Posted on Apr 23, 2009 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
Master Baker Ben Hershberger at the Phoenician
While visiting the Phonenician in Scottsdale for a story on golf getaways I was lucky enough to sit down with Master Baker Ben Hershberger. I was there to write about golf, but after tasting some of his bread I had to speak with him. Holding the esteemed title of Certified Master Baker through the Retail Bakers of America, Hershberger is an expert on the “science” of bread making. By manipulating the time, temperature and hydration rate of the dough, he creates the recipes for the wide variety of breads that are baked fresh daily on property and featured at Il Terrazzo, the resort’s signature Italian restaurant, as well as through In-Room Dining and the Banquet Department. Hershberger uses organic flour, natural sourdough (which has been passed down for more than 100 years) and Mediterranean Sea salt for the highest possible quality.
Hershberger, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, has been baking for more than 20 years. He first started as a young child growing up in Nevada, where he would make home-made pastries and breads by milling whole grain millet, rice, barley and wheat by hand to use in his creations. In the corporate world, Hershberger held the distinctive title of corporate baker and trainer for Ritz-Carlton Hotels, opening bakeries in Japan, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Colorado, here in the United States. Most recently, he was an instructor at the Florida Culinary Institute, teaching students the art of baking. He was also a baker at Maddy’s and Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. In addition to tasting his lovely breads at the resort, he was nice enough to bake me fresh loaves of rosemary, rye, olive walnut, sourdough, chocolate cherry and a huge baget before I took off back to LA. I received many requests on the plane for samples, which I quickly refused, as I selfishly wanted all that bread for myself. Here are some pics of his delicious bread:
Pieces of loaves of different breads
My fave, olive walnut
Chocolate Cherry - very nice as a dessert bread
I highly recommend stopping in to try Chef Hershberger’s breads, or if in the Phoenix area you can pick them up at the Saturday Farmer’s market. I spoke with the chef about his baking philosophy and background – interview is below.
Posted on Apr 15, 2009 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
I sat down at Kitchen 1540 at L’Auberge Del Mar and spoke with Executive Chef Paul McCabe before I had a wonderful tasting menu that he prepared.
Chef McCabe’s background includes extensive training in French, Mediterranean, Southwestern, Pacific Rim and Spa Cuisine. A native of Sedona, Arizona, he began his career as an apprentice for Chef Michel Blanchet of L’Ermitage restaurant in Los Angeles. This classical training prepared him for a position at L’Auberge de Sedona and the Sibu Café in Kona, Hawaii, where he added Asian techniques to his classic styles. After stops in both Los Angeles at the five-star L’Ermitage Hotel and Arizona as Executive Chef at Enchantment Resort, McCabe settled in San Diego in 2001 and has been with L’Auberge Del Mar since fall of 2004. Heralded as a “rising star of American cuisine” by the James Beard Foundation, Chef McCabe has cooked for some of Hollywood’s hottest stars, world figures and epicureans from around the globe.
Posted on Feb 22, 2009 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
Chef de Cuisine Victor Juarez
Morongo Casino Chef de Cuisine Victor Juarez developed a love of cooking as a child where he would help prepare meals for his family using ingredients his father would bring home from fishing trips and traveling. Upon his arrival in the US as a teenager he began working in the hotel restaurant industry and rose through the ranks at the Hilton Hotel and La Verne University. He served as Executive Chef at the Mission Inn in Riverside before becoming Chef de Cuisine at Morongo Casino in January 2009. I sat down and spoke with Chef Juarez about his love of cooking and the new menu at the Morongo’s Cielo restaurant during a press trip at Morongo a few weeks ago.
Posted on Jan 26, 2009 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
Chef Hubert Keller
A native Frenchman, Chef Hubert Keller trained with some of France’s most legendary chefs, including Paul Bocuse and Paul Haeberlin at the L’Auberge de LIll. His talents caught the eye of Roger Verge, the Grand Master of French Haute Cuisine, who first made him a chef at Moulin de Mougins on the French Riviera and then appointed him to a two-year stint as Executive Chef at Cuisine du Soleil in San Paulo, Brazil before bringing him to San Francisco to run Sutter 500.
In 1986, Chef Keller became Executive Chef and co-owner of Fleur De Lys, which for 20 years has been one of the cities top fine dining establishments. By the 1990’s, Chef Keller’s reputation reached the White House where he received an invitation to be the first guest chef, preparing a meal for Presdient Clinton and his family.
Chef Keller has opened restaurants in Las Vegas (Fleur de Lys and The Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay). A second Burger Bar has opened in St. Louis, as well as a steakhouse (Sleek), with a third Burger Bar scheduled to open soon in San Francisco. The first show of the reality tv series “Top Chef” was filmed at Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, and featured Chef Keller as a judge. Chef Keller also hosts the national PBS tv show “Secrets of a Chef.”
I was fortunate enough to be able to taste (and look at – all Chef Keller’s dishes are expertly plated) many dishes at Fleur de Lys in San Francisco and had the pleasure of sitting down with Chef Keller for a chat after sampling some of the best food I have ever tasted. Here is our discussion.
