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Ten Questions

10 ?’s with The Hawthorn Grill Chef/Owner Candace Rinke

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Chef Candace Rinke found herself drawn to the kitchen at a young age. Her first award was at twelve when she won a blue ribbon for a decorated cake at the county fair. Fostered by her grandmother’s love of entertaining the family and inspired by travels through Europe, her food reflects both warmth and elegance.

While at the University of Michigan in the School of Engineering, Candace discovered she loved cooking more than she enjoyed physics and math. This realization led her down an entirely different path. She has since graduated from Oakland College with a degree in Culinary Arts along with certificates in Food Handling Safety and Nutrition.

Candace has been cooking both personally and professionally for almost 20 years. The Busy Gourmet was a natural outcome of Candace’s lifelong love of preparing food and entertaining. She  relocated to Ohio about 5 years ago and has been busy feeding people in the Dayton area ever since.  In 2006 she launched The Busy Gourmet, a small personal chef service, specializing in small parties and meal service.  While growing this business, Candace was continually looking for a restaurant location, knowing she truly wanted to be a restaurateur.  This past spring the short lived Soprano’s location became available and within a month of signing the lease, Chef had painted, set a menu, hired her staff and opened for business.  Having survived her first Restaurant Week to rave reviews  we think Rinke’s The Hawthorn Grill is fast establishing itself as a dining destination in Dayton.

Enjoy 10 Questions with Chef Candace Rinke:

Enjoy a recipe from The Busy Gourmet's party menu

Enjoy a recipe from The Busy Gourmet’s party menu

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Butter, cream and salt – my family always teases me about this but come on…who doesn’t love a good Alfredo or creme brulee…can’t do those dishes without these wonderfully sinful ingredients!!!

What ingredient do you dread?
I can’t really think of anything I dread…I love to work with all kinds of fresh ingredients…the only thing that really comes to mind is soft-shell crab…I just can’t handle cutting off their little heads while they are still alive…!

What’s your favorite dish to make?
I don’t think I have a favorite – I just love food!  And part of the excitement of what I do is coming up with new, tasty dishes all the time.

What’s your favorite pig out food?
Chinese!  And Thai!  I love the complexity of Asian flavors – they’re so well balanced between sweet, spicy, salty and tangy…it takes a special skill to combine all those ingredients without one overpowering another.

What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
China Cottage in Springboro and Bahn Mai Thai in Centerville – see pig out comment above!

What’s your best advice for home chefs?
What grows together goes together.  Things that are in season at the same time tend to have a natural affinity for each other – like basil and tomatoes or cherries and apricots.  The Italians and French know this better than most of us – if things grow in the ground together and ripen at the same time, it’s likely that they’ll compliment each other on the plate.  Take chances and you’ll probably be delightfully surprised by the outcome!

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
I think given the choice, I’d like more than four people – my ideal dinner party is a big group of family and friends sitting or standing around the bar in our kitchen eating and drinking until we can’t eat and drink any more!  I’m Polish so I learned early on about hospitality and the concept of “the more the merrier” – and my grandma taught me well how to cook for a crowd so bring it on!

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Takashi Yagihashi – I worked with him in Michigan where he won a James Beard Award.  He’s since opened restaurants in Las Vegas and Chicago.  Watching him in action was a real learning experience for me – in my earlier jobs, I saw chefs that screamed, yelled and threw sharp objects.  In Takashi’s kitchen, everything was calm and calculated and executed with the precision of an operating room.  He lead by example and his integrity was above reproach.  I hope I’m able to lead my staff in the same way.

What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off?
Since we opened I haven’t had a day off (yikes!!!) but when I do get time away from the restaurant I like to spend it with my husband, Kurt, and my kids, Nick, Hayley and Noah – we like to go to Caesar’s Creek and bikeride by the river.

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:
My lucky break has been finding this space and getting it open in just a few short weeks.  I have been in Dayton for almost 5 years and in that time I worked very hard to develop a catering business out of my house.  After having my son, I was desperate to get out of my own kitchen and into a restaurant to which my husband’s standard answer was “Write the business plan first!”  I finally took a class at the Small Business Development Center in Dayton and after the eight week class and countless days and nights of studying, thinking, planning, researching and writing, I printed out a 37 page business plan outlining my lifelong dream of restaurant ownership.  Over the next year I searched for the perfect location (and waited for the stars to align themselves) and in the beginning of May, the opportunity presented itself at this location.  I signed the paperwork on May 18th and we hit the ground running.  It’s been great, and terrifying, and stressful, and wonderful and the culmination of a lifelong dream.  We’ve been very lucky so far and now we just want to keep going on the roll we’re on, serving people really good food with smiling faces in a pleasant, comfortable atmosphere.  If you leave thinking about the next meal you’ll have with us, we’ve done our job.

Visit The Hawthorn Grill at 1222 E. Stroop Road in Kettering

Tues – Thurs 4:30-9pm
Fri & Sat 4:30-10pm
Sun Brunch 9am – 2pm

Call 298-2222 for reservations!

10?’s with Rue Dumaine’s Chef

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“Food of Love”, Chef Anne Kearney’s motto, says it all, keeping the chef and her staff ever mindful of their mission to create culinary excellence in every dish that is placed before a guest.

