photo credit: Thomas Crenshaw
There’s been a lot of movement in the chef world lately — some good, while others not so much. Here’s the scoop:
Clay Conley is leaving Azul at the end of September and opening up a restaurant in Palm Beach according to his facebook status update, a welcome addition to the Palm Beach restaurant scene.
Johnathan Wright is leaving The Setai according to New Times. He will be leaving the area, too and heading to Sandy Lane Resort in Barbados come September 3.
Chef Joe Angelucci has left Cocktails & Dreams (formerly Secrets Piano Bar).
It’s been awhile since the James Beard Foundation Semifinalists were announced, and everyone has been speculating who would make it to the next round. Just this morning, in an invite-only breakfast in New Orleans, the final nominees were announced and here are the results for our South Florida talent. The final Awards Ceremony and Gala will take place on May 3, 2010.
Best Chef in the South:
- Zach Bell, Cafe Boulud, Palm Beach
- Michael Schwartz, Michael’s Genuine, Miami
For a list of all of the South Florida semi-finalists (many of whom didn’t make it to this final round, but still deserve a congratulations for making it as far as they did), you can see our previous posting.
See a complete list of the finalists.
Every year, we await the release of the list of James Beard Foundation Awards Semifinalists. This list of the top industry professionals recognizes outstanding achievement in a number of categories. These nominees are selected from over 21,000 entries received in an online open call held in October. This year, there was some presence from South Florida chefs and restaurants. This list is only for the semifinalists. The finalists will be announced on March 22, 2010. Follow James Beard Foundation on twitter to be one of the first to hear the finalists.
Outstanding Restaurateur:
Myles Chefetz, Myles Restaurant Group, Miami Beach, FL (Prime 112, Prime Italian, Nemo, Shoji Sushi, Big Pink)
Outstanding Chef:
Michael Mina, Michael Mina, San Francisco
Rising Star Chef of the Year:
Sam Gorenstein, BLT Steak at the Betsy Hotel, Miami Beach, FL
Best New Restaurant:
Eos at Viceroy, Miami
Soleá at the W South Beach, Miami Beach, FL
Outstanding Pastry Chef:
Hedy Goldsmith, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink
Best Chef – South:
Zach Bell, Cafe Boulud, Palm Beach
Dean James Max, 3030 Ocean at Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa
Philippe Ruiz, Palme d’Or at the Biltmore, Coral Gables, FL
Michael Schwartz, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Miami
Kris Wessel, Red Light Little River, Miami
Lirim Jacobi and Todd English outside Jacobi's restaurant, Taverna Opa, at CityPlace.
Celebrity chef Todd English stopped to visit friend and business associate, restaurateur Lirim Jacobi, at Jacobi’s newest restaurant — Wild Olives Cafe by Todd English — at CityPlace in West Palm Beach on Monday evening, February 8, 2010. English arrived at about 7:30 p.m. and had dinner with Jacobi and some friends at Wild Olives Cafe. They dined on a feast of English’s signature dishes, including my favorite fig and prosciutto flat bread, Greek salad, pasta with hand-crafted meatballs, braised mussels (another favorite of mine) and white chocolate bread pudding with vanilla ice cream. English also visited diners throughout the evening, including several Boston natives who were visiting the area and spent time in the kitchen with the chefs. Jacobi notes, “It was a wonderful evening and a memorable dining experience. We look forward to Todd’s next visit for our grand opening party.”
Wild Olives Cafe by Todd English opened on February 28, 2010, in the former Italian Oven Cafe space. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily. Wild Olives Cafe by Todd English is located at 477 S. Rosemary Avenue at CityPlace in West Palm Beach, Florida. Phone 561.832.7771 for additional information.
By Riki Altman
Chef Michelle Bernstein, Photo by Simon Hare
No doubt you already know Michelle Bernstein, the Miami born-and-bred Jewish-Latina former ballerina whose trademark broad smile, locks of curly hair and effervescent personality make her just as appealing as the Latin flavors she has fused seamlessly into Miami’s culinary scene.
Her list of accolades includes honors that some of America’s top toques can’t even achieve: 2008 James Beard Foundation winner, holder of various Five Diamond Awards, and defeater of Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America. She has also become a household name after serving as a judge on Bravo’s Top Chef and host of the PBS series, Check, Please!
But most of her time and energy is spent enhancing the menus at her buzz-worthy restaurants, Michy’s in Miami’s Upper East Side and Sra. Martinez [her husband is restaurateur David Martinez] in the Design District. And this summer she added two more branded sites, Michelle Bernstein at The Omphoy and Michelle Bernstein Terrace, both found at The Omphoy Ocean Resort, Palm Beach’s newest oceanfront hotel development and its only beachfront boutique hotel. She also consults for MB at the Aqua Hotel in Cancun.
Fish of the Day at Sra. Martinez, Photo by Simon Hare
Dine Magazine caught up with her at home to discuss her newest ventures, while Oscar, the couple’s one-year-old Goldendoodle with a bark louder than a foghorn, occasionally chimed in.
