Taste of Atlanta set for October 25 and 26

On Saturday, October 25 and Sunday, October 26, The Chef’s Table and The Kitchen Workshop cooking stages will offer attendees the chance to take epicurean arts into their own hands with direction from none other than the pros. With more than a dozen interactive demos and seminars spread throughout the weekend, attendees of all ages will be whipping up five star recipes like master chefs in no time.

Atlanta’s acclaimed culinary icons will lay all their cards on The Chef’s Table, hosted by Atlanta’s own Tom Sullivan. Guests can pull up a seat in this intimate setting to gain insight from these chefs, as they divulge their culinary journeys and offer expert tips, techniques and (of course) tastes.

Moments from the 2013 Taste of Atlanta/Laura Mercer

2014 Chef’s Table session highlights include:

• Battle of the Burbs: There’s a clash across kitchens, as restaurants from two of Atlanta’s northern burbs gather for a friendly neighborhood rivalry. Featuring Chef Derek Dollar of Milton’s Cuisine and Cocktails and Chef Bob McDonough of Little Alley Steaks, the competition will surely spice things up.
• From the Ground Up: Whether attendees take it with cream or steam, this segment – featuring Octane Coffee and Chef Jordan Wakefield of Smoke Ring – is sure to perk them right up as expert Atlanta coffee fiends spill the beans on at-home brewing.
• Shop like a Chef: Explore local culinary haunts through the eyes of Chef Patric Bell of Barrelhouse and Chef Linda Harrell of Cibo E Beve. Attendees will gather insider tips to stock their home kitchens with the best seafood, meats, produce and more.
• Southern Comfort: Y'all listen up! Guests will make room for a meal like mama used to make, as Chef Brian Sonoskus of Tupelo Honey Cafe and Chef EJ Hodgkinson of JCT. Kitchen whip up some good, old Southern cooking.

Opportunities to meet Top Chefs at Taste of Atlanta/Lucy Mercer

The Kitchen Workshop, presented by The Cook’s Warehouse, Le Cordon Bleu and Guy Gunter Home, will school guests in the culinary arts with hands-on cooking tutorials for any level of cooking expertise. Hosted by CNN’s Emmy nominated journalist, Holly Firfer, The Kitchen Workshop features renowned local and national chefs who provide step-by-step instruction for both skilled home cooks and those still learning to boil water. Every participant leaves with a recipe they can make at home and a feather in their toque.

2014 The Kitchen Workshop session highlights include:

• BravoTV Top Chef Season 10 Champion: Kristen Kish, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate who is well known for winning Season 10 of Bravo’s Top Chef, will reveal expert culinary tips and tricks in her demo, “The Secret’s In The Sauce.”
• Wok Shop: Learn the way to wok from Chef George Yu of Makan and have dinner on the table in a flash with this high-heat, quick cooking method!
• Hook, Line and Sinker: Attendees can reel in a fresh shellfish supper and get schooled on sustainable seafood with this former “Chopped” champion, Chef Quentin Donnaud of Coast.
• The Basics to Bon Appétit: Guests can pepper their kitchen with a taste of France, as they learn to prepare the crème de la crème version of bistro classic, French onion soup, from Chef Derek Wood of Vin Vie Bistro.
• Tunisian Turnovers: Don't miss the chance to learn how to make the exotically flavored, simple and versatile Tunisia Brik with Le Cordon Bleu’s Chef Kyle Reynolds.

The Chef’s Table and The Kitchen Workshop at Taste of Atlanta are both open to all festival ticket holders on a first come basis. The Chef’s Table will host segments approximately 30 to 45 minutes each, and The Kitchen Workshop segments will last about 45 minutes each. General admission and VIP tickets are on sale now for $25 and $75, respectively.

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Catching up with Richard Blais & Jared Lee Pyles @HD1

Chefs Richard Blais and Jared Lee Pyles of HD1 Restaurant.

This is what a soft opening is all about - I drove past HD1 Restaurant in Poncey Highlands twice before I realized it was the place I was supposed to be for lunch. (Of course, that could be a statement about my driving and directional abilities and the fact that these days it's a bit of a deal for me to drive anywhere other than the traditional Atlanta mom-stops of the Varsity, the botanical garden, the zoo and the aquarium.)

But the building is just the slightest bit off the street and the sign didn't grab me, and so I circled the block twice before parking across the street. I was there for a media lunch with Chef Richard Blais, the Top Chef All-Stars winner and partner in Atlanta's gourmet burger boutique, FLIP Burger. For HD1, Blais and Executive Chef Jared Lee Pyles have created another fun venue, more casual than FLIP, with an inventive menu that pulls the hot dog and all its possibilities off of the kid's menu and out of the ballpark and drops it smack in the middle of the adult's plate before topping it with everything from barbecue and cole slaw to tripe and tongue.

We began by nibbling on pressure-cooked boiled peanuts with African spices (barberry, dried chile, cumin, garlic and onion). They were unbelievably good, as were the lemon pepper chicken wings, gussied up with lemon curd and Szechuan pepper.

HD1's boiled peanuts with African spices. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

As delicious as these items were, we flipped out over the Waffles fries with maple-oy sauce. Chick-fil-a needs to send its fry cooks to apprentice at the hand of the cooks here - these fries were perfectly crisp and not greasy and the Asian-inspired sauce had that sweet and sour thing going. Chef Pyles' sauce is a play on Mae-Ploy chili sauce - it's made of maple syrup, honey, Sambal, rice wine vinegar, cilantro and lime.