For Chef Kearney, the words are close to her heart. Her passion for culinary perfection and the “sense of place” she feels in the kitchen, will always be the cornerstones of her dedication to her chosen career.  A native of Ohio, Chef got her early training at  Greater Cincinnati Culinary Arts Academy then made her way into the culinary scene in New Orleans.  And what a way she made, with stints as a sous chef for some of the most acclaimed chefs in the big easy, and eventually buying the restaurant Peristyle, after the owner passed away.  Kearney’s hard work, incredible mentors and her  respect for food  and proper preparation skyrocketed her to the top of the culinary world.  Her career has been documented with a cover of Food & Wine Magazine, when she was declared one of the “10 Best New Chefs in America,”  four Best Chef Awards from the James Beard Foundation, a Best Chef award by American Express, a feature in Gourmet Magazine and writing credits for Emeril Lagasse’s cookbook recipes and scripts for his tv show.

After all this success, a medical crisis made Kearney rethink her life.  In 2002, a brain aneurysm ruptured and after several more incidents and surgery, Kearney and business partner and husband Tom Sand returned home to the Miami Valley.  It allowed her to spend time with her family caring for her father in his last years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer disease.  Tom and Anne also began a small farm, Two Small Tomatoes, on the Kearney family property in Lebanon.  Kearney sells her wares at Centerville Farmers Market, the second Thurs of each month from 1-6pm . Here’s an excerpt from her weekly Rue Dumaine email:

“This week there will be corn** bisque, black bean-corn** salsa, gingered carrot** soup, white bean-arugula** dip, zucchini**- chocolate chip muffins…. just to name a few. She’ll be making breakfast bars in the am and Tom will be in the RUE kitchen tomorrow creating a huge batch of his tasty granola, which makes me very happy, it is so good and good for you. I am bringing along more product to this months market as I hope to satisfy the demand; don’t let me down, come on out and see what your local community has to offer.” (The ** refer to locally grown ingredients)

In 2007 with her health under control Anne and her husband Tom refurbished a failed asian bistro in what has now become one of Dayton’s hottest restaurants. Rue Dumaine was named after the street that Peristyle, her New Orleans place was on.   Fueled by Anne’s love of fresh ingredients and her own more casual interpretation of french classics, Dayton diners have felt the love and are giving it right back, making reservations very much suggested for a meal at this Washington Township eatery.  Or each Friday you can have lunch from 11:30am – 1:30pm.

And now – here’s Chef Anne Kearney’s answers to our 10 questions:


What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Local produce, I am intoxicated with the abundance that the Miami Valley provides for Rue Dumaine.
What ingredient do you dread?
Frozen fish, it is sent away from here.

What’s your favorite dish to make?
Endive salad
What’s your favorite pig out food?
Cheese in various forms

What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
Meadowlark; Wiley and her crew rock. (You can read Wiley’s 10 ?’s here)

What’s your best advice for home chefs?
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Oh, please buy local.

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?

John Neal, my mentor-I would love him to taste how my food has progressed thru the years. He would tell me and I would benefit from that. (Kearney  went to New Orleans to work under the late chef John Neal at the acclaimed Bistro at the Maison de Ville Hotel. When Chef Neal left to open Peristyle in late 1991, he took Kearney along as his Sous chef. Kearney credits Neal for her tutelage in classic French cooking techniques, as well as perfecting her own palate and prompting her discovery of new tastes and the depths of flavor.

“His passion for his work was so real, it was almost tangible,” says Kearney. “I will always hold with me the image of John hovering over a tiny pot that held what would become a perfect pink pea risotto. He would stir and taste, stir and taste, until it was absolutely perfect.”)

James J. Kearney, my father- He loved my food and he also loved that I found a joy in cooking. Paula Wolfert, one of my idols-I have established much of my culinary foundation on her stories and research. She opened my eyes to the cuisine of southwestern France. Robert Heisser, my maternal grandfather- He build and ran a lodge in upstate Michigan, where cooked a sit-down dinner for the guests every night. I think he would dig the fact that I cook for a living.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Chef John Besh. He has taken the reign of Culinary King of New Orleans, Louisiana actually. I respect his efforts and love his food.

What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off?
I attend Pilates class at Practice. Seasonally weed out at the farmJ, there are some serious vegetables growing out there. I cannot wait to cook them up for all.
Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:
Kitchen disaster- The freezers went out 1 hour before my second James Beard dinner was to begin, we were serving baked Alaska that evening. At least I was in NYC, it was a tough push but we made it happen.
Lucky break- I was blessed to discover at a young age that cooking was my thing. It has taken me to far reaches and brings me joy daily.

Insider Info about Rue Dumaine’s Never Advertised, Always Sold Out Cooking Classes from the Chef herself:

“I am blessed to be sold out thru November (1 a month)and I try to take December off for holiday events. 1class a month since last July:). The classes are a great deal of fun: once the class is sold out I send out a questionnaire to all students with relevant questions regarding each persons likes, dislikes, allergies. Any food memories, techniques, or flavors that they would like to have incorporated into the menu. I post a list of seasonal ingredients and have them rank their preferences. Once I receive the completed questionnaires I begin to write the menu. Once written Michael pairs wine and it is then sent out for student approval, once approved I begin to write recipes. The day before, I prep and organize the recipes. The day of I and one of my kitchen crew set up 4 stations in the kitchen, one for each of the cooks and their assigned course. At 3pm the cook half of each couple show up and we sit down and go thru the packet of recipes, I assign 1 dish to each student. A kitchen tour is given, chefs jacket and linen apron (theirs to keep) are put on and the cooking begins. By 6pm (ideally:)) we are ready to roll out hors d’ourvres and sparkling for all. After a few minutes of down time we move to the dining room and all take a seat at a table for 10. The student who prepped the first course goes into the kitchen with me and we execute the first course. Once all plated we run the food out to the table take a seat and the student describes the dish and speaks of any challenges or funny occurrences. Michael or Evan pour the wine and talk of the pairing. This continues on for 3 more courses. They all go home full, with a packet of recipes, a menu, 1 linen apron and 1 bottle of wine from the evenings menu. All that for $300 a couple.”