Why do you continue to grow your empire in South Florida now that you’ve become a household name?
This is where I hang out. And if I’m going to work at a restaurant, I don’t want to have to get on a plane for five to six to seven hours. I want to be able to jump in my car and drive. I just don’t see myself going back and forth to another city. I tried that and it didn’t work. And my husband is in the business with me.
I read that he handles the front of the house at Michy’s, right?
Everything that we dip into my husband does, not only the business deals but he handles the whole business end of it, all the numbers, and also right now he’s working on the wine list with our sommelier [at The Omphoy] as well.
Speaking of your Palm Beach venture, why do you think diners up there will be as supportive as Miamians?
The level of diners is just a little bit different. They look for different things. Here in [Miami] we’re a lot more Latin. We like things a little more spicy. We tend to get a little more—not me so much—but a lot of the chefs down here get really funky. They’re playing with a lot of the more molecular things. In Palm Beach you’ll have more classic dishes. More French-influence or continental-influence.
I do a lot of events in Palm Beach and actually some of my best clientele is from Palm Beach and Boca. They drive down. I also have a lot of fans on my local show [“Check, Please!”] that are from Palm Beach.
So what’s on the menu at Michelle Bernstein at The Omphoy?
For dinner, the influence is seafood and fish and it is a lot of really clean Mediterranean flavors. I hate to call it fine dining. I guess you can say it’s a little more upscale.
We actually are starting a rooftop garden at The Omphoy when we open. I have a woman, her name is Lindsey, she’s the chef de cuisine at the restaurants—she has already started with Timon, the executive chef, planting everything from zucchini blossoms to beans to every type of herb, spinach, sorrel, arugula—everything’s already growing. And we’re using rainwater irrigation. We should be about 60 to 70 percent sustainable with all herbs and greens by the time we open.
So we can expect lots of salads?
I have about four salads for lunch [at Michelle Bernstein Terrace] and dinner. And remember, my menus change all the time, like every couple weeks. I also have about four or five crudos (which, you know, means “raw”): everything from a tiradito of shrimp to a tuna carpaccio, to a classic steak tartare, and then obviously oysters of all kinds. Then the starters, they’re all hot and cold, and that’s everything from fresh sardines grilled inside of a Spanish soup called oro blanco, to one of my foie gras or sweetbread dishes, to prawns over risotto and cuttlefish.
Then for main courses, instead of just choosing fish, I decided to use all these methods [plancha, which is cooking fish on the griddle; salt-crusting; grilling; and Italian crispy-fried, a quick light flour method of cooking in extra virgin oil]. The last one is more creative. To start off, I’m gonna be doing the fish and curry Malaysia that I learned there, which is great because nothing has butter in it. I think I have two dishes on the menu that have butter. This is how I’ve been changing the way I cook lately: let the ingredients speak for themselves.
Did you go to Taboo and all those other Palm Beach mainstays to determine what would work?
No. Everybody said, “We want you.” I decided I didn’t want any [of that] to influence what I do in Palm Beach. This is all me.
Would you say Michy’s, with its funky décor and eclectic menu choices, is the cardinal opposite of Michelle Bernstein at The Omphoy?
Believe it or not, Timon… was the first that said to me, “We can’t walk away from Michy’s and not take some of it with us.” So we decided to take quite a few of the dishes that we play with at Michy’s: the braised short ribs; the watercress salad with goat cheese, grapes and tarragon; there’s the tuna tartare… the white gazpacho, those are just a few.
Did you have input on the design on either restaurant?
They wouldn’t want my input. The Schlesingers, Richard and his wife, Leslie (the hotel owners), are incredible. She does all the design for all their properties. She came to me and showed me what she had and I said, “Okay. Beautiful!”
Does it reflect your style, though?
Honestly, I can’t say that. I don’t want it to. Because I always do funky, kind of goofy design. Especially, you know Michy’s, is like what my sister and I thought about was 1970s Barbie townhouses we used to design and Sra. is all about fish. Omphoy is sitting with the biggest picture window I’ve ever seen looking on the ocean. That’s all we wanted to influence the room. Not me.
What food movements appeal to you?
I love slow food movement. I’m involved with them whenever I can. Sustainability, I’ve always been a part of. I’m a little more vocal about it now than I used to be. I’ve always used local farmers and local fisherman.
But I have my own movement. I fell in love with a foundation in Chicago and decided to open a Miami chapter. It’s called Common Threads. I teach underprivileged kids to cook. Johnson & Wales has given me their classrooms and they also give me volunteers.
Sounds like you don’t have time for any more competition shows…
One I can’t really disclose, but it’s one I’ve done before.
Any books coming out?
My cookbook came out six months ago, Cuisine à Latina. It’s really pretty. I hear a lot of good feedback on the recipes.
What about Check, Please! Can we expect another season?
We’re gathering restaurant info again. We start filming in the next two months.
You’ve got a lot on your plate.
Not too much. [She giggles.] It’s all yummy!