July 2: Morrison Community Living, Garagiste Festival, Jeff Jackson, Cori Solomon

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel
Segment Two: John Rifkin, CEC, Senior Corporate Executive Chef, Morrison Community Living
Segment Three: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder, The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure
Segment Four: Jeff Jackson, Executive Chef, Lodge at Torrey Pines. Art of Baja Dinner
Segment Five: Food, Wine & Travel Journalist, Cori Solomon. 10-Night Cruise on Celebrity’s Reflection Part One
Segment Six: Food, Wine & Travel Journalist, Cori Solomon. 10-Night Cruise on Celebrity’s Reflection Part Two
Segment Seven: Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group, Huntington Beach

Andrew Gruel at the AM830 KLAA StudiosHappy 4th of July Weekend to all of our loyal listeners. Wishing you the very best in culinary fireworks over the long weekend.

Executive Chef Andrew Gruel of the rapidly growing Slapfish empire with restaurants in Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, LAX, Irvine at UCI and, most recently, Brea, is back as today’s special Guest Host. Last month in Chicago he received Nation’s Restaurant News’ Trendsetter MenuMaster Award for Slapfish.

Now an enticing preview of Saturday’s lush and abundant show and not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re doing it right we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case that’s actually a pretty good thing…

Upscale senior living facilities offering incredible amenities and delicious, healthy, chef-prepared food of restaurant quality represent a huge growth industry nationally. One of the industry leaders is Morrison Community Living. We’ll meet their Senior Corporate Chef, John Rifkin.

The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure returns to The Wiltern theater on July 9th.  Over 60+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers from across California, including Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez and SLO counties; Napa and Sonoma counties, and Paso Robles will pour over 200 wines. Over 30% of the wineries are participating in the Los Angeles festival for the first time.  Co-founder Doug Minnick pulls the cork on the festivities for us.

“The Art of Baja Wine & Beer Dinner” takers place at the newly renovated The Grill at the Lodge at Torrey Pines on Friday evening, July 15th. Executive Chef Jeff Jackson has put together a four-course family style dinner highlighting traditional dishes and ingredients from this unique region, which will be prepared on the outdoor rotisserie of The Grill. The dinner will feature wine connoisseur and Michelin-starred Chef Drew Deckman (Deckman’s en el Mogor) as well as Hugo D’Acosta, the premier winemaker of Valle De Guadalupe. Chefs Drew and Jeff join us.

Food, wine and travel writer Cori Solomon (a member of the prestigious International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association and Founder of L.A. Wine Writers) recently returned from a 10-day cruise of Italy and the Greek Isles aboard the Celebrity Reflection, the pride of Celebrity’s fleet. Her accommodation was a spacious, Deluxe Ocean View Veranda Stateroom. This is a Solstice class ship. Modern cruising offers a memorable vacation experience for all ages with considerable value. Cori is with us to share her smooth-sailing, cruise highlights.

Huntington Beach restaurateur Alicia Whitney is seemingly taking over the City one block at a time. Her newest full-service restaurant is SeaSalt Woodfire Grill featuring Santa Maria-style barbecue. She is also now on the sand at Bolsa Chica State Beach with two open beach food stands and a third set to open this weekend. We’ll detour Alica for a quick respite and get all the tasty details.

Many passionate Italian chefs will tell you cheese (even the incredible Parmigiano-Reggiano) should NEVER be added to a seafood dish (particularly a seafood pasta creation.) Yet you’re now seeing lobster macaroni and cheese prepared by fine-dining chefs and raved about by guests. Our own Chef Andrew Gruel has successfully used cheese with lobster at Slapfish. Confused….? We’ll ask Chef Andrew to explain.

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

John RifkinUpscale senior living facilities offering incredible amenities and delicious, healthy, chef-prepared food of restaurant quality represent a huge growth industry nationally. One of the industry leaders is Morrison Community Living. We’ll meet their Senior Corporate Chef, John Rifkin.

Chef Rifkin joined Morrison Community Living in 2004 as corporate chef. In this role Rifkin was able to support the many Morrison Senior Living communities throughout the country and help to show the value of both Morrison and Compass Groups’ robust sustainable seafood program nationally.

In 2010 Chef Rifkin was promoted to Senior Corporate Chef. Under his leadership he has been able to drive Morrison Community Livings’ sustainable results even further, and along with his team of 10 Corporate Chefs, 24 Regional Chefs, and the over 400 plus chefs across the country to create very delicious sustainable seafood recipes.

