Podcasts
Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Two: Proprietor / Executive Chef Rich Mead, Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens
Segment Three: Chef Director Ryan Wagner, CulinaryLab Contemporary Cooking School, Tustin
Segment Four: Ryan Wilson, Vice President and Executive Chef for Lawry’s Restaurants, Inc.
Segment Five: Brewmaster Victor Novak, Golden Road Brewing
Segment SIx: Artisan Coffee Roaster, Martin Diedrich, Kean Coffee
Segment Seven: SideDoor’s Lead Barman, Randy Thais
Segment Eight: Jean-Jacques Granet, Executive Pastry Chef, Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula
We’re a bit tardy but this Saturday we’re festively marking the 4th Anniversary of the debut of the “SoCal Restaurant Show.” Please join us on the airwaves (or via our live stream) as we celebrate with a really big brunch show at SideDoor in Corona del Mar.
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 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!
The most eagerly anticipated restaurant opening of the year in Orange County is the long-in-the-works Farmhouse Café at Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar. Guests are actually dining in the Roger’s Garden’s lush gardens. Lunch reservations are “fully committed” for the balance of the year. Guests at lunch (without reservations) line-up early (11:00 a.m. or before) to nab one of the “first come, first-served” seats available at the bar.
The executive chef/proprietor is Rich Mead. Rich is fondly remembered by local foodies for Sage and Sage on the Coast. He’s been creatively shopping at the Wednesday morning Santa Monica Farmers Market for fresh, seasonal ingredients long before it was trendy.
Roger’s Gardens and Chef Rich Mead have partnered in establishing a unique and sustainable field-to-fork dining experience at Farmhouse Café located within Roger’s Garden.
Located in the heart of Newport Beach, the Café is nestled on over 6 acres in a garden-like setting. The Farmhouse offers the freshest, locally sourced, seasonal ingredients to create a healthy based cuisine.
On the libation side there is even a signature Farmers Market Cocktail of The Week. The key ingredient is something fresh from the Santa Monica Farmers Market that week.
Chef Rich pops out of the busy Farmhouse kitchen for a brief moment 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.
“What’s the best way to learn about working in a professional kitchen? To work in one, of course. Students who choose our apprenticeship program will have the opportunity to work approximately 1,500 hours as a paid apprentice at one of our partner restaurants, gaining hours of practice and real world experience that is normally reserved for those who have already graduated culinary school. By reinforcing what they’re learning while simultaneously working in a real professional kitchen, our students are faster, more skilled and better prepared to excel in the foodservice industry.”
“Instead of spending countless hours reading culinary textbooks as homework or sitting through uninspired lectures, our students watch comprehensive video demonstrations and navigate online curriculum.”
“At CulinaryLab we measure our success by how our students perform in the real world.
If they fail, so do we. When they succeed, we do too. We put it all on the line for them.”
– Ryan Wagner, Chef Director
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 and Five Crowns. He represents the 4th generation of Frank/Van de Kamp Family ownership.
Before pursuing his culinary ambitions around the world, Ryan grew up creating dishes for his mother and sister. He officially stepped into the family business in 2002 as the prep cook at the Tam O’Shanter and later transitioned to the Five Crowns kitchen as a line cook. After following culinary opportunities outside the Lawry’s realm, he returned as the opening chef for The Prime Rib restaurants in China and Japan. Stateside, he served as opening chef for Lawry’s Carvery at L.A. Live and in 2008 returned to the Tam O’Shanter as Executive Chef.
During his time at the Tam O’Shanter, Ryan worked closely on the concept and execution for SideDoor in Corona del Mar and later became the Executive Chef for both SideDoor and Five Crowns. In 2014, Ryan assisted in opening the SideDoor gastropub in Chicago and remains focused on providing the highest quality food service available through his corporate and operational roles. Chef Ryan’s responsibilities have grown to include the operational oversight of the six licensed Lawry’s Prime Rib locations in Asia and the future growth of Lawry’s international portfolio.
Executive Chef Ryan Wilson is our guest.
Orange County craft beer enthusiasts know Victor Novak as the long-time (15 years), 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.
“In 2011, beer enthusiasts Meg Gill and Tony Yanow founded Golden Road Brewing to bring fresh beer to the local market in the most sustainable way possible. Golden Road is committed to engaging and supporting the growing community of socially-minded beer enthusiasts.”