If you’d like to get on the list to become a future student send contact them through their website and Rue Dumaine will contact you as they develop classes for 2011.

10?’s with KT of Bombshell Bakeshop

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KT dreamt of long hours baking instead of long hours in a cubicle. Luckily, with help from her husband Sam’s business-savvy brain and her own uncanny sweet tooth, they established KT’s Kitchen in June 2008. She and Sam were met with open arms at local events where they began selling yummy sweets. Soon after, KT heard Ana Pascal in Stranger than Fiction say, “I figured if I was going to make the world a better place I would do it with cookies.” This phrase stuck with her and was ultimately the catalyst for a change she needed. She decided to take a huge risk. In June of 2009 she quit her job in social services to bake full time. One year later, they created Bombshell Bake Shop as a new identity to better achieve their future plans for world cookie domination! In the meantime, they are busy providing delicious treats to local cafés and health food stores.  She only uses quality ingredients, such as organic flours and sugars. All sweets are vegan, which means they are free of egg, dairy, or any animal derived ingredient; including honey. Since they use no animal products or hydrogenated oils the sweets are always naturally cholesterol free!

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
thumbs_img_1042Oh, this is easy…SUGAR!  I love sugar in all forms- cane sugar, sucanat, muscovado brown sugar, turbinado, molasses, brown sugar and the list goes on!  In my world there is nothing better than sugar.  I know a lot of people think sugar is “bad” but I think anything in moderation is alright.
As far as baking/cooking there are a million things you can do with sugar.  You can turn sugar into just about any consistency and make things edible you would not necessarily think are edible!  When the purple violets started to bloom in the spring my mom and I would go pick a bunch to candy.  We used to make them using egg whites but it is just as good to use water/sugar.  They are super pretty as decoration but I used to like to just eat them!

What ingredient do you dread?
I don’t necessarily dread anything in particular just for being an ingredient, but there are some ingredients I dread cleaning up after using!  When there is even the slightest bit of static while I carve up a big block of chocolate you better believe those little chocolate shaving go ALL over the place like the iron shards in a Wooly Willy magnetic face.  I also despise washing bowls after making frosting.  I try to pawn that job off on my husband Sam as much as possible!

What’s your favorite dish to make?
I love to make and decorate cupcakes.  After a lot of decorating practice and ugly mishaps, I put a significant amount of time into making each one look and taste like a little piece of delicious art.  I get bored easily, but there are so many possibilities and new ways to challenge myself with cupcakes.

As far as cooking is concerned I love this dish my Aunt Nancy taught me how to make when I was a teenager.  We call it goddess tofu because it is made with Annie’s Goddess Dressing.  This recipe has made many a tofu-haters change their tune.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut the tofu into thin slices and squeeze as much water out of each piece as possible with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.  (The key to good tofu texture is squeezing all the water out.)

Dip each slice in tamari or lite soy sauce.

Dredge the slice through nutritional yeast.

Do that with every piece and place on a non-stick foil lined, baking sheet.

Smear about 1-2 Tablespoons of Annie’s Goddess Dressing or Trader Joe’s Goddess Dressing (they are basically the same) onto each slice.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the slices start to look browned.

Flip over each slice and smear with more Goddess Dressing.

Bake for another 15 or so minutes or until the slices are browned and almost crispy.

Serve with basmati rice or I really like Trader Joe’s brown jasmine rice.
What’s your favorite pig out food?
Salty, crispy french fries and chocolate ice cream.  Yes, I like them together.  Don’t judge me.  J
What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
SamAndKatieThis is a tough question, Sam and I love to eat out and we love to pretend we are food critics!  We started an “eating out” budget when we were married almost 7 years ago and every month without fail we go over budget.  Currently, we have been pretty obsessed with Siam Pad Thai on Wilmington- we have yet to be disappointed by anything there and we have ordered pretty much everything!  Pasha at the Greene has some amazing hummus and I love Tank’s for a good “My Way” grilled cheese.
What’s your best advice for home bakers?
Play music while you bake.  Crank it up, maybe even dance a little.
Preheat your oven then wait at least 10 minutes before putting anything in it.
Don’t be afraid to mess up, you will.  You will also get over it.

Get an oven thermometer and pay attention to it.

Use fresh ingredients.  Don’t ever bake with baking powder that belonged to your grandmother.  My dad has a tin can of McCormick nutmeg from the 1970’s.  Unless you are saving it for nostalgic reasons it is time to throw that bad boy away.


If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
I think most people would take this opportunity to choose guests who may dazzle a reader with their desire for stimulating, intellectual conversation.  Or choose pertinent historical figures that changed the world as we know it.  I, on the other hand, am not going to do this.

Tina Fey– she cracks me up.

Zooey Deschanel– Not only is she a vegan foodie but I have a major girl crush on her.  I would ask her to serenade us after dinner.

Isa Moskowitz of the post punk kitchen- To have the chance to cook/bake for her would make my heart a flutter.