Chef Rifkin knows that the generations entering Morrison Community Living communities have a very high expectation that they understand where their seafood and food comes from, but also that it is harvested responsibly as well. Chef Rifkin collaborates with many food service organizations to support him to bring the very best ingredients to the seniors that Morrison Senior Living prepares for. These guests have traveled the world, run Fortune 500 companies, and are master home chefs in their own right, cooking many meals for their family and loved ones throughout the years.

Garagiste FestivalThe Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure returns to The Wiltern theater on July 9th.  Over 60+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers from across California, including Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez and SLO counties; Napa and Sonoma counties, and Paso Robles will pour over 200 wines. Over 30% of the wineries are participating in the Los Angeles festival for the first time.  Co-founder Doug Minnick uncorks the festivities for us.

Urban Exposure also presents the LA premiere of one of its signature comparison tasting seminars, “Tasting the Winemaker’s Spice Rack,”  on the stage of The Wiltern. Rendarrio Vineyards owner and winemaker Ryan Render and Michael Larner, winemaker and owner of the renowned Larner Vineyard, will use side-by-side comparisons to help wine consumers understand, through their taste buds, how different oak treatments – from type to region to toast – can affect the finished product and change the profile of a single wine.

Renowned for their ‘crazy thrill of discovery,’ one-on-one interactions with winemakers, and fun ‘no-snobs-allowed’ atmosphere, Garagiste Festivals offer wine lovers their only opportunity to taste so many small-production, hard-to-find wines, from so many regions, all in one place – over 60% of Urban Exposure winemakers are without a tasting room.

Drew Deckman“The Art of Baja Wine & Beer Dinner” takers place at the newly renovated The Grill at the Lodge at Torrey Pines on Friday evening, July 15th. Executive Chef Jeff Jackson has put together a four-course family style dinner highlighting traditional dishes and ingredients from this unique region, which will be prepared on the outdoor rotisserie of The Grill (which just completed a spectacular $2.5 million renovation.)

The dinner will feature wine connoisseur and Michelin-starred Chef Drew Deckman ( Deckman’s en el Mogor) as well as Hugo D’Acosta, the premier winemaker of Valle De Guadalupe who will showcase rare wines normally unavailable in California.

For those who prefer hops to grapes, Eugenio Wendtlandt of Wendlandt Brewery, voted best Mexican Brewery 2015, will also be in attendance in addition to other craft beer selections from the Agua Mala region.

Baja’s Chef Drew Deckman is also coming to San Diego. He has a restaurant project on Bankers Hill set to debut in early 2017.

Chefs Drew Deckman and Jeff Jackson join us.

Cori SolomonFood, wine and travel writer Cori Solomon (a member of the prestigious International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association & Founder of L.A. Wine Writers) recently returned from a 10-day cruise of Italy and the Greek Isles aboard the Celebrity Reflection, the pride of Celebrity’s fleet. Her accommodation was a spacious, Deluxe Ocean View Veranda Stateroom.

This is a Solstice-class ship. Modern cruising offers a memorable vacation experience for all ages and interests with considerable value. Cori is with us to share her smooth-sailing, cruise highlights.

“Celebrity Reflection® is our newest marvel. She boasts an expanded deck, 72 additional staterooms overall, more seating in the main and specialty restaurants, more sun lounges on the pool deck, and more seats in the theatre.”

“Celebrate the flavorful joys of outdoor grilling in the new Lawn Club Grill. Enjoy more than 20 delicious options in the Main Restaurant. Unwind in your own cabana-style haven, The Alcoves, on the Lawn Club. And check out all the new spa innovations in the enhanced Canyon Ranch SpaClub®.”

“Your vacation time is precious. Time aboard Celebrity Reflection will make the most of it.”

The Reflection can accommodate 3,046 guests served by a crew of 1,255.

From Cruise Critic:

With the impressive overall quality of food on board Celebrity Reflection there is little need to spend extra on specialty dining unless you feel like a treat. Even Oceanview, the cheerful buffet venue on Level 14, takes things to a new level with tasty International dishes that belie the restaurant’s casual surroundings.

Celebrity didn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to dining on Reflection, sticking instead with familiar options. In the main dining room passengers can choose from traditional dining (6:15 p.m. for the early seating and 8:45 p.m. for the late) or the more flexible Celebrity Select Dining, which allows them to eat in the main dining room any time between 6 and 10 p.m. Bookings for Select Dining can be made online up to four days before the ship sails or once onboard. Or, like us, you can simply walk-in whenever it suits you. We never had to wait longer than five minutes for a table for two although we did notice a queue on one formal night.

