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Thursday, January 10, 2013
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The last few days have been rife with exciting information about Louisiana's culinary culture: A New Orleans superhero is taking a national position, and Chefs Move! and The John Besh Foundation are offering two more scholarships for deserving underprivileged youths this year, one in culinary arts and the other in pastry arts. An Old Friend Moves On I wrote about my old friend, Richard McCarthy, a few months back. Civic and entrepreneurially-minded and socially progressive, Richard co-founded the Crescent City Farmers Market in 1995. Under his care as executive director, the organization grew from a weekly farmers market into marketumbrella.org, an internationally recognized mentor for markets, community-building, and sustainable economic development, with an annual operating budget of $750K and a staff of seven. Just this morning I received an email from Richard informing me that he has been appointed executive director of Slow Food USA, the American arm of Slow Food International, which advocates worldwide for traditional foodways and artisans, with 100,000 supporters in more than 150 countries. Richard will soon be moving to Brooklyn to accept his prestigious new position for which he seems a perfect fit. One of the first Slow Food chapters in this country was founded in New Orleans in 1999 by Louisiana Kitchen & Culture associate editor Poppy Tooker. "This will give Richard a national platform," Tooker said in an interview with nola.com. McCarthy, she said, knows how to run a nonprofit successfully and knows all the key donors and foundations. As a native son, Richard is also most certain to keep Louisiana's culinary interests and traditions high on the national agenda. We can all benefit from friends in high places. Chefs Move Seeks Scholarship Applicants You may recall reading about Chef John Besh's Chef's Move! scholarship initiative in the December issue of Louisiana Kitchen &Culture magazine. The application process opened January 1 of this year and two scholarships will be offered - one in culinary arts, the other in pastry arts. The Chefs Move! scholarship is a fully paid course of study to the International Culinary Center in New York City and includes tuition to attend the 9-month career program plus housing, uniforms, travel to and from New York, a computer, a camera, job placement assistance while in New York and upon completion, and a fully paid 8-week internship at a restaurant with the Besh Restaurant Group. The scholarship is open to minority applicants from the New Orleans area with a GED and a year of kitchen experience. The scholarship, created by NOLA native Jessica Bride and Chef John Besh, is intended to diversify kitchen management by providing minority applicants with drive and aptitude the opportunity to train up and become leaders in restaurant kitchens and in their communities. Chef Besh has appointed two mentors: Lisa White, pastry chef of Restaurant Domenica, will mentor the scholarship recipient in pastry arts and Jeff Mattia, executive chef at American Sector, will mentor the recipient in culinary arts. The deadline for applications is April 30th. With winter temperatures remaining cold and the air damp the overall effect is dreary. It's the perfect weather for laying around all day Sunday, cooking and reading the newspaper or a good novel. We hope these brunch selections from Chef John Besh inspire you to enjoy some quality time at home. Enjoy this week's recipes, and let us know what's on your mind. Best-
Jyl Benson, Editor in Chief We are now on Twitter: @kitchnculture |
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Veal Grillades & Jalapeno Cheese GritsChef John Besh advises that a leaner cut may be used for this recipe but the cooking time should be cut down by 50 percent. However, he encourages cooks to source out and find those cheaper cuts of meat that have much more flavor than either the loin or leg cuts. If veal shoulder isn’t available then substitute boneless, sliced Boston butts of pork. Either way, when it's served with creamy Jalapeno Cheese Grits the results are simply divine. |
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Besh's Fluffy Breakfast BiscuitsHot , fluffy biscuits pulled straight from the oven and slathered with butter or kissed with jam are the perfect accompaniment to savory grillades for a leisurely brunch. They are also the vehicle of choice for mopping up all that wonderful gravy left behind on the plate. |
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Besh's Brandy or Bourbon Milk PunchCreamy and frothy with an festive, elegant air, liquor-laden milk punch is still a "hair of the dog" remedy when the effects of Saturday night are still affecting Sunday morning. |
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