March has been full of school, work, and practice. We have reached Level 2 recently at school which will consist of chocolate, plated desserts, and sugar work. Although chocolate isn’t my favorite to work with, its very interesting to learn the steps to chocolate making. It’s also fun to know how to make different chocolate showpieces. Once you have the basics down, you can just let your imagination take control. I absolutely loved the plated desserts part one section. I enjoy anything to do with presentation and detail. I’ve also put my mixer to use a few times this month. I made a birthday cake for one of my good friends & I made some Brioche! I also decorated a dummy cake. My original idea didn’t come through so I had to improvise. I was happy with the outcome. I plan on doing one every month while I’m here.

I’m really enjoying everything that New York has to offer. I can’t wait to take everything that I’ve learned and put it to use when I get home.

Until next time, be safe & dream on!

So, I’m in charcuterie class in FCI right now and it’s going really well. The way this works is we basically came together as a team, and basically all costed out a menu for two buffets, our charcuterie buffet and our grand buffet. They fun part is that whatever we costed out, we also cooked! So with the help of Chef Brian Landry (my mentor) I made chorizo boudin balls with a charred tomato aioli. Everyone loved it and it came out really well. And for the grand buffet I’m making (drumroll please) GUMBO! This is going to be my first gumbo (believe or not) and it turned out pretty well. Friday is the day of our Grand buffet (hence the name, good Friday) and I can’t wait, everything that our whole class worked so hard will be on display to taste for the whole school.

So I’m going to hit that old dusty trail a bit early this time folks, and “holla at ya” next month. PEACE!

7-Up cake may never make it onto the contemporary French menu of Chef John Besh’s New Orleans restaurant, August, but for his mentee, Syrena Johnson, the recipe will always be a sweet spot.

“I can always remember being in the kitchen cooking, helping my mom prep for holidays, going to my grandma’s house and helping her bake … I remember making 7-Up cakes with her,” Johnson told The Huffington Post, recalling her humble New Orleans upbringing and the road to culinary stardom she’s been on for the past three years.

It’s been a smooth journey, much to Johnson’s surprise, since she decided the kitchen is where she wants to be. “I didn’t know that I wanted to be a chef, I [just] knew that I liked to cook,” she says. “But I always thought I would work my way up the ranks.”

From a stint on the fast-food scene, to a non-profit cooking school designed to help disadvantaged youth throughout New Orleans, Johnson’s career path has remained relatively obstacle-free.

Her family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but by 2011, on the recommendation of a program director at Liberty’s Kitchen, where she breezed through a 12-week cooking course in just seven weeks, Johnson entered the first-ever scholarship competition held by the John Besh Foundation’s Chefs Move.

The scholarship to the International Culinary Center in New York, aimed at diversifying kitchen leadership and offering mentorship to minorities from New Orleans, belonged to Johnson after three rounds, which included an interview with MSNBC host and Chefs Move adviser Melissa Harris-Perry, and Besh, who Johnson says shared her passion for New Orleans cuisine.

“I really hadn’t heard of him,” Johnson admits. “I’d seen his face around, but I never really knew him like that because I’m not into chefs and the Food Network — I just like to cook.”

Now Johnson says she’s the one being recognized. “I could go out right now and people would say, ‘You’re that girl who won that scholarship!’ I walk into any one of Chef [Besh's] restaurants and everybody is like ‘Hey, Syrena, what’s up?’”

But as connected as she is — her nine-month semester at ICC in New York also included work at Lincoln Center’s Lincoln restaurant with Chef Jonathan Benno of Per Se and at North End Grill with Chef Floyz Cardoz — Johnson says she plans to hold on to her roots.

“If I ever get down to a point where I have my own thing, it would be a New Orleans-based food. I’m not going to stray from my roots. I might recreate it a little bit but I want to keep that in me, because that’s the stuff I grew up eating. That’s the stuff that everybody I know loves.”

Case in point: her idea of the perfect Super Bowl fare.

Wings and pizza are fine, but “a crawfish boil would be appropriate, too,” she says. “You’re outside, you’re around a big pot, everybody likes to tailgate, that would be awesome.”

Check out Johnson’s other go-to Sunday dinner dish in the recipe below.

