Monthly Archives: May 2010

Chef’s Side Dish: Price of Disaster.

Procuring quality products is always a challenge. Availability, quality, delivery and price are often moving targets. This year alone we have experienced floods in California; freezes in Florida that put a squeeze on tomatoes, bell peppers and lettuce; an earthquake in Chile that interrupted salmon transportation; a volcano eruption in Iceland that hurt salmon transportation from Scotland, and now the Gulf … Read More

Straight Up! with Patrick: Pooop Pooop!

  Sometimes there is a direct correlation between the pleasure I receive from a wine and the obscurity of its grape or origin.  Sommeliers have a bad name for being too finicky and snobbish about what they drink, but most of my colleagues in this industry are really pretty straight-forward. If it’s new and something you haven’t tasted before, it’s … Read More

Straight Up! with Patrick: Never Order the Same Bottle Twice!

Today – This is what wine is all about for me.  It is a voyage of discovery.  Tasting wine is like going on a journey back in time to an undiscovered land.  Each wine I tasted this afternoon had what the French would term “terroir”- a sense of place, of ease in its own surroundings.  Tasting these wines created images … Read More

Chef’s Side Dish: Hats off to Chef Brock!

Much of what I have been writing about on my blog thus far has centered around the hard work associated with supporting local suppliers. Another Charleston chef that understands and embraces this is Sean Brock of McCrady’s. Congratulations Chef Brock on winning the 2010 Best Chef Southeast James Beard Award! Here is a little something that will blow your mind. On … Read More

Chef’s Side Dish: Foundation for Success.

Getting back to how we build the cuisine in our Maverick kitchens. The French call the stocks “fonds” or foundations. A foundation on which to build. We recently received three whole big spear caught grouper from local fisher extraordinaire, Mark Marhefka, whose fish are popping fresh. Wow, the flesh was so firm, white…smells like a fresh ocean breeze. Chef Brendan … Read More

Straight Up! with Patrick: Perfect Pairings

I love working with chefs! They remind me of the men who served in the Royal Navy with my Dad back in the day when they still had a daily rum ration and a pack of twenty Players cigarettes. They are a breed unto themselves – surly, salt of the earth, strong-willed yet utterly dedicated to their craft. They can … Read More