Posts Tagged ‘Anthony Chittum’
“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, June 7th, 2010
The 2010 RAMMYS kicked off with a strong start last night, glammed up for the evening with its Casablanca theme based on their own version of the famous line “We’ll always have…restaurants.” Northern Virginia made a respectable showing – with 2941 taking the award for Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year and the Pastry Chef of the Year to its Anthony Chavez. Vermilion claimed the trophy for Best Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year.
Anthony Chavez of 2941 accepts his award as Pastry Chef of the Year
In the past, the awards ceremony took place during a seated dinner. But the 2010 RAMMYS is introducing a new format with a theatre-style ceremony followed by buffet-style dinner in the main ballroom. Chef Liam LaCivita of Liberty Tavern (and nominee as Rising Culinary Star) says yes to the latest changes. It was quick, he says. LaCivita is currently busy with the recent opening of Northside Social, a coffee and wine bar in Clarendon.
Theatre style seating for the new RAMMYS format
The table of 2941 also reports glowing praise of the new format. Executive Chef Bertrand Chemel says the RAMMYS of 2009 had been a disaster as it seemed like people didn’t care. But he found this year’s set-up to be much more “tasteful.” (Yes, he did use that exact word, but I don’t think he knew how much his unexpected pun delighted me!) Chemel says that the new format shows that it is more about the event than the party.
However, Anthony Chittum, Executive Chef of Vermilion might disagree. He was not a fan of the changes, saying it was too chaotic. I was surprised when he told me that he had to stand during the ceremony as there were not enough seats.
Miles Vaden, Executive Chef of Eventide, had the same problem. I’ll attest to that as I was standing on the side of the show right next to him.
I didn’t have the chance to survey every guest, but from the handful of reactions I gleamed, I may have recognized a pattern. Those nominees left without a chair in the house were less inclined to embrace the new style.
RAMW President Lynne Breaux absolutely loves the theatre-style format and reports a positive consensus. She concedes that with any new thing, we will have to tweak it to make it better in the coming years. For RAMMYS 2010, she says people paid attention to what was important.
Scott Drewno, recipient of the Chef of the Year title, especially appreciates not having to worry about going up on stage with spinach in his teeth.
Anthony Chittum and his girlfriend, Dominique
In other exciting news, Anthony Chittum tells me he is headed to Crete for some culinary research. I hope we get to see some of that Greek influence in their next Outstanding in the Field dinner, an evening of al fresco dining set for September 12th. (Opa!) In the meantime, Chittum and his girlfriend, Dominique recommend we try Duangrat’s Thai Restaurant in Falls Church, a traditional family restaurant which they say is not recognized enough.
- photos and story by Jamel Daugherty
OitF Returns to NoVA this Fall
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, March 22nd, 2010
(Image: Turtle Rock Farm)
The Outstanding in the Field bus will roll back into town this September (9/10 – 9/12) for a trio of farm-to-fork extravaganzas hosted by Ayrshire Farm and Potomac Vegetable Farms.
Local toques recruited for the 2010 tour include:
* 9/10: Vidalia chef RJ Cooper;
* 9/11: Ayrshire Farm chef Rob Townsend (check out his tribute to Sicilian chard in our April issue); and,
* 9/12: Vermilion chef and three-time OitF contributor Tony Chittum.
Tickets for each dinner are priced at $220 per person and will go on sale this Saturday (3/27) at 11 a.m.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, September 11th, 2009
Chef Anthony Chittum is no stranger to working with fresh vegetables (that’s some of his farm-to-table handiwork below):
(Image: FoodieTots)
But he’d now like to make the leap to full-on friend of the meatless masses by adding a dedicated, four-course vegetarian tasting menu to Vermilion’s seasonally inspired carte.
Chittum said carving out a degustation experience for vegetarian guests just makes sense, particularly since the kitchen has begun fielding requests for alterna-preparations (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free) with more and more regularity.
