The Chefs' Warehouse Magazine: Winter 2020

WI N TER 2020 / 2021, VOL. 14

3

Going the Extra Mile

W E LC O M E

OREGON

at Vegas’

Japaniero

Through Portland, Bend & Wine Country

KARAT Canada’s Okanagan Gold &

BRIDOR

FLANNERY BEEF

PIDY

Comadre

Panadería, Passion on the Rise

in San Antonio

POINT REYES FARMSTEAD CHEESE

SOVENA

VAN LANG

Come Together.

T THIS SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR, we take great joy in highlighting chefs and artisan purveyors who stand out for being singular at what they do. CW takes great pride in the knowledge that we do products better than anyone else. It is our mission, day in and out, to offer the best ingredients locally and globally to our esteemed customers.

A

Now, eight months into the pandemic, as the market is adjusting to restrictions, everyone has become more adept at learning how to live with it. Our customers are running their business to protect the public.

Whether through food-to-go, delivery, meal, and baking kits to cook at home, outdoor dining, and perhaps a little bit of indoor dining as well, a definite uplift in the restaurant scene can be palpably felt.

Thankfully, this uptick and loosening of restrictions allows CW to start getting back out there and servicing our customers.

Restaurants that have adapted to the new environment have shown a tremendous amount of resiliency. The public is dying to go out. There’s a lot of pent up demand, and chefs that show that they respect the situation are getting rewarded by guests eager to dine at their venues.

People are definitely eating out in direct support of their favorite restaurants as much as possible.

The silver lining to the immense challenges 2020 has presented is the unification of people. There has been a lot of support and unity across the board. CW employees have become closer, and their bond with our customers has become even stronger. The chef to chef community is the strongest it’s ever been. Everyone truly wants success for each other and because of this, I feel the industry has become a lot tighter.

Due to the more intimate nature of this holiday season, with smaller gatherings of friends and family, chefs will use their endless creativity to incorporate ways to enjoy seasonal dining at their venues or initiatives to savor chef-created cuisine at home. Keeping things

Winter Issue

By Bruce Luong CW Executive Vice President West Coast and Canada simple with chef procured menus, utilizing the finest ingredients is often the most satisfying holiday experience irregardless of the limitations everyone is facing.

This is the time of year when we get the most excited about food. What makes the holidays special for me, is bringing family together to share a meal. It’s a time when people bring their favorite recipes and dishes or share favorite products from the farmers market or local purveyor. I personally look forward to roasted turkey at Thanksgiving.

I actually really love turkey and my family only enjoys it once a year.

In the New Year, I feel strongly that we will finally experience a very welcomed calm after the storm.

With the election over and the initial shock and burden of the pandemic behind us, we will move into 2021 having learned a great deal from the pandemic and the civil unrest of our nation.

We will continue to be more aware and progress in terms of social equality. And if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we must always be prepared for the unexpected and learn how to maneuver our businesses so that we can survive anything.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. We thank our customers and our CW family for your support and resilience during this difficult past year. I look forward to all of us bouncing back together in 2021!

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

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Welcome 3 Oregon

Take a deep dive into the Pacific Northwest’s thriving Oregonian culinary scene showcasing three diverse venues in Portland (Apizza Scholls), Bend (El Sancho), and Wine Country (Red Hills Market).

Cover: Ruby Sphere by CW Corporate Pastry Chef, Francois Mellet. Photo by Andrew Steelman.

SAN FRANCISCO

SOCAL / AZ

TEXAS

22

14

8

CA Academy of Sciences SF gets a culinary makeover with Dante Cecchini, with Dante Cecchini and team.

SoCal all-stars and new CW “sheriffs” in town, James Politis and Justin Lawson, step up via promotion!

LAS VEGAS

CANADA

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Get the fever for the exotic flavors of Japeniero with award winning Kevin Chong (formerly of Nobu LV).

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Comadre Panaderia, San Antonio baking gem’s Mariela Camacho and her Latinx Diaspora community.

INGREDIENT FEATURES Step into Kelowna’s premier chocolate shop/cafe Karat and discover Julian Helman’s Oswegan passion.

Bridor, Flannery Beef, Pidy, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, Sovena, Van Lang, Symphony

SEASON’S NotableS

Join our stories at:

/chefswarehouse

LUXURY CAVIAR, Sustainable and Farm Raised If the pearl of cuisine is the royal oyster, the diamond of cuisine is Caviar. CW has long celebrated the best in quality, sourcing, processing, and delivery, satisfying the demands of the most discriminating Chefs. What’s different? We’re transparent, traceable, and pack our items to order.

TRUFFLES, Fresh, Preserved & Cheese ‘Tis the season for truffles in all of its glorious forms.

From white to black, shaved fresh truffles over your finest, to CW’s abundance of preserved truffles, oils, and pastes, to truffle imbued pecorinos and cheeses, your hunt for quality is over.

AGED BALSAMIC & FINE EVOO The devil’s in the details. From Villa Manodori’s Aceto Balsamico to Laudemio, CW’s wide array of the finest aged balsamics and fine extra virgin olive oils will provide complex and sumptuous flavor to the finishing touches on your signature recipes.

CHOCOLATE & PASTRY Make your holidays sing with CW’s vast chocolate and pastry categories. From decorations, transfer sheets, to the finest of chocolate, from white to dark and all points in between, make your final act the most memorable.

FOLLOW US @WhereChefsShop

CANADA

KARAT:

Okanagan Gold

with Julian Helman

by Sean Jeremy Palmer

Explain the Karat concept?

There’s a worldliness in Karat Chef/Owner Julian Helman’s voice. In addition to attending French immersion school, his chef father’s German, his mother’s French, with all kinds of other stuff mixed in there, as well. This worldliness extends to his education and career: from the Culinary Institute of Canada on the Atlantic, to Chicago, to Wolfsburg, Germany, Hong Kong, to The Valrhona School in Tain-l’Hermitage, France.

“But here in Canada, we don’t look at people’s backgrounds,” Julian says. “Everyone was something else at some point but now they’re Canadian. And to me, I’m Canadian.”

Karat’s concept is fairly simple: We thrive on using very nice, simple ingredients. To me, it’s about simplistic food. I feel the more simple you make it, the more complex it is. It has to be perfect the more simple it is.

And I believe strongly in using the best ingredients available, and not so much transforming it into something, but accentuating what you’re using. And trying to keep things pure and natural.

A couple of years ago I was struggling with it and wanted to get away from using colors on our chocolate. We use strictly Valrhona product. And I started thinking to myself, I was like, “You know, why am I going through all the effort of masking this beautiful chocolate that we’re paying 100 dollars for 3 kilos of, and we’re putting blue food coloring and doing all these things?” But the market is what it is. I had started kinda crazier and going super colorful and it was hard to break away from that. So, now we’re kind of 50/50, we try to meet somewhere in the middle. Our concept is really to use fine ingredients, to treat them respectfully, to do the best we can with it, to acknowledge nature and the people behind the product and show respect to them, that’s the main thing.

What brought you back to Canada and to Kelowna?

