News for February 2012
Birmingham chef Chris Hastings on “Iron Chef America” this Sunday
“Iron Chef America” featuring Birmingham chef Chris Hastings against Iron Chef Bobby Flay will air Sunday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. on the Food Network
From the article “Stepping into the spotlight” by Teri Greene in The Montgomery Advertiser:
Sunday, for the first time, the state of Alabama will be represented on one of Food Network’s most widely-watched competition shows: “Iron Chef America.”Chris Hastings, owner and executive chef at Birmingham’s renowned Hot and Hot Fish Club will throw down with Bobby Flay, one of the winningest chefs in the show’s history, in the arena-sized Kitchen Stadium. For Hastings, the match airing Sunday is one more step on the ladder of foodie fame. Tuesday, he was named as a semifinalist for the James Beard “Best Chef in the South” award. Teaming up with Hastings as sous chefs are Rob McDaniel, executive chef at the Lake Martin restaurant Springhouse and former chef de cuisine at Hot and Hot, and Sedesh Boodram, another former Hot and Hot chef de cuisine. McDaniel opened Springhouse in April 2009 and credits Hastings with helping launch his career as an executive chef. It has been a whirlwind: getting the invite from the show — which debuted in 2005 as a spinoff of the original Japanese series — preparing for the challenge and the mind-blowing, pressure-cooker experience of competing.
So how did the state’s first-ever Iron Chef challenger get a chance to step foot in Kitchen Stadium? “They asked if we would be interested in getting on a long list,” said Hastings, who had been touring with his wife, Idie, to promote their cookbook, “Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Family, and Traditions,” written with Katherine Cobbs. Hot and Hot has a longstanding good reputation in the resta rant world. But the book tour, which had Hastings appearing as guest chef at food events throughout the U.S., certainly didn’t hurt, he said. The interview for the show was great, Hastings said. He tried to convince the producers that his team would be up for the challenge. They said he’d hear from them in two weeks. He didn’t. Then, last June, “They sent the email saying, ‘Hey, you’re up.’”
“That was a really swallow-hard moment, because I had talked to some of my chef buddies, and I began to realize it is a really big deal,” he said. “‘Iron Chef America’ is the Food Network’s iconic, serious food competition — you have professional chefs, my peers that I respect, and vice-versa. “When you’re asked to participate it raises your thought process to an entirely different level because you know you cannot fail in front of millions of people who are watching and, more importantly, your contemporaries.” And he has seen it happen — chefs almost losing their fingers while chopping, others just beginning to plate their food when the final buzzer sounds. Five dishes, 60 minutes, countless viewers, endless re-runs and Internet replays. Pressure like that sometimes leads chefs to over think everything.
“That puts you on a very dangerous path and takes you away from your roots, the way you cook every day, your fundamental way that has worked brilliantly for a long time,” Hastings said. “When chefs get away from that, that’s when you see them fail. You don’t want to be that person.” Nor did he want either of his sous chefs melting on the kitchen floor. Hastings called McDaniel about the July 4 taping in New York. “He asked me what I was doing July Fourth,” said McDaniel, who’d worked with Hastings for more than three years. “I said, ‘Well it’s the lake, so I’m going to be busy.’ He said, ‘Well, do you want to be on ‘Iron Chef?” We got to work the next Monday.”
“Iron Chef America” unveils its central “secret ingredient” at the top of the show. And competitors do not know ahead of time what that item will be. “They are offered a range of possibilities, but there is absolutely an element of surprise,” Hastings said. However, the judges’ criteria is well known: 10 points for taste, 5 for plating/presentation and 5 for originality, and the ingredient often has little to do with the type of food a chef is accustomed to preparing. “I think it’s less about who you are as a restaurateur and more about showing that you’re capable,” Hastings said, “Whatever ingredient you’re given, you should be able to deal with it. If at that point you don’t know what to do, you haven’t done your homework.”