The main dining area, Opus, occupies space on Reflection’s third and fourth decks. It’s an elegant venue, decorated in deep browns and silvers, with bright white tablecloths and crystal as far as the eye can see. The vast space — which accommodates 40 more seats than its counterpart on Celebrity Silhouette — is stunningly designed, though tables are a bit too close together making private conversation difficult (although this can be a good way to meet fellow passengers if you are so inclined).

Menus in Opus offer appetizers, soups and salads, entrees and desserts, and they’re flexible enough to accommodate specific dietary needs. You’ll choose from a variety of options, including favorites like shrimp cocktail, escargot, prime rib, rack of lamb and crème brulee. Food is generally good, with appropriate portion sizes and some surprises on the menu, like the beef Carpaccio or frog legs. Do ask your waiter what they recommend as suggestions are usually spot-on.

Vegetarian and healthier options are identified on the menu, but if you have specific dietary needs (vegan or gluten-free), discuss them with the maitre d’ before your first meal, and ask specific questions about the menu items you select.

Andrew Gruel and his son WilliamMany passionate Italian chefs will tell you cheese (even the incredible Parmigiano-Reggiano) should NEVER be added to a seafood dish. Yet you’re now seeing lobster macaroni and cheese prepared by fine-dining chefs and raved about by guests.

Our own Chef Andrew Gruel has successfully used cheese with lobster at Slapfish. It’s popular with the guests. Confused….? We’ll ask Chef Andrew to explain.

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Show 143, October 24, 2015: 5th Annual Garagiste Wine Festival, Paso Robles, CA

Garagiste FestivalThe 5th Annual Garagiste Wine Festival returns to Paso Robles from November 5th to 8th. The Garagiste Wine Festivals are the first and only wine festivals dedicated to the undiscovered and under-recognized American artisan “garagiste” producers who are making some of the best, most exciting, handcrafted small-lot production wines in the world.

It’s three days of fun and educational wine-centric events in a superb wine region. No wine snobbery here.

“We founded The Garagiste Festivals five years ago to gather and bring attention to, the growing but under-the-radar population of micro-production winemakers who we knew were making some of the most exciting, cutting-edge wines in the world,” said Doug Minnick, Co-founder of The Garagiste Festival. “As our Festivals have grown and expanded, they have helped spur the growth of our participating wineries, as well as of the Garagiste movement itself. It has been a true win-win-win: matching consumers with the hard-to-find artists they enjoy discovering, helping garagiste wineries find a highly targeted and self-selected audience, and all in support of our work with Cal Poly.”

The festivals (3 per year) are produced by Garagiste Events, a non-profit dedicated to furthering the education of future winemakers and those training for employment within the wine industry. Proceeds from the festivals support the Garagiste Festival Scholarship fund of the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo Wine and Viticulture Department.

Co-Founder Doug Minnick joins us with the preview.

Show 129, July 4, 2015: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris

Happy 4th to all and thanks for sharing your Holiday Weekend with us.

We’re here for you…We can’t promise fireworks but we’ll do our level best to entertain you.

Now a mouthwatering preview of Saturday’s red-hot show. Our fireworks are always safe & sane. Bring on the apple pie…With any luck we will always leave you hungry and thirsty. In our case, that’s a good thing…

TAPS Fish House & Brewery (Brea and Corona) has an impressive new location in Irvine at The Market Place. All the TAPS locations differ in design so you never have the feeling you’re dining in an impersonal, corporate restaurant. The environment offers fine dining and a more casual bar-lounge area. There is a comfortable patio, too. They are famous for their Sunday brunch and serve lunch, dinner and happy hour. Chef Andrew Monterrosa joins us with all the 411 on TAPS Irvine.

Downtown Las Vegas is not an easy market for independent restaurants.

You’re competing with all the dining options available in the large Hotels and must appeal to visitors, conventioneers, and the discriminating locals. Not an easy task. Shift Hospitality has overcome the obstacles with their highly successful MTO Café serving breakfast and lunch. They have recently opened a second branch in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin. It’s also open for dinner. Chef-Partner Johnny Church is our guest.

Think you’re heard everything you could possibly need to know about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet? Think again…We’re diving into The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook – Harness the Power of the World’s Healthiest Diet to Live Better, Longer written by international cooking expert Amy Riolo.

