Category Archives: Chefs

My close encounter with $$ truffles $$

Nov. 14, 20121:15 p.m.

This is the face of a chef who’s less than 24 hours away from getting to cook with a rare and expensive ingredient.

I stopped by Newport Grill last night, not only because it was $5 martini night (and that place has some pretty amazing martinis) but also because executive chef Aaron Whitcomb was in town. I met Whitcomb this summer when I wrote a story about his fun and informative cooking class at Cooking At Bonnie’s Place, and the manager told me he’d be back in town on Tuesday. Whitcomb, the executive corporate chef for Wichita’s Newport Grill, lives in Denver and also oversees Ya Ya’s Eurobistro restaurants in Kansas City and Little Rock. He comes to Wichita every couple of months.

Whitcomb is in town this time because he’s cooking a big-deal private charity dinner tonight for 50 people who support Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas. Because the dinner’s a big deal, he wanted to do something special, he said.

Here are the truffles. For your sake, I wish this picture was scratch-n-sniff.

He emerged from the kitchen last night gleefully cradling a small plastic container filled with rice. “Look what I got,” he said, opening the container and waving it under my nose.

Truffles.

But not just any truffles. Imported white Italian truffles that cost $100 an ounce. Whitcomb had nine ounces of them, nestled among the grains of rice in the container.

He’d carefully transported his $900 worth of truffles from Denver with him in his luggage and was busy dreaming up ways to use them in tonight’s dinner.

I’ve never so badly wished I was a supporter of Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas. But I’ll settle for my up-close whiff of such a rare treat.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Chefs | Comments

Nathan Toubia on the mend, back at work

Oct. 18, 201210:46 a.m.

It’s been more than six weeks since the Labor Day weekend motorcycle accident that seriously injured Bocconcini Italian Eatery chef and owner Nathan Toubia and his manager/friend Abby Brookshire.

Both are on the mend, and Nathan — who broke both ankles, crushed his pelvis, and fractured his legs in the accident — is back on his feet. Though he’s on crutches and moving slowly, he’s been able to return to the restaurant in a limited capacity. He expedited service last weekend, and he’ll also be helping with prep work at Sunday’s wine dinner at Bocconcini. (You can see the menu below.)

I ran into Nathan at Dillons last night, and he looked good. He won’t be able to put weight on his right leg until early November but says he has “every intention of showing my face as long as the pain is tolerable.”

Abby, meanwhile, also is making progress, according to a Facebook page set up and maintained by her family called “Love for Abby.” She’s also back on her feet and has returned home to Texas with her family to continue her rehab.

Bocconcini’s next wine dinner is at 6 p.m. Sunday and costs $65 a person. Nathan has created a fabulous fall menu that includes lamb shank, apple crumble and something called “wedding pillow ravioli.” Keep reading for the menu. Reservations can be made by calling 316-613-2523.

Read More »

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under Chefs, Italian food, Wine dinners | Comments

You can learn to cook with Tanya

Oct. 5, 201210:04 a.m.

Tanya’s Soup Kitchen owner Tanya Tandoc has put on many cooking classes over the years. I took one wayyyyyy back when I first moved to Wichita and she was in her old location by the Eagle. I’ll never forget that class because I learned not only about the importance of a good knife but also that the reason restaurant food tastes so good is that it’s 95 percent butter, cream and sugar. Oh well!

Tanya hasn’t been teaching much while she’s been getting her new restaurant going, but now she’s ready to get back to it. She’s launching a new series of Tuesday-night cooking classes that look delicious. Here’s a list:

Fall Soups and Stews, Oct. 30: Tomato curry, butternut squash bisque with sage croutons, and other fun recipes.
Global Street Food, Nov. 6:  Street food and snacks from around the world, including socca from Southern France, Malaysian laksa, Indian samosas, and more.
Tapas and Small Plates from Spain,  Nov. 13: Herbed potato tortilla, chile-garlic shrimp, spicy chickpeas, roasted potatoes with red pepper sauce, and more.
Italian Trattoria, Nov. 20: Carpaccio, orecchiette with sausage and fontina, Tuscan bean bruschetta, and tiramisu.
Fast French, Nov. 27:  Onion soup with croutons and Gruyere, salad of tart greens with bacon and poached egg, chicken with tarragon sauce, and spice-poached pears.
Holiday Entertaining, Dec. 4: How to prepare holiday appetizers and meals that look elegant but are easy to plan and prepare.

The classes are $45 a person and include dinner, recipes and one glass of wine. They’re demonstration-style, which means students can watch Tanya do the preparation. All classes are at Tanya’s Soup Kitchen, 1725 E. Douglas. Those interested should not call the restaurant but rather the reservation line, 316-631-5973.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and classes start at 6:30 p.m. Those who buy the whole series will get a $30 discount.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under Chefs, Cooking demonstrations, Soup | Comments

An update on Nathan and Abby

Sept. 18, 20124:26 p.m.

