This past Thursday I attended the launch party for KOTO USA at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. There were about 100 culinary media and service professionals in attendance (a very awesome turn out).  KOTO (Know One, Teach One) was started by Jimmy Pham in the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.  This organization has done some amazing work.  They take underprivileged teenagers off the streets and train them for a position in the hospitality industry. By giving them the proper training and tools, KOTO has had over 250 students that have completed the program and have had 100% placement for their students. These future Hospitality professional receive their training at KOTO's full service 150 seat restaurant (which originally started off as a sandwich shop) in Hanoi. Here is a clip about KOTO it was filmed by the BBC News Report

KOTO USA was founded by restaurant consultant and hospitality educator Neal Bermas, Ph.D (he was also my professor for restaurant management). KOTO USA will be supporting KOTO Hanoi financially and by offering it's expertise in education and will assist in the future expansion of the program throughout Southeast Asia.

Along with some of my colleagues, we volunteered our services for a silent auction. I donated a night of my time to cook dinner for four to the highest bidder.

Dumante Liqueur (a pistachio flavored liqueur from southern Italy) sponsored a recipe contest and the winners were selected that night 

Organizations such as Blue Smoke, Rosa Mexicano, Brooklyn Brewery, Dumante Liqueur, Oneida, Chefs Warehouse, Mai House and the Institute of Culinary Education donated food, staff and products to assist in this very special event.

Blue Smoke served their famous deviled eggs, pulled pork and brisket sandwiches.

Rosa Mexicano made their guacamole to order (they started this in New York and took the guacamole standard to the next level by preparing it table side at all their locations) they also poured the most refreshing frozen pomegranate margaritas I have ever tasted.  I tried them several times that evening to reaffirm my palate's position

Brooklyn Brewery poured their heavenly collection of beers. 

Stay tuned,  in January I'll share the menu and pictures of what I prepared for the winner.

P.S.  Unbeknownst to me, my fiancée bid on a Bar-Crawl in New York City with bar and cocktail aficionado John Henry. His company is called Pipe Line Brands.  As brand agents to many boutique, artisanal and small batch wines and spirits, Pipe Line Brands deals with the marketing, product education, sales, and they also run special events to get the word on the street about their products. 

The "Bar-Crawl" will be happening sometime in early December.  Make sure to come back to read about the who, what, where and how's of the evening.

Click here to read the official KOTO write up about the event.  Do you recognize the guy getting the Rosa Mexicano pomegranate margarita?

I was approached by PR firm, R.F. Binder  last month. They invited me to present a 6 course tasting menu for 50 people at the Culinary Loft in SOHO New York City.  This event was attended by media, high end retailers, distributors and importers as well as caterers. In addition to preparing and presenting a tasting menu, I was asked to give a demo/lecture on incorporating Chilean products in everyday cooking.

Here is an article about the event (it's in Spanish).

Some of the products that I got to use were Chilean Merken - spice mixture of smoked cacho de cabra (goat's horn pepper), coriander, salt. This is made by the aboriginal "Mapuche" Indians of Chile.

Chilean myrtleberry comes from an evergreen shrub. The red berries have a musky deliciousness about them. I like calling them fruit bombs. 

Chilean Carica is Chilean papaya, not to be confused with Caribbean papaya (as far as taste is concerned).  The flavors are completely different!!! This fruit gets picked, peeled, seeded and then has to get cooked in a syrup solution for a bit you can't just eat it off the tree.  You are now left with a beautifully golden, delicious fruit with a myriad of fruit tastes (apricot, peach, lychee).  Click here to see pictures from the event

Click on the thumbprint below to see the menu.

June 27, 2007 Culinary Loft Menu

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It's Done!  I made a mess, and it tastes great.  Everything is sticky, it's hot outside.  I'm ready for some Limoncello.

Here are the pics, enjoy!

 

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