, quesadillas and tetelas together along the way.

But the friends noticed a key component missing in the Big Apple: high-quality corn and tortillas.

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talks and symposiums on corn and nixtamalization, a process that involves cooking and soaking corn in a highly alkaline solution that makes the nutrients digestible. When Macías’ family lost their corn farm because it was no longer sustainable: the two realized that heirloom corn would continue to die out without a market to support it.

They founded For All Things Good in July, starting with pop-ups, collaborations and Instagram sales. At their BedStuy molino and cafe, guests can buy masa, eat fine tortillas, and learn about sustainability.

Diaz and Macías hope to one day offer classes in the neighborhood and expand their business outside of New York.

mpdiaz86 / carlos_mvera / forallthingsgoodbk Matt

Carlos Favorite kitchen tool: My molino, Favorite kitchen tool: The spatula our mill that we use to grind corn or the hand Tool you wish you had: A much Tool you wish you had: Metate larger molino!

Favorite food resource: México de Place to visit for culinary travel: Oaxaca or Baja California Norte

Where you eat on your nights off: We try to go someplace new every week. Recently, we have visited Sauced and their sister restaurant, Etiquette, which have hosted a series of pop-ups.

Advice to your younger self: Don’t wait until you think you’re ready to move forward in your career or with your passions.

You’ll never be ready. If you’re truly passionate about what you’re doing, you’ll rise to the occasion.

Adentro Hacia Afuera

Most important kitchen rule: Respect and appreciation for everyone’s work Where you eat on your nights off: Mainly at For All Things Good, materializing new ideas and recipe test runs Advice to your younger self: Always find a way to materialize your ideas and ideals. If it doesn’t go as you wanted, at least now, you know it. But what if you discover, or rediscover, something interesting?

MASA MAKERS

From left: Blue corn tetela with black beans and lime; Oaxacan cheese tetela; purple corn tetela with hibiscus and chipotle salsa, all served with salsa verde and salsa macha.

Purple corn tetela, hibiscus, chipotle salsa Masa-makers Matt Diaz and Carlos Macías of For All Things Good Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 8 tetelas

INGREDIENTS Hibiscus-Chipotle Filling: 75 grams dried hibiscus flowers 4 to 5 ripe plum tomatoes ½ onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, peeled 75 grams chipotle adobo ¼ cup agave extract Juice and zest of ½ a mandarin orange 2 teaspoons flake salt To Assemble and Serve: 320 grams heirloom corn pink bolita masa, divided into 8 masa balls

METHOD Hibiscus-Chipotle Filling: Bring 400 milliliters of water to a boil. Add hibiscus and steep for 5 to 7 minutes or overnight. Remove flowers and reserve water to make agua fresca. To a grill or flat-top, add tomatoes, onion and garlic and cook until caramelized or slightly burned. To a Vitamix blender, add the grilled tomatoes, garlic and onion; chipotle adobo; and the rinsed hibiscus and blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Fold in agave extract; cool. Add mandarin zest and juice; stir to combine.

To Assemble and Serve: Press one masa ball with a tortilla press or with a heavy pan to get a flat circle. Place a spoonful of Hibiscus-Chipotle Filling in the middle, making a triangle shape inscribed in the circle. Shape into a triangle side-by-side until the filling is completely sealed. Repeat with remaining masa balls. In a grill or pan at medium-high heat, sear tetelas 3 to 4 minutes per side and for 20 to 30 seconds on the side edges. Serve tetelas with your preferred sauce.

Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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Eliza Christen LILIA & MISI Born and raised in Taipei, Eliza Christen wanted the quintessential American college experience at the University of Illinois, but it was the restaurant world that truly engaged her. She got her introduction to restaurants working the omelette station at the go-to continental breakfast place in town. She then joined Bacaro wine bar, where she made her way through every front-of-house position. The experience introduced her to the wine world, as well as gave her time off to work harvest seasons in Italy, Australia and Oregon and study for her CMS and WSET certifications.

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In 2016, Christen moved to New York City, where she scored a position as a server, then sommelier at Momofuku Ko. The wide range of the New York wine market cemented her passion, but after several years, she longed to revisit the wine-making experience.

lilianewyork / misinewyork Favorite region: Hard to name a favorite, but on every trip I make to Piedmont, I discover a different experience. It’s full of surprises!

Favorite wine resource: Talking to producers! It’s easy to default to a quick Google search for answers, but reaching out to the winemakers themselves can bring amazing insights and perspectives.

Most important pairing rule: Identify the aspects of dishes/wines to highlight and then work backwards.

After working another harvest and traveling throughout Europe, Christen settled in Napa at Meadowood Resort. In 2018, Restaurateur Sean Feeney of Grovehouse, who remembered Christen from a past dinner at Ko, offered her a job as beverage director of Missy Robbins’ celebrated Williamsburg Italian restaurants, Lilia and Misi. Christen now curates the respected all-Italian wine menu of Lilia and the more adventurous, globe-spanning Misi list.

What you drink on your nights off: Manhattans, beer and tea Places to visit for wine-related travel: Wachau, Burgundy, Adelaide Hills— anywhere and everywhere right now!

Wine list you admire from afar: Four Horsemen, though I’m more often admiring it up close.

Favorite high-low pairing: Champagne and chips. Champagne and breakfast.

Champagne and everything.

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ODO A visit to Odo is a sensory exhibit. As your eyes adjust to the dim lighting, you’ll hear the sound of knives being sharpened and smell the luxurious scent of Le Labo drifting from the bathroom.

All this even before the dishes and cocktails start coming out.

But when they do, steady yourself. Ooh-ing and aah-ing, you might not be able to decipher if you're sensorially delirious or just straight-up drunk. Exhibit A: the sakizuke. Moody and striking, Chef Hiroki Odo’s flavors target every part of the mouth: grilled Japanese eggplant, ankimo, nukazuke pickles, sudachi foam, western burdock confit, Kings County whiskeyinfused dark chocolate, and caviar for the pièce de résistance. To elevate this creation, Bartender Jordan David Smith brought in the Strange Weather in Tokyo cocktail. At the base, the Imo Shochu infused with pine needles demands your attention but plays off the leek charcoal powder on the plate. Sake vermouth lightens the mood and allows the monkfish liver to fully deliver, and the aromatics of Italian bianco vermouth accentuate each layer of the dish. It’s all just boozy and rich enough, a pairing that’s essentially bait, reeling you in to the next course.

