WHO'S COOKING MY FOOD ANYWAY?
Wow, who would have guessed that chefs would be as popular as they are today?  Thanks to the many foods channels and food shows out there, chefs have risen to the top of the celebrity ladder.   And whether they’re famous or not, people just LOVE to ask a chef questions.  And since Pepper’s Catering is fortunate to have such a talented group of chefs, we thought we’d give you a little insight into what makes them tick. 

The series starts with our Executive Chef de Cuisine, Paul Wilson.  Chef Paul joined Pepper’s Catering three years ago and has been a professional chef for nearly 25 years.  He graduated with a hotel/restaurant management degree from Johnson & Wales University, and is an active member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF).   He currently serves as president of the Massachusetts Culinary Association, a local chapter of the ACF.  Prior to joining Pepper’s Catering, Chef Paul was the owner and executive chef of The Brass Pineapple restaurant in central MA.

WHEN AND WHERE DID YOUR CAREER IN FOOD BEGIN?
My first job was in 1977, working for my dad in our hotdog stand.  My mother also encouraged me to whip up a few dinners in the kitchen.  I wasn’t afraid to experiment and they weren’t afraid to try, so things worked out well in my house. 

WHO OR WHAT IGNITED YOUR PASSION FOR FOOD?
My father was definitely my inspiration - working with and watching him organize and prepare breakfasts, luncheons and dinners for various local community organizations when I was a kid.  He brought a lot of happiness to people with his food and through his actions, and that was something I really wanted to be a part of.

WHAT HAS GIVEN YOU THE MOST PLEASURE AS A CHEF?
Putting out the best food possible – creating new dishes and being able to discover and work with different or unique foods.

WHAT INFLUENCES YOUR COOKING STYLE?
I’ve always been drawn to French classical techniques, but I like to modify them a bit by adding a modern touch or a global influence. 

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FOOD WEAKNESS?
Cookies – the crunchier, the better!

WHAT IS THE MOST UNUSUAL THING YOU'VE EVER EATEN?
Rattlesnake.  It’s also something I’ll never eat again.  It was hard to get past the smell while preparing it. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SECRET INGREDIENT?
Citrus juices, flavored vinegars and Dijon mustard - they are very versatile and flavorful enhancements that often eliminate the need for salt.

WHAT ONE RULE/VALUE DO YOU TRY TO INSTILL IN ALL OF YOUR CHEFS? 
That you’re only as good as your last meal – complacency has no place in the kitchen.  You need to stay focused and be the best that you can be.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE FOOD & WINE PARINGS?
Asian-inspired shellfish (especially tempura-battered, crispy and spicy) with an Oregon dry Riesling or Alsatian Riesling.  Domestic lamb or game meat, like venison or buffalo, with a California zinfandel.  I also enjoy spicy Caribbean food with a “hoppy” IPA.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE FOOD?
Cooked spinach.

If you ever saw the Bee Movie you would know that without bees, all would be lost.  Alright, I'm being a little dramatic, but I'm not too far off.  Bees are accountable for 80% of all insect pollination, and without them, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of fruits and vegetables.  But what most people don't know is that bees have been on the decline for a few years now.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture shows a 29% drop in beehives in 2009, following a 36% decline in 2008 and 32% in 2007.  A little scary I'd say. 

Enter Pepper's Catering owner, John Lawrence - a man who loves a challenge, especially when it's related to food.  After overhearing a couple of his fellow ski patrol buddies talking about the success of their bee hives, John was fired up and ready to go.  He did a little research and met with some people at the Worcester County Beekeepers Association, which just happens to be the oldest county beekeeping association in the U.S.  During the spring he enrolled in their "bee school" to learn the ins and outs of bees and beekeeping.  Today, Pepper's Catering is the proud owner of about 10,000 bees.

Situated along the river bank and near the Pepper's garden, where we hope they spend a lot of their time, the bees are busy setting up house and tending to the queen.  Living on a temporary diet of sugar and water, John expects the hives to thrive to about 50,000 - 60,000 bees strong over the summer.  If all goes well, we should see some honey in September.  

John is a strong believer in the local sustainable food movement, so becoming beekeepers was a no- brainer for him.   Bees travel up to 5 miles looking for food, so local Worcester County farmers will enjoy the benefits of our bees too.  There are so many uses for honey and it can last a very long time if stored properly.  In addition to using the delicious honey that our bees produce, John also plans on making lip balm with the beeswax.  I wasn't kidding when I said he loves a challenge!

For more information on bees and beekeeping, visit the Worcester County Beekeepers Association at http://www.honeybeeclub.org/

Without question, June is always a crazy, if not the busiest month at Pepper's Catering with graduation parties, grill parties and weddings abound.   When we sit back and think about everything that goes on here, we are always amazed that we got through it unscathed.  That's not to say that we didn't hit a few bumps along the way, but our successes definitely outweigh any bumps we may have encountered. 

