Monday Meditations with Wine – 4/25/22 Ike Hartford & Rico Lewis Posted on April 22, 2022 by brandis In the month of April Chuck is featuring chefs from the south. Bringing attention to movers and shakers in the culinary and hospitality world. Monday Meditations with Wine provides a behind-the-curtains look at the rich and diverse culinary, beverage, and hospitality professionals and culture in the South. As Chuck wraps up his chef month on Monday Meditations with Wine, he will be interviewing two of BRAVO!’s very own Isaiah “Ike” Hartford and Ricardo “Rico” Lewis. Ricardo “Rico” Lewis and Isaiah “Ike” Hartford are two tenured chefs with the Mangia Bene Restaurant Group. With collective 27 years of experience with the esteemed hospitality group. Their roots run even deeper than cooking in the south. With family ties to tradition and history and techniques are tried and true. Guests of BRAVO! have likely been privy to enjoy the culinary stylings of these gentlemen over the years as their dishes are the most requested by our neighbors and friends. Be sure to check in on Monday to learn more about two of BRAVO!’s favorite chefs. So, tune in this Monday and catch Hunter Evans on Monday Meditations with Wine on Facebook Live at 6 PM. Watch Live on BRAVO!’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BRAVOBuzz « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
Monday Meditations with Wine – 4/18/22 Zacchaeus Golden Posted on April 14, 2022April 15, 2022 by brandis RESCHEDULED FROM APRIL 4, 2022. On this week’s episode of Monday Meditations with Wine, Chuck will have special guest restaurant owner and executive chef Zacchaeus Golden. Golden, who is originally from the Mississippi Delta moved back to Mississippi after working his way through some of the top restaurants in New Orleans and San Francisco, such as The French Laundry, Coi, The Inn at Little Washington, Shaya, and many more! Golden has also received his associate’s degree in culinary arts from Bishop State Community College. Golden has an unrelenting passion for culinary arts. His style of cuisine is very southern-inspired focusing heavily on the origins of the ingredients and the techniques in which they are prepared. He also likes to utilize modern cooking techniques and plating styles. When the COVID pandemic hit Golden was laid off from his job, allowing Golden to begin hosting pop-up dinners at his duplex in Jackson. The positive response to his popup dinners showed him that a tasting-menu-only restaurant could work in Jackson, and in August of 2020, he was able to make his dream of owning his own restaurant come to life – Southern Soingé. Golden describes Southern Soingém as a guestaurant, just another name for a micro restaurant, which is a small, intimate setting where the chef delivers a more personalized experience with things like insight on how a dish is prepared or ingredient origins. Think of it like a dinner party thrown by a chef that has trained in some of the country’s top restaurants. Southern Soigné operates in a residential duplex on a quiet, tree-lined street in the historic Belhaven neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi. Here, chef Zacchaeus Golden serves elaborate multi-course meals to an intimate crowd. Watch Live on BRAVO’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRAVOBuzz You can find out more about Zacchaeus Golden below: Links: https://www.clarionledger.com/picture-gallery/news/2022/03/11/chef-zacchaeus-golden-elevated-southern-cuisine-intimate-dining-southern-soigne-jackson/9447028002/ https://southernsoigness.com/ https://www.visitjackson.com/directory/southern-soigne/ https://meetachef.com/care/i-would-love-nothing-more-than-to-lead-a-high-level-culinary-team-whos-main-focus-is-produce-great-southern-style-cuisine-chef-mobile-al https://www.southernkitchen.com/story/travel/2022/03/11/these-5-southern-restaurants-switched-tasting-menus-heres-why/9375132002/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacchaeus.golden.5 Instagram: @zacchaeusgolden « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
Monday Meditations with Wine – 4/11/22 Hunter Evans Posted on April 8, 2022April 12, 2022 by brandis In the month of April Chuck is featuring chefs from the south. Bringing attention to movers and shakers in the culinary and hospitality world. Monday Meditations with Wine provides a behind-the-curtains look at the rich and diverse culinary, beverage, and hospitality professionals and culture in the South. On the next episode of Monday Meditations with Wine, Chuck will be interviewing the executive chef/owner of all-day café Elvie’s located in the Belhaven Town Center. Hunter is a Jackson hometown boy who went to culinary school and cut his teeth in kitchens around New York City before returning home in 2015. Like many others of his generation, it took leaving to bring out his appreciation for where he grew up. “Getting rooted in Southern food and moving away made me miss it,” but when Hunter came back to Mississippi to cook, he wanted to showcase the South differently. After Hunter graduated from Jackson Academy in 2008, he went on to the University of Mississippi, where he received a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management in 2012. He then moved to New York and enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, completing his associate degree in culinary arts in 2014. While working towards his associate degree, he staged at restaurants like Le Bernardin, Café Boulud, and other notable New York restaurants. While working for Danny Meyer at North End Grill, New York Times food critic Pete Wells wrote a glowing review for the restaurant. In May 2015 Hunter moved back to Jackson, Mississippi