DA TOSCANO When pairing for Michael Toscano’s family cheesecake recipe, Sommelier Madeline Maldonado knew just what to do. She pulled the 10-year Henriques & Henriques Sercial Madeira NV, an acid-driven, dried-fruit-forward, fortified sweet wine that comes from a family vineyard on the island and dates back to 1425. It’s been known to pair well with oysters and soft cheeses, but when it meets the sour cream-topped, graham cracker-crusted, ultra-creamy Carnegie-style cheesecake, the wine absolutely comes to life.

PERFECT

BY ERIN LETTERA

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SILVER APRICOT As any New Yorker has learned from trips to the nearest Chinese takeout joint and bodega, Chinese food and beer go hand in hand. But when it’s time to skip the couch for a night out, Silver Apricot is the answer. Case in point: chile crab rangoon dip. Made to be scooped up with crunchy wonton chips, the layers of cream cheese, chile and peeky-toe crab are just screaming for a refined beer to wash it all down. Cue Silver Apricot Managing Partner and Sommelier Emmeline Zhao. “My family is Shanghai Chinese, and in Shanghai, we have hairy crab once a year, and we always eat it with plum wine,” Zhao says. For a similar experience, she came across NYC-based Torch & Crown’s Flying Blind fruited sour ale, a berrycentric brew with just enough tartness to cut through the creaminess while accentuating the succulent crab. Consider it more spritz than sour, more buzz than bite.

AMALI Amali is the kind of place where time passes slowly and gloriously. Take the smoky, earthy Nerantzi Koniaros wine, a 50,000-year-old Greek varietal, which is cultivated from vineyards that line the foothills of the mountains in Serres. A Greek stew, lamb giouvetsi, is a staple dish for this subtropical climate and a favorite of Amali owner James Mallios’s father. So when Chef Alex Tubero took over the menu, he wanted to honor these classics in his own way. The Cascun Sun lamb loin contains all the traditional, warm flavors of the stew itself: cinnamon, black peppercorn and bay leaf merged with orzo, tomato and Kefalotyri cheese. “We always think of seafood and summery [cuisine] in Greece,” Sommelier Kylie Monogan says. “But in the mountains and the winter villages, there are a lot of baked vegetables and sheep’s cheeses, so it made sense to pair wine from the same place."

PAIRINGS ILLUSTRATED BY BECKI KOZEL

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Jhonel Faelnar ATOMIX

Jhonel Faelnar always longed to travel out of his neighborhood in Manila’s Quezon City. He attended Ateneo de Manila University to study management engineering before moving to Osaka, Japan as part of a retail management training program, and his travels instilled a love of food. When he arrived in New York City in 2013, Faelnar enrolled in the International Culinary Center’s intensive sommelier program.

During his studies, he interned in Wine & Spirits magazine’s tasting department and worked the bar at Amali. Even with this workload, he was valedictorian of his class.

After graduation in 2014, One Five Hospitality hired Faelnar to be sommelier at The Fourth American

Brasserie and Botequim in Union Square. He juggled the establishments until 2015, when he became a somm at one of the best beverage programs in the city: The NoMad. He stayed until 2018, when he was hired as wine director and sommelier at Korean fine dining restaurant Atomix, which received two Michelin stars during Faelnar’s tenure. Faelnar designs wine pairings for Rising Stars alum Chef Junghyun Park’s 10-course tasting menu to be playful and approachable, spotlighting the dishes without stealing their thunder. Faelnar was recently recognized as one of Wine Enthusiast’s “40 Under 40 Tastemakers of 2020” and Wine & Spirits’ “Best New Sommelier of New York."

jhonelfaelnar / atomixnyc Favorite region: Impossible to answer, but if you had to twist my arm, it would still be Burgundy.

Favorite wine resource: GuildSomm and The World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition Most important pairing rule: Let the food speak.

What you drink on your nights off: Depends on my mood, really. With friends, wine. With Netflix, beer.

For late nights, amaro.

Place to visit for wine-related travel: Wachau, Austria Wine list you admire from afar: Le Vintage wine bar in Reims, Champagne is a great benchmark for when I open up my own place. Such a great list with vintage and producer depth.

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BARTE N DE R

Brian Evans

SUNDAY HOSPITALITY Brian Evans began his superstar career in beverage, but he wasn’t slinging the elaborate, head-turning cocktails for which he’s known at Sunday Hospitality.

Born in Houston and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas, he started as a barista at Sweet Bay Coffee Company. Evans credits this experience for giving him the ability to multitask—entertaining guests while cranking out quality coffee.

In 2010, he moved to Austin and helped open modern Thai restaurant Sway as a server, then bartender.

In 2015, Evans ventured to New York City and was eager to build a career in wine, but his first job was server at Danny Meyer’s Marta. While waiting tables, he became interested in classic

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New York cocktail culture and was moved behind the bar. Two years later, he joined Williamsburg restaurant Sunday in Brooklyn as the head bartender and later launched Snowday in Brooklyn, a seasonal holiday pop-up inside the Sunday in Brooklyn space. Now as director of bars for Sunday Hospitality, Evans is building one of the most fun and creative bar programs in New York and beyond. In addition to Sunday in Brooklyn, Evans designs the bar menu for Sibling Rival and Pilot inside The Hoxton DTLA and Greenpoint’s breezy yakitori restaurant, Rule of Thirds. On weekends, Evans can be found building Japanese-inspired, tropical cocktails in to-go cups for Rule of Thirds’ yakitiki program.

brian_evans_ ft_ 2_chainz / hospitalitysunday Favorite bartending tool: Japanese jiggers Favorite cocktail to drink: Daiquiri Favorite cocktail resource: Punch Most underrated cocktail ingredient: Cacao butter or plums Cocktail trend you’d most like to see: Creative approaches to highballs Cocktail culture you’d most like to explore: Japanese cocktail culture and their meticulous and ceremonious approach to perfection.

