Talking Potatoes

That's right, it's not good enough to just be a potato anymore. We've started using a myriad of different potato varieties thanks to our annual mid-winter seed catalog meeting with Kathy Glahn and my dad's subscription to Seed Savers Exchange. The video below describes a few of the varieties we are using right now at the restaurant. I'll be posting videos over the next couple of days that show what type of application we are using for each potato variety. Please check back frequently to see how we are using these spuds. Like I said in the video....here's what's cool about this whole scenario. None of these potatoes were flown in FedEx from who knows where. They were expertly grown right here. South Central PA. Center of the food world.....

A 'Taste of Elegance' Preparation - Winner, Winner, 'Pork' Dinner Edition

I suppose you can tell from the title of this post that we were awarded the top prize at the National Pork Board's Mid-Atlantic 'Taste of Elegance' in Baltimore on Monday. I'd like to thank the following folks:
Howard Greenblatt from the Pork Board
Beau Ramsburg- without him there's not a pig
Scott, Dan, Taulbee, Karen, and my mom and dad without them there's no way this would have happened. Thanks guys!!!
The staff of the Renaissance Hotel - always professional and very welcoming as we invaded their home
Finally, all the participating chefs for an amazing event

I don't have much more to say....It's an amazing feeling to bring this award back to Hanover. Now we're on to the national event in which may be in Chicago in June. Hear that Nick Kokonas? I might be heading to Chicago....Love to snag a reso. at Alinea.....

Here's the closing video for the project. For all of you Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen junkies, here's what it looks like in the real world. Without make-up, lighting, sound and even 'Gladware'. This is the ultimate 'quickfire challenge'. Believe me, your blood pressure shoots up when the judge comes over and says 'oh, by the way you have 3 minutes.'


By the way....the camera catches everything. Here's our boy Taulbee......working hard.

A 'Taste of Elegance' Preparation - Day Three

I have to say a big 'I'm sorry' right up front. We took these videos late saturday night after a full night of service....and....Dan decided that he'd like to go see the Flyers, so we were a man down in the kitchen. So, I'm pretty sure the videos aren't the most descriptive, but you get the idea!

SMOKING.....STOMACH.....CHIPS.....


In this video we are preparing the shoulders for braising by putting a hard sear on them and then transfering them to a roasting pan. Please note how cool, calm and collected I am even though there is an open flame shooting out from under the pot. Unflappable!!!


NEXT UP: BELLY!
No, this isn't a video on how not hot I look in a chef coat. It's me preparing the pork belly for braising.


The final video is me making the base for our sauerkraut sauce. I finished this sauce up today and it is........awesome. No really. It is.