RE$TAURANT$ blog items appear each Tuesday. Doral Chenoweth writes about the business of restaurants and the food industry in the Columbus, Ohio, Metro area. Reader comments are welcome by telephone. 614-538-1822. Email the Grump: thegrumpygourmet@wowway.com Send food stuff here: iPLATE@grumpygourmetusa.com Send weird stuff here: alferd_e_packer@wowway.com E-mail messages must include name and telephone for a reply.

20DEC05

Tom Johnson Former Ohio State Official Chef During Heartland Cuisine era

Former State Chef Tom Johnson To Demo at Home & Garden Show’ Tom Johnson, one of Ohio premier demonstration chefs, will do his one-man cooking show at the 2006 Gourmet Galaxy Café, the culinary showcase that runs for nine days of the Dispatch Home & Garden Show. While the demonstrations run each day of the show, Johnson’s date and time of appearance is to be announced in early February. Show dates are Feb. 25 to March 5. The Galaxy Café theme for 2006 centers on recipes familiar in the 1950s. Many of the chefs will be cooking with iron – cast iron skillets and pots. More than half the 38 demo chefs will be using iron cookware. Johnson will prepare Chicago-style deep-dish pan pizza using his own black iron equipment. Johnson, now a staff member of the Western Reserve School of Cooking in Hudson, Ohio, had a lengthy tenure in Columbus restaurants. He was the first chef in Lindey’s in German Village, later becoming chef-partner of the prestigious L’Armagnac. His major claim to fame came when, under the Celeste administration, he was named official state chef. He held the title of marketing specialist with duties to direct the fledgling Heartland Cuisine program. Many in Columbus remember Johnson for the seven years he spent as restaurant commentator on WOSU radio station.

Doody Brothers reopen in New Orleans Chris and Rick Doody had two Bravos in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina flooded everything Big Easy. After almost three months they have reopened their original, actually their No. 10 in a chain that now has 50 casual dining Italian restaurants across the eastern half of the nation. Bravo in Metairie opened in March, 1999. Chris Doody described it as "a good one." Translated, that means it was doing $4.5 million when the waters came. They do not plan to open the one on St. Charles Avenue.

Another Hurricane Katrina Survivor Cynthia Knight, food and beverage manager for Hyatt on Capitol Square for the past few years, is making periodic returns to New Orleans checking on her father, in his 70s. When Katrina threatened, Knight and her brother had some difficulty evacuating their father from the rising waters. His home was just 14 lots away from the surging Gulf of Mexico. The home was destroyed. The good news: Mr. Knight was one of the few who had flood insurance. The loss, estimated to be around $200,000, is fully covered. The father, meanwhile, resides in a FEMA trailer on the lot. He intends to rebuild.

Where Are They Now? Chills Verne: For decades, one of the prominent names in the Columbus restaurant community was Chills Verne. His career dates from Downtown major hotels and the early Kahiki to his last top position, general manager of Mario’s Internationale. When running Mario’s his afternoons were spent in exercise walks around Capitol Square. Verne, for the last 14 years, has been doing much the same when it comes to muscle upkeep. But he’s doing it daily in a spa in Sun City West, Ariz. John Souza, who made his culinary mark as acclaimed chef for tour golfers playing the Muirfield tourney, has stepped up a management notch in New England. He’s food and beverage director at the Atkinson Resort & Country Club, in Atkinson, New Hampshire. For pals, he left his direct phone number: 603-489-0239.

You Asked? For the answer on where you can find the NO SALT tortilla corn chips under the Montezuma label, owner Chuck Evans lists his good drop offs: Hills Market, Rife’s Market, Huffman’s Market, Carfagna’s and Sherritt’s. Then Evans makes certain with a where-not-to-look list: Wal-Mart, Kroger, Meijer and Giant Eagle. Evans is the nation’s pioneer when it comes to using chipotle in sauces. For the full and hot story, pull up his website: www.MONTEZUMABRAND.com

How to Avoid KFC The next time 11 secret herbs and spices seems suspect, go to the nearest Giant Eagle. Search out in the frozen food section for a new brand for these parts, Bell & Evans. The Pennsylvania firm is doing chicken right – frozen from birds raised without antibiotics. From whole breasts the firm is freezing and boxing strips and nuggets. This Grump nod is for nuggets, 12 ounces, $5.99. They’re breaded with unbleached wheat flour. Sodium content is 18 percent, total fat 9 percent, cholesterol 15 percent. Instructions: Boxed nuggets are uncooked. Instructions suggest oven baking, pan frying second. As for nuking, the box says “Not Recommended.” As for taste, Bell & Evans nuggets have the ungreasy taste of how grandmothers did baked chicken – a pinch of salt, a tad of paprika and a dash of spice extract. Note: No pepper. That is left to the beholder. The appealing part appears on the box, a warning JUNK avoid symbol marked with these advisories: “No antibiotics to raise our chickens, no animal by-products to feed our chickens, no preservatives, no artificial flavorings, no fillers or extenders, no hydrogenated oils – NO KIDDING.” Check for yourself: www.bellandevans.com. by Doral Chenoweth 614-538-1822 home

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