Where you drink on your nights off: Llama Inn, Win Son, Katana Kitten, Death & Co and Mister Paradise

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Umami Grog Bartender Brian Evans of Sunday Hospitality Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS Shiitake Mushroom-infused Pineapple Rum: 1 750 milliliter bottle of Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple rum 4 dried shiitake mushrooms Cinnamon Syrup: 450 grams white granulated sugar 8 cinnamon sticks, crushed Miso-Honey Syrup: 600 grams honey 200 grams white miso To Assemble and Serve: ½ ounce Plantation Isle of Fiji rum ½ ounce Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos sherry ¼ ounce Giffard white creme de cacao ¼ ounce grapefruit juice ½ ounce lime juice Enoki mushroom Mint Nutmeg, freshly grated

METHOD:

For the Shiitake Mushroom-infused Pineapple Rum: Combine ingredients in a nonreactive container and let infuse for 24 hours. Transfer to a Vitamix container and blend on high speed for 10 seconds. Strain and refrigerate.

For the Cinnamon Syrup: Add crushed cinnamon sticks to 450 grams hot water and let steep 15 minutes. Combine with sugar and stir until dissolved. Refrigerate 24 hours, then strain.

For the Miso-Honey Syrup: Add white miso to 200 grams hot water and stir vigorously until combined. Stir in honey.

Refrigerate.

To Assemble and Serve: To a shaker with pebble ice, combine 1 ounce Shiitake Mushroom-infused Pineapple Rum, ¼ ounce Cinnamon Syrup, ½ ounce Miso-Honey Syrup, Isle of Fiji Rum, sherry, creme de cacao, and juices. Whip for 10 seconds, then transfer to a hollowed-out grapefruit shell and pack with pebble ice. Garnish with enoki, mint and nutmeg. Serve garnished cocktail in a small soup bowl.

Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos sherry provided by Wines from Spain Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial Blender

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GOOD TO GO

GOOD TO GO

By Hannah Selinger

During spring’s bar closures, one legal change ushered in a new culture of drinking: a March 16 governor’s order that permits the sale of alcohol to-go. New Yorkers could order their cocktails from windows or delivery services, and streets such as Doyers in Chinatown or Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn closed down to essentially serve as outdoor pub crawls. Without this adjustment, bars might have been left twisting in the wind, as the city is still not back at full capacity.

As laws continued to shift, adding 25 percent capacity and a 10 p.m. curfew, many bartenders and owners have embraced the opportunity as a way to showcase their creativity and to ensure their very survival, finally free from New York’s somewhat draconian alcohol laws.

Through Caviar, the libation haven Attaboy has started selling cocktail kits, as well as 15 pre-made cocktails.

“We took the easy approach with our greatest hits,” Head Bartender Haley Traub says. Served in compostable deli containers, all cocktails are made fresh and to-order and come with a large block of ice on the side as to not to dilute the cocktail en route. “We are still staying true to ourselves,” says Traub, who has partnered with Love, Nelly to meet the new food requirement with fresh empanadas.

For some bars, R&D has yielded surprising results in the time of COVID-19. At Amor y Amargo in the East Village, Head Bartender Blake

Walker joined forces with Bartender Sean Johnson, formerly of Gabriel Kreuther, in May to launch Day & Night Cocktails: seasonal sets of two drinks, one more light and sunny with the other being darker and richer, bottled and available for delivery.

“It was a way of mitigating our grief for an industry that was falling apart before our eyes,” Walker says. The fall iteration of Day was made from a base of Ethopian mead called Axum Tej, mixed with white rum, rhum agricole, apricot liqueur, manzanilla sherry, and a tincture from hops.

Night included chamomile-infused genever, oak-washed rye, Amaro Averna, and Cointreau.

A two-serving bottle costs $20, while a larger bottle is $75, and Day & Night does in-person drop-offs in most of Brooklyn and lower Manhattan.

“This time has been a test balloon to see if it’s a viable business and if we love doing it, and, lo and behold, it is, and we do,” Walker says. The bottle delivery has enjoyed success with repeat patrons and a healthy roster of orders, indicating a possible future for bottled, mobile cocktails in New York.

The Perennial Gimlet (recipe on page 75), served at Crown Shy in the Financial District, is a cocktail made with “perennial” ingredients.

This pre-batched drink, sold for $75, is available to go and comes with hummus, nduja and pita. Rising Star Bartender Harrison Ginsberg, who has spent these past months doing

research and development, has not been deflated by the pandemic.

He views innovation, like the togo Perennial Gimlet, as part of his evolving job. “This is what I’ve always wanted,” he said. “We have a great team. We have a strong team.”

Bar Director Eryn Reece of the Lower East Side's Banzarbar and Freemans Restaurant recently began bottling cocktails and notes that some techniques, such as prebatching and fat-washing, have seen an increase in popularity because they can be done in advance. Her Moonraker Sail cocktail puts an EVOO twist on fat-washing, along with its shochu, London Dry, Blanco Vermut, apricot, and plum.

Meanwhile, Quality Bistro’s Bryan Schneider has been teaching himself how to operate a canning machine so he can translate his drinks to to-go. Customers can order a four-pack of some of the restaurant’s signatures—such as the Bistro Spritz with prosecco, Grey Goose, St-Germain, and grapefruit, or the Le Spicy with Ancho Verde, Bombay Sapphire gin, lime, tarragon, and cucumber—from cutely branded cans. One of Schneider’s top drinks, the Old Fashioned Au Poivre, inspired by the sauce, has been translated to a large-format bottle, begging the question of whether to-go cocktails are just a way to survive, or the future of bartending.

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BARTE N DE R

Harrison Ginsberg CROWN SHY

Harrison Ginsberg got his start in the hospitality industry through hard work; he took on every front- and back-of-house position at a local Italian restaurant in his native Westchester. In 2009, Ginsberg moved to Providence to attend Johnson & Wales University.