“Any type of request that’s physically possible, we’ll try to do,” he said of staffs’ predisposition to custom-tailor every meal to the best of their ability.
According to Chittum, the vegetarian menu is unlikely to be published within every menu. But there will be a line urging diners to inquire about the daily offerings and staff will routinely relay the most current tasting configuration.
Chittum said his menu will include a quartet of “composed dishes”–i.e., a carefully choreographed meal rather than a slapdash arrangement of culinary afterthoughts and warmed-over sides–drawn from the freshest produce of the day.
Check this space next week for a report from Chittum’s 9/16 preview dinner–a feast poised to include: spicy pimento dip and crispy okra canapes, carpaccio of summer squash accompanied by smoked mozzarella and pureed red peppers, corn-, potato- and smoked lobster mushroom-stuffed pasta, pesto-roasted cremini mushrooms with yukon gold potato gnocchi and a malted chocolate ice cream-espresso-homemade chocolate donut closer.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
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- All Photos Courtesy: Melissa Blackall Photography
Last week we introduced you to Teddy Folkman, executive chef at Granville Moore’s and finalist on this season’s “The Next Food Network Star.” In passing we mentioned Teddy’s involvement in Brainfood, a D.C.-based non-profit that “uses food and cooking as tools to teach life skills and healthy living to teenagers in a safe and positive environment.”
Well, last Thursday (I know I’m late getting this up, please forgive me!) was Brainfood’s Third Annual Grill Off. Held at the Decatur House, the event featured nine area chefs who each captained a team of amateur chefs and Brainfood students. Competing teams had one hour to create two original dishes from a surprise pantry of fresh ingredients; dishes were judged by a panel of foodies. While there, I caught up with Teddy, Vermilion’s Anthony Chittum, The Majestic’s Shannon Overmiller, ABC 7′s Leon Harris (who was the event’s MC), and Brainfood student Vanessa Castro.
According to Brainfood’s executive director Paul Dahm, the event was projected to raise nearly $60,000. Thanks to contributions from participants, guests and other donors, 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to Brainfood.
In addition to competing, Folkman also raised nearly $8,000 during a live auction. The item up for bids? Folkman cooking dinner at your home for six people. As the bidding increased, Folkman began to include members of his staff. In the end, Folkman committed the services of his beer master, general manager, chef de cuisine, and sous chef to come to the winner’s home to prepare a meal for six. When the bidding came down to two finalists, Folkman decided to do both dinners.
Note: Originally I had planned to post the audio for each of the interviews, but it being a party and all, the background noise was too loud to do that. So, on to the interviews!
Afterwards, Folkman reflected on his team’s performance.
“We had a really great team. It went excellent, our student was pretty bad ass, every single person contributed,” Folkman said. “It was all about team work tonight. It was nice to sit back in a pseudo kitchen and give orders. I hope we did well. We did a rare seared tuna with a ragout of grilled vegetables and a coconut curry sauce. We’ll see what the judges say, but right now we’re all winners because we had such a good time.”
Asked what kind of response he’s gotten now that “The Next Food Network Star” has premiered, Folkman couldn’t help but laugh.
“The response has mainly been, ‘what were you doing wearing that orange shirt?’ and ‘I can’t believe you cooked raw potatoes.’ It’s been mostly positive. I have to make sure I don’t wear that shirt again in public. But as a guy known for his frites, potatoes, there could have been some creative editing done by the Food Network or they really could have been raw. But an hour and a half in the oven, I don’t know. You can bake a potato in less time than that, but they are the experts so whatever.”
Reflecting on his seven years involved with Brainfood, Folkman said, “Brainfood’s a big part of my life. … I’ve seen the hard times, I’ve seen the great times, tonight has definitely been one of those great times. I’d like to one day be on the board of directors. I plugged Brainfood as much as possible in “Star;” hopefully the editors will keep some of it in there. You look around and see all the chefs around here. Hopefully we’ll get them all back to volunteer throughout the year.”