Kelowna was a fluke for me. I was working in Vancouver, running a hotel kitchen and I’d entered a transitional phase. A friend called, with a great job opportunity working at a winery in the Okanagan. The town was small, the property beautiful, and I could use the break. Vancouver’s an expensive city, my job there was intense. Moving to Kelowna, I was a bit of a fish out of water, but I was allowed to push boundaries for what we could do, and I was so taken away with the quality of everything. Having growers drop off at our back door 200 pounds of peaches that were still warm from the sun. In the South Okanagan everything was organic, beautiful and perfect. It was such a nice working environment for me. I just kind of fell in love with everything here and things kind of snowballed.

Back then, I’d done the job circle and worked at the best places here. And then I hit a brick wall and figured either I’d have to move or start a business. So I started my own business. We’ll be celebrating our 5th anniversary January 1st.

I started the company with $400. We’ve now got two locations, we’re shipping all over the place and the company is exponentially growing. It’s a challenge, but it’s very good. It could have very easily gone the other way.

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There are many fine chocolates in the world, Valrhona is definitely one. What’s made you a devotee?

Always first? Taste, Flavor. Quality. There are so many reasons but that obviously is #1 being a chef. The mouthfeel, the micron-particles in it are so fine, so developed. They have a very, very wide range of different chocolates and origins from different places. It’s almost like it’s never ending. So it’s always interesting for me.

Then from a technical standpoint, I find it easy to work with. I didn’t always find it easy. When I was a younger pastry chef, I actually found it quite difficult to work with. And then that kind of forced me to take more classes and actually go to Valrhona in Tain-l’Hermitage and see how they’re making the chocolate, and take classes from the people who work with it everyday and understand it.

One thing that really impressed me was how well they treat their staff. They treat people like family there. They treat people with respect, and I can tell right off the bat that everyone who works for the company has it in their best interest to make it better. And that’s something that I believe in with my

company. And from an environmental standpoint, there’s no other company that can match it. They’ve got their B-Corp and they’re constantly looking for ways to improve, lower their emissions, and do things for people. They’ve supported me all the way through since we started business, they’ve been really there for me. Nothing but love for that company, for sure.

One of your Karat web descriptions says, “it’s an old European style mixed with an Okanagan twist”.

Give me your definition, impression of Okanagan?

To me, the Okanagan is about simplicity. Nature is a huge reoccurring theme here for lots and lots of people. I think where we’re situated in the world, anywhere you look, 360º, you’re in the mountains and the trees, there’s a beautiful lake, the cleanest water, and you know, we definitely pride ourselves on somewhat being environmental stewards.

For a lot of people that’s their core value. We value the industries around here. Everybody works very hard here, harder than I’ve worked anywhere in my life. It’s very seasonal here. We have a smaller population here and everyone works their asses off. You’ve got to make money where you can. And help each other out. Businesses here collaborate on numerous things. And, we try to support each other by promoting each other, buying product, and there’s lots of markets, lots to do.

And I think that’s the big reason Kelowna has been in this kind of bubble during Covid, you know, you don’t hear about businesses shutting down.

You don’t hear about the horror stories of what’s happening. Because everyone here bands together. A very community-minded place. To me the Okanagan style is pretty laid back. We like beautiful things, pure things. We have wineries and orchards everywhere. Literally a 5-minute drive from downtown you can be in an orchard somewhere.

And in our shop, the Okanagan twist we use is Okanagan products.

All of our fruit, all of our teas, if we have vegetables, cheeses that we use, we try to use as much as we possibly can from this locality.

And about your talent, skill, what ‘is it’ that you have, and to what do you attribute your success?

Get inspired:

/karatchocolate I work harder than anyone else. That’s it. That’s the key. Just always believe in what you’re doing. And work more hours than anyone else around you. I think part of that is understanding that I’m making someone’s day special. It could be a birthday, a wedding; we can transform someone’s mundane into something special.

And that’s my father talking to me as a young kid working in his kitchen.

Talk about your family, and how fatherhood’s changed you?

Oh, my god. It’s changed a lot. My daughter Hazel is now two. We had Hazel one month before opening our shop downtown. It was a really crazy time for my wife and I. We were both working like animals. My wife was at home and I was trying to be home as much as possible. So that was tumultuous as one of the happiest times of my life and exciting times with the shop. But it also tired us out.

Interesting, now having children, I try not to put in the hours I used to at work, for sure. I think every day I’m at work, ultimately it’s about what’s in the best interest of my family. Am I making the right choices in the business for my family and the future? The business is not #1 to me. It’s definitely my family. Oh, And patience.

Being a dad has definitely taught me PATIENCE.

Winter 2020 / 2021 | 5

ntroduction image(s), please see our proposition to choose from in the wetransfer link

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COME LINGER AT MAISON DANEL MAISON DANEL (Pâtisserie, Viennoiserie, and Salon de Thé), is a beautiful Parisian dream inspired by husbands Chef Danel and David de Betelu’s passion for the cafe culture of romantic European cities.

“I really like Bridor products because they are very high in quality and consistency!”

- Chef Danel de Betelu, Maison Danel

Maison Danel Executive Chef and Co-Owner, Danel, originally from Paris, shared, “We wanted to create something elegant where people can come to relax and enjoy an elevated cafe, ‘Tea Salon’ experience.”

The lush, romantic design of the venue was inspired by the couple’s wedding decor in France. “Here you can sit down for our ‘Le Classique Afternoon Tea’ with three-tiered plates of savory sandwiches...

Read more on Maison Danel at:

CWmag.com/MaisonDanel 7 | CWmag.com

Winter 2020 / 2021 | 7

TEXAS

Comadre Panadería, Passion on the Rise

by Kelli Colaco

Raised in San Antonio, Texas, by hard-working Mexican immigrant parents from North-Central Mexico, Comadre Panaderia Founder and Operator, Pastry Chef Mariela Camacho witnessed the stark reality of racist abuse in the workplace that both of her parents endured.

Steadfast in her mission of raising awareness, and championing justice and nourishment for her “Latinx diaspora community,” Camacho infuses her much loved “deliciosa” creations for “Comadre” with craftswoman skill and pride in her Mexican (Xicana) identity.

Always keen to illuminate our talented chefs and pastry chefs who also utilize their “craft” as a platform for crucial causes and change, CW Magazine was thrilled to catch up with ever-busy Mariela Camacho for an interview this past fall.

Photo Credit: Charity Burggraaf

What it is to be Xicana, (Mexican American)

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“My passion of food connects to the Xicano movement because of its association with the rights of farmworkers. There is so much history and activism behind the term Xicana and energy put into fighting for these people’s rights.

I identify with this because I am a first-generation American to parents that are Mexican. Xicanos put forth a political identity that emphasizes decolonization, rejection of cultural convention, and activism over origin or language. Personally, as a person of mestizx (indigenous and European) descent from San Antonio, Texas, and as someone who stands for the liberation of oppressed people everywhere, I find that being Xicano is as simple as being me.”

The calling “I knew I wanted to work with food from a very early age. I started baking as a way to heal from dealing with issues with my body and growing up, all of the pressures of looking a certain way. My parents were really good cooks but they worked two jobs all of the time. We didn’t really have access to a lot of healthy food. So I wanted to take that back and create delicious and healthy food as a central part of my life.”

“Comadre,” reverence between women “I grew up in a very gossipy culture.

It was one of the ways that my mom, aunt, and friends would communicate and empower each other.

