Notable chefs from various areas of the country speak out on what's hot and how they're planning for the year ahead. They also serve up their advice for gourmet retailers.
Jesse Cool
Flea Street Café, The Cool Café
Menlo Park, Calif.
Jesse Cool has published seven books, including "Your Organic Kitchen," "Toast: Sixty Ways To Butter Your Toast & More," "The Honest to Goodness One Pot Cookbook" and "Simply Organic." She also has written numerous magazine articles and appeared on the "Today Show" and Food Network. Cool is very active in her local community and taught cooking classes at Draeger's Culinary Center for 10 years. She also has been an instructor at Sur La Table, A Southern Season and the Second Harvest Food Bank. For more than 30 years, Cool has been working with local farmers, fisheries and ranchers, running restaurants and speaking out.
What are some notable trends you have noticed at the restaurant level?
Having had restaurants for 35 years and still buying from some of the farms from near beginning, appreciation, care, respect for where our ingredients come from and how they are produced is not radical fringe, but accepted mainstream with the young and old.
From a flavor perspective, what's popular now?
Simple, ingredient-driven, yet bold, full-spectrum excitement from variety, and eclectic.
In 2011, what changes will you make to your business? How do you plan to stay competitive?
Always adjusting, always looking for new connections and support on deep levels of those inspired to produce food in a connected and genuinely personal way. Our philosophy is The Customer Comes Last ... so to continue to nurture our farmers/staff so they pass that along to our customers.
What trends do you predict will carry over to the home chef?
Cooking at home, simple, not being afraid, going to the farmer's market or growing a little garden and feeling the joy of cooking for oneself or others.
What advice would you offer gourmet retail stores?
Support anyone in your community first ... then move out into the country and world, and find producers who care about food, people and where it comes from.
How are you working with retailers and/or local farmers?
Very closely. They have always been our rock stars!
How do you use social media?
Still working on that ... turning it over to the young who will help me stay current!
Jasper J. Mirabile Jr.
Jasper's & Marco Polo's Italian Market
Kansas City, Mo.
Jasper's is known as the best Italian restaurant in Kansas City. Chef Jasper J. Mirabile Jr. features recipes that have been handed down through his family for more than 110 years. The 56-year-old business now is being run by the four generation of Mirabiles. Meanwhile, Chef Jasper hosts his own radio show, "Live From Jasper's Kitchen," sponsored by Hen House Market — a local, 12-store grocery chain. He's also written two cookbooks: "The Jasper's Cookbook" and "The Jasper's Kitchen Cookbook." Chef Jasper is the Wisconsin Chef Ambassador for 2009 and 2010.
What are you known for?
I am known for making table-side mozzarella. I have a strolling mozzarella cart and begin with Wisconsin curds and boiling water. I add salt and let it rest for a few minutes. I then separate the curds from the whey and stretch, and pull the mozza. I then form it into a ball and serve warm on a platter. In the summer, I serve with local heirloom tomatoes. In the fall and winter, I serve with antipasti, and in the spring, with local asparagus that I personally harvest. The whole time I tell the history of cheese and discuss the dish with customers. This past summer, my nephew and I prepared over 140 orders one Saturday evening.
What are some notable trends you have noticed at the restaurant level?
Cross-cultural cuisine. Asian/Italian, for example. Customers love small plates and tastings. Tableside demos and preparation is popular, and mixology has taken on a whole new meaning. We do tastings in my bar and create signature cocktails made with in-house prepared limoncello, etc. Restaurants creating signature products for retail. I sell my own Italian sausage, salad dressings, pasta sauces and coffee beans.
From a flavor perspective, what's popular now?
Cooking with eight ingredients or less. Flavored salts. I think we are going back to traditional dishes and cooking time-honored recipes. Simple preparation of dishes.
Where do you find inspiration?
Reading and traveling. I am a food history enthusiast and love to research dishes. I find one product and find out several ways I can use it, and then start creating dishes.
In 2011, what changes will you make to your business?
Offer monthly "experience" dinners featuring one item, and cooking several courses and tastings with it. Imagine a "Limoncello Experience."
How do you plan to stay competitive?
