Capital Bar & Grill Chef's Blog

Arkansas Times write up

Okay so maybe not exactly the last blog, but this is a little thing.  I forgot to include the link to the great Arkansas times write up on the Capital Bar and Grill.  They mentioned the meats and I wanted to thank them for this. http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=7eaf5d50-e6a9-44d0-8566-9a800d034316

Last Gumbo Last Entry

Yes after way too long of not blogging I am entering the last one for the CBG from me.  Who knows maybe someone someday will take over the reigns of the CBG blog and continue it in a different, and maybe more consistent direction.  My wife and I are relocating to San Francisco.  I have spent some time living in Oregon and my wife is not a fan of being land locked.  So we are leaving next week and I have been fortunate enough to have acquired my dream job.  It really won't seem real until I'm actually working in the shop and doing my thing, curing and drying different parts of pigs.  Yes I have joined up with a salumeria company called Boccalone.  You should all check it out www.boccalone.com. Headed up by Chef Chris Cosentino, Boccalone is a two year old start up company with a facility in Oakland and a retail store in the Ferry Plaza Building underneath the Bay bridge.  http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com  A while back I made the decision to focus more on the charcuterie and salami making and we knew that we were moving back to the West and I found this place then hounded them until they had a spot for me.  From New England Culinary to HigginsBar and Restaurant in Portland,OR and most recently this Hotel.  They have all contributed to my interest and excitement for old world cookery and butchery.  But being at the Capital Hotel and having the sort of food freedom that I've had here was the real step into my realization that this is what I want to do. I realize that its one of the main things in the kitchen that really gets me giddy.  The preservation mentality of the butchering and sourcing of whole heritage animals is rewarding.  I feel that it connects us closer to where our food comes from.  Which is a major problem that most people and grocery stores face in this country today.  They just have now idea where they're perfectly packaged piece of meat comes from and sadly don't care.  There is a great movement going on with some great leaders out there promoting a healthier more educated eating lifestyle and I"m just excited to be a part of it all.  But the Capital and Chef Lee have been the bridge to the next adventure in my career.  So I thank him and the hotel for giving me this great opportunity to learn so much in a short span of two years.  The learning curve from being here is amazing and it has helped tremendously in continuing to forward.   So we all feel that the program is pretty solid, solid enough for the meats to keep on coming even in my absence.  So you need to keep coming down and eating the great food and drink in both restaurants.  Finally  I also have some pics from my last Seafood Gumbo to make here in the Hotel.  This batch was made with one of our great cooks Liz Shirly.  She was a great assistant and potentially the person to continue the Gumbo with the great momentum it has.   The Gumbo is something that took us some very intense time to evolve into what we all love today.  I've got to say I wasn't the biggest fan of Gumbo before I started here.  Now I have a totally new outlook on what Gumbo is and should be. Even for what Chef Lee would call an Oregon hippie, I pretend to consider myself a Gumbo connoisseur.  So for the final thing I want to say thanks to everyone whom have been a plethra of information to learn and grown with.