By guest blogger and New York writer Seanan Forbes
On Friday, Rodelio Aglibot abandoned Sunda, 110 W. Illinois Street (leaving it in the hands of a more than able crew) and took over the kitchen of the James Beard House, 167 W. 12th in New York City.
Aglibot's fantastic, the menu looked phenomenal, and I wanted in - not in the dining room, but the kitchen.
As is his way, Aglibot did the unexpected: He said yes.
That was Wednesday. This is three o'clock on Friday afternoon, and I find myself in a compact kitchen with an impressive array of chefs: Aglbot; James Gottwald, executive chef of Rockit Bar & Grill and corporate chef of Rockit Ranch Productions; Jesse Deguzman, Sunda's sushi chef, and chef Frank Fronda (below, right). Volunteers from the French Culinary Institute are putting in hours, as well.
Gottwald and Deguzman look like undergraduate students, but the kitchen buzzes with professionalism - and camaraderie. Aglibot, Gottwald and Deguzman are a three-man Chicago team. Fronda and Aglibot travelled around Asia together, and they co-own Baba's Pasta, an artisanal pasta company.
This isn't a tight-knit group; it's a strong, effective sailor's knot - one flexible enough to add a writer to its curves.
By guest blogger and New York writer Seanan Forbes:
Nothing bears as powerful testimony to the talent of a chef as having
a crew that can maintain your standard. If your crew can do that and
keep smiling, then you're doing your job right.
Her flight was delayed. She'd planned to be in New York at 3 p.m. At 7 in the evening, the chef was still in transit.
At work stations across Avery Fisher Hall's lobby and grand promenade,
preparations for the gala were underway. With no captain at their
help, Naha's cooks were keeping up the pace, and smiling as they did so.
Naha's contribution to the festivities: cured ice-caught Great Lakes
whitefish and Door County golden whitefish caviar with crème frâiche,
candied Meyer lemon, bull's blood greens and Lebanese-seeded fattoush.
On the page, it looks complicated, but every element is needed. The
dish had taste and texture and (joyfully, in a drippy New York City
evening) the scents and shades of spring.
It received a reception as enthusiastic as any concert ever played in
the hall. Ingredients, execution and a delighted audience - no wonder
Nahabedian, who got to gala with plenty of prep time to spare, was
smiling.
By guest blogger and New York writer Seanan Forbes:
At the James Beard Awards, medallions aren't the only things that shine brightly. After the event (and, if you're lucky enough to meet the right bartender, during), the food and drinks glow. After all, James Beard wasn't about competition; his interest was in good food and drink.
Last night, Bridget Albert showed New York how Chicago makes a cocktail.
Albert has the ingredients of a master of the bar, and that's precisely what she is. She's crafted cocktails for the Art Institute of Chicago, and had more than a stirrer in the drinks at Sepia, Nacional 27 and the Drawing Room.
Now the master mixologist at Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois, Albert is also the Director of the Academy of Spirits and Fine Service - a history program for bartenders - and an author.
That makes life easy if you want to try her drinks at home. Get your hands on a copy of Market-Fresh Mixology: Cocktails for Every Season, and then go to the Green City Market. With regional farms in bloom, you're certain to find ingredients to make any award winner spring-green with envy.
Yesterday evening, tweaking her Chicago-Style Cocktails to balanced perfection, Albert was as smooth and cool as her drinks. Later, with crowds jamming her table, she kept drinks and conversation flowing.
A splash of Grand Marnier Cuvée du Centenaire, some 10 Cane Rum, raspberry-ginger shrub syrup, Goose Island Reserve Matilda Belgian-Style Ale and precisely enough fresh lemon juice to offset the sweetness ... Now, we're talking a winner.
By guest blogger and New York writer Seanan Forbes:
Jennifer Petrusky of Charlie Trotter's is cooking for the gala. She's making it like the restaurant's current menu: "a celebration of spring".
It may be springtime in Chicago, but it's film noir time in New York City. With cool rain outside, there's need for a reminder that it's springtime -- and Petrusky and her crew are providing just that.
Asked how it feels to be here representing Chicago, she says, "It's a great honor to be here representing Chicago and also representing women -- from all over the world."