Specifically infatuated by beverage and cocktails, Ginsberg bartended at The Dorrance before relocating to Chicago in 2013, where he tended bar at The Dawson. By 2015, he had worked his way up to head bartender, developing and overseeing the rotating, quarterly cocktail menu.

Ginsberg returned to New York in 2016 to bartend at Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry’s award-winning Irish pub and cocktail haven The Dead Rabbit, and

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helped open BlackTail, which received Tales of the Cocktail’s 2017 Spirited Award for Best New Cocktail Bar in America.

In 2019, Ginsberg joined Jeff Katz and Chef James Kent to open the nowMichelin-starred, upscale, seasonal restaurant Crown Shy as bar manager.

In addition to crafting Crown Shy’s complex cocktails, Ginsberg is working on beverage programs for two new concepts on the top floor of the restaurant’s historic, Art Deco building: pairings with the tasting menu at fine dining destination SAGA, and Overstory, a 28-seat cocktail bar with a wraparound terrace overlooking the city, both set to open in 2021.

harrison.ginsberg / crownshynyc Favorite bartending tool: My hands Most underrated cocktail ingredient: Pineau des Charentes Favorite cocktail to drink: Margarita, salt, rocks Favorite bartending resource: The Modern Cocktail by Matt Whiley Where you drink on your nights off: Le Crocodile, Flora Bar, Sharlene’s, Dutch Kills, and Undercote Cocktail culture you’d most want to explore: Italian—the art of the aperitivo is magical. Simple drinks without pretension.

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Perennial Gimlet Bartender Harrison Ginsberg of Crown Shy Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS Vetiver Tincture: 12 grams vetiver 1 liter Everclear Sour Green Apple Juice: 40 grams citric acid 15 grams malic acid 5 grams ascorbic acid 1 liter Granny Smith apple juice Wheatgrass-infused Vodka: 20 grams wheatgrass 3 liters vodka To Assemble and Serve: ½ ounce fino sherry ½ ounce simple syrup Red shiso leaf

METHOD For the Vetiver Tincture: Set an immersion circulator bath to 58°C. Add all ingredients to a vacuum-seal bag. Cook sous vide 30 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter. Bottle, label, and store for use.

For the Sour Green Apple Juice: Combine acids in a nonreactive container. Add apple and stir to combine. Strain through a coffee filter. Bottle, label, and store for use.

For the Wheatgrass-infused Vodka: To a Vitamix blender, add wheatgrass with 1 liter of vodka. Blend on high. Strain through a superbag or coffee filter. Add remaining vodka and stir to combine. Bottle, label, and store for use.

To Assemble and Serve: To a glass filled with ice, combine 2 dashes Vetiver Tincture, ¾ ounce Sour Green Apple Juice, 1½ ounces Wheatgrass-infused Vodka, sherry, and simple syrup. Stir and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with shiso leaf.

Fino sherry provided by Wines from Spain Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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BARTE N DE R

Shannon Tebay DEATH & CO

Shannon Tebay moved to New York City for its incredible art scene, but while studying at Hunter College, she found herself thinking more about where she wanted to eat and drink rather than the artwork. Tebay soon left Hunter for the French Culinary Institute’s Master of Pastry Arts program. On the side, she picked up a hosting and serving gig at Death & Co. It was that first job in 2010 that showed her that cocktails mirrored her love for pastry: the chemistry, the precision, the exact duplication.

shannontebay / deathandcompany Favorite bartending tool: Bulu pineapple bar spoons Favorite bartending resource: Cocktail Codex by Alex Day Most underrated cocktail ingredient: Anything and everything coconut!

Cocktail culture you’d most like to explore: Japanese cocktail culture. I deeply admire the artistry, precision and commitment to excellence associated with the Japanese tradition. I would jump at an opportunity to learn more about the history of their classic and time-honored ingredients and methodology.

Cocktail trend you’d most like to see: I'd love for the increased visibility of social justice movements this year to translate to an increased consumer and buyer awareness of issues as they relate to spirit production and consumption. A lot of people aren't in touch with how the increase in popularity of various categories has come at the expense of communities who have made those products for centuries. I'd love to see the industry enter an era of supporting brands and importers who give back to their communities and ensure living wages for their employees.

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From her serving gig, Joaquín Simó brought her over to be part of the opening staff of

Pouring Ribbons in 2012 as a bartender, and Tebay worked her way up to general manager in 2013. She also combined her passions to partner with Jane Danger on Jane’s Sweet Buns, where they baked sticky buns based on classic cocktails. But with all her consulting, baking, and managing, Tebay missed the bar. She followed Jim Kearns to Slowly Shirley, then moved on to The Happiest Hour. In 2017, Tebay came back to Death & Co and was promoted to head bartender two years later. Her elegant drinks are rooted in simplicity and each constructed around one key flavor.

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Arrowhead Bartender Shannon Tebay of Death & Co Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

INGREDIENTS

METHOD Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir. Strain into a rocks glass with a big, single rock. Garnish with expressed lemon twist.

Bourbon provided by Buffalo Trace

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1¾ ounces Buffalo Trace bourbon ¼ ounce Clear Creek Douglas fir eau de vie ½ teaspoon Caol Ila single-malt scotch 1 teaspoon Mathilde Liqueur Poire 1 teaspoon maple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters Lemon twist

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SAKE B REWE RS

Brandon Doughan Brian Polen BROOKLYN KURA

In Japan, as diners show more interest in whisky and beer, local sake production has decreased dramatically.

Meanwhile, a brewery in Brooklyn aims to build on 1,000 years of sakemaking history and grow the beverage’s American audience.

Brandon Doughan and Brian Polen met at a wedding in Japan and bonded over their love of high-quality sake. They ended up traveling together on a postwedding sake tour to sample traditional brews, and fantasized about opening their own sake company. When they were ready, Doughan met Polen in New York, where they established Brooklyn Kura in Industry City.

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and Doughan's background in biochemistry aids him in leading the small brewing team.

Their small space includes a temperature- and humiditycontrolled room for culturing their own koji. Educating customers about the brewing process is crucial, so in addition to operating a small brewpub on premisis, they partner with restaurants who are willing to pass information on to guests, and have developed a subscription delivery model for exclusive and limited-run sakes.

