Q & A with JBF Award Nominee Sam Calagione

by Elena North-Kelly on April 22, 2013

James Beard Award nominee Sam Calagione

When it first opened in 1995, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery was the smallest commercial brewery in the United States. Now, thanks to its line of quirky, small-batch beers, the company pulls in a cult-like following. We got in touch with Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head’s founder, president, and a 2013 nominee for our Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional award. Read on for his thoughts on collaborations between chefs and brewers, the ancient ale he cultivated with a molecular archeologist, and a beer that was like “tongue-kissing Mother Nature.”

JBF: We’ve read that you strive to create beers so unique that they can’t be judged by ordinary standards. Can you tell us a bit more about the philosophy behind Dogfish Head?

Sam Calagione: We brew beers that are beyond stylistic borders and far outside the modern tradition of using just barley, water, yeast, a... Read more >

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Daily Digest: April 22, 2013

by JBF Editors on April 22, 2013

Chicago prepares for its fifth annual Baconfest. [Chicago Tribune]

Baked avocados: brilliant or gross? [SE]

New PR campaign will recast frozen food as healthy food. [NPR]

Pediatricians caution against the popular “cinnamon challenge” dare. [Reuters]

If you want a tour of your local Chick-fil-A’s kitchen,... Read more >

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Q & A with Evan and Sarah Rich of the JBF Award–Nominated Rich Table

by Elena North-Kelly on April 22, 2013

Evan and Sarch Rich of San Francisco's Rich Table

When Evan and Sarah Rich opened the doors at San Francisco’s Rich Table, they presented a refined sensibility gleaned from combined backgrounds at high-end restaurants like Bouley, Quince, and Michael Mina with a convivial, relaxed environment. We caught up with the husband-and-wife team behind the Best New Restaurant nominee to learn about the inspiration behind their concept, their favorite cookbooks, and the unusual recipe that launched a culinary career.

JBF: What is your favorite item on the menu at Rich Table right now?

Evan Rich: Asparagus with pork belly and sorrel. I love this dish because it really represents what we do here. At first glance, it seems very simple but there's a lot of complexity of flavor and texture—and a great deal of work that goes into both the preparation and the pickup of the dish. It was inspired by sweet-and-sour po... Read more >

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Sustainability Matters: April 19, 2013

by Ashley Kosiak on April 19, 2013

Currants

Why does America regulate the raisin trade? [The Economist]

By 2015, organic fruit should be antibiotic free. [The Daily Green]

Ag-gag bill rejected in California, approved in Tennessee. [Grist]

Supermarket meat contaminated with superbugs. [EWG]

The rise of the "Frankenapple". [Organic Consumers Union]

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On the Menu: Week of April 21

by JBF Editors on April 19, 2013

Plating in the James Beard House kitchen

Here's what's coming up at the Beard House next week:

Monday, April 22, 7:00 P.M.

Modern Italian

“Though just about every restaurant serves some form of raw fish these days, very few approach Crudo’s mastery,” raves critic Howard Seftel of Arizona Central. Crudo is the specialty at Cullen Campbell’s charming modern paean to Italian fare, but the chef/owner’s thoughtful, innovative menu is impeccably executed from start to finish.

Tuesday, April 23, 7:00 P.M.

Reflections of Newport Spring

Welcome spring with an elegant New England–inspired menu prepared by chef Jake Rojas of the lovely Tallulah on Thames. An alum of Joël Robuchon at the Mansion in Las Vegas, Rojas will treat guests to a meal of his “nuanced... Read more >

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Q & A with Mike Lata of the JBF Award–Nominated The Ordinary

by Anna Mowry on April 18, 2013

Anna Mowry interviews Mike Lata, the chef behind Best New Restaurant nominee the Ordinary in Charleston

No discussion about Charleston’s on-fire food scene is complete without a nod
to Mike Lata. His first solo project, FIG, was a pioneer of the city’s latest generation of eateries, while the Ordinary, his follow-up concept and a 2013 Best New Restaurant nominee, is a reconsideration of the classic seafood restaurant. In the interview below, Lata discusses how he applies nose-to-tail philosophy to seafood, the Carolinas’ unique “merroir”, and his favorite dishes at the Ordinary.

JBF: Your menu celebrates the “merroir” of the coastal Carolinas and the East Coast. How would you describe the merroir of the Carolinas? What's unique about it?

ML: What's unique to the Carolinas is pluff mud and the high salinity content of our wa... Read more >

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Daily Digest: April 18, 2013

by JBF Editors on April 18, 2013

Cocktails

Your date's not a lush: it could be his whiskey-scented cologne. [HuffPo]

What top toques eat on the down low. [WSJ]

Euphoria-inducing hot sauces use the world's hottest chile. [F&W]

A guide to the nation's best old... Read more >

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JBF on the Air: Food Safety and Sustainability

by Elena North-Kelly on April 18, 2013

Urvashi Rangan on Taste Matters

Buying natural, sustainable, and healthy food has become increasingly confusing in our hyper-marketed world. On yesterday's powerful episode of Taste Matters, JBF's Mitchell Davis got some straight facts from Urvashi Rangan, executive director of the Food Safety and Sustainability Center operated by Consumer Reports. Learn all about the truth behind "natural" labels, the dangers of food marketing, and the growing problem of "green noise" below:

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Q & A with JBF Award Nominee David Wondrich

by Anna Mowry on April 17, 2013

Anna Mowry interviews JBF Award Nominee David Wondrich

After Prohibition virtually extinguished America’s rich cocktail culture, mixology entered a bleak age of sour mix, cranberry juice, and abuse of the “-tini” suffix. But thanks, in part, to cocktail historian David Wondrich, many of the recipes from bartending’s Golden Age are alive and well once more. Below, Wondrich, who is a nominee for our Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional award, tells us about his latest project, favorite new bars, and first non-liquid food memory.

JBF: You've been tapped to write The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. How is that going? Is there an ETA?

DW: It's a huge job, that's for sure, but I'm already learning a great deal. We're trying to bring all kinds of Asian and African spirits into the discussion, from arrack to akpeteshie, baijiu to bukha. I've really just begun working on it—I've got a list of headwords and we're figuring out who wil... Read more >

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