KCRW's pie contest is Nov. 14; you still have time to perfect your recipe

 

Pumpkins, apples, even tomatoes and zucchini are all practically begging to get baked into pies at this time of year. To be honest, all year round there are fruits and vegetables -- and nuts and meats and other things, too -- that make wonderful pies.

If you are a pie baker, you may be used to showing off your crusts. Here's a chance to go pie-dish to pie-dish with other proud bakers: KCRW's "Good Food" is holding a pie contest on Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. at the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center. Nov. 8 is the deadline to register.

The four categories are: fruit and nut; cream, custard, chiffon and mousse; savory; and interpretive pie, one that "defies categorization." Judges include Campanile's Mark Peel and Russ Parsons, the Food editor at the Times.

The pie contest was a result of "Good Food" host Evan Kleiman's summer project. She set out to bake a pie a day, and says she's learned a great deal in the process about crusts and thickeners and fillings. She's made little Nutella "hand pies," chicken pot pies and all manner of fruit pies in recent weeks.

-- Mary MacVean

(Photos: Plum pie, top, and honey guava chiffon pie by Evan Kleiman.)

Alton Brown, Alicia Silverstone and Tom Colicchio issue a call to arms

The New York City Wine & Food Festival was a foodiot's dream: The Rachael Ray burger bash; the wine, beer, hard shots and margaritas that flowed at the all-you-could-imbibe supermarket tasting; and the orgy of dishes served at Paula Deen and Katie Lee's Down South Up North party. It was enough to make you momentarily forget the point: 100% of the proceeds from the four-day event will be used locally -- by Share Our Strength and the Food Bank for New York City -- to eradicate hunger.

But away from this spotlight, there was another party of sorts being thrown. And the hosts were an unlikely trio: Alton Brown of "Good Eats," Tom Colicchio of "Top Chef" and actress Alicia Silverstone. These gatherings were a bit more sober -- alas, no free-flowing alcohol and no food -- but with a stirring message that challenged those in the audience to take a skeptical look at everything they put in their mouths, or on their children's plates.

The message? We've heard much of it before. Eat seasonally. Eat locally. Enjoy food in moderation. Learn to cook and nourish yourself and your family -- it's the single most important thing you can do for them. Teach your kids to cook. Eat with gratitude -- consider the source of your food, whether it's the person who prepared it, the farmer who brought it to market, or the cow that gave of itself to deliver that glass of milk (or steak). Don't rely on government to monitor your food -- you need to monitor what you eat, and where it originates. If you pick up a packaged item at the supermarket -- stop and look at the label, read the ingredients, check the nutritional values. And ask yourself: Is this something you can make yourself out of fresh ingredients? And if not, do you really want your family ingesting it?

If that all sounds boring, it wasn't. It was the unexpected delivery -- well, actually, the celebrity messengers -- that added the fresh perspective. Brown, for one, sounded like an evangelist (he recently lost 50 pounds) and his new outlook on a healthful life offered insight into why "Good Eats" -- at least in its current incarnation -- might not be long for this TV world.

The highlights from each of these three sessions are after the jump. (And if you were in attendance, please share your thoughts:

Jamie Oliver to the rescue?

British celebri-chef Jamie Oliver has a big new job on his hands: He's dropping into Huntington, W.V. -- billed as America's unhealthiest city -- to help them slim down their eating habits. It'll be a new reality show for ABC.

But of course, there's already controversy. Huntington chafes at being called the country's fattest city, and some say it's not really an accurate label.

(Seems like if it's even kinda, sorta, could-be an accurate label, the correct response would be, "Thank you for saving us from ourselves." But that wouldn't make very good TV now, would it?)

One thing that will make good TV will be all those accents and ... Oliver's colorful language. Pukka! This is one English-language show that might need subtitles and footnotes.

Read more here from the Associated Press' story about the new show, and the flap.

-- Rene Lynch 

Photo credit: Sang Tan / Associated Press

Riva turns into Fraiche II; chef Jason Travi says he is working "on a consulting basis"

As of Wednesday, Riva in Santa Monica will become the second outpost of Fraiche, the Culver City restaurant that chef/pastry chef duo Jason and Miho Travi opened in 2007. But the Travis won't be around to usher in the changeover; the couple, currently in Boston, are also traveling to Japan and won't return to Los Angeles until the beginning of December.  

