December 1: Solvang’s Julefest, Lindsay-Jean Hard, Presqu’ile, Matthew Peters, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Sherry Yard

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Solvang Julefest, Laura Kath, Solvang Conference & Visitors Bureau
Segment Three: Food Journalist Lindsay-Jean Hard, Cooking With Scraps – Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, And Stems Into Delicious Meals
Segment Four: Founding Winemaker Dieter Cronje, Presqu’ile Winery, Santa Maria
Segment Five: Chef Matthew Peters, Gold Medalist, Team USA, Bocuse d’Or 2017
Segment Six: Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, 20th Anniversary, Stephen Blevins, Director of Wines
Segment Seven: Restaurateur & Chef Sherry Yard, COO of iPic Entertainment
Segment Eight: Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group, “Ask the Chef”

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

Solvang, named by MSN.com as one of the “50 Best Christmas Towns in All 50 States” and “America’s 50 Most Charming Small Towns for the Holidays” as well as Time Magazine’s “Most Christmassy Towns in America” will sparkle again during the 2018 annual Solvang Julefest (pronounced Yule-Fest) from December 1, 2018 through January 4, 2019. This year will feature the return of the popular Free Nisse Adventure Hunt, the Free Candlelight Tours and the addition of new VIP Candlelight Tours. Laura Kath, SCVB’s Media Relations Director lights the tree for us.

The statistics are grim: Americans currently produce 133 pounds of food waste every year, and 40 percent of food in this country goes uneaten. For the first time ever, the USDA has set a nationwide goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. Lindsay-Jean Hard’s Cooking with Scraps (Workman Publishing, $19.95, October 30, 2018) provides 85 creative, delicious, and inspired recipes to help home cooks meet this important goal. We’ll meet her.

Located in the heart of Santa Barbara County’s Santa Maria Valley, Presqu’ile (pronounced press-KEEL) is a small, family-run winery dedicated to crafting exceptional cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Made using grapes from their own sustainably certified Presqu’ile Vineyard, and from a handful of the finest winegrowing sites in the valley, Presqu’ile wines capture the essence of their vineyards and vintage, and have earned acclaim for their elegance and balance. Founding Winemaker Dieter Cronje pulls the cork for us.

We last spoke with Chef Mathew Peters early last year after he won the first ever Gold Medal for Team USA at the Bocuse d’Or International Culinary Competition, a never-before achieved highlight for the American culinary arts! Chef Peters is part of the Culinary Council of the ment’or BKB Foundation which supports Team USA. On Wednesday, December 12th in Las Vegas ment’or BKB is staging their Young Chef and Commis Competition. The food-loving public can support the non-profit ment’or BKB Foundation (and the culinary arts in the USA) and attend. Chef Matt, who will be a competition judge, joins us with all the mouthwatering details.

Twenty years ago Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar launched at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. It’s been a huge success. As they have branched over the years a signature for them has become their carefully curated wine program. Each Fleming’s has a part of their wine list with the hand-picked selections of that location’s Operating Partner. Our guest with the corkscrew is Stephen Blevins, Fleming’s Director of Wines who was previously the Operating Partner at the Flagship Newport Beach Fleming’s.

Frequent show guest Sherry Yard (Restaurateur & Chef and three-time James Beard Award-recipient for culinary excellence) is the Chief Operating Officer of iPic Entertainment where she oversees all theater and culinary operations for iPic. Sherry is back on Food TV as the new judge for Season 4 of ABC’s “The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition” popping out of the oven on Saturday evening, December 8th. We’re talking baking with Sherry.

Our own Chef Andrew Gruel joins us with another informative “Ask the Chef” segment. With the Holidays upon us it’s great to have a real working chef in our corner providing handy advice!

All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness on this week’s not-to-miss show!

Laura Kath of Mariah MarketingSolvang, named by MSN.com as one of the “50 Best Christmas Towns in All 50 States” and “America’s 50 Most Charming Small Towns for the Holidays” as well as Time Magazine’s “Most Christmassy Towns in America” will sparkle again during the 2018 annual Solvang Julefest (pronounced Yule-Fest) from December 1, 2018 through January 4, 2019. This year will feature the return of the popular Free Nisse Adventure Hunt, the Free Candlelight Tours and the addition of new VIP Candlelight Tours.