Gossip, of course, can also be very toxic, but I think for them it was a source of empowerment, to be able to communicate. They call each other ‘comadre.’ And that term always stuck with me. When I decided to start baking for myself I wanted a term associated with a friend, someone that’s going to have your back.”

Xicana chocolate chip cookie “It’s a pretty American thing, chocolate chip cookies. Growing up, my dad worked at the Hilton as a cook.

He would bring home these stacks of day-old chocolate chip cookies and let me eat them till I got sick!

The chocolate chip cookies we make at Comadre Panaderia are a really good representation of what I do (besides our La Concha). I get Sonora Flour from Barton Springs Mills, out in Dripping Springs, TX, which was formerly the state of Sonora, Mexico. Using these grains and flours helps me feel connected to Mexico and my heritage. I also use (puffed) amaranth, which is an ancient grain from Mexico. And I use single-origin chocolate from Peru.”

La Concha “Our Concha is the biggest, cultural item we offer at Comadre. It’s basically brioche with sweetened dough, with a shell-shaped topping composed of sugar, butter, and flour. You can use a knife to create the classic shell design on top.

When you bake it off, it cracks open and looks like a little shell.”

Decolonizing “I’m definitely working on educating and decolonizing myself. This extends to what I am making and all the choices that I make that are so deeply connected to just being a colonized person here in this time and place. I wish we could all have the privilege to think past the daily grind of paying our bills and feeding our family to

really examine who we are and celebrate what we mean and what we bring to the world.”

Sweet tamales Christmas “My mom got furloughed for a couple of months from work because of COVID, so she started helping me out in the kitchen. We have also started making her salsa and selling it. This Christmas I want to incorporate more of her cooking into Comadre Panaderia. We will definitely be making some of her Tamales and Sweet Tamales. The Sweet Tamales are filled with strawberry and pineapple or whatever is in a season.”

Words to the wise “My advice is to not give so much energy working for other people. It is really powerful to do things yourself, to invest in yourself and reserve your energy for what you want to do. By believing in yourself and investing in yourself, you’re also investing in your community. You are making yourself more accessible and stronger, and uplifting others at the same time. So much of my young career I was taken advantage of in kitchens. I was working so hard, breaking my body, so other people could make money. I don’t want people in this industry to go through that.

Find a way to create something for yourself that you can be in charge of and then give it everything you have. Then it will be worth it.”

Brick and mortar future “I feel like I’m constantly longing for a home and space. However, having a brick and mortar place of my own just gets harder and harder. Currently, Comadre Panaderia works out of a commissary kitchen, here in San Antonio. We have done a lot of wholesale, and pop-ups here in San Antonio and in Seattle where I lived and worked for five years. In San Antonio, we pivoted towards doing the delivery. When COVID started, I’m lucky enough to have friends in San Antonio, and Austin that now allow me to set up in their shops, and people can come to pick up their orders.

Every year, my goal and dream is to have a brick and mortar space that is safe and welcoming and respectful of whatever neighborhood or community we end up in. I know one day it will happen.”

Keep an eye on this one-to-watch, Chef Mariela Comacho:

/comadre_panaderia

Winter 2020 / 2021 | 9

As one of the world’s leading pastry manufacturers, Pidy makes the very best Ready-to-Fill pastry.

P

idy has been baking a wide variety of quality doughs for more than 50 years. Professional chefs around the world depend on Pidy in part to offer trendsetting innovation in the demanding culinary art of puff pastry, shortcrust and choux pastry.

VARIETY Pidy offers chocolate, vanilla, graham, neutral, vegan formulas, and gluten-free.

Pidy’s Signature They also are committed to the local sourcing of raw materials. 50% of The Chefs’ Warehouse range is made in USA, with the rest coming from facilities based in Belgium and France.

Beyond offering great quality products, Pidy follows national consumption trends, offering a number of gluten-free and vegan options.

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This committment is unfailable at the group level, which means that ALL of their products are manufactured with non-GMO ingredients, providing you with time saving solution to always better answer your needs.

Pidy’s Mission

These solutions extend to addressing staff reductions and establishments looking for high value and affordable costs, needs exacerbated by the current Covid crisis that directly affects the US restaurant and foodservice sector and community.

Pidy products can indeed be part of the solution.

Looking ahead to 2021, there are a number of new innovations awaiting to be unveiled, including their NEW! Chocolate Chip Cookie Cup. Stand back and line up!

Whether you create quick and easy fillings or complex combinations, Pidy pastry shells provide the perfect canvas for your creativity.

Recipe: Bouchée Brunch SHAPES

Pidy also offers a variety of unique, tantalizing shapes, perfect for the grab-and-go

FOR INSPIRING RECIPES: visit: pidy.us

ADD YOUR SIGNATURE

THE SEASONS ARE CHANGING, and wholesome brunch and comfort foods are trending. Think thick cut, flavorful quality bacon, wild, local mushrooms, and buttery, flaky pastry. Served with a side salad or soup, this simple recipe is sure to win raves.

Ingredients

Let your imagination go wild!

• 4 round patty shells Pidy • 7 oz slices of smoked bacon • 4 eggs • 17 oz mushrooms • 1 cup ½ of cream • 3 tablespoons of cognac • 1 clove ½ of garlic • Chives • Pepper

Method Servings: 4 1. Cut the mushrooms into four parts.

2. Bake the slices of smoked bacon

together with the mushrooms in the pan.

3. Pour in the cream together with the pressed garlic and a dash of cognac.

4. Place a pot of water on the fire, bring it to the boil and add a generous dash of vinegar.

5. Poach the eggs.

CONTACT YOUR SALES REP FOR INSPIRATION AND SAMPLES!

6. Fill the puff pastry shell with the bacon, mushrooms and cream sauce.

7. Place a poached egg on each puff pastry shell and finish with a pinch of chives and pepper. Enjoy!

Join Pidy stories at:

/pidygourmet Winter 2020 / 2021 | 11

LAS VEGAS

Going The Extra Mile, at Japaniero

by Kelli Colaco

Born in Malaysia, Kevin Chong grew up in Singapore prior to living in Oklahoma City with his adoptive family. While working at the family’s “old school” Chinese Buffet restaurant, Kevin discovered his love and natural ability for cooking. When it was time to set out into the world and strike up a proper career in culinary, Chong headed to Las Vegas because, as he puts it, “Vegas is an amazing place, with amazing food, so of course I went to Vegas.”

After moving to Sin City in 2010, voracious Chef Chong eventually earned himself a spot as a Teppanyaki Chef at world-renown Nobu located in Caesar’s Palace. Kevin shared about the life-changing two-year experience working with incomparable Nobu Matsuhisa as his “sensei.” “I learned so much about cooking techniques and execution at Nobu, and so much about ingredients. This experience really took me to the next level. Chef Nobu is simply incredible.”

With the dream of creating his own incredible culinary empire, Chong opened Japaneiro in 2014 located about “twelve minutes off the strip,” in an unassuming, desolate “L-shaped” strip mall.

Japaniero Proprietor and Executive Chef, Kevin Chong, must have known. If you create exemplary, enigmatic Asian Fusion using the greatest ingredients in the world, “they will come,” even if you’re located in a remote part of town, next to a “sad looking video poker bar.”

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Calling his cuisine Asian Fusion to allow for a broader rainbow of ingredients, Chong shared that Japaniero is an intermingling of Japanese and French Parisian, infused with a bevy of diverse Asian offerings and ingredients.