Burt Reynolds– there is no other reason than my love for Burt Reynolds is true and as deep as the ocean.

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
I worked with youth in various social services settings for about 8 years before I quit my job to finish my master’s degree and bake full time.  Awhile back I mentioned to my husband that I wanted to figure out a way to start a bakery where I could implement the “counselor” part of me.  Low and behold Elin Ross from my hometown of Frederick, MD starts this non-profit bakery called Cakes for Cause www.cakesforcause.org. She has a ton of experience in social services and she is a pastry chef.  I have been following her and her business closely.  I think she is a pretty cool lady, baker, youth-advocate and business woman.  I admire her on many levels.  I would love to start something like this in Dayton, but only time will tell.

I also adore and admire Natalie Slater of Bake and Destroy.  She describes her blog as a “food blog equivalent to a punch in the throat” and I concur.  She encourages me to be more creative, take risks, challenge myself and bake on my own terms.
What do you do in the Dayton region on a day off?
On a nice day off, I love to play outside!  There are so many awesome outdoor activities to get into in Dayton.   I LOVE going to the metro parks.  Sam and I try our best to find dog friendly activities so our dog, Lola, can join us.  Sam plays volleyball at Setters and Kettering Rec.  I just watch him play because I am awful at competitive sports.  If I feel like being pampered I get my hair done at Cherry Lee’s and get a massage from Stephanie Suriano at Touch of Gratitude.  When the weather outside is frightful we go out to eat!

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:
I am a klutz to say the least.  I drop and spill things constantly.  I have dropped an entire bowl of frosting on the floor, knocked over a table full of cookies, spilled a bag of powdered sugar and most recently I broke a fluorescent light bulb over a bowl of cookie dough.  Don’t worry I did not try to salvage any of these major blunders!

An interesting story: In June 2008 we did our first event at the Yellow Springs Street Fair.  We had no clue what we were doing.  It was a well orchestrated disaster to say the least.  Our main goal was to use this venue to see what people thought about our treats.  Friends and family told me my baked goods were great but I needed strangers to give me an idea of whether I should pursue this further.  We were there for 2 hours before anyone bought anything.  I decided to put out a few samples of energy bars.  A lady grabbed one and said “it needs more sugar.”  For a moment I was heartbroken.  Then I realized she thought it was a cookie and in that case, of course it needed to be sweeter!  The main lesson I learned from that was everyone has different tastes when it comes to baked goods and food in general.  I cannot please everybody.  There will be plenty of people who try our treats and won’t like them.  That is ok with me.  It is not because they are crap.  It is because everybody has their own idea of what is good.  I will admit some of the stuff we made for that first street fair was awful.  I have grown as a baker since then and I never want to stop growing.  The day you stop challenging yourself, trying new things, and taking risks in the kitchen is the day you should just stop.

Bonus Question:  Tell us about Bombshell’s commitment to the community:

Every month we donate 10% of our sales to a cause we support.  When we decided to do this, we made a list of local causes and this month its AIDS Resource Center Ohio.   For almost 6 years I did groups on STD/STI and HIV/AIDS prevention.  The first couple years I had people from ARC as guest speakers.  The youth and I always enjoyed their presentations.  I believe ARC does amazing work in the community.  This is just a small way of saying thank you.

Where to find Bombshell Baked Goods:

Where to Buy Locally

Healthy Alternative
8258 North Main Street
Dayton, Ohio 45415

Healthy Alternative-Beavercreek
2235 N Fairfield Rd
Dayton, OH 45431

The Ohio Coffee Company
46 W. Fifth Street at Ludlow
Dayton, OH 45406

The Sidebar (formerly Pacchia)
410 E. 5th Street
Dayton, OH 45402

10 ?’s with Chef Jenn DiSanto

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6Sometimes you just get a feeling about people.  When I emailed Chef DiSanto to set up this interview she was in Atlanta, visiting with her ill father, yet took the time to send me a rather amusing email about how we could do the interview as she was driving home in the car with her little ones, but that it might be better to wait.  No problem, so we set it up at her Centerville kitchen and she asked me what my favorite foods were.  Of course anyone who knows me can answer this- CHOCOLATE!

I arrived on a snowy morning to her office at The Easy Way Out and Chef greeted me graciously and we headed back to her kitchen, which was spotless and well organized.   We made the usual getting to know you chit chat and in no time at all I was charmed.  And then she went to the cooler to pull out a batter she’d made so it could cook while we talked.  A molten chocolate lava cake-woo hoo-she knows how to please! Of course, as we got to question 2 and her dread of baking I felt pretty guilty- she’d done what she hated most, just to make a good impression on me!

A classically trained chef, she ran her own catering business in Connecticut, then moved to Europe and then came to Dayton about 3 years ago (you can read her official bio here).  She’s a guerrilla marketer, who started her current business by talking to total strangers about her passion and skill for making good food.  And having spent just a couple hours with her, it’s easy to see why she’s making such a big impression on folks, in such a short time in the region.

As we went through the questions over a spread of bleu cheese stuffed figs with balsamic vinaigrette, marinated mushrooms, shortbread cookies and chips with her own special salsa (which by the way was so flavorful and she’ll soon be selling it commercially),  it was so easy to feel Chef Jenn’s passion for food and cooking.  Right in the middle of a question, she’d sit in anticipation as I bit into a taste and wait and watch for my reaction.  She genuinely wanted me to get as much pleasure out of eating the food as she gets from cooking it. And I did!