When we last chatted with Chef Ben Ford he was just about to open the relocated Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live in the JW Marriott Los Angeles. It’s breakfast, lunch and dinner with Sunday Brunch, too. We’ll get caught up with Chef Ben and hear about his newly initiated Whole Hog Dinner. It’s a feast for 6 to 8 people! Chef Ben suggests that you “fill up on all the good things in life.”

Our own resident Guest Host, Chef Andrew Gruel, is at it again doing the seemingly impossible. He just opened a new Slapfish at LAX on a super compressed timetable that required a lot of ingenuity (and long hours) to pull-off. Chef Andrew is in Palm Springs on a menu development retreat. We’ll catch-up with him.

Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue : the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. A new element of the Festival is a first-time alliance with Artisanal LA that will see a mini pop-up of a sampling of their best artisan food producers offering tastes of their healthy, local, sustainable and delicious edibles.

Andrew Gruel and Anthony Dispensa of Slapfish Restaurants and FYI Say It To My FaceDon’t miss Guest Host Chef Andrew Gruel’s (he’ll be joining us a bit later in the show) new restaurant makeover series, “Say It To My Face” on FYI. An original episode is aired every Thursday evening with an encore episode thereafter. Check your local listings. On-line food reviewers confront restaurateurs with the shortcomings of their establishments. It’s then up to Chef Andrew and his colleague, Chef Anthony Dispensa, to coach the chef and restaurateur to achieve a much higher level of guest satisfaction when the on-line reviews return for another look! Sometimes it’s tough-love…

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

Show 129, July 4, 2015: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival

Garagiste FestivalGaragiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, from 2 to 6:00 p.m. with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue: the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. Proceeds from the non-profit festival will benefit Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture program.

Tickets are available here. This Festival typically sells out early. Please plan accordingly.

A new element of the Festival is a first-time alliance with Artisinal LA that will see a mini pop-up of a sampling of their best artisan food producers offering tastes of their healthy, local, sustainable and delicious edibles.

“We have always felt that finding undiscovered winemakers is like discovering a new band in a club before they have a hit record, so The Wiltern’s rock and roll history is a perfect fit for these renegade, under-the-radar wine makers. Plus, it is a stunning place,” said Doug Minnick Co-founder of The Garagiste Festivals. “And, as our fans know, a really cool venue is an integral part of the garagiste experience. As always, we will have one-on-one interaction with the winemakers, an unmatched tasting range of amazing hard-to-find wines, a no-snobs-allowed atmosphere, and just plain fun.”

Show 129, July 4, 2015: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Continues…

Garagiste FestivalGaragiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, from 2 to 6:00 p.m. with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue: the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. Proceeds from the non-profit festival will benefit Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture program.

Tickets are available here.

The Garagiste Wine Festivals, which first exposed the American garagiste movement, are among the most unique and influential wine events in the world. They are the only wine events that exclusively showcase ultra-premium, cutting-edge, micro-production commercial wineries that produce fewer than 1,500 cases (and many under 800) a year.

“Garagistes” is a term originally used in the Bordeaux region of France to denigrate renegade small-lot wine makers, sometimes working in their “garages” (anything considered not a chateau), who refused to follow the “rules,” and is now a full-fledged movement responsible for making some of the best wine in the world. The Garagiste Festivals were the first to shine a light on the American garagiste winemaker in 2011.

July 4: Taps Fish House Irvine, Johnny Church, Amy Riolo, Ben Ford, Andrew Gruel, Garagiste Festival

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Executive Chef Andrew Monterrosa, TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Irvine
Segment Three: Chef Johnny Church, MTO Cafes, Las Vegas
Segment Four: Amy Riolo, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
Segment Five: Chef Ben Ford, Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live
Segment Six: Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Seven: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Part One
Segment Eight: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Part Two

Happy 4th to all and thanks for sharing your Holiday Weekend with us.

We’re here for you…

Now, a mouthwatering preview of Saturday’s red-hot show. Our fireworks are always safe & sane. Bring on the apple pie…With any luck we will always leave you hungry and thirsty. In our case, that’s a good thing…

TAPS Fish House & Brewery (Brea and Corona) has an impressive new location in Irvine at The Market Place. All the TAPS locations differ in design so you never have the feeling you’re dining in an impersonal, corporate restaurant. The environment offers fine dining and a more casual bar-lounge area. There is a comfortable patio, too. They are famous for their Sunday brunch and serve lunch, dinner and happy hour. Chef Andrew Monterrosa joins us with all the 411 on TAPS Irvine.

