Great Taste Magazine

by Lauren Monahan July/Aug 2008 Issue

Yvon Goetz is a normal guy - a father, a runner, a friend, a soccer fanatic. Oh yeah, and did I mention he’s an internationally renowned chef?

Chef Goetz has cooked for thousands of people in numerous fine-dining establishments across the world. His culinary expertise has helped many of his restaurant homes earn prestigious accolades, from Michelin Stars to AAA/CAA Diamond Awards, and he was even named OC Business Journal’s Chef of the Year. He is unquestionably a sought-after culinary master, highly regarded in all aspects of restaurant culture; something you could never tell if you met him on the street - unless he talked to you about food.

I first met with the French-born Chef at his new home, The Winery Restaurant in the newly minted District at Tustin Legacy. He greeted me in the entry, where I stood staring wide-eyed at the wine lockers of restaurant’s loyal patrons. We made our way through the spacious dining room to the outdoor patio, where Goetz had been waiting and watching the Champions League Semifinal between his beloved Chelsea and rival Liverpool. We sat in a booth on the beautiful terrace, and over a glass of wine began to discuss his love affair with all things food. Read more »

Newport Beach-based Culinary Adventures - operator of numerous chic restaurants throughout Southern California - has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing drastic downturns in revenue. Wilhelm’s Chop House (formerly French 75) closed Thursday at the Marketplace in Irvine, and the company is set to close two other eateries in Los Angeles. Read more »

by Lauren Monahan July/Aug 2008 Issue 
So Cal is in its prime, now that summer is here. As soon as school lets out, people flock to the sunny southland for the beach, for the sun, for the swimsuits, for the…salad? Salad is healthy - we all know this. A plate of fresh, leafy greens seems to be the perfect meal for those that live in their skivvies during the scorching summer months…who doesn’t want to look good laying out at the beach or the pool, or even walking around the local outdoor mall? Salad is, and has been, a go-to dish for people trying to stay fit and eat healthfully. This is not a new discovery.

Besides the health benefits, salads offer a crisp, cool pick-me-up on a hot summer day. Read more »

by Todd Lejnieks July/Aug 2008 Issue

In 1984, Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term “Guerrilla Marketing” to describe a newly emerging and unconventional strategy of bringing customers to buy more of your product or services. The foundation of this idea was to use your own imagination instead of large, expensive advertising campaigns.

Some of the key principles of Levinson’s book, Startup Guide to Guerrilla Marketing: A Simple Battle Plan for First-Time Marketers:

• Guerrilla Marketing is geared for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Time, energy and imagination should be the primary investments, rather than  large sums of money.
• Focus on cooperating with other businesses, instead of competing.
• Use current technologies to enhance your efforts.
• Create a standard of excellence with a focus. Don’t over diversify or lose your focus. Read more »

Since 1981, Wine Spectator magazine has been recognizing restaurants around the world with their Restaurant Award program. 2008’s winners have recently been announced, and not surprisingly, there are a wealth of local eateries that have received rewards! The highly regarded wine magazine awards chosen restaurants with one of three designations. The Award of Excellence is given to establishments that offer a well-chosen selection of quality producers, along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style. Read more »

Yard House Restaurants recently launched the first Yard House Bar & Grill, a new concept from the group, in Chino Hills.  Steele Platt, Founder and CEO of Yard House Restaurants, took the time to answer the following questions from Great Taste about the exciting new venture. Read on to learn all about the process of creating and launching Yard House Bar & Grill! 

What sparked the idea to develop a ”neighborhood” Yard House?
There are smaller markets that cannot support a 10,000-14,000 square foot Yard House - so a smaller size Yard House was envisioned to give the establishment more of a neighborhood feel. A minimum size ended up being 6,300 square feet, which kept all of the essential Yard House components intact; the 360˚ bar, the keg room, oversized booths, our display kitchen, and the patio. We also wanted a Yard House that would be the same each time we built it - a Yard House Bar & Grill is designed to be build strictly on pad sites, and not inline spaces like the original Yard House. It is positioned to be the upscale casual choice over Chili’s, Friday’s and Outback in the casual dining segment.

How long has this new concept been in the works?
The concept began developing approximately four years ago.