She told me the story of how she ended up teaching at Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking– she was ordering fish at the seafood counter, and as a true gourmet cook, wanted it whole- head and all.  A gentleman walked by, heard her talking and asked if she was a chef.  I have to believe he too was blown away by her enthusiasm for great, fresh ingredients because he turned out to be a DLM big wig and just a couple short weeks later she was teaching her first class.  Now she teaches 5 or 6 a month, and be warned, they sell out quickly. She teaches, caters events, prepares gourmet meals for you to purchase  and eventually, when her children are older, she’ll have a full service shop where you can pick out all your ingredients and she’ll whip them into a fabulous, mouth watering menu.

We laughed and talked so much, I felt guilty for taking up so much of her time.  But not so guilty I didn’t enjoy my chocolate cake!  Hope you get the warm feeling I got meeting Chef Jenn when you read this:

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
There are so many I love! Saffron, truffles, fresh morels, tomatoes, olives, smoked paprika, really, really good olive oil…so many more I love, but I’ll stop here. Oh, and fresh herbs!

What ingredient do you dread?
I don’t really dread an ingredient, so much but I don’t enjoy precise baking with complicated recipes. I will do it when I have to but I don’t love it. I do however love baking when it comes to breads and foccacias as they give you a little more freedom.

Chef Jenn plating up the bluecheese figs with balsamic vinagrette she made me.

Chef Jenn plating up some of the goodies she made for me during our interview.

What’s your favorite dish to make?
So many tapas dishes I could not begin to mention them all-it’s my favorite type of meal to cook and my favorite way to eat…small tastes of big flavors. If I had to pick a bigger dish I would say paella because it really is an art to me or osso bucco because I just love braised dishes. Braising is really all about creating a relationship with food. You combine flavors, it’s a slow cooking method that tenderizes the meat and it simmers and the smells flirt with you, building you up for the big taste finish.

What’s your favorite pig out food?
Is wine a food? Ok, I guess I would have to say pizza or really good chewy bread with great quality herb butter…and wines of course. I’m really into Spanish wines lately- I like really hearty full bodies reds with lots of tannins.
I’m not a wine snob I just like good wine!

What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
I love Meadowlark, Rue Dumaine, The Winds, El Meson to name a few. Oh yeah and Amelia’s Bistro in Bellbrook and Pasha Grille at The Greene.

What’s your best advice for home chefs?
Don’t get so caught up in a recipe-it is merely a guideline-at least in cooking! Relax, have fun and try new things. Also, always start with the best ingredients to end with a great dish. Also if you are making yourself crazy trying to impress a dinner guest, they they may not really be a friend…

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
As you can see there is a theme here…I can’t limit my answers…
First would be my husband, Jim, 4 year old daughter Eva and 2 year old son Max…but my kids wouldn’t be picky eaters at this dinner party. I would also always love to have dinner with my mother and father and six sisters anytime-great food was always a way of life for us growing up. I would also love to have dinner with Julia Child, but what chef wouldn’t? I would also love to have dinner with Shirley O. Corriher (author and food scientist)- oh the stories she has and the knowledge she has is amazing to me. Plus she is so funny and down to earth.

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Again…so many and I truly believe that you can learn from anyone and everyone.  But here are a few:
Alice Waters for how she pioneered the importance of locally grown fresh food
Julia Child-again what chef- especially female chef-doesn’t look up to her?
Jose Andres who master the art of tapas beautifully everyday
and locally Chef Wiley form Meadowlark for running a great restaurant with great food and just being a great person.  Chef Anne Kearney from Rue Dumaine for being so incredibly talented, passionate and gracious all at the same time. Chef Carrie Walters the corporate chef at DLM for being so passionate about food and bringing it to life so beautifully in a more challenging type of food service-dishes that are not made to order.. Also any of the gang at DLM-The Mayne family (who own Dorothy Lane Market) is so passionate about food and this translates so beautifully through all of their employees to the customers- I love to shop there!

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Chef Jenn, Eva and Max

What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off?
Spend time with my family. We absolutely love all the free parks in the Miami Valley. It’s one of the things that really made us love Dayton. After being in Europe where you pay for everything, even to pee, it’s amazing the abundance of open green space. We love to spend a day in Yellow Springs and at Young’s Jersey Dairy. The Boonshoft Museum has also been a wonderful place to explore with my kids.

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:

We all have a kitchen disaster story but I am pretty good about recovering, picking myself back up and laughing it off.  There was the time I catered for surprise birthday party for a client.  He said there would be about 50 people so we planned the menu to do tapas and then paella for the main meal.  Then a few days before the party, he called and said everyone was so exited about the concept of the party they all decided to rsvp so now the count was up to well over 100.  Ok-no problem, you have to be flexible in catering.  This was to be set outside but I only had an our after he got his wife out of the house to set up…the bar, the tables, the buffet tables for the tapas and burners foteh 5 large paella pans that I would be using.  He didn’t want to have a tent because his wife would obviously figure out something was happening.  Mission accomplished on time and the client was thrilled, but as I was cooking paella out of nowhere it started to rain.  One of my assistants very politely asked if we should postpone or move into the garage, but I was forming the perfect crust on the paella, so we held umbrellas over the paella to keep it protected, while I got completely soaked in my chef whites.  Just as the paella was ready, the rain stopped the guests came back outside and enjoyed the meal.  The guest had a blast, thoroughly enjoyed the party and I had a great laugh!