More 2018 Solvang Julefest highlights include the Free Visits with Santa “Julemanden” in Solvang Parkfree Nisse Adventure; Shop, Mingle & Jingle Weekends; Holiday Wine & Beer Walk “Skål Stroll!”; Community Tree-lighting CeremonyJulefest Parade and free Nativity Pageant. Especially with free parking throughout the village, the incredible variety of more than 150 one-of-a-kind boutiques and specialty shops makes Solvang a perfect destination to shop for gifts and create holiday memories.

Plus, there will be additional open houses at local retailers, special concerts and more taking place throughout the season—with activities continually being updated at Solvang USA’s website.

Laura Kath, SCVB’s Media Relations Director lights the tree for us.

Lindsay-Jean HurdThe statistics are grim: Americans currently produce 133 pounds of food waste every year, and 40 percent of food in this country goes uneaten. For the first time ever, the USDA has set a nationwide goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. Lindsay-Jean Hard’s Cooking with Scraps – Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, Stems and other Odds and Ends into Delicious Meals (Workman Publishing, $19.95, October 30, 2018) provides 85 creative, delicious, and inspired recipes to help home cooks meet this important goal.

By learning the basics behind transforming food waste into treasure, readers can take advantage of ingredients such as outdated produce, cheese rinds, stale bread, and other oft-discarded foods to create budget-conscious, sustainable, and highly satisfying meals.

Lindsay-Jean explains the rationale behind her choices in the recipes: “What lies unused in one’s fridge or pantry is not a purposeless object destined for the waste bin! For the most part, you’ll find recipes for the often unused parts—I’m assuming that if you buy carrots you already know how to use the carrot’s root, but you might not know how to make use of the greens—but every now and then I’ll touch on how to incorporate the whole item. For an ingredient to make it into the book, it had to be “worth it” to me as a scrap. For example, when buying broccoli, generally enough of the stem is sold along with it that it makes sense to put it to use, but you won’t find a recipe focused around ginger peels, because not only does it not really need to be peeled, but even if you do peel it, you won’t generate enough of it at one time to turn into something else.”

“Lindsay-Jean Hard received her Master’s in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. Her education and passion for sustainability went on to inform and inspire her work in the garden, home, and community. The seeds of this book were planted in her Food52 column of the same name. Today she works to share her passion for great food and great communities as a marketer at Zingerman’s Bakehouse. She lives, writes, loves, and creates in Ann Arbor, Michigan.”

We’ll meet Lindsay-Jean.

Dieter CronjeLocated in the heart of Santa Barbara County’s Santa Maria Valley, Presqu’ile (pronounced press-KEEL) is a small, family-run winery dedicated to crafting exceptional cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Made using grapes from their own sustainably certified Presqu’ile Vineyard, and from a handful of the finest winegrowing sites in the valley, Presqu’ile wines capture the essence of their vineyards and vintage, and have earned acclaim for their elegance and balance.

Situated high atop a hill, with stunning ocean and vineyard views, Presqu’ile offers one of California’s most memorable wine tasting experiences. Join the Murphy Family, and enjoy a taste of southern hospitality on California’s beautiful Central Coast.

“A cool-climate Pinot Noir specialist, and one of the Central Coast’s rising star winemakers, Dieter Cronje brings a unique perspective, gained in two hemispheres, to Presqu’ile. As the winery’s founding winemaker, Dieter had the rare opportunity to contribute his insights to the original planting of Presqu’ile’s 73-acre estate vineyard, an experience that gave him an intimate knowledge of the vineyard’s rich diversity.”

“He also collaborated with Presqu’ile’s founders, the Murphy family, during the design of Presqu’ile’s purpose-built winery. In this gravity-flow winery, Dieter preserves the vineyard’s diversity by working in small lots, and applying a gentle, minimalist approach that accentuates the character of the vineyards. The resulting wines offer the purity, elegance and signature spice that have made Santa Maria Valley famous among connoisseurs of great cool-climate Pinot Noir.”

Founding Winemaker Dieter Cronje pulls the cork for us.

