Inspiration and Information for your Tabletop

Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd is giving back to the community through his Southern Smoke Foundation

As businesses begin to reopen after months of closure, it’s important to remember that some members of the food and beverage industry are still suffering. Luckily there’s help out there, thanks to James Beard award winner Chris Shepherd. You probably recognize the name of this Houston restaurateur and owner of One Fifth, UB Preserv, The Hay Merchant, Georgia James, and Underbelly Catering.

Plating on porcelain is the best way to present food hygienically and beautifully.

Hygiene and sanitation have always been front-of-mind for those in the hospitality industry and after months of closures and quarantines, we’re thinking more than ever about the hygiene not only of where we’re eating but what we’re eating from. It’s no coincidence that porcelain has always been the choice for food service. Its ability to withstand the rigors of catering makes it perfect for professional applications.

Image from Power of 10 Initiative website

Award-winning DC-based Chef Erik Bruner-Yang recognized very early on in this global health crisis the effect Covid would have on the restaurant industry and determined he didn’t want to sit by and do nothing. He envisioned a way to get workers back on the job while safely re-opening restaurants to feed essential workers and vulnerable members of the community.

Image from Gaido's Seafood Restaurant Facebook page

Amid so much uncertainty, we love seeing acts of kindness from our friends in the hospitality community. One of the inspiring stories from last week came out of Galveston, Texas when Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant and Nick’s Kitchen and Beach Bar both reopened their doors to serve their community. Owner and Chef Nick Gaido released a statement on Gaido’s Facebook page:

The German Design Award is selected by an international jury, honoring only the most innovative and groundbreaking designs. This year Coffee Tasting was a recipient of this prestigious award for Excellent Product Design in Tabletop.

From baked clay goblets to titanium reinforced crystal glass, the modern wine glass has come a long way. According to a study published in the 2017 British Medical Journal, wine glasses between 1700 and 2017 have gotten 7 times bigger. That contributes to the vast variety of glasses we have today. 

The exact origin of ramen is disputed, but most historians believe the dish we know and love today is a Japanese adaptation of a Chinese dish. Ramen noodle shops became popular in both Japan and China in the early 20^th century and were popularized in America in the 1970s with Momofuku Ando’s invention of the instant noodle. Since then, this comfort food has become a staple in American cities.

Yury Krasilovsky, Executive Chef with Barilla Foodservice is no stranger to the heat of the kitchen, or of competition. Currently he’s competing in Riverence’s Gold Rush Cooking Competition and we’ve been blown away by his entries so far. This dish, which he’s named “24 Carat Gold” caught our eye, with Riverence’s Gold trout on a bed of creamy polenta and saffron beurre blanc, garnished by golden tomatoes, grapes, trout roe, and chervil. We asked him a few questions about his long history with cooking and how he decides to compose his dishes.

One of our top food trends to watch in 2020 is the increasing popularity of low to no-alcohol beverages and the restaurants that make them.

This decadent dessert was created by chef Lynn Warnesky from Merrimack, New Hampshire as part of the August 2012 Deep Plate exercise.