And of course as I left Chef Jenn’s kitchen that snowy day, she chased me out to the car with one more chocolate dessert for later.  And that reinforced that first feeling I had about her- this lady knows how to charm anyone, and she’s real!


10 ?’s with Executive Chef David Glynn

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photo_103A graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, David was the proprietor/executive chef of several restaurants about town, including the  Peasant Stock Restaurant, BR Scotese’s in Beavercreek before leaving for Chicago to take over as  kitchen manager at the legendary Italian Steakhouse, Harry Caray’s, and the Executive Chef at Neiman Marcus.  He returned to Dayton and is currently the Executive Chef at the Wright Patt Officers’ Club.  Don’t worry, if you aren’t on base you’ll still be able to enjoy Glynn’s talents, as he’s often in demand on the charity chef circuit, whether it’s serving up seafood at AleFest or becoming part of the team for the upcoming Masterpiece Ball to benefit the Opera.

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Garlic

What ingredient do you dread?
Liver

What’s your favorite dish to make?
Anything Italian! I love seafood too!

What’s your favorite pig out food?
Grater’s Ice Cream – Mocha Chocolate Chunk

What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
I try to support local places – Really like Meadowlark, The Winds, Jay’s, C’est Tout….I like Oakwood Club and Pine Club – My Boys LOVE good steaks!

What’s your best advice for home chefs?
chefglynnDo not be afraid to relax and have fun with a recipe. Use it like a TRIP TIC from Triple A – experiment, try new things, eat what you like and don’t be afraid of ingredients and terminology….I say a recipe is like a road map….It’s fun to take a side trip and go some place off the beaten path. Same with a recipe – substitute ingredients, add your own flair and twists…..I think this is what makes cooking so much fun!

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
It would be my four Grandparents – They really shaped my life with the sacrifices they made to be here in this country, their work ethic and devotion to family and they all died when I was too young to
really appreciate them. I actually never met my Mother’s Mom who died while she was young…. I want to hear their stories, enjoy those times I remember as a kid around the table arguing about everything and nothing. They were great people who left a legacy by the simple ways they lived their lives during very turbulent and challenging times. They emigrated to this country while all young and forged something from nothing through their efforts. It is a lesson and a generation who’s messages have been lost….My whole love of food, cooking and my personality come from my Italian Grandfather and my Mother….(I think my greatest blessing in this life was being born to my Mother and Father- they have supported me and loved me and given me everything they had and then some…)

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
In Dayton, as a kid growing up, we all respected and admired Dieter Krug. He was the Culinary Godfather so to speak from a kitchen standpoint…..I have always respected David Hume (of the Pine Club) for his devotion to his systems, his business practices. I loved Joe Kiss of Old Hickory for his generosity and his open book views on the industry – He had no secrets and shared with anyone who wanted to learn. I loved Jay Haverstick like a second father – he taught me more about working one’s operation and his political outlooks and how legislation affected our industry. It was Jay who taught me how to focus on the details. He was a great mentor who loved every aspect of this business and he is very missed. I was also befriended by a very good man – Joe Tikos who was one of my early employers. He gave me the confidence and enough leash to learn, grow and develop. He was a great success story in his own right and he had a great practical attitude towards cooking, the industry and he is the one who told me it really doesn’t matter how great a Chef I might become if I never learn business and how to manage people. He is still a very close friend and I really owe a lot to him!

What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off?
What is a day off?

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:
I have been working in kitchens since I was fourteen – Thirty-two years now! It was my childhood glynn@alefestdream to become a Chef some day and I feel blessed to have achieved that dream. This life has given me much, taken away a lot, and taught me some tough lessons. I have been successful despite myself, and lost everything because of myself. I learned how to cook in the “Old School” tradition, got to go to the greatest culinary school  – The CIA, and was blessed to have met many people who were giving and nurturing. This industry will reward hard work and perseverance, but you have to love it and hate it because you love it. You can’t be halfway in this industry. It consumes you and you become it. The industry shapes your entire life, affects your personal relationships and challenges one with its many rewards and devastating temptations….I never imagined achieving the things I have in this life, or failing like I have as well. Yet, I was able to recreate myself, try to mend some broken fences and become a better person because of everything. I have tried to give back and have many former employees who have gone on to successful careers in this industry. One secret many people don’t know is that I was blessed with three great kids – all boys – who love to cook, eat and are interested in the industry.(I owe their Mother more than I can ever repay for she has always been tasked with the burden of raising them as I worked and worked and worked….) I have tried to thwart that interest at every level. I don’t want my kids to sacrifice what I have. I want them to enjoy their lives and use cooking and dining out as great ways to relax and socialize. I am a Chef and I am proud of that and can’t imagine doing anything else in this life, but I do not wish this life on my children.

10?’s with Savona’s Keith Taylor

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1p3Chef Keith Taylor graduated from the culinary program at Sinclair Community College in 1997 while working as a sous chef at L’Auberge with Dieter Krug. In 2000, Taylor left L’Auberge to work at Pacchia, an Italian-American restaurant in the Oregon District under then owner Glen Brailey. After four years there, Taylor worked for a year at the Schuster Performing Arts Center until Citilites changed into a buffet-style arrangement. Taylor then went on to  work at Country Club of the North, before finally deciding to open his own place in 2007.  Savona Restaurant originally started out old world Italian, but has evolved over the years, the menu has broadened and the wine list is filled with French, Italian and American vintages.  The menu changes a couple of times a year, but is often supplemented with specials, inspired by locally grown ingredients.   Chef comes off a little shy when you first meet him, but over time I’ve learned he’s a great story teller, with a mischievous laugh and a sarcastic outlook on life.  After much harassing, he reluctantly agreed to answer my 10 questions:

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Beer- that way I can have a little nip while I prepare. Bud is my standby, but I also like dark porters and stouts.