As their craft cements its presence in Brooklyn, they host visiting sake experts, trading information just as the two did after that Japanese wedding years ago.

brooklynkura Brandon

Brian

Favorite sake resource: Supplementary Revision Sake Manufacturing Technology New Edition published by the Brewing Society of Japan

Favorite sake resource: Two podcasts that are great: “Sake On Air” and “Sake Revolution”.

Favorite food to drink with sake: Thin-crust pizza Most important brewing rule: Keep everything clean and cold.

What you drink on your nights off: Local craft beer

Favorite food to drink with sake: Ribeye Most important brewing rule: To highlight the quality and variability of sake with every sake you make.

What do you drink on your nights off: Natural and orange wine

Place to visit for sake-related travel: Tsuchida and Daishichi— Place to visit for sake-related travel: Hokkaido and Otokoyama, sake breweries that employ the the producer of the first sakes that kimoto method.

I was ever served chilled.

Sake trend you'd like to see: The continued growth of American Sake trend you'd like to see: The craft sake breweries. emergence of more quality, focused craft sake producers.

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

SA KE B REWERS

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MENTOR AWARD C

James Kent The 2020 class of New York Rising Stars anonymously voted on the Mentor Award, presented

by Vitamix Commercial. The award goes to a chef who supports and inspires young chefs in their city.

Previous New York honorees include Missy Robbins, Michael Anthony, Wylie Dufresne, Daniel Boulud, Jonathan Benno, Daniel Humm, and Dan Barber.

James Kent uses his own experiences with notable chefs and restaurateurs to shape his teaching style.

For his ability to nurture talent, combined with his generosity, skill, and vision, Kent is the recipient of the 2020 New York Rising Stars Mentor Award.

When James Kent was 14 years old, Chef David Bouley moved into his Greenwich Village building. As Kent was already working as a line cook at Pietrasanta, his mother made him knock on Bouley’s door, introduce himself, and ask to spend time in his kitchen. Remarkably, Bouley said yes. In the summer of 1993, Kent began a summer apprenticeship at Bouley, where he got to witness the ’90s New York culinary renaissance.

Kent studied food service management, culinary arts, and marketing at Johnson & Wales University and attended a study abroad program at Le Cordon Bleu in London and France. When he returned, he’d earned enough of a pedigree to get hired at Babbo (2001), Jean-Georges (2003), and Eleven Madison Park (2017), where he met his own mentor, Daniel Humm, another Rising Stars Mentor Award winner.

In 2010, Kent won the Bocuse d’Or USA Competition, making him the United States’ representative to the main event in Lyon. He placed 10th in the world. Three years later, Humm and Will Guidara, whom Kent said were “like long-lost brothers,” offered him the executive chef position at Michelin-starred The Nomad. In 2019, he and Restaurateur Jeff Katz opened their first solo project, Crown Shy, where Kent is able to continue to mentor talent.

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MENTOR

Lamb, farro, pickled ramps, favas Chef James Kent of Crown Shy Adapted by StarChefs

P H OTO : N ATA L I E B L A C K

INGREDIENTS

METHOD For the Braised Lamb Neck: In a large pot over medium heat, roast carrot, shallot and onion in neutral oil until onions are soft and translucent. Add tomato paste and roast until caramelized. Add red wine; cook off alcohol and reduce by 25 percent. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool in an ice bath until below 40°F. In a large, stainless steel, ceramic, glass, or metal vessel, pour marinade over lamb neck and let marinate in fridge for a minimum of 24 hours. Remove lamb neck from marinade and heavily season with salt and pepper. In a large pan over medium heat, sear lamb neck in grapeseed oil on all sides until golden brown. Remove the lamb, draining its fat, and deglaze the pan with lamb marinade. Return lamb neck to the pan and cover with remouillage. Braise in oven at 350°F until tender. Strain braising liquid and transfer to a saucepan. Over medium heat, cook braising liquid down until it can coat the back of a spoon. Transfer 25 percent of braising liquid to a stainless steel, ceramic, glass, or metal vessel and reserve for lamb sauce.

Transfer remaining braising liquid to a hotel pan with cooked lamb meat to cool until set.

Transfer to a vacuum bag, seal, refrigerate, and reserve.

When ready to serve, pick lamb meat, discarding fat. In a large bowl, season lamb with salt and stir in Activia. Transfer 1½ kilograms of lamb neck to a quarter sheet tray lined with parchment and compress. Cut into 70 cubes and reserve.

For the Boiled Farro: In a large pot over high heat, bring farro and 900 grams salted water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook farro until al dente, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Drain and transfer farro to sheet trays. Chill in refrigerator.

For the Puffed Farro: Preheat oven to 150°F. Lay 200 grams Boiled Farro out on a sheet tray and cook until dry but not completely dehydrated, about 1 hour. Transfer to a colander and sautée at 400°F until puffed. Cool on tray lined with paper towel. Season with salt. Reserve.

For the White Balsamic Pickling Liquid: In a large pot, combine all ingredients and 400 grams water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Chill over an ice bath. Set aside.

For the Pickled Ramps: Add ramps and 200 grams White Balsamic Pickling Liquid to a vacuum seal bag. In an oven with convectional heat, cook sous vide 6 minutes at 95°F. Cool over an ice bath. Reserve.

For the Lamb Sauce: In a large pot over medium heat, sear shallots and peppercorns. Deglaze with sherry and reduce until all liquid is dissolved. Add stock and jus; bring to a simmer and cook for 3 hours.

Add mint and remove from heat. Let cool 20 minutes. Strain and transfer to pint containers.

Reserve.