Has the financial/economic state of the country influenced any decisions made about the new restaurant, either in the initial or the evolving development? Read more »

By Chef Gabriel Caliendo, CEC

I remember rolling around late at night, thinking about whether I had asked for 220 volt outlets for our large mixer and Robot Coupe, or if there should be a fryer next to the grill, making it easier for the fries to get to the burgers, or if I would need two cooks to work any particular station. It’s not really where things started, but it is my hazy reality of the months before we opened the doors at the first Lazy Dog Cafe. While creating a menu, scheduling labor and designing a kitchen can be fairly easy to accomplish in an existing restaurant, bringing a menu to life, training cooks to perform and execute willingly and placing three dimensional pieces of equipment in just the right places are very difficult to do from a sheet of paper (especially those sketched out on bed stands in the middle of the night). Read more »

There is an Orange County Restaurant Association in the formation stage and we want to know what you think about that. Please click comment at the bottom of this posting and answer the following questions or, leave any comments you wish. If you want to remain anonymous just let us know. Read more »

I couldn’t have been happier to hear the statistic naming the finale of Bravo’s Top Chef: Chicago - which aired June 11 - the most watched cable program of the day. As a Top Chef: Chicago fan myself, I knew I would be front row, but I had no idea that 3.5 million viewers would tune in to watch Stephanie Izard become Top Chef! (The first female TC, I might add.) Congratulations to the winner, to the show, and to the network for making such a great, far-reaching program about something near and dear to all of our hearts…FOOD!
Stay Tuned,
Lauren Monahan
June 2008

Pop Quiz: When was the last time you drank water from a sealed, plastic bottle? It wouldn’t be surprising if you were doing so right this very second while reading this page. Now, when was the last time you enjoyed a refreshing glass of water from the tap of your kitchen sink?

Isn’t it strange that something so accessible, easy to use and practically free has become virtually outdated? Read more »

by Lachelle Brown Mar/Apr 2008 Issue
Executive Chef Jack Daniel Robertson comes in a package that all can admire. His all-around Orange County laid back personality combined with an innovative and ever-evolving talent makes Jack Daniel naturally garners attention beyond his given name. Great Taste Magazine sat down to talk with Chef Jack - we enjoyed the relaxing afternoon and calm marina view Restaurant Tantalum has to offer. Since there was no evidence, we knew nothing of the Valentine’s Day fury that had occurred in this very restaurant the day and night before. Despite his lack of rest, Chef Jack was upbeat as ever, as if he were exactly where he should be.

Q. So tell us, what’s the story of how you came to be where you are today?

“Growing up, I always thought I was going to become a professional baseball player or surfer. Cooking allowed me to work at night, and gave me time to be active during the day doing the things I loved.” At age 17, Chef Jack worked at restaurant Paolis under Chef Jason Beissonette, who grew to become a mentor and father figure and helped to shape Jack’s future - “He taught me a lot at a young age.”At the time, Chef Jack was attending business school and then his plans changed: “Before I knew it, I fell in love with cooking. When I attended Culinary School, everything was fun to me. I wanted to go, I wanted to read the books the instructors gave out…it was just pure enjoyment for me. I went to Culinary School at Orange Coast College which was great, because they teach you everything, and it’s a lot cheaper than some of the other options [laughing]. I was able to get a great education - without the debt.” Read more »

By Lauren Monahan & Katie Israel Mar/Apr 2008 Issue

Going green. Sustainability. Inconvenient Truth. Eco-friendly. Carbon Footprint. These words, and the ideas behind them, have been working their way into many aspects of American culture since the 1980’s. A consistent flow of new information about how to “get green” has gotten an increasing number of people turned onto the idea - and the restaurant industry is no exception.

Restaurants have been an enormous part of American life and culture for over a decade - we consume 70 million restaurant meals each day, and spend nearly $500 billion on prepared foods each year! These numbers alone are astounding, but the statistics of restaurant waste that accompany them are even more so - and they continue to rise year after year. Recently, however, many restaurateurs have recognized the adverse effects of their businesses on the environment and are beginning to take responsibility for this by making certain changes around their stores.