Abby, left, and Nathan, center, at the Old Town Farmers Market Iron Chef competition a few weeks ago. At right is event emcee Mark Davidson from KSN.

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about a terrible motorcycle accident that injured Bocconcini Italian Eatery chef Nathan Toubia and his passenger, Bocconcini manager Abby Brookshire. The accident happened over Labor Day weekend, and both Toubia and Brookshire were thrown from the motorcycle.

I’m following a Facebook page set up by her family to track Abby’s healing process, which is slow and painful but steady, the page reports. She suffered several serious injuries. Her friends and family are planning a fundraising dinner for her, and I’ll report the details when I get them.

I reached out to Nathan earlier this week to find out how he was doing. Toubia broke both ankles, crushed his pelvis, and fractured his legs. In an e-mail, he said that he spent a week in the hospital and another week in rehab. He’s now at home but is using a wheelchair to get around.

His team of cooks is going ahead with Bocconcini’s monthly wine dinner, even in their bosses’ absence, he said. He met with them yesterday to map out the wine dinner menu, which he says has come together nicely.

“Abby is still in all of our prayers,” he said.

“I thank everyone for their support, prayers and thoughts. It has meant a lot.”

The five-course wine dinner will be at 6 p.m. Sunday at the restaurant, 4811 E. Central. It’s $65 a person and features dishes paired with wines, including a main course of wild boar. For reservations, call 316-613-2523

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Chefs, Uncategorized | Comments

Kansas Star Casino restaurants have names, chefs

Sept. 6, 201210:44 a.m.

A rendering of what the new Woodfire Grill will look like

We’ve always known that the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane would be full of restaurants once the permanent building was complete.

But now, those restaurants have names, concepts and chefs.

All five of them are scheduled to open early next year.

The casino’s fancier, sit-down restaurant will be called Woodfire Grille. It’s a contemporary steakhouse that will be lead by executive chef Adam Correa, whose resume includes stints at Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, the Marriott’s Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the Phoenician, a five-star resort in Scottsdale.

A rendering of the 250-seat Kitchen Buffet

Meanwhile,  chef Gary Scherer will lead the casino’s other four restaurants. Kitchen Buffet will be a 250-seat buffet restaurant that features chefs carving meat live. Panini Jo’s, which already is operating at the casino, is a deli that will be bigger that what’s there now. An Pho will be a small Asian noodle bar. And Shark Bar will be a sports bar that has bar seating only and also serves food.

Chef Scherer comes from Phoenix, where he was the executive chef for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. He also has a long resume of hotel and resort kitchen jobs.

Now, the casino is looking for 175 people to work in the new restaurants, including cooks, servers, bussers, cashiers and hosts. Those interested should apply online at www.KansasStarCasino.com.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , , Filed under About-to-open, Chefs, Uncategorized | Comments

Chef Nathan Toubia seriously injured in motorcycle accident

Sept. 5, 201210:19 a.m.

Nathan Toubia at Saturday morning's Iron Chef cookoff.

Chef Nathan Toubia, the owner of Bocconcini Italian Eatery, was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident early Sunday morning. His passenger was critically injured.

Toubia and his friend, who also is his manager at the restaurant, were on his motorcycle at Kellogg and Hillside about 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning when a Ford Mustang turned in front of them and they hit it, my colleague, Stan Finger reported. Both were thrown from the motorcycle. She suffered several serious injuries.

Toubia suffered  a crushed pelvis, broken ankles and fractures in his leg. He underwent a lengthy surgery and will have to be off his feet for at least eight weeks, said Tracy Cumba, who is running the restaurant in Toubia’s absence.

In the meantime, Cumba said, Toubia’s staff will be able to keep the restaurant going. They’re operating normal hours, though they’re all shaken by the accident.

I just saw Toubia and his manager Saturday morning at the Old Town Farmers Market Iron Chef cookoff, where he was the runner-up.  I wish them both a speedy recovery.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under Chefs | Comments

Flying Stove’s Schauf wins Iron Chef contest

Sept. 4, 201210:41 a.m.

Judge/emcee Mark Davidson with the newly crowned Iron Chef, The Flying Stove's Rob Schauf.

There’s a new Iron Chef in town.

On Saturday morning, I helped judge the 10th annual Iron Chef competition at the Old Town Farmers Market, a competition that pits local chefs against each other in an on-the-spot cookoff, using a “secret ingredient” that’s revealed just before they start.

