Show 209, February 4, 2017: Show Preview with Andy Harris, Co-Host & Executive Producer & Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish Restaurant Group

Golden Mike AwardNow an enticing preview of this Saturday’s overflowing show with Co-Hosts Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel of the Slapfish Restaurant Group. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case that’s actually a pretty good thing…

First our heartiest congratulations to our colleague, Jeane Blunt, the Assistant Production Manager here at AM 830 KLAA. She Produced The Golden Mike Award winning-segment (at the 67th Annual Golden Mike Awards Presentation) for Best Community Affairs Show (How CPR saves lives) with veteran on-air personality Tammy Trujillo.

An award-winning, handcrafted toffee, B. toffee’s “crunchy perfection of sweetness” offers, perhaps, the ultimate chocolate indulgence. (Think Valentine’s Day…) Combining only the finest, freshest, and most natural ingredients, Newport Beach local Betsy Thagard spent years of passionate experimenting to create the perfect toffee. Betsy is our guest.

John Kunkel’s (50 Eggs, Inc.) lauded Yardbird Southern Table & Bar first roosted at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas in January of 2015. The original is in Miami. A new 50 Eggs, Inc. concept will soon open next door to Yardbird (in the former db Brasserie space) at The Venetian. John is here with all the details.

One of the early stars of Food Network, Chef Sara Moulton, is back with us. Her new book is Sara Moulton’s Home Cooking 101 – How to Make Everything Taste Better.

We gladly support our active duty service-people. We got a call from an Active-Duty Marine. He requested a primer on cooking duck. Chef Andrew Gruel to the rescue. We aim to please…

We’ve been enthusiastically following Team USA’s progress (backed by the ment’or BKB Foundation) in the bi-annual Bocuse d’Or International Culinary Competition for the last five years. Late last month Team USA achieved the impossible – Gold in Lyon. Team USA’s Coach Philip Tessier and Team USA Vice President Gavin Kaysen join us to savor this tremendous achievement for the culinary arts in the United States. Both are former competitors in the Bocuse d’Or themselves.

All of this and lots more absolutely incredible deliciousness on Saturday’s show!

February 4: Gold Medalists Team USA from Bocuse d’Or, B. Toffee, Yardbird Southern Table, Sara Moulton

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Andy Harris, Co-Host & Executive Producer & Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Two: Betsy Thagard, Founder, B. toffee, Newport Beach
Segment Three: John Kunkel, 50 Eggs, Inc & Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, The Venetian, Las Vegas
Segment Four: Chef Sara Moulton, Public Television’s “Sara’s Weeknight Meals”
Segment Five: Chef Andrew Gruel, Founder & Chief Seafood Officer, Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Six: Team USA Head Coach Chef Philip Tessier, Hestan Smart Cooking Culinary Director
Segment Seven: Team USA Vice President Chef Gavin Kaysen, Spoon and Stable, Minneapolis

Now an enticing preview of this Saturday’s overflowing show with Co-Hosts Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel of the Slapfish Restaurant Group. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case that’s actually a pretty good thing…

An award-winning, handcrafted toffee, B. toffee’s “crunchy perfection of sweetness” offers, perhaps, the ultimate chocolate indulgence. (Think Valentine’s Day…) Combining only the finest, freshest, and most natural ingredients, Newport Beach local Betsy Thagard spent years of passionate experimenting to create the perfect toffee. Betsy is our guest.

New for 2017 is Mesa’s (Costa Mesa) Chef’s Tables which will occur every Tuesday evening. Each month will host a unique musical inspiration and theme. Instead of only having one shot at experiencing Chef Niki Starr’s specialty menu, guests will have multiple opportunities to attend, and at a lower price. Chef Niki joins us with a preview of the February menu.

John Kunkel’s (50 Eggs, Inc.) lauded Yardbird Southern Table & Bar landed at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas in January of 2015. The original is in Miami. A new 50 Eggs, Inc. concept will soon open next door to Yardbird (in the former db Brasserie space) at The Venetian. John is here with all the details.

One of the early stars of Food Network, Chef Sara Mouton, is back with us. Her new book is Sara Moutlton’s Home Cooking 101 – How to Make Everything Taste Better.

We support our active duty service-people. We got a call from an Active-Duty Marine. He requested a primer on cooking duck. Chef Andrew Gruel to the rescue. We aim to please…

We’ve been enthusiastically following Team USA’s progress (backed by the ment’or BKB Foundation) in the bi-annual Bocuse d’Or International Culinary Competition for the last five years. Late last month Team USA achieved the impossible – Gold in Lyon. Team USA’s Coach Philip Tessier and Team USA Vice President Gavin Kaysen join us to savor this tremendous achievement for the culinary arts in the United States. Both are former competitors in the Bocuse d’Or themselves.

All of this and lots more absolutely incredible deliciousness on Saturday’s show!

Betsy ThagardAn award-winning, handcrafted toffee, B. toffee’s “crunchy perfection of sweetness” offers the ultimate indulgence. (Think Valentine’s Day…) Combining only the finest, freshest, and most natural ingredients, Newport Beach local Betsy Thagard spent years of passionate experimenting to create the perfect toffee. At first she only shared it with friends as an anxiously anticipated Holiday Gift. Now it’s thoughtfully available to us all.