Braised Lamb Neck: Yield: 3½ pounds picked meat Neutral oil 500 grams chopped carrot 500 grams chopped shallot 1 kilogram chopped onion 200 grams tomato paste 4 liters red wine 15½ pounds Aussie lamb neck Salt Black pepper Grapeseed oil 4 quarts chicken stock Activia plain yogurt Puffed Farro: Yield: 1 pint Salt White Balsamic Pickling Liquid: Yield: 2 quarts 1 kilogram white balsamic vinegar 100 grams salt 400 grams sugar Pickled Ramps: Yield: 2 quarts 600 grams ramps Boiled Farro: Yield: 1 quart 500 grams farro 10 grams salt

Lamb Sauce: Yield: 6 quarts 300 grams sliced shallots 6 white peppercorns 150 grams sherry 3 kilograms roasted Aussie lamb bones 3 liters chicken stock 5 quarts chicken jus 1 bunch mint Roasted Lamb Loin: Yield: 4 portions Aussie lamb loin Salt Black pepper 20 grams grapeseed oil 2 cloves garlic 6 sprigs thyme 10 grams butter To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 2 portions 5 grams shallot (4 grams brunoise and 1 gram chopped) 50 grams butter Chicken stock 20 grams shelled, blanched, peeled and halved fava beans Salt White pepper 4 Fresh Origins chive flowers 3 Fresh Origins micro chervil

For the Roasted Lamb Loin: Season loin with salt and pepper. In a large pan over medium heat, sear lamb loin on all sides until browned. Add garlic, thyme and butter and baste until cooked to medium. Remove from heat and rest 10 minutes. Carve into 6 pieces; set aside.

To Assemble and Serve: To a pan over medium heat, combine 50 grams Boiled Farro, shallot, butter, and enough stock to make a glaze. Stir in 20 grams chopped Lamb Neck, 2 grams chopped Pickled Ramps, fava beans, salt and pepper. Transfer to serving plates and coat with Lamb Sauce. Top with slices of Roasted Lamb Loin and compressed cube of Lamb Neck, 20 grams Puffed Farro, Fresh Origins chive flowers, Fresh Origins chervil, and 2 whole Pickled Ramps.

Lamb neck and loin provided by True Aussie Lamb Chive flowers and micro chervil provided by Fresh Origins N E W YORK CI T Y 2020

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EMBRACING CHANGE

BY NATASHA DAVID ⋆ ILLUSTRATION BY JACLYN WARREN

I’ve always questioned if what I do is “important” enough. Does slinging drinks have any sort of meaningful impact on people’s lives? Could I be more useful? I grew up in a very politically minded family. Perhaps it’s because my father’s family escaped the Nazis or the fact that my mother was born in a Japanese internment camp, but social justice was at the heart of all the values my parents tried to instill in me.

all, are planned in dark corners over rounds of beer.

REVOLUTIONS, AFTER ALL, ARE PLANNED IN DARK CORNERS OVER ROUNDS OF BEER.

But Nitecap was far from perfect. Our staff members earned their money by having our guests decide if they were worthy of a tip or not. Our staff didn’t have health insurance or get paid time off. My hope is that we as an industry seize this moment in history as a real reckoning with ourselves and what we stand for. That we welcome social justice as the key ingredient to our collective culture and that politics take center stage in how we run our businesses. Nitecap will be back in one form or another, but it will only make its return once I am certain I can provide its staff with the security I would demand for my own children.

Working in bars and restaurants, like for so many of us, came out of necessity, not deep-seated desire. However, over the years it turned into more than just a way to pay the bills; it became the reason I wanted to get out of bed every day.

So to make a long story short, I, along with my partners, Alex Day and Dave Kaplan, opened Nitecap. And then six years later, almost to the day, we had what we didn’t know would be our last night of service.

COVID-19 was the tidal wave none of us saw coming. Even with what I thought was a sizable rainy-day-fund set aside, our shortsighted, greedy landlord made shuttering permanently our only viable option. In the sleepless weeks preceding our closure, I reflected often on what exactly I was trying to keep alive. Nitecap was born from a place of need. A need for inclusivity.

It was a direct reaction to the cocktail bar created from the gaze of the suited-up, white, heterosexual male, where a dresswearing, biracial woman like myself would be an easy target on Mai Tai Mondays.

I swore to myself that Nitecap would be different, and from day one, I welcomed politics to the barstool.

Because even though we’ve been told our whole lives that politics don’t belong in bars, it is precisely there where they belong. That Third Space is at the heartbeat of every town, village and city.

It is in these spaces that we are reminded of our ability to transform our sense of self, the power of social interaction and our innate need as humans to come together. Revolutions, after 82

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So yes, what I do—what we do—is important, is enough, if we use our voices and the real estate we take up for good. Hopefully, Nitecap made someone in our community feel safe. Hopefully, it created an opportunity or stepping stone for someone who felt marginalized. Hopefully, it gave voice to someone’s creativity.

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 ADVANCEMENT FOR RURAL KIDS | RURALKIDS.ORG

COLOR OF CHANGE | COLOROFCHANGE.ORG

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Through powerful campaigns, Color of Change moves decision makers in corporations and government to end practices that hold Black people back, creating a more humane world for all people.

Brian Evans FOOD AND FINANCE HIGH SCHOOL | FOODFINANCEHS.ORG As New York City’s only culinary-focused public high school, Food and Finance High School prepares students for careers in the food industry.

Diego Moya

THE ALI FORNEY CENTER | ALIFORNEYCENTER.ORG Since 2002, the Ali Forney Center has strived to protect LGBTQ youth from homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently.

Eric See

BAKERS AGAINST RACISM | BAKERSAGAINSTRACISM.COM

GROWNYC | GROWNYC.ORG

Unofficially the world's largest bake sale, Bakers Against Racism has raised more than $1.9 million for social justice.

Michelle Palazzo

Through Greenmarket farmers markets, recycling programs, community gardens, and environmental education, GrowNYC aims to promote a better quality of life for New Yorkers.

Eliza Christen

BLACK LEADERS ON OUR MISSION | BLACKLEADERSONOURMISSION.ORG

HOLY APOSTLES SOUP KITCHEN | HOLYAPOSTLESSOUPKITCHEN.ORG

B.L.O.O.M. provides New York City’s vulnerable communities with support, care, kindness, dignity, and the respect needed to thrive.

Autumn Moultrie, Brian Villanueva

As New York’s largest food program, Holy Apostles strives to feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted, and seek justice for the homeless.