An immediate, full-scale “green-amorphosis” would be both unrealistic and unreasonable to expect from a restaurant - it would be almost impossible for an establishment to stay in business during the process. However, there are many potential baby steps these businesses can take to become more eco-friendly, and these small steps will lead to big strides. Read on to discover these methods, and start turning waste-prone restaurants into green machines. Read more »

Less is Definitely Not MOR

Orange County’s restaurant scene is being shaken up. The MOR Project, a full-service restaurant group that specializes in high-concept, innovative dining and nightlife destinations, has big plans for OC in 2008. Although based in Orange County, Chief Executive Officer Anton Posniak and his team of seasoned restaurateur executives opened the first MOR restaurants in Los Angeles. Now, after enjoying immense success and endless positive responses to their LA operations, the MOR Project plans to have opened a total of five brand new eateries, and even a nightclub, in OC by year’s end. So far in ‘08, Posniak and his partners have unveiled Irezumi, a unique, high-energy sushi lounge in Costa Mesa, and Blanca, a sophisticated Euro-Mediterranean themed dining destination on Newport Harbor. Still in the works is The Rustic Vine, which will offer seasonal wine country cuisine at the Irvine Spectrum. Fleur de L’Age, also slated to open later this year, will feature a menu with items specific to the Napa Valley region designed by consulting Chef Stephane Beaucamp’s. Last, but certainly not least, is Revolver, a nightclub which will feature its very own restaurant called Black and Blue. Read on to learn more about the MOR Project and their philosophies. Read more »

by Katie Israel Jan/Feb 2008 Issue

Some might consider Chef Darren Denny to be the typical OC surfer dude — he has a laid back attitude, a go-with-the-flow personality and a love for long boarding — but when it comes to working in the kitchen he’s all business. He’s tenacious, a little wild and knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to tell it how it is.

Here’s what he told Great Taste!

As a young boy, Chef Darren traveled from his home in Lynwood to spend his summers in Pennsylvania, working with his grandmother and aunt at their family owned restaurant in the small town of Altoona. He remembers poking around the kitchen and being shooed away by his family who didn’t want the little one getting hurt. “Once they realized they weren’t going to get rid of me, they starting giving me jobs to do,”he says. “I always knew I was going to be a chef and people would just laugh in my face and say, ‘Oh yea,” Darren says in a sarcastic tone. By the age of 19, after working as a dishwasher and cook’s helper,Chef Darren had already proved his skeptics wrong. He landed a job as Executive Chef at the Indian Palms Country Club in Indio where he ran all the kitchen operations with a staff of 24. After that eye-opening experience, he worked in a number of kitchens including a Sous Chef position with Cedar Creek Inn in 1984.More than 20 years later, after spending 13 years with El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Niguel, he found himself back at Cedar Creek in 2005.Now, he serves as Corporate Chef and oversees all four Cedar Creek locations, leading a combined kitchen staff of 140 at locations in Brea, Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Beach. How does he manage all this? Read more »

by Katie Israel Jan/Feb 2008 Issue

I recently had the privilege of attending a gourmet food convention where I overheard a sophisticated gentleman in a suit and tie saying: “I was dying to compare Valrhona Ampamakia vintages, but I discovered my last 2005 was eaten by rats.” His friend chuckled but looked a little puzzled. Did he realize what delicious treat the vermin had discovered? It wasn’t wine or cheese but chocolate! Read more »

by Andrew Kienle Jan/Feb 2008 Issue

Owning and operating a successful restaurant can be an extremely rewarding and profitable experience. It takes a strong vision and a dedicated determination to succeed. But as every restaurateur knows, legal challenges arise and the best way to handle them is to be prepared. Are you prepared to protect your business?

1. Maximize Gains, Minimize Losses Using Corporations, LLC’s and LP’s

Before opening a restaurant, the first issue to consider is whether you should operate as a sole proprietorship or as a business entity such as a corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership. While each of these business entities offers some protection against personal liability for its owners and do have certain tax advantages, each has its own form of management/control, degree of owner liability and mechanism for continuing the business indefinitely. Consult with an attorney to determine which business entity is right for you and your restaurant.

