School Lunch. What You Enjoyed--Or Missed

Last Sunday's "School Lunch" event put on by Cooks Confab and Slow Food Urban San Diego was that perfect combination of convivial, educational, and simply delicious. The crowd--and it was a crowd--learned about the issues around creating healthy lunch programs at our local schools from Vanessa Zajfen, San Diego Unified's Farm to School Specialist. In the background you could hear the chefs prepping the cafeteria line and before long lines of guests were forming to try the salad bar and nutritious and tasty variations on traditional (nasty) cafeteria items. Take a look...

Jack Fisher and Katie Grebow prepping their dishes

Even the chefs' kids got involved. Isn't Jason Knibb's son adorable!

Lori Huffman made strawberry yogurt with chocolate dipping sticks.

Paul McCabe and Donald Coffman made "fish and chips" -- wild striped bass and baked veggie chips

Just a part of the best salad bar ever from Waters Fine Catering and Melissa Mayer

Gorgeous noodle salad at the salad bar

The Altmanns with Lisa's amazing Viva Pops fresh popsicles.

Lots of culinary student volunteers from The Art Institute helped out.

Snake Oil's Ian Ward made "strawberry milkshakes."

Lining up at the salad bar...

Michelle Cox and daughter Cerise filled their trays.

Very casual lunch

Family-style lunch

Dining Detail's Julie Frans enjoying a meal without the kids.

Time for dessert!

Want to learn more about efforts at improving school lunch programs locally and beyond--and how you can effect change? Here are some resources:

San Diego Unified Farm to School program
EcoSchool Design
Edible Schoolyard
Chefs Move to Schools
Olivewood Gardens
School Nutrition Association
Slow Food in Schools

If you have some examples of school districts making positive changes or ideas for how to improve school nutrition, let's hear it!

Print Page

Cooks Confab is Back with "School Lunch"

 
Way back in the day when I was a kid buying lunch at school was a rare treat. My parents mostly packed our lunches in brown paper bags. But I yearned to have 30 cents to buy any of the revolving choices of spaghetti, fish sticks, hot dogs, hamburgers, and macaroni and cheese. I wasn't in love with the greyish canned green beans often served with them. But I desperately wanted the brownies, cookies, and cupcakes.

Sound familiar? It wasn't good then and from the 60s onward, it's only gotten worse in the school cafeteria. But things are changing, thanks to any number of child nutrition advocates, including Michelle Obama.

Locally, child nutrition advocates include our own Cooks Confab chefs and on April 3 they're hosting a fun, delicious, and enlightening event to bring attention to the issue. Cooks Confab "School Lunch" involves all of the Cooks Confab chefs -- many of whom are concerned parents -- in partnership with local farms, ranchers, fishers, and artisans to serve "Haute Cafeteria Style Cuisine" at Fibonacci's Campus Point Bistro by Waters. The point is to demonstrate that communities can be masters of their own school lunch menus -- if they are willing to push for it.

The food. Dishes will include:

• Kitchen 1540's Paul McCabe's play on healthy Fish & Chips: Wild Striped Bass, Baked Vegetable Chips, and Tartar Sauce
• NINE-TEN's Jason Knibb's riff on Beef and Broccoli with Brown Rice
• Water's Fine Catering's Andrew Spurgin's and Martini Media's Melissa Mayer's Salad Bar, featuring produce picked that morning by kids from Fibonacci's on-site organic garden.
• A.R. Valentien's Jeff Jackson and TK Kolanko's Chicken & Local Vegetable "Pot Pie"
• Georges California Modern's Trey Foshee's Cream of Tomato Soup with Parmesan Cream & Bread Crumbs and Lentil-Barley Soup with Mint Yogurt
• Cafe Chloe's Katie Grebow's and chef/consultant Amy DiBiase's Suzie's Farm Vegetable "Lasagna" with Jidori Chicken Roulade, Handmade Focaccia and Strawberries n' Cream
• Farm House Cafe's Olivier Bioteau's Wheat "Macaroni 'n Cheese" with Carrot Turmuric Puree, Diced Vegetables and Gruyere Cheese
• Singaree's Antonio Frescia's Nathan's Natural Alpine Chicken Satay, Thai Almond Sauce, and Cucumber Relish
• Jack Fisher Confections's Cashew Nut Ice Cream Cups with Honeyed Quinoa

Plus, Snake Oil Cocktail Co.'s Ian Ward's Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice and Strawberry "Milkshake" and a selection of Housemade Beet "Vermouth," Hibiscus Extract, Raisin Reduction, Pressed Apple Foam, and Micro Radish from Saul Paniagua of Waters Bar Service.

Cooks Confab School Lunch will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Tickets are  $35 for adults and $15 for children under age 14. Proceeds will benefit Slow Food Urban San Diego's Farm-to-School project and other similar projects. You can purchase tickets online at Brown Paper Tickets. Fibonacci's is in the Golden Triangle at 10300 Campus Pointe Dr.


Print Page

Cooks Confab: The Incredible Edible Egg!