Downtown Las Vegas is not an easy market for independent restaurants.

You’re competing with all the dining options available in the large Hotels and must appeal to visitors, conventioneers, and the discriminating locals. Not an easy task. Shift Hospitality has overcome the obstacles with their highly successful MTO Café serving breakfast and lunch. They have recently opened a second branch in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin. It’s also open for dinner. Chef-Partner Johnny Church is our guest.

Think you’re heard everything you could possibly need to know about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet ? Think again…We’re diving into The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook – Harness the Power of the World’s Healthiest Diet to Live Better, Longer written by international cooking expert Amy Riolo.

When we last chatted with Chef Ben Ford he was just about to open the relocated Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live in the JW Marriott Los Angeles. It’s breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant with Sunday Brunch, too. We’ll get caught up with Chef Ben and hear about his newly initiated Whole Hog Dinner. It’s a feast for 6 to 8 people! Chef Ben suggests that you “fill up on all the good things in life.”

Our own resident Guest Host, Chef Andrew Gruel, is at it again doing the seemingly impossible. He just opened a new Slapfish at LAX on a super compressed timetable that required a lot of ingenuity (and long hours) to pull-off. Chef Andrew is in Palm Springs on a menu development retreat. We’ll catch-up with him.

Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue : the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. A new element of the Festival is a first-time alliance with Artisnal LA that will see a mini pop-up of a sampling of their best artisan food producers offering tastes of their healthy, local, sustainable and delicious edibles.

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

Andrew MonterrosaTAPS Fish House & Brewery (Brea and Corona) has an impressive new location in Irvine at The Market Place. All the TAPS locations differ in design so you never have the feeling you’re dining in an impersonal, corporate restaurant.

The stylish environment offers fine dining and a more casual bar-lounge area. There is a comfortable patio, too. They are famous for their Sunday brunch and serve lunch, dinner and happy hour.

The private dining room at the news TAPS Irvine accommodates 125 guests and features a handsome stone fireplace and large barn doors that slide open across an arched entry. A 1,800-square-foot, cigar-friendly patio with a full-service menu and cocktails seats 100.

TAPS is as well known for its quality cuisine served in generous portions as it is for award-winning, handcrafted ales and lagers. There is a critically acclaimed wine list, which includes 150 California-centric selections by the bottle and 20 wines by the glass.

The Irvine location has an impressive 24 taps – 14 of them for TAPS seasonal and signature ales and lagers. There are an additional four guest beers on draft selected by Brewmaster David Huls.

This is the first TAPS to showcase select meats and fish cooked on a J & R “Little Red Smokehouse” smoker. This Rolls Royce of smokers from Mesquite, TX is fueled by apple wood and cherry wood. It’s inspired by the smoker at sister restaurant, Lillie’s Q in Brea. A smoked prime rib is offered nightly. Rotating smoked fish offerings include trout, albacore, salmon, mussels and oysters.

Chef Andrew Monterrosa joins us with all the 411 on TAPS Irvine.

Downtown Las Vegas is not an easy market for independent restaurants.

You’re competing with all the dining options available in the large Hotels and must appeal to visitors, conventioneers, and the discriminating locals. Not an easy task.

Johnny ChurchShift Hospitality has overcome the obstacles with their highly successful MTO Café serving breakfast and lunch. They have recently opened a second branch in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin. It’s also open for dinner.

The MTO Cafes serve fresh comfort food in a highly personal, everyday atmosphere. The goal is to position the MTO Cafes as the locals’ neighborhood go-to.

Chef Johnny Church is the culinary talent behind MTO. Named 2014 Culinarian of the Year by the Nevada Restaurant Association, Chef Johnny is an up and coming star on the dynamic Vegas food scene.

His career path has taken him through Rick Moonen’s rm Seafood & Rx Boiler Room, Charlie Palmer’s Aureole at Mandalay Bay, Andre’s at the Monte Carlo, Alize at the Top of the Palms, Paris Las Vegas’ Eiffel Tower Restaurant and the former AJ’s Steakhouse at the Hard Rock Hotel. He was part of Bradley Ogden’s opening team at Root 246 in Solvang, CA. Earlier in his career he was chef for Gordon Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares.”

MTO’s Chef-Partner Johnny Church is our guest.

Amy RioloThink you’re heard everything you could possibly need to know about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet? Think again…

We’re diving into The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook – Harness the Power of the World’s Healthiest Diet to Live Better, Longer written by international cooking expert Amy Riolo. It’s based on the science of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid.