2. Protect Your Creativity Using Copyright and Trademark Laws

Once you have decided which business entity form is best for your restaurant, the next issue to consider is which, if any, of your creative works can be protected. The types of protection available to you include Copyright, Trademark, Trade Dress and Trade Secret. Examples of the types of creative works which can be protected include the artwork on your menus, the font used in your restaurant name or logo, your secret recipes and your individualized concept for your restaurant. You have spent a significant amount of creative energy to make your restaurant stand out from the crowd, so don’t let others profit from your hard work! Read more »

by Todd Lejnieks Jan/Feb 2008 Issue

In the last issue (see below in the articles from Todd category), I wrote about my new job as General Manager of Schooner’s Grille & Brewery in Antioch, California; a commuter-community where many who work in the Bay Area live in the fast-growing, but overdeveloped cities of the Sacramento Delta. Corporate restaurant companies have sniffed out all of the new markets developing and are quickly moving in, armed with their marketing budgets and population-density studies.Working for a single owner was new to me. I had been a Regional Manager for Chevy’s in the 90s, have also worked for Buca di Beppo, and other chains and have seen the dining dollar being diluted by executive decisions to saturate. Shawn Burns, Schooner’s founder and owner brought me on board to help fight the competition.

How to start?

Step 1 - Identify our strengths and build on them.

We sat down and brainstormed, then asked our staff, customers and then our competitors- the ones we knew would give us honest feedback or at least useful feedback.

Here is the list we came up with and our plan to build on those strengths:

1. Schooner’s has a tremendous loyalty among its regular customers.

Our POS system had a “Customer Loyalty” Component. We developed a “Loyalty Rewards” program which rewarded frequent visitors by tracking the dollars spent and awarding our “Loyalty Card” holders with a $10 coupon for every $100 spent. To sign up for the card, all one had to do was fill out and sign a form with first name, last name, email and birthday. We used the email list to generate over one thousand contacts in the first 3 months, which we could market to directly with event announcements, promotions, specials, coupons and general news about the restaurant. In the second year of the program, we plan on sending a birthday invitation to everyone who gave us their birthday, to come in for a free birthday meal. The program proved extremely popular, and over a period of six months we doubled our database and now have close to two thousand enrolled.

2. Schooner’s has a loyal and professional staff and an extremely low turnover rate among its managers and hourly workers.

We noticed a lot of customers told us that they “come in because of Jeanine”, or, “We love Pauline!”, or “If Marilyn ever leaves, we’re not going to come in anymore.” Truly, a lot of our customer base was fiercely loyal to individual staff members. In order to grow on this base, we started a “Server Business Card” program. Each server who wanted to play, printed their names on a stack of blank business cards (some even took the initiative to create printed labels to make them look more professional). We encouraged the servers to pass them out to whomever they saw fit in the community-the grocery clerk, a helpful video store attendant, or even a friend. The only rule was that they could only give it to someone who had never been to Schooner’s before. Anyone who came in with a Server Business Card was entitled to a 15% discount, plus if they asked to sit in the section of the server that brought them in, we bought their dessert, as an unexpected extra. Each card that was returned was put into a bowl and at the end of each month, we drew one card and gave $100 cash to the server whose card we drew. This program brought in new guests, created loyalty to one of our servers and got our staff talking about our restaurant to people who otherwise may not have heard of us. Read more »

by Todd Lejnieks Winter 2007 Issue

For a long time, Applebee’s had the literal corner on the market in Antioch, California. It owned the only full service, casual dining establishment, serving a population of around 75,000. It was one of the busiest units in the 1000+ chain. There were other locally-owned diners, steakhouses and a pretty popular burger joint down by the delta but for a casual atmosphere, decent service and a consistent meal, Applebee’s was the only game in town, for years.

Enter Shawn Burns. Carrying a Master Brewer Certificate from UC Davis, about two weeks experience as a server at Olive Garden, an SBA loan, a shoebox full of cash from his friends and family, and a dream, he opened “Schooner’s Grille & Brewery” in April 2001, two weeks before Mother’s Day.

The two weeks leading up to Mother’s Day, there was a two hour wait in his lobby from opening to closing, every day of the week. Line cooks, servers, managers with years of experience, who Shawn had the luxury of hand-picking because he was the best game in town, stood in shock, ran out on shifts and no-call, no-showed. They literally couldn’t handle the business. US Foodservice loaned them a truck, which was parked out back and kept running, 24/7, to serve as an extra walk-in, as Schooner’s could not fit enough food product into the walk-in for even one day of service.