Crawfish, Shrimp And Okra Etouffee With Rice Pilaf And Blackened Speckled Trout
Etouffee:
½ lb. of butter
3 C of onions chopped
1 C of celery chopped
½ C of seeded diced red bell peppers
½ C of seeded diced green bell peppers
4 T of AP flour
2 C of water or chicken stock
1 lb. of peeled cleaned crawfish
1 lb. of peeled and deveined shrimp
½ t of salt
4 T of chopped onions
4 T chopped parsley
1 can diced tomatoes
½ t tomato paste
1 ½ t of garlic powder
1 ½ t of salt
1 t of black pepper
1 t of cayenne pepper
1 t of dried oregano

Rice pilaf:
4 C of rice
4 ½ C chicken stock
1 sprig of thyme
15 g of shallots diced
1 T of butter
1 garlic clove crushed

Trout:
2 speckled trout or 8 120-130 g portions
1 C of blackened mixture
30 g of canola oil

Blackened mixture:
2 t of paprika
2 ½ t of dried thyme
1 ½ t of onion powder
1 t of cayenne pepper
1 t of dried oregano

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add onions and cook until soft and lightly golden brown 8 to 10 min. Add celery and bell peppers and cook stirring occasionally until soft for about 5 min. Cook until butter separates then sprinkle flour and stir to blend until mixture thickens slightly. Add the water or stock and reduce the heat to low. Stir to blend, add tomatoes and paste, season crawfish and shrimp with salt and add to pot. Add the green onions and parsley and cook for 10 min. Remove from heat and serve over rice.
2. In a medium pot sweat shallots in butter over medium heat until soft. Add rice and stir in with wooden spoon until fully coated. Add stock, thyme, garlic clove, salt and pepper, bring to a boil cover and finish in oven at 350 F for 20 min.
3. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly until fully incorporated.
4. Fillet fish or, if already prepared, season both sides with blackened mixture until fully covered. In a sauté pan with oil, blacken on both sides for 2-3 min over medium heat.
5. To serve use a small cup to mold rice in the middle of plate place fish on top of rice and ladle Etouffee around rice top with parsley and serve.

On Jan. 1, applications opened for two more Chefs Move! and The John Besh Foundation scholarship, one scholarship in culinary arts and the other in pastry arts. The deadline to apply is April 30.

The Chefs Move! scholarship is a fully paid scholarship to the International Culinary Center in New York City. It pays tuition to attend the nine-month career program plus housing, uniforms, travel to and from New York, a computer, a camera, job placement assistance while in New York and upon completion, a fully paid eight-week internship at a restaurant with the Besh Restaurant Group.

The scholarship is open to minority applicants from the New Orleans area with a GED and a year of kitchen experience.

The scholarship, created by NOLA native Jessica Bride and chef John Besh, is intended to diversify kitchen management by providing minority applicants with drive and aptitude the opportunity to train and become leaders in restaurant kitchens and in their communities.

Besh has appointed two mentors: pastry chef Lisa White of Restaurant Domenica will mentor the scholarship recipient in pastry arts, and executive chef at American Sector, Jeff Mattia, will mentor the recipient in culinary arts.

Three students have come through the program since its inception. The Chefs Move 2011 scholarship winner, Syrena Johnson, graduated in August, winning two awards, and is currently interning at Domenica.

The two Chefs Move 2012 Scholarship Winners, Chris Okorie and Calvin Virgil, are both doing well in school, the Foundation leaders wrote in a press release. Okorie is working at Ai Fiori, and Virgil at Magnolia Bakery.

It may be that a conversation between New Orleanians is not complete without mentioning food in some way or another. And this ‘conversation’ will not stray away from that fact.

New Orleans is more than well known for its food…and not only the gumbo and po-boys, but also its fine dining for those particularly well-versed palates. You got your Commander’s Palace and Mr. B’s as well as your Galatoire’s and Arnaud’s cooking up “truffled creole cream cheese gnocchi” and “speckled trout amandine.” And who can we thank for these dishes, but none other than the incredibly talented chefs who enjoy filling our bellies.

But, who exactly are these chefs? How do they get these positions at these fine dining restaurants? And what may be one of the blaring questions…why does there seem to be a lack of diversity in the higher up positions in these restaurants?