Is there anything in the food world as wonderfully packaged and divinely luscious as your basic egg? It's the magical ingredient that can bask in the glow of its own light, scrambled, poached, or fried and lends a hand with other ingredients to puff up a souffle, add rise to a cake, and substance to a sauce.

So, it's no surprise that the next Cooks Confab is turning its attention to eggs. The confabularie is preparing brunch on Sunday, March 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. and this time newest member Trey Foshee of George's California Modern in La Jolla is hosting.

Here's a taste of what you'll be tasting and the chefs who are preparing it for us:

Brian Sinnott (1500 Ocean)/Nathan Coulon (Quarter Kitchen)

Stracciatella alla Romana

Escarole, Parmesan

Chicken egg

*

Hawaiian Loco Moco

Handmade SPAM, mushroom gravy, rice

Guinea hen egg

Andrew Spurgin/Donald Coffman (Waters Fine Catering)/Timothy Kolenko/Jeff Jackson (A.R. Valentien)

Schaner Hen Egg Quiche

Shaved Mushroom "Salad", Chervil, Parsley, 

Frill Greens, Pickled Artichoke

*

Pickled Egg with Finnan Haddie, Beets and Horseradish

Jason Knibb (Nine-Ten)

Truffle Deviled eggs

*

Sous Vide Duck Egg, chilaquiles

Katie Grebow (Cafe Chloe)/Amy DiBiase (Roseville)
Celebration of Egg Sauces
Bearnaise - Roast Top Sirloin
*
Gribiche - Local Asparagus
*
Aioli - Pewee Fingerling Potatoes
*
Emulsified Dressing - Baby Greens

Paul McCabe (Kitchen 1540)

 Eggs Royale, Dashi Gelee, Sea Urchin, Tempura Sea Beans

*

Scrambled Eggs, Perigord Truffles, Crème Fraiche, Buttered Toast

Georges Team

Vegetable Spanish Tortilla with Aioli

*

Pan Perdu with Poached Apple Syrup, Smoked Bacon Cream

*

Planked Salmon, Quail Egg, Caviar, Potato Foam

Tickets are $80 per person, and includes food, beverages, gratuity, and tax. A portion of the ticket price goes to Slow Food Urban San Diego. For reservations, contact Kristine Sauer at 858-454-4244. George's California Modern is located at 1250 Prospect St. in La Jolla.


Print Page

Radio Days

It's been a busy week behind the mike:

Yesterday, we (SDNN.com) had a dry run with sdnn.com radio. Radio veteran Joe Bauer and sdnn.com CEO Neil Senturia are hosting this morning drive show on AM 1700 and they invited me to chat about, well, foodstuff, of course. Once it launches for real on April 27 from 6 to 9 a.m., I'll let you know when I'm on.

Later in the morning I was on KPBS radio's These Days with Maria Hunt. We had a wonderful hour with host Maureen Cavanaugh. You can listen here.

And, today, being Wednesday, I did my weekly show, San Diego Gourmet, with Robert Whitley. Our guests were Andrew Spurgin of Waters Fine Catering and Christian Graves of Jsix. Our topic? The Cooks Confab the two chefs are engaged in with about a dozen friends. You can listen right here:

To learn more about Cooks Confab, go to the website. The next event is at Nine-Ten at the Grande Colonial in La Jolla on Sunday, June 7 from 3 to 6 p.m. The theme is beef and here's the line-up so far:

• Hors d'oeuvre – Nathan Coulon – Quarter Kitchen

• Beef Tartare – Paul McCabe – Kitchen 1540

• Oxtail Ravioli – Antonio Friscia – Stingaree

• Beef Cheeks – TK Kolanko – A. R. Valentien

• Hanger Steak – Andrew Spurgin/Donald Coffman – Waters Fine Catering

• Artisanal American Farmhouse Cheeses – Brian Sinnott – 1500 Ocean

• Sweetbreads Dessert – Christian Graves – Jsix

Also participating…

Amy DiBiase — Roseville

Olivier Bioteau — The Farmhouse Café

Katie Grebow — Cafe Chloe

and of course, Jason Knibbs — NINE-TEN


Print Page

The Gourmet Club is Telling Fish Tales

What's your passion? For Chef Andrew Spurgin it's fish. In fact, he's a co-founder of the educational organization Passionfish, which addresses seafood sustainability issues.

Chef Spurgin, who is executive director and chef of Waters Fine Catering, will be on The Gourmet Club with equally ardent fish lovers Christian Graves, executive chef at Jsix, and Dan Nattrass, principal fish buyer of Catalina Offshore Products. With these three in studio as guests, we'll spend the hour talking about seafood sustainability, mercury in fish, techniques for preparing fish to keep it both safe and tasty -- well, basically all things fish. Actually, all things food -- because both chefs are champions of handcrafted, organic, regional cuisine, even if it doesn't have fins or gills.

So, tune in for the hour. The Gourmet Club is the tastiest meeting in town. Join Robert Whitley and me this Wednesday morning on signonradio.com from 11 a.m. to noon Pacific. You can also podcast the show and listen at your convenience.


Print Page