Shawn says, “Grown men were crying. We couldn’t believe it. I started hating the sound of the kitchen printer. It just wouldn’t stop. People always tell me, ‘What a great problem to have’! But it wasn’t. We just weren’t ready and we couldn’t handle it. It was a war and we were getting our asses kicked!” Read more »

by Katie Israel Winter 2007 Issue

Driving through the scenic state of Utah, watching the trees blur by, traveling home to Los Angeles, shortly after World War II had ended, George Doizaki was on the road, when he caught a glimpse of a jumping carp in a nearby lake. For some odd reason Doizaki’s mind wandered and thoughts about fish continued to break the surface. It was at that time that Doizaki decided that somehow, some way, fish would be part of his future. After sharing his ideas with his close friends, George joined forces with Masuro Okamoto and founded the American Fish & Seafood Company in 1947.

Servicing the globe for more than a half-century, the company has come a long way from its humble beginnings- shortly after the war ended, the American Fish Co. was born and began operating their first processing facility and began delivering fresh fish out of the back of a flatbed truck. Read more »

by Katie Israel Winter 2007 Issue

Lupe Camarena is all too familiar with cooking and caring for others. The Mexico native, who comes from a family of 16 brothers and sisters, was only 15 years old when he joined the crew at Ha’ Penny in Westminster.

Charlene Prager, Han’s wife reminisces, I worked with Hans and Lupe at The Ritz and at The Bell and Crown, where we met Lupe. What Hans said about Lupe on a regular basis was ‘What an incredible hard worker he was — hours meant nothing to him!’ and ‘that Lupe was a sponge: anything Hans taught him, he retained.’ Hans taught him everything!”

He began in the back of the house as a dishwasher and, shortly after starting, was moved to the pantry. In 1976, the legendary restaurateur Hans Prager bought the Ha’ Penny Inn, transformed it into the Bell & Crown and became Lupe’s guiding force taking over as mentor, following Lupe’s father’s lead, a chef at a Mexican restaurant whom he says, “pushed me toward the business.”

Camarena evolved through the pantry and the front line, giving him the opportunity to observe and learn from Hans every step of the way. When Hans conceptualized his next project, the little Ritz Restaurant (where 21 Oceanfront now stands) there was never a question, Lupe would definitely make the move — Camarena was honored to be a part of it. Read more »

by Rev. Joanne Tucker - Fall 2007 Issue

Irvine’s Atrium Hotel - once just a 70s-era airport locale - has recently morphed into an uber hip spot for Orange County’s “in-the-know” crowd. What do they all know? The Atrium Hotel’s $3 million renovation has transformed this destination into South Orange County’s only modern boutique hotel with world-class food and beverage and a decadent pool party scene.
The Atrium Hotel stands directly across from John Wayne airport and is one of the most centralized and most reasonably priced hotels in Orange County.

In fact, the Atrium Hotel is located in a prime spot for taking in all of OC’s plentiful lifestyles including shopping, dining, entertainment, cultural activities and recreation in and around OC’s famed surf and sand. For business travelers, the Atrium Hotel is certainly comfortable, affordable, central and can even turn into a relaxing weekend getaway with the hotel’s poolside paradise ambiance.

Upon arrival in Orange County and after a very short ride on the complimentary airport shuttle, guests are greeted by the friendly Atrium staff and a background vibe that immediately transports guest into an enjoyable, relaxed atmosphere. Passing under the hacienda-like portico with flowing waterfalls, the glass doors open into a two-story garden atrium adorned with a soft, warm color palette resplendent in the plush couches and chairs. At night, the lobby glows as candles of all sizes and a modern water feature give the place an even more relaxing vibe topped by the pyramid-shaped skylight.

