July 1: Juliette Kitchen + Bar, Friends & Family, Jean-Christian Jury, Porto’s Bakery & Cafe

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Proprietress Juliette Chung & Executive Chef Daniel Hyatt, Juliette Kitchen & Bar, Newport Beach
Segment Three: Executive Chef Daniel Mattern & Pastry Chef/Baker Roxana Jullapat, Friends & Family, Los Angeles
Segment Four: Chef Jean-Christian Jury, Vegan: The Cookbook
Segment Five: Betty Porto, Vice President, Community & Guest Relations, Porto’s Bakery & Cafe Part One
Segment Six: Betty Porto, Vice President, Community & Guest Relations, Porto’s Bakery & Cafe Part Two
Segment Seven: Chef Andrew Gruel

Happy 4th of July Weekend. Have fun but be safe, too…

Now a sparkling preview of this Saturday’s celebratory show. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case, upon reflection, that’s probably a pretty good thing…

The ownership and culinary team behind Newport Beach’s Juliette Kitchen + Bar present a philosophy based on the exploration of diverse flavors and the commitment to employing only the best ingredients. This all adds up to a continually evolving experience. Weekend brunch has just been added. Proprietor Juliette Chung and Executive Chef Daniel Hyatt are our guests.

The team of Executive Chef Daniel Mattern and Pastry Chef & Baker Roxana Jullapat are fondly remembered as the culinary heart of Cook’s County (now closed.) Happily they have now opened a 4,000 square foot, fast casual breakfast and lunch place of their own, Friends & Family. It’s a great addition to Los Angeles’ rediscovered Thai Town. Chefs Roxana and Daniel join us.

Vegan: The Cookbook is newly published by the well-traveled, Chef Jean-Christian Jury, a leader in the international vegan community. In the weighty volume the reader will discover a wide range of accessible and appealing plant-based dishes (designed for the home kitchen) that will excite and satisfy vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike. We’ll meet Chef Jean-Christian.

The crowd-pleasing, proudly family-owned Porto’s Bakery & Café (think potato balls) opened its biggest, long-anticipated branch in Buena Park (25,000 sq.ft.) up the street from Knott’s Berry Farm in early March. It’s been a resounding success. It even offers complimentary valet parking to negate potential parking hassles. Betty Porto joins us with all the delectable details of this incredible and inspiring success story.

Chef Andrew Gruel is on the road but we have him for a few moments by phone. No doubt he’ll have helpful some 4th of July cooking tips for us as well as an insider’s report from the Slapfish booth at last Weekend’s inaugural Arroyo Seco Weekend festival in Pasadena adjacent to The Rose Bowl. There was some great food and beverages available out there!

All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness on this week’s show!

Juliette Chung and Chef Daniel HyattThe ownership and culinary team behind Newport Beach’s Juliette Kitchen + Bar present a philosophy based on the exploration of diverse flavors and the commitment to employing only the best ingredients. This all adds up to a continually evolving experience.

“Juliette Kitchen & Bar is where seasonal and local ingredients come together in vibrant, modern and balanced dishes. Always, rustic, warm and inviting, Juliette Owners Juliette Chung and John Hughes, along with Executive Chef Daniel Hyatt, welcome the community to indulge in good conversation and great food.”

Juliette Kitchen & Bar is now serving Weekend Brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  Executive Daniel Hyatt’s menu draws inspiration from locally sourced ingredients, so guests can look forward to enjoying seasonal brunch dishes with a modern American twist. Lending her own touch to the menu, restaurant co-owner Juliette Chung has added her own house-made granola and fresh biscuits to the menu, which also features housemade juices and brunchtime cocktails, such as the Mimosa Lisa and Top of the Morning Irish Coffee.

Proprietor Juliette Chung and Executive Chef Daniel Hyatt are our guests.

Daniel MatternThe team of Executive Chef Daniel Mattern and Pastry Chef & Baker Roxana Jullapat are fondly remembered as the culinary heart of Cook’s County (now closed.) Happily they have now opened a 4,000 square foot, fast casual breakfast and lunch place of their own, Friends & Family. All breads & pastries are prepared and baked in-house. It’s a great addition to Los Angeles’ rediscovered Thai Town.

It’s a vibrant bakery, coffee bar and café where you can enjoy every menu item there or have it packaged to go. The ice cream counter features eye-catching rotating seasonal flavors presented in housemade waffle cones. They also prepare appealing gift baskets, picnics and have a monthly bread club (Friends & Family Sourdough Club.)

Pies for the 4th of July can be ordered through July 2nd. On the menu are Key Lime Pie, Banana Cream Pie and Blackberry & Nectarine Pie.

Chefs Roxana and Daniel join us.

Jean Christian JuryVegan: The Cookbook is newly published by the well-traveled, Chef Jean-Christian Jury, a leader in the international vegan community. In the weighty volume the reader will discover a wide range of accessible and appealing plant-based dishes (designed for the home kitchen) that will excite and satisfy vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike. It features an impressive 450 recipes from more than 150 countries around the world.

