We don't hate everyone at the Orange County Register, you know. Roving editor Kedric Francis has always been kind to the paper, and he used to be a staple of our gossip column back when we had a gossip column and he was the editor of Riviera. Anyhoo, he's going to be on tomorrow on the SoCal Restaurant Show–and, as per our promise to producer Andy Harris, we hand off the mic to him to tell ustedes what to expect…
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10:32 a.m. to 10:43 a.m.
Last Sunday our own Chef Jet competed as one of five esteemed teams in the highly competitive Los Angeles stop of the 5th Anniversary tour of Cochon 555. It's intense… Each selected chef was tasked with creating five original dishes using all parts of a Heritage pig. The winner was decided by a team of 20 judges and the votes of the 400 pork-loving attendees.
The winning Los Angeles team now moves on to the National Finals in Aspen on June 16th as part of the celebrated Aspen Food & Wine Classic. Jet will share his ringside observations on the competition.
10:45 a.m. to 10:57 a.m.
Chef Jenn Stoker is a Chicago-based personal chef and graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Along the way she has perfected some fun recipes and interesting relationships. She has put all of this into her book, She Cooks, She Scores : A Satisfying Collection of Tastes and Tales.
Here's what a reviewer had to say : “This accomplished chef and author has combined her talents and life experiences to bring us along her life journey with an inside look at her passion for cooking, life, and love.”
“Most Cookbooks are technical and without any flavor. Chef Jenn breaks it down as if you are in the kitchen with her. She doesn't stop there! She turns the heat up a little with recipes that were inspired by ex-boyfriends! Mamma Mia! “
11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Perceptive journalist and veteran editor Kedric Francis has been on the Orange County scene for seventeen years. He is currently the Executive Editor of Coast (monthly) as well as the co-founding editor of the new OC Register Magazine. Previously he was the founding editor-in-chief of Riviera as well as Riviera San Diego. Kedric is going to share his perspective on the dining out scene in Orange County as compared to dining out in Los Angeles County. He's also discussing the differences he notes in restaurant criticism in each area.
It's voting time for the best restaurants section in the OC Register's annual Best of OC publication. Reader/public voting is on now through the end of May.
11:30 a.m. to 11:43 a.m.
Arepas are popular Venezuelan street food. They are fat cakes of masa split and then stuffed with various hot and cold fillings. Chef Felix Arellano, a native of Venezuela, was previously well-know to Las Vegas foodies as one of James Beard Award-winning Chef Luciano Pellegrini's senior cooks at Valentino Las Vegas.
Chef Felix left to open a small food stand serving arepas on the parking lot of a dive bar located on Las Vegas Blvd. just North of the Stratosphere. It was so successful through word-of-mouth that last year he opened a real limited service restaurant nearby with all the expected guest comforts including inside seating.
His other, not to be missed specialty is juicy grilled chicken from his wood-fired oven.
11:45 a.m. to 11:57 a.m.
New Orleans native, Chef Brandon Boudet, is the co-owner of Dominick's, Little Dom's, and Tom Bergin's. On Saturday, May 18th and May 25th from Noon to 4:00 p.n. Chef Boudet is holding his 4th Annual Crawfish Boil on the patio at Dominick's. It's 300 pounds of fresh Louisiana crawfish cooked at each event! It's a real taste of New Orleans in Los Angeles! Also on the menu are Boudet's New Orleans specialties including Po' Boys and Crawfish Boiled Artichokes with Remoulade. For dessert there are New Orleans Sno Balls.
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