Historically inspired by eating through his travels throughout Japan, Singapore, and greater Asia, Chef Chong is very serious about offering high quality exotic and unique ingredients such as flying squid, prime beef tongue, bone marrow, Filet NY strip, American Wagyu, Japanese Yellow Tail, and live Abalone. His dazzling menu dynamically includes everything from sashimi and ceviche, to high-end gyozas, King Crab with Truffle Butter, and serious meat offerings like Truffled Marrow Filet Mignon.

A long time CW customer, Chong offered, “The Chefs’ Warehouse is tops because they always have good quality and consistency and are always there for me.” Chong shared. A lot of distributors have great ingredients but cannot keep the consistency. But with CW, every batch is consistently good and this means everything to me.”

With Japaniero having closed for three months due to COVID (Chong’s other venue, the popular, more casual “Holy Shrimp,” Cajun Seafood Fusion, stayed open throughout), Chef Chong shared an upbeat silver lining story. “We originally reopened Japaneiro from 6 pm to 10 pm. However, we discovered this was not enough hours to keep all of our staff.

So, we decided to stay open from 6 pm to 3 am every day.

Doing this gave us the advantage because very few good places were open at this time, so people found us more easily. We started getting more and more new clientele, and the word of mouth spread about the high level of quality ingredients and consistency of great dishes at Japaniero.”

Going the extra distance of adding the late-night hours not only made Japaniero more popular than it was pre-COVID, doing so also allowed Chong to keep all of his employees, a real win-win for all.

With the holiday season gathering momentum, Chef Chong shared, “I look forward to spending time relaxing with my family and giving the children presents, and me getting some too,” the father of three little ones under six laughed. Kevin also communicated his enthusiasm for his winter-holiday menu, a special time of year when Kegani Hokkaido Hairy Crabs are on the menu at Japaniero.

As the world slowly returns in the New Year of 2021, one thing seems certain, Japaniero, the casual, high-end Asian Fusion at 7315 W. Warm Springs Road, in L.V. may have a longer waiting list than Nobu on the strip, and you won’t need to tip a valet to dine there.

Chef Chong’s tantalizing Truffled Marrow Filet Mignon, all from The Chefs’ Warehouse!

Get the fever for the flavors of Japaneiro:

/japaneiro

Winter 2020 / 2021 | 13

SOCAL

MOVING

FORWARD Progress in these times is a rare commodity. So, when CW SoCal all- stars, James Politis and Justin Lawson, step up to the proverbial plate via promotion, CW Magazine considers this news fodder worth celebrating and delving into. Check out the low down on the two new SoCal/AZ CW “sheriffs” in town.

L to R: James Politis, Bruce Luong, and Justin Lawson.

James Politis CW VP of Sales / LA

Background Grew up in Short Hills, New Jersey. Wrestled for Rutgers University, earned a BA in Political Science. Worked at Tom Colicchio’s famed “40 Main Street,” Arnold Schwarzenegger’s restaurant, “Schatzi,” in Santa Monica, and was a Bar Manager and Mixologist at prominent Chef Joe Miller’s, “Joe’s Restaurant.” In 2008 became a Sales Rep for Young’s Market, a Regional Sales Director position at Sysco followed.

“The culinary in Los Angeles has really come into its own the past 20 years. I really love being solutions based with our products and services.

In the food service industry there’s always lots

CW West Coast VP, Bruce Luong, brought James onboard for for CW Los Angeles 2018.

of challenges. I also greatly value being able to show people a new career. Introducing chefs and pastry chefs to their potential as Sales Reps for CW is my favorite thing about being in our industry. A lot of chefs will tell you, including me, as a former mixologist, working for CW is where you get the best of both worlds. You still get to be around all the creativity and great food. You get to work with the best products-ingredients. However, you can still have a life. You don’t have to work so hard and you get to spend time with your friends and family.”

Artist In The House

Politis Philosophy

The Big Steal

James originally moved to L.A. pursuing a career in music. An accomplished guitarist and song writer, James still writes, sings and plays in his home studio.

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Reasons James Loves CW

“I like to think of myself as a big student. I really enjoy question-based selling as a way of getting our customers what they need. It’s very important that we listen to what the customer

wants and needs and then get it for them by any means possible.”

culinary school.

Future Forward

“I love this job! I really have not had a bad day since I started with CW seven years ago. My work with CW has taken me all over the world and all over the country, sourcing and getting to know the best ingredients, vendors and chefs in the industry. This job is way better than peeling artichokes.”

“COVID obviously threw everything up in the air.

We’re currently mapping out a marketing calendar for the year with different promotions, and incentives, customer facing and sales rep facing etc.. We have begun to conduct a couple outdoor (in our dock area for the CW trucks), fun, productive and safe Rep-Vendor meet ups.

It’s just so good to be working with each other at any distance that’s not behind a computer.

We have five tables spread far apart. We have great weather here in Southern California that we get to take advantage of. It’s really uplifting and amazing to see everyone, and this time is crucial for our vendors. Meeting in this way and making sure the meeting is worth it for everyone in terms of R.O.I. is of great importance across the board. It’s an opportunity for the vendor to do any kind of educating they have on their product. It’s also a time for us to strategize together, and maybe jump on ‘ride along sales call’ (in masks of course!)”

CW Singular Sensation “What is singular about CW is our follow up and follow through, our sense of urgency around taking care of the customer is absolutely second to none. Our chefs need us more than ever now.

We are absolutely second to none in making sure that we come through for them.”

What The Holidays Mean “We will Christmas here with my wife’s family including her mother and sister. I am not necessarily a turkey guy. We will probably do anything from a nice Fillet to Five Spice Braised Short Ribs to maybe Snow Crab Legs etc. One of our favorite traditions is doing Christmas Karaoke.

Everybody gets into it. You can play any song.

My wife’s mother is Vietnamese and she’ll sing some French love songs. It’s a great time. I’ll do my classic Bruce Springsteen, ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.’ Always a good one.”

Vibe on working at CW

Eye On The Fresh Future “I want to be able to keep expanding our categories that we already have and continuing to grow the farmers market produce line that we’ve built during COVID. This has always meant a lot to me since we got the opportunity to do it here in Southern California. I loved helping to lead the charge for this exciting category. I still go to the farmers market every Wednesday in Santa Monica, to help select and buy all the produce for CW to offer our chefs.”

Holiday Meaning “We just had our new baby daughter last April, and we also have a five year old, and a three and a half year old. The holidays are very important to us. But we do not do Santa Claus. We believe more in traditions. We have gotten our first Christmas tree and we do what we call ‘giving.’ But we do not commercialize our Christmas at all, or any holidays for that matter.”

Getting Past Covid “As a culture and a society, we are very resilient and we’re going to bounce back. It is hard right now, but it’s going to get better.”

Only the best farmer’s market produce from Santa Monica Farmer’s Market for our beloved chefs and pastry chefs.

Justin Lawson CW Director of Sales / SoCal, AZ

Hailing Originally From Atlanta Georgia. Justin moved to Park City, Utah in 2008 where he worked as a chef at Jean George, Park City, Utah, for five years. He then moved to San Diego in 2013 and started at the Chefs’ Warehouse in 2014. Culinary Bug: While attending University of Mississippi for a business degree, Lawson was working at a restaurant and loving it, decided to “chop and change” and go to

Winter 2020 / 2021 | 15

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WELCOME OREGON ENVISION A PLACE where tight-knit, eco-friendly towns and cities sit beside farms, bakeries, markets, and craft breweries, all working together.