Waffle fries with maple-oy dressing. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

 And now to the dogs: we tried three and all were very good, but one stood out to my barbecue-loving tastebuds - the Eastbound and Down - a frank topped with Carolina pulled pork, sweet mustard slaw and mop sauce. I liked the combination of the tender, smoky pork and the crisp slaw, that was shredded just right - not too coarse, not too fine. In keeping with the "super-local" mandate of the restaurant, the franks are all made by Atlanta charcuterie The Spotted Trotter. Just as much attention was given to the buns - they are a Northeastern style bun, according to Blais, meant to cradle the dog and toppings. The buns are made according to HD1's recipe, but at an off-site bakery - the recipe is a "Ghana sweetbread, a little like broiche or media noche."

Haute dogs. Photo provided by The Reynolds Group.

We finished the meal with soft serve ice cream - Chef Pyles likes to experiment with flavors, drawing inspiration from the supermarket candy aisle. The flavor of the day was inside-out Whopper - chocolate with malted milk topping.

In addition to showing off the menu at HD1, Chef Blais was very accommodating during the lunch, answering questions about all of his business ventures - including a new restaurant, The Spence, opening at Georgia Tech; a cookbook to be published by Clarkson Potter in Fall 2012; and his stake in a t-shirt company called Tasty Cotton, which features the Blaisian (noun):

"Any individual possessing a fixation towards liquid nitrogen, sous vide or faux hawks."

If you need directions to HD1, I can happily oblige, now that I know the neighborhood so well. HD1 opened without a lot of fanfare and because of the walk-up counter, the waits for food are not long, Blais said.  Parking is conveniently located across the street at the Chelsea building. 664 N. Highland Avenue, Atlanta 30306. (404) 815-1127. www.hd1restaurant.com


Text and images copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer, unless noted otherwise.

Chef Richard Blais on waiting for "Modernist Cuisine"

Chef Richard Blais/Our Labor of Love

Modernist Cuisine, the biggest cookbook of the decade, and I do mean big, started shipping this week. Judging from the early reviews like Michael Ruhlman's in the New York Times, Modernist Cuisine is an amazing cookbook, or more accurately, culinary encyclopedia.

Just by the numbers, it is significant: six years of work by a team of 20 chefs, writers, photographers and designers led by the former Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft Nathan Myrhvold; six volumes (5 subject books plus a kitchen manual); 2,438 pages; 49 pounds of cooking knowledge. And did I mention the $625 list price? To add to the mystique, there is but a single press run of just 6,000 copies, with the possibility of a second run.

Additional press runs or not, Modernist Cuisine’s impact will be felt throughout the contemporary cooking community. One of the best-known practitioners of the art of modernist cuisine is Atlanta’s Richard Blais, of Top Chef All-Stars and concept chef of Flip Burger Boutique. He tweeted in February that he pre-ordered a copy through Amazon, which is offering the book at $461.62, 26% off the cover price of $625. I contacted Blais through his publicist and here’s what he had to say while he waits by the mailbox.

You tweeted that you pre-ordered the book, Modernist Cuisine. Have you seen a copy or received your copy yet or do you expect to receive it soon?

Blais: I am on the pre-order wait list like everyone else…

Why do you want to own the book?


Blais: I think it has a chance to be a real revelation and a game changer in our industry. Knowing what I know about his [Myrhvold’s] work and what he has done globally, I think it is a fascinating undertaking.


Do you know Nathan Myrhvold (or the co-authors)? Have you followed the production of the books?

Blais: Yet to meet him, I just know of his stories through features and walking chats with other chefs.


What are you most interested in out of the six volumes?


Blais: I think I will find it all very interesting and I've heard the food photography is spectacular!

How do you plan to use the book?


Blais: I plan to read it and be inspired by it.


Is there anyone you would lend the book to?


Blais: Oh sure, anytime I have a book it belongs to all my chefs. We all learn from each other; it's what being a chef is about. It's very fraternal.

And he adds:

I can’t wait to get it! I am checking the mailbox every day.


Text copyright 2011, Lucy Mercer. Photo of Richard Blais provided by The Reynolds Group. 
Modernist Cuisine photo from www.modernistcuisine.com.


A version of this story appears on Examiner.com.

Burgers, Milkshakes & Blais

Me and Chef Richard Blais by Susan Loper/A Cook and Her Books

Celebrated chef and Top Chef season 4 finalist Richard Blais christened the second Atlanta location of FLIP Burger Boutique in Buckhead Monday night. While making sure that the tasty burgers and milkshakes were being distributed to the crowd, the personable chef took time to talk with the guests and pose for pictures. (And his hair looked great all night.)

My favorites from the eclectic "fine dining between two buns" selections - the Southern burger with gooey pimento cheese dripping off the sides, and the Butcher's Cut with blue cheese, caramelized onion and red wine jam. Of course, you need a side with that, something like Vodka Battered Onion Rings with Beer Honey Mustard does the trick - crispy, crunchy, salty.

Dessert is in a glass - liquid nitrogen milkshakes. My favorite is the Nutella + Burnt Marshmallow. I think I may try to make this at home - minus the fancy kitchen tools.

A FLIP Buckhead employee burns the marshmallows for Nutella milkshakes. Note the mondo industrial nitrogen tank in the background.

There's a cool slideshow of FLIP's menu on Examiner.com.

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