Today, B. toffee is growing nationwide with premiere placement at the country’s most noted gourmet markets and specialty stores. B. toffee is recognized as a superior quality product with its sophisticated, sleek packaging being described as a “crunchy perfection of sweetness” and has also taken a bite out of the corporate, and party favor market.

Most recently B. toffee received top GOLD honors for “Top Toffee” and “Best Packaging” by the Taste Awards in San Francisco, CA. Also awarded the “Official Toffee” at The Golden Foodie Awards-the highest Culinary Foodie Awards in Orange County, CA.

Demand has increased to the point where B. toffee has recently relocated to a much larger production and packaging facility. The product is still attentively made and packaged by hand in small batches.

“Sharing my B. toffee product with the world has been a dream come true, and I am so proud and honored by the partnerships developed over the past year,” said Thagard.  “The move to the new facility will allow B. toffee to continue to grow, and, in turn, dedicate more resources to a project close to my heart, the B. Giving Initiative, which, in conjunction with local charities, allows for B. toffee to impact the community in a positive way.”

Betsy is our guest.

John KunkelJohn Kunkel’s (50 Eggs, Inc.) lauded Yardbird Southern Table & Bar landed at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas in January of 2015. The original is in Miami. The motto is “Southern from Scratch,” a modern take on Southern fare.

Founded by John Kunkel, 50 Eggs, Inc. is a multi-faceted, full-service culinary and hospitality firm focused on developing cutting-edge brands with unparalleled dining experiences. Named Restaurant Hospitality Magazine’s “Coolest Multi-Concept Companies in the Land”, 50 Eggs, Inc. owns and operates the James Beard-nominated and award winning Yardbird Southern Table & Bar in Miami and Las Vegas, Swine Southern Table & Bar in Miami, and Spring Chicken in South Beach, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, and the Miami International Airport.

50 Eggs, Inc. will open its first international location in 2017, Yardbird Southern Table & Bar at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands. The brand’s first Latin concept, CHICA, will open at the Venetian Las Vegas in 2017 (in the former db Brasserie space). The menu is from acclaimed chef, Lorena Garcia.

John is here with all the details.

Sara MoultonChef Sara Moulton was one of the first breakout stars of the then embryonic Food Network and is currently the host of Public Television’s “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” She is also the author of the Associated Press column “Kitchen Wise.”

Her newest cookbook is the ambitious, Sara Moulton’s Home Cooking 101: How to Make Everything Taste Better.

Not just a collection of wonderful recipes, HOME COOKING 101 is a teaching manual aimed at the home cook. The recipes will indeed make it easier to put dinner on the table on a weeknight, but, as Sara notes in her introduction, “more important is that each recipe specifically demonstrates a tip or method that can make you a better and more confident cook while also teaching you to make your dishes taste better.”

Accordingly, the book’s first chapter is a compact and handy rulebook entitled “The Ten Basics of Good Home Cooking.” It advises the home cook as follows:

  • Shake hands with your stove
  • Buy a good knife
  • Get organized
  • Follow the recipe exactly the first time you make it
  • Dispense with mise en place
  • Reach for the salt
  • Balance flavors
  • Build umami
  • Use all your senses
  • Don’t waste food

As for the recipes, there are 150 of them—all new and accompanied by photographs that illustrate, step-by-step, the book’s key techniques. The book also boasts guest recipes from a stellar cast of some of Sara’s favorite chefs and cookbook authors, including Rick Bayless, Amanda Cohen, Hiroko Shimbo, Jacques Torres, Marc Vetri, and Grace Young.

In sum, Sara writes, “The goal of this book is two-fold: to sharpen your sense of taste and to provide you with a raft of time-tested techniques that I hope will become second nature to you.”

We’re back in the kitchen with Chef Sara.

Andrew Gruel at the AM830 KLAA StudiosWe gladly support our active duty service-people. We got a call from an Active-Duty Marine. He requested a primer on cooking duck.

Chef Andrew Gruel to the rescue. He’s about to open Two Birds

We aim to please…

Team USA wins Hold at the 2017 Bocuse D'orWe’ve been enthusiastically following Team USA’s progress (backed by the ment’or BKB Foundation) in the Bocuse d’Or International Culinary Competition for the last five years. Late last month Team USA achieved the impossible – Gold in Lyon. Team USA’s Coach Philip Tessier and Team USA Vice President Gavin Kaysen join us to savor this tremendous achievement for the culinary arts in the United States. Both are former competitors in the Bocuse d’Or themselves.

Kudos to Team USA’s Chef Mathew Peters and Commis Harrision Turone

USA’s Team USA Coach, Chef Philip Tessier, joins us in the 1st Segment.

USA’s Team USA Vice President, Gavin Kaysen, joins us in thre 2nd Segment. He is the James Beard Award-winning Executive Chef/Proprietor of Spoon & Stable in Minneapolis.

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Andy Harris, Co-Host & Executive Producer & Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Two: Betsy Thagard, Founder, B. toffee, Newport Beach
Segment Three: John Kunkel, 50 Eggs, Inc & Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, The Venetian, Las Vegas
Segment Four: Chef Sara Moulton, Public Television’s “Sara’s Weeknight Meals”
Segment Five: Chef Andrew Gruel, Founder & Chief Seafood Officer, Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Six: Team USA Head Coach Chef Philip Tessier, Hestan Smart Cooking Culinary Director
Segment Seven: Team USA Vice President Chef Gavin Kaysen, Spoon and Stable, Minneapolis