PORTLAND APIZZA SCHOLLS

Where creative solutions and empathy drive the culinary scene, where quirky towns and farm stands appear in every curve of the highway.

Welcome to Oregon, land of milk and honey, fresh roasted coffee, best-ever pizza, delectable charcuterie boards, scrumptious tacos, and great tales of culinary adventure...

By Sean Jeremy Palmer

Apizza Scholls Brian Spangler

Apizza Scholls’ Chef/Owner Brian Spangler’s personal highlight reel is like a loaded pizza with the Works. From bakeries to the liquid bread of microbreweries, Brian found his love of the art and science of baking early, and it transported him down a golden brick road paved from his late high school days in Santa Cruz, through San Francisco’s dot-com boom and bust, and up the coast to Portland which served as a cheap, opportunity-filled blank canvas for his passions: BBQ, bread baking, and pizza.

If Portland is Brian’s Oz, then Peter Reinhart is his Scarecrow, Nancy Silverton and Chris Bianco his Tin Woman and Cowardly Lion, and Anthony Bourdain his Wizard.

The real magic of Brian’s story is how well he paved his own path which he built with $50K, a pack of matches, a hatchet, some wood and his own two hands.

You were just discussing your success long before you opened Apizza Scholls.

Success is different for all of us, so what is your personal definition?

17 | ChefsWarehouse.com

There was success on many levels. The bakery was a success because I never went to a bank, I built the entire bakery with my own two hands with $50K cash; success because it was well received and I was proud of the product we were making.

Success was also in not standing still, trying new things. My current success came from the due diligence of diving in and jumping off another cliff. That earliest success was achieving what I set out to do with my own two hands. It broke my body. And it took me almost 8 years.

I made all the pizza dough and all the bread dough by hand because I didn’t have money and I didn’t want to go to a bank and get into debt.

When you don’t have the convenience of everything you become self-reliant. It taught me a lot. I was MacGyver-ing everything up there. I didn’t go and turn on the oven. I had to source the wood, chop the wood, fire the wood, mix all the sourdough cultures, mix all the dough, shape all the dough. I did this all myself, I was a one-man show. It teaches you a lot.

And that success leads us to today.

To what do you attribute the success of Apizza Scholls?

Winter 2020 / 2021 | 17

WELCOME 3 OREGON

1 Me! (Brian laughs). ME! Me. I had a goal, I had a dream. I’m very particular. I’m very anal. I don’t settle for good enough that’s not good enough. I’m a perfectionist. I think people identify – they sense the honesty. You transcend through your food. As John Arenas says – we call him the Pizza Yoda – “It comes from your mind, into your heart, through your arms, into you hands, into your food,” – and people sense that. And if you care… People can sense the attention to detail and the intent. Your heart transcends from your self and into your food, and this is something I instill in all my employees: Be proud of what you do. You’re in a position for creating memories. It’s an important role. We’re making memories, things you’ll never be able to shed.

If I was just some guy, cynical, saying, “Pizza’s popular now, I’m gonna open a pizza place, let’s f-cking nickel-dime on costs, on labor costs and all this other sh-t, and move it out the door cause pizza’s gonna sell.” That’s not a special place. There’s nothing special about that, other than somebody’s making money.

In doing my Google tour of you I found a meme that said, “Secrets of the Dough Masters”. As a teacher, educator, 18 | ChefsWarehouse.com

sales when this all went down. Obviously we went down on alcohol sales. We were a 90% dine in, maybe 10-20% max To-Go. When this all went down, we went up 20%. 20% food, a lot of loss in alcohol sales. We’ve killed our 3rd party delivery systems and maintained all of our employees. Sure we’re all playing different roles: you work the phones; you work the door controlling traffic flow; instead of serving now you’re processing payments; you now write everybody’s names on boxes and help control and expedite up to the front of house; payment systems; delivery systems.

I’ve been working with Provvista (Now CW) for almost 18 years. Best company I’ve worked with, bar none. When we were starting out and asked around who was the best company with the best ingredients everything pointed towards Provvista.

I remember doing an anchovy tasting with them in the early days. They opened up 9 variants of anchovies for me.

thought leader in the pizza space, are there any secrets that you would divulge in terms of mastery and success?

I remember my original rep, he looks at me, they’re dealing with high-tier restaurants and we’re…a pizzeria. And he asks, “Why are you coming to us?”

I’m like, “You have the best ingredients. I can go to FSA and get Hormel. You’ve got all the other great ingredients. Let’s go for the best.” Provvista used to hold their Christmas parties in our dining room. It’s just been a great relationship. I don’t look at (The Chefs’ Warehouse) as a company so much as a family. I’ve always had the best service.

With the chaos due to Covid, we pivoted quickly.

I had a lot of ideas, my employees had ideas. And I was on the phone all day long, not only talking with I always say there are no secrets. There’s only Chefs’ Warehouse – I knew with all the restaurants information. People call me from all over the closing they’d be reducing their inventory, ‘cause world, if you go to PizzaMaking.com there’s my they’ve got a lot a perishable sh-t. Also talking with formula. I share what I do all day long. There’s the producers, telling them what I think is going to no secrets. But you know what? I’ve been doing happen to make sure I don’t get shorted because if this for a long time. And you know, if you want there’s a hiccup in the supply chain I have nothing to call it a secret: It’s failure – failure is the best to sell. teacher. You learn more from failing than you do from succeeding.

Pizza is a great to-go food, it’s a family pleaser, everyone can always agree on pizza, it’s not A lot of people are looking for a silver bullet. expensive, it’s comfort food, especially during these I’ll tell you how to do it, but I’m not there with times. We’ve been around a long time. We’ve got you. I can’t hold your hand. You gotta go out that name, that lineage. We’ve always put our there and grab it. A lot of people give up when product first. We care about consistency. Quality. they don’t have success. But, if it’s important to But yeah, we’ve been doing pretty well. you, just keep going for it. I’ll give my formula to 100 different people and you’ll get 100 different results. Mileage may vary.

Your sales rep Brooke said that your sales spiked during the pandemic, instead of taking a hit. She also said you made changes to your business model.

Yes, we saw about a 20% increase on food

Discover the secrets of the Pizza Master:

@ApizzaScholls @PizzaQuesting

2

Jody Kropf

Jody Kropf grew up in the small little town where Stand By Me was filmed, Brownsville, Oregon, home to his parent’s restaurant – a little creek runs through the middle of it, and the bridges in that scene where the boys are running around, Jody rode his bike there, swam in that creek. He moved to the Willamette Valley, Oregon’s Wine Country, with his wife 20 years ago, an area of rolling hills, vineyards, hazelnut trees, and beautiful views. He calls it home.

How does your story begin?

I grew up in a heavy farming community, lots of gardening, canning, cooking from home. Just a way of life for my family. A pot of soup bubbling on the stove is part of my DNA, and it’s what pointed me to the elevated comfort food of Red Hills Market.

100%. My wife and I run it, my oldest brother, he’s our IT, maintenance, all-of-the-above, he works one day a week for us, my little brother helps cater. Another brother and our mother are invested in Red Hills Kitchen, our restaurant.