My cojudges and I —  who included KSN’s morning duo Mark Davidson and Leon Smitherman and local foodie Joe Stumpe — gave the championship wooden spoon to a new competitor — The Flying Stove’s Rob Schauf.

This was Schauf’s first time participating in a local chef-off, and he had some pretty tough competition in Bocconcini’s Nathan Toubia, Tallgrass Country Club’s Ben George, and defending champ Paul Freimuth of The Hyatt. Those three are among Wichita’s most amiable chefs and participate in nearly every cookoff in town.

The judges sampling more delicious food than should be legal before 10 a.m.

The secret ingredient was long beans, and after a shaky start (he appeared frozen by indecision at times), Schauf created a plate that made the crunchy beans the star. He cooked beef rare and topped it with the sauteed beans and served it alongside a potato puree. The judges were fighting for the last bites.

Customers at the Flying Stove rarely see Schauf, who is the culinary brains behind the food truck. He’s always inside, his back to the public, churning out the gourmet food while his friendly, chatty brother Jeff mans the window. He had a big cheering section at the competition, and afterward, The Flying Stove opened on the edge of the Farmers Market to a line 50 people deep.

Here are a few more photos from the event. Read More »

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , , , , Filed under Chefs, Contests | Comments

Ambassador’s planned restaurant has a chef

Aug. 29, 20127:12 p.m.

Siena Tuscan Steakhouse, the upscale restaurant scheduled to open inside the new Ambassador Hotel at Douglas and Broadway when it opens at in December, has named an executive chef.

Marshall Röth, who most recently worked as executive chef at the Hawker Beechcraft Global Delivery Center, is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has worked for famous chefs such as David Burke and Todd English.

He started his career at Burke’s Park Avenue Cafe in New York City and also has worked at the Regent Wall Street, at English’s Olives Aspen in the Aspen St. Regis Hotel, at the Palace Hotel in San Fransisco, at Hotel Phillips in Kansas City. He also founded Dog Nuvo in Kansas City with Harry Blasco.

He lives in Wichita.

The Ambassador Wichita will be a 14-story, 117-room luxury boutique hotel. Siena Tuscan Steakhouse will be a fine-dining restaurant featuring traditional dishes from the Tuscany region of Italy. The 2,400-square-foot restaurant will have floor-to-ceiling windows, seating for 100 and a 500-square-foot patio facing Douglas. It will be visible from the street and is expected to open at the same time the hotel does.

It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, provide catering for events at the hotel and serve hotel guests as well as locals.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under About-to-open, Chefs, Italian food | Comments

Local chefs to throw down Saturday, Iron Chef style

Aug. 27, 20125:36 p.m.

The Hyatt's Paul Freimuth will defend his Iron Chef on Saturday morning at the Old Town Farmer's Market.

The 10th annual Iron Chef Competition at the Old Town Farmers Market is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the market at First and Mosley.

The competition pits local chefs against each other, cooking live with a “secret ingredient” they learn about just as the competition begins. The reigning champion, Paul Freimuth from the Hyatt’s Harvest Kitchen/Bar will be there defending his title. His competition will be Nathan Toubia from Bocconcini Italian Eatery, Ben George from Tallgrass Country Club, and — in a public appearance first — Rob Schauf from The Flying Stove. (The chef is notoriously shy and usually lets his brother and partner, Jeff, do the talking and appearing.)

The Flying Stove will serve in Old Town Square that day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Old Town Farmer’s Market is open from 7 a.m. to noon.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Chefs | Comments

Chef Jason cooking kangaroo, alpaca & lion

July 27, 201210:42 a.m.

Taste & See’s envelope-pushing chef Jason Febres is planning a very… exotic dinner next month. It’s already sold out, so you can’t go. But I thought you might be interested in the details.

The $160-a-person dinner, scheduled for Aug. 14 at Taste & See, 3825 E. Harry, will feature Febres cooking unusual and exotic meats, “Iron Chef” style. On his eight-course menu are meats most people havn’t considered trying: wild hare from Scotland, Indian farm-raised alpaca, Australian crocodile tenderloin, African water buffalo, Australian kangaroo loin fillets, African antelope osso bucco and… and…. (wait for it)…. African lion.

Febres called this week to see if I wanted to attend the dinner, but alas, I’ll be out of town. I’m not sure I’m adventurous enough to dine on lion, anyway.

I’ll be curious to hear what attendees of the dinner think. I don’t know of anyone who’s sampled meat THIS exotic. It’s legal to sell the meat of lions raised in captivity, but that wasn’t much comfort last year to some Arizona residents whose ire persuaded a restaurant to scrap plans to sell lion tacos. 

What do you think? Would you (or have you) sampled any of the meats on this menu?

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under Chefs | Comments