Show 200, December 3, 2016: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish Restaurant Group

Andrew Gruel and Andy Harris celebrating the fourth anniversary of the SoCal Restaurant Show at SideDoor in Corona del MarWe’re a bit tardy but this Saturday we festively marked the 4th Anniversary of the debut of the “SoCal Restaurant Show” on AM 830 KLAA. Please join us via this podcast as we celebrate with a really big brunch show at SideDoor in Corona del Mar. Do I hear “Green Eggs” & Ham” Benedict” with hash browns and Applewood smoked bacon?

Executive Chef Andrew Gruel of the rapidly growing Slapfish empire with restaurants in Huntington Beach, Brea, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, LAX, Irvine at UCI and, most recently, The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for Rams and USC Football, is back as today’s Guest Host. San Clemente is launching next. In May in Chicago during the National Restaurant Association’s annual conclave he received Nation’s Restaurant News’ Trendsetter MenuMaster Award for Slapfish.

On to a tasty preview of this Saturday’s show…

The most eagerly anticipated restaurant opening of the year is the long-in-the-works Farmhouse Café at Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar. The executive chef/proprietor is Rich Mead. Rich is fondly remembered by local foodies for Sage and Sage on the Coast. Rich pops out of the busy Farmhouse kitchen for a bit to join us.

CulinaryLab Contemporary Cooking School in Tustin offers an immersive, hands-on education for all levels of cooks including aspiring chefs, serious home cooks and industry professionals. Chef Director Ryan Wagner, C.E.C. is the founder of the program. We’ll meet him.

Ryan Wilson> is the Vice President and Executive Chef for Lawry’s Restaurants, Inc. the parent company of SideDoor. He represents the 4th generation of Frank/Van de Kamp Family ownership. Executive Chef Ryan is our guest.

Orange County craft beer enthusiasts know Victor Novak as the long-time, acclaimed head brewer of Taps in Brea. He’s also responsible for graciously mentoring many of the prominent young brewers among the new wave of award-winning OC craft breweries. In late 2014 he joined the brewing team at the fast-growing Golden Road Brewing and is now their Brewmaster. Victor is tapping a fresh keg with us.

When it comes to world-class, artisan coffee roasters in Orange County the veteran bean roaster in chief is Martin Diedrich. He grew up on a coffee farm in Guatemala! Martin now oversees busy neighborhood Kean Coffee coffee shops in Tustin and Newport Beach. He joins us.

The innovative cocktail program at SideDoor is an important attraction. New to SideDoor is Lead Barman, Randy Thais. Randy is an adjunct professor by day and a barman by night. He’s crafting something special for us as a guest…

The Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula has a long Holiday tradition of baking and decorating eye-catching gingerbread houses for sale until Christmas to their appreciative guests. Their acclaimed Executive Pastry Chef, Jean-Jacques Granet (he has worked on three continents) joins us with all the sweet details.

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

Show 138, September 12, 2015: CANstruction Long Beach 2015

Canstruction Long BeachThe Long Beach run of the CANstruction Competition benefiting Food Finders is back on Sept. 17th. This annual event now takes place in over 130 cities and was initiated by the Society for Design Administration (SAD) in 1992.

Five talented teams of architects and designers build incredible structures made out of 2,000 plus cans of food. 2014 saw a deep-sea diver’s helmet and The Queen Mary as memorable CANstruction designs. After the judging all of the food is donated to Food Finders, a Long Beach–based Food Bank.

Awards are given for Best Use of Labels, Best Meal, Structural Ingenuity, Jurors’ Favorite, People’s Choice and Honorable Mentions.

This Year’s Theme: “Breakfast CAN Make a Difference!”

Representing Environ Architects (one of the competing teams) partnered with California Resources Corporation is Vice President Willetta McCulloh. She is our guest to discuss CANstruction.

“The concept behind Environ Architecture’s design lies in the nostalgic, whimsical nature that comes from our growing up with classic books reminiscent of our childhood. It draws inspiration from the children’s classic, Green Eggs & Ham. Changing our perception of breakfast to make it fun can propel us to be open minded for better meal choices.”