Red Hills is much more than a market.

Can you give the breadth of everything you’re doing under that beautiful roof?

WINE COUNTRY RED HILLS MARKET

It excites me when I see a farmer come in excited about a product they’ve grown – and I get to turn around, process it, and then see the look on somebody’s face when they’re like, “Ah, this is amazing,” and I get to tell them the whole story about it, the salt I use, that my friends made the olive oil and delivered the produce –

Think of it as if you walked into a really good coffee shop that had a cheese shop, and a wine shop, a restaurant, a gift shop, some retail food, and then this great place to hang out, and you shoved it all into 2,500 sq ft. Now you’ve got Red Hills Market.

It’s an extension of that warmth and familyfarming way of life that I have a passion for.

I really believe that’s what pointed me towards Red Hills Market. When you sit down and break bread with somebody and spend a moment to set down the cellphone, something magical happens.

It’s like a modern day “Cheers”. We’ve also got a catering presence. It’s kept us diversified, and it’s been a huge part of our success during the challenges of Covid and the wildfires that we’ve recently had in this area.

You’re talking about what came ‘from’ your family, but Red Hills ‘is’ a family business.

Re-opening after Covid I felt was harder than opening the restaurant the first time, which is saying a lot. We’ve had to completely rework our entire flow of space from our Enter-only door, Exit-only door. We took our kitchen completely apart, epoxied the floors, cleaned every surface, painted everything – because I want people to walk in and say, “This is the cleanest restaurant I’ve ever been in in my life,” I want our staff constantly sanitizing; constantly making sure we’re doing everything they can do to make people feel confident because we’re welcoming back customers that were very frightened about Coronavirus for a very

Can you speak to those issues?

WELCOME 3 OREGON

RED HILLS MARKET

/RedHillsMarket good reason.

We had some customers who weren’t the greatest – saying, ‘What, I have to wear a mask?

I have to stand over here?’ And even to this day we have to be constantly on top of that. We didn’t make it a political thing, we didn’t make it a ‘big, bad government’ – we made it about ‘these are the rules to succeed and we’re going to thrive in this model,’ and so far so good.

Is there a dish or plate that exemplifies who you are?

Our meat and cheese platters are one of our most photographed things at Red Hills. And it ties closely to CW because we buy olives, Marcona almonds, cheeses, prosciutto. And our local heartbeat extends through local vendors: there’s Briar Rose Creamery – we’ve used their cheese from day one, Jacobson Sea Salt – freaking amazing, Durant Olive Oil, Smith Tea from Portland.

We do these little picnic boxes which are basically a charcuterie box for two to go, people will grab a bottle of wine and make a meal out of it. I took one yesterday, picked up a maple leaf that had turned bright red, grabbed some grape leaves from out back where there are vines growing over our outdoor seating area, some herbs – just using what’s around us to make it beautiful.

Winter 2020 / 2021 | 19

WELCOME 3 OREGON

El Sancho

Joel Cordes & Jon Barvels With more breweries per capita than any city in Oregon, Bend is a small community on the Deschutes River filled with diversity, lakes, Cascade peaks, Mt. Bachelor, endless trails, and local favorite El Sancho Taco Shop owned and operated by restaurant partners Joel Cordes and Jon Barvels.

How did El Sancho come about?

JOEL: John and I met working at Rock and Dave’s Bagels – JON: I had just moved to Bend. I was working at the bagel shop, Joel was in between running the cart and figuring out what was going on with his life. He fired up the cart, needed some extra help.

I came down and helped him out one one night and that was the start of it.

Bend’s big, it’s not a town, it’s a city. Why Tacos, why Mexican? Was it a need, was it something you’re passionate about?

JOEL: I started out with a little pushcart doing tamales. I’d always studied Mexican food, liked it a lot. Wanted to do something different than what you see around town, but then people started buying the tacos once we offered that. So we hit the tacos hard – they were popular and it seemed like the right thing.

JON: I think, too, we both enjoy working in restaurants, but we were both tired of working in restaurants – tired of the grind of it, so how do we get to do something we like to do and really enjoy, but not follow the typical restaurant model?

Even now, we’ve got two restaurants, a couple food carts, I don’t really know if I consider our restaurant the same as a ‘real’ restaurant, and I think our staff and people that come here feel that, too.

JOEL: We’re a little bit different. Our model. It’s sorta streamlined, and it’s a business that kinda replicates with different situations: be it a cart, restaurant, events, festivals, catering. It all kinda translates.

JON: And with an end goal, too, that we get to actually enjoy our lives and not feel like we’re in the restaurant 60-70 hours a week. and I think that’s what we try to impart to our staff field managers, line cooks, dishwashers, anybody. It’s got to be a work/life balance. It’s helped us retain staff, and makes people enjoy working here for a lot longer.

20 | ChefsWarehouse.com

It makes customers feel that love and joy that they feel when they’re here.

Tell us about your menu.

JOEL: The standard menu (tacos and sides) are our recipes but Carmen has touched up some of the side items and salsas. The rotating specials menu is pretty much all Carmen. Some of her most popular specials are Pork Verde, Pork Colorado, Mahi Ceviche and Posole. Tacos are what we’re known for but if you want to venture out and try something different you can’t go wrong with something from the special board.

BEND EL SANCHO

Let’s stick with Carmen a sec – because the one thing that Bart, your sales rep, said prior to this interview was, “Ask about Carmen” exclamation point.

3

JOEL: Ha! She’s amazing – originally from Veracruz, Mexico. She’s definitely reinforced a lot of what we do here. And she can show us the ‘real’ way. She grew up cooking with her aunts from a really young age. She’s done it her whole life.

Puts a lot of love and care into it. We’re super lucky to have her.

With what’s going on with the pandemic, how have you guys been affected? Tell me about the challenges.

JON: We were 2 weeks away from opening our 2nd restaurant: hiring, training, and we had a staff of about 72, and we had to lay off 60 people. Super tough, but it was just like, if we don’t survive there won’t be a restaurant to come back to. First, we opened for takeout. We reworked everyone’s salaries and we made it so we could make it through it. Played the takeout game, tried delivery. Luckily we had a pretty good takeout following going on, and our food holds pretty well. That’s how we held on for those 2 months. And then once Oregon was able to open back up, we were able to open the second restaurant and hit it, and hit it hard.

What makes El Sancho unique?

JON: We are who we are. We don’t try to play by the rules. Sure, if something makes sense for the way we want to do it, we’ll do it. But me, Joel, we empower our managers to make decisions based on how we want to do things, and that’s what we do.

If you like it, that’s awesome, come in, we hope you enjoy it. And if you don’t like it, that’s okay too. You can go to a different restaurant and find something else that you like. So, we want to be ourselves, and then if you like it? Come on in.

Get Loco!

/ElSanchoBend

All in the Family FLANNERY BEEF

TRUE CRAFTSMANSHIP is what comes to mind when visiting Flannery Beef, a family-owned and operated purveyor of prime, dry-aged beef, based in San Rafael, California.

RYAN FLANNERY, TOGETHER WITH HIS DAUGHTER, KATIE, specialize in an increasingly rare combination of Prime beef and an old-fashioned method of naturally dry aging. Both have a butcher’s eye for selecting the best meat, a skill they inherited from Bryan Flannery Sr. who founded Bryan’s Quality Meats in San Francisco in 1963, after starting his career at Grant Market, a San Francisco legend in the days before supermarkets.

