We had a chance to sit down and talk with Chef Shantell Williams of Shantell’s Cafe, located at 406 S. Sanford Avenue in Sanford. In this segment she tells us about how she got started.
Easter Chocolate Favorites at Peterbrooke
Easter celebration is right around the corner, and if you are still looking for your favorite chocolate treats, look no farther. Peterbrooke Chocolatier of Winter Park has it all! Chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs, chocolate covered peeps, chocolate covered popcorn and many more chocolate delights! You can also create a basket right there on the spot. So, please stop by your neighborhood chocolatier at 300 South Park Avenue at Winter Park today!
Don’t let the rainy weather today stop you, just call ahead and pre-pay. Peterbrooke Chocolatier of Winter Park will bring your order at curbside. You can reach them at 407-644-3200.
Easter Brunch at Café Gauguin
After reading the article Best Easter Brunch in Orlando by my blogger friend, Christina, I decided to go for the best this Easter and have brunch with my family at Café Gauguin in the Rosen Centre. Executive Chef Mike Rumplik and his team created an egg-travagant menu ranging from an Omelet & Waffle Station and a Risotto & Pasta Bar to Seafood and Sushi. There also will be every child’s favorites like chocolate fondue, chocolate eggs, and many other decadent desserts. With unlimited Mimosas, Champagne and “all you can eat” amazing dishes, this will be one fabulous celebration!
To make your Easter Brunch reservations at Café Gauguin in the Rosen Centre, call 407-996-9840 x3593.
Chef Jamie McFadden
Chef Jamie McFadden is the award-winning Executive Chef and Founder of the Cuisiniers Catered Cuisine & Events, Winter Park Florida. Since 1998, Cuisiniers has been Orlando’s premier catering company specializing in wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, corporate events, and much more. Chef Jamie’s experience speaks for itself. He is a recipient of the Best Chefs America Recognition and the only caterer to receive Central Florida’s Top 20 Chef’s awarded by the Restaurant Forum. Chef Jamie is Orlando Sentinel’s inductee to the Culinary Hall of Fame and Orlando Business Journal’s 40 under 40 inductee. He appeared as a Guest Chef at the James Beard House in New York City and on NBC’s Today Show. I had an opportunity to ask this award-winning Chef a few questions.
When did you first know that you wanted to be a Chef? I became interested in cooking and entertaining at a young age. Both my mom and dad were excellent cooks, and more often then not would entertain friends and family on the weekends. The holidays of course brought new recipes, and an abundance of delicious memories were created year after year. My Mom loved cookbooks and cooking magazines, Craig Claiborne and Julia Child were both a huge part of the creative process in our families kitchen. Looking back I feel it was a natural progression for me once i began working in restaurants to become a professional chef. College was followed by internships in Europe, and at that point I knew for sure this was the career path for me.
What is the difference between restaurant Chef and catering Chef? I would say very little. I highly recommend that anyone interested in pursuing a career in catering first work a few years in different restaurant kitchens. This teaches speed and organizational skills. Most importantly the development of your Flavor profiles is crucial. Attention to detail is the name of the game when you have multiple events going on around the city in the same day.
What is your favorite restaurant in Orlando and why? That all depends on the day of the week, my mood, even the weather. We now have so many great spots in The Orlando/Winter Park area to dine. To name just one would be impossible. Let’s just say that my buddies Kevin, James, Julie, Brandon, Scott, Henry, Ashley and John all have fabulous spots and I admire their creativity and commitment to service.
Do you have a ‘signature’ dish? I attended College in Baltimore Maryland and while there had the opportunity to work with Chef Nancy Longo of Pierpoint Restaurant. She was passionate about Crab Cakes and taught me a thing or two about authentic Maryland Crab Cakes. I ran with that when I opened my first restaurant, MiMi’s Cafe & Wine Bar in 1991. We served delicious Crab Cakes and the Orlando Sentinel Food Critic at that time Scott Joseph thought so also. He gave us a fabulous review in early 1992 and folks were lined up for weeks to try our crab cakes. Twenty Two years later people still request them at Cuisiniers.
What is your favorite ingredient? Lots of favorite ingredients, but Rhubarb always comes to mind first. It’s a childhood memory from my grandparents farm. I make Dukkah that i love to sprinkle on Roasted beets and certain proteins.
by Irina Pabis
Happy Birthday, Kesh!!!
Interview with Chef Jerry Helminski
Who is Chef Jerry?