What ingredient do you dread?
The best part of owning a restaurant is I no longer have to cook things I dread! Really what I dread is the monotony of making simple dishes over and over, like salads, vinaigrettes… I really need a challenge. Another thing I dread is cooking for people who are vegan or have things like celiac disease in the middle of a rush. That’s such a responsibility to make sure you do not have any ingredient that can affect someone’s well being, I really don’t want to screw that up!

What’s your favorite dish to make?
Whatever I’m hungry for! At home it’s probably Sloppy Joes. At work I really like braising- it’s a slow process that infuses layers of flavor. I’m really into complex flavors and meat. Often the starch and veggie are last minute afterthoughts to the meals I plan!

What’s your favorite pig out food?
Pizza – Hand tossed pizza with everything- meat, cheese, mushrooms and onions. If you put tropical fruit on your pizza, I wanna slap you-that’s an abomination.

What restaurant, other than your own, do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
Who’s picking, me or my wife? If it’s up to me we’re going to C’est Tout or Meadowlark. It’s got to be an independently owned restaurant for me. If my wife’s picking, we’ll end up at Don Pablo.  If the kid’s are with us, McDonald’s- I can eat a Big Mac with the best of them. I’m also trying to get my son into sushi.

What’s your best advice for home chefs?
Eat out!

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
My Mom, Barack Obama- so I could find out what he really thinks,
Chef Dieter –but he’d be mad if I make him sit with Barack and my wife- because she and I bickering would be entertaining for all.

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
keith&dieter,jpgChef Dieter (and it’s obvious by the quieting of his voice and the slow tilt of his head, he’s still mourning the recent loss of his mentor) Dieter taught me to make Bouillabaisse. It’s a labor of love. Fresh stock, rich flavors and customers really seem to enjoy it. He also instilled in me a great work ethic.

What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off?
Take my kids to school, ok I do that every day, then I like to cook for my family and have family time. The kids set the table and we sit down for dinner, just like I did when I was growing up. And I can’t wait to take my son to the Air Force Museum – it’s probably the coolest thing around here and I remember going when I was a kid.

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:
We were getting ready for a busy night and I asked a dishwasher to drain the stock. He poured the stock down the drain and kept the bones. After a few choice words and throwing a few things at him, I had to make stock, again…. I don’t explode like I used too. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it’s a lot less often… (Savona’s Sous Chef Trevor agrees- there’s never a dull moment with Keith- and he should know, as he’s worked with him as far back as Pacchia, and followed him to Schuster, Country Club of the North and came along to open Savona with him. Buy him a beer sometime and maybe he’ll tell you about the flying knife blade….)

Savona Restaurant is open for dinner Tues- Thurs from 5-9pm, Fri  & Sat 5-10pm.  Reservations are suggested- call 937-610-9835.  Located in Centerville,  at 79 S. Main Street, just south of St Rt 725, the restaurant seats 74 and features a wine tasting on the 2nd Wed of each month.

Savona will start serving lunch between 11am and 2pm on Fridays starting December 4th through the month of December.

10 ?’s with Baker Matt Boosalis

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Matt Boosalis left a career in corporate banking to follow his passion and opened Boosalis Baking across from Lexis Nexis on St Rt 741 in Miami Township in the winter of 2008.  He moved the store to Cross  Pointe Shopping Center in 2014. Matt is especially proud to tell us that his “breads, muffins and scones are baked fresh daily, with only 100% natural ingredients and no preservatives. Our Croissants and Danish use European Butter which is richer than domestic butter. The extra expense is worth it when you taste the flavor and flakiness of these offerings,” he continues.

You can also stop in for a panini-style sandwiches made with various meats and cheeses and chef’s salads with house-made buttermilk-dill dressing, or place a catering order for breakfast, boxed lunches, or dessert trays. Central Perc in Oakwood and Table 33 downtown  also feature Matt’s products.

Below you’ll see Matt’s answers to DaytonMostMetro’s 10 questions:

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
On the Bread side: Flour. It requires time and attention when developing bread dough. Too much mixing, not enough rest, hydration and temperature can impact the result. Bread making really is similar to the art of wine making but on a shorter time line.
On the pastry side: butter! Everyone knows what great taste it yields but its ability to create spectacular levened croissants and puff pastry provides a taste experience few ingredients can match.

What ingredient do you dread?
I am cautionary with regard to spices. Too much and an item gets taken over with tht taste. Too little and its intended impact is not present.

What’s your favorite dish to make?
Foccacia Bread is the biggest challenge. Authentically done, you swear the dough is never going to become bread, it is that soupy with liquid. But giving it enough time and attention it becomes a wonderful delicate loaf.

What’s your favorite pig out food? When really hungry and driving around making deliveries or just doing errands, I can wolf down an entire baguette no problem. A good baguette has a crunch exterior and soft inside. It should have subtle nutty and sweet flavor.

What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
C’est Tout in Oakwood has long been a favorite since I moved here. Chef Dominique puts so much work and care into his presentations and it shows. And every couple of weeks I end up at Dewey’s Pizza down on Brown Street.