Offering dishes with added value. Cooking classes and a lot of PR from local media. I throw the first ball out at local sporting events, attend fundraisers, and MC local and national events. Keeping my name in the public eye.
What trends do you predict will carry over to the home chef?
Working with local farmers and producers to prepare unique dishes.
What advice would you offer gourmet retail stores?
Be unique. Offer something no one else does. Team with local chefs for demos and tastings. Offer recipe contests. Create events centered around historical food days such as my own creation, National Cannoli Day. I visited over 25 stores in October this year promoting cannolis and offering samples, etc. ... so much radio and press, it was one of my best promos.
How are you working with retailers and/or local farmers?
I develop recipes for them. I get to know them, visit their farm, work at our local farmer's market with farmers, and meet their customers and discuss items, etc. ... and then create recipes using their product. I teach monthly cooking classes at Hen House Market and do many demos around KC each month.
How are you using social media?
Social media? Ha ... I am the king of Facebook and Twitter for Kansas City restaurants. I update two to three times a day. Check us out: Jasper Mirabile and Jasper's Restaurant. I put daily specials, articles, current events, my radio show, and TV updates and recipe links. I offer daily specials in our market and new specials I am cooking. I have met so many people, such as writers, and you would not believe all the customers who follow us and comment, then ask for what I was making and what they saw on Facebook and Twitter. Twitter updates are more of a tease. You can read my Twitter on my webpage, Jasperskc.com. For my self-declared National Cannoli month, I really got the word out about my appearances and demos around town. I have a truck I call the Cannoli Mobile, and I tweet where we are around town.
Kevin Gillespie
Woodfire Grill
Atlanta
"Top Chef" Season Six Fan Favorite
Gillespie entered the national spotlight as a contestant on season six of on the hit TV show "Top Chef." Known for his beard as well as a love of pork (He has a swine tattooed on his arm.), Gillespie was voted Fan Favorite by the program's viewers. He also is known for his seasonal, locally focused, modern Southern cuisine.
What are some notable trends you have noticed at the restaurant level?
The restaurant industry has seen a number of trends pop up recently, but one of the most popular is the bar- centric/small plates concept. Somewhere people can go and get great food, in smaller portions, and enjoy a well-made cocktail.
From a flavor perspective, what's popular now?
Smoking, pickling, preserving. All of these classic preparations have come back into fashion now.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere. I find a great deal of inspiration in classic American dishes as well as Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine.
In 2011, what changes will you make to your business? How do you plan to stay competitive?
We have always focused on quality and will continue to do so. Improving our service and hospitality keeps us competitive with the market.
What trends do you predict will carry over to the home chef?
Home cooks are always looking towards the professionals for direction. I think that people are committed to being more adventurous with their cooking and taking chances.
What advice would you offer gourmet retail stores?
Begin stocking the ingredients and equipment that are used in the professional kitchen. Cookbooks are becoming more and more challenging, and, often, the home cook can't find what they need to be able to cook from the book.
How are you working with retailers and/or local farmers?
We purchase from a network of about 50 local farmers, ranchers and fishermen. They form the backbone of our menu, and truly inspire our cuisine.
How are you using social media?
Woodfire Grill updates a Facebook page with upcoming events ... the advantage of email and blog sites is to inform people of what is going on at the restaurant. I have a very strong fan base on Facebook that I am constantly in contact with regarding appearances and events. My beard has its own fan page, which has been a great way to connect, as well.
Matt Jennings
Farmstead, La Laiterie At Farmstead
Providence, R.I.
Matt Jennings has the best of both worlds: He is a chef and a retailer. Along with his wife, Kate, he owns and operates Farmstead, a specialty food store that is known for its baked goods and cheese selection. Hailed for his handmade seasonal creations, Chef Jennings's cuisine has been deemed "haute farmhouse" by Travel & Leisure magazine. He currently is working on his first cookbook.
What are some notable trends you have noticed at the restaurant level?
Sous vide, the ubiquity of the pig, smoking, pickling, curing. Spicy combined with sweet, such as chili and cocoa — that's been done to death.
In 2011, what changes will you make to your business? How do you plan to stay competitive?