Well, local New Orleanian and famous chef John Besh had the same question…where is the diversity? But he didn’t only have a question; he also had a solution to it. Teaming up with co-founder Jessica Bride, Chef Besh and Bride created the Chefs Move! Scholarship. “The mission of Chefs Move! is to diversify kitchen leadership by providing minority applicants the opportunity to train up and become leaders in restaurant kitchens and in their communities.” Two young New Orleanian chefs will receive the opportunity of a lifetime: a yearlong fully-paid scholarship, one in Culinary Arts and one in Pastry Arts, to attend the International Culinary Center in New York followed by a two month internship with the Besh Restaurant Group.

“It’s incredibly humbling and such an honor to be providing this opportunity to the youth of New Orleans,” said Chef Besh. “What I hope to do is use the resources that God has given me and pass them on to somebody else that realizes they are valued. If we start to value people in the city, the youth, education, and community service, then we will pull ourselves out of the situation we were given – bad economics, inner city youth without much hope, failing schools, etc. The Creator didn’t just give me talent so that I could serve fancy food to people. He gave me talent to make a difference in people’s lives for the better.”

In its third year, the
Chefs Move! Scholarship has given three New Orleanians a chance to have their wildest dreams come true. In 2011, Syrena Johnson became the first recipient of the scholarship. After finishing her nine months of study in New York City, Syrena returned to New Orleans and is completing her internship at one of Chef Besh’s restaurants, Domenica. Last year saw two winners, Calvin Virgil and Chris Okorie, who are currently in the midst of their studies in New York City.

When speaking about the three winners, Chef Besh just beams! “We can learn something from each and every human. For example, Syrena has tenacity! She was brought up very different than I was and has had to exhibit so much tenacity. Forget about culinary school, I’m talking about on the street to survive. To see her transform that energy into something very positive is a humbling experience for me. To see this young lady claw her way through and make the most of every situation taught me a lot about tenacity and perseverance. It’s not all about how smart you are, how well spoken or well read you are, because what it comes down to is that there is so much we can overcome as humans if we remain persistent.”

“With Chris, it’s interesting because he always has a smile on his face even though you think he should be overwhelmed. He overcomes so much with a smile and his joie de vivre. That is something that so many New Orleanians possess; that even in the worst of times, we can still smile and see the best in one another. Seeing Chris always smile humbled me. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all take that approach, just laugh and find the humor in things.”

“Calvin is so intense and willing to seize any opportunity. He understands how important this is and it’s amazing to see the way that he grasps these opportunities. I think he truly lives for the day. He leaves it all out there on the field every day and that intensity is one thing I find inspiring.”

Chef Besh is looking forward to providing this awesome opportunity to two more young New Orleanians and recognizing what their success means for the New Orleans restaurant community as a whole. “The amazing thing is now, chefs throughout the community are saying, ‘I know that when these graduates come back, they’re working for you, but would you mind sending them to our kitchen, too? We could use the next person with this background.’ We want to make sure that our graduates are well prepared and we can put them in any kitchen where they can grow and reach their full potential.”

Locals chefs Lisa White of Domenica and Jeff Mattia of American Sector will be serving as mentors to this year’s scholarship recipients. “It’s a very big honor to be able to help someone and to have Chef Besh appoint me to a position where I can actually do that on a grander scale is amazing,” Chef White said. “I’m looking forward to making that connection and being able to be there when they need someone.”

Chef Mattia added, “For Chef Besh to think that I have enough qualifications to train or mentor someone is awesome. To teach and develop another young individual is why we’re here. It’s not about finding new employees for John Besh; it’s about us setting the culinary field up for the next generation.”

Not surprisingly, Chef Besh’s decision to include “minority” as part of the scholarship has been a little controversial. “I caught a lot of flack about the minority component in this,” he said. “But plain and simple, New Orleans is a city of all sorts of races and ethnicities, which makes our city special. So if this makes us special, then why is it that very few minorities, in particular African Americans, aren’t enjoying the success at management levels? It really comes down to education.”