On April 9th, Chef Jerry Helminski, along with his staff and many of his customers celebrated the first birthday of Kesh Restaurant and Deli! Kesh is known for great subs, amazing sandwiches, tasty pizzas and awesome shakes. But most importantly, it is known for its award-wining Chef, for his enthusiasm, creativity, and friendly character. This is what some of his customers have to say: “the owner is kind, like an old family friend” and “this guy definitely thinks outside the box and isn’t afraid to cook on the wild side” and “the man’s been everywhere and has had his hands in everything foodie- experience and travels = one damn good cook!”
We had an opportunity to sit down with Chef Jerry, who spoke to us about his past, present and future. We have the first part of our interview in this video segment.
Shantell Williams of Shantell’s Café
I met the amazing and entertaining Shantell Williams, owner of Shantell’s Café located in Sanford, Florida. Her restaurant serves comfort southern foods, such as Fried Chicken & Waffles, and Jamaican classics such as Jerk Chicken. On the Edible Orlando Cooking Stage, Shantell demonstrated simplicity as the basis of her kitchen. As a mother of ten, she is always cooking, and a crock pot is one of her favorite kitchen tools. A few years ago, one of her daughters was diagnosed with diabetes, so she had to learn how to cook differently. That was the inspiration behind her line of spices, made right here in Florida with local ingredients. With her warm and welcome personality, you can understand her motto, “Just one bite and you’ll feel the love.” Read more about Shantell Williams in Spring edition of the Edible Orlando Magazine.
“Food is my passion – my art is creating a delicious and surprising menu that will overwhelm your every sense.” – Shantell Williams
by Irina Pabis
Chef Laurent Hollaender on the Edible Orlando Cooking Stage
This past week-end, I visited the Central Florida Home + Garden Show at the Orlando Convention Center. I learned about new gardening techniques, watched dog training shows, tried samples of wines and vegetable dips, but most importantly, I attended a few cooking demos by some of the best Central Florida Chefs. In this post, I will introduce Executive Chef Laurent Hollaender of the award-winning Boheme Restaurant, located at the Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando.
Chef Hollaender has over 30 years of professional culinary experience, but it all began with working in his family’s catering business and attending culinary school in Alsace, France. He also served in the French military as a private chef to high-ranking generals. Before coming to Orlando, Chef Hollaender served as Sous Chef at La Colline Restaurant in Washington, D.C. and L’Actuel Restaurant in New York City.
On the Edible Orlando Cooking Stage, Chef Laurent Hollaender prepared a tasty scallop nested in potato with a creamy sauce.
by Irina Pabis
Chocolatier Kevin Wray
Part 1 of the interview with Kevin Wray
How I Became a Chocolatier
Peterbrooke Chocolatier of Winter Park is owned and operated by husband and wife team, Kevin and Jami Wray. Peterbrooke makes a wide variety of chocolate creations from milk chocolate to white chocolate bars, from Valentines treats to chocolate Easter bunnies, from molds of shoes to a chocolate business card. Everything is created right here in the store with care and passion from the owners and employees. I am exited to have a chance to post the interview with Kevin about the success story behind their ‘sweet’ business. In my first segment, Kevin explains how he and his wife, Jami, became Chocolatiers and mentions their involvement in volunteerism, humanitarian efforts and Corporate Social Responsibility. Peterbrooke is truly “Your Neighborhood Chocolatier” located at 300 South Park Avenue in Winter Park.
by Irina Pabis
The Fish Stew Rap by Jamie Oliver & The Food Tube Choir
Published on Apr 1, 2014
Jamie’s re-launching his pop career with his classic track ‘Fish Stew’ first performed live in Australia a decade ago. This time he’s got all the Food Tube gang to be his backing group. What a line up!
Future Plans for Chef Emily
Retro RAD Diva Emily Ellyn is always busy. Check out the new “The Emily Post” in the BAR Magazine discussing restaurant etiquette and giving readers tips on how to dine out with the style. Between publishing articles, hosting events, volunteering at her favorite charities and TV appearances, Emily was able to catch up with me to discuss her future plans.
What is next for Emily? I am continually cooking up new projects like my new Emily Ellyn apron line, which can be seen on my website www.EmilyEllyn.com. This year I am looking forward to growing my line of aprons that my friends at Cupcake Provacateur are sewing for me. I am also working on completing a couple of book projects like “Leave it to Cleaver,” and I am continually perusing the goal of having my own television show! Of course, I continue with my ‘day job’, I travel around the United States teaching cooking at Home Shows, Food and Wine Festivals, lecturing at schools and appearing on the local news.
by Irina Pabis
celebritychef4u 