The Art of the Plate: October 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Cook It Raw Charleston 2013 Chefs Prep in CIC's Palmer Campus Kitchens

The chefs arrive to prep.

Cook It Raw, an annual gathering of

world famous chefs, held its first
American meeting in Charleston.
Here's the scoop on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/4ehs0If6lzU

And a longer story on Smart Planet:

http://smrt.io/1jjUxLn

Alessandro Porcelli, Founder &
Director of Cook It Raw

Chef Albert Adria of Spain meets the Canadians

Bison sausage by Canadian Chef Matthew J. Duffy

Chef Albert Adria of Spain

Chef Bloomfield stirring her grits.

Chef April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig NYC

Chef Enrique Olvera of Pujol in Mexico City,
Chef Roberto Solis of Nectar in Merida, Mexico and
Chef Alex Stupak of Empellon Taqueria and Empellon Cocina in NYC

CIC's Will Thornton with Chef Brandon Baltzey

Dean Saboe and Chef Stefanelli with
Canadian chefs

CIC's Shane Haffey

Canadian Chef Marc Lapie

These little piggies
belong to the chefs from Mexico!

CIC 's Shane Haffey with Chef Jair Tellez of Baja, CA

Canadian Chefs Marc Lapie, Alex Molitz, and
Tyler Shedden with CIC Chef Stefanelli

Team Canada at CIR BBQ

The chefs from Mexico at CIR BBQ

Monday, October 7, 2013

Scenes from Relish restaurant and Relish Bakery Cafe

Chefs Marvin Woods and Robert Irvine Participate in Eating Well Invitational

The South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) sponsored the first Cooking Well Invitational as part of the Working Well Initiative in South Carolina. The event highlighted the efforts from 10 Gold Apple hospitals to make hospital food affordable, nutritious, and delicious. The two-day event kicked-off on Thursday evening with a reception in downtown Palmer campus. Celebrity Chefs Robert Irvine, from the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible,” and Marvin Woods demonstrated healthy dishes in the Culinary Institute's state-of-the-arts demonstration kitchen.
Chef Irvine also delivered the keynote address for Friday’s Cooking Well Invitational, which moved to the TTC Conference Center on Main Campus. Twelve hospital culinary teams of four competed to create a three-course meal over the course of two hours. For details, see: http://bit.ly/1fdiRAU

What We're Reading

“Eating from the Ground Up”

Out just in time for the vegetables appearing at our farmers markets, Alana Chernila’s cookbook focuses on creatively using every root and leaf. While some of the recipes may be familiar concepts – think stuffed tomatoes – hers are packed with millet, basil, and parsley. Fried rice stars salmon, fennel, and Swiss chard stems. Roasted asparagus are sauced with a combo of butter, garlic, nutritional yeast, and tamari. Stone fruit, raw corn kernels, scallions, basil, and jalapeño make a cool salad for hot weather. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

"Soul: A Chef's Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes"

“This book is my homage to the cuisine of my family,” Chef Todd Richards writes in his autobiographical collection of essays and recipes. “These are the ingredients of my people. This is my sermon about my Soul food.”

Bringing accolades for his stints at Atlanta’s Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons, James Beard nominations, and, of course, his prowess at Southern cooking, Richards seasons the pot with a powerful bouquet of flavors as he pays his heritage forward. Collards cooked with ham hocks are accented with piquant pickled collard stems. Blueberries are found in fried pies; strawberries are plated with champagne aspic, whipped cream, and honey. Grilled peaches pair with radishes on toast spread with pimiento cheese. Sweet potatoes are layered with cauliflower and crab in a lush gratin.

"Soul food," Richards tells us, "is the original cuisine of the South, born from an involuntary collision of cultures."
Published by Southern Living. $35.