"I knew I needed to get away," said Jason Travi, via phone from Boston. The Travis, who were helming the kitchens at both Fraiche and its year-old sister restaurant Riva, recently became parents. "Every day when I woke up and went to work, the baby was asleep, and she was asleep when I got home. It just wasn't good. I knew I needed to figure out a way to do things differently."

As for whether or not he and Miho will return to the kitchens at Fraiche, he says: "We’re just not really sure yet. We’re basically waiting until we get back in December" to make a decision. "As is it is right now I’m working on a consulting basis. I went over the menus before I left and tried to get everything as organized as I could and it’s up to my sous chefs to do the rest."

Fraiche II will open on Wednesday with a menu similar to the Culver City original's, plus some new twists from Elderoy Arendse and Sydney Hunter III, says Amir Ohebsion, president of Fraiche Management Group. Arendse and Hunter have been steering the Fraiche/Riva kitchens in Jason Travi's absence. John Park, formerly of the Water Grill, has stepped in as pastry chef.

Fraiche in Santa Monica is located at 312 Wilshire Blvd., (310) 451-7482. 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Riva. Credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times

Chef Rocco DiSpirito pitches frozen food to a tough room at BlogHer food conference

Rocco DiSpirito just might be the bravest man alive.

The celebu-chef -- who did not appear to be carrying any firearms or other form of self-protection -- sauntered into the middle of several hundred hooting, hollering, amped-up-on-coffee food bloggers, and attempted to sell them on frozen food. That's right, he was pitching Bertolli's new line of frozen foods to a group of (mostly) women who spend their spare time crafting recipes, cooking, and photographing, blogging, reading and commenting about all manner of food, glorious food.

I told you he was brave.

Rocco was one of the bold-faced names on hand for BlogHer Food '09, the first BlogHer conference  dedicated solely to food bloggers. About 300 people were in attendance for the sold-out Sept. 26 event at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. It was so successful that discussions are already underway for a second food-dedicated conference, said Lisa Stone, co-founder and chief executive of BlogHer, an online community hub for more than 22,000 female bloggers on a variety of topics including politics, news, technology, family and, obviously, food.

[Updated] Students' future might start with tuna tartar

Tuna tartar isn't normally on the menu at Hollywood High School, but a group of students interested in food service careers got to taste the dish made by a master, chef Shigefumi Tachibe of Chaya Restaurant Group.

Tachibe went to the school recently to demonstrate the dish and to challenge the students to replicate his work as well as to customize a tuna tartar to their own style. Chaya has "adopted" Hollywood High, along with Westchester and West Adams high schools. Chefs will work with students in school and host students at the restaurants, as well as offer some internships.

It's part of the Careers through Culinary Arts Program, which has programs in 15 L.A. Unified schools. C-CAP provides training in high schools in cities around the country; the 19-year-old program has given more than $28 million in scholarship money for culinary programs.

Like many other things, funding for C-CAP has been squeezed, and the efforts "to develop the next generation of talented young chefs is in jeopardy," said Mitzie Cutler, program director of the Los Angeles chapter of the program.

The Beverly Hillls Chaya restaurant turns 25 next month, and is holding a fund-raiser for C-CAP on Oct. 25.

UPDATED:  And earlier version of this post incorrectly said that C-CAP has given more than $3 million in scholarship money. The total is more than $28 million.

-- Mary MacVean

(Photos: Chef Shigefumi Tachibe, top, serves his tuna tartar during class at Hollywood High School. The finished product, bottom. Photos by Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Sona management company exits; David Myers plans to open new restaurant [Updated]

Is Sona restaurant closing? A Sona representative said the West Hollywood restaurant's "management company has exited the fine dining business resulting in a public sale of their assets," scheduled for Wednesday. All inventory, furniture, fixtures, equipment and any other assets of Sona LLC will be sold, according to a notice of public sale.  

Sona chef-partner David Myers has formed a new management company, David Myers Group LLC. The new company includes "a team of professionals currently involved with his restaurants." David Myers Group plans to announce the opening of a new restaurant this fall.

