Beacon House Association of San Pedro is an all-male alcohol and drug treatment facility established in 1970 by a South Bay minister and a merchant seaman. The non-profit’s mission is to assist men recover from the diseases of alcoholism and addiction to other drugs. For this year their annual benefit will be 20CHEFS: A Social Distanced Fundraiser. Supporters are encouraged to bid (online) for special multi-course meals for a maximum of 10 guests created and prepared by prominent area chefs that are served at the buyer’s residence or at the chef’s restaurant. Celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern of Food Network fame will be donating one of these dinner experiences. Chef Christine Brown of the newly opened Pacific Standard Prime in Redondo Beach is Co-Chair of the benefit and one of the participating chefs cooking a sumptuous meal for ten lucky guests. Chef Cristine puts down her tongs and joins us with all the salivating 20 CHEFS details.
“Mutt Lynch’s in Newport Beach, celebrating their 45th Anniversary this year, has introduced a limited-time menu inspired by the distinctive and typically over-the-top specialty foods found at the OC Fair. Available for a limited time, the special menu sees the addition of iconic Fair favorites, including Giant Turkey Legs and Deep-fried Oreos. When the OC Fair was canceled this year for only the second time in its over-130-year history due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Mutt Lynch’s found a way to keep its magic alive with a special menu recreating some of the Fair’s most iconic dishes. The OC Fair favorites will be available through Labor Day.” 2nd generation Co-owner, Jerilyn Lynch, is our guest with Giant Turkey Leg in hand.
“For over forty years, Restaurateur Piero Selvaggio (Valentino and Valentino Restaurant Group) and Restaurateur/Chef Celestino Drago of the famed Drago Brothers have been close friends, colleagues, and competitors in the thriving Los Angeles dining scene. Now, their longstanding relationship transcends to a proprietary level as Chef Celestino Drago officially has welcomed Piero Selvaggio to Drago Centro in Downtown Los Angeles as new Managing Partner!” Now that Drago Centro has reopened for pampered, evening patio dining Piero Selvaggio returns with the update.
Since Executive Chef Jonathan Blackford departed A Restaurant (Newport Beach) and CdM Restaurant (Corona del Mar) to develop a food venture of his own he’s given a lot of thought to what the dining community really needs right now. The result of this planning is Fork & Knife scheduled to launch in Costa Mesa in early October. “Fork & Knife is actually three concepts in one and I believe that it speaks to current dining habits and what the public wants right now,” commented Chef Blackford. “It has always been my goal to open a restaurant of my own, but the timing isn’t right for a full-service dining experience. What people want right now is a neighborhood place that offers fully prepared dinners, quick meals to carryout and quality products that you would find at a gourmet market – that’s what Fork & Knife aims to deliver.”
Jeff Nelson is the Founder and CEO of Liquid Farm with their distinctive Tasting Room in Los Olivos and the Winery in Lompoc.
“We seek to support local viticulture and honor our palates’ love for old world wines that have naturally high acidity and are not masked by many of the modern-day manipulations.” “To do so, we selfishly decided to make what we most love to drink: Chardonnay that is earth and mineral driven from cool climates with little or no new oak. To achieve these qualities we were drawn to one of the coolest of all California AVA’s, Sta. Rita Hills. Located in Santa Barbara County, it is home to some of the most Chardonnay-suited, unique, ancient soils in North America.” Jeff Nelson artfully pulls the cork for us on all things Liquid Farm.
Our own Chef Andrew Gruel of the Slapfish Restaurant Group provides another timely and informative “Ask the Chef” segment where Chef Andrew responds to listeners thoughtful inquiries. Chef Andrew is regularly updating us on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in the hospitality field and what we, as diners, can do to support the very survival of restaurants. Dine-in is slowly, with multiple hiccups, starting to come back but with a lot of new rules that restrict guest counts. Alternately take-out/delivery when you can surely helps… The James Beard Foundation Awards set for a rescheduled virtual presentation in Chicago on September 25th have now been cancelled. The balance of the chef and restaurant awards (nominations announced previously) will not be presented this year. The live presentation will instead salute the already announced winners in categories including America’s Classics, Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year. What does the future hold? We’ll” “Ask the Chef.”
All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness (with proper Social Distancing) on this week’s not-to-miss show!
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