Author Archives: Sara Gardener

Spanish Ham Without Borders – Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene – Atlanta, GA

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Sara Gardener in Culinary Personalities, Food and Drink, New York City, Sara Gardener, Slow Food, Southern Food & Cooking, Spain, Starchefs, The Southern USA, Traditional Ethnic

Why would celebrated Southern Chef Linton Hopkins be leading an Ibérico Ham slicing demo? These were my first thoughts as I stepped into the 9:00am workshop at this year’s Star Chefs ICC. Country Ham, certainly, but after all, there were [...]

Tagged , , , , , , ,     |     Leave a comment

StarChefs ICC 2012: Counter Culture – The History of Appetizing in NY – Niki Russ Federman & Joshua Russ Tupper

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Sara Gardener in Culinary Personalities, Culinary Shopping, Food and Drink, New York City, Sara Gardener, Slow Food, Starchefs

 “We’re here to talk about slicing…I’m an example of what not to do,” exclaimed Josh Russ as he held up his bandaged hand at the beginning of the demo. Although the injury had not actually occurred in the line of [...]

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,     |     Leave a comment

Tapping into Your Staff’s Collective Creativity – Michael Laiskonis

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Sara Gardener in Culinary Personalities, Fine Dining, Food and Drink, New York City, Pastry, Sara Gardener, Slow Food, Starchefs

Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis is an industry icon—a leader, innovator, and mentor who has inspired generations of cooks both in the kitchen, as well as through his thoughtful prose and active participation in the world’s culinary dialogue. After eight years [...]

Tagged , , , , , , , ,     |     Leave a comment

“Cocktails Experienced Through the Meta-Sense of Time” – Alchemy Consulting Workshop at StarChefs ICC

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Sara Gardener in Cocktails & Libations, Culinary Personalities, Food and Drink, New York City, Sara Gardener, Slow Food, Starchefs

Alchemy Consulting: Toby Maloney, Troy Sidle, Joaquin Simo, Jason Cott
Alchemy Consulting is the dynamic team behind the celebrated bar programs at The Violet Hour, Hotel Williamsburg, The Bar Downstairs at the Andaz, and many more. The dapper gentlemen are true cocktail [...]

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,     |     Leave a comment

StarChefs 2011: Woodberry Kitchen – Sustaining Relationships: A Chesapeake Ecosystem of Purveyors

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Sara Gardener in Bistronomic, Cocktails & Libations, Cooking, Culinary Personalities, Food and Drink, New York City, Pastry, Regional, Sara Gardener, Slow Food, Southern Food & Cooking, Starchefs, Travel, Washington, D.C.

(ed. note: In the 6 years that I have been attending Culinary Congresses, this was quite possibly the most thorough and most well organized workshop presentation that I have seen. It was also one of the tastiest, with a number of different [...]

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,     |     3 Comments

StarChefs 2011: “Man of La Plancha” – Chef Richard Blais

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Sara Gardener in Cooking, Culinary Personalities, Food and Drink, New York City, Sara Gardener, Slow Food, Starchefs

Richard Blais is perhaps best known for his recent stints on Top Chef and Top Chef All Stars; however, he is first and foremost a restaurant chef. His culinary consulting company, Trail Blais, has worked with four-star restaurants across Atlanta, [...]

Tagged , , , , , ,     |     Leave a comment

StarChefs 2011: “Cutting Kaiseki” – Isao Yamada, Brushstroke

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Sara Gardener in Cooking, Culinary Personalities, Food and Drink, New York City, Sara Gardener, Starchefs

(Ed. Note: With this post, I would like to welcome a new contributor to my website. Sara Gardener is a pseudonym of a fellow culinary enthusiast and talented writer who works in the business and would rather remain out of [...]

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,     |     Leave a comment