“Golden Road’s year-round offerings include Point the Way IPA, Golden Road Hefeweizen, Get Up Offa That Brown and Wolf Among Weeds IPA. Along with the core beers, Golden Road brewers are constantly experimenting with the freshest ingredients through a collection of rotating, seasonal and limited-edition brews including the Custom IPA Series, a line-up of diverse, hop-forward IPAs.”
A new brewery in Anaheim (across E. Orangewood Ave. from the South entrance to Angel Stadium) with a Tasting Room was added this year with a rotating selection of 20 styles on tap. Eventually the evolving facility will include a full-service restaurant.
Head Brewer 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.
“Kéan Coffee™ is the newest, most exciting coffeehouse concept by coffeehouse visionary Martin Diedrich. Our mission is to purvey fresh-roasted artisan coffee the way it is meant to be, in a beautiful, eclectic coffeehouse environment. Martin is craft roasting the finest coffees from around the globe on-site, many organic and fair-trade. This enables us to serve our coffee so fresh, most days it has been roasted within hours of the moment it reaches your cup. Our expertly trained baristas are creating the most innovative, cutting edge coffee beverages to be had.”
“Martin, local coffeehouse pioneer and founder of the Diedrich Coffee chain, left behind the world of corporate culture to return to his origins as an independent coffeehouse operator in order to stay true to his ideals of what a coffeehouse should be and what coffee culture should be.”
“Along with his wife Karen Varese Diedrich, Martin spent two years putting all of his creativity, inspiration and community and global awareness into bringing Kéan Coffee to reality. Martin and Karen Diedrich aptly named this next generation of coffeehouse after their son, Kean.”
Martin 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.
Now leading the libation charge at SideDoor, Randy’s knowledge of English culture aligns perfectly with the gastropub’s British history and inspiration. His vision is to continue to make SideDoor the ultimate destination for cocktails, and believes that executing an Old Fashioned with precision will lead to a loyal clientele.
One of Randy’s newest creations on the SideDoor cocktail menu is the Ugly Gentleman, also known as “Steve.” Steve is a boozy, long and savory rye cocktail poured over hand-cute ice. The glassware covers a spot of burning maple wood while the cocktail is being prepared, and through science or magic, the smoke rests inside the glass even after the whiskey is poured.
He’s surely 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 at a very reasonable price until Christmas to their appreciative guests.
“This holiday season, housing starts inside of one southern California casino/resort will more than double after last year’s sales numbers topped expectations. Pechanga Resort & Casino’s in-house bakery team is preparing, constructing and decorating hand-crafted gingerbread houses and offering them to prospective buyers at a nominal cost for home ownership. These units, which may be purchased individually or several at a time to create neighborhood continuity, come fully loaded and turnkey for gift giving, or for hanging onto for one’s own sweet tooth satisfying gratification.”
“Those looking for a brand new gingerbread home can find them in easily accessed locations at the 24-hour Caffe Cocoa inside the popular Temptations Food Walk at Pechanga or at Blends Coffee & Wine Bar just inside the Pechanga Hotel Lobby. Each home features distinct décor and amenities such as hand-drawn insulation (icing) and real curb appeal with colorful holiday sweet treats lining the outside. If buyers are careful transporting the homes, no insurance is required, property tax is waived and goodwill equity can be earned by giving one of the Pechanga gingerbread homes to someone else. These handmade gingerbread houses come in 10-inch by six-inch floor plan for $35. They will be on the market until Christmas, or until all units have been snapped up by buyers.”
Pechanga’s acclaimed Executive Pastry Chef, Jean-Jacques Granet (he has worked on three continents) joins us with all the sweet details.
Podcasts
Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris and Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Two: Proprietor / Executive Chef Rich Mead, Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens
Segment Three: Chef Director Ryan Wagner, CulinaryLab Contemporary Cooking School, Tustin
Segment Four: Ryan Wilson, Vice President and Executive Chef for Lawry’s Restaurants, Inc.
Segment Five: Brewmaster Victor Novak, Golden Road Brewing
Segment SIx: Artisan Coffee Roaster, Martin Diedrich, Kean Coffee
Segment Seven: SideDoor’s Lead Barman, Randy Thais
Segment Eight: Jean-Jacques Granet, Executive Pastry Chef, Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula
All of the lavish desserts, breakfast pastries and breads are prepared in-house at Pechanga. They also create magnificent custom and wedding cakes. The bake shop additionally crafts artisan chocolates. All of the ice creams and sorbets served are also house-made.