Whether we're catering a wedding reception for 250 guests or an intimate dinner party for 12, every event requires a significant amount of time and effort to pull it off.  We're lucky to have a cohesive team at Pepper's Catering that believes in and stands behind our mission to provide gracious hospitality and delectable cuisine.

It starts with our sales team - the who-what-where-and-how gurus that shape your event and get the ball rolling.  Not only do they work closely with you from start to finish to create a memorable experience, but they also work with our chefs, event managers and operations staff to make sure that all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed.

Our creative chefs work to put the culinary pieces together.  They are responsible for getting the most fresh and flavorful gourmet foods to and from our kitchen and then to your table.  And if only it were that easy - handling special dietary requests, procuring specialty foods, executing on-site cooking methods and securing appropriate chef staffing also lie on the shoulders of the kitchen.   

And while the chefs are hard at work, our event managers are coordinating the finishing touches.  They worry about everything from the layout of your event, décor, and timing to the number of plates, spoons, forks and knifes needed.  They work in unison with our operations staff - counting, grouping, wrapping, packing and loading everything necessary for your event to go off without a hitch.   On the job, they're just as busy keeping the dedicated and hard-working wait staff busy and your needs fulfilled.

I certainly don't want to minimize the value of our operations staff either - they do more than just pack trucks.  They tend to the general needs of the building on a daily basis, keep the pots, pans and dishes clean and sparkling, feed the chickens, turn the compost, and tend the garden...just to name a few things.  They are a critical component to the everyday successes of Pepper's Catering.

So many details, so little time.  Honestly, I'm glad I just write the blog!   But I will say this to them - thank you.  Thank you for paying attention to the details and getting it right.  Thank you for making our clients happy.  

And more importantly thank YOU for choosing Pepper's Find Food Catering for your event...and for keeping us on our toes!

Pepper's Catering chefs are all active participants in the garden's success and enjoy working with the variety within.  The garden is made up of mostly herbs with some edible flowers and a few vegetables thrown into the mix.  Three varieties of basil, four varieties of peppers (of course), cilantro, parsley, curry, sage, oregano, thyme to name a few.  Mint - apple mint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, spearmint - can't get enough mint around here.  A Pepper's favorite is lovage, a very aromatic herb with a scent and flavor similar to celery.  It's great for adding flavor and zing to dishes and the hollow stalks make for great straws in a Bloody Mary!  Edible flowers like pansies, lavender, vanilla marigolds and Egyptian onion are all used to enhance aroma, tease the palette and please the eye.  Nasturtium, a brightly colored blossom with a sweet, peppery taste works very well as a garnish but is also a great addition to salads, as a flavor additive to butter or stuffed with an herbed Boursin cheese and served as an appetizer.  Yum! Yum! Yum!

Pepper's Catering has long been committed to the purchase and consumption of local foods and buying from area farmer's whenever possible.  We take pride in growing our own garden as it reinforces our farm to table values. We hope that you enjoy the bounty as much as we do. 

Need help finding local farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown local food in your area?  Visit LocalHarvest http://www.localharvest.org/ for information about organic and local food resources.      

Nasturtium Mayonnaise
8 oz serving

1 c. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. finely minced garlic
2 tsp. coarsely chopped capers
1/3 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 tsp. chopped Nasturtium leaves

Combine all ingredients and keep chilled until ready to use.  Great on grilled fish or as a zesty sandwich spread.

This past week was quite a fun run. Monday brought us to the Worcester County Food Bank for a fundraising, Chef Table event with 11 area restaurants honoring the career of Barbara Houle, editor of the food pages at the Worcester Telegram & Gazzette for nearly 40 years. Barbara has been diligent is supporting the numerous Chef’s cooks, food producers, farmers, Food Bank and so much more through her inspired weekly columns in the T & G. She has recently stepped back a bit and will still write her Table Hopping column on Thursdays. Piccolo’s, Romaine’s, Something Sweet by Michelle, Sweet, The Castle, Coral Seafood, BaBa Sushi, Sonoma, Pepper’s Catering, Block 5 & the Niche group and the Educated Grape all went over the top with their offerings in tribute to Barbara. Ask me about Audrey Kurlan-Marcy’s creative Houly award. It was terrific.

First thing on Tuesday, fellow Pepper’s Culinarians John Wadkins and Keith Desy loaded up the van for Mass Vet’s and the first day of our month long cooking class. We started with some food trivia and cookbook giveaway to break the ice a bit and then got right in to Sanitation, Nutrition and Knife Skills. Dexter-Russell Cutlery from Southbridge graciously donated 2 dozen knives and we had the Vet’s do prep for the following day’s Omelet, Frittata 7 Strata class as well as make batch of Salsa Fresca, Guacamole and fresh lime & sea salt chips to finish the day. Great fun. Wednesday brought us back for fresh banana bread demo along with the egg dishes and by popular demand; we’ll start the upcoming week with a Hollandaise Sauce demo. It’s all been quite a bit of work but the rewards and thanks from all whom we were in front of this week was quite special and is working as a great team building with my fellow Pepper’s.