The highlight of a stay at the Atrium Hotel is a visit to the Waterfalls Restaurant. Executive Chef Theo Ioannou, who has taken over the kitchen at the Atrium Hotel, masterfully blends Mediterranean flavors and cooking styles from his homeland, the island of Cyprus. Chef Ioannou was also a two-time cook for England’s Prince Edward and his wife Countess Sophie Rhys-Jones, which he says was the highest point in his professional career. Read more »

by Katie Israel August 2007 Issue

“I was in a bar with a friend and we both were ready to travel. This guy behind the bar had a globe. He says ‘How serious are you?’ I said ‘very serious.’ The guy said ‘okay, I’m going to spin this globe and wherever it stops you start.’” The globe rolled to a halt on Copenhagen, Denmark. So, that’s where Chef Theo Ioannou, now Executive Chef at Waterfalls Restaurant at the Atrium Hotel in Irvine, started his 13-month culinary travel expedition.
To date, Ioannou has visited more than 30 countries and worked in various restaurants in 11 different countries of the world including: France, Japan, Denmark, England, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Hong Kong, Cyprus and the Philippines. “Each country is very unique…it was amazing to see different cultures and eat things that we (in the U.S.) take for granted,” he says. Born in Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean, Ioannou gained extensive culinary knowledge traveling and also, memories that will likely last a lifetime.

Chef Theo has a lot of stories to share - living with a tribe in South Africa, cooking on the Queen Elizabeth II and the distinct honor of preparing dinner for Prince Edward at two private events. He even tells a story about eating dinner at a friend’s house in the Philippines who’s English pronunciation wasn’t strong. Theo was served a plate and thought that the description was duck. After eating, Theo asks “duck as in quack quack?” No, its dog he was told as in woof, woof. “So, I ended up eating Lassie,” Theo joked as we all cringed. Read more »

by LJ Carlson August 2007 Issue

The moment you turn into the driveway at the Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar Resort and Spa in Los Cabos, Mexico, you are greeted by the serenity of acres of tropical gardens and the dazzling brilliance of the sea of Cortez. The circular courtyard surrounded by old world hacienda architecture is your first stop, where the pampering begins with quickly attentive staff whisking you through the check in process and delivering you via golf cart to your guest room.

Your driver, speaking English far better than most of us could ever hope to speak Spanish, informs you of many of the amenities which abound at this special property.

Upon entering your room, you know you’ve made a great choice. From the ocean breeze blowing in from your private balcony equipped with table and chairs with birds chirping at you from the ledge - to the beautifully painted dual sinks and tile work in the oversized bathroom with spa tub, candles and sumptuous towels, robes and slippers - to the luxurious Sheraton Sweet Sleeper beds – you are destined for relaxation. Taking the time to unpack is difficult with the sound of the waves and the aroma of the salt air and coconut oil sunscreen beckoning you back outside to take in the scenery at this tropical resort.

A short stroll along lushly landscaped walkways brings you to the main infinity pool and beach area where the wonderful aromas from Sirenas, a palapa bar and grill, beckon. This is a casual spot, with most folks attired in bathing suits and sunglasses, where you can enjoy a tropical drink (yes, with an umbrella and fresh fruit), a plate of “Hacienda Nachos”, great shrimp tacos or one of many other appetizers or light meal choices. You can also have anything off this menu delivered to you at your chaise lounge poolside by a very accommodating wait staff. Sun too bright - need an umbrella? No problem. Need information on local attractions? No problem. Want another yummy cocktail? No problem. Service is always swift and with a smile. In fact, the service is what is most noticeable everywhere you turn. Employees here really seem to enjoy their jobs! Read more »

by Katie Israel August 2007 Issue

“Over the years I’ve basically created my own style. It’s how you see things and how you do things…you create this definition of what you like to cook, what’s talented and what people are enjoying.”

Chef Evan Lite, 35, who will serve as Executive Chef at friends the Sports Tavern when it opens in Trabuco Canyon, started cooking at a young age and now has 13 years “back of the house” experience.

Evan was born and raised in Northridge, Calif. When his parents divorced, he moved in with his dad and took over some of the cooking responsibilities. Evan liked working with food and his father encouraged him to, “just try things,” and also taught him invaluable culinary techniques like how to work with meats, butcher a chicken and cut steaks.

Sadly, Evan’s father passed away from cancer when Evan was in his early twenties and that’s when Evan decided he wanted to become a Chef. Evan told GT he had come to realize that “the most important thing is to be able to wake up each morning and enjoy what you are going to be doing.” Read more »