Folkman’s student-chef Vanessa Castro never envisioned herself as a chef; her dream had always been to be a forensics scientist, but now, “the possibilities are endless.” Throughout the year, Castro and the other Brainfood students benefited from guest chefs, like Folkman, to teach them through lectures, cooking classes and field trips.
“We worked on our knife skills and learned to cook different cultural foods. … I got involved through my high school, it got my community service hours and have been able to meet people from new schools.”
For first-time Brainfood participant Majestic’s executive chef, Shannon Overmiller, the cause is close to her heart.
“I think it’s a great cause. It’s really important,” Overmiller said. “My background was not normal. I lost my parents when I was young. So I had a little bit of a struggle to get through and I needed help getting through everything I got through. So, I think this is the right opportunity for those that want it and see it and I would be more than honored to be a part of that.”
Asked how her team fared, Overmiller laughed. “We went a little riskier than some, we saw a lot of great ingredients get taken off the board,” she said. “We started with some calamari, then used the tentacles as stuffing with herbs, capers, olives, stewed tomatoes and balsamic white wine. Then added a white balsamic glaze and put it over a bed of artichokes, hearts of palm, and mixed greens.”
Vermillion’s Anthony Chittum, also a first-timer to Brainfood, took time away from opening Columbia Firehouse in Old Town after feeling compelled to sign up after reflecting to his start in food.
“I had just recently heard about the organization,” Chittum said, still sweltering from the grill’s heat. “It’s something that’s close to me, I grew up working in kitchens, working for chefs. I learned a lot, even as a dishwasher I learned about more than cooking, just life in general. This group centers around that and it’s a great thing.”
As for ABC 7′s Harris, this is his third year as the Master of Ceremonies and he can’t wait for next year.
“I love this group,” Harris said, mid-sprint from the stage to his car, attempting to make it to work on time. “It’s a good way to reach kids by sneak attack. They don’t know they’re learning. I’ve only seen a handful of programs like that and this exemplifies that. This is my third year doing the fundraiser; it’s been a blast the whole way.”
-Stephen Ball
NoVA Restaurants Score Big at 2009 RAMMYS
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Sunday, June 7th, 2009
(Image: Michael Birchenall)
A cadre of stellar local toques and restaurants (many of whom we’ve crowed about in the magazine) did NoVA proud at the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s 2009 RAMMY awards.
Top honors takers from here in the Old Dominion included:
* Restaurant Eve (Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year)
* The Liberty Tavern (Neighborhood Gathering Place)
* Anthony Chittum (Rising Culinary Star of the Year), and,
* Kate Jansen (Pastry Chef of the Year)
Congratulations to all the 2009 nominees and, of course, to the aforementioned award winners. Peruse the full list of 2009 RAMMY contenders here.
–Warren
Sustainable Chefs Look Westward this Summer
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, May 8th, 2009
Looks like ’09 is shaping up to be the summer sustainable dining takes NoVA by storm.
(Photo: LuluMom)
First came the news that the Outstanding in the Field folks were setting up camp at Ayrshire Farm all Labor Day weekend.
Now, we’ve got a pair of award-winning local toques spearheading dueling solstice (June 20) dinners at some of their favorite local farms.
Having successfully piloted/survived last year’s maiden OitF event here in the area, it appears Vermilion chef Anthony Chittum has fully succumbed to the cooking-under-the-stars bug. A Neighborhood Restaurant Group spokesperson said Chittum kept in touch with the OitF crew and immediately signed up when they mapped out a return trip.
Meanwhile, Chittum huddled with the NRG brass all winter in an effort to cook up their own “meet the farmer”-style dining experience.
The result: their debut Virginia Farmland Solstice Supper.
“It’s almost a 5-for-1 deal … getting to mingle with the farmers on their own property,” the NRG spokesperson said, noting that the participating specialty producers–Greenstone Fields, Moutoux Orchard, Potomac Vegetable Farms, Tree and Leaf Farm, and Wheatland Farms–collectively farm the adjoining tracts of land where the dinner will take place.