More to come as this week’s class will have the guys learning how to braise meats and Tuesdays tastes will include having the guys braise red cabbage with apples to go with the braised sauerbraten of beef.

I’m home today working diligently on my upcoming month of offering a cooking program for Mass Veterans at their shelter on Grove Street in Worcester, MA. http://www.massveterans.org/ Pepper’s has been assisting the Vet’s for over 10 years now in many capacities as we have a high regard for the team who do so much for the Vet’s and of course, for the Vet’s themselves. After speaking with a few of the leaders at the shelter, it dawned on me that these Vet’s who have served our country and have fallen on difficult times could use some assistance with learning how to be more self sufficient.

This is where all of you readers come in.

We feel that the Vet’s would greatly benefit from having copies of the fine publication, Cook’s Illustrated around to reinforce good cooking and so much more. I personally feel that this inspired magazine is the best for foodies who love to eat and cook.

If you have some back issues that you could part with, please drop them off at the shelter, attention Trevor Little the Chef at the shelter or at Pepper’s Catering in Northborough. Both addresses are easily found on a web search.

Wish us luck with our program and we’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Thank you.

Susan and I have just returned from 3 days of eating and culture in NYC and we are all jazzed up again. Nothing like the stimulation of the city and especially the food scene. We did sit next to Andrew Zimmerman of “Weird Food” fame on the Travel Channel, and more on that later.http://www.andrewzimmern.com/blog/andrew Our very first item on our itinerary was a food tasting and cultural tour on Chinatown offered by www.foodsofny.com and this experience far exceeded our expectations. Rasheem our english speaking guide had unsurpassed passion for Chinatown, spoke fluent Mandarin, had been to China 3 times and was unbelievable. A dream guide. We hit the authentic Peking Duck House, a temple of the classic dish, Chinese bakeries ( Fay Da akery, dim sum houses, tea emporiums (Ten Ren ) but the true highlight was our first stop, Dim Sum Go Go at 5 East Broadway. This is where a few days later on a return visit, we sat next to Andrew Zimmerman who was dining with a family of friends. We had a brief chat and he had reccomended we try the Duck Dim Sum. We smiled and fessed up that we had just finished 2 orders and had moved on to the Vegetarian Platter with a trilogy on wonderful condiments. Later we decided to shoot over to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on a reccomendation for wasabi ice cream and again we run into Andrew. He suggested we try the Tangerine Lime. While they didn’t offer the wasabi as their menu changes due to the fact that they have nearly 150 flavors that they rotate in and out. Susan enjoyed the ginger and I had a mango lime. both were delicious. I didn’t know that the Chinese invented ice cream but can attest to the very satisfying experience at this wonderful spot at 65 Bayard St. Other NYC eating tips from this trip are Chelsea Market for a dozen or so restaurants, bakeries, and assorted food shops.Planet Donut @ 379 Grand Street for the best donut in the country. Zetinz Market for eye candy as well as enticing gourmet shop experience, located at 24 West 40th Street. You can’r beat Katz Delicatessen on Canal Street for the best corned beef & reubin experience.

We also took in two plays that were both terrific. We highly reccomend Bily Elliott and Impressionism with Joan Allen and Jeremey Irons along with Marth Mason. Strong acting performance and great use of visual technology. Get to the big apple soon and especially if you could view the apple blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Check out the museum next door and both are easily accessed via the subway for a 4.00 round trip.

Spring always bring a number of tasting opportunities for area residents and supporters of non-profit organizations and venues. Last evening our Culinary Team blew away the diners with an over the top menu of crispy braised pork served over preserved lemon sweet potato puree, seared citrus diver scallops infused with vanilla bean and served with a lemon beuree blanc and our Pastry Chef got into the action with some creative spoon dessert concoctions. We served 160 diners in the first 90 minutes with lines out the door and made my wife and I along with our event planner team quite proud.

Next week on April will bring us to the Corridor 9 Business Expo and Chef will rock with Asian braised short ribs with jasmine rice and then the event that we are most excited about id monday April 6, at the Worcester County Food Bank and a special fundraising event to honor Barbara Houle the food editor of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette for over 30 years. No one has done more for area Chef, Restauranteurs, Food Producers and Farmers than Barbara and Central Mass would not nearly have progressed as far as it has culinary wise if not for Barbara’s support. We know that the 11 participating restaurants, bakeries and caterers will really step up with their creativity for this one and for the price of 25.00, this will be one memorable evening of small plate dining. Oh, and did I mention the martini luge along with local brew, live music and a tribut to Barbara. Stop by and say hello to the Chef’s and especialy Pepper’s Fine Foods Catering.