Hastings, McDaniel and Boodram set up lots of scenarios, working four mornings a week for six weeks, setting up the Hot and Hot kitchen so that each would have to sprint a distance just to fetch an ingredient or piece of equipment. There was an informal audience, and Idie Hastings observed, worked a stopwatch and threw questions and comments at them as they worked, in the style of host Alton Brown and floor reporter Kevin Brauch. Though chefs are convivial and tend to support one another, a certain reputation has stuck, McDaniel said. “All chefs are quarterbacks, and they all want the ball.” It was important that members of team Hastings consider each other equals and become brutally honest. After weeks of preparation and organization each chef was part of a well-oiled machine.
“We didn’t have to speak a lot because we knew what the other person was supposed to be doing,” McDaniel said. “If you ever talk to chefs or kitchen people, they talk about, ‘a perfect night is a dance.’ Nobody talks. It’s just a dance, and I think that’s what we did. You don’t have to communicate, because you know the next move of the person.” The network had advised Hastings to assemble a team that did not require him. Yes, someone had to be in charge, but no one had to be the alpha male. “You need people that you instinctively trust to be there to do their job,” Hastings said. “Going back to the dance thing, go with the people you’ve danced well with, knowing the moment is not too big for them. “That allowed us more confidence and a way of sticking true to the philosophy of the brand. Ultimately, I think it made for better TV. We didn’t lose our minds in the moment. We were calm when the bombs started going off.”
In fact, the judges panel and the production team said the Hot and Hot team was one of the smoothest they had ever seen. “That was kind of huge to us,” McDaniel said. The chefs are not allowed to reveal the outcome of their bout. McDaniel’s wife doesn’t even know. Idie Hastings knows, but only because she was there for the taping in July. The Hastings’ kids don’t know. When it comes down to it, the result takes a second seat to the overall experience and exposure, Hastings said. “We put our brand out there to millions of people every time it airs, and we hope we represented ourselves well. So that was more important to us — that we represented ourselves, our brand, our cities and our state.”
Still, there is a lot of suspense surrounding the Sunday night broadcast. Until recently, the chefs weren’t even allowed to reveal that Flay was their competitor until the Food Network released the info. Hastings’ strategy for choosing Flay was simple. The team would face the chef who, at the time of taping, had the top winning percentage of the show. Why? “You want to go down as either losing to the top guy or, if you win, beating the top guy.”
For the complete article please see http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012202220327.
Edited: February 23rd, 2012
It is Year of Food in Alabama and at Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast
Dig in to the new “100 Dishes” brochure
| By Year of Alabama Food Staff
In honor of The Year of Alabama Food, the Alabama Tourism Department has released a new and improved version of one of its most popular travel brochures.
The “100 Dishes To Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure introduces you to delicious eats from Abbeville to Wetumpka and everywhere in between. Whether you’re looking for barbecue, soul food, seafood or something to satisfy your sweet tooth, let this be your guide to Alabama’s signature dishes.
Download the new “100 Dishes To Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure and start planning your next culinary adventure.
Edited: February 10th, 2012
Year of Alabama Food website launched
The Alabama TourismDepartment officially launched the Year of Alabama Food website last week at the FoodBlogSouth event in Birmingham. The website www.yearofalabamafood.com features the updated version of the “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure, a sneak preview of the Year of Alabama Food television commercial, a searchable listing of Alabama restaurants, and a host of social media components. “The website shines because it so interactive and involving,” said campaign coordinator Brian Jones. “We looked at dozens of award-winning food websites and our goal was to make this the best of the best. Luckie & Company in Birmingham was our web designer and they really hit it out of the park with the food site.” www.yearofalabamafood.com.
From the article “What are you waiting for? – Tourism department releases new list of ‘try-before-you-die’ Alabama dishes” by Teri Greene in the Montgomery Advertiser:
This year, Alabama is getting serious about food — again. We’re all accustomed to the “Year of Alabama …” theme promoted annually by the Alabama Department of Tourism, and in 2012, the state’s signature dishes are having their year in the spotlight. But this is not the first time signature dishes such as Southern-fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, banana pudding, smoked barbecue and Gulf-fresh seafood have been highlighted. The inaugural Year of Alabama Food was in 2005. However, there is one big difference this time around: An awesome website devoted to Alabama food. The Tourism Department put together a site, www.yearofalabamafood.com, that is not only modern, warm and welcoming (how can an oversize photo of hot apple pie a la mode not be welcoming?) but chock-full of info about Alabama chefs and restaurants, including the nationally noted and the prize-winning. You’ll also find a list of food fests across the state that’ll keep you full and happy throughout the year; a map of “food trails”; a guide to farmers’ markets; and a collection of “secret Alabama recipes.”
Other highlights include a farm-to-table blog that gives you the low-down on Alabama breweries; locally-sourced specialties — artisanal cheese and sausage-makers, for instance; and some tips for healthier eating. There’s also a place for wanna-be Southern gourmets to share their own phone pics of their homemade dishes. And yes, the famous list — “100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die” — is back, and updated. Name your weakness. Pecan Pie? Blue Cheese Burgers? Shrimp Po-Boys? Cheese grits? You’ll find them on the list, along with dozens upon dozens more. The food experts compiling the roster didn’t just beat the streets of the big cities. They also wandered into the corners of Aliceville (barbecue brisket at the Plantation House), Hartselle (Mercedes Special skillet at Las Vias), Trinity (white cream corn at Caddo Cafeteria) and Waverly (seasonal gourmet ice cream at Yellow Hammer).
What made the cut in the River Region? The fried chicken at the legendary Martin’s in Montgomery, the fried green tomato sandwich at La Jolla, veggies on the hot bar at Derk’s Filet & Vine, crab cakes & dill sauce at Our Place Cafe in Wetumpka and … well, you’re just going to have to go down the list, dish by delicious dish, on your own. Bonnie Ponstein, who with her husband, Barry, owns the Red Bluff Cottage B&B in Montgomery’s Cottage Hill neighborhood, boasts two items on the “must-eat” list: Wild Rice Waffles and Walk-Thru-Fire Pancakes. You have to be an overnight guest at the B&B to get them (and make a special request) but the experience is worth it, Bonnie said. There’s no secret to making a memorable — or in this case, to-die-for-dish, she added. The pancakes became famous because of their special creamy filling mixed with fresh blueberries, strawberries and pineapple. “It depends on what’s available,” Ponstein said. “Sometimes I make my lemon curd from scratch, and that makes it really good.” Her wild rice waffles are light and Belgian and start with a careful separating and folding of eggs. Once the rice is cooked, she coats it onto whole wheat flour. The Ponsteins, who made the previous list, are proud to be featured again. “I’m excited that we’re in there,” Bonnie said. “It has brought a lot of business to us. People like the concept of having 100 dishes and then saying, ‘Oh, let’s see how many I can eat.’”
Edited: February 3rd, 2012
Visit Local Farmers Markets and Wineries near Alabama Bed and Breakfasts
In addition to enjoying exciting food festivals and discovering great places to dine, Alabamians and visitors alike are encouraged to get off the interstates and major thoroughfares for a visit to local farms, farmers markets, and wineries. Visit any one of 135 state farmers markets and roadside stands. Sample the goat cheese crafted by Belle Chevre in Elkmont. Enjoy jellies and jams, produced by the folks in Alabama’s Black Belt and sold through places like Black Belt Treasures in Camden. Discover the Alabama Wine Trail, featuring more than a dozen farm wineries, and explore culinary destinations such as Butlers Mill Restaurant in Graham and Rikard Mill near Monroeville, where you can watch cane syrup being made the old-fashioned way.
The logo for the 2012 food-themed campaign, a tasty green tomato on a spoon, will be featured in print and television ads throughout the year and a dedicated website, www.yearofalabamafood.com, showcases the local flavor that is uniquely Alabama.
Edited: February 3rd, 2012
rate Alabama Chefs and Award-Winning Restaurants
Travelers can discover the best in fine dining and country cooking restaurants in the South when they visit Chef Frank Stitt’s Highlands Bar and Grill and Chris and Idie Hastings’ Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Martin’s Restaurant in Montgomery, Arricia Italian Trattoria & Bar in Auburn, and True in Mobile, which is owned and operated by renowned Chef Wesley True. Learn how Lucy Buffett, owner of Lulu’s in Gulf Shores, and other restaurateurs around the state are bringing the farm to the table to enhance your dining experience. The update of the popular “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure includes fresh menu selections and great local culinary destinations not previously featured. The updated brochure is available on the www.yearofalabamafood.com website “We are excited about spotlighting lesser-known restaurants while continuing to showcase Southern classics, such as The Bright Star in Bessemer, named an American Classic by the James Beard Award Foundation,” said Sentell. Tourism will also create a new BBQ Trail brochure that will list restaurants, joints and local chains. Some of the featured BBQ will include Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, SAW’s in Homewood, Full Moon, Jim N Nick’s and icons like Dreamland in Tuscaloosa and Golden Rule in Birmingham.
Edited: February 3rd, 2012
Alabama Tourism celebrates “Year of Food” in 2012
The Alabama Tourism Department kicked off its 2012 campaign, The Year of Alabama Food,on Jan. 27 during the FoodBlogSouth event in Birmingham. FoodBlogSouth is the second largest conference in the nation for food writers, bloggers and photographers.The tourism campaign focuses on award-winning chefs, farm-to-table, fresh gulf seafood and popular foods grown or made in Alabama. The campaign is designed to drive business to locally owned restaurants serving Alabama farm products. Some of the Alabama products include Belle Chevre Cheese from Elkmont, Conecuh sausage, Slocomb tomatoes and Dothan peanuts. This is the second food campaign by the tourism department, the first was in 2005 and received the award for best state tourism marketing campaign by the National Council of State Tourism Directors.
As part of the Year of Alabama Food, the tourism department will hold a statewide “Restaurant Week” Aug. 17-26 during which locally owned and operated restaurants will be able to showcase their dishes by offering meals at a discount. Tourism will also promote nearly 400 food festivals across the state and will create a new BBQ Trail, in addition to an updated “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” brochure. “Food is popular with everyone and it has been one of our most successful campaigns. It was time to bring it back, but this time we want to highlight local food and our great chefs,” said tourism director Lee Sentell. “We have several new things planned for 2012 that we feel will showcase the best in food that Alabama has to offer.”
Discover Food Festivals in the Alabama Calendar of Events
Visitors wishing to discover the local flavor of Sweet Home Alabama are invited to enjoy any of the more than 375 annual food festivals and events hosted by cities and towns across the state. Moon pies and mayhem set the stage for Mobile’s Mardi Gras celebration in February. Moulton celebrates the state’s agricultural heritage during the Chicken and Egg Festival in April. A smorgasbord of Southern goodness awaits visitors during the Slocomb Tomato Festival in June and the Russellville Watermelon Festival in August. In September, Pinson hosts the Butterbean Festival and Tuskegee pays homage to scientist George Washington Carver during the Carver Sweet Potato Festival in October. The Break’N Bread/ Birmingham Food & Wine Festival is at Pepper Place Railroad Park in October. The National Shrimp Festival is held each October on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores, and a barbecue competition highlights the Christmas on the River celebration in Demopolis in December. A complete list of 2012 food festivals and other events can be found online by visiting www.alabama.travel. They are also featured in the printed 2012 Alabama Calendar of Events available at the state’s eight welcome centers.
Edited: February 3rd, 2012