What’s your best advice for home chefs?
For bread, don’t use too much flour. Give the dough enough time and it will eventually come together.

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
Anyone of my four family members including extended family. Their truely is something bonding about “breaking bread” with another. Doing so with family just reaffirms the close bond that already exist.

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Bakers on the whole are very generous with sharing with other bakers. Perhaps that is because there are so few people who want to enter into a field that demands so much of you. In particualr I admire, Willard Combs of Western Reserve Bread Company in Chagrin Falls. Over the years he has shared a lot with me and followed a similar route, leaving behind a corporate job to do what he loves.

What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off?
I make sure to attend the festivals like Oktoberfest and the Italian Festa. and of course I like to visit with my sister and brother-in-law and nephews.

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:
Years ago in California when I was just getting the baking bug, I would frequently volunteer to bake breads for my church. This would give me a chance to use a larger kitchen and do it on more profession scale. One day I was to bake 200 loaves for an event. But since their kitchen was getting some work done, the church arranged for me to go to another church and work. I went on the appointed day and time. I was a bit mystified why they were not very recepeptive and in fact, had no expectation of my arrival. It was only well after baking I realized I had gone to the wrong church and used the wrong kitchen. Moral of the story: if you act with confidence it can take you a long way.

10 ?’s with Wiley from The Meadowlark

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Elizabeth Wiley, WILEY, as she is known to everyone, grew up in Kansas and has been cooking professionally since 1979. She arrived, fresh from college, on the doorstep of The Winds in Yellow Springs, bursting to cook and asking for a job in 1980. She worked her way up to kitchen manager, and became a partner in 1994. Along the way she left several times to cook and to gain knowledge in all aspects of the restaurant business, with stints in Chicago, San Francisco and Key West. She always returned to the Dayton area, where she regards the quality of life offered as one of the best kept secrets in the Midwest. In 2004, Wiley left The Winds to open a small, neighborhood restaurant, The Meadowlark, just east of the Dayton Mall, Midwestern in nature and domestic in style. To Wiley, this means that when you walk in the door it smells like someone’s cooking and you get a big hello. Her goal is for people to feel at home with simple, delicious food and friendly service.

Wiley was brave enough to be our first Chef to be featured in this new
feature 10?’s. Hope you’ll enjoy her answers as much as I did:

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Wiley: chickpeas, chiles, tomatoes, shrimp, mushrooms, spinach, I could go on and on but can’t pick just one!

What ingredient do you dread?
Wiley: Flour—it intimidates me

What’s your favorite dish to make?
Wiley: Braised pork belly with fresh shell beans

What’s your favorite pig out food?
Wiley: Homemade tortilla chips

What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?
Wiley: The Winds, Taqueria Mixteca, The Emporium for breakfast in Yellow Springs, Rue Dumaine, especially Friday lunch which I never get to go to.

What’s your best advice for home chefs?
Wiley: Don’t over-complicate things

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
Wiley: Steve Martin – so smart and funny
Calvin Mayne – no man is more gracious (except his father), or more passionate about food
Renee Montagne – host of NPR’s Morning Edition, for all the stories she must have
Barbra Streisand – I fell in love with her at age 12 and she still captivates me

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Wiley: Joyce Goldstein – chef and food scholar, cookbook writer
Rick Bayless – amazing chef with amazing energy, great businessman, I was priviledged to work for him in the 1990s
Danny Meyer – incredibly successful Restaurateur in New York City

What do you do in the Dayton region on a day off?
Wiley: Coffee at Boston Stoker and read food magazines, Lunch at China Cottage or Smokin’ , followed by a matinee at the Neon Movies and a trip to DLM on my way home to make dinner.

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story:

Wiley: Last summer I went to New York City for the first time in over 20 years. I made a lunch reservation before I left on Open Table for a table for one at Union Square Café. This is one of my hero restaurants and I have their cookbooks, look at their menu on line all the time, etc. but had never been there. In the comment section of the webpage I made the reservation on, I mentioned that I had a small restaurant in Dayton and was excited about finally visiting USC for the first time.

So I go to New York and I arrive at the restaurant at the appointed time. The general manager greets me by name at the door and introduces herself. She brings me to a table much larger than any other that singles are seated at, one that commands a front and center view of the entire restaurant. Propped against the salt and pepper shakers is an envelope with my name on it. I open it and it’s a personal, handwritten note from Danny Meyer, the owner of the restaurant (and 6 more restaurants in NYC) thanking me for making Union Square Cafe one of my culinary destinations on my trip to New York. I am blown away. I realize it is Wed., the day the dining section in the NY Times comes out, and I ask if there is a paper I can read. There isn’t, so they send out for one. I have a real moment sitting in this incredible restaurant, reading my beloved NYTimes dining section IN NEW YORK. Wow. I order two items from the menu and get five. They keep bringing me things! Like fresh corn and rabbit ravioli, cranberry bean soup with basil and shrimp, super-crispy chicken with green beans and mustard sauce, and it is all so good. Members of the staff keep stopping by to say hello. One woman tells me her son’s girlfriend is from Dayton. I had such an amazing time being the recipient of this extraordinary hospitality. Of course I went back for dinner and sat at the bar and it was so crowded and energetic and convivial—a truly great restaurant experience, and so inspiring for a chef/owner.

Is there a chef you’d like to know more about? Drop us an email
and we’ll see what we can do!