My wife Susan and I have done this little trek a couple of times now and I’d like to share a fun few hours in Boston, that may be of interest. This past Sunday we abreviated things a bit due to the 40 mile per hour gusts, coming off the harbor, but normally the harbor walk from the Institute of Contempory Art to the Aquarium is as stimulating to the eye as it is for the food and art. Sunday we sought to take in the Shepard Fairly exhibit at the ICA as well as the ” Stories Left To Tell” a presentation /play on the writings of the late Spaulding Gray. If you were a Spaulding Grey fan, keep an eye out for this traveling production. I believe that it will be done in philadelphia, son. Anyways, back to the ICA. Set on and over the Boston Harbor, this museum is spectacular and certainly not your average museum. We viewed the museum but went especially to see the collection of works by Shepard Fairley, who was the fella who did the now famous Obama poster. His work is poignant, with an open mind in viewing our polictical landscape. I highly reccomend taking in fairly’s work .The Cafe at ICA is run by Wolfgang Puck catering offering lunch pannini, salad faire and during the warmer months, musicians from Berkley perform outside. For dining, plenty of options. Two of my favorites are Flour Bakery ( a short drive), great for breakfast, luncheon sandwich’s etc. and Barking Crab for very fresh fish dishes. I love the Barking Crab for it’s cheezy waterfront atmosphere. Boston is getting so gentrified, that it’s fun to find a place that didn’t hire a designer to make the perfect lobster shack. In the winter the source of heat is a great woodstove and yes, you will probably dine with your coat on, but the oysters are impeccable, clam rolls, oyster po’boys, cajun fish special, lobster bisque are are done well and they have a plentiful selection of local draft beers on tap. It’s simple, and simply done well. Further along the harbor walk you also go past The Daily Catch. This is another great stop for Portugese inspired seafood cuisine and they have another in the North End, which you could walk to via this route if your into getting this much exercise. Past the Catch leads you to the Bostonian Hotel and then to the Aquarium & the Marriott at Rowes wharf. My tip for a nice way to view the city, from the waterfront. Go to the attached link and download the audio tour.

Way before Spring actually sets in, I find myself working on Spring menu proposals, attending tastings, assisting with planning Spring fundraising events and other signs of a new season. Today is a rather dreary day with a light rain over snow covered gound, but I sit with glowing coals, dancing in the fireplace and thoughts of grilling outside, soon to be commonplace. I am excited for what is going on in our food world and goals for the upcoming season. Our local chapter of Chefs is gathering steam having recently enjoyed the cuisine and demonstration by Chef Paul and a Cheeky menu items such as pork cheeks and veal cheeks. Our next meeting will be held at Assabet High School and a program designed by their Chef Instructors. It is amazing what is going on at the progressive vocational high school culinary programs and along with Assabet, Chef Mike Banks and his Montichusett High School are most inspiring.

Another couple of exciting Spring Events that the Pepper’s Culinary Team are actively involved in will be the 2'nd Annual Tastefully Tower Hill on March 27th with area Chef’s offering a “lemon’ inspired menu to celebrate the upcoming groundbreaking expansion at Tower Hill,and a new one, and that I and Pepper’s is quite personally involved, with “Barbara’s Bash”. This event will celebrate the over 30 years of the career of Barbara Houle, Food Editor of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Barbara is steping down from her full time activities at the T & G and will still write a column and persue other writing opportunities. Watch for Barbara in the Editable Boston magazine & others. Pepper’s had the good fortune to cater Barbara’s charming daughter Amy’s wedding a few years back and have been the recipient of numerous articles written by Barbara.

A few other aspects of the celebration of all things Barbara are that all funds recieved will directly benefit the Worcester Food Bank. Another point to not be missed, for the cost of 35.00, guests will have a unique opportunity to taste a number of dishes from local Chef’s who will naturally look to “show off” for a Barbara Event. Expect an enticing Martini Bar. Last but not least, the evening will cap with an award we are calling “:The Houley”. Barbara will be the first recipient and there after, the award will be gited annually to the person who is voted to be most supportive to the local hospitallity industry. Fellow members of the planning committee are Bill Brady; www.sonoma-princeton.com, Alina Eisenhauer;www.sweetworcester.com, Christene Zecker; http://www.theeducatedgrape.com and Audrey Kurlan-Marcy who was one of the founders of the tremendously successful Taste of the Nation, Worcester. Taste of the Nation Event will be held once again at the Crown Plaza in Worcester on April 27th. This one of the best tastes of local chefs you can experience.

Ah Spring, more fun & more great dining !