Meanwhile, Sona is still open and is operating as usual.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: David Myers at Sona. Credit: Christine House / For The Times

[Updated 6:08 p.m.: An earlier version of this post omitted that Sona is still open.]

Clouds part and angels sing: Grace restaurant reveals plans for St. Vibiana Cathedral

What better name than Grace for a restaurant moving into the former rectory of 133-year-old St. Vibiana Cathedral downtown?

If all goes as scheduled, the 6-year-old restaurant currently on Beverly Boulevard will have moved into its new Spanish Baroque home, formerly occupied by parish priests, by the end of next year. Owners Neal Fraser and Amy Knoll Fraser have big plans for the space, what might be the most stunning location for a restaurant in L.A.

The restaurant will include: a 100-seat main dining room; a dining courtyard (pictured above, the fountain will be removed) with a 30-foot bar, to be covered by a glass ceiling; four private dining rooms upstairs with balconies overlooking the courtyard (each with its own bathroom); a private dining room in the wine cellar; and a separate, second-floor bar and lounge, named the Rectory, with a terrace that has a view of both the courtyard and the towering cupola that was returned to the church after the building was almost demolished. There are hand-painted ceilings, arched walkways, French doors, beamed ceilings, 19th century ironwork.

The Frasers have negotiated for the space with Vibiana developer Tom Gilmore, who restored the nearly doomed cathedral and transformed it into an event space. 

"It's something we've been talking about doing since June of last year," says Knoll Fraser. "When I walked into the rectory, I just got chills and knew I had to do this space."

The dineLA food truck rolls out with some big names attached

It's a sign of the times: Anisette's Alain Giraud will be handing out free samples from a food truck on the Third Street Promenade. "I've never worked inside a truck, so I don't want to get too ambitious," he says of the French delicacies he will prepare.

That's not a permanent change of venue, of course. Giraud is one of five well-known Southern California chefs who will be participating in a promotion in advance of dineLA's first fall Restaurant Week, which will begin Oct. 4.

But while Giraud may not be ambitious, that's certainly not the case with dineLA, which hit on the canny idea of tapping into the food truck fad that has taken the city's popular imagination by storm.

Giraud will spend one day on the dineLA truck, which was donated by RoadStoves, the same company that helped the Kogi Korean barbecue taco truck redefine road rage. The other chefs who will cook on wheels and hand out free tastes are Eric Greenspan from the Foundry on Melrose, Jason Johnston from Dakota at the Roosevelt, Walter Eckstein from Lawry's the Prime Rib and John England from downtown's new Rosa Mexicano.

To read the rest of Jessica Gelt's story, click here.

Photo: The chefs are,  from left: John England of Rosa Mexicano, Walter Eckstein of Lawry's the Prime Rib, Alain Giraud of Anisette Brasserie, Jason Johnston of Dakota Steakhouse and Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose, with the dineLA food truck at RoadStoves. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

A new chef at Patina: Tony Esnault steps in this month

After searching for nearly a year, restaurateur Joachim Splichal has tapped a new chef for his flagship restaurant, Patina at the Disney Concert Hall.

Tony Esnault, former executive chef at Alain Ducasse’s New York restaurant Adour, is expected to start at the downtown landmark this month. Patina Restaurant Group says Esnault will be working closely with Splichal on a new (presumably Cal-French) menu.

Esnault was executive chef at Ducasse’s Essex House in New York before opening Adour in the St. Regis Hotel in 2007. Then-New York Times critic Frank Bruni gave Adour three stars, but the dining room — complete with an interactive touch-screen wine bar and an accent-aigu-heavy menu — didn’t seem to catch on with the masses. Esnault left Adour last year.

Born in Saumur, France, Esnault attended the François Rabelais culinary school and worked in Paris and Alsace before embarking on a career within the Ducasse empire in 1996 at Louis XV in Monaco.
Patina’s previous chef, Theo Schoenegger, left last year to open his own restaurant at the Encore resort in Las Vegas.

Patina, 141 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 972-3331, www.patinagroup.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Tony Esnault at Alain Ducasse's erstwhile Essex House in 2005 in New York. Credit: Essex House