To judge by the smiles on her crew's faces -- and the scents coming from the work station -- she's representing better than well.
By guest blogger and New York writer Seanan Forbes:
Grant Achatz says he's fine. He looks fine, with his neck circled by
an orange band bearing a round medal.
Alinea the restaurant has earned recognition. Alinea -- this time,
the book -- has its own websites: www.alinea-book.com and alineamosaic.com. Now, it (or, more precisely, its author) has a
medal, as well: for "Cooking from a Professional Point of View."
Is Achatz startled to have won? "Of course I'm surprised," he says.
"When you're up against Thomas Keller and Heston Blumenthal, you have
to be surprised."
With that, he lopes off to find the rest of his team. Some people
strive to be in the limelight. Achatz, who could easily claim the
shine, is always swift to state that he could do none of it alone.
By guest blogger and New York writer Seanan Forbes:
Even dressed to the nines for the James Beard Awards, Grant Achatz
still looks like an ebullient adolescent.
Asked what's exciting him lately, he cocks his head and says, "the
James Beard Awards". Achatz's girlfriend, Heather, whispers, "Japan."
"We just got back from Japan." Achatz says the trip was inspiring.
"It was amazing. We were in Tokyo and Kyoto. Kyoto's it."
Achatz has been giving inspiration to many people -- not just in Alinea the restaurant, but also in the cookbook of the same name. The
hardcover Alinea has been nominated for Cooking from a Professional
Point of View. At last year's awards, Achatz took Outstanding Chef.
A few hours from now, we'll know whether he's bringing an authorial
award back to Chicago, as well.
Come what may, Achatz looks to be having a fine young time.
Had the privilege of attending the James Beard Awards last year as a nominee in a media category. Now, the media shindig is always the night before the chef-saturated restaurant awards ceremony. And for me, a first- and quite possibly only-timer, it was an amazing evening with knockout food, even if it felt a bit like what I imagine the technical awards before the Oscars is like. That's what my sister (and date) and I kept giggling about, anyway.
But what topped the whole night was the after-party (or, if you were a chef, the pre-party), formally called Chef's Night Out. There was food, music, dancing, champagne, more champagne. Look, there's Drew Nieperont swaying to a little Justin Timberlake! Over there, it's Tom Colicchio - and he's smiling! Hey, it's David Chang, looking all I-don't-know-you-but-I-know-you-know-me!
This year, the chef's party will be at At Vermilion, a Chicago export from restaurateur Rohini Dey (the awards are Sunday and Monday). It's a pretty big coup, considering the restaurant just opened in mid-November -- and considering it's not homegrown (to New Yorkers, that is).
"A lot of places vie to host this because of the visibility, so it's very validating to be selected," Dey (below, left) said Thursday.
With the theme of this year's awards being Women in Food, it makes sense. Helming At Vermilion's kitchen are Maneet Chauhan (below, right), who previously headed the original in Chicago, and Ipshita Pall.
The 16,000-square-foot, bi-level restaurant at 480 Lexington Avenue is ready for its close-up Sunday, Dey says. She's expecting 850 people, plus last-minute hangers-on.
From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., it will be street food heaven, with kababs and chaats galore and Latin-Indian fare such as duck vindaloo arepas and boar jibarito, plus five signature cocktails and three desserts. Indian sensation DJ Rekha will funk things up.
Sun-Times Food editor Janet Rausa Fuller is always thinking about her next meal.
Lisa Donovan
For almost 20 years now, reporter Lisa Donovan has been hitting Chicago's neighborhood markets and restaurants not only for the
best grub at the best prices but also as a way to understand the city's melting
pot.
James Scalzitti
As Rhoda Morgenstern would say, food is the first thing Sun-Times Wire Service reporter James Scalzitti remembers liking that liked him back..
Sun-Times Food editor Janet Rausa Fuller is always thinking about her next meal.
For almost 20 years now, reporter Lisa Donovan has been hitting Chicago's neighborhood markets and restaurants not only for the
best grub at the best prices but also as a way to understand the city's melting
pot.
As Rhoda Morgenstern would say, food is the first thing Sun-Times Wire Service reporter James Scalzitti remembers liking that liked him back..