with the intent to marry his now-wife, Mary Kathryn. He began working at Lou’s Full Serv in the Belhaven Neighborhood of Jackson in June of 2015. Within a year, he was promoted to Sous chef and eventually took to the role of Chef de Cuisine. In July 2019 Hunter took part and was crowned the King of Mississippi Seafood at the 16th Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off in Louisiana, which is sponsored by Louisiana Seafood and the James Beard Foundation. In January 2020 Hunter opened his first restaurant, Elvie’s. Elvie’s offers a modern take on classic French cuisine through the lenses of southern ingredients and traditions providing an intimate and unique experience for the guests. Hunter has enjoyed forging a network of relationships with the Mississippi farmers where he showcases the beautiful ingredients at Elvie’s. Elvie’s which is named for his late grandmother Elvie Good is indeed a divergent from the general restaurant scene in Jackson, which leans toward classic, comforting, heavier Southern food. It’s no surprise he faced some skepticism before opening Elvie’s doors in January 2020, weeks before the pandemic began. Hunter went so far as to say he was creating a restaurant that would make people feel like they weren’t in Jackson, introducing concepts such as a natural wine list, seven-course tasting menu, and even escargot (yep, snails). But the irony of this big-city-in-a-small-town philosophy is that at its essence, Elive’s provides the ultimate sense of place through the plate. So, tune in this Monday and catch Hunter Evans on Monday Meditations with Wine on Facebook Live at 6 PM. Watch Live on BRAVO!’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BRAVOBuzz Watch the replay: You can read more about Hunter Evans at the following Links: https://www.elviesrestaurant.com/ https://www.northsidesun.com/front-page-slideshow-news-features/hunter-evans-chef-de-cuisine#sthash.ZRoMmamh.dpbs Travel by Tastebuds: Elvie’s in Jackson Hunter Evans https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/oct/01/hunter-evans/ How One Mississippi Chef Makes Farmers the Star of the Show at Upscale Elvie’s Restaurant « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
Monday Meditations with Wine – 3/28/22 Alden McInnis Posted on March 24, 2022 by brandis Monday Meditations with Wine is a weekly live interview session on BRAVO!’s Facebook page highlighting hospitality, culinary, and beverage industry professionals from the American South. This weekly series is meant to shine a light on the enthusiastic, passionate, professionals in the south blazing trails in their respective fields. We are telling the stories of the south’s brightest in the hospitality industry. On Monday’s episode, Chuck will be interviewing Alden McInnis. Alden McInnis is a young sommelier with an acute passion for the vine. She is one of the brightest young wine professionals in Mississippi. Her journey has recently begun as an introductory sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and is receiving mentorship from Catherine Miles of the esteemed wine importer group, The Sorting Table. She is an attendee at TexSom the largest and most diverse wine conference/trade show in the US. Her enthusiasm for wine is endearing and she is one of the youngest stars in the industry is seeing today. She will be working with June Rodil MS and her Goodnight Hospitality group this year receiving world-class training and getting exposure as the beacon of light that she is. She is currently a sommelier at James Beard Award winning Chef John Currence City Grocery in Oxford, MS as one of the key representatives for our Mississippi wine community, Alden is writing a new page in our Southern wine journal. Watch on BRAVO!’s Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/BRAVOBuzz « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
Monday Meditations with Wine – 3/7/22 Bobbie Burgess Posted on March 3, 2022March 9, 2022 by brandis Monday Meditations with Wine is a weekly live interview session on BRAVO!’s Facebook page highlighting hospitality, culinary, and beverage industry professionals from the American South. This weekly series is meant to shine a light on the enthusiastic, passionate, professionals in the south blazing trails in their respective fields. We are telling the stories of the south’s brightest in the hospitality industry. So, grab your favorite glass of wine and experience southern hospitality from your living room, office, dorm room, or where ever you please every Monday at 6 PM CST. On this week’s episode, Chuck will be interviewing Bobbie Burgess. Bobbie Burgess, became the Wine Director and Social Media Marketer for EAT LOCAL STARKVILLE three short years ago, after working as a bartender at Restaurant Tyler and The Guest Room in Starkville, Mississippi. She currently runs four very different and unique wine programs, does restaurant consulting, and is the host of UnCorked with WCBI which currently airs on local news channels in parts of three states. In 2018 she was named Starkville, Mississippi’s Rising Star Under 35. She passed her Certified Sommelier exam on February 27th, 2020. On March 30th, 2021 Bobbie became a Certified Specialist of Wine through the Society of Wine Educators. She is currently studying for her Certified Wine Educator exam through the Society of Wine Educators and her Advanced Sommelier Exam through the Court of Master Sommeliers of America. She has also built a virtual tasting group with sommeliers studying across the south and is dedicated to expanding resources for sommeliers studying in desolate regions across the US. Watch the Facebook Live replay: « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »