D.C.-Chesapeake

ISSUE 36 | D.C.-CHESAPEAKE

THE PRESENTATION PLAYBOOK

WILDLY LOCAL

$5.00 ISBN 978-1-7357675-6-7

50500>

9 781735 767567

ACID TONGUE

NAEM KHAO RECONSTRUCTED

THE INCREDIBLE SQUASH! KENNEDY STREET TACOS

In This Issue

58

Yangnyeomjang: Yield: 12 quarts 4 cups Kikkoman soy sauce ½ cup Kikkoman sesame oil 2 cups white vinegar 1 cup perilla seeds 1 cup crushed sesame seeds 2 cups fish sauce 4 cups sugar 1 cup aromatics 1 quart scallions Dadaegi: Yield: 8 cups 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon coarse gochugaru 4 cups gochujang 1 cup minced garlic 1 cup Kikkoman soy sauce 6 tablespoons fish sauce

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DEAR D.C.-CHESAPEAKE

Chef Steve Chu celebrates a region in flux.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Transfer to quart containers and refrigerate.

1 cup

Kikkoman mirin 4 tablespoons black pepper ½ cup puréed jalapeño Braised Radish: Yield: 1 to 2 servings 2 quarts vegetable stock 1 small mu, peeled and cut into 2-inch rounds

For the

the Yangnyeomjang: In a large, nonreactive container, mix to combine all ingredients.

Let sit 3 hours. Reserve.

For the Dadaegi:

To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving 2 quarts neutral oil 2 cups tempura flour One 600-gram branzino fillet 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons gochugaru 3 teaspoons salt

66

34

HUMUS TO HUMMUS

Little Sesame invests in regenerative chickpea farming for the benefit of the earth and all things hummus.

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13

16

HEAD TO TAIL MACKEREL

One fish, four dishes. Rising Star Chef Bobo Catoe maximizes his mackerel at Alewife.

NAEM KHAO RECONSTRUCTED

Sticky, crunchy, sweet, and savory.

Chef Boby Pradachith serves his version of a Laotian staple that makes day-old rice new again.

21

GREEK WINES TO PAIR WITH PIZZA

Tara Smith pulls wine from Martha Dear's Greek-centric collection to accompany their naturallyleavened pizza.

22

27

41

AMBERJACK TAKES CENTER-PLATE

Chef Scott Bacon brings what was once thought of as “trash fish” to the center of the plate.

KENNEDY STREET TACOS

54

THE PROMISE OF PAYWHAT-YOU-CAN

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… The Incredible Squash!

A mindful business model helps Motzi Bread put their community first.

THE PRESENTATION PLAYBOOK

Six restaurant pros share their inspiration behind the presentation.

66

70

77

Chef Jaren Morrow taps into fuzzy late-night memories to serve craveable fast-food-inspired dishes.

THE INCREDIBLE SQUASH!

58

75

33

46

WILDLY LOCAL

Atop vast rolling hills overlooking the Thornton River sits Sumac, where Chef Daniel Gleason cooks pristine local dishes in a mobile kitchen.

13

For

PERFECT PAIRINGS

DMV somms are pairing Malvasía Volcánica with kataifi and Cidrerie du Vulcain with daikon fritters.

VERSATILE SOLUTION

Rising Star Bartender Andon Whitehorn hatches a plan for an egg-free foam.

THE FORGOTTEN APPLES OF BENT MOUNTAIN

Patrick Collins and Danielle LeCompte’s low-intervention cider is a love letter to Bent Mountain.

80

THE 6-DAY PANETTONE

Baker Andrew Myers goes the extra mile for his sourdough sweet bread.

4

LETTER FROM TEAM STARCHEFS

6

KITCHEN NOTEBOOK

89

STARCHEFS SUPPORTS

91

I SUPPORT

92

RISING STARS RESTAURANT MAP

93

RECIPES

96

ADVERTISERS GUIDE

ACID TONGUE

Chefs and bartenders find alternative sources to capture that essential zing.

On the cover: Each city and town harbors their own fierce identity, but D.C.-Chesapeake is a sum of its parts. On the cover, Baltimore-based artist Jianan Liu reflects the strengths that exist in each; community bakeries in Baltimore; elevated dining in D.C.; the renowned bar scene of Richmond, and the talented people across this region make DMV stronger and better together.

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44

36 24 51

73 31

2022 D.C.-Chesapeake Rising Stars 11

CHEFS BOBO CATOE Alewife

14

PAOLO DUNGCA Hiraya, Piccoletto, and Pogiboy

19

DEMETRI MECHELIS Martha Dear

24

MASAKO MORISHITA Maxwell Park

28

LAINE MYERS Oro

31

GAME CHANGER ANGEL BARRETO Anju

36

CONCEPT SAHIL RAHMAN & RAHUL VINOD RASA

38

COMMUNITY FERNANDO GONZÁLEZ & DEBBY PORTILLO 2Fifty Texas BBQ

42

SOPHIA KIM Longoven

44

RESTAURATEUR BRITTANNY ANDERSON Black Lodge, Brenner Pass, Leni, and Metzger Bar & Butchery

48

PASTRY CHEF ANNIE COLEMAN Reveler’s Hour and Tail Up Goat

51

BAKER RACHEL DE JONG Cou Cou Rachou

56

CHOCOLATIER ASHLEIGH PEARSON Petite Soeur

D.C.-Chesapeake Rising Stars Partners

63 69

SOMMELIERS ANDREW ELDER Bresca and Jônt SARAH HORVITZ Oyster

formerly of Oyster

73

BARTENDER ANDON WHITEHORN Alewife

78

BREWER JOSEY SCHWARTZ Suspended Brewing Company

81

MENTOR LEE GREGORY Alewife and Southbound

85

HOST CHEFS OPIE CROOKS, ANDRE GASPAR, & ALICIA WANG No Goodbyes at The LINE DC

Symrise, Vnlla Extract Co., Vitamix Commercial, Steelite International, S.Pellegrino, Singer M.Tucker, Resy, Wines of South Africa, Niman Ranch, Jade Range, True Aussie Lamb, NC SweetPotato Commission, Beam Suntory, Kikkoman USA, Fresh Origins, Oktober, Lucas Bols USA, Ambrosi Foods USA, Cervena Venison, Lone Mountain Wagyu, Cypress Grove, The LINE DC, Careers Through Culinary Arts Program 2

STA RCH EFS RISI NG STA RS

Letter from Team StarChefs MOVING THE INDUSTRY FORWARD FOR 27 YEARS StarChefs' mission is to serve as a catalyst for food and beverage professionals to succeed at the highest possible standard and to give them the tools they need to meet and overcome the many industry challenges they face.

Antoinette Bruno CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Nicole Borden MARKETING DIRECTOR Olivia Hebrand MARKETING MANAGER Bashel Lubarsky DESIGNER Lizzie Takimoto DIGITAL MEDIA ASSISTANT Will Hartman EDITORIAL INTERN

Will Blunt MANAGING PARTNER Erin Lettera DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Amelia Schwartz ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kassie Porcaro EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Julia Abanavas CULINARY AMBASSADOR Whiskey Borden OFFICE MASCOT

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Alexis Bonogofsky, Ania Cywińska, Tyler Darden, Cameron Whitman CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR Briana Balducci CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Oyin Adedoyin, Steve Chu, Kara Elder, Aparna Krishnamoorthy, Amelia Levin, Rina Rapuano CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR Jianan Liu

For advertising and event opportunities, please contact us at market@starchefsinc.com.

For subscription inquiries, email subscribe@starchefsinc.com.

PUBLISHED BY STARCHEFS, INC. COPYRIGHT © 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCE THE BOOK OR PORTIONS THEREOF IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER. STARCHEFS 217 HAVEMEYER STREET, 3RD FLOOR, BROOKLYN, NY 11211 212.966.3775 | STARCHEFS.COM

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D.C.-CHESAPEAKE, DMV, D.C.-MARYLAND-VIRGINIA… where do we begin? We covered a lot of ground with this market. So much so, that we had trouble deciding what to call this cluster of Mid-Atlantic cities.

Over our four weeks traveling up and down the Chesapeake Bay to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Richmond, and Charlottesville, we met with over 100 hospitality professionals. Our long stretches of driving even brought us to small mountain towns in Virginia—we ate poached pear on a compostable plate in Sperryville and drank pet-nat cider off of a barrel in Crozet (more about that on pages 22 and 77). We typically aim to find common themes in each market, but as Rising Stars alum Steve Chu discusses in his letter to D.C.Chesapeake (page 9), it’s nearly impossible to universalize such wide-ranging cities.

There’s D.C., a city full of ideas, where policy is made. A call for action is ingrained in the D.C. restaurant community—they don’t want their food to just be food. Large or small, they want their food to make a difference. Whether it’s Chef Paolo Dungca, who is a leading force in introducing Filipino food to American diners, or Chef Angel Barreto, an advocate for eliminating the restaurant industry’s long history of toxic work environments, D.C. folks are here to stand up, stand tall, and make their voices heard.

Baltimore is a city that puts its community first. We visited Motzi Bread, a pay-what-you-can bakery that strives to make quality bread accessible to anyone and everyone (page 54) and Josey Schwartz of Suspended Brewing Company—many of his mixed-culture beers are made in collaboration with local businesses that prioritize Baltimore community impact.

Charlottesville is full of individuals who are hungry to support the dozens of burgeoning small businesses, making it the ideal launching pad for talented bakers like Marian and Susan of Althea Bread and Rachel De Jong of Cou Cou Rachou. And then there’s Richmond, a small city that is quickly becoming one of the country’s best hospitality destinations. Not only is it home to laidback, industry-friendly restaurants like Metzger Bar & Butchery and Alewife, but it’s also a breeding ground for masterful bartenders (there’s a reason why this is the second time in a row that our Rising Stars award-winning bartenders hail from Richmond).

So yeah, each of these cities’ F&B communities are vastly different.

But still, almost everyone we met with in the D.C.-Chesapeake market wants to leave this world better than they found it. Maybe that’s through sustainable initiatives like a locally-driven menu that limits citrus usage (page 70) or sourcing chickpeas from a Montana farm that relies on regenerative agriculture (page 34). Or maybe it’s just like what Chef Masako Morishita does—serving a dish that makes guests feel like they’re at home. No matter the city, it’s encouraging to see the restaurant professionals that live and work along the Chesapeake are moving the industry forward. To those we met with in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, and to our 19 Rising Stars, we can’t wait to see your inevitable and lasting impact.

COLLECTIONS

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Scan the QR code to get started on your #SteeliteExperience Visit our Washington, D.C. Showroom & Experience Center: 201 N. Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 To schedule an appointment, please contact dc@steeliteusa.com or 347-777-0131.

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PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT, ANIA CYWIŃSKA

Kitchen Notebook

CRAB POT PIE

SCHNITZEL SOUR

CHILCANO CHAR SIU

When Chef Armani Johnson designed his first menu for the now-shuttered ABC Pony, he looked to his team for inspiration. As they shot ideas back and forth, a line cook suggested a crab pot, which got Johnson’s wheels turning.

He liked the sound of crab, and that reminded him of a crab dip his mother would make for football Sundays. The restaurant had also been churning out Johnson’s cheesy biscuits for weeks and he figured, why not combine the two? “I thought we could do crab dip with cheddar biscuits baked on top. More like a casserole.” The dish starts with the lump crab dip—indulgent and warm with cream cheese, caramelized onions and leeks, lots of hot sauce, mustard, and Old Bay. For the biscuits, Johnson folds melted butter into an as-coldas-possible dry mix. The dough is piped over the crab mixture and as it bakes, the shards of butter steam out to create flakey, laminationlike layers. A big scoop of the makeshift pot pie allows that soft, cheddar biscuit to soak up all the sweet and salty juices of Armani’s crab dip (recipe on page 93).

At Trummer’s Restaurant in Clifton, Virginia, Austria-born Restaurateur and Rising Stars alum Stefan Trummer builds a menu of familiar dishes like Schnitzel served with lingonberry jam. “Schnitzel and lingonberry is something I’m always eating,” says Bar Manager Mike Marino. “I love the bitterness and sweetness together.” To transform the familiar flavors into a sophisticated sip, Marino leaned on an old favorite. “Singani is super floral, it’s been one of my favorite spirits for a really long time,” he says. The brandy, distilled in Bolivia from muscat grapes, has a profile that resembles Pisco, so it made sense to shake that Singani into a sour variation with lingonberry and rosemary simple syrup.

“The herbaceous rosemary complements the lingonberry and floral notes of the Singani,” says Marino. Refreshing and smooth, lightly floral, with bright fruit and the lush body of an egg white, the Shaker on Mute is a BolivianAustrian-inspired sour that’s right at home in Virginia (recipe on page 93).

At the José Andrés restaurant, China Chilcano, Chef Will Fung’s menu walks guests through the history of Peruvian cuisine and its Chinese and Japanese influences. “The cuisine style leads to a lot of exploration,” says Fung. “It was shaped through immigration over the centuries.” Born and raised in Hong Kong, Fung blends in his own story with a Cantonese-style barbecued char siu pork. While American barbecue cooks meat via dry smoke, Fung says that Cantonese barbecue relies on steam to cook smaller portions of meat which shortens the cook time. For the char siu, slabs of pork shoulder marinate overnight in a sauce of maltose, honey, hoisin, molasses, fermented bean curd, and annatto then cooked in a combi oven with 40 percent humidity.

Sliced to order, the pork is served with bao, Japanese-style pickled daikon, and an array of sauces: Peruvian salsa criolla and rocoto sauce and Cantonese-inspired ginger scallion oil and tamarind hoisin. “A lot of Peruvian cuisine is about finding things that taste like home while utilizing things that are new to you,” says Fung. “It’s a little slice of home in a new surrounding.”

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XO RAGÙ Tonari, Rising Stars alum Katsuya Fukushima’s Wafu Italian restaurant, is hardly “fusion.”

“You can always fuse cuisine together,” says Chef de Cuisine Nico Cezar. “But Wafu is ubiquitously Japanese.” Wafu Italian was born post-World War II, when Japanese chefs hoped to replicate Italian cooking. But unable to source Italian ingredients, they used what they had on hand. Cezar’s “Ex-Ohh” sauce, for example, starts with Chinese sausage, pepperoni, Spam, and bonito flakes to mirror the smokiness of bacon. The preserved meats are rendered in oil, then set aside for aromatics and an earthy Okinawan sugar to cook in the fat, before the meats are thrown back into the pan to simmer with dried scallops and shrimp for an added layer of umami and briney salt. Pillowy Hokkaido flour gnocchi are added to the funky XO to create a glossy, ragÙ-like sauce. Finished with a generous sprinkle of breadcrumbs, orange zest, and parsley, the gnocchi nails the Wafu Italian flavor profile.

“All the umami. All the natural salt,” says Cezar. “It’s a very forward-tasting dish.”

ARROZ MEZCLADA When Colombian, Puerto-Rican Chef Andrés-Julian Zuluaga first tried savory arroz con coco during a trip to Colombia, he was taken by the familiar combination of flavors. “It reminded me of these coconut candies in Puerto Rico,” he says. “The flavors spoke to me, it was like all the flavors of my life.” Zuluaga knew the dish belonged at Blend 111 in Vienna, Virginia, where his menu celebrates Latin culinary diversity and tradition (recipe on page 93). Zuluaga starts with a títoté—a fragrant paste made by reducing coconut milk. Zuluaga sautés the títoté with culantro sofrito, then adds rice and stock, simmering everything together until the rice absorbs the rich, caramelized coconut flavor. Arroz con coco is traditionally accompanied by dried and salted shrimp, snapper, or crab. Zuluaga goes local, serving this version with Maryland crab dressed in a lime citronette. He rounds out the sweet rice with a fatty banana rocoto pepper aïoli, crunchy fried quinoa, and a pop of salinity from ikura.

BEEF AND BROCCOLI Chef Yuan Tang’s new American restaurant, Rooster & Owl, is located less than 25 miles from his parents' former Chinese takeout spot in Woodbridge, Virginia. When broccoli came in season, Tang found inspiration from a dish that he saw his father make thousands of times: beef and broccoli. For the beef, he braises short ribs in red wine and chicken stock with bold aromatics like star anise and fennel seeds. A sweet and funky fish sauce gastrique blankets the tender meat and creates a sticky surface for Thai chile fried peanuts.

The broccoli florets are roasted; some are saved to be served alongside the beef, while the rest are blended with cilantro and scallion into a smooth purée. The short rib is placed atop the bright green purée and topped with crispy sweet potato straws for crunch. The dish provides a full circle moment for Tang, who is a third generation restaurateur.

GRILLED PAKSIW NA ISDA When modernizing recipes from her childhood, Chef de Cuisine Julie Cortes wants to make her grandmother proud. This is especially true for her grandmother’s favorite dish, paksiw na isda, where, traditionally, fish is gently simmered in vinegar. “It’s my grandmother’s recipe but I’m going to make my own twist,” says Cortes. Rather than simmering her fresh Chesapeake Bay rockfish, Cortes seasons the fish with ginger, garlic, and salt, wraps it in banana leaves, and grills it on Kaliwa’s open hearth grill—subtle twists meant to prevent mushiness and oversaturation. To honor the vinegar element of the dish, Cortes simmers a punchy sauce of fish stock, fish sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, and lots of aromatics. The rockfish, served inside the scorched banana leaf, is smothered with the creamy paksiw sauce and finished with a sprinkle of coconut flakes. Streamlined for busy dinner service, Cortes’s dish has all of the acidity, unctuousness, and familiarity of her grandmother’s paksiw na isda.

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STARCHEFS 2022 MARKETS

D.C.-CHESAPEAKE MARCH NASHVILLE MAY DENVER JULY NEW ORLEANS SEPTEMBER SAN FRANCISCO DECEMBER

The StarChefs Rising Stars Awards celebrate up-andcoming industry professionals who represent the vanguard of the contemporary American dining scene.

To nominate a Rising Stars chef, pastry chef, bartender, sommelier, or artisan, email nominate@starchefsinc.com.

DEAR D.C.-CHESAPEAKE ILLUSTRATED BY: BASHEL LUBARSKY

I’m honored to write a letter to the D.C.–Chesapeake region… and more than a little overwhelmed.

Unlike other chefs who have been asked to reflect in these pages about the cities where they live and cook, I’ve been tasked with speaking to a whole chunk of the Eastern Seaboard—a geography that includes major metro centers, vast rural swaths (including a national park), a million types of cuisine, and, oh yeah, our nation’s capital.

Rather than say something super generic in an effort to tie this huge region together, I should probably start out by stating the very obvious: there’s a lot about this stretch of the Atlantic that makes us different, both from each other and the rest of the country.

Here, fortunes rise and they fall, and our proximity to Washington—where they live and die in two- and four-year cycles— makes us feel that impermanence is just the permanent state of things.

But we’re not mad. Not even a little bit. Sure, we’ve all got that Chesapeake Chip on our collective shoulder. You know the one: we’re not NYC, or Chicago, or Seattle, or San Francisco. We’re not at the tip of anybody’s tongue when they start naming top-tier culinary destinations.

And we wouldn’t have it any other way. Because what that anonymity gives us—and what the perpetual flux proves to us—is that everything is possible all the time here.

From Charlottesville to D.C., from Rockville to Richmond, if you have a vision, a point of view, something to say, something to give, there is opportunity here for you. The barrier of entry is low. The cost of admission is whatever you’re willing to bet on yourself.

Take a quick look at the breakthrough talents StarChefs has singled out for inclusion in this issue. To name just a few, we have a Japanese NFL cheerleading captain turned chef; a half Puerto Rican, half Black chef who grew up immersed in Korean culture and who now makes some of the best Korean food in the nation; and a vegan environmentalist turned world-class brewer.

What I see in their stories is what I love about this place—there’s no path you were already supposed to have been on, no penalty for starting late, no shame in leaving behind something old to give your heart to something new.

Six years ago, the restaurant I co-founded, Ekiben, made its first dollar with a used hotdog cart at an open access Baltimore farmers market.

Today, in that same city, we’re a few short weeks away from opening our third brick-and-mortar location. I don’t know where else in this country our story would’ve been possible. Where there was so little distance between the voice in my head and a future that was there for the taking.

And for that, I’m so grateful. And to be from here makes me so proud. I don’t know what’s next—for our industry, for us as a region, or for the new stars you’ll read about inside— but I’m glad to be waiting and watching from here.

-Steve -SteveChu Chu

PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

CHEF

GROWING UP IN SUMNER, MISSISSIPPI, all Bobo Catoe wanted to do was get his hands dirty in the kitchen with his mother and sister, but instead, his station was in the family’s garden. Just outside the home his grandfather had built, Catoe and his father spent days upon days planting, tending, and harvesting fresh vegetables for the family.

Going on to study law at the University of Mississippi, he still had a lingering urge to get in the kitchen.

After graduating, Catoe enrolled at the Art Institute of Charleston, which led him to meeting two great friends and future mentors: Chef Sean Brock and Rising Stars alum Travis Grimes. Catoe met the duo at the Charleston Food & Wine Festival and with some persistence and finessing, he was able to secure a stage at McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston. Although Catoe was green, Brock took notice of his hunger to learn and offered him a prep position at both McCrady’s and Husk.

Two years later, Catoe had worked through every station at Husk and was ready for a change. He and his wife moved to Richmond, Virginia and he jumped on the line at Rising Stars alum Joe Sparatta’s New American restaurant, Heritage, later moving up to sous chef at Southbound, co-owned by Rising Stars alum Lee Gregory. Feeling restrained by the family-friendly menu, Catoe began hosting pop-ups called Stolen Goods, where every dish paid homage to a chef he had worked for in the past. In 2020, Gregory opened Alewife in the Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond with Catoe as executive chef. The local and sustainably-sourced seafood restaurant has been named one of the “Best New Restaurants in America, 2019” by Esquire and now, Catoe can spend as much time in the kitchen as he wants.

Bobo Catoe ALEWIFE bobobarrycrunch / alewiferva Favorite kitchen tool: Fermentation jars. We are able to preserve and ferment any scrap/trim from our prep and also develop flavors that are invaluable to our kitchen, even if all the projects don’t work out...

Favorite flavor combination: I will order anything fried (especially seafood) that comes with some kind of salty/ spicy/sour/sweet garnish.

Most important kitchen rule: I really don’t care about much other than effort. l feel most anything can be accomplished in a kitchen by working hard, practice, and a willingness to try new things.

Most underutilized ingredient: Fish tails! I would eat fish tails every day if possible. They grill up great and the meat is so rich compared to the other portions due to the large amount of bones and collagen.

Advice to your younger self: Do your best to find somewhere to work that is willing to teach you and then soak up everything you can.

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Snakehead on a Stick Chef Bobo Catoe of Alewife Adapted by StarChefs

METHOD

INGREDIENTS Snakehead Skewers: Yield: 4 servings 2 cups buttermilk 2 ounces hot sauce 1 snakehead fillet, cut into 1-inch chunks Fryer Dredge: Yield: 1 3/4 quarts 2 cups masa harina 2 cups rice flour 2 cups coarse cornmeal 1 cup cornstarch 2 tablespoons salt 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon gochugaru

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Alabama White Sauce: Yield: 1 quart 2 cups mayonnaise 1 cup labneh ½ cup apple cider vinegar ½ cup prepared horseradish 2 ounces fresh horseradish juice ¼ cup Kikkoman mirin Salt Black pepper Gochugaru Eel Glaze: Yield: 1 quart 1 cup Kikkoman tamari soy sauce

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1 cup Kikkoman mirin 1 cup hickory syrup ½ cup Kikkoman rice vinegar ½ cup sugar 1 knob ginger, grated 2 tablespoon fermented garlic liquid 1 tablespoon hot sauce mash or sambal To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 4 servings Neutral oil, for frying Salt Black pepper Chives, finely sliced

For the Snakehead Skewers: In a nonreactive container, mix to combine buttermilk and hot sauce. Distribute the snakehead chunks onto four 6-inch skewers. Dunk snakehead skewers into the buttermilk mixture and let marinate at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.

For the Fryer Dredge: In a large bowl, whisk to combine all ingredients.

For the Alabama White Sauce: In a large bowl, mix to combine mayonnaise, labneh, vinegar, prepared horseradish, horseradish juice, and mirin. Season with remaining ingredients. Reserve in the refrigerator.

For the Eel Glaze: In a pot over medium-low heat, combine all ingredients. Cook until thickened.

To Assemble and Serve: Heat a deep fryer to 350°F. Remove Snakehead Skewers from marinade and coat in Fryer Dredge. Fry the Snakehead Skewers until golden brown. Remove from oil and immediately season with salt and pepper. Transfer Snakehead Skewers to serving plates, drizzle with Alabama White Sauce and Eel Glaze, and garnish with chives.

Featured ingredients: Kikkoman gluten-free tamari soy sauce, rice vinegar, and mirin

Head to Tail Mackerel No fish parts left behind! When Rising Star Chef Bobo Catoe breaks down a Spanish mackerel, he uses as much of the fish as he can.

Although this mackerel spread isn’t on the Alewife menu as one big set, guests can typically find bones, heads, fillets, and tails popping up as appetizers and entrées. A Where’s Waldo of mackerel, if you will.

Here’s what’s on the (starting clockwise):

platter

Mackerel fillet that’s dried then grilled skin-side down for crunch, accompanied by a citrus salad Schofield Farms shiitake mushroom and roasted turnip skewer, coated with foie gras vinaigrette. We know, we know—there isn’t mackerel in this one. But it is grilled right next to the mackerel on the binchotan!

A side of bamboo sticky rice Black-garlic-glazed grilled mackerel tails. “Mackerel tails are probably my favorite part of the whole thing because there’s more richness from the gelatin,” says Catoe.

Mackerel fish head topped with a super herbal and citrusy tonnato that cuts through the fish’s collagenpacked fattiness Breaded and fried mackerel rib cage covered in nori mayonnaise

CH E F

Paolo Dungca HIRAYA, PICCOLETTO, AND POGIBOY

BORN IN THE CULINARY CAPITAL of the Philippines, San Fernando, Paolo Dungca moved to Los Angeles with his mother when he was 13 years old. While in nursing school, Dungca picked up a job as a dishwasher at Disneyland and was taken by the energy and noise of the kitchen. Despite his mother’s desire for him to become a nurse, Dungca knew he was meant to be on the line and traded nursing school for culinary school.

His first foray into fine dining was as a line cook for Chef Kevin Meehan’s pop-up series leading to the opening of Kali in Hollywood. In 2014, Dungca flew to Washington, D.C. to visit family and he suddenly felt at home. He canceled his return flight and jumped into the D.C. culinary scene, starting with a job at the nowshuttered Vidalia. In 2015, Dungca joined his mentor and future business partner, Rising Stars alum Tom Cunanan, at the Filipino restaurant, Bad Saint, before moving on to become chef de cuisine at Restaurant Eve under Rising Stars alum Cathal Armstrong. Three years later, Dungca followed Armstrong to open and develop the menu for Kaliwa, a District Wharf restaurant that blends Korean, Thai, and Filipino flavors.

A trip to the Philippines in 2019 reinvigorated Dungca’s desire to cook his native cuisine and bring Filipino food to the forefront of American dining. After helping Rising Stars alum Erik Bruner-Yang open ABC Pony in 2019, Dungca reunited with Cunanan to open a FilipinoAmerican fast food stall, Pogiboy. In addition to serving playful and sneakily cheffed-up renditions of the dishes he grew up with at Pogiboy, Dungca runs “the little pasta shop,” Piccoletto, and progressive Filipino sit-down concept, Hiraya, all within The Block Foodhall DC. paolodungca / hirayadc / piccolettodc / pogiboydc PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

Advice to your younger self: Always stay the course no matter how tough the situation may be. Be a sponge and try to absorb and learn as much as you can from a mentor. At the same time, enjoy the process because you learn something fundamentally through your experiences.

Favorite flavor combination: I love the combination of sweet and salty on savory dishes. I’ve been experimenting with this contrast of flavors lately by transforming classically sweet Filipino desserts into a savory course.

Most important kitchen rule: Treat everyone with the utmost respect.

Most underutilized ingredient: Offal. They are considered waste, but they are actually really flavorful. You can make something extraordinary if you give it the extra TLC it deserves.

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Cassava cake, crab fat, lardo, smoked trout roe INGREDIENTS Cassava Cake: Yield: 10 to 12 servings 115 grams butter ½ cup sugar 4 eggs 1 cup evaporated milk 400 grams coconut milk 2 pounds grated cassava Crab Fat Paste: Yield: 2 quarts 825 grams canola oil 200 grams minced garlic 200 grams minced ginger 200 grams minced shallots 100 grams diced Spanish onions 2 pounds crab fat 120 grams hot honey 25 grams kosher salt 20 grams HonDashi bonito soup stock 30 grams lime juice 10 grams gochugaru To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving 1 thin slice of lardo Smoked trout roe Fresh Origins micro chives

METHOD

Chef Paolo Dungca of Hiraya Adapted by StarChefs

For the Cassava Cake: Heat oven to 350°F. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, evaporated milk, coconut milk, and cassava. Mix until homogeneous. Pour the mixture into a greased, parchment-lined sheet tray. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the tray every 15 minutes.

For the Crab Fat Paste: In a large sauce pot, add canola oil, garlic, ginger, shallots and onions. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly until the onions start to brown and caramelize. Stir in crab fat and continue cooking for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add remaining ingredients, and mix until incorporated. Transfer crab fat mixture to a Vitamix blender. Blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning as needed.

To Assemble and Serve: Griddle 1 slice of Cassava Cake on both sides to warm. Top with a spoonful of Crab Fat Paste. Add 1 slice of lardo and torch lightly so it becomes a blanket that covers the Crab Fat Paste. Garnish with a heaping dollop of smoked trout roe and chives.

Featured ingredient: Fresh Origins micro chives Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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“When you come to this restaurant or go to Laos, you’ve got to have this dish,” says Thip Khao Chef and Co-Owner Boby Pradachith.

He and his mother, Restaurateur and Rising Stars alum Seng Luangrath, have been eating naem khao for years. “I grew up having it for dinner with all the ingredients mixed in.” But when Pradachith traveled to Laos in 2018, he usually found that each component—the crispy rice, the sour pork, the fish sauce, chiles, and herbs—were all served separately.

“I realized the flavors weren’t as intense,” he says. “At the end of the day, neither way is wrong, but I think the way we incorporate all the ingredients together gives you a lot more textures.” So Pradachith and Luangrath brought their version of naem khao to Thip Khao, using it as an opportunity to repurpose day-old rice. Here’s how it’s done:

1

Day-old jasmine rice is mixed with curry paste, grated coconut, galangal, white peppercorn, dried garlic, dried onion, and eggs. Using day-old rice with less moisture is key to achieving the crispy, crunchy bite, though Pradachith promises that with freshly made rice, “it’ll still be delicious, but it won’t have the texture. It’s totally fine to spread [the rice] out on a sheet tray and let it steam off and cool at room temp.”

2

Using his hands, Pradachith forms the rice into pucks that are roughly the size of tennis balls. He drops the rice in the deep fryer and lets it get nice and golden brown on the outside.

3

The fried rice balls are crumbled to give each clump its own distinct, jagged shape that is able to remain crispy—“not too fine, so you have inconsistency,” says Pradachith.

“Big chunks, little chunks.”

4

The crispy coconut rice is dumped into a big bowl and joined by a funky lime fish sauce dressing followed by sour pork, crushed peanuts, scallion, cilantro, and mint. He uses his hands to gently toss the salad together, making sure not to crush the delicate crispy rice.

5

Pradachith transfers it all to a plate that needs to be served immediately, otherwise the rice will get soggy. Although mostly everything is mixed into the naem khao, Pradachith still opts to serve it with a side of cucumber and lettuce—“green leaf lettuce that you scoop the salad into to make a taco, or you could roll it up and eat it.”

ILLUSTRATION BY BASHEL LUBARSKY

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CHEF

Demetri Mechelis MARTHA DEAR

PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

DEMETRI MECHELIS’S INTRODUCTION to the hospitality industry was at his father’s restaurant, Aleko’s Taverna. Through high school, Mechelis bussed tables and helped prep ingredients at the Wheaton, Maryland restaurant. Then, while working on an associates degree in hospitality management at a nearby community college, he decided to become a chef. He picked up, moved to New York City, and enrolled in the French Culinary Institute. Upon graduation, Mechelis scored a line cook role at Chef Peter Hoffman’s New American restaurant, Back Forty. Mechelis followed the chef de cuisine, Ryan Tate, to his new project—specialty food market All Good Things upstairs and 40-seat fine dining Le Restaurant downstairs. Tate emerged as a mentor to Mechelis, opening his eyes to gastronomy and what food has the potential to be.

In 2014, Mechelis returned to the Washington, D.C. area to be closer to family.

He started on the line at Tail Up Goat in 2016, where he met his future wife and business partner, Tara Smith. Then in 2018, Mechelis became sous chef of the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood restaurant, Ellē, under Rising Stars alum Chef Brad Deboy. Mechelis began daydreaming about opening a pizzeria in the neighborhood and not too long after, he and Smith rented out a basement space and developed the concept. Named after Mechelis’s mother, Martha Dear opened in late 2020 as part Greek taverna and part neighborhood bar, with Smith managing front of house operations and Mechelis manning the gaspowered dome pizza oven.

demetri_mechelis / marthadeardc Favorite cookbook: At the moment, Art Culinaire and Relæ: A Book of Ideas by Christian F. Puglisi Most important kitchen rule: Working clean Where you eat on your nights off: Bad Saint for Filipino food. Reveler's Hour for pasta and dope wine.

Place you'd visit for culinary inspiration: Kicking it old school and going to Paris Advice to your younger self: Where you begin has a wealth of knowledge that you don't always capture in the beginning. So looking back, the advice I would have given myself is write everything down.

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Red kuri squash, spinach, and halloumi pizza Chef Demetri Mechelis of Martha Dear Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Sautéed Spinach: Yield: 112 ounces 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 8 pounds spinach 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon black pepper Red Kuri Squash Purée: Yield: 80 ounces 4 pounds red kuri squash or any winter squash, halved, seeds and guts removed Salt Black pepper 75 milliliters extra virgin olive oil 8 ounces Greek yogurt 4 ounces sour cream 6 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons chile flakes 8 cloves garlic, finely grated

Greek Wines to Pair With Pizza Martha Dear Co-Owner and General Manager Tara Smith pulls some of her favorite wines from her Greek-centric collection to accompany their naturally-leavened pizza.

1. Assyrtiko, Domaine Ligas, Pella, Greece, 2018 This epic natural Greek white wine can be hard to come by since Ligas only produces 25,000 bottles a year, at most. The normally racy Assyrtiko takes on a more mature character after 50 percent of the wine matures in used Selosse Champagne oak barrels for 12 months.

Aromas of kumquat and toasted sourdough make this a must-have at Martha Dear.

Pair It With: White Pie: Mozzarella, Kefalograviera, Myzithra, Mozzarella, Garlic, and Basil (add Anchovies)

To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 pizza Flour 340 grams pizza dough 2.5 ounces shredded fontina 2 ounces diced fresh mozzarella 1 ounce thinly sliced halloumi 1 wedge of lemon Extra virgin olive oil Maldon sea salt Parmesan cheese, freshly grated Black pepper

2. Vidiano, Silva Daskalaki, “Grifos,” Crete,

METHOD

3. Limniona, Kontozisis, “A-Grafo” Pet-Nat,

For the Sautéed Spinach: In a large sauté pan over medium-high flame, heat oil. Add garlic and sauté until lightly browned. Add spinach in batches and sauté until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

For the Red Kuri Squash Purée: Heat oven to 350°F. Season squash with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 25 milliliters olive oil. Place halved squash hollow-side down on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Bake until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. A fork should easily pierce the squash with no resistance.

Let cool to room temperature. Scoop squash from skin and transfer to a food mill fitted above a bowl. Pass squash through the mill. Add yogurt, sour cream, honey, chile flakes, garlic, and remaining olive oil.

Using a spatula, mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve.

To Assemble and Serve: On a lightly floured surface, shape dough into a 12-inch round. Top dough with fontina followed by mozzarella. Evenly disperse 2 ounces Sautéed Spinach on top of the cheese. Fill a piping bag with Red Kuri Squash Purée. In a swirl pattern starting from the center of the dough, pipe 3 to 4 ounces Red Kuri Squash Purée. Top with halloumi. Load pizza onto pizza peel and place in a hot oven. Depending on the oven temperature, cook between 3 to 6 minutes or until the halloumi is golden brown, the crust is lightly charred, and the bottom of the pizza has developed leoparding. Finish the pizza with a squeeze of the lemon wedge, a swirl of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt, Parmesan, and 2 to 3 cracks of black pepper. Slice pizza into 6 slices, if desired.

Greece, 2019

Coming out of Crete, this organic beauty has extended skin contact and is aged in both amphora and oak. The texture imparted from the aging process makes this wine a standout among Greek skin-contact wines. Aromas of peach, apricot, and fresh herbs interplay in this golden female-made baddie.

Pair it With: Spinach, Mushroom, and Halloumi Pie

Thessaly, Greece, 2020

Thanks to the influential winemakers like Andreas Kontozisis, limniona wines are front and center on the international stage. His Limniona “A-Grafo” Petillant Naturel is an undeniable food wine. Imagine a forest floor covered with blackberries and never-ending bubbles.

Pair it With: Marinara, Pepperoni, Spinach, and Basil Pie

4. Kotsifali/Mandilaria, Domaine

Paterianakis, “Melissokipos,” Crete, Greece, 2020

The third generation of the Paterianaki family, sisters, Emmanouela and Nicky, are responsible for this terroirdriven Martha Dear favorite. Equal parts Kotsifali and Mandilaria, native Cretan varietals, this wine is packed with flavors of black cherries, plum, and toasted caraway.

Pair it With: Fennel Chile Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pie

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PHOTOS BY WILL BLUNT

Groats and pan-fried rabbit with fermented black walnut sauce, carrots, and preserved ají dulce peppers

The view from Sumac’s dining area, looking out onto Rappahannock County Pear-vinegar-braised beet carpaccio with wild umeboshi paste, ricotta, ginger vinaigrette, cured egg yolk, fresh green juniper, and sesame

Wildly Local

Live-fire cooking in Rappahannock County

After years of working in high-end restaurants, Chef Daniel Gleason needed a change. “I was so fucking tired of refinement and fine dining cooking,” he says. “The atmosphere. The service. There were so many options. It’s like swimming in a sea of too much creativity.” So when the opportunity to open a concept next to Pen Druid Fermentation, a brewery that focuses on spontaneously fermented beer located on the gorgeous rolling hills of Rappahannock County, Daniel's prayers were answered.

The concept had to be operated as a food truck or trailer, so there were creative parameters from the jump—and on top of that, he could play off Pen Druid’s wood-fired, wildfermented approach to brewing. “I got a whole bunch of old country homesteading cookbooks and fell in love with the whole approach, from ingredients to preservation.” Daniel and his wife, Abigail, purchased an old trailer and, with the help of two local metal artists, refurbished it by-hand, decking it out with a to-go window and a wood-fired oven.

They opened their concept, Sumac, in fall of 2020.

Everything at Sumac is local and made from scratch, excluding cooking fats and a handful of spices. Even the stack of logs used to fire the oven are from the trees that blanket the mountain range. Abigail, who has a background in agriculture, leads the charge connecting with local farmers. “It’s been really cool to have strong connections with farmers to the point where I always wanted and never thought was possible,” says Daniel. They design their menu around what the farmers can provide and what Daniel forages himself. One day he’ll have panfried rabbit with fermented black walnut sauce. The next, grilled pork loin with wild blackberries and house-made ricotta. It’s refined food, prepared and served in the most rustic way imaginable: On a compostable plate, at a picnic table, with guests looking out at the land that brought them the food they’re eating.

Chef Daniel Gleason and the Sumac trailer

CH E F

ALMOST A CENTURY AGO, Masako Morishita’s grandparents opened a restaurant and bar in Kobe, Japan. Her family has continued to operate and live above that restaurant for three generations. But before Morishita decided to follow in her family’s footsteps, she moved to Washington, D.C. to become a professional cheerleader.

She performed with the Washington Football cheerleading team for five years, eventually becoming captain, while cooking in her free time. Then in 2019, Morishita decided she wanted to add a fresh take of Japanese flavors to the D.C. food scene. She craved something more comforting and casual—something her mother would have cooked for her family. This idea inspired her pop-up series, Otabe, meaning “mom encouraging kids to eat,” which was aimed towards introducing Japanese comfort food to the D.C. area.

In 2021, Morishita was offered an opportunity to interview for a role at Maxwell Park. The wine bar’s owner, Rising Stars alum Brent Kroll, was so impressed by her culinary voice and passion for the industry that he offered her the role of executive chef. So, Morishita traded her day job as an accountant for a Japanese media company for her dream job—a full-time role in the kitchen, cooking the food she grew up with. Now as executive chef for both Maxwell Park’s Shaw and Navy Yard locations, Morishita’s mission remains the same as it was when she started Otabe: using the connective power of food to transport guests inside her family’s home in Japan. masako_morishita / maxwellpark_navyyard / maxwellpark_shaw Favorite kitchen tool: Chopsticks PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

Favorite cookbook: Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking by Kyle Connaughton and Naoko Takei Moore Most important kitchen rule: Take a deep breath, drink water, and be kind.

Masako Morishita MAXWELL PARK

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What you eat on your nights off: My husband and I usually try to cook something together.

Advice to your younger self: Regardless of your race, gender, age, or identity, if you work hard and stay true to your dream, then it will come true. Don't give up!

Braised daikon, dashi, melted brie Chef Masako Morishita of Maxwell Park Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Kombu Chicken Stock: Yield: 6 ounces 6 cups chicken stock 12 grams kombu 2 teaspoons Kikkoman tamari soy sauce 2 grams salt 2 tablespoons sake Daikon: Yield: 6 servings 1 daikon radish, peeled and cut into 1-½-inch slices Left-over water from washing rice To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Butter Brie, sliced Kikkoman tamari soy sauce Shichimi togarashi Fresh Origins micro garlic chives, thinly sliced

METHOD For the Kombu Chicken Stock: In a large pot, bring chicken stock to a boil. Remove from heat and add kombu. Let sit 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the kombu, return to heat, and bring back to a boil. Add tamari, salt, and sake. Pour half of the soup into a small saucepan and reduce it by about one-third. Let cool.

For the Daikon: Slice the edge of the daikon pieces to make them slightly round. On one side, score the daikon as you would a fish. In a large pot, cover the daikon with left-over water from washing rice. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook the daikon until tender, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove daikon from the pot and let cool. Heat the water bath of an immersion circulator to 145°F. Transfer daikon to a food-safe plastic bag and add the Kombu Chicken Stock. Vacuum-seal and cook sous vide for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let the daikon chill overnight.

To Assemble and Serve: In a pan, sear one piece of Daikon with butter. Add Kombu Chicken Stock from the sous vide bag, cover, and simmer. Place the sliced brie on top of the Daikon and melt it with a torch. Pour the Kombu Chicken Stock into a serving bowl then add the Daikon. Garnish with a dash of tamari, a pinch of shichimi, and micro garlic chives.

Featured ingredients: Kikkoman tamari soy sauce and Fresh Origins micro garlic chives

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Amberjack Takes Center-Plate

By Oyin Adedoyin

But as time has passed, Bacon has slowly seen amberjack move to become a centerof-the-plate ingredient. In support of the movement, he decided to highlight the rich, buttery fish at the Ivy Hotel’s in-house restaurant, Magdalena.

Whenever he’s creating a new dish, Bacon spends time experimenting with different cooking styles and textures, “especially in a dish that has a lot of flavors and components like this one does,” he says. He drew inspiration from the African diaspora and infused with Asian and Southern elements to create this one-of-a-kind meal.

Sorghum-marinated Amberjack Benne Tahini One of Bacon’s favorite things about cooking is taking a relatively affordable ingredient like amberjack, and “making something very special out of it.” He marinates the amberjack in a blend of shio koji, sorghum, miso, and soy sauce for a subtle touch of umami and earthy sweetness. It gets a quick char on the coal-fired Konro grill then a finishing brush of the sorghum marinade.

“I love the fish,” Bacon says. “It’s oily and unctuous, and marinating it like this is my favorite prep.”

Barbecue Carrots Building on Bacon’s barbecue carrot salad at Patterson Public House, Bacon sous vides heirloom carrots with a carrot-juiceforward harissa barbecue sauce, infused with Moroccan spices like cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and Aleppo pepper.

It took Bacon a couple of years to perfect his jet-black benne tahini. He soaks the black sesame seeds overnight to soften them, then cooks them down with rice wine vinegar, honey, and sweet soy. It’s all blended with black garlic so the tahini looks as dramatically dark as squid ink.

Peanut Salad Bacon tosses pea tendrils, chile vinaigrette, and charred scallion together to make the peanut salad. For an added crunch and a Southern twist, Bacon overcooks grits in squash dashi before dehydrating and frying them until they develop a rice-chip-like consistency. The peanut salad gets sprinkled with the puffed grits then garnished with Tokyo Bekana. “Globalization has been such a thing in cooking,” says Bacon. “So tying all these [cuisines] together has been very normal in my mind.”

PHOTOS BY ANIA CYWIŃSKA

Amberjack was always around when Chef Scott Bacon was growing up in Baltimore.

But, while he often saw it consumed by the Black community, he rarely saw it anywhere else. Even at the beginning of his career, amberjack was known as a “trash fish.”

During slavery and post-slavery, African Americans were only given cheap and widely available food to eat—food that was seen as undesirable at the time, like chitlins and pig feet and seafood like turtle and catfish. “Amberjack has the same history as those fish,” Bacon says. “No one wanted it.”

CH E F

Laine Myers ORO

GROWING UP IN CONNECTICUT, Laine Myers had dreams of saving the world.

But first, she had to pay the bills. So while studying environmental science and urban planning at Virginia Commonwealth University, Myers picked up cooking jobs at local restaurants and country clubs. She was ready to leave cooking behind after college, but Richmond’s latest restaurant, Graffiato, reeled her back in. Myers opened as garde manger while jumping at any opportunity to assist other stations. Working through the wood-fired oven, to sautée, and sous, it was the pasta station that called out to her—any free moments she had on the line were spent tinkering with pasta shapes. She then joined Rising Star Restaurateur Brittanny Anderson at Metzger Bar & Butchery. Inspired by Anderson’s constantly evolving seasonal menus, Myers worked her way up from line cook to sous chef.

In 2019, Myers became executive chef at the Italian Nota Bene. Feeling a bit restrained by the pizza-centric menu, she’d occasionally take over the restaurant to host Oro, a pop-up focused on vegetables and fresh, hand-made pasta. But as soon as her concept gained traction, the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered Nota Bene and Myers was left to find a new home for her budding business. Ever since, Myers has turned to the Richmond community, hosting pop-ups around the city and delivering packaged pasta and meals for two.

Dishes like her Kyoto carrot cacio e pepe and black garlic bucatini carbonara are subtle, seasonally-driven spins on Italian classics.

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sfogline / oro.rva Favorite kitchen tool: Offset spatula, or my fish spatula, which I almost never use for fish. Those super thin utensils help with so much more than you'd expect.

Favorite flavor combination: It's hard to beat a really really good olive oil and garlic, or meat and cheese on charcuterie.

Most important kitchen rule: I think we always have to strive for excellence. Everything we do is for the guest experience. Take the extra 15 seconds to ensure what you're sending the guest is something you're proud of.

Most underutilized ingredient: Celery. I think it has amazing flavor and good texture. It's way more versatile than I think people realize.

Advice you'd give to your younger self: I probably could have stated expectations a lot more clearly in my earlier years of management. Having the values of humility, striving for excellence, learning from your consequences, and showing love and respect is critical if you want to create or be a part of a shared vision with your coworkers.

Sourdough tonnarelli Chef Laine Myers of Oro Adapted by StarChefs

METHOD

INGREDIENTS Parmesan Brodo: Yield: 5 servings 8 ounces parmesan rinds 8 sprigs thyme 5 sprigs Italian parsley 2 to 3 bay leaves 2 sprigs rosemary Neutral oil 1 medium Spanish onion, halved 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns Sourdough Tonnarelli: Yield: 5 servings 390 grams 00 pasta flour 225 grams 100% hydrated sourdough starter 4 to 5 egg yolks

To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Salt Neutral oil 4 ounces mushrooms, preferably maitake or oyster, sliced into bite size pieces 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 3 to 4 tablespoons butter 50 grams grated Ambrosi Grana Padano, plus more for garnish Black pepper Fresh Origins micro thyme

For the Parmesan Brodo: Wrap rinds in cheesecloth and tie off with butcher twine. Prepare a bouquet garni with herbs. In a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons oil. Add onion and allow them to caramelize on one side, achieving a deep, amber hue.

Add peppercorns and stir for 30 to 45 seconds, until lightly toasted. Remove pan from heat and add cheese rids and 940 grams water. Return the pan to heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add bouquet garni. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until it reduces by no more than 40 percent, about 2 hours. Remove from heat and set aside in a warm place.

For the Sourdough Tonnarelli: Mound the flour and create a well in the middle.

Using a small bowl, whisk together sourdough starter and yolks until they become a homogenous mixture.

Transfer the mixture into the center of the well. Using a bench scraper, cut the wet mixture into the flour, folding and chopping repeatedly until it forms into a shaggy dough. Knead 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic and let sit 1 hour at room temperature to autolyse. Knead dough an additional 5 minutes, wrap in plastic, and let sit until dough is smooth and uniform, about 1 hour. Using a pasta roller or an old

school mattarello, roll out the dough. Cut into thin strips like spaghetti.

To Assemble and Serve: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. In a large sauté pan over medium-high flame, heat a few tablespoons of oil.

Once the oil begins to shimmer, add mushrooms and sauté until they begin to lightly brown. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-low and add about 1 cup of Parmesan Brodo. While the Parmesan Brodo simmers, drop Sourdough Tonnarelli into boiling water and stir to prevent it from sticking.

Cook 1 minute or until al dente. Transfer Sourdough Tonnarelli to the Parmesan Brodo mixture, allowing any pasta water that clings to the noodles to come along for the ride. Add butter. Toss the pasta or stir with tongs while sprinkling in Grana Padano. The sauce should tighten up and the Parmesan should coalesce into a glossy stream of thick, brothy goodness.

Add more pasta water or Parmesan Brodo as needed.

Season with salt. Transfer Sourdough Tonnarelli to a serving plate and top with black pepper, micro thyme, and more Grana Padano.

Featured ingredients: Ambrosi Grana Padano and Fresh Origins micro thyme

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Nick Wiseman & Ronen Tenne co-founders of Little Sesame

LET’S WORK TOGETHER Singer EVI is super attentive, helping us every step of the way and giving us advice on the best equipment based on our needs. Their team is professional and knowledgeable and most importantly, genuinely good people to work with. We couldn’t recommend them more.

- Ronen Tenne, Co-Founder Little Sesame

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GA ME C HANG ER

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ANJU

. CHESAP D.C E

AK

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GAME CHANGER PR

S.P

ESENTED BY

E L L EG RI N O

PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

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Angel Barreto

AS AN ARMY BRAT, Angel Barreto spent his childhood moving around the country until his father settled into a more permanent post at the White House. Barreto learned about Korean cuisine from his mother, who loved to recreate all of the dishes from her time living abroad.

He picked up her passion for cooking and enrolled in L’Academie de Cuisine in 2011.

When he graduated in 2012, Barreto cut his teeth at Vermilion under Rising Stars alum Anthony Chittum before moving on to Wolfgang Puck’s The Source. He spent six years at the Pan-Asian restaurant where he worked his way up to executive sous chef under Chef Scott Drewno. Barreto’s insatiable desire to learn more about Korean cooking led Drewno and his business partner, Chef Danny Lee, to recruit Barreto for a new project: a Korean restaurant named Anju.

After studying Korean food and history and a trip to Korea (sponsored by the Korean embassy), Barreto designed the Anju menu to act as an introduction to the cuisine. In 2019, the restaurant received three stars from The Washington Post and in 2021, Barreto was named

one of Food & Wine’s "Best New Chefs". Dishes like his soybean-dredged, gochujang-glazed fried chicken and his Impossible Meat farce wang mandu are playful and unpretentious, but packed with technique. Barreto is also an advocate for mental health in the hospitality industry and works to eliminate the disparities and toxic work environments that often exist within the kitchen. angellbarreto / anjufrc Most important kitchen rule: Be honest.

Technique you’ve adopted from someone else: One of my favorite and most-used techniques is kimchi-making. Yesoon Lee, mother of Chef Danny Lee, was gracious enough to show me different techniques she learned from her mother-in-law. I treasure these skills because they come with the story of someone’s life and journey.

Favorite flavor combination: Fat, salt, and acid. There is something about a dish that is rich in fat, drizzled with Maldon sea salt, with something acidic cutting through and adding brightness. It’s like a musical symphony that just makes sense when made properly.

Most underutilized ingredient: Chunjang—a Korean black bean paste.

Advice to your younger self: Trust yourself, know your worth, and never let anyone treat you less than your worth.

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Saengseon Gui Chef Angel Barreto of Anju Adapted by StarChefs

METHOD

INGREDIENTS Yangnyeomjang: Yield: 12 quarts 4 cups Kikkoman soy sauce ½ cup Kikkoman sesame oil 2 cups white vinegar 1 cup perilla seeds 1 cup crushed sesame seeds 2 cups fish sauce 4 cups sugar 1 cup aromatics 1 quart chopped scallions Dadaegi: Yield: 8 cups 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon coarse gochugaru 4 cups gochujang 1 cup minced garlic 1 cup Kikkoman soy sauce 6 tablespoons fish sauce 1 cup Kikkoman mirin 4 tablespoons black pepper ½ cup puréed jalapeño

Braised Radish: Yield: 1 to 2 servings 2 quarts vegetable stock 1 small mu, peeled and cut into 2-inch rounds To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving 2 quarts neutral oil 2 cups tempura flour One 600-gram branzino fillet 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons gochugaru 3 teaspoons salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup thinly shaved fennel 6 basil leaves 8 mint leaves 1 Fresno chile, cut into thin rings 2 tablespoons Kikkoman sesame oil

For the Yangnyeomjang: In a large, nonreactive container, mix to combine all ingredients. Let sit 3 hours. Reserve.

For the Dadaegi: In a mixing bowl, whisk to combine all ingredients. Transfer to quart containers and refrigerate.

For the Braised Radish: Heat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix to combine stock and 1 cup Dadaegi. Pour into a 6-inch deep two-thirds pan. Add radish and cover with foil. Braise 15 minutes or until tender. Reserve.

To Assemble and Serve: In a pan over medium flame, heat oil. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix to

combine tempura flour and 4 cups water. Season branzino with pepper, gochugaru, and 2 teaspoons salt.

Dredge the seasoned branzino in all-purpose flour then dip it into the tempura batter. Shallow pan-fry branzino for 3 minutes. Flip and fry for another 2 minutes. Transfer Branzino to a paper-towel-lined sizzle plate. In a bowl, mix fennel, basil, mint, Fresno chile, sesame oil, and remaining salt. Add 1 cup Yangnyeomjang to a serving plate.

Arrange 3 pieces Braised Radish and top with fried branzino, followed by the fennel salad.

Featured ingredients: Kikkoman soy sauce, sesame oil, and mirin Featured plateware: Anfora Crete

by Steelite

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Humus to Hummus

By Amelia Levin

PHOTOS BY WILL BLUNT, ALEXIS BONOGOFSKY

It might be hard to imagine that a chickpea crop, stretching for miles under the Montana sky, is a key player in sustainable agriculture.

But fourth generation farmer Casey Bailey has known this all along. Indeed, the little but mighty chickpea, with its tangled patch of leaves resembling what Bailey describes as a “cross between a bonsai tree and fuzzy fern plant,” is a powerful “soil-fixer” that’s primed to push the regenerative agriculture agenda forward in what is essentially the regrowth of American land.

Those chickpeas also make for some damn good hummus.

That’s what Nick Wiseman and Ronen Tenne—two chefs and entrepreneurs in Washington, D.C.—figured out in the early days of launching Little Sesame, their pop-up-turned-fast casual hummus shop. Wiseman’s wife, Lea Howe, met Bailey while working for FoodCorps in Montana. She watched as Bailey feverishly worked for years to transform the farm where he grew up into a 100 percent organic and sustainable operation.

Today, Clearlake Organic Farm encompasses a whopping 5,000 acres, managed without any use of chemical or synthetic inputs.

That’s roughly the size of 3,781 football fields.

So when the decision to open a restaurant where hummus was the star and center-of-the-plate, Wiseman and Tenne knew where to turn first.

“We started out with a 5-pound bag from Casey,” Wiseman says. Af ter opening their first brick-and-mortar location in 2018, expanding to their second location in 2019 and launching their retail line for grocery stores this past year, the duo now spends above shelf price for roughly 25,000 pounds of Bailey’s organic chickpeas annually—and they expect that number to grow as they continue to scale up. Wiseman estimates they’ve gone through about 25,000 pounds of hummus per year and they expect to quadruple that number in 2022.

“Chickpeas are at the heart of all we do—serving up food that is good for you and good for the planet,” he says. The science behind that “good for the planet” way of farming all boils down to a simple concept: relationships.

“Plants have a relationship with microbes in the soil that allow them to ‘fix’ atmospheric nitrogen,” Bailey says. “On our farm, we depend on that cycle rather than the nonrenewable HaberBosch process,” the latter of which relies on chemical and synthetic fertilizers.

“The chemical route gets a lot of yield today, but it ends up hitting a wall,” he says. “Organic matter decreases and acidic soils eventually will not produce.” Bailey hopes that in the long run, an organic approach will produce more life. Another focus is the relationship between carbon and nitrogen. “If there is enough biological nitrogen coming into the system in a way that fuels carbon sequestration, then we build ‘humus’.”

This extremely coincidental term is essentially the organic compound of healthy soil. “[Humus] can hold more water, cycle more nutrients, buf fer various ions so the pH is stable for life to persist, and ultimately allow a plant to pull in more carbon and nitrogen from the air to further fuel the health of this system.”

This way of farming, as one might expect, takes a lot of time, ef fort, and expense. But having a direct relationship with Little Sesame allows Bailey the chance to continue his goals while allowing Wiseman and Tenne to feed their hungry patrons. The economic relationship goes both ways. “During the pandemic, Casey shipped us 6,500 pounds of chickpeas but he said don’t rush to pay me, you can pay me when you’re able to,” Wiseman says.

“We’re building something deeper here than just trying to make a profit of f these chickpeas. Casey is the epitome of sustainable agriculture. He’s not only focused on building soil health, but also on building community. It’s amazing to see how this little plant can connect a 5,000 acre farm in Montana with a 1,400-square-foot store in D.C. and all the points in between.”

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PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

Sahil Rahman & Rahul Vinod RASA

SAHIL RAHMAN AND RAHUL VINOD’S

story begins with their fathers nearly 40 years ago. Surfy Rahman and K.N. Vinod met working at the same hotel while studying hospitality in India and in 1992, the two friends reconnected to open Bombay Bistro in Rockville, Maryland. With K.N. in the kitchen and Surfy working the front of house, the restaurant was a huge success and 10 years later, they opened a second restaurant, Indique, in Washington, D.C. Spending their childhood at Bombay Bistro and Indique, Sahil and Rahul began to ask themselves how they could make Indian food more accessible without stripping it down. While attending the University of Maryland, Sahil had dreams of opening a casual Indian concept of his own. He interned at Outback Steakhouse in Southeast Asia and briefly worked at Uncle Julio’s Mexican Grill. But with a gentle nudge from his father, Sahil 36

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quickly realized that he needed more experience and capital to open a restaurant. So, Sahil got a job as a consultant for Deloitte and followed Rahul to New York City where, after four years of investment banking, he was feeling unfulfilled. They quit their jobs in 2014 and made a game plan to finally open the fast casual restaurant they’d been dreaming of.

It took three years of fundraising, brand development, and Chef K.N.'s culinary boot camp before Sahil and Rahul opened their first location of RASA in the Navy Yard. Since then, they have opened a second location in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood of D.C., followed by a third in Arlington, Virginia. With a colorful design symbolizing the nine “rasas,” or human emotions, each location features approachable adaptations of Chef K.N.’s original Indian dishes, scooped together in a pre-set or build-your-own-bowl.

_sahilrahman / rvinod / rasa Sahil Favorite kitchen tool: We've got a coconut hammer and tool we use to crack open our fresh coconuts. That is a fun one.

Most important kitchen rule: Keep it clean. Cluttered kitchen leads to a cluttered mind.

Most underutilized ingredient: Curry leaves!

Advice to your younger self: Really think about if you want to own your own restaurant, or if you want to cook. Those two do not always go hand in hand, as there are many other responsibilities in ownership that can result in far less time in the actual kitchen.

Rahul Favorite flavor combination: Spicy, salty, sour, sweet—typical of any Indian chaat. The combination of those flavors is delicious.

Favorite food resource: My father, Chef Vinod. His classical French training with Indian upbringing is so unique and he is always fresh with new ideas.

Most important kitchen rule: Teamwork makes the dream work.

The kitchen doesn't run without the entire team working in unison, on the same page, and working together.

Most underutilized ingredient: Asafoetida. Although the smell can be pungent, the depth of flavor and umami character it brings to Indian cooking is amazing.

Open Sesame "The Open Sesame bowl consists of a base of fragrant basmati rice, Australian lamb kebabs rolled into meatballs, a rich peanut sesame sauce, and charred eggplant marinated in garlic and kokum. It is then topped with cucumber and pickled onions and finished with mint cilantro chutney and mango coconut yogurt."

- Restaurateurs Sahil Rahman and Rahul Vinod

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Fernando González & Debby Portillo 2FIFTY TEXAS BBQ fher_gope / debbyportillo / 2fiftytexasbbq Fernando Favorite flavor combination: Dalmatian rub and wood smoke Favorite cookbook: Franklin Barbecue: A Meat Smoking Manifesto by Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay Most important kitchen rule: The learning curve to achieve amazing barbecue is infinite.

Advice to your younger self: Keep a more robust and detailed recipes book.

Debby Favorite kitchen tool: Food processor.

I love to see that thing dice.

Favorite flavor combination: Honey with everything!

Most underutilized ingredient: Cilantro Advice to your younger self: Don't underestimate your heritage. Be proud of where you come from!

FOOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN A source of inspiration for Fernando González and Debby Portillo, who were born and raised in El Salvador during the Civil War. Portillo’s grandmother, Margoth, opened a small pupuseria in 1962 that evolved into a multi-venture empire and turned Portillo into a household name, known across El Salvador. Portillo grew up in the business and later assumed the role of chief financial officer for its subsidiaries abroad. When Portillo and González met, he was a civil engineer and a self taught cook who resourcefully relied on whatever materials he had access to for his culinary experiments.

After becoming hooked on the concept of Texas barbecue, González devoted himself to adapting the technique at home in El Salvador.

He traveled to some of the Texas Monthly’s “50 Best BBQ Joints” and

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approached each meal like a master class. When he returned home, he and a friend built a custom smoker and got to work, crafting their own barbecue under the moniker, Dos6Cinco. An emissary from Texas got wind of what they were doing, placed an order, and before long, expats and locals alike were in love with their meat.

In 2018, the couple and their daughter moved to Maryland to launch their business, 2Fifty Texas BBQ. González and Portillo put their custom smoker to work, filling the gap for quality barbecue in the Washington, D.C. area and honoring Texas tradition while supporting the community’s large hispanic population. Since 2020, The Washington Post has recognized 2Fifty Texas BBQ as one of "the best barbecue restaurants in DC, Maryland, and Virginia".

Pork spare ribs, barbecue sauce, honey mustard Pitmasters Fernando González and Debby Portillo of 2Fifty Texas BBQ Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Pork Spare Ribs: Niman Ranch pork spare ribs, trimmed, shiners removed Mustard Pickle juice Hungarian paprika Garlic powder Salt Black pepper Chile powder Brown sugar

½ cup honey Salt Black pepper Original Barbecue Sauce: Yield: 1 gallon 7 cups ketchup 2 ½ cups vinegar 1 cup plus 6 teaspoons brown sugar 4 teaspoons chile powder 6 teaspoons salt 6 teaspoons black pepper

For the Pork Spare Ribs: Slather spare ribs with mustard and pickle juice. Season with equal parts paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chile powder, and brown sugar. Wrap ribs in film paper and let sit at least 2 hours. Heat smoker to 275°F. Smoke ribs 3 hours and 30 minutes or until desired color is reached. Wrap ribs in aluminum foil and return to smoker.

Smoke until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from smoker and let rest 15 minutes.

For the Honey Mustard: In a medium-sized bowl, mix to combine mustard, pickle juice, honey, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Reserve.

For the Original Barbecue Sauce: In a large bowl, stir to combine all ingredients and 2 ½ cups water. Reserve.

To Assemble and Serve: Cut desired amount of Pork Spare Ribs by the bone and place on a serving platter.

Serve with Honey Mustard and Original Barbecue Sauce.

Featured ingredient: Niman Ranch pork spare ribs

PHOTOS: ANIA CYWIŃSKA

Honey Mustard: Yield: 2 pints 2 cups yellow mustard ½ cup pickle juice

METHOD

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By Erin Lettera

You know what sounds really good right now? A cheesy chalupa from Taco Bell. And you know what really sucks? They don’t make ‘em anymore. But lucky for us, we have the shared nostalgia and innovation of self-proclaimed non-chef, Chef Jaren Morrow.

Inspired by a friend who was doing birria tacos at the time—and TikTok’s Crunchwrap craze—Morrow tapped into his flavor memories—more specifically, the fuzzy late-night ones at Taco Bell drive-throughs.

With visions of nacho cheese and refried beans dancing through his head, Kennedy Street Tacos was born.

Morrow was still holding on to his part-time job at local watering hole Jackie Lee’s (located on Kennedy Street)—an obvious spot to host a pop-up. While the food was going to be reminiscent of Taco Bell, the ingredients certainly wouldn’t be. This was going to be chef-ified and grown-up, using braised meats— nothing frozen or out of a bag. The craving proved to be real, and Morrow’s first Tuesday night pop-up was a “real shitshow.” “It was me, my girlfriend and my sister in the kitchen, friends up front answering phones, and we had a tent set up outside grilling tacos in open fire and flame. We were not fully prepped for the turnout and had to keep running out to buy more cheese and tortillas.”

When the pop-up turned into a residency, the menu needed to grow. So Morrow asked his friends what they missed most from Taco Bell. One friend reminisced over the discontinued Mexican Pizza, so Morrow thought, what made that ‘so bad it’s good’

PHOTOS BY ANIA CYWIŃSKA

Mexican Pizza so iconic? The answer was in the sauce: RO-TEL, ancho chiles, sugar, and cumin. It’s layered on flour tortillas with braised beef, shredded provolone and Mexican cheese blend, then tomato, onion and cilantro. It blew up—so much so, that Morrow's considering bottling the sauce for retail.

The menu continues to evolve with taco bowls, quesadillas, and even seafood birria tacos (just because he can). And while Morrow is filling up the bellies of the tipsy, he’s filling up his own heart. “I love the idea of bringing dope food to the community.

I love seeing people around that I know and recognize, that's the best part for me, being here in the neighborhood.” What’s next for Kennedy Street Tacos? Wings, sandwiches, and whatever other inspiration strikes when hungry.

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FROM THE AGE OF 3, Sophia Kim grew up in suburban Centreville, Virginia. It wasn’t until her first year at James Madison University that she visited Richmond. Be it the bike rides around the city, the architecture, or the food— Kim had a gut feeling that she needed to live there.

So two years later, she transferred to the social justice department at Virginia Commonwealth University and picked up a job at sushi/party bar Sticky Rice to subsidize the move. It took her four years of rolling sushi before she was promoted to bartender, quickly mastering the speed needed to keep up with the thirsty crowd.

PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

After stints at Lamplighter Coffee Roasters and Cous Cous, Kim landed at Mamma Zu, where she jumped between pouring wine and stretching pizza dough. Her next job at Dinamo brought her back behind the bar, even if their drink menu was limited to only a few cocktails.

Inspired to create her own drinks, Kim approached Michelle Shriver, owner of the well-revered bar, Dutch & Company, for a job. Striver took a chance on her, hiring Kim and training her on the fundamentals of cocktailbuilding. In 2018, Kim moved over to Saison where, for the next three years, she was able to menu drinks of her own. But when the COVID-19 pandemic left her furloughed and unsure of her next move, Kim received an offer she couldn’t refuse: A bar manager position at the seasonal fine dining restaurant, Longoven. Now as bar and general manager, Kim is a progressive leader within her team and throughout the Richmond beverage community. In addition to being the treasurer for the Richmond Chapter of the United States Bartenders’ Guild, Kim is a founding member of the local Safe Bars chapter, facilitating workshops to educate restaurant industry workers in sexual assault prevention. okayfriend / longovenrva Favorite cocktail to drink: I really enjoy many drinks! The old fashioned, boulevardier, margarita, Last Word, anything with Sherry, especially a Singani/fino split-base daiquiri.

What you drink on your nights off: I like to keep it simple. Ranch Waters, boulevardiers, wine.

Most underrated cocktail ingredient: This one is hard! I think the most underrated thing is the fact that the quality of every product is so important. The freshest version of any ingredient is usually best.

Cocktail trend you'd like to see: The use of local and seasonal ingredients, keeping sustainability in mind Cocktail culture you’d like to explore: Culinary techniques that can add to the complexity of cocktails while still staying true to the foundation of classic cocktail building

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Sophia Kim LONGOVEN

Little Secrets Bartender Sophia Kim of Longoven Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Toasted Coconut Rum: Yield: 23 ounces ½ cup unfiltered, organic coconut oil, melted ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted 750 milliliters white rum

For the Toasted Coconut Rum: In a glass jar, combine all ingredients and seal.

Shake several times throughout the day and let stand overnight at room temperature. Freeze until solid. Let thaw then strain through a cheesecloth. Bottle the liquid and refrigerate until needed.

To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 cocktail ½ ounce aged rum ½ ounce Amaro Averna

To Assemble and Serve: In a small glass, combine rum, amaro, and ½ ounce Toasted Coconut Rum. Serve undiluted at room temperature.

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R ESTAURATEUR

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. CHESAP D.C E

E

In 2014, Anderson returned to Richmond and partnered with Kjell Anderson, Brad Hemp, and Nathan Conway to open her first restaurant, German-inspired Metzger's Bar & Butchery. She followed Metzger up in 2017 with Brenner Pass, a love letter to the Alpine region, and then in 2020 with industry-friendly cocktail bar, Black Lodge. In 2021, after competing on Bravo’s Top Chef, Anderson expanded her reach to Washington, D.C. with her newest venture, Leni— an all-day cafe located within The Roost food hall.

BLACK LODGE, BRENNER PASS, LENI, AND METZGER BAR & BUTCHERY AK

COMING FROM A FAMILY OF CRAB FISHERS, Brittanny Anderson always had an appreciation for ingredient seasonality and respect for purveyors. As a teenager, Anderson picked up front of house jobs in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia, but she soon realized that the kitchen was where she belonged. She moved to New York City, attending the French Culinary Institute and picking up an apprenticeship at the acclaimed Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Anderson was able to continue her focus on local and sustainably sourced ingredients as a part of the opening team for Northern Spy Food Co., where she worked her way up to sous chef.

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Brittanny Anderson

RESTAURATEUR

PR

JA

ESENTED BY

DE RANGE

In addition to being the executive chef and majority partner of her four concepts, she is also the founder of seasonal seafood distribution company, Sharktooth Seafood, and custom cheese courses and boxes, Cave Culture. Through neighborhood-adoring restaurants and a leadership style that values inspiring creativity and creation, Anderson has changed the scope of the Richmond dining scene, promoting the movement of well-respected chefs to the beautiful, historic city and helping to make it into the culinary destination that it is today. brittannywith2ns / blacklodgerva / brennerpassrva / leni.alldaylong / metzgerrva

Technique you’ve adopted from someone else: My chicken liver mousse recipe is one that's been adapted from my first sous chef job at Northern Spy in NYC. It's always been delicious but it's super fun to see all the little changes that make it what it is today. It's my back pocket banger.

Favorite cookbook: Judy Rodgers’ The Zuni Cafe Cookbook will always be my absolute favorite. It's just so simple and perfect and it's also humongous.

So many great ideas in there.

Most important kitchen rule: NO FLEX ZONE! We are all equal and capable of doing and learning anything! We help each other learn and grow!

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PHOTOS: TYLER DARDEN

Advice to your younger self: Don't let people underestimate you! For so long I let other people make me feel like I didn't belong in a place of power or leadership because I looked and led differently than them. But when you put in the work and create real connections with people, leadership can come very naturally. Just because your style of leadership doesn't look like everyone else's, it doesn't mean it isn't valid or it doesn't work. In other words, be nice and trust them guts girl!

Crispy fried sunchokes, goat cheese, sauce ravigote Restaurateur Brittanny Anderson of Brenner Pass Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS Fried Sunchokes: 1 pound sunchokes Neutral oil Salt Black pepper Sauce Ravigote: ½ cup capers, chopped ½ cup olive oil 6 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons black pepper 1 shallot, minced ½ cup chopped parsley 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar Salt

Goat Cheese Spread: 1 cup Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog goat cheese 1 cup crème fraîche ¼ cup chopped chives 1 tablespoon lemon zest Salt Black pepper Heavy cream To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Chive oil Chive blossoms Fried capers

METHOD For the Fried Sunchokes: Heat oven to 400°F. In a bowl, toss sunchokes with oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer sunchokes to a roasting pan and roast sunchokes until tender. Heat a deep-fryer. Deep-fry sunchokes until crispy. Transfer crispy sunchokes to a wire rack and season with more salt and pepper.

For the Sauce Ravigote: In a medium-sized bowl, mix to combine all ingredients.

For the Goat Cheese Spread: In a medium-sized bowl, mix to combine goat cheese, crème fraîche, chives, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Add enough heavy cream to loosen and reach desired consistency.

To Assemble and Serve: Spoon a large scoop of Goat Cheese Spread onto a serving plate and make a well in the middle. Pile some Fried Sunchokes in the well of the cheese then spoon over a few tablespoons of Sauce Ravigote.

Garnish with chive oil, chive blossoms, and fried capers.

Featured ingredient: Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog goat cheese

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The Incredible Squash!

Written By Amelia Schwartz

Illustrated By Bashel Lubarsky

In a world...

where summer produce reigns supreme—one winter gourd is determined to cross the boundary between savory and sweet, be the star of the plate, and (maybe one day) save the universe!

The butternut squash takes on two personas: one nixtamalized, one calcified. One filled with pickled almonds and one filled with ice cream. One drizzled with pork jus and one sitting above a candied orange purée. But both squashes, simmered in a spiced syrup and standing firm in its true and natural squashslice form, prove the powerful versatility of the butternut.

Sweet

For Chef René González of Imperfecto, creating a butternut squash dish starts with the shape (recipe on page 94). He decided to do a line cut, so the base of the squash, from top to bottom, is preserved. He then nixtamalizes the slice so, even after it’s confited in a winter-spiced syrup, the squash maintains its form and achieves a slight minerality.

“Then we turned all the seeds and all the [squash] meat that is attached to the seeds into a horchata sauce,” says González. But rather than being blended with cinnamon and sugar, the horchata sauce is unsweetened and made with toasted basmati rice, garlic, smoky ancho chile, and the reserved squash seeds and meat. A small pile of punchy pickled almonds sits in the belly of the squash. “When you combine the sweetness of the squash and the pickled almonds, you get a toasty flavor. It balances everything really well.” It’s all accompanied by a juicy, dry-aged, slowroasted suckling pig. “Our restaurant is [Mediterraneaninspired Latin American], so we are used to combining sweet, savory, and sour,” says González. “With the squash, we found a link to those flavors.”

Pastry Chef Elisa Reyna has been eating squash for dessert since she was a child in Mexico. Growing up, her mother would make calabaza en tacha (candied squash cooked in piloncillo syrup) every year. She decided to recreate the dessert for the maïz64 menu, basing it off of her mother’s recipe with fine dining touches (recipe on page 93). Like González, Reyna starts by slicing the butternut, then soaking it in cal so it always keeps its shape. “It’s firm, but on the inside, it’s soft,” she says. She boils the calcified squash in orange piloncillo syrup and serves it with candied orange and a bitter sweet orange peel purée. Back in Mexico, Reyna eats the syrupy squash slices with nata, a slightly sweet, slightly sour cream made from unpasteurized milk. Unable to source nata in Washington, D.C., Reyna makes a “cream ice cream” from Rancho crema Mexicana. “The flavor is so balanced,” she says. “The [ice cream] is so sweet, then you have the three different flavors [piloncillo, orange peels, and candied orange], and the texture of the squash.”

PHOTOS BY ANIA CYWIŃSKA

Savory

PASTRY C H E F

Annie Coleman REVELER'S HOUR AND TAIL UP GOAT

ANNIE COLEMAN WAS RAISED OUTSIDE of Lady’s Island, South Carolina, where her mother and aunts would grow produce. Her mother was an artist and her father was a doctor, so it made sense for Coleman to have three great passions—food, art, and science. She tried to figure out a way to combine those interests while studying at the University of Georgia. She picked up a job at Epting Events and kept getting scheduled as a bartender or server until the day she was assigned to stand in an open field, making pralines out of a copper kettle. She was hooked.

After graduation, Coleman began baking at Independent Baking Co., where she developed her expertise for precision and simplicity. In 2016, Coleman moved to Paris to study pastry at FERRANDI. She found a mentor in Chef Jean-Philippe Garrigues and an internship at five-star hotel La Réserve Paris, which bolstered her confidence to jump from bread baking to pastry work.

Upon returning to the States in 2017, Coleman staged at Michelin-starred restaurants Marea in New York City and The Dabney in Washington, D.C. The latter's farmfocused program made Coleman feel right at home.

Within six months, she advanced from pastry cook to pastry chef.

After three years with The Dabney and another trip to Paris, Coleman returned to D.C. to become pastry chef of the Adams Morgan Mediterranean bistro, Tail Up Goat, and its sister restaurant, Italian-inspired wine bar, Reveler’s Hour. Coleman’s humble desserts and pints of gelato (served to-go at Reveler’s Hour) lean on her farming past to stretch the use of every ingredient with respect and great technical skill. annieyesimokay / revelershour / tailupgoat Favorite kitchen tool: Bernzomatic torch Favorite flavor combination: Bread and chocolate Favorite cookbook: Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman Most important kitchen rule: Work cleanly.

Most underutilized ingredient: Prunes Advice to your younger self: Everything you cook doesn’t have to be a novelty. Classics are classics for a reason.

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Corn cake, fennel custard, raspberry Madeira sauce Pastry Chef Annie Coleman of Tail Up Goat Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 30 servings

INGREDIENTS Roasted Fennel Custard: 1 liter milk 100 grams fennel stems, dry-roasted until almost burnt 363 grams sugar 9 grams salt 1 gram xanthan gum (optional) 375 grams egg yolks ½ liter cream, cold

METHOD

Corn Cake: Oil for greasing 578 grams all-purpose flour 204 grams corn flour 5 grams salt 7 grams baking soda 16 grams baking powder 596 grams brown butter, cooled to room temperature 720 grams sugar 147 grams whole eggs, room temperature

62 grams egg whites, room temperature 8 grams vanilla extract 333 grams buttermilk Raspberry Madeira Sauce: 1 cup raspberries ¼ teaspoon apple pectin 1 cup Madeira 1 cup sugar

Cornmeal Crumble: 160 grams fine-ground cornmeal 50 grams corn flour 120 grams sugar 150 grams butter, cold To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Fennel fronds Olive oil Salt

For the Roasted Fennel Custard: In a large pot, combine milk, roasted fennel stems, and 100 grams sugar. Bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, xanthan, and remaining sugar.

Whisk in egg yolks. Slowly temper with the hot milk mixture. Transfer back to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, continuously stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot with a large spatula. Once the mixture reaches 175°F or is thick enough to coat the back of the spatula, remove from heat and immediately add cold cream. Pass through a fine mesh strainer to remove fennel and any egg yolk that may have curdled. Refrigerate 8 hours (or overnight). Transfer mixture to an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Reserve in freezer.

For the Corn Cake: Heat oven to 325°F. Grease and parchment-line the bottoms of eight 6-inch cake pans. In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir to combine then sift. Set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine brown butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Slowly add whole eggs, egg whites, and vanilla. Mix until just smooth. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients in two additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then, with the mixer on low speed, stream in buttermilk. Portion batter into prepared cake pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

For the Raspberry Madeira Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together raspberries and apple pectin. Transfer raspberries to a medium-sized saucepan and stir in Madeira and sugar. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until the raspberries have begun to break apart and become syrupy. Remove from heat and chill to room temperature.

PHOTOS: ANIA CYWIŃSKA

For the Cornmeal Crumble: Heat oven to 350°F. In a food processor, combine all ingredients. Process just enough to break up the butter into pea-sized pieces. Transfer crumble to a medium-sized mixing bowl and sprinkle with 20 grams water. Toss to mix.

Spread crumble out on parchment or a silicone baking mat. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown, breaking up clumps with a metal spoon every 5 minutes.

Let cool.

To Assemble and Serve: Place 1 slice Corn Cake onto a serving plate and top with a spoonful of Raspberry Madeira sauce. Add a scoop of Roasted Fennel Custard next to the Corn Cake and garnish with fennel fronds. Drizzle everything with olive oil and finish with a sprinkle of salt.

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BAKER

Rachel De Jong COU COU RACHOU

RAISED BY FOOD-LOVING ARTISTS in Charlottesville, Rachel De Jong’s childhood was missing something: baking. While her mother was the cook, De Jong became the de-facto baker of the family, preparing cakes and sweet treats for holidays. When she began contemplating her future, De Jong’s father suggested she model her career path after Julia Child. Following an inspiring push from Baker’s Palette Chef Sheila Cervelloni, De Jong set off to Paris to study at Le Cordon Bleu.

After graduation, De Jong returned to Virginia to work as a pastry cook at the three-Michelin-starred Inn at Little Washington where, during her four-year tenure, she worked her way up to pastry chef. She moved to Nashville in 2015 to become pastry chef at 5th & Taylor, then spent two years consulting and launching a macaron business. Craving a change of environment, De Jong fled to Los Angeles. Her sister, a restaurant interior designer, connected her with James Beard Award-winning chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, who hired her as pastry chef of French bistro Petit Trois, alongside Ludo Lefebvre.

PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

rachelpaigedejong / coucourachou Favorite kitchen tool: Microplane Favorite flavor combination: Orange and hazelnut Most important kitchen rule: What’s it taste like?

Most underutilized ingredient: In pastry? Salt.

Advice to your younger self: Saying no is healthy.

De Jong became eager to set firm roots in a city, and meanwhile, an opportunity opened up back in Charlottesville. In 2020, she returned to her hometown, partnered with the owners of the sprawling food and beverage space, The Wool Factory, and launched her own bakery, Cou Cou Rachou. Now with a colorful, airy brick and mortar and a pop-up within The Wool Factory, De Jong leads a large team of young bakers in preparing classic, flawlessly executed bread and pastries inspired by her French training.

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French Onion Croissant Baker Rachel De Jong of Cou Cou Rachou Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 36 croissants

INGREDIENTS Levain: 20 grams mature sourdough starter 275 grams all-purpose flour Dough: 18 grams instant yeast 1.375 kilograms all-purpose flour 206 grams sugar 41 grams salt 1.275 kilograms butter

Onion Filling: 3 to 4 tablespoons grapeseed oil 10 medium-sized white onions, thinly sliced 350 milliliters wine 2 bay leaves, gently scored 2 sprigs thyme Salt Malt vinegar Black pepper To Assemble and Serve: Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog goat cheese

METHOD For the Levain: In a storage container, combine starter, flour, and 275 grams 80°F water. Mix until completely emulsified. Let sit overnight at a cool temperature.

For the Dough: In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add yeast, 423 grams water, and 550 grams Levain. Using your hands, gently mix to combine. Add flour, sugar, salt, and 275 grams butter and mix with dough hook on low speed for 3 minutes. Check dough and adjust hydration as needed. Mix on low speed for another 3 minutes. Portion dough to 2.88 kilograms then shape into a large, 12-by-12inch square. Tightly wrap with plastic. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough and remove air bubbles. Immediately place dough in the freezer and freeze until fully solid. Pull dough from the freezer and thaw, about 8 hours.

Between 2 pieces of parchment, sheet and fold 1 kilogram cold butter until malleable, but still cold. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough until it’s 2 times the size of the butter block. Lock butter in with the dough, sealing the seam but leaving the top and bottom edges exposed and level with the butter. Sheet dough horizontally to a 16-inch width, rotate, and sheet dough to a 36-inch length. Trim edges if uneven. Perform a tri-fold, folding one edge over one third of the dough, then the last third over the middle section. Repeat sheeting process. Perform a second tri-fold. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 15 to 20 minutes. Unwrap dough and repeat sheeting process. Perform a third tri-fold. Wrap and refrigerate another 15 to 20 minutes.

Unwrap and sheet dough to the size of a full sheet pan, about 17 by 25 inches. Wrap and freeze.

The following day, remove dough from refrigerator and allow to thaw. Unwrap and sheet to 1-centimeter thickness. Cut out 10-by10-centimeter squares. To form a diamond boat shape, cut a 1-centimeter border around two opposing corners of each square. Take one outside corner and place it squarely on the inside opposite corner. Transfer diamonds to a parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving about 2 inches of space between each square. Cover sheet tray and let proof at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. When ready to bake, diamonds should be nearly doubled in original height and pillowy to the touch.

For the Onion Filling: In a large sauté pan over medium-high flame, heat grapeseed oil. Add onions. Adjust heat to brown onions thoroughly but steadily, stirring occasionally for even coloration. Once onions are fully caramelized, deglaze pan with wine.

Reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Add bay leaves and thyme and season with salt.

Continue simmering until liquid has fully evaporated. Season with vinegar, more salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

To Assemble and Serve: Heat oven to 365°F. Fill each Dough diamond with about ¼ cup Onion Filling. Top with a generous amount of Cypress Grove goat cheese.

Bake 24 to 28 minutes until croissants are deeply golden brown and cheese is bubbling and toasty.

Featured ingredients: Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog goat cheese

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The Promise of Pay-What-You-Can Written by Aparna Krishnamoorthy

Illustrated by Bashel Lubarsky

A mindful business model lets Motzi Bread put their community first.

In March of 2019, Maya Muñoz and Russell Trimmer started Motzi Bread as a subscription service operating out of their home. One year later, they were transforming a former liquor store building in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore into a bakery. Named after the Jewish prayer recited over bread, Motzi Bread is devoted to providing their community with nutritious, naturally fermented whole grain bread and pastries at a pay-what-you-can price.

“Everything we do is pay-what-you-can,” says Muñoz.

“Prices are suggested.” They also have a pay-it-forward policy that allows customers to purchase a loaf for someone in need. While they had initially thought about phasing in this approach, the pandemic accelerated their plans. “Costs and access issues were being exacerbated, and it was more important than ever to make nutritious food accessible.” There would always be a risk factor in committing to pay-what-you-can. “The fear is that if we do this, the business would need to take a loss,” says Muñoz. But instead, business has been strong since the beginning, partially thanks to their subscription service which gave them a foundational customer base to grow from. “We have been in a position of excess. We have fewer people paying less than the suggested prices.”

Although they are still in the process of determining price breakdowns, they estimate that, on average, customers pay about 5 percent over suggested prices.

she says. “It’s really important for us to be truly invested here and to get feedback from our neighbors.” They are now in the process of designing surveys to receive feedback from customers and locals.

Rather than expanding or opening up multiple locations, Muñoz and Trimmer want their bakery to become a hub for the community and a home for neighborhood gatherings and fundraisers. And with only a handful of for-profit paywhat-you-can businesses in the country, Muñoz hopes that Motzi’s example can be the start of a new trend in the industry.

In fact, Muñoz and Trimmer are now focusing on ways to encourage people in the community to take advantage of the PWYC policy. “We are determining ways in which we can measure impact and encourage greater use of the model,” says Muñoz. “We want to ensure that customers feel comfortable not paying the suggested amount.”

In addition to the high-quality product, maintaining a small team, and fair suggested prices, Muñoz attributes a large part of Motzi’s success to their community and their commitment to being rooted in the Charles Village neighborhood. “Being a community-focused business, we operate on input from subscribers and the community,” PHOTOS BY ANIA CYWIŃSKA

CH O CO LATI E R

Ashleigh Pearson PETITE SOEUR

W H E N A S H L E I G H P E A R S O N WA S G ROW I N G U P

in the D.C. area, she dreamed of following her father’s physician footsteps to become a veterinarian. She pursued that goal as a biology major at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, but Pearson began to wonder if her scientific mind could be used for something more creative. An avid home cook and baker, Pearson decided to take a risk and apply to Marcel’s by Robert Wiedmaier. She worked through every station, filling in whenever someone needed an extra hand. Hooked on French cooking, Pearson earned a Le Dames d’Escoffier scholarship to attend Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and two years later, she graduated at the top of her class and stayed on to work as an assistant.

Pearson returned to the states to stage at Thomas Keller’s three-Michelin-starred Per Se, where she worked under Rising Stars alum Pastry Chef Anna Bolz—an inspiration and mentor to Pearson. She was brought on as a pastry cook, then eventually promoted to head chocolatier.

Pearson returned to D.C. and decided to launch a chocolate company of her own, called Petite Soeur. She started off selling bonbons by knocking on restaurant doors, but when the COVID-19 pandemic caused many of those restaurants to temporarily shutter, Pearson took it as an opportunity to rent a space and opened a brick and mortar. Now serving both the D.C. restaurant community and the Georgetown neighborhood, Pearson creates a seasonal rotation of bonbons that emphasize complex layers, flavor building, and referencing that flavor with elegantly painted shells. petitesoeurdc Favorite kitchen tool: Small offset spatula. I don’t use them as much as I used to but they are always disappearing. A sharp Sharpie is a close second.

Favorite flavor combination: Hazelnut, chocolate, and citrus Favorite cookbook: Anything by Francisco Migoya Most underutilized ingredient: Salt and acid in baking. Seasoning is key when it comes to sweets.

Advice to your younger self: To do it the right way. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Solid technique takes time and repetition and that’s the key to long term success.

S'mores Bonbon

PHOTOS: ANIA CYWIŃSKA

Chocolatier Ashleigh Pearson of Petite Soeur Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 640 bonbons

INGREDIENTS Vanilla Marshmallow: 650 grams sugar 140 grams glucose 300 grams egg whites 10 sheets gelatin, bloomed 2 vnlla Extract Co. vanilla beans, scraped 1 tablespoon vnlla Extract Co. pure vanilla extract Salt

METHOD

Salted Chocolate Ganache: 950 grams sugar 2.5 kilograms cream 80 grams sea salt 500 grams glucose 3.3 kilograms chopped dark chocolate

650 grams all-purpose flour 250 grams whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon Salt 1 teaspoon baking soda Cocoa butter, melted

Graham Cookie: 600 grams butter 200 grams white sugar 250 grams brown sugar

To Assemble and Serve: Cocoa butter Dark chocolate, tempered

For the Vanilla Marshmallow: In a pot, combine sugar, glucose, and 300 grams water. Heat to 140°F. Remove from heat. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites until frothy and soft peaks form.

While continuing to whisk, stream in hot sugar mixture. Stir in gelatin, vanilla, and salt. Set aside.

For the Salted Chocolate Ganache: To a saucepan, add sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it becomes an amber caramel. In a separate pot, combine cream, salt, and glucose. Heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. Deglaze caramel with cream mixture. In a large mixing bowl, pour caramel mixture over the chocolate. Emulsify until smooth.

For the Graham Cookie: Heat oven to 325°F. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. In a separate bowl,

stir to combine flours, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until smooth. Roll the dough out until it's flat and thin then transfer it to a sheet tray. Bake until golden brown. While warm, use a ring cutter to punch out circles.

Brush with melted cocoa butter.

To Assemble and Serve: Paint chocolate mold with cocoa butter as desired. Shell the mold in tempered dark chocolate. Pipe each mold with Vanilla Marshmallow, followed by Salted Chocolate Ganache. Place a Graham Cookie round on top and let set 15 to 30 minutes. Seal bonbon with more tempered dark chocolate. Pop bonbons out of the mold and serve.

Featured ingredients: vnlla Extract Co. vanilla beans and pure vanilla extract

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The

Presentation Playbook

Chef D’Angelo Mobley of La Jambe Confit carrots, spice oil, gooseberry mostarda, dehydrated carrot crunch, Mimolette cheese, fermented butternut squash fluid gel, and chive “The goal was to take several flavors I had recently been playing with and have them make sense aesthetically. I had orange components and I had yellow. Next was shapes, and I tend to lean towards dots. Lastly, I knew I needed a little contrast bringing out the chive—and voila, my carrot dish!”

Ice Maker Millie Petrovic` of The Ice Queen, LLC Rose-shaped ice cube “I wanted to freeze in a rose but it was not really working out.

The flower was expensive, delicate, and more importantly… it did not look as good as it did on a cake. As the rose was dying in a melted cube, it created a silhouette that looked amazing! It took us probably seven months to create a press to ease the process—each one of the lines needed to be measured EXACTLY to enable us to make that press. Aside from maintaining the integrity of a cocktail with the quality of ice (odorless, tasteless, void of salt or any bacterial load) it adds to the attractiveness of a cocktail. And we like to keep it special, so it is only available now and then.”

Beverage Director Andra “AJ” Johnson of Serenata The Coronado: Mamajuana-rested reposado tequila, house-made vermouth, TRÄ•KÁL, prickly pear juice, orange bitters, and Luxardo “Coronado is meant to be a celebratory cocktail, so I really wanted to make sure that the color was vibrant and recognizable from across the bar in the very same way ordering a bottle of Champagne comes with a level of fanfare.

Coronado translates to crown, so cutting a crown was definitely one of the first things that came to my mind for a garnish, and lemon was the best fruit to accompany the rest of the ingredients. Choosing complementary flavors to accompany your drinks are all a part of creating a great cocktail. By using the two-by-two cube, we are able to control that dilution while also being able to create a visual for the guest with our Serenata logo imprinted on the top of the ice."

Chef Ryan Ratino of Jônt Chocolate cremeux, matcha semifreddo, meringue, and edible flower petals “I have an affinity for matcha! With Nicole [Cabral], our pastry sous chef, we worked together to accomplish the various textures and representations of matcha and chocolate.

It represents a small visual landscape of what you might see in the woods. A tiny meringue mushroom that’s toasted with binchotan, “soil” from chocolate shortbread, various flower garnishes, and underneath all of that are layers of matcha pastry cream and chocolate cremeux.”

Chefs Amy Phan and Zach Ramos of Ama Ami Autumn Hassun Box: Persimmon and cod milt, Dashi-simmered spinach, Shimeji mushrooms and root vegetables; deep-fried salt-cured fish cake with sōmen noodles; and vinegar-cured sabazushi “A Hassun course highlights seasonality from land to sea, utilizing local produce and seafood imported from Japan. ‘Goho,’ the five methods of washoku cooking are: ‘Nama,’ cutting; ‘Niru,’ simmering; ‘Yaku,’ grilling; ‘Musu,’ steaming; and ‘Ageru,’ deep-frying. We like to use nature to our advantage for garnishing, such as fallen leaves in the fall and finishing salts like ‘pa’akai’ sent from my family back home.”

Pastry Chef Nikkie Rodriguez of Moon Rabbit Ginataang Bilo Bilo: Coconut soup, plantain, jackfruit, sticky rice balls, and tapioca ube purée “The dish was really just a dessert soup with chunks of starchy ingredients and fruits. I had to think about how to turn it into something somewhat ‘fancy’. We collectively thought about textures and flavors to balance the dish. Chef Kevin [Tien] gave the idea of the sweet potato being like “spaghetti” or “pasta,” hence the swirly bits of the sweet potato. Then Chef Marco [Saldierna] gave me an idea of something crispy, so I changed the boiled plantains to fried. A lot of R&D happened to get this result with the help of other chefs.”

PHOTOS BY ANIA CYWIŃSKA AND WILL BLUNT

MICRO INTENSITY MIX™, Rye Bread Toasted in Brown Butter, Fresh Sheeps Cream, Royal Belgium Caviar, Mesquite Smoked Salmon, Charred Onion Oil

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OUR TIME TO SHINE Cervena is venison at its purest. From pasture-raised young New Zealand deer, Cervena gives you the freedom to create. Its unique taste and ability to adapt allow it to stand alone or be your ideal canvas.

With a distinct and delicate flavor, Cervena has a refined richness and subtle sweetness.

Cervena.com 62

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Andrew Elder

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AS AN ASPIRING CHEF FROM Hampton, Virginia, Andrew Elder enrolled in Johnson & Wales University’s Charlotte Campus. He quickly came to realize that cooking wasn’t his thing—but his beverage appreciation class? Now that he could get onboard with. So after completing his associate’s degree in culinary arts, Elder continued his education to receive a bachelor’s degree in beverage service management and his Level 3 WSET certification.

While still in school, he helped open Corkbuzz Wine Studio in Charlotte with Master Sommelier Laura Maniec. As a service and beverage professional, he was on the floor, preparing wine flights and educating guests. He studied abroad at The German Wine and Sommelier School, where, after exploring the wine regions of Germany, France, and Spain, Elder earned an advanced diploma and gained an appreciation for wine, not just

as a beverage, but as a “living thing in a bottle.”

In 2016, Elder completed the Introductory Sommelier course from the Court of Master Sommeliers. After graduating in 2017, he moved to Washington, D.C. and took a back server position at the twoMichelin-starred minibar by José Andrés.

There, he spent the next three years working his way up from floor captain to sommelier before becoming service manager at Officina in 2020. At the young age of 25, Elder took on the title of beverage manager at Chef Ryan Ratino’s Michelin-starred French bistro, Bresca, and now its sister restaurant, the hyperseasonal, 14-seat tasting menu concept, Jônt. Overseeing a 180-bottle wine list, Elder showcases multiple tiers of pairings; from young vintages and uncommon subregions to iconic producers, with the goal of educating guests through the experience of dining.

aelder315 / brescadc / jont_dc Favorite region: Champagne. By far, it is the most versatile and always appropriate wine for any occasion and pairing.

Favorite wine resource: The World Atlas of Wine is a classic resource for any question I have regarding a region. However, What to Drink with What You Eat is great for whenever I am stumped on a pairing or need ideas.

Most important pairing rule: Balance.

Finding balance between the dish and pairing is extremely important. Whether matching spicy with sweet, heavy and bold with rich and robust, fatty with tannic, sweet and acidic... finding the harmonious match makes a perfect pairing.

Favorite high-low pairing: McDonald's french fries and Krug Grande Cuvée 166th Édition Wine list you admire from afar: I constantly refer to the Per Se wine list for inspiration and affirmation.

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Venison, braised shallot, sauce perigourdine Chef Ryan Ratino of Bresca Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Red Cabbage Purée: Yield: 1 to 1 ½ pints 4 ounces butter 1 head red cabbage, thinly sliced 1 white onion, thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1 tart red apple, such as Pink Lady or Honeycrisp, thinly sliced ½ russet potato, peeled and thinly sliced, held in water until needed 1 ounce picked and finely chopped thyme 3 tablespoons salt 1 ½ cups sugar 25 fluid ounces dry red wine Braised Shallots: Yield: 6 servings 25 fluid ounces Port or off-dry red wine 1 ounce thyme 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon kosher salt 4 ounces butter 6 shallots, peeled, halved, and attached by the root Sauce Perigourdine: Yield: 12 ounces 3 ounces beef fat 4 shallots, roughly chopped,

METHOD plus 1 cup finely minced shallots 1 head garlic, roughly chopped 4 ounces thyme 6 bay leaves 2 tablespoons kosher salt ½ cup sugar 1 cup dried cherries 1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms 25 fluid ounces dry red wine 3 to 4 quarts roasted beef or veal stock 1 cup finely minced shallots 4 ounces butter, cold 1 ounce grated Périgord black truffle or preserved truffle condiment Venison Strip Loin: Yield: 6 servings 1 Cervena venison Denver leg, silverskin and fat removed Kosher salt Neutral oil 4 ounces butter 1 ounce thyme 1 clove garlic To Assemble and Serve: Chives Salt

For the Red Cabbage Purée: In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add cabbage, onion, garlic, apple, potato, thyme, salt, and sugar. Using a wooden spoon, stir and gently cook until all the vegetables are soft and translucent, with no liquid remaining. Deglaze with wine.

Cook down until wine is 80 to 90 percent reduced and has a syrupy consistency.

Remove from heat. Transfer braised cabbage and all remaining braising liquid to a Vitamix blender. Blend until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the blender to ensure the braised cabbage is blended and incorporated. Pass the purée through a fine mesh sieve. Reserve.

For the Braised Shallots: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine Port, thyme, sugar, and salt. Reduce by half or until a syrupy consistency. Strain and let cool. Heat the water bath of an immersion circulator to 185°F. In a vacuum bag, add Port reduction, 2 ounces butter, and shallots, laid flat. Seal. Cook sous vide 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove bag from heat and let cool. Transfer shallots and red wine reduction to a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until warmed through. Add remaining butter and gently stir to emulsify.

Remove from heat and reserve.

For the Sauce Perigourdine: Heat a large pot over medium-high flame. Add beef fat and melt. Add chopped shallots, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir and scrape the bottom of the pan until vegetables are well-caramelized. Add sugar, cherries, and mushrooms. Stir and scrape until sugar melts and lightly caramelizes. Deglaze with red wine. Reduce wine by 80 percent or until lightly syrupy. Add stock and reduce until nappe. Adjust seasoning as needed. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve into a medium-sized pot, using a wooden spoon to press all the liquid out of the vegetables. In a separate medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, add 1 to 2 ounces butter. Add minced shallots and truffle and sweat until soft and translucent.

Add shallots and truffle to the strained sauce. Add butter and stir to emulsify. Adjust seasoning as needed. Reserve.

For the Venison Strip Loin: Pat venison dry with a paper towel and season with salt. Heat a heavy-bottom pan over medium-high flame. Coat pan with oil. Add venison and sear on all sides. Add butter, thyme, and garlic and baste 3 to 5 minutes. Continue cooking venison until internal temperature reaches 135°F. Remove venison from heat and allow to rest 8 to 10 minutes.

To Assemble and Serve: Slice a 4-ounce portion of Venison Strip Loin in half. Place both halves, cut-side up, on a serving plate at the 3 o'clock position. Place a 1-ounce spoonful of Red Cabbage Purée in both the 7 and 9 o’clock positions. Place 1 Braised Shallot at 8 o’clock and another at 10 o’clock then garnish with chives and salt. Using a spoon, place 1 to 1.5 ounces Sauce Perigourdine in the middle of the plate, directly in between the Venison Strip Loin, Braised Shallots, and Red Cabbage Purée.

Featured ingredient: Cervena venison Denver leg from New Zealand Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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“I am a firm believer of classics, and Barolo with venison and truffle is no exception to that. The wine itself is velvet in texture with a beautiful bouquet of dried red fruit, leather, cocoa, truffle, and a subtle floral component.

Bruna Grimaldi is a traditional family-run winery that has been producing quality wine since the early ‘60s.

Bruna, matriarch of the Grimaldi family, is now joined by her son, Simone, in the endeavor to produce terroirdriven wines. This bottling also shows a lovely acidity to complement the braised shallots and cabbage purée, while the silken tannins can hold up to the cut of venison.”

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PERFECT PAIRINGS Illustrated by: Bashel Lubarsky

Queen’s English The cool energy at Queen’s English is contagious and it carries right through to Chef Henji Cheung’s sizzling Hong Konginspired dishes and Sarah Thompson’s ambitious natural wine list. Their daikon fritter, for example, is filled with intensely deep, savory shiitake, baby shrimp, and scallion and topped with oyster sauce, pork sung, and Kewpie mayo. And with such a melt-inyour-mouth, luscious bite, the daikon fritters are screaming for a sharp sip. Thompson opts for a glass of Cidrerie du Vulcain’s naturally fermented cider made from foraged Swiss apples, which she describes as “slightly sweet and floral with a rustic finish, pairing perfectly with the umami-packed daikon.” It’s a combo to savor and sip over and over again.

Rose Ave Bakery Baker Rose Nguyen’s food memories perk up with a Saigon cinnamon brown butter banana cookie and a cup of Vietnamese coffee. “A combo that really takes you somewhere,” she says. Potent, spicy Saigon cinnamon, a nod to her hometown, is baked in with ripe banana, brown sugar, and salt. The soft, cakey cookie acts as the counterpart to Càphê Roaster’s Espresso Blend that Nguyen uses as the base for her Vietnamese coffee at Rose Ave Bakery. “Both the cookie and coffee have a balanced, savory, and nutty flavor profile so they complement each other really well. There are moments when foods make me slap the table and that moment is when I pair the banana cookie and coffee together. It makes me stop and just savor the moment, a moment of pure joy.”

RPM Italian Wine Director Nick Schulman knows his Italian wines. “For me, the fun aspect of this job is hunting hard-to-find gems from remote corners of Italy,” he says. “I love it there. I’d move there if I could.”

Although Schulman has a special place in his heart for Barolo (the RPM Italian cellar has over 200 Barolos alone), for a wagyu steak, he just had to dust off a 1998 Fontodi “Vigna del Sorbo” Chianti Classico Riserva. “Fontodi is the premier Chianti Classico producer in Tuscany,” says Schulman. “The ‘98 is characterized by a longer growing season resulting in a well-balanced wine with good acidity and regal tannins.” Decanted tableside, the red wine’s gentle notes of tobacco and charcuterie are a classic complement to the tender Montana wagyu, topped with shaved Italian black truffles and gold flakes, for an extra touch of decadence.

Albi When the knafeh hits the table at Albi, the room fills with a sense of drama: The crispy kataifi, shimmering with a floral brown butter orange blossom syrup and the bright Gala apple sorbet, slowly melting onto the walnut crumble (recipe on page 95). It only makes sense for Pastry Chef Emma Scanlon’s dessert to be paired with a wine that is arguably the most dramatic of them all—a late-harvest Bermejos malvasía coming from the black volcanic soils of Lanzarote.

“Late-harvest malvasías always have a little salty-savory note which works well with the cheese in the knafeh,” says Wine Director and General Manager William Simons. Alone, the off-dry malvasía is bursting with notes of raisin and roasty, toasty brown butter.

Accompanied by the knafeh, the deep caramel flavor rounds out the tart sorbet and subtle funk of the ricotta filling. Imagine taking a big, sticky bite of a caramel apple at the base of a volcano—that is the knafeh and malvasía volcánica.

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ORIGINALLY FROM BETHESDA, MARYLAND, Sarah Horvitz got her first taste of the industry as a line cook at Grange Kitchen & Bar during her years studying business at the University of Michigan. The intimate restaurant was Horvitz’s first foray into farm-to-table and nose-to-tail cooking and it lit a fire in her. After finishing her business degree, she immediately enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America where she was determined to study every facet of the industry. She dabbled in both front and back of house, externing at Momofuku Má Pêche and managing for Hillstone Restaurant Group and Sweetgreen.

A Jack of all trades, Horvitz jumped behind the bar at Ithaca Coffee Company and took a tasting representative role for Ithaca Beer Co. to immerse herself in the area’s craft beer scene. While there, she ran into her childhood neighbor, Restaurateur and Sommelier Max Kuller, who recruited her to be his assistant general manager at the Vietnamese Doi Moi in Washington, D.C. Kuller became her mentor, teaching her everything he knew about wine.

She thrived, soaking up the vast world of wine production and distribution. When Kuller told Horvitz about his new project, Chef Rob Rubba’s hyper-seasonal, almostvegetarian Oyster Oyster, she jumped on board. While the concept was under construction, she worked as a sommelier and bartender for wine bar Maxwell Park, expanding her knowledge of obscure varietals and developing her talent for storytelling. Horvitz launched Oyster Oyster's wine menu in 2021 where her well-rounded resume, thoughtful pairings, and zeal for highlighting sustainable, responsible producers have been on full display as beverage director. crunchyadultbeverage PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT

Favorite region: Toss up between the Loire Valley and Sicily Favorite wine resource: The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil Most important pairing rule: There's more than one right answer.

What you drink on your nights off: Pilsners, anything bubbly, and crunchy, chillable red wine Favorite high-low pairing: Carry-out cheesesteaks and dry lambrusco

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AC E

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On the path toward phasing out citrus, chefs and bartenders find alternative sources to capture that essential zing.

For many chefs who embrace the eat-local ethos but don’t live anywhere near Florida’s orange groves or California’s lemon trees, citrus fruits are simply off the table.

This quest for alternative forms of acid has led chefs to be more creative than ever—especially since dialing down the acidity isn’t an option.

Chef Daniel Gleason of Sumac “I find that most of the time if something is missing, it’s just that brightness,” says Daniel Gleason, chef-owner of Sumac in Sperryville, Virginia. “And honestly, the definitive quality to good restaurant food is that elevated seasoning, and I think a lot of it comes from acid.”

Gleason decided to forgo citrus altogether when he began cooking artisanal, local dishes over fire. Even the name of his restaurant is a nod to his policy of sourcing everything except spices and cooking fats from within 150 miles. “We do a lot of foraging, too,

and it was the first thing that I foraged as a young kid,” Gleason says of sumac berries. “So, it’s kind of a name that means a bunch of things for us. It’s a nod to our wild sourcing and local policy as well as using the sumac as a citric acid.”

Gleason has learned much about fermentation from Sumac’s neighbor, Pen Druid Fermentation, a spontaneous brewery that barrel ferments its beverages “They are fermentation nerds that we’ve been able to call upon a good amount and sort of use their knowledge to our advantage,” says Gleason, who makes all his own vinegars for Sumac.

“Our fermentation program is basically what we lean on in lieu of lemons.”

This winter, those ferments showed up in a beet carpaccio brightened with a house-made Pen Druid pear cider vinegar, wild umeboshi paste, and ginger vinaigrette; as well as a rabbit with a lacto-fermented black walnut sauce; and pork with wild blackberries and the same pear vinegar used in the carpaccio.

Chef Rob Rubba of Oyster Oyster Chef Rob Rubba of plant-forward Oyster Oyster in Washington, D.C., also decided against using citrus. “People have been cooking for far longer than we’ve been sending citrus around the world, so I think there’s other ways of doing it, and it hasn’t been that difficult for us,” he says.

Rubba is the understated Willy Wonka of acidity. He brines, he pickles, he ferments, and he loves to incorporate tart, locally-grown herbs. There are saltcured coriander capers that go into lightly acidulated brine before providing bright pops of flavor on winter dishes, and there’s a heaping amount of dehydrated fermented cabbage powder in the spice mixes. “I think any fermented vegetable is really fun because it’s done the work itself,” says Rubba. “I don’t need to dress it like a salad or anything. It’s salty, it’s acidic, and the only thing it really needs is time.”

He also relies heavily on Pennsylvaniabased Keepwell Vinegar, sometimes infusing their base vinegars with herbs or fruit. A tarragon-steeped rice vinegar, for instance, showed up in a celery root, kohlrabi, tofu, and hen-of-the-woods mushroom dish last December.

Chef Andrew Partridge of The Shack After spending his formative cooking years at hyper-local Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore, citrus was never really on the table for Andrew Partridge, chef de cuisine of The Shack in Staunton, Virginia.

“Citrus isn’t the first thing I look for when I’m needing acid in a dish,” he says. First and foremost, he turns to vinegar—Partridge also sings the praises of Keepwell, which he loads into spray bottles to mist dishes with on their way out of the kitchen. If vinegar isn’t a good

fit, he reaches for local fruits that are full of natural acidity, like apples, cherries, raspberries and blueberries.

Partridge says his philosophy at The Shack is less about avoiding citrus and more about only using it when he wants the distinct citrus flavor that only a citrus can bring, like when he marinates smoky grilled turnips for a miso bagna cauda.

“I wanted not just acidity, but the flavor from a lemon.”

Bartender Andon Whitehorn of Alewife At Alewife in Richmond, the emphasis is more on cutting down on citrus than cutting it out. Like Partridge, Rising Star Bartender Andon Whitehorn believes in reserving the use of citrus for things where it makes sense, like, what would a daiquiri be without lime? When the priority is finding a source for brightness, he uses a 6 percent neutral acid, particularly useful for drinks with delicate flavors that could be overpowered by citrus. The acid is incorporated into the bar’s house-made tonics and cordials, and in cocktails like the False Starboard, a blend of rums, Earl Gray, Strega, and a sour five-spice tea that’s steeped with the neutral acid (full recipe on page 75).

While he uses citrus, he appreciates that cutting down on them makes his bar more eco-friendly. Plus, it’s a major timesaver—a batch of his neutral acid takes about 30 seconds while juicing a batch of citrus takes more like 15 minutes.

“The dogma of [always] having fresh citrus is absurd, to be honest, especially if you’re not going through it every day,” Whitehorn says. “Then you can either give it to the kitchen, or you can maybe try to turn it into a cordial. But if you can nip that in the bud immediately by just juicing less, I think you’re better off for it.”

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A place for inspiration, collaboration, education, and innovation, created by the people who know it best: the people who do it everyday. The Blend is a resource for anyone in hospitality, in any stage of their career. We feature articles, videos and special events that strive to take on important industry issues.

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Andon Whitehorn ALEWIFE

ANDON WHITEHORN HAS ALWAYS KNOWN a few things about himself: He likes working with his hands, on his feet, and creating things for people to enjoy. So growing up in Oklahoma City, Whitehorn played guitar in heavy punk bands while experimenting with food. While working at a local sushi restaurant, Whitehorn began to notice the similarities between Japanese food and the cuisine of his own heritage, the Native American Choctaw tribe. Whitehorn partnered with Chef Colin Stringer to launch Nani, a pop-up turned supper club featuring American-Japanese dishes based around Oklahoma’s indigenous produce and herbs that the two would forage. The concept awarded Whitehorn and Stringer national recognition, including a 2015 Eater "Young Gun Award".

andonwhitehorn / alewiferva Favorite bartending resource: Honestly, probably just talking shop with other bar folks. I also run a website that has a collection of ideas I've developed over the years at www.amarica.online.

Favorite bartending tool: During service, it's an accurate jigger. During prep, it's a digital scale. Consistency is key!

What you drink on your nights off: If we're having a drink at home, it tends to be wine, negronis, and surprisingly, nonalcoholic beer. It's nice to have a beer without really having a beer sometimes.

Most underrated cocktail ingredient: Saline. You season your food, why not your drinks?

Hoping to expand his skillset, Whitehorn went on to develop and execute the cocktail program at O Bar. Then in 2017, he moved to Middlebury, Vermont and became beverage director of modern Italian restaurant, The Arcadian, while also working on a rice farm. Whitehorn connected with Richmond-based Rising Star Community Bartender Sophia Kim and Rising Stars alum Brandon Peck at the bartender retreat, Camp Runamok. Inspired by the emerging cocktail scene, Whitehorn followed Kim and Peck to Richmond in 2019. Now as the bar manager of Rising Stars Mentor Chef Lee Gregory’s MidAtlantic seafood restaurant, Alewife, he builds what he calls, “four dimensional” cocktail experiences. With a major focus on sustainability and sourcing, Whitehorn’s drinks, all named after songs or bands, are precise, lush, and unabashedly geeky.

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Woodland Hunter Bartender Andon Whitehorn of Alewife Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS Smoked Citrus Cordial: Yield: 1 quart 200 grams smoked citrus hulls 500 grams sugar 30 grams malic acid 15 grams citric acid 15 grams lactic acid Coastal Tonic: Yield: 2 quarts 1 kilogram sugar 60 grams malic acid 30 grams citric acid 30 grams lactic acid 20 grams coriander, lightly crushed 20 grams gentian 4 fresh bay leaves, cracked To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 cocktail 1 ounce Suntory ROKU gin 1 ounce Jägermeister 5 ounces soda water 8 to 10 drops saline Edible greenery of your choice

METHOD For the Smoked Citrus Cordial: In a heat-proof container, combine all ingredients.

Pour 500 grams boiling water over the citrus hull mixture and stir to combine. Let steep 15 to 60 minutes. Strain, label, and reserve.

For the Coastal Tonic: In a heat-proof container, combine all ingredients.

Pour 1 kilogram boiling water over the acid mixture and stir to combine. Let steep 15 to 60 minutes, tasting every 10 minutes until desired bitterness is achieved. Strain, label, and reserve.

To Assemble and Serve: In a chilled highball glass, combine gin, Jägermeister, soda water, saline, ¾ ounce Smoked Citrus Cordial, and ½ ounce Coastal Tonic. Gently stir to combine.

Add ice and garnish with edible greenery.

Featured ingredient: Suntory ROKU gin

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Versatile Solution

By Lizzie Takimoto

Whether by Sherry Flip or Boston Sour, lush and frothy egg cocktails are an age-old tradition. But the luxurious addition of raw egg presents a whole slew of challenges. With modern mixology comes a host of alternative techniques, such as aquafaba and hydrocolloids, but these options have their own issues (short shelf life, unpleasant smell, lackluster texture). So, we continue on in the search for the perfect froth.

Versawhip 600k has entered the chat. Though the name might sound more like a ¹90s infomercial product or AOL screen name, Versawhip 600k is a modified soy protein typically used in baking and molecular gastronomy as a foam stabilizer. But at Richmond’s Alewife, Rising Star Bartender Andon Whitehorn takes the ingredients from bakery to bar. After spending his early years working as a cook, the application seemed obvious: The same ingredient that provides pillowy structure to sauces and baked goods can be incorporated into cocktails to build texture, replicating the signature froth and body of an egg white cocktail.

What sets Whitehorn’s application apart is the combination of 4 percent Versawhip 600k with water and 0.2 percent xanthan gum in a solution he aptly calls “Versatile”. “This is something I came up with bartending,” he explains. “I feel like this gives a cleaner product and foams up like crazy.” The neutral, shelf-stable foam makes for a consistently fluffy cocktail and holds its structure until the last sip—so dense that it can support small garnishes.

At around $.10 per gram, the amount of Versawhip 600k going into each cocktail is a fraction of the price of an egg. “We are trying to find more room at the table for other ingredients and flavors to step into the limelight.”

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PHOTOS BY WILL BLUNT

The Forgotten Apples of Bent MountaiN

By Kara Elder

When they started Patois Cider, Patrick Collins and Danielle LeCompte thought they’d find the perfect spot to plant their own trees and become an estate cidery. But Virginia’s growing conditions can be fickle, a fact only made worse by a changing climate. Instead—in addition to rehabbing an orchard close to their home in Albemarle County—the couple gathers apples from abandoned sites and wild trees across the state.

The Patois “Bent Mountain” is a prime example of what Collins and LeCompte do—a bright, crisp, singleorchard brew made exclusively from Albemarle Pippin apples, which once dominated orchards on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains. After studying historical records of Virginia orchards, they explored Bent Mountain and came across the Witts, who are growing blocks of 40- and 80-year-old Albemarle Pippins at elevations of 2,900 to 3,100 feet. It’s no longer a commercial orchard, so the fruit is left to grow as it wants, with little human intervention.

“The hypothesis is that sandy soil allows for drainage, so the Pippin doesn't succumb to bitter rot, which happens in clay soils,” Collins says. The bigger factor, says LeCompte, is the plot’s microbiome—they prefer harvesting from apple trees that are not often sprayed with fungicides. Because of this, the apple skin will have a greater diversity of microbes to more easily ferment. And while Pippins typically have a tropical, pineapple edge, the Bent Mountain apples taste more like strawberry cotton candy, even after it goes through malolactic fermentation.

Since it’s a single-site and single-apple variety, processing the entire cuvée takes about two weeks. “We did one pick pass and pressed it right away as a sort of pied du cuve,” says Collins. Once that culture was healthy, they added more pressings, fermenting it all with the apple skins for three days before pressing into a 500-liter French oak puncheon. The 2019 batch took until mid-January to become dry, requiring some stirring to encourage sugar consumption. “It stayed in the barrel until March, while I tried to build up a culture of yeast,” says Collins. The cider spends about a year in the bottles, getting extended lees contact before it’s riddled and disgorged by hand.

Every bottle, down to the label, is crafted with intention and infused with meaning. The 2019 crop was exposed to strong direct sunlight, giving the typically yellow-skinned Pippins streaks of red. So LeCompte made a cyanotype by layering four apple blossoms and using the sun to expose the print. “We do as much as we can ourselves. One, because we don’t have a lot of start-up capital,” says Collins with a laugh. “And two, because we’re a bunch of control freaks.”

Their interest in cider is bigger than the immediate satisfaction of booze and taste. As the land develops and orchards are bulldozed, making something beautiful out of what was once abandoned feels like a dare. “Part of the reason why we want to make ciders is to get folks to realize that where they live is capable of producing beauty,” says Collins. “I hope the ciders are an invitation to reconsider what they’re capable of and what their surroundings are capable of.”

B R EWE R

Josey Schwartz PHOTOS: ANIA CYWIŃSKA

SUSPENDED BREWING COMPANY

JOSEY SCHWARTZ HAS ALWAYS KNOWN he wanted to change the world. After earning degrees in social sustainability from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and sustainability management from American University, he was searching for a way to inspire social and environmental change. After learning about the pay-it-forward tradition of suspended coffee in Italy, something clicked; he could operate a values-first company which with its mere existence was an act of "paying-forward" goodwill to current and future generations.

support various causes in collaboration with businesses and brands that prioritize community impact and sustainability. Currently, the company brews using 100% clean electricity and is a nearly waste neutral operation. Schwartz hopes that the brewery can be an example for others in the industry and that cutting down on waste doesn’t mean cutting down on quality.

Enamored with beer and brewing, Schwartz saw the potential of using a brewery as a platform to showcase how a business could become a community center for social change. After touring numerous craft breweries with his current business partner and love of his life, Yasmin Karimian, Schwartz started brewing his own craft beer at home. In 2017, Suspended Brewing Company opened their doors with the goals of leaving a small ecological footprint and supporting the Baltimore community.

Favorite brewing resource: The Brewers Association is a wonderful resource for beer and brewing inspiration and education.

Since opening, Suspended Brewing Company has released 35 different beers with a specialization in mixed-culture fermentation from a funky, sour “Peach Leda” to a creamy, toasty “Double Black Pearl” imperial coffee stout. Beers are brewed and poured to

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brew_love / suspendedbrewing

Most important brewing rule: Never ever cut corners or do less than what you think is best for the beer.

Place you'd visit for beer-related travel: I'd love to go to Belgium to visit Brouwerij Boon and Cantillon.

Beer trend you'd like to see less of: I'd like to see less sour beers made with lactobacillus and stuffed with over-processed fruit purées. The world is certainly big enough for all beer styles and huge variety is part of what makes beer the coolest fermented beverage on the planet; however, consumers get anchored in poorly made sour beer which deters them from trying traditional mixed-culture sour beers that are rich, full of character, and nuanced.

atercolor Dreams was created W specifically with our team in mind. We wanted a refreshing table beer (anything under 4 percent ABV) that we could drink over lunch or after shift and responsibly get back to work or drive home. Since it’s only 3.5 percent ABV (i.e. over 96 percent water) we knew it would need a big dose of hops and yeast with very strong character.

WCD is brewed with barley, wheat, rye, and a blend of hops. We use a blend of saison and Brettanomyces yeasts to ferment and mature for two months then, like all of our wild beers, we ferment for a final time in the bottle.

J

osey Schwartz

THE 6-DAY PANETTONE

BY KASSIE PORCARO

PHOTOS BY WILL BLUNT

Baker Andrew Myers is a glutton for punishment, and sourdough. When the holiday season arrives at Ellē in Washington, D.C., Myers spends all hours of the day baking German stollen, Yule-log-style roulades, challah, and, the most laborious of the bunch, a limited supply of naturally leavened panettone. Already considered a complex recipe, adding a sourdough starter to the mix means a six-day turnaround and endless room for error. “Making [panettone] is a very humbling experience as a baker,” says Myers. “It can go wrong at any step and it has. I do it because I like doing it, but I still have a lot I want to learn.”

But for Myers, a good batch is worth the effort, and with more orders coming in every year, D.C. is also thankful for his perseverance.

DAYS 1, 2, & 3:

DAY 4:

Ellē’s 5-year-old whole wheat sourdough starter is the base for the sourdough panettone. Myers feeds it with white bread flour to achieve a milder flavor than a traditional sourdough loaf.

In order to get that levain active, the starter must be fed every three to four hours for two to three days.

After the last feeding, it goes into the fridge to rest.

Once the starter is active, it’s time for the first mix. The starter is added to a stand mixer, followed by flour, egg yolks, sugar, and butter and mixed for 10 to 15 minutes. The soft dough gets covered and rests at room temperature to ferment overnight—a key step when it comes to achieving the panettone’s strength and eventual lightness.

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DAY 5: By the following morning, the dough should have tripled in size.

Myers returns it to the stand mixer and adds in more butter, egg yolks, and sugar (in that very order) as well as honey, salt, and the dried, candied fruits and chocolate that will speckle and flavor the panettone. The dough is mixed for an hour until it becomes smooth and cohesive, then rests for 15 to 20 minutes.

It’s time for the second (and final!) proofing: Myers divides, shapes, and places the individual doughs into their round paper containers.

Depending on the room temp, the proof takes eight to nine hours so by midday, the individual panettone should be plump and ready for baking. Myers glazes each loaf and sprinkles them with coarse sugar before they are baked in a convection oven for an hour. The golden brown loaves are then moved onto a rack that suspends them upside down. They hang there overnight as gravity solidifies the dome-like shape and open crumb.

DAY 6: Once the panettone are fully cooled, they can be flipped right-side up and served. The moment of truth comes when Myers cuts into a loaf, hoping to find a light and airy interior, a bitter sweetness, and a slight chew. Myers may eat half a loaf before getting to work on the next batch.

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Lee Gregory

ALEWIFE AND SOUTHBOUND The 2022 class of D.C.-Chesapeake Rising Stars anonymously voted on a Mentor Chef Award, presented by Vitamix Commercial. The award goes to the chef who supports and inspires young restaurant professionals in their community.

For his ability to nurture talent, combined with his generosity, skill, and vision, Lee Gregory is the recipient of the 2022 D.C.Chesapeake Rising Stars Mentor Award. chefleegregory / alewiferva / southboundrva Advice to your younger self: Take care of yourself more, go the gym, and break a sweat somewhere other than over a range. And stretch!

Favorite flavor combination: Soy, chiles, and citrus. It hits every part of your palate. Nearly anything dressed in this combo is delicious to me.

Favorite cookbook: Anything from a different country! I feel like most of the things I drift to are the unknown, any resource that looks at things differently than we do here in the States.

Most important kitchen rule: Fold your fucking towels please.

Most underutilized ingredient: I still think that most foods need a bit more acid– a squeeze of lemon, and spritz of vinegar. It just helps food go down and keeps you coming back.

HAILING FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, Lee Gregory got his culinary start with Richmond chef Dale Reitzer of Acacia. For five years, Reitzer taught him a love and appreciation for both cooking and the city of Richmond.

Gregory moved on to work at Six Burner, followed by Mockingbird in Staunton, and Blue Light Grill in Charlottesville. He eventually made his way back to Richmond and, in 2011, Gregory and partner Kendra Feather opened The Roosevelt in Richmond’s historic Church Hill neighborhood. An almost instantaneous city staple, Gregory was honored as a 2014 StarChefs Rising Star Chef for his work at the restaurant. The same year, Gregory teamed up with fellow Rising Stars alum Joe Sparatta of Heritage and local Richmond farmer Matt Gottwald to open the seasonally-driven eatery, Southbound.

In 2018, Gregory debuted another Virgina hot spot, Alewife, a modern sustainable seafood restaurant. The restaurant was recognized as one of GQ and Esquire magazines’ “Best New Restaurants in America” in 2019 and Southern Living’s “Best Restaurant of the South” in 2020.

Gregory’s next project is as the first chef in residence for Richmond’s new food fall, Hatch. There he will partner with Rising Star Chef Bobo Catoe to open Odyssey Fish, a more accessible, counter-service iteration of Alewife, in 2022.

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Lamb shoulder, Persian cucumber, whipped feta, pomegranate Chef Lee Gregory of Southbound Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Lamb Shoulder: 1 boneless Australian lamb shoulder Salt Black pepper 8 cloves garlic 3 bay leaves 1 bunch thyme

For the Lamb Shoulder: Heat the water bath of an immersion circulator to 162°F. Season lamb shoulder with salt and pepper.

In a vacuum bag, add seasoned lamb, garlic, and herbs. Cook sous vide 8 to 24 hours (or overnight).

Remove lamb from the bag. Let cool to room temperature. Cut into 4 portions and set aside.

Whipped Feta: One 12-ounce block of feta, crumbled, water reserved 3 ounces smoked olive oil Zest and juice of 1 lemon To Assemble and Serve: Mixed herbs, such as mint, basil, nasturtium, and shiso Seeds of 1 pomegranate 8 Persian cucumbers, sliced and pat dry Salt Black pepper Olive oil Pita bread Juice of 1 lemon 3 ounces pomegranate molasses Za’atar

For the Whipped Feta: In a Vitamix blender, add crumbled feta, with some of its water, smoked olive oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.

To Assemble and Serve: In a medium bowl, toss herbs with pomegranate seeds. Set aside. Heat a hardwood charcoal grill to medium-high to high heat. Season Lamb Shoulder and cucumbers with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Grill Lamb Shoulder, cucumbers, and pita until nicely charred and warmed through.

Remove from heat. Cut grilled cucumbers into bite-sized pieces then add to the bowl of herbs. Toss to combine with lemon and more olive oil. Serve Lamb Shoulder with the cucumber salad, Whipped Feta, and grilled pita. Finish with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses and a sprinkle of za’atar.

Featured ingredient: Australian lamb shoulder Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

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H OST CHEFS

No Goodbyes at The LINE DC

PHOTO: WILL BLUNT

dr_gaspar / chefopie / weeshiee / nogoodbyes_dc

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Chef De Cuisine Andre Gaspar, Executive Chef Opie Crooks, Pastry Chef Alicia Wang

CHEF DE CUISINE ANDRE GASPAR:

EXECUTIVE CHEF OPIE CROOKS:

PASTRY CHEF ALICIA WANG:

With grandparents who were farmers, fishermen, and wine makers, Andre Gaspar was raised amongst the hospitality industry. While he was studying at the Culinary Institute of America, Gaspar secured an internship with José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup that turned into a six-year culinary journey. Beginning as a line cook at Jaleo, Gaspar moved on to being the chef de partie at minibar by José Andrés, the sous chef of José Andrés Catering, the manager of the food truck Pepe, and returning to Jaleo as sous. In 2017, he became sous chef of Rake’s Progress at The Line DC where they exclusively sourced from dozens of local farmers and purveyors, and within a year, Gaspar was promoted to events chef. Now, Gaspar is chef de cuisine of Crooks' new restaurant, No Goodbyes.

Ever since he started as as a dishwasher and busser, Opie Crooks knew he belonged in the kitchen. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu Atlanta, he started working with legendary Chef Roy Yamaguchi at Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine and spent nearly a decade there, eventually becoming a chefpartner. In 2013, he joined forces with Rising Stars alum Spike Gjerde as chef of Shoo-Fly and then as chef de cuisine of Woodberry Kitchen. Admired by his peers for his creativity, energy, and leadership, Crooks was named “Best Chef” by Baltimore City Paper in 2015. With Gjerde in 2017, Crooks opened A Rake’s Progress at The LINE DC and in 2018, he was recognized as a StarChefs Rising Star Chef. When Rake’s Progress closed in 2020, Crooks worked at The Dabney, before returning to The LINE DC as executive chef and opening No Goodbyes in 2021.

After a string of serving jobs while studying mathematics and Chinese language and culture at the University of Virginia, Alicia Wang decided she wanted to cook. So she packed up and moved to Los Angeles, where she got a job as a pastry cook at Thyme Cafe and Market. Two years later, she left as pastry chef and tried her hand as a line cook at Craft. Wang returned to her hometown of Washington, D.C. in 2012 and jumped on the line at Kinship. Her friend, Pastry Chef Amanda Cook, knew Wang missed the pastry kitchen and recruited her to join Rake’s Progress at the Line DC. Now as executive pastry chef for the hotel, Wang creates plated desserts for Rising Stars alum Opie Crooks’ New American restaurant, No Goodbyes, as well as daily pastries for the hotel's coffee and breakfast program.

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INGREDIENTS Benne Craquelin: Yield: 10 rings 230 grams butter 200 grams sugar 230 grams all-purpose flour 5 grams onion powder 5 grams garlic powder 2 grams paprika 6 grams salt 3 grams freshly ground black pepper 80 grams benne seeds Pâte à Choux: Yield: 10 rings 150 grams butter 6 grams salt 6 grams sugar 26 grams nonfat dry milk powder 88 grams all-purpose flour

88 grams bread flour 276 grams egg Egg wash Spicy Sorghum: Yield: 1 1/2 quarts 65 grams benne seeds 950 grams sorghum syrup 65 grams chile-garlic crisp 200 grams hot sauce Campfire Cream: Yield: 2 1/2 quarts 950 grams heavy cream 10 grams salt 1 small wood log, burnt

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled and smashed Coarse salt Mix of seasonal vegetables, such as North Carolina sweetpotatoes, Hirosaki turnips, Hakurei turnips, mushrooms, and beets To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Benne seeds Fennel pollen Chives Petite herbs and leaves Mixed winter radishes, shaved

Seasonal Vegetables: Yield: 1 serving Olive oil Petit herbs

METHOD For the Benne Craquelin: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour, spices, salt, pepper, and benne seeds and mix 2 minutes. Divide dough into two portions. Between 2 sheets of parchment, roll out each portion until 2-millimeters thick. Freeze.

For the Pâte à Choux: In a medium-sized pot, bring butter and 320 grams water to a boil. In a large bowl, whisk together salt, sugar, milk powder, and flours. Whisk dry ingredients into boiling water and butter until incorporated. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly with a spatula.

Pour mixture into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. On medium speed, mix 5 minutes or until mixture has cooled to room temperature. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition, then mixing until fully incorporated. Mix an additional 2 minutes. Transfer choux dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip. Onto a baking sheet, pipe 4-inch rings of choux. Freeze.

Heat oven to 475°F. Using a round cutter, cut Benne Craquelin rings to the same size as piped choux.

Place frozen choux rings onto a sheet tray with at least 2-inches of space. Brush choux with egg wash, then top with Benne Craquelin rings. Place the sheet tray in the oven then immediately turn the oven off.

Leave the choux in the oven for 30 min then increase the oven temperature to 300°F. Bake 8 minutes.

Rotate sheet tray if needed, then bake until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

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For the Spicy Sorghum: In a pan over medium-high heat, toast benne seeds until golden brown. In a nonreactive container, stir to combine syrup, chile crisp, hot sauce, and toasted benne seeds. Reserve.

For the Campfire Cream: In a stainless steel bain marie, combine cream and salt. Add wood log. Refrigerate and let steep 1 hour.

Strain through a chinois into a chilled mixing bowl.

Whip until stiff and set aside.

For the Seasonal Vegetables: In a wide, heavy-bottom pan, heat just enough water to cover the vegetables by about two-thirds.

Add olive oil, herbs, garlic and a big pinch of salt.

Add vegetables to the pan then bring water to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cook vegetables until al dente. Strain then cool vegetables on a sheet tray at room temperature. Reserve.

To Assemble and Serve: Build a wood fire in the grill and let the wood cook down to embers. Place a mesh basket over the burned-down coals and add the Seasonal Vegetables.

Cook Seasonal Vegetables until charred. Remove from basket and toss with Spicy Sorghum, benne seeds, fennel pollen, and chives. Set aside. Slice Pâte à Choux in half lengthwise and place the bottom half on a serving plate. Top with Campfire Cream, Seasonal Vegetable mix, shaved radishes, and herbs and finish with top half of Pâte à Choux.

Featured ingredient: North Carolina sweetpotatoes

Ember-roasted vegetable Paris-Brest Chef Opie Crooks of No Goodbyes at The LINE DC Adapted by StarChefs

PHOTOS: CAMERON WHITMAN D. C . - CH ESA P EA KE 202 2

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Powering hospitality.

Empowering you.

See how Resy can help your restaurant thrive with technology, resources, and the powerful backing of American Express.

Partnering up with Resy was a great decision!

Making such a big change in a restaurant can sometimes be daunting, but thanks to the team at Resy, the transition was smooth and efficient.”

– Molly S., Owner, Marconi

Visit ResyOS.com to request a demo

Pictured from Left to Right:

StarChefs Supports StarChefs is proud to partner with Resy and Moon Rabbit to benefit Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP). Every year C-CAP helps to educate 20,000 students across seven cities. 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 in the hospitality industry. C-CAP runs the largest independent hospitality scholarship program in the United States and students have a 95 percent paid internship placement rate. For every Middendorf's Laing ordered during the Rising Stars Restaurant Week from March 15 to March 29, StarChefs is donating $5 to C-CAP (recipe on page 89).

Jaren Morrow, Chef de Partie Juan Carlos Escobar, Line Cook Minsu Son, Executive Sous Chef Haoua Posely, Line Cook Michael Parker, Line Cook Marco Saldierna, Pastry Chef Nikkie Rodriguez, Pastry Chef Judy Beltrano, Chef de Cuisine Kevin Tien, Executive Chef

PHOTOS BY CAMERON WHITMAN

MIDDENDORF’S CATFISH LAING Chef Kevin Tien of Moon Rabbit Adapted by StarChefs Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS Laing: 1 tablespoon coconut oil 1 shallot, sliced 3 cloves garlic, sliced One 1-inch piece of ginger, sliced 1 red Thai chile 1 tablespoon fermented Fresno hot sauce (or any hot sauce) 1 can coconut milk 1 cup cooked spinach, squeezed Catfish: 1 pound Maryland blue catfish, cut into ¼-inch strips

made possible by

METHOD 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar ¼ cup cornmeal 2 tablespoons cornstarch ¼ cup milk Canola oil for frying To Assemble and Serve: 1 cup pea leaves 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon kimchi, chopped 2 tablespoons pork floss 1 teaspoon gochugaru

For the Laing: In a saucepan over medium flame, heat coconut oil. Add shallot, garlic, and ginger and sauté until soft. Add chile, hot sauce, and coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to a Vitamix blender, add spinach then blend on high until smooth. Keep warm.

For the Catfish: Toss catfish with salt and sugar. Let cure 20 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix to combine cornmeal and cornstarch. Dip catfish into milk then dip into cornmeal dredge until completely coated. In a large frying pan, heat oil to 350°F. Shallow-fry catfish pieces for 2 minutes on each side. Remove catfish from oil and let drain on paper towels.

To Assemble and Serve: In a small bowl, toss pea leaves with olive oil. Grill pea leaves until charred and tender. Set aside. Place a generous spoonful of Laing on the bottom of a serving dish. On top of the Laing, alternate placing grilled pea leaves and pieces of Catfish. Top with kimchi and sprinkle with pork floss and gochugaru.

Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

ILLUSTRATION BY BASHEL LUBARSKY

RISING STARS AND THE CAUSES THEY BELIEVE IN

BAKERS AGAINST RACISM |

bakersagainstracism.com

Founded by Chefs Paola Velez and Rob Rubba following the murder of George Floyd, Bakers Against Racism is a nationwide movement and bake sale to benefit social causes locally and on a national scale.

Laine Myers

DREAMING OUT LOUD | dreamingoutloud.org Dreaming Out Loud seeks to increase access to healthy food while creating economic opportunity for local entrepreneurs who are marginalized in the Washington, D.C. community.

Demetri Mechelis

EMBRACE RACE | embracerace.org Created by two parents, Embrace Race provides informational and community resources to fill in the gap in early childhood development and education regarding race.

Angel Barreto, Masako Morishita

FEED THE FRIDGE | feedthefridge.org Feed the Fridge is an effort to bring nourishment to the Washington, D.C. metro area. The organization has placed nine fridges in recreational areas and pays local restaurants to fill them with fresh meals daily.

Sahil Rahman, Rahul Vinod

FOOD NOT BOMBS | foodnotbombs.net A volunteer-based movement, Food Not Bombs recovers food that would otherwise be discarded and uses it to prepare vegan and vegetarian meals for those in need.

Andon Whitehorn

FREE STATE JUSTICE | freestate-justice.org Free State Justice is a legal advocacy organization that seeks to improve the lives of low-income LGBTQ+ Marylanders.

Josey Schwartz

GREATER RIVERDALE CARES |

HUMANE RESCUE ALLIANCE |

humanerescuealliance.org

The Humane Rescue Alliance is dedicated to ensuring the welfare of all animals, as well as encouraging adoption to save more animal lives.

Sarah Horvitz

feedrouteone.org

NO KID HUNGRY | nokidhungry.org

In an effort to support local businesses and families, Greater Riverdale Cares pays local restaurants to prepare meals which are then distributed to those in need.

Fernando González, Debby Portillo

Founded by non-profit Share Our Strength, NKH works to end childhood hunger in America by providing nutritious food and food preparation instructions to children and families.

Brittanny Anderson, Ashleigh Pearson

THE HAVEN | thehaven.org The Haven seeks to end homelessness in the greater Charlottesville area through a variety of programs aiming to offer both short and long term assistance.

Rachel De Jong

HEIFER INTERNATIONAL | heifer.org Heifer International is an organization working to end hunger and poverty around the world by providing livestock, training, and resources to struggling communities.

Annie Coleman

HELPING WOMEN AND OTHERS |

instagram.com/hwao.foundation

Based in the Philippines, HWAO is a charitable organization dedicated to promoting the health and wellbeing of Filipina women who have little or no access to healthcare.

Paolo Dungca

SAFE BARS | safebars.org Safe Bars helps alcohol-serving spaces create safe and welcoming cultures for patrons and safe and respectful workplaces for staff, including sexual assault awareness training and prevention.

Sophia Kim

THE VIRGINIA OYSTER SHELL RECYCLING PROGRAM | oysterrecovery.org Through it’s “Don’t Chuck the Shuck” program, VOSRP helps restore wild oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay, improving water quality and providing new fish habitats.

Bobo Catoe

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1. Suspended Brewing Company 912 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD suspendedbrewing.com

8. Anju 1805 18th St. NW, Washington, D.C. anjurestaurant.com

15. Cou Cou Rachou 917 Preston Ave. Suite B, Charlottesville, VA coucourachou.com

2. 2Fifty Texas BBQ 4700 Riverdale Rd., Riverdale, MD 2fiftybbq.com

9. Oyster Oyster 1440 8th St. NW, Washington, D.C. oysteroysterdc.com

16. Black Lodge and Brenner Pass 3200 Rockbridge St. #100, Richmond, VA brennerpassrva.com

3. Martha Dear 3110 Mt. Pleasant St. NW, Washington, D.C. marthadear.com

10. Maxwell Park - Shaw 1336 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. maxwellparkdc.com

17. Longoven 2939 W. Clay St., Richmond, VA longovenrva.com

4. Tail Up Goat 1827 Adams Mill Rd. NW, Washington, D.C. tailupgoat.com

11. Petite Soeur 1332 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. petite-soeur.com

18. Southbound 3036 Stony Point Rd., Richmond, VA southboundrva.com

5. Reveler’s Hour 1775 Columbia Rd. NW, Washington, D.C. revelershour.com

12. Hiraya, Piccoletto, and PogiBoy 1110 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. pogiboydc.com

19. Metzger Bar & Butchery 801 N. 23rd St., Richmond, VA metzgerbarandbutchery.com

6. Jônt 1904 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. jontdc.com

13. Leni 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. theroostsedc.com/leni

20. Alewife 3120 E. Marshall St., Richmond, VA alewiferva.com

7. Bresca 1906 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. brescadc.com

14. RASA 1247 First St. SE, Washington, D.C. rasagrill.com

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RECIPES

Kitchen Notebook Kitchen Notebook

XO RAGU

PHOTOS: WILL BLUNT, ANIA CYWIŃSKA

Tonari, Rising Stars alum Katsuya Fukushima’s Wafu Italian restaurant, is hardly “fusion.”

“You can always fuse cuisine together,” says Chef de Cuisine Nico Cezar. “But Wafu is ubiquitously Japanese.” Wafu Italian was born post-World War II, when Japanese chefs hoped to replicate Italian cooking. But unable to source Italian ingredients, they used what they had on hand. Cezar’s “Ex-Ohh” sauce, for example, starts with Chinese sausage, pepperoni, Spam, and bonito flakes to mirror the smokiness of bacon. The preserved meats are rendered in oil, then set aside for aromatics and an earthy Okinawan sugar to cook in the fat, before the meats are thrown back into the pan to simmer with dried scallops and shrimp for an added layer of umami and briney salt. Pillowy Hokkaido flour gnocchi are added to the funky XO to create a glossy, ragú-like sauce. Finished with a generous sprinkle of breadcrumbs, orange zest, and parsley, the gnocchi nails the Wafu Italian flavor profile.

“All the umami. All the natural salt,” says Cezar. “It’s a very forward-tasting dish.”

ARROZ MEZCLADA When Colombian, Puerto-Rican Chef Andrés-Julian Zuluaga first tried savory arroz con coco during a trip to Colombia, he was taken by the familiar combination of flavors. “It reminded me of these coconut candies in Puerto Rico,” he says. “The flavors spoke to me, it was like all the flavors of my life.” Zuluaga knew the dish belonged at Blend 111 in Vienna, Virginia, where his menu celebrates Latin culinary diversity and tradition.

Zuluaga starts with a títoté—a fragrant paste made by reducing coconut milk. Zuluaga sautés the títoté with culantro sofrito, and then adds rice and stock, simmering everything together until the rice absorbs the rich, caramelized coconut flavor. Arroz con coco is traditionally accompanied by dried and salted shrimp, snapper, or crab. so Zuluaga goes local, serving this version with Maryland crab dressed in a lime citronette.

He rounds out the sweet rice with a fatty banana rocoto pepper aïoli,crunchy fried quinoa, and a pop of salinity from ikura.

BEEF AND BROCCOLI CRAB POT PIE

SCHNITZEL SOUR

CHILCANO CHAR SIU

When Chef Armani Johnson designed his first menu for the now-shuttered ABC Pony, he looked to his team for inspiration. As they shot ideas back and forth, a line cook suggested a crab pot and that got Johnson’s wheels turning. He liked the sound of crab, which reminded him of a crab dip his mother would make for football Sundays.

The restaurant had also been churning out Johnson’s cheesy biscuits for weeks and he figured, why not combine the two? “I thought we could do crab dip with cheddar biscuits baked on top. More like a casserole.” The dish starts with the lump crab dip—indulgent and warm with cream cheese, caramelized onions and leeks, lots of hot sauce, mustard, and Old Bay. For the biscuits, Johnson folds melted butter into an as-cold-as-possible dry mix.

The dough is piped over the crab mixture and as it bakes, the shards of butter steam out to create flakey, lamination-like layers. A big scoop of the makeshift pot pie allows that soft, cheddar biscuit to soak up all the sweet and salty juices of Armani’s crab dip.

At Trummer’s Restaurant in Clifton, Virginia, Austria-born restaurateur and Rising Stars alum Stefan Trummer builds a menu of familiar dishes like Schnitzel served with lingonberry jam. “Schnitzel and lingonberry is something I’m always eating,” says Bar Manager Mike Marino. “I love the bitterness and sweetness together.” To transform the familiar flavors into a sophisticated sip, Marino leaned on an old favorite. “Singani is super floral, it’s been one of my favorite spirits for a really long time,” he says. The brandy, distilled in Bolivia from muscat grapes, has a profile that resembles Pisco, so it made sense to shake that Singani into a sour variation with lingonberry and rosemary simple syrup.

“The herbaceous rosemary compliments the lingonberry and floral notes of the Singani,” says Marino. Refreshing and smooth, lightly floral, with bright fruit and the lush body of an egg white, the Shaker on Mute is a BolivianAustria-inspired sour that’s right at home in Virginia (recipe on page TK).

At the José Andrés restaurant, China Chilcano, Chef Will Fung’s menu walks guests through the history of Peruvian cuisine and its Chinese and Japanese influences. “The cuisine style leads to a lot of exploration,” says Fung. “It was shaped through immigration over the centuries.” Born and raised in Hong Kong, Fung blends in his own story with a Cantonese-style barbecued char siu pork.

While American barbecue cooks meat via dry smoke, Fung says that Cantonese barbecue relies on steam to cook smaller portions of meat which shortens the cook time. For the char sui, slabs of pork shoulder marinate overnight in a sauce of maltose, honey, hoisin, molasses, fermented bean curd and annatto and is then cooked in a combi oven with 40 percent humidity. Sliced to order, the pork is served with bao, Japanese-style pickled daikon and an array of sauces; Peruvian salsa criolla, rocoto sauce, and Cantonese-inspired ginger scallion oil and tamarind hoisin. “A lot of Peruvian cuisine is about finding things that taste like home while utilizing things that are new to you,” says Fung. “It’s a little slice of home in a new surrounding.”

6

Chef Yuan Tang’s new American restaurant, Rooster & Owl, is located less than 25 miles from his parent’s former Chinese takeout spot in Woodbridge, VA. When broccoli came in season, Tang found inspiration from a dish that he saw his father make thousands of times: beef and broccoli. For the beef, he braises short ribs in red wine and chicken stock with bold aromatics like star anise and fennel seeds. A sweet and funky fish sauce gastrique, blankets the tender meat and creates a sticky surface for Thai chile fried peanuts. The broccoli florets are roasted; some are saved to be served alongside the beef, while the rest are blended with cilantro and scallion into a smooth purée. The short rib is placed atop the bright green purée and topped with crispy sweet potato straws for crunch. The dish provides a full circle moment for Tang, who is a third generation restaurateur.

GRILLED PAKSIWN NA ISDA When modernizing recipes from her childhood, Chef de Cuisine Julie Cortes wants to make her grandmother proud. This is especially true for her grandmother’s favorite dish, paksiw na isda, where, traditionally, fish is gently simmered in vinegar. “It’s my grandmother’s recipe but I’m going to make my own twist,” says Cortes. So rather than simmering her fresh Chesapeake Bay rockfish, Cortes seasons the fish with ginger, garlic, and salt, wraps it in banana leaves, and grills it on Kaliwa’s open hearth grill—subtle twists meant to prevent mushiness and oversaturation. To honor the vinegar element of the dish, Cortes simmers a punchy sauce of fish stock, fish sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, and lots of aromatics. The rockfish, served inside the scorched banana leaf, is smothered with the creamy paksiw sauce and finished with a sprinkle of coconut flakes. Streamlined for busy dinner service, Cortes’s dish has all of the acidity, unctuousness, and familiarity of her grandmother’s paksiw na isda (recipe of page TK).

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CHEDDAR BISCUIT CRAB DIP Chef Armani Johnson formerly of ABC Pony Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

Cheddar Biscuit Batter: Yield: 1 pound 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 cup thinly sliced scallion 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 4 ounces butter, melted 1 ¼ cups buttermilk, chilled Crab Dip: Yield: 2 pounds 4 ounces heavy cream 4 ounces cream cheese 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese 4 ounces grated parmesan 16 ounces crab meat ½ cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons black vinegar 2 teaspoons hot sauce 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning 1 teaspoon salt

METHOD

For the Cheddar Biscuits: In a mixing bowl, mix to combine dry ingredients, scallion, and cheddar cheese. In a separate bowl, pour melted butter into chilled buttermilk. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate.

For the Crab Dip: In a medium-sized pot over medium flame, heat cream and cream cheese until cream cheese has melted.

Remove from heat and add cheddar and parmesan. Stir to melt cheese. Stir in remaining ingredients.

To Assemble and Serve: Heat oven to 350°F. Fill a ramekin with Crab Dip, then spoon or pipe Cheddar Biscuit Batter on top. Bake 25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

SHAKER ON MUTE Bartender Mike Marino of Trummer’s Restaurant Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

Rosemary Lingonberry Syrup: Lingonberries Sugar

Rosemary To Assemble and Serve: 2 ounces Rujero singani 1 ounce lemon juice 1 egg white Club soda Angostura bitters

METHOD

For the Rosemary Lingonberry Syrup: To a pot, combine equal parts lingonberries, sugar, and water. Simmer until the lingonberries are cooked down. Remove from heat and add rosemary. Steep 5 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Reserve.

To Assemble and Serve: To a cocktail shaker, add singani, lemon, egg white, and 1 ounce Rosemary Lingonberry Syrup. Fill with ice and shake to emulsify. Strain, add club soda, then dry shake. Slowly double strain into a Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with drops of Angostura bitters.

ARROZ CON COCO Chef Andres-Julian Zuluaga of Blend 111 Adapted by Star Chefs

INGREDIENTS

Fried Quinoa: Yield: ⅓ cup 2 cups neutral oil 1 cup cooked quinoa Banana Vinegar Aïoli: Yield: 1 quart 4 egg yolks 10 grams salt 15 grams white shoyu 10 grams ground chile pequín 500 grams canola oil 275 grams banana vinegar Arroz Con Coco: Yield: 2 cups 375 milliliters coconut milk 50 grams recaíto (green sofrito) 2 fresh bay leaves 200 grams Carolina Gold rice, washed three times 400 grams marisco stock (roasted fish stock) 15 grams dried shrimp powder 55 grams butter Salt Crab: Yield: 1 serving 2 ounces Maryland blue crab meat, freshly steamed and chilled Spanish olive oil Lime juice Espelette Salt To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Salmon roe Pea shoots Begonia flowers

METHOD

For the Fried Quinoa: In a saucepan, heat oil to 375°F. Add quinoa one spoonful at a time, continuing to stir so that the quinoa does not stick and burn. Fry until golden brown.

Remove quinoa from oil and place onto a paper towel to remove excess oil. Reserve.

For the Banana Vinegar Aïoli: In a food processor, pulse together yolks, salt, shoyu, and pequín chile. Slowly add oil to emulsify then blend in banana vinegar. Reserve.

For the Arroz Con Coco: In a caldero, reduce coconut milk until there is no water. Allow the coconut pulp and oil to seperate.

Continuously stir and scrape the bottom of your pan, to avoid burning the coconut. Stir until coconut pulp is a deep, rich golden brown. Add sofrito and bay leaves and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add rice and mix to combine. Gently toast rice for 3 minutes. Add marisco stock then bring to a simmer. Add shrimp powder and butter. Stir until the rice comes to the surface. Cover the pot and allow rice to cook 6 to 7 minutes.

For the Crab: In a mixing bowl, dress crab in oil and lime juice.

Season with espelette and salt. Set aside.

To Assemble and Serve: Fill a small serving bowl with 125 grams Arroz Con Coco. Garnish with Crab, salmon roe, Fried Quinoa, Banana Vinegar Aïoli, pea shoots, and Begonia flowers.

The Incredible Squash!

Sweet

Savory

Pastry Chef Elisa Reyna has been eating squash for dessert since she was a child in Mexico. Growing up, her mother would make calabaza en tacha (candied squash cooked in piloncillo syrup) every year. She decided to recreate the dessert for the maïz64 menu, basing it off of her mother’s recipe with fine-dining touches (recipe on page TK). Like González, Reyna starts by slicing the butternut, then soaking it in cal so it always keeps its shape.

“It’s firm, but on the inside, it’s soft,” she says. She boils the calcified squash in orange piloncillo syrup and serves it with candied orange and a bitter-sweet orange peel purée. Back in Mexico, Reyna eats the syrupy squash slices with nata, a slightly sweet, slightly sour cream made from unpasteurized milk. Unable to source nata in Washington, D.C., Reyna makes a “cream ice cream” from Rancho crema Mexicana. “The flavor is so balanced,” she says. “The [ice cream] is so sweet, then you have the three different flavors [piloncillo, orange peels, and candied orange], and the texture of the squash.”

For Chef René González of Imperfecto, creating a butternut squash dish starts with the shape (recipe on page TK). He decided to do a line cut, so the base of the squash, from top to bottom, is preserved. He then nixtamalizes the slice so, even after it’s confited in a winter-spiced syrup, the squash maintains its form and achieves a slight minerality. “Then we turned all the seeds and all the [squash] meat that is attached to the seeds into a horchata sauce,” says González.

But rather than being blended with cinnamon and sugar, the horchata sauce is unsweetened and made with toasted basmati rice, garlic, smoky ancho chile, and the reserved squash seeds and meat. A small pile of punchy pickled almonds sits in the belly of the squash. “When you combine the sweetness of the squash and the pickled almonds, you get a toasty flavor. It balances everything really well.” It’s all accompanied by a juicy, dry-aged, slow-roasted suckling pig. “Our restaurant is [Mediterraneaninspired Latin American], so we are used to combining sweet, savory, and sour,” says González.

“With the squash, we found a link to those flavors.”

The Incredible Squash!

Written By Amelia Schwartz

Illustrated By Bashel Lubarsky

In a world...

where summer produce reigns supreme—one winter gourd is determined to cross the boundary between sweet and savory, be the star of the plate, and (maybe one day) save the universe!

The butternut squash takes on two personas: one nixtamalized, one calcified. One filled with pickled almonds and one filled with ice cream. One drizzled with pork jus and one sitting above a candied orange purée. But both squashes, simmered in a spiced syrup and standing firm in its true and natural squash-slice form, proving the versatility of the butternut.

CALABAZA EN TACHA Pastry Chef Elisa Reyna of maïz64 Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

Butternut Squash: Yield: 10 to 12 servings 100 grams limestone 2 kilograms butternut squash, skin, seeds, and guts removed Piloncillo Syrup: Yield: 1 pint 250 grams orange juice 2 sticks cinnamon 2 slices Mandarin orange 350 grams piloncillo Orange Peel Purée: Yield: 1 pint 120 grams orange peels 120 grams sugar 50 grams orange juice 50 grams butter Cream Ice Cream: Yield: 1 quart 550 grams milk 50 grams heavy cream 39 grams milk powder 50 grams dextrose 105 grams sugar 5 grams ice cream stabilizer 13 grams trimoline 186 grams crema Mexicana

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R EC I PES Candied Orange: Yield: ½ pint 5 orange peels, sliced into thin strips 100 grams sugar

METHOD

For the Butternut Squash: In a large, nonreactive container, mix to combine limestone with 5 quarts water. Add butternut and let sit 5 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove butternut from limestone mixture and wash well. Set aside.

For the Piloncillo Syrup: In a pot, add all ingredients and 250 grams water.

Bring to a boil. Add Butternut Squash, reduce to a simmer, and cook 2 hours. Separate cooked Butternut Squash from syrup and transfer syrup to a nonreactive container. Reserve.

For the Orange Peel Purée: Fill a pot with cold water and add orange peels. Bring to a boil. Strain the peels and immediately shock in ice water. Repeat this process again, starting with cold water.

Once more, fill a pot with cold water and orange peels and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer 25 minutes. Strain orange peels and shock in ice water.

Transfer orange peels to a Vitamix blender and add remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Reserve.

For the Cream Ice Cream: In a pot, combine milk, heavy cream, milk powder, and dextrose. Heat the mixture to 104°F. Stir in sugar, ice cream stabilizer, and trimoline then bring to 185°F. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and immediately refrigerate to cool. Once cold, stir in crema. Transfer to an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Reserve in freezer.

For the Candied Orange: Fill a pot with cold water and add orange peels. Bring to a boil. Strain the peels and immediately shock in ice water. Repeat this process twice more, starting with cold water. In a separate pot, combine sugar with 100 grams water. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar melts into a syrup. Add orange peels and simmer at least 10 minutes. Strain and reserve.

To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Add Piloncillo Syrup to the bottom of a serving bowl.

Place the cooked Nixtamalized Butternut Squash in the center and top with Orange Peel Purée followed by a scoop of Cream Ice Cream. Garnish with Candied Orange.

SUCKLING PIG, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, PICKLED ALMONDS, SQUASH SEED HORCHATA Chef René González of Imperfecto Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

Pork Rub: Yield: 310 grams 200 grams salt 100 grams dark brown sugar 5 grams guajillo chile powder 5 grams pimentón de la vera Suckling Pig: Yield: 16 portions 2 suckling pigs, butchered into front and back legs Pork Jus: Yield: 2 quarts 2 pounds halved white onion 1 pound carrots 1 pound leeks 1 pound celery

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10 cloves garlic 2 pounds pork feet 2 bottles red wine 8 bay leaves 10 grams thyme 20 grams epazote 250 grams cocoa paste 2 long peppers 1 star anise 4 grams coriander 4 grams black pepper Salt Chile de Árbol Sauce: Yield: 2 quarts 100 grams chile de árbol 1 liter white vinegar 15 grams salt 2 makrut lime leaves Pickled Almonds: Yield: 19 servings 1 quart sugar 500 milliliters Champagne vinegar 5 tablespoon salt 725 grams slivered almonds, toasted Toasted Rice Milk: Yield: 5 liters 6 cups basmati rice Simple Syrup: Yield: 3 quarts 2 quarts sugar 1 teaspoon cardamom 1 teaspoon allspice 1 teaspoon clove 4 long peppers 3 cinnamon sticks 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1 tablespoon salt Nixtamalized Butternut Squash: Yield: 8 servings 60 grams cal (slaked lime) 1 butternut squash, skin and seeds removed and reserved, sliced into long sections Squash Seed Horchata: Yield 1 ½ quarts 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 ½ tablespoons salt, plus more to season 2 ancho chile, seeds removed 13 grams garlic, blanched To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving Red amaranth Chives Fleur de sel

METHOD

For the Pork Rub: In a container, combine all ingredients. Set aside.

For the Suckling Pig: Coat the pigs in Pork Rub. Let sit 3 hours. Remove the excess Pork Rub with cold water. Place pork on a sheet pan set with a wire rack and let dry 24 hours.

Heat oven to 176°F at 100 percent humidity. Cook 10 hours. Remove and reserve pork bones and increase oven temperature to 390°F. Roast the remaining meat until the skin is golden brown and crackling. Reserve.

For the Pork Jus:

Heat oven to 350°F. Roast onions, carrots, leeks, celery, garlic and suckling pig bones for 40 minutes. Transfer bones and vegetables to a large pot and add remaining ingredients and 60 quarts water. Over medium heat, simmer the mixture for 12 hours. Strain through a chinois and degrease. Return to the stove and simmer to reduce until thickened. Season with salt. Reserve.

For the Chile de Arbol Sauce: In a large pot, combine all ingredients and 1 liter water.

Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Strain through a chinois. Reserve.

For the Pickled Almonds: In a pot, add sugar, vinegar, 100 grams Chile de Árbol Sauce, salt, and 1 quart water. Bring to a boil, then transfer to a 4 quart container. Add almonds and cover.

Refrigerate 12 hours.

For the Toasted Rice Milk: Heat oven to 320°F. In a sheet pan, toast rice in the oven until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.

Soak the toasted rice in 8 quarts water for 8 hours (or overnight). Transfer soaked rice and water to a Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. Strain with a cheesecloth. Refrigerate.

For the Simple Syrup: In a pot over medium heat, combine all ingredients and 2 quarts water. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar melts. Set aside.

For the Nixtamalized Butternut Squash: Heat oven to 195°F. In a large, nonreactive container stir cal into 3 liters water. Add the squash slices. Let sit 1 hour. Put the slices of nixtamalized squash in the Simple Syrup and confit in the oven for 3 hours.

For the Squash Seed Horchata: In a pan over medium-high flame, heat olive oil. Add 85 grams reserved squash seeds and toast until dark brown. Add salt, ancho chiles, garlic, and 90 grams reserved butternut squash trimmings. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1 quart Toasted Rice Milk and cook until thickened. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Strain through a chinois. Season with salt. Refrigerate.

To Assemble and Serve: Pour 1 ounce Squash Seed Horchata onto a serving plate and top with 1 slice Nixtamalized Butternut Squash. Fill the belly of the Nixtamalized Butternut Squash with 1.5 ounces Pickled Almonds. Debone the Suckling Pig and place a portion next to the Nixtamalized Butternut Squash. Pour 1 ounce Pork Jus onto Suckling Pig. Season dish with amaranth, chives, and fleur de sel.

RECIPES

Perfect Pairings

PERFECT PAIRINGS Queen’s English The cool energy at Queen’s English is contagious and it carries right through to Chef Henji Cheung’s sizzling Hong Konginspired dishes and Sarah Thompson’s ambitious natural wine list. Their daikon fritter, for example, is filled with intensely deep, savory shiitake, baby shrimp, and scallion and topped with oyster sauce, pork sung, and Kewpie mayo. And with such a melt-inyour-mouth, luscious bite, the daikon fritters are screaming for a sharp sip. Thompson opts for a glass of Cidrerie du Vulcain’s naturally fermented cider made from foraged Swiss apples, which she describes as “slightly sweet and floral with a rustic finish, pairing perfectly with the umami-packed daikon.” It’s a combo to savor and sip over and over again.

By Erin Lettera and Amelia Schwartz Illustrated by: Bashel Lubarsky

RPM Italian Wine Director Nick Schulman knows his Italian wines. “For me, the fun aspect of this job is hunting hard-to-find gems from remote corners of Italy,” he says. “I love it there. I’d move there if I could.”

Although Schulman has a special place in his heart for Barolo (the RPM Italian cellar has over 200 Barolos alone), for a wagyu steak, he just had to dust off a 1998 Fontodi “Vigna del Sorbo” Chianti Classico Riserva. “Fontodi is the premier Chianti Classico producer in Tuscany,” says Schulman. “The ‘98 is characterized by a longer growing season resulting in a well-balanced wine with good acidity and regal tannins.” Once decanted tableside, the red wine’s gentle notes of tobacco and charcuterie are a classic complement to the tender Montana wagyu, topped with shaved Italian black truffles and gold flakes, for an extra touch of decadence.

Albi Rose Ave Bakery Baker Rose Nguyen’s food memories perk up with a Saigon cinnamon brown butter banana cookie and a cup of Vietnamese coffee. “A combo that really takes you somewhere,” she says. Potent, spicy Saigon cinnamon, a nod to her hometown, is baked in with ripe banana, brown sugar, and salt. The soft, cakey cookie acts as the counterpart to Càphê Roaster’s Espresso Blend that Nguyen uses as the base for her Vietnamese coffee at Rose Ave Bakery. “Both the cookie and coffee have a balanced, savory and nutty flavor profile so they complement each other really well. There are moments when foods make me slap the table and that moment is when I pair the banana cookie and coffee together. It makes me stop and just savor the moment, a moment of pure joy.”

When the knafeh hits the table at Albi, the room fills with a sense of drama: The crispy kataifi, shimmering with a floral brown butter orange blossom syrup and the bright Gala apple sorbet, slowly melting onto the walnut crumble. It only makes sense for Pastry Chef Emma Scanlon’s dessert to be paired with a wine that is arguably the most dramatic of them all—a late-harvest Bermejos malvasía coming from the black volcanic soils of Lanzarote. “Late-harvest malvasías always have a little salty-savory notes which work well with the cheese in the knafeh,” says Wine Director and General Manager William Simons. Alone, the off-dry malvasia is bursting with notes of raisin and roasty, toasty brown butter. Accompanied by the knafeh, the deep caramel flavor rounds out the tart sorbet and subtle funk of the ricotta filling. Imagine taking a big, sticky bite of a caramel apple at the base of a volcano—that is the knafeh and malvasia volcánica.

BROWN BUTTER KNAFEH, GALA APPLE SORBET, TOASTED WALNUTS Pastry Chef Emma Scanlon of Albi Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

Sorbet Syrup: 1.815 kilograms sugar 27 grams Cremodan 64 300 grams glucose Apple Sorbet: Gala apples, peeled and chopped Salt Walnut Brown Butter Crumb: Yield: 3 liters 800 kilograms walnuts, toasted 300 grams sugar 200 grams brown butter, room temperature 2 ½ to 3 cups tapioca maltodextrin

6 grams Maldon sea salt Knafeh Syrup: Yield: 5 liters 3.2 kilograms sugar 200 grams brown butter 40 grams vanilla paste 10 grams salt 80 grams orange blossom water 60 grams rosewater 70 grams orange juice 120 grams lemon juice 3 cinnamon sticks Knafeh: Yield: 1 serving 454 grams kataifi, chopped into 1-inch pieces 225 grams brown butter 150 grams ricotta To Assemble and Serve: Yield: 1 serving 1 teaspoon brown butter Compressed apple twists

METHOD

For the Sorbet Syrup: In a bowl, whisk sugar and Cremodan together. To a pot, add sugar mixture, glucose, and 1.66 kilograms water. Bring to a rolling boil, whisking occasionally.

Strain over an ice bath and let cool.

For the Apple Sorbet: In a Vitamix blender, blend apples until homogenous.

Stream in Sorbet Syrup, checking refractometer until

brix reads 27 percent. Season with salt. Transfer to a Pacojet canister and freeze until solid. Spin sorbet in Pacojet. Transfer to a nonreactive container and freeze.

For the Walnut Brown Butter Crumb: In a food processor, pulse together toasted walnuts and sugar until nuts are finely chopped. Empty walnut mixture into a mixing bowl. To the food processor, add butter and maltodextrin and pulse until powderized.

Fold together the brown butter powder, walnuts, and salt. Reserve in an airtight container.

For the Knafeh Syrup: In a pot, bring all ingredients and 1.888 kilograms water to a boil. Once the sugar is melted, remove from heat and let steep. Keep warm.

For the Knafeh: Heat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, toss kataifi with brown butter until fully coated. Line a 6-inch cast iron skillet with the buttered kataifi so that it fills about threequarters of the pan. Spread ricotta over kataifi then layer with more buttered kataifi. With the fan on high, bake until golden brown, 22 to 28 minutes. Flip the pastry out carefully.

To Assemble and Serve: Heat a pizza or convection oven to its highest temperature. Grease a cast iron skillet with brown butter. Carefully place Knafeh in the cast iron skillet.

On an induction burner over high heat, cook Knafeh 1 minute. Place Knafeh in the oven and cook until crispy on top, about 4 minutes. Flip the Knafeh into a serving bowl and cover with Knafeh Syrup. Top with a layer of Brown Butter Crumb, a quenelle of Apple Sorbet, and compressed apple twists.

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