Caroline Schiff

BORDER KINDNESS | BORDERKINDNESS.ORG

KOREAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | KAFCNY.ORG

Border Kindness offers migrants, refugees, those seeking asylum, and the displaced with comprehensive services including food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and legal assistance.

Matt Diaz, Carlos Macías

CAREERS THROUGH CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM | CCAPINC.ORG Through culinary training, career advice and scholarship opportunities, C-CAP fights the cycle of poverty by guiding underserved high school students toward a bright future.

Jihan Lee, Lisa Limb, Taka Sakaeda

Through grantmaking, raising awareness of needs and issues, and promoting a culture of giving, KACF transforms and emboldens underserved Korean American communities.

Sungchul Shim

THE OKRA PROJECT | THEOKRAPROJECT.COM Black transgender people experiencing food insecurity can find free, homecooked, healthy, and culturally specific food at this organization. TOP nourishes, protects, and advocates for the Black trans community.

Autumn Moultrie, Diego Moya, Eric See, Brian Villanueva

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City Harvest collects millions of pounds of food each year from restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms, and it’s all delivered free of charge to nearly 600 community food programs.

Julie Elkind

For more than 100 years, Planned Parenthood has offered reproductive health care, education and advocacy for people worldwide.

Alan Delgado, Michelle Palazzo

N E W YORK CI T Y 2020

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Recipes

Kitchen Notebook MIRCHI PAKORA Chef Eric Valdez of Rahi Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS Spicy Mayonnaise: 1 quart dried chile 4 cloves garlic, peeled 300 milliliters white vinegar Salt Sugar 2 egg yolks 250 milliliters canola oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice Tamarind-Date Chutney: Canola oil 100 grams chopped ginger 200 grams sugar 3 tablespoons red chile powder 5 tablespoons garam masala 1 tablespoon turmeric 200 grams pitted dates 500 grams tamarind pulp (unsweetened and seedless) Mushroom Stuffing: 3 tablespoons canola oil 100 grams finely chopped onion 50 grams ginger-garlic paste 2 green chiles, chopped 2 tablespoons garam masala 2 tablespoons red chile powder 1 tablespoon turmeric 300 grams finely chopped chanterelles 50 grams finely chopped cilantro Salt 200 grams diced Amul cheese Chickpea Batter: 300 grams chickpea flour 300 grams rice flour 1 tablespoons red chile powder 1 tablespoon turmeric 20 grams chopped cilantro Salt Crispy Shoestring Potatoes: 1 russet potato, peeled and washed Canola oil for frying Salt To Assemble and Serve: 4 peppers (preferably anaheim, but any sweet or mild peppers will do)

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METHOD

DAISY VERDE

For the Spicy Mayonnaise: In a nonreactive container, mix chiles, garlic, white vinegar, and 300 milliliters water, making sure chiles are submerged in liquid. Let ferment at least 3 days. The longer you ferment, the more intense the flavor. Transfer fermented chile and liquid to a Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and sugar. In a food processor, add yolks and spin on medium. Slowly pour in oil, then add lemon and 2 tablespoons water and season with salt. Add fermented hot sauce to taste.

Bartender Charlotte Mirzoeff of Kindred Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 cocktail

For the Tamarind-Date Chutney: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium flame. Sauté ginger until it turns brown. Add sugar, chile, garam masala, turmeric, and dates. Once spices are cooked, add tamarind and 500 milliliters water and bring to a boil. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and set aside.

For the Mushroom Stuffing: In a saucepan over medium heat, add oil, onion, ginger-garlic paste, and green chile. Sauté until onions are soft and translucent. Add spices and chanterelles; cook until dry. Add cilantro and season with salt. Remove from heat and cool.

Stir in Amul and set aside.

For the Chickpea Batter: To a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Set aside.

For the Crispy Shoestring Potatoes: In a deep fryer, heat oil to 300°F. Using a vegetable spiral cutter, cut potato into shoestrings or julienne cut with a knife. Wash the potato 3 times to remove all excess starch.

Deep fry until golden brown and crispy. Season with salt. Set aside.

To Assemble and Serve: In a deep fryer, heat oil to 350°F. Blanch peppers and remove skin. Cut a small incision to remove seeds. Stuff peppers with Mushroom Stuffing and dip in Chickpea Batter. Deep-fry stuffed peppers until golden brown.

Remove excess oil with paper towels. On serving plates, drizzle Spicy Mayonnaise and TamarindDate Chutney. Top with stuffed pepper and drizzle more Spicy Mayonnaise and Tamarind-Date Chutney. Finish with Crispy Shoestring Potatoes.

INGREDIENTS ‘Nduja-washed Mezcal: Yield: 750 milliliters 1 pint rendered ‘nduja fat One 750 millileter bottle mezcal Celery Juice: Celery Citric acid To Assemble and Serve: ¾ ounce Giffard Pineapple ¼ ounce 1:1 simple syrup 4 dashes 5:1 saline solution Celery leaves Dried pineapple METHOD For the ‘Nduja-washed Mezcal: To a glass jar, add rendered fat and mezcal. Reserve at room temperature for 2 days, shaking well and often so the fat doesn’t congeal. Transfer jar to a freezer overnight. The fat will separate and become frozen at the top of the vessel while the mezcal will stay in liquid form. Remove fat off of the top and strain the mezcal through a coffee filter to ensure clarity.

For the Celery Juice: Juice celery using a centrifuge juicer. For every 100 grams juice, add 5 grams citric acid. This will give a lemon-like acid that is needed to balance the sweetness of the cocktail. Shake to ensure citric acid is dissolved. Use immediately.

To Assemble and Serve: To a shaker, add 2 ounces ‘Ndujawashed Mezcal, 1½ ounces Celery Juice, Giffard, simple syrup, and saline. Add ice and shake for 15 to 20 seconds. Strain into rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a dried pineapple and celery leaves.