He continued, “When I look through the ranks of the hundreds of employees, I quickly see that many come from backgrounds just like mine and look a lot like me. This isn’t a bad thing; however, we’re also missing out on an opportunity to include everybody in our community of success. If you want to progress in the ranks of management, you have to have the college education to go with it and it’s a ton of money to acquire one of these educations. So again, why don’t more New Orleanians and in particular, why don’t more minority New Orleanians enjoy success in this? And that’s what I’m here to try to change. This scholarship has to be one that we continue to provide for and that we’re stewards of. That’s what I want my life’s work to be about, not just fancy recipes, but actually helping my community and her people.”

Chef Besh is truly committed to uplifting our community and providing our young people with an avenue to become successful members of society. “If we continue to get the right people to New York and invest in them, it’s going to pay incredible dividends to the entire community.”

The graduates will also have the help of Emery Whalen, Executive Director of the John Besh Foundation. “I’m blessed to have Emery as a full-time mentor day in and day out,” said Chef Besh. “They hit the Emery button and she is always there, tracking their progress and being that soundboard that they can always turn to.”

Recipients of the Chefs Move! Scholarship get all they need to ensure success. Let’s take a look: full uition, chef uniforms, kitchen equipment, accommodations, round-trip airfare, digital camera and lessons, $250 grocery card, $100 subway card, digital camera and lessons, laptop computer and training, media (including social media) training, job placement assistance while in New York, an 8-week paid internship within the Besh Restaurant Group upon completion of the culinary program, job placement assistance while in New York, and a year-long mentorship from Chef White or Chef Mattia.

He concluded, “The other day, I was walking home from Woldenberg Park. It’s late and dark and I get stopped by this guy who says, ‘Hey, are you Chef Besh?’ And I say, ‘Yeah.’ And he says, ‘I met your friend Syrena and I’m telling you right now, I’m going to win that scholarship next year and be the next great chef and on and on.’ That’s it, if we just help one person find hope, we’re already making a difference.”

For more information about the Chefs Move! Scholarship and to apply, please visit the website. Applications are due by April 30!

I never left the country before and this was my first time getting a passport; all cool new experiences I got to partake in for the first time and it has just been awesome. Everyone I met was very helpful and knowledgeable which made the trip go really well and all the food we put out was remarkable. I’m so grateful and happy my chef let me get to experience this and I know I’ll never forget it. I also had a chance to work at Fifteen, Jamie Oliver’s place, which is somewhat similar to the program where I work, Liberty’s kitchen. Fifteen was very enlightening and cool. Overall I had a blast and look forward to seeing my career blossom from this amazing experience with all the knowledge and culture I took out of it.

School is going great. Currently we are on cakes Pt 2. Our midterm is next Tuesday. It will consist of a written exam and a cake. The type of cake was picked from a raffle, but the design/theme is totally up to us. I’ll be sure to post the final product on Twitter when that time comes. I can’t believe that I only have 5 months left!! It’s really a bittersweet feeling. I reallyyyyy love being in New York, but I can’t wait to get back into my field and be working towards my long term goals as a pastry chef/ entrepreneur.

I’m not a party person, but I LOVE live music and singing so I have been going to some open mic nights at the Village Underground on Sunday nights. I just love the atmosphere and it helps take my mind off of everything going on just for a few hours. Along with cooking/baking, music is my therapy and I couldn’t imagine life without it.

I’ve also reconnected with someone who has become very special in my life.
(Enough of the mushy stuff lol) Needless to say, life is great and once again I have to thank everyone that is involved with the Chefs Move! program. I definitely don’t take this opportunity for granted and I intend to make you guys so very proud in the future.

Till next time guys! Don’t stop dreaming!

Hola! Me llamo Chris y este es mi blog de marzo. Translation: Hello my name is Chris and this is my March blog. Si senor, Spanish 101 is officially in effect. Learning Spanish (the language of love) has been a long time goal that I always wanted to accomplish; and my roommate Eli is helping me kick start that by teaching me the basics. These past two weeks have been fun, Eli has been drilling different words and phrases into my head every day. I mean seriously people we have been going through everything from how to count (Uno, dos, tres), how to say wassup (Que Pasa), how to greet a beautiful lady (Hola bonita), How to say curse words (……….) It’s weird however, though I always wanted to learn the language, it seems as though since moving to NY, learning Spanish went from being a future hobby in my free time, to almost a priority. As far as diversity goes in America, New York City is really stirring that “melting pot”. In NYC you’re bound to run into different ethnicities of people that either speak more than just english, or don’t even speak it at all. Spanish people aren’t the only ones speaking Spanish; Caucasian and African-Americans aren’t just speaking English; Everyone speaks a bit of everything in NY which I find amazing.