The book presents dishes from countries ranging from Albania to Zambia. It showcases the culinary diversity of vegan cuisine, highlighting regional fruits and vegetables, traditional cooking techniques, and universally delectable flavors.

Home cooks will discover sweet and savory starters, soups, salads, mains, and desserts for all to enjoy, accompanied by straightforward instructions and gorgeous color photography. Chef Jury’s recipes have been meticulously tested for accuracy and ease of use.

Jean-Christian Jury is a vegan and raw-food chef from Toulouse, France. In 2008, he opened La Mano Verde in Berlin, Germany, his first vegan restaurant, and received praise from Saveur and Rodale’s Organic Life, and many international publications

We’ll meet Chef Jean-Christian.

Betty PortoThe crowd-pleasing, proudly family-owned Porto’s Bakery & Café (think potato balls & cheese rolls) opened its biggest, long-anticipated branch in Buena Park (25,000 sq.ft.) up the street from Knott’s Berry Farm in early March. Actor Andy Garcia officiated at the ribbon-cutting. It’s been a resounding success. It even offers complimentary valet parking to negate potential parking hassles.

Don’t let the lines scare you. It all moves fast. The three service areas under one roof include the bakery section, the food station which also offers the pastries and an express premium coffee counter with select, best-selling pastries. There is also a convenient station to pick-up pre-orders.

On the new Summer Specials menu are a Guava BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, Rustic Tomato Soup with San Marzano Tomatoes and outrageous Lemon Bars.

2nd generation Co-proprietor Betty Porto joins us with all the delectable details of this incredible and inspiring success story which started with the Family’s escape from Cuba in 1960.

Betty Porto in front of the Porto's Bakery Bread RackPorto’s traces its origins to the year 1960, when the Porto family made the tough decision to leave their home in Manzanillo, Cuba. After living through the drastic changes that were taking place around them, they requested permission to leave the country. Immediately Raul Sr. was terminated from his job and sent away to manual labor for the duration of the wait period. Wife, Rosa Porto was also let go. Knowing that it may take years to be able to leave the country, Rosa found herself alone and having to find a means to support her three children Betty, Raul Jr., and Margarita.

Rosa, always a talented cake maker, with a passion for baking, entrenched herself in perfecting her recipes and began selling her delicious cakes to friends and neighbors not realizing that she was also building herself a loyal customer base.

When the family finally emigrated from Cuba to California, they had not much more than the clothes on their backs, Raul Sr.’s strong work ethic, Rosa’s exceptional baking skills, and a dream for a better life. Soon after the plane landed, Rosa realized that her reputation had preceded her, and met her first customer just as she got off the plane. Raul Sr. took a job as a mechanic and after work delivered Rosa’s cakes. These were hard times, but the family was now in a country filled with limitless opportunities and their dream for a better future became more real as the years passed.

Rosa continued on with her cake business and when their home could no longer accommodate the increased demand, opened a little 300-square foot bakery on Sunset Blvd, in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. From day one, the place was busy, serving close to 50 customers a day. After tirelessly working two jobs, Raul Sr. left his latter job at Van De Kamp’s and joined Rosa full time. Meanwhile, their children Betty, Raul Jr., and Margarita managed to maintain their studies and learn the different parts of the business; baking, decorating, food preparation, customer service, and finances.

Rosa’s Cuban cakes were soon joined by French mousses, Italian sweets, and international savories. As customers flocked to the bakery demanding countless quantities of Cheese Rolls™, Refugiados™-guava and cheese strudels, and the infamous Potato Ball™, space became critical. A move was made to a 2,000-square foot facility in Glendale and six years later to one double in size. The bakery continued to grow and more employees where hired to handle the demand for its increasingly broad line of cakes, desserts, and savories.

Porto’s Bakery & Café now serves thousands of customers and employs hundreds of team members in Southern California, with stores in Glendale, Burbank, Downey and now, Buena Park. In 2018 West Covina is on the horizon.

Andrew and William GruelOur own Chef Andrew Gruel is on the road again but in the holiday spirit we have him for a few moments by phone. No doubt he’ll have helpful some 4th of July cooking tips for us as well as an insider’s report from the Slapfish booth at last Weekend’s inaugural Arroyo Seco Weekend festival in Pasadena adjacent to the Rose Bowl. There was some great food and beverages available out there!

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Proprietress Juliette Chung & Executive Chef Daniel Hyatt, Juliette Kitchen & Bar, Newport Beach
Segment Three: Executive Chef Daniel Mattern & Pastry Chef/Baker Roxana Jullapat, Friends & Family, Los Angeles
Segment Four: Chef Jean-Christian Jury, Vegan: The Cookbook
Segment Five: Betty Porto, Vice President, Community & Guest Relations, Porto’s Bakery & Cafe Part One
Segment Six: Betty Porto, Vice President, Community & Guest Relations, Porto’s Bakery & Cafe Part Two
Segment Seven: Chef Andrew Gruel