Guests will be invited to interact with the artisan purveyors, tour their respective properties or just enjoy the Virginia countryside prior to the meal and will be treated to wine pairings by local winemaker Dennis Horton as part of the seasonally-inspired banquet.
“This is definitely going to be an annual event,” the NRG spokesperson predicted, adding, “I think it’s a real natural fit for Vermilion.” The NRG aide noted, however, that the event could eventually evolve into more of a “harvest festival” involving other interested NRG properties.
That same day, Restaurant Eve founder Cathal Armstrong is poised to host the nascent Summer Solstice Farm Dinner at Sperryville’s Mount Vernon Farm.
An event spokesperson said a farm-to-table concept had been bandied about since last winter, but the dinner only really came together once Armstrong came aboard. The spokesperson noted that Armstrong has already been out to Mount Vernon Farm, Sunnyside Farm and Watterpenny Farm to become firmly acquainted with their wares, but warned stringent locavores to cut them some slack.
“Not every single thing will be local … because we don’t have a supply of trout in Rappahannock County,” the spokesperson joked.Best of all: a portion of the proceeds will go right back t the Rappahannock County Farmland Preservation Fund.
Reserve your ticket for Vermilion’s solstice event ($160 per person) here. Claim your seat at Gourmet Rappahannock’s solstice sit-down ($180 per person) here.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, March 13th, 2009
Would that prime cuts of beefs and charcuterie could save our flagging economy.
(Photo: Laurent Jung)
Because this area boasts a slew of custom meat purveyors par excellence.
Tallula/EatBar ex-toque Nathan Anda left the Arlington gastrohub last summer to develop his own charcuterie concept, which has since evolved into the Red Apron Butchery. Though he’s still scouting final locations for the shop–something Anda hopes is “weeks, not months away”–Anda already envisions a full-service facility replete with homemade sauces, gourmet foodstuffs and exotic proteins.
“It’ll be an experience, going in there,” Anda insists. He plans to specialize in “stuff that isn’t available everywhere,” tossing out pig ear terrines, cured lamb bellies, handmade lardo and trotters as potential impulse buys.
In the meantime, Anda’s current catalog (cured meats, homemade hot dogs) will be available for retail purchase at Planet Wine and officially debuts in Buzz‘s panini line. Anda is also firming up his relationships with various local farmers markets, estimating that he’ll make the rounds to the weekly Ballston, Penn Quarter and possibly one other open-air showplace beginning early next month.
Anda is also talking with fellow Neighborhood Restaurant Group chefs Anthony Chittum (Vermilion) and Frank Morales (Rustico) about weaving some of his wares into their menus.
“Hopefully, in the coming months, he’ll be using my pepperoni,” Anda said of the spicy sausage he’s developed for Morales’ gourmet pies. He also plans to make his products readily available to incoming Tallula chef Barry Koslow–though he suspects the charcuterie-savvy Koslow will not want for jaw-dropping snackables.
“With Barry coming in, it’s [Tallula] going to be awesome,” Anda predicts.
Meanwhile, Robert Wiedmaier’s new gourmet shop, The Butcher’s Block should be up and running shortly. Chef Chris Watson will oversee a gourmet retailer (along with the fledgling BRABO/BRABO Tasting Room) poised to offer fresh breads, wild game and a bevy of Belgian beers.
Down the road in Del Ray, Aussie butcher Stephen Gatward has developed a loyal following at Let’s Meat on the Avenue by serving up hard-to-find items (kangaroo meat, anyone?) as well as neighborhood necessities (smoked dog bones).
For those who enjoy a a dash of intrigue with their entrails, the mercurial Jamie Stachowski continues to peddle his cured goodies in the darnedest places (next delivery: tomorrow at noon).
And I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t give a nod to the gourmet links that spring from the mind of improbable sausage baron, Stanley Feder.
We’ve never had it so good.
–Warren Rojas