Mathew PetersWe last spoke with Chef Mathew Peters early last year after he won the first ever Gold Medal for Team USA at the Bocuse d’Or International Culinary Competition, a never-before achieved highlight for the American culinary arts! He’s now Austin, Texas based and is in the process of launching his own destination restaurant there.

Chef Peters is part of the Culinary Council of the ment’or BKB Foundation which supports and funds Team USA. On Wednesday, December 12th in Las Vegas ment’or BKB is staging their Young Chef and Commis Competition. The food-loving public can support the non-profit ment’or BKB Foundation (and the culinary arts in the USA) and attend.

“All competitors in the Young Chef and Commis Competitions are paired with mentors from the Foundation’s Culinary Council or previous Bocuse d’Or Team USA representatives, in tandem with the foundation’s goal of inspiring culinary excellence and fostering a supportive community for the next generation of great chefs in America.”

“This year’s 2018 Young Chef & Commis candidates will congregate in Las Vegas from all across the country, with competitors hailing from Washington, D.C, Chicago, IL and Boston, MA all the way to Honolulu, HI.”

Following the competition, ment’or will host a 10th anniversary celebration dinner. Chefs Paul Bartolotta, Justin Cogley, Timothy Hollingsworth, Michelle Karr-Ueoka, Mathew Peters, Rich Rosendale and Philip Tessier will come together to prepare a special menu honoring the late Chef Paul Bocuse, for whom the Bocuse d’Or, the world’s most prestigious culinary competition, is named. The festivities will begin at Bouchon Las Vegas at The Venetian Resort with a 45-minute cocktail reception at 7:15pm with passed canapés, followed by a four-course menu.

Tickets for the competition and celebration dinner are available for purchase here.

Chef Matt, who will also be a competition judge, joins us with all the mouthwatering details.

Steven BlevinsTwenty years ago Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar launched at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. It’s been a huge success. As they have branched over the years to include 70 domestic restaurants a signature for them has become their carefully curated wine program. Each Fleming’s has a part of their wine list with the hand-picked selections of that location’s Operating Partner.

Two highly experienced restaurateurs had a vision of designing a steakhouse that would deliver a stylish and contemporary dining experience. Fleming’s was created from this vision by Paul Fleming, founder of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, and Bill Allen III, a leading restaurant and hospitality executive.

Our guest with the well-traveled corkscrew is Stephen Blevins, Fleming’s Director of Wines who was previously the Operating Partner at the Flagship Newport Beach Fleming’s.

Stephen’s passion project has been securing for Fleming’s celebrated winemaker Dave Phinney’s new release, 8 Years in the Desert by Orin Swift. It’s a California Red Bland. Of course there is a story…

Chef Sherry Yard and her Silken Pumpkin Pie with 3 layersFrequent show guest Sherry Yard (Restaurateur & Chef and three-time James Beard Award-recipient for culinary excellence) is the Chief Operating Officer of iPic Entertainment where she oversees all theater and culinary operations for iPic.

Sherry is back on Food TV as the new judge for Season 4 of ABC’s The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition” popping out of the oven on Saturday evening, December 8th.

“Based on the hit U.K. series “The Great British Bake Off,” “The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition” features bakers from across the country battling through 18 total challenges with six challenges throughout each two-hour themed episode, all in the hopes of being crowned “America’s Best Amateur Baker.” Emma Bunton and Anthony “Spice” Adams host. Best-selling cookbook author and baker Paul Hollywood and James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Sherry Yard are judges.”

We’re talking baking with Sherry.

Andrew and William GruelOur own Chef Andrew Gruel joins us with another informative “Ask the Chef” segment. With the Holidays upon us it’s great to have a real working chef in our corner with helpful advice!

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Solvang Julefest, Laura Kath, Solvang Conference & Visitors Bureau
Segment Three: Food Journalist Lindsay-Jean Hard, Cooking With Scraps – Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, And Stems Into Delicious Meals
Segment Four: Founding Winemaker Dieter Cronje, Presqu’ile Winery, Santa Maria
Segment Five: Chef Matthew Peters, Gold Medalist, Team USA, Bocuse d’Or 2017
Segment Six: Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, 20th Anniversary, Stephen Blevins, Director of Wines
Segment Seven: Restaurateur & Chef Sherry Yard, COO of iPic Entertainment
Segment Eight: Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group, “Ask the Chef”

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