B

Having grown up working in his father’s much-reputed butcher shop, with his brothers, sisters, and mother, Bryan Jr. offered, “That’s just what you did as a working-class family when your father started a business. The difference between my entryway into the meat business and my daughter’s is that Katie had a choice!”

A former art major in college, Katie became partner in Flannery Beef with her father in 2013. An immediate natural talent in the field, Katie is taking the industry by storm. Passionate about being the third generation in her family to rise to the helm of the business, Katie is naturally intuitive about the craft of dry aging and streamlining Flannery Beef’s USDA-certified facility.

very specific ways that we want things done and very high expectations for quality.”

Bryan’s big question for butcher applicants is simple, “Are you willing to bring your brain with you when you walk in? That’s all I ask,” Bryan shared with a grin. “I always say, If you’re thinking about the task that you’re doing, you’re gonna figure ways to do it better. That’s just human nature.”

Unusual in the meat industry, Flannery Beef sources Holstein cattle for their USDA Prime Beef selection. “The first thing we love about Holstein is...

Continued on page 23.

“You really get satisfaction, knowing that what you’re sending out the door is the very best.” Katie shared.

“Once somebody tries it, they absolutely love it. The feedback really solidifies it for me. That’s how I knew this is what I want to be doing.”

“Part of keeping true to our traditions has to do with our European style and methodology of cutting,” offered Bryan. “You’re dealing with muscles. So, you’re not using a saw unless you have to. Everything is hand-cut, which is really a lot different than most production situations.”

Flannery Prime Beef is unusual for a meat processing facility in terms of the butchers they hire. “We prefer to find somebody who has very little experience. We want to train them from the ground up.” Bryan shared. “We have

Winter 2020 / 2021 | 21

SAN FRANCISCO

C A L I FOR NI A AC A DE M Y OF S C I E NC E

The Science of Delicious W I T H C H E F DA N T E C EC C H I N I

By Kelli Colaco he wheels are in motion here and we’re ready to go!” stated Dante Cecchini, California Academy of Science’s new Executive Chef. The reputable young gun chef (who also happens to be a serious amateur motorcycle racer), has spent the past seven months formulating a dynamic new culinary program for C.S.A.’s Terrace Restaurant with his team. “I am very familiar with this space.

I used to always come here as a boy.” Dante shared enthusiastically.

T

A proud San Francisco native, Dante started his career in culinary at S.F. treasures Citizen Cake, Marlowe, Park Tavern, and the Cavalier. Chef Cecchini earned national recognition as one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30 Chefs in America” and has also created inspired menus for the Bay Area’s coveted, Fiorella and Violet’s.

22 | ChefsWarehouse.com

Having carved his “one to watch” reputation at popular boutique venues, Dante, now the “ripe old age” of 32, was admittedly apprehensive about making the leap into a big corporate venue scenario. Dante explains, “The reason I could make this jump is because Constellation Culinary (the culinary group behind, C.A.S.) holds great food as number one. We give the Academy of Sciences the promise that we’ll always uphold the quality of the menu. We’re not buying anything prepackaged. We really want to offer an exceptional dining experience in this dynamic, cool cafeteria-like space.”

Now in the saddle of his first corporate chef position, Dante commented, “I’m growing and learning a lot about being a manager and dealing with personalities. I’ve gone from a staff of about 12 at my previous restaurants to a staff of about 40. It’s important to me to keep everyone inspired and happy to be here. I want them to know they’re not just here to serve up the macaroni and cheese etc.. I want to really show them how to do everything from start to finish.”

Having learned to cook initially from his Italian father and grandfather, Dante’s own chef-creative journey has been an authentically flavorful circle trip. Dante, elaborates, “When

you’re starting out as a chef you’re thinking, ‘What can I add to this dish to make it better?’ As I’ve gotten older, and more experienced, when something doesn’t taste right you have to basically un-train, trim back and ask, ‘What doesn’t this dish need?

This dish is overwhelmed.’”

This practice of simplifying goes hand in hand with authentic Italian cuisine. Dante adds, “Really traditional Italian cuisine is very, simple. For instance… perfectly blanched fava beans, shaved pecorino, fresh lemon, olive oil, and black pepper. It’s four components. If you screw up one of those four components, there’s nowhere to hide. This is where really simple-humble food becomes difficult to execute”

my grandfather. I remember just having so much fun watching him. However, his face just stayed totally serious and focused on what he was doing. I thought that was really interesting.”

Now in charge of his own professional “family” at C.A.S., Dante relayed that he and his team have put a great deal of thought and inspiration (including extensive R&D) into the new culinary program at California Academy of Science, “The Terrace Restaurant.”

Dante shares,”I remember cooking with my dad when I was like 16 or 17. He’s telling me how to make risotto for like the thousandth time and with his usual heavy emphasis on the basic techniques.

Good food doesn’t need to be over-complicated and it doesn’t need to be expensive.”

While cocooned by COVID closures, Dante and team have also strategized to ensure they enroll the right number of staff. Dante explains, “We’re starting really small. The dining room is small. The staff is very small. We have done this on purpose in hopes that when our doors open, we just get ‘slapped around,’ but able to handle it for opening, and then we can justify bringing in more people. Instead hiring too many people and risking having to let anyone go. We really do not want to do that.”

A real family guy, Chef Cecchini credits much of his work ethic and familial appreciation to the “traditional Italian household” he grew up in. “We always had dinner at the same time every day. As kids, my brother Nicolas and I were expected to set the table and help out with dishes. They put us to work. Then eventually, I started to help make the pasta. One of my really vivid memories is making pasta with

With an unprecedentedly “unique” holiday season at our heels, Dante expressed appreciation for the elegant and festive family dinners his father loves to host each year. “My Dad has all the stemware and nice china. He takes so much pride in setting up a really beautiful table and a nice party. Everybody at the table gets name tags-place setting in front of their seat. Dad takes so much effort and care to

make everything more special. Everyone is expected to come looking their best. This also helps to make everything more fun. Being able to count on these special occasions in my family is something I truly cherish.”

Once Chef Dante gets his new culinary program at The Terrace Restaurant (and eventually the Academy Cafe as well) “off to the races,” he greatly looks forward to having slightly more time on his hands, one of the benefits of the corporate chef track. Ironically, Instead of spending more time “relaxing,” Cecchini looks to spend a good deal his “extra time” going as fast as he and his Ducati IG LE 959 possibly can.

Which is, as Cecchini related, is “just like a rocket.”

Science Never Tasted So Good.

Check Out The Wonder:

/calacademy

ALL IN THE FAMILY, FLANNERY BEEF cont. from pg. 21 that they are superior in both presentation and quality compared to other breeds,” Katie shared.

Holsteins first bred in Southern California, are a slightly different physiological animal than Angus or Wagyu. “Being a bit smaller, the diameter of the meat and marbling pattern of Holstein cattle is more distinctive,” Katie commented.

In terms of selection of their Prime Beef, Flannery’s is among the most discerning out there. “If we cannot make a piece of meat even better, we won’t touch it,” offered Katie.

