Now Eat This: Rocco Dispirito Cooks "Light Style" Italian

By: Anne M. Raso

In celebration of Rocco Dispirito's Now Eat This Italy cookbook and his new AOL Travel show of the same name, AOL publicists invited several journalists to cook with the outgoing Jamaica, Queens native in the test kitchens of the International Culinary Institute in Nolita. I was one of the lucky three dozen journos who got to cook light versions of Caprese Salad, Pollo Al Forno, Spaghetti Vongole and Instant Italian Ice (which Dispirito whipped up with Rachael Ray on her show about 1 ½ years ago).

Chef Rocco in Action

Dinner with a Chef - Armand Toutaint, Turner Fisheries

"One fish, two fish, three fish, blue fish..."

Chef Armand Toutaint is prime example of where hard work and tenacity can lead to great success. This New Hampshire born and raised chef started his career as mere dishwasher, but fought to rise through the restaurant ranks to eventually land at Boston's Turner Fisheries, where he has served as the chef de cuisine for the past two years. As I chatted with Toutaint over dinner the other night, I noticed that Armand is a man of few words; clearly what he lacks in sentences is made up for in his dishes.

Q: Hello Chef, why don't you start by telling me a bit about yourself and how you end up in the restaurant industry? Did you perhaps grow up cooking with a food loving family?

Interview with James “Jimmy” Distefano, Executive Pastry Chef – Rouge Tomate [New York]

By: Finance Foodie

Last weekend, I took a trip to NYC for a very special interview with James “Jimmy” Distefano, Executive Pastry Chef at Rouge Tomate, a Michelin starred member of the Green Restaurant Association. I had first became acquainted with the restaurant last year during New York Fashion Week – their delightfully refreshing and natural Cucumber Cooler drinks proved to be a lifesaver from my near caffeine overdose (with all the Diet Coke and McCafe coffees littering the Tents).

Dinner with Mike Foley of JJ Foley’s Boston

By: Finance Foodie

JJ Foley’s Bar and Café – opened in 1909 by Jeremiah Foley - is the oldest family owned local bar in Boston. On most nights, you can find the whole Foley family behind the bar, managing the front of house, or chatting with guests – many who have been regulars for decades.

Dinner w Boloco CEO John Pepper and Chef Jason Hutchinson [Boston]

By: Finance Foodie

A week ago, Boston burrito joint Boloco hosted a roundtable with CEO John Pepper and co-founder/exec chef Jason Hutchinson. Pepper and Hutchinson both animated talked to us food bloggers about the history of Boloco, the "Boloco" name (which stands for Boston Local Company, fyi), and (most excitingly!) provided samplings of new menu items. I tried the new gluten-free brownie (which was pretty tasty despite the slightly health-nut sounding name) and the new "disturbingly small" mini burritos - the teryaki one is my fave! - pictured below.

I definitely will "Go Loco" next time I'm craving a burrito!

[photo courtesy of Rachel from Fork it over, Boston]

A Conversation with Chef Jacques Van Staden of Celebrity Cruises

By: Anne M. Raso

This spring, Celebrity Cruises welcomes the third Solstice class ship, Celebrity Eclipse, and Jacques Van Staden, VP of Culinary Operations, recently spoke to us about Qsine, the new fine dining venue on the ship which has a quite hip style and design!

Interestingly enough, at Qsine, there are no appetizers, entrees or course dividers. It is just food, intended to be shared and delivered as it is ready (AKA “family style”)!

The wine menu will be presented to diners on an Apple iTouch via an app called the Qsine Wine Waiter. This app brings up roughly 100 bottles available divided onscreen by each wine type with a thorough description! Van Staden states, “Nothing has ever been done before with Apple and this is something we are working on very diligently with Apple for the (April) opening.”

Van Staden gave financefoodie.com the back-story on Qsine: “The project has been in production for a year-and-a-half—and it is the culmination of a lot of epiphanies I had during that time…. we are enhancing the Celebrity culinary reputation. We keep it fresh and want to provide a different type of culinary experience. It is a global influenced cuisine—but none of the dishes are actually fusion!”

Fresh to Death: Cooking with Chef David Bouley at the International Culinary Center

By Anne M. Raso

“The Essence Of Japanese Food/Adaptation Of Japanese Ingredients Into French Dishes” cooking demo by the legendary David Bouley at the International Culinary Center in Soho on January 25th was an eye-opener, even to the most seasoned NY chefs - and many were in the audience!

At the event, Bouley announced that his new eatery Brushstroke, would be replacing his legendary Viennese-with-a-twist-of-Modern-American place, Danube (at 30 Hudson Street), in early July. Brushstroke will focus on the naïve cuisine of Kyoto, known as Kaiseki cuisine, with the twist of French that Bouley brings to all his establishments. As all good NYC-based foodies know, Chef Bouley garnered worldwide acclaim over 25 years ago as a chef at Le Cirque and later owned Bouley in several incarnations including the original on Duane Street, Bouley Bakery and Bouley Upstairs. The guy cannot do any wrong in our eyes.

Chef Nigel Spence Cooks Up a Taste Of Jamaica in New York

By Anne M. Raso

Who needs a “spliff” when you’ve got Jamaican cuisine worth jonesing for? I was fortunate enough to be invited to Chef Nigel Spence’s recent cooking class sponsored by visitjamaica.com at Whole Foods’ Bowery location. The class - entitled “Jerk & Rum: A Taste Of Jamaica”  - was limited to only 25 folks on a special demo room on the second floor of Whole Foods. The affable Chef Spence kept reminding us that any cooking shortcuts he gave us need not be announced to any Jamaican friends you might be cooking for! He said at least six times, “Any dish that takes less than three hours Jamaicans won’t eat!”

Aujourd’hui @ The Four Seasons Boston

By: Finance Foodie 

For this installment of my Dinner with a Chef series, I chatted with William Kovel, chef de cuisine of the AAA Five-Diamond Award-winning Aujourd’hui in the Four Seasons Hotel. I had previously met Chef Kovel at the Tour de Champagne event, where he won me over with his innovative and tasty hiramasa wonton offering. Therefore, I was delighted to have dinner with this culinary talent who has already accomplished so much at such a young age.

Finance Foodie: I heard you just got back from a trip to Iceland. Welcome back! What were you doing there?

William Kovel: I was there as the Boston representative for Reykjavik’s week long Food & Fun festival. I was a guest judge for their culinary showdown, where 16 chefs from Europe and the US battle it out Iron Chef style. It was an exciting event – I even met a few people there who had been to Aujourd’hui!

Dinner with Chef Jose Duarte of Taranta Cucina Meridonale [Boston]

By: Finance Foodie

This post marks my first entry to my Dinner with a Chef series, where I chat and dine with the chefs of my favorite restaurants. This month, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jose Duarte, chef and owner of the highly popular and award winning Peruvian-Italian restaurant Taranta Cucina Meridonale, located in the historic North End of Boston.

Finance Foodie: Jose, as you have lived and cooked all over the world (Peru, Venezuela, Philadelphia, Florida), what made you decide to open your own restaurant in Boston?

Jose Duarte: I had no doubt I would pursue a career in the food industry. I love food and always had a strong interest in ethnic cuisine, especially food that associated with culture and history. I spent pretty much my whole life in the restaurant and hospitality industry and have traveled the world from it. My wife is from Boston and an opportunity came up for me to start a business here and the rest is history!