She gets right to the core of the Mediterranean lifestyle explaining what should be eaten, when it should be eaten, and why. Each recipe is complemented by “Mediterranean Tradition” – information on the history, culture, lore, and nutritional value of the dish and its ingredients.

Recent studies show that people who follow a Mediterranean diet were 47 percent less likely to develop heart disease – and the news gets even better. A Mediterranean diet works for all genders, all age groups, and regardless of overall condition.

Combined with the fact that the foods most common to the Mediterranean diet are easily available in the U.S. and Canada – and already number among our most popular dishes – make this diet plan perhaps one of the most effective, easiest to follow, and delicious. Rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even wine, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet allows you to enjoy appealing food and good health.

Chef Ben Ford at the KLAA StudiosWhen we last chatted with Chef Ben Ford he was just about to open the relocated Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live in the JW Marriott Los Angeles. It’s breakfast, lunch and dinner with Sunday Brunch, too. We’ll get caught up with Chef Ben and hear about his newly initiated Whole Hog Dinner. It’s a feast for 6 to 8 people!

Chef Ben suggests that you “fill up on all the good things in life.”

Situated in the lobby of the JW Marriott Los Angeles, the new Ford’s Filling Station L.A. LIVE is an evolution of chef and restaurateur Ben Ford’s original ‘gastropub’ concept, showcasing sustainable, regional cuisine. Drawing inspiration from the abundance of fresh produce and artisanal meats available through California farms, as well as his travels through the south and southwest, Chef Ford has created a menu that is a unique blend of west coast flavors and southwest influence.

An onsite smoker fired with a blend of apple, pecan and cherry wood lends exceptional tenderness and flavor to meats; while fruits and vegetables culled from regional farms enhance a carefully curated menu.

The cocktail program from innovative mixologist Dushan Zarin of New York’s famed Employees Only bar, is food-friendly and filled with classic libations, craft beers and farm-fresh savory cocktails.

His impressive cookbook, Taming the Feast: Ben Ford’s Field Guide to Adventurous Cooking, focuses not only on bringing people together to eat good, sustainable organic food, but gathering lots, and lots, of people together to enjoy sumptuous feasts.

Andrew GruelOur own resident Guest Host, Chef Andrew Gruel, is at it again doing the seemingly impossible. He just opened a new Slapfish at LAX on a super compressed timetable that required a lot of ingenuity (and long hours) to pull-off. The Irvine Slapfish debuts mid-month.

Chef Andrew is in Palm Springs on a menu development retreat. He’s testing recipes with a crew of colleagues. We’ll catch-up with him and, yes, find out what’s cooking…

Garagiste FestivalGaragiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, from 2 to 6:00 p.m. with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue: the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. Proceeds from the non-profit festival will benefit Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture program. Tickets are available here.

A new element of the Festival is a first-time alliance with Artisnal LA that will see a mini pop-up of a sampling of their best artisan food producers offering tastes of their healthy, local, sustainable and delicious edibles.

“We have always felt that finding undiscovered winemakers is like discovering a new band in a club before they have a hit record, so The Wiltern’s rock and roll history is a perfect fit for these renegade, under-the-radar wine makers. Plus, it is a stunning place,” said Doug Minnick Co-founder of The Garagiste Festivals. “And, as our fans know, a really cool venue is an integral part of the garagiste experience. As always, we will have one-on-one interaction with the winemakers, an unmatched tasting range of amazing hard-to-find wines, a no-snobs-allowed atmosphere, and just plain fun.”

The Garagiste Wine Festivals, which first exposed the American garagiste movement, are among the most unique and influential wine events in the world. They are the only wine events that exclusively showcase ultra-premium, cutting-edge, micro-production commercial wineries that produce fewer than 1,500 cases (and many under 800) a year.

“Garagistes” is a term originally used in the Bordeaux region of France to denigrate renegade small-lot wine makers, sometimes working in their “garages” (anything considered not a chateau), who refused to follow the “rules,” and is now a full-fledged movement responsible for making some of the best wine in the world. The Garagiste Festivals were the first to shine a light on the American garagiste winemaker in 2011.

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Executive Chef Andrew Monterrosa, TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Irvine
Segment Three: Chef Johnny Church, MTO Cafes, Las Vegas
Segment Four: Amy Riolo, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
Segment Five: Chef Ben Ford, Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live
Segment Six: Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Seven: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Part One
Segment Eight: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Part Two