With an impressive reputation and list of lasting loyalty among the culinary community that includes over twenty Michelin-starred restaurants and high profile chefs in the US, Europe, and Asia, Flannery Beef has become a word of mouth sensation.

“My pitch to chefs is always, I don’t want to be your entire supplier, I just want to be your top shelf, just like the top shelf liquor, etc.,” Flannery shared. “We are more expensive, but our product

is better. It’s the best.” Bryan contributed.

Having managed to ride the tsunami of COVID challenges these past 9 months, Flannery Beef looks to have continued growing success with Katie Flannery now leading the charge. Bryan added, “She’s my exit strategy. But to be totally honest it’s been a real adventure partnering together because we put together a dinosaur and a hipster.

I don’t always understand the things that she understands and I do things that make her scratch her head, but it’s been great. I couldn’t be happier. It’s much more exciting for me to continue growing the business because I know Katie’s got to take it and run with it.” Bryan closes, “A young, intelligent, good look woman in this misogynist meat business, who knows more than most men about what we’re doing, you better believe the sky’s the limit.”

Discover the best of the best:

/flannerybeef Winter 2020 / 2021 | 23

Essence of Growth Sovena doesn’t just talk about sustainability, they put it into practice in every step of every process.

SOVENA AND SUSTAINABILITY. Sovena wants to grow beyond what they are today and preserve what they’ve always done well in order to be more relevant tomorrow. They will continue to produce good food without trickery. And after 100 years of growth, they prepare to fuel their next 100.

This is why they carry out their activities in a responsible manner, ensuring the latest food safety certifications, applying the best sustainability practices and reinforcing their commitment to research, development and innovation.

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And finally, it is for this reason that they promote health and nutrition among their people: their employees,distributor partners, and end-use customers, so that flavor and health make their way to all dinner tables.

Sovena partners with the world’s largest olive oil supplier to offer you a complete portfolio.

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Sovena is proud to offer Tri-Fri Oil offering 0% Trans Fat and rich in Omega 6 and vitamin E and able to withstand extensive frying for a period of 150 hours.

SovenaGroup.com 24 | ChefsWarehouse.com

You need to rely on your workhorse oils and vinegars. Sovena’s family offers quality that won’t break the bank.

GEM Rice Bran Oil has a naturally high smoking point of 490 degrees (254°C). it’s ideal for flash frying, sautéing, dressing and vinaigrettes.

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SEASONALITY AND FIRE SEASON “Sovena EVOO is absolutely delicious for salads, dipping, and drizzling. I discovered Sovena oil years ago and have been using it exclusively ever since.

I trust the quality and I use it every day.”

IT WAS ALMOST TWO DECADES AGO that famed American Chef Cindy Pawlcyn, best known for San Francisco and Napa Valley restaurants, and featured in the first season of Bravo’s “Top Chef: Masters,” singled out young Sergio Morales, previously a dishwasher, as one of her proteges.

When we asked Chef Morales, who has excelled in his profession without formal training, what he credits for catching the eye of such a highly

revered chef as Pawclyn, he responded, “I think she liked that I was always smiling a lot. She really liked my positive attitude.” Morales shared.

“I was always working very hard. Sometimes I spend more time at my job than at home. So why do I need to be grumpy? Angry cooks make angry food.”

After working with Pawlcyn for 13 years and moving on to work-learn from elite chef-mentors

-Exec. Chef Sergio Morales, Indian Springs Resort Sam’s Social Club

Savor true farm to table with Chef Sergio/Sam’s Social Club:

/SSCNAPA

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SEASONALITY AND FIRE SEASON cont. from pg. 25 including, Michael Mina, Thomas Keller, and Michael Chiarello at various hot spot culinary venues in NorCal, Chef Morales tried his luck and dropped off his resume for a job opening not too far from his longtime home in Calistoga, at the highly coveted Indian Spring’s Resort- Sam’s Social Club.

Fortunately, Morales, a self-proclaimed “diamond in the rough,” was hired as Executive Chef of the Calistoga favorite, Sam’s Social in 2017. Sergio expressed his sincere respect and gratitude to the entire Merchant family (original owners of the venue), who hired him in the position. John Merchant, who bought and renovated the iconic space decades ago (as well as many other popular Calistoga venues including Calistoga Depot), passed last January 2020. A well known creative visionary, Merchant’s influence on downtown Calistoga has been deeply impactful to the quaint, popular wine country town.

When CW Mag. spoke to Chef Morales, who shares his home with his devoted wife and four children, he and his team at Indian Springs/ Sam’s Social Club had just gotten the venue up and running again after being closed for three weeks due to the dangers and bad air of the nearby Glass Fire which destroyed 1,555 structures, including local wineries. Emergency evacuations during California’s “Fire Season” in the Fall (once merely known as Harvest Season for the wineries), as well as closures and cancellations due to COVID, are challenges chefs like Morales, are becoming very well acquainted with. Chef Morales commented, “With all of the craziness of COVID and three terrible fire sea-

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sons, we are putting a lot of energy into executing a lot of new procedures to first and foremost keep our guests safe, and to have us ready as possible for all of the potential challenges.”

Having established a “farm to table” identity way before “farm to table” was such an overused term, Morales shared that what makes his cuisine at Sam’s Social Club singular and special. “For me, it’s really important to have a really good connection and relationship with my vendors and distributors, like with Doug Achterberg (CW Rep and V.P. of Business Development) at The Chefs’ Warehouse. It is through these close relationships that I can offer our guests the very best seasonal ingredients and local and imported products.”

Gearing up for the Holiday Menu at Sam’s Social Club, Chef Morales relayed his enthusiasm for creating a truly wholesome traditional feast for Thanksgiving, replete with organic local turkey, fall fruits including: pomegranate and persimmon salad, roasted baby carrots, butternut squash soup, and apple pie. For Christmas Dinner, Morales looks forward to offering Allen Brothers Prime Rib with all the trimmings.

Chef Morales completed our conversation commenting on the unique synergy he has with everyone he works with at Sam’s Social Club-Indian Springs, “We are all on this same page and this really helps things to run as smoothly as possible. Everyone jumps on board together always for the safety and experience of our guests. I am very grateful to be here working with this great team.”

Chef Sergio Morales loves offering his guests incredible Prime Rib from Allen Brothers.

For Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, 2020 has been a year of milestone achievements, despite the challenges of operating in the midst of a global pandemic. First, it marks the family-owned creamery’s 20th Anniversary since launching its flagship cheese, Original Blue. Two decades later Point Reyes Cheese is consistently regarded as one of the highest quality artisan chees cheese producers in the US. In February, the company was certified as a majority women-owned business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. For the trio of sisters who own it—Jill Basch, chief marketing officer; Lynn Stray, chief operating officer; and Diana Hagan, chief financial officer—WBENC certification has multiple benefits. It allows them to sell to customers with diversity purchasing requi requirements and it facilitates networking with other women-owned businesses.

It also reflects their values. Jill explains “Our focus is to create an environment that supports women with work life balance, strong leadership and opportunities for growth. We care about the big and little things in life, understanding that woman wear many hats.” Lynn, who oversees Sales, adds “WBENC certification provides us access to partners that have shared values in their procu procurement and supply chain initiatives. We support diversification in all aspects of our business and believe it brings talent, creativity, and quality to our success.”

Photo: David Briggs

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Celebrate 20 years of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese: /pointreyescheese