Other than learning Spanish I’ve also been cooking (duh). School has been dope as of late. OH WAIT, forgot to mention that I’m now in level 4 of the culinary program at ICC. To pass from level 3 to level 4 I had to take my mid-term. So the way that it worked was I moonwalked into class at 5:45 p.m., and chef made me draw from a hat. In that hat contained two different recipes either Pot au Feu and Salad Nicoise, or Skate fish and Apple tart. So not only did I not know what dish I was going to get prior to class, but I also didn’t know what time I was going to have to present these dishes also. So I ended up getting the fish and apple tart (much harder by the way) and I had to present the fish by 8:45 and the dessert by 9:37 to judges, former alumni of ICC. So how was it? Exciting! The entire experience of trying to rush and meet the deadline without missing a single component and still making sure to season and taste your food was so much fun. I definitely won’t say it was easy, nor would I say the judges thought my food was perfect because for one I forgot my lemon supremes on my fish  Although I made up for that big time because two of the judges said I had the best apple tart in the class (nodding at Calvin). And level 4 is family meal so basically we are cooking for the entire school staff along with the students.

Umm let me think, what else happened? Work at Ai Fiori is going really good. Chef PJ is still one of the coolest chefs that I ever met, and my sous chef Gordon is always having my laughing at his sporadic 2 chainz rap quotes at random times of the night (“Yea it’s going down so get up, I might valet park a brinks truck”) . My grandmother and the rest of the gang in New Orleans is doing just fine also. Well people I guess its time to “hit that old dusty trail people” talk to you guys next month!

BUENAS NOCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m trying my best to learn something new each and every day. I’ve also started working on ideas for my business. I can’t wait until I can share it not only with New Orleans, but with the world. Through this experience I’m actually gaining back the confidence that I had so long ago. It’s really a great feeling.

P.S – I miss you guys sooooooo much and I can’t wait to see everyone again.

So what should I talk about first? Oh yea, New Orleans Hornets vs. New York Knicks. Yup! I went to my first Knicks game, (Thanks again Jessica) and it was awesome. Madison Square Garden was vibrant and exciting, and though my Hornets lost I still had a darn good time. We hung in there in the first half, however once Melo got hot it was way too much for my “soon to be” Pelicans to withstand. Basketball has always been my favorite sport, and to be fortunate to watch a great team with all sorts of history as the Knicks play in person at MSG, that is an experience and a memory that I’ll cherish forever.

As usual school has been super exciting also. I’m now officially in Level 3 of the culinary program at ICC. In this level, we are given a set of recipes and are assigned stations. Depending on what station I’m on, I’ll have to make that assigned dish (4 plates) and it will be critiqued at the end of the class by chef. The best dishes get put on display at the end of the class to show students how the dish is supposed to look and taste. I get so tired of chef putting my food on display, I be like “ yo chef come on man not today you’re embarrassing me”. chef be like “but it’s like so perfect ya know” and I be like “It’s nothing to a boss chef”

I’ll be totally honest about something also, this cold ain’t the only sickness that I’ve been having to deal with. As awesome as New York has been to me over the past few months, I’ve been missing N.O. like crazy. Missing hanging out with my friends uptown, missing catching that Broad bus to go downtown (transfer to the streetcar), missing the food, missing my old job at Cafe Adelaide, heck I even miss the smell of Bourbon street walking home at night, (on second thought) And of course on top of everything I miss my grandmother and the rest of family the most. However I realize that I’m only here for a few, and have been blessed with an amazing opportunity so I can hold for a while longer and continue to pray for everyone back home.

Well once again my brothas and sistas! It’s been real but I gotta hit that old dusty trail……

Good Night People, and talk to you next month!!!………….. “HA CHU” “HA CHU”!!!!