Chef Taylor Hester of Olmsted Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Pastrami Brine: 600 grams salt 75 grams pink salt 450 grams sugar 3 bay leaves 1 head garlic 20 grams fennel seeds 20 grams anise seeds 40 grams black peppercorns 1 bunch tarragon 1 orange peel Duck Pastrami: 1 duck breast 300 grams ground black pepper 200 grams coriander 100 grams brown mustard seeds Braised Radicchio: 1 head radicchio, halved lengthwise 450 grams red wine 450 grams sugar 20 grams salt Pecan-Duck Jus: Yield:12 quarts

50 pounds duck feet 50 pounds duck bones 3 kilograms halved onions 1 kilogram carrots 1 kilogram celery 10 bay leaves 100 grams thyme 500 grams tomato paste 100 grams parsley stems 50 grams black peppercorn 1 pound butter 4 tablespoons pecan oil 4 quarts toasted pecans 2 quarts chopped figs, chopped Herb Oil: 1 quart parsley 1 quart chives 1 quart bay leaves 1 quart grapeseed oil Grilled Radicchio: 1 head radicchio, cut into sixths Salt Grapeseed oil Black pepper Duck Heart Skewers: Duck hearts, aorta and valves removed, halved and rinsed Radicchio, chopped into skewerable pieces Figs, halved

On The Plate DUCK PASTRAMI, PECANDUCK JUS, GRILLED RADICCHIO, DUCK HEART SKEWER

To Assemble and Serve: Chopped chives Figs, halved METHOD For the Pastrami Brine: In a large bowl, combine salts,

sugar, bay leaves, garlic, fennel, anise, peppercorns, tarragon, orange, and 7½ liters water.

For the Duck Pastrami: Place duck in a large, nonreactive container. Pour in Pastrami Brine until duck is submerged. Brine duck 48 hours. Prepare a smoker with hickory wood chips at 167°F. Remove duck from brine and semidry. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients for the duck rub. Generously season duck with rub. Transfer duck to smoker and smoke 2 hours. Remove from smoker and set aside.

For the Braised Radicchio: Preheat oven to 325°F. In a medium pot, combine wine, sugar, salt, and 450 grams water. Stir and bring to a boil until sugar has dissolved. To a braising pan, pour braising liquid over radicchio.

Braise in the oven for 1 hour. Let cool, then chop. Set aside.

For the Pecan-Duck Jus: Preheat oven to 425°F. Roast the bones until golden brown.

Transfer bones to a large pot and add remaining ingredients and enough water to cover ingredients.

Over high heat, bring broth to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer overnight. Strain broth to a medium saucepan and reduce down to 8 quarts. Mount in butter and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients plus 2 quarts Braised Radicchio. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the Herb Oil: To a Vitamix blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Transfer to a hot pan and cook all the moisture out. Strain through a coffee filter, cool, and set aside.

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

For the Grilled Radicchio: Prepare a coal-fired grill. Lightly blanche radicchio in salted water.

Season radicchio with oil, salt and pepper and transfer to grill. Grill until lightly charred. Set aside.

For the Duck Heart Skewers: In a nonreactive container, brine hearts in Pastrami Brine for 12 hours; remove from brine. Skewer in order of heart, radicchio and fig, alternating until you have 3 hearts on 1 skewer. Grill on coalfired grill, dipping into PecanDuck Jus every couple of minutes to form a glaze. Once cooked, transfer skewers to serving plates, 2 skewers per plate.

To Assemble and Serve: Slice Duck Pastrami. Plate 2 pieces Grilled Radicchio followed by 5 slices Duck Pastrami. Spoon over with Duck Jus and Herb Oil and garnish with chives and figs. Serve with Duck Heart Skewers.

with a lid and let cool at least 1 hour or overnight.

Technique VEGAN GLASS NOODLES WITH SEITAN Chef Victor Huang of Very Fresh Noodles Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 1 serving

INGREDIENTS Chile Oil: 250 grams canola oil 30 grams doubanjiang 30 grams Korean red chile flakes 5 grams Thai chile flakes 5 grams mushroom powder 10 grams sugar 10 grams anise seed powder 10 grams cumin powder 15 grams fresh garlic paste 10 grams sesame oil 25 grams Sichuan peppercorn oil Sesame Sauce: 100 grams sugar 750 milliliters Sichuan peppercorn oil 35 grams sesame oil 100 grams Shaoxing wine 40 grams white miso paste 45 grams fresh garlic paste 10 grams white pepper powder 10 grams galangal powder 5 grams Madras curry powder 500 grams tahini 530 grams soy milk

For the Sesame Sauce: In a double boiler over medium flame, heat Sichuan oil. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Bring heat to low and stir in remaining ingredients. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

For the Seitan: To a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and 500 grams water at 120°F to 130°F. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Transfer dough to a round cake pan in the basket of a steamer and steam 40 minutes.

Remove from steamer and let cool 30 minutes. Roughly chop and set aside.

For the Glass Noodles: In a nonreactive container, combine mung bean starch and 200 grams water. Ladle 12 ounces of the glass noodle batter to a round cake pan. Place cake pan in the basket of a steamer and steam 1½ to 3 minutes or until batter has turned clear like a pane of glass.

Plunge cake pan into an ice bath to cool. Using a dough scraper or your hands, very gently release noodle sheet from cake pan onto a cutting board then chop it into broad ribbons.

To Assemble and Serve: Add Glass Noodles to a to-go bowl. Top with Seitan, 2 ounces Chile Oil, 1 ounce Sesame Sauce, and remaining ingredients. Mix it all up and enjoy!

Seitan: 300 grams vital wheat flour 100 grams high-gluten flour 100 grams mung bean starch 25 grams mushroom powder 15 grams kosher salt 1 teaspoon instant yeast 100 grams canola oil Glass Noodles: 800 grams mung bean starch To Assemble and Serve: Cucumber, julienned Scallions, diced or julienned Toasted sesame seeds Suimiyacai (preserved mustard green stems) Fermented black bean Wood ear mushrooms, blanched METHOD For the Chile Oil: To a 10-quart stockpot, bring canola oil to 350°F. In a separate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients. Slowly drop the mixture into the stockpot, being careful that the oil doesn’t overflow. Let fry 5 minutes and remove from heat. Close the pot N E W YORK CI T Y 2020

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Rising Stars Map

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