Voices
How Mike Davis Pioneered Chef-Driven Restaurants in Columbia, SC
for Best Chefs America Ten years ago, Mike Davis began to pioneer the emergence of chef-driven restaurants in Columbia, SC. The concept of his restaurant Terra is a familiar one. Davis sources local food, seasonally. He cooks contemporary American dishes with Southern, classic French, and Italian influences. However in Columbia, SC, this was once considered cutting-edge. Now the success of Terra has inspired other chefs to open concept-driven restaurants that deviate from the typical corporate chains and meat and three sides cafés that once monopolized the city’s culinary..
Chris Hall Creates Company Cultures with People-Driven Philosophies
for Best Chefs America Chris Hall's Atlanta-area restaurant Local Three has few culinary boundaries. As long as a dish is delicious, his team can cook it — from bacon enchiladas to trumpet mushroom bibimbap to lamb shawarma. “I wanted to open a place where I could put mussels on the menu next to queso dip," he says. Hall is a bit audacious with his demeanor. When it comes to cooking, he's eclectic. Nonetheless, he is a chef who's deliberate. Hall has built his restaurants — Local Three and Muss & Turner's — around operational philosophi..
What Happens When 5 Best Chefs Cook Together?
for Best Chefs America (5/21/17) A group of Best Chefs united in the kitchen in Asheville, NC as part of the James Beard Foundation’s Celebrity Chef Tour. Each crafted two dishes showcasing a variety of cuisines, techniques, and artisan ingredients with an emphasis on cooking southern in a haute style. Everyone on the all-star roster was either a James Beard winner, finalist or semi-finalist or has cooked at the Beard house in the past. The Beard Foundation hosts Celebrity Chef dinners across the country each year to replicate what an event at the actual James Beard house is like. ..
Q&A with Seattle Chef Brian Clevenger
for Best Chefs America Brian Clevenger of Seattle’s Vendemmia, East Anchor Seafood Market, and Raccolto is known for preparing Italian-inspired food that accents the already perfect natural flavors in every local product he sources. Clevenger keeps his cuisine uncomplicated, modern, and affordable — and his efforts keep patrons flocking to his restaurants. So much so, that he recently opened two new places called Contadino and Pizzeria Contadino that also serve food in his "refined simplicity" signature style. &nbs..
Profiling Pop Ups: Behind America's Best Temporary Restaurants
for Best Chefs America Pop ups are one of the few dining trends to truly take over the nation in the past decade. These temporary restaurants allow chefs an opportunity to create menus that break all the typical rules of the restaurant industry. Today, pop ups are growing at a rate of 82 percent year-over-year. We’ve been in the midst of a bit of a drought as far as culinary innovation is concerned. The public is seeking novelty, which pop ups provide quite famously. INFLUENTIAL POP UP CONCEPTS Dan Barber of Blue Hill’s WastED series spotli..
Clint Jolly Tells a Culinary Story
for Best Chefs America Clint Jolly calls himself a culinary storyteller. Every plate of food tells a tale, and when Jolly cooks, he gets to write the narrative. People naturally recall past experiences when they taste familiar flavors. Our tongues take us to a different time and place. “As a chef I have the ability to transport people through their collection of memories,” says Jolly. “And I love it.” His culinary repertoire is global. He offers a “Compose Your Own Memoir” private dinner, where he makes meals from around the world that recreate culinary memories fo..
Lisa Dahl, the Glamorous Sedona Chef
for Best Chefs America To be a chef is a dirty job, though you wouldn't know this by the way Lisa Dahl of Mariposa, Cucina Rustica, Dahl Ristorante Italiana, and Pisa Lisa carries herself. The Sedona, AZ Best Chef has her hands on every aspect of her restaurants — from the decor to the food. Each detail is designed to mesmerize guests as they soak up the dynamic beauty of the Red Rock canyons. Dahl herself embodies the same elegance reflected in her cooking and each one of her dining rooms. You’re either turning people on with your restau..
Allen Hess Showcases Authentic Hawaiian Flavors with a Bit of Bacon & a Twist of Ingenuity
for Best Chefs America Chef Allen Hess of Mai Grille with today's fresh catch “We have so much potential,” says Chef Allen Hess of Mai Grille. “I get sick of the stereotypical Hawaiian resort cuisine — the wasabi mashed potatoes. Fruit relish doesn’t make a dish local.” All this said, it’s somewhat ironic that Mai Grille —one of the most forward-thinking restaurants on the Big Island — is located on a golf course in a resort. Inside the simple and clean, hardwood-laced clubhouse, Chef Hess experiments with native ingredients and gastronomic techniques to ..
Allan Russo's Sette is a Gem in the New Jersey Countryside
for Best Chefs America Allan Russo, head chef and owner of Sette, grew up apprenticing inside his father’s restaurant, Da Filippo's Autentica Cuisina Italian. “It was a home away from home,” Russo says. “I was excited to be there. It was natural to me.” His parents told him that going into the restaurant business as an adult, which he inevitably did, would always be an option. First he had to get a degree. They viewed education as a necessity. Russo studied finance at Seton Hall University and traveled across Europe cooking and learning about food — in Swi..
Justin Burdett's Modern Southern Food is Simple, Seasonal & Hyperfresh
For Best Chefs America (photos by Johnny Autry) It's no longer a novelty for chefs to use localism as a niche. People now expect that local food will be served in every high-profile, high-end establishment that advertises quality. Sourcing local requires networking. It takes flexibility. Yet the difference in taste is tangible. When a chef buys the freshest food available — grown as closely to them as possible — all they have to do is enhance its natural flavors once it arrives in the kitchen. Justin Burdett is yet another Best Chef who fills his restaurant, L..