I think like everyone else, we are going to try and squeeze more blood from a stone. My plan is to offer more event-based dinners to attract attention and interest as well as continue our pursuit of developing relationships with our growers and producers. That sets us aside in a big way. It's something we've always done, and has become a cornerstone of our restaurant and shop. I think 2011 is all about the customer. The age of stubborn, tyrant chefs who only create food they want to and don't think about what customers actually want is over.
What trends do you predict will carry over to the home chef?
I think sous vide will continue to become a home trend. A number of years ago, I remember being against it. It's grown to be a very important tool in many kitchens, including ours, in the past five years. I also think that the age of peasant-style cooking is coming back. In economies like this ... consumers crave comfort. I think the rustic elements of cooking are returning, the flavors, the concepts.
What advice would you offer gourmet retail stores?
Purchase less products. Seriously. I think the consumer wants more intimate knowledge of a reasonable amount of products. This is how we operate our shop. Less breadth of product, but deeper relationships with those you do carry, can be a good thing.
How are you working with retailers and/or local farmers?
For me, food is all about relationships — the relationships with whom you purchase from and why, the relationship you have to that product, the relationship you have with your customers and, finally, the relationship you develop in your customers between them and the products they procure. We love developing and nurturing new relationships with growers. It is the best part of being a chef and cheesemonger, for me.
How are you using Social Media?Twitter has been very successful for us, as has Facebook and even Foursquare. We live in a time where I can tell the world the second the bread comes out of my ovens. That's pretty intense. As items roll out of my kitchens and onto menus, we tell the world. I love having that instant connection to customers.
Peter Platt
Andina Restaurant
Portland, Ore.
Latin flavors — specifically, Peruvian flavors — are among the hot food trends in the specialty food industry. Andina Restaurant in Portland, Ore., was one of the first fine-dining establishments to showcase the bounty from this diverse South American country. Andina has received national attention for its new and traditional interpretations of Peruvian cuisine.
What are some notable trends you have noticed at the restaurant level?
Substantially increased interest in private dining and "personalized" experiences.
From a flavor perspective, what's popular now?
Over our seven-plus years of business, we have, in effect, educated our customer's palate to adjust to the vibrant flavors of Peruvian cooking. The richness of our "sofrito" base (extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic and "aji" pastes) is what adds depth and spice to our dishes. This "flavor" depth (what some customers refer to as a "rainbow of flavors") is what accounts for a great deal of our popularity. American analogues might be Southern slow cooking/marinating traditions, which have always been popular. This contrasts with the current emphasis on "ingredient-centric" cooking, which places a premium on a leaner/singular flavor profile.
In 2011, what changes will you make to your business? How do you plan to stay competitive?
Expanding our back-of-house operations to improve flow and capacity. Continuing to improve the execution of service and cooking. Expanding our private dining and bar programs. Special focus on Pisco (Peruvian brandy).
What trends do you predict will carry over to the home chef?
Increased interest in preparation of cebiche and other raw foods.
What advice would you offer gourmet retail stores?
Focus on quality over trends. People will always want really good salsa, barbecue sauce, jams, etc. New flavors are always interesting, but quality and service is paramount. And look for partnership opportunities with restaurants that would like to bottle/can/package their own products, but might need help with sales and marketing.
How are you working with retailers and/or local farmers?
We have a unique partnership with an organic farmer south of Lima, Peru. He grows and processes our ajies (Peruvian hot peppers) to our specifications, vacuum-packs the purees and sends them up by ocean freight. In effect, we've created our own proprietary supply chain. We are looking at doing the same with a custom house blend of Pisco. And we work directly with local mushroom foragers, herb producers and meat producers/packers, as do many restaurants in this area. Where we hold distinct leverage is in our volume, which allows us to better negotiate pricing, and the opportunity to partner with larger retail operations like Whole Foods in building direct relationships with mid-size farms for items like purple potatoes. And, of course, we are looking to add value to our Peruvian supply chain through product development and online retailing.
Editor's Note: To view insights from chefs Ann Cooper, Michael Giletto, Joshua Hebert and Tory Miller, visit www.gourmetretailer.com.
