In the Chef's Corner with Chris Hascall

In the Chef's Corner with Chris Hascall, Executive Chef
Blue Pointe Grille at Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel   Written by Rochelle Bilow

Chris Hascall knows a thing or two about the restaurant business. Having been a chef for over 24 years, he knows the culinary scene inside and out.

He currently works as the Executive Chef of the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel, a picturesque place to stay right in the heart of Finger Lakes wine country, but his beginnings were a little more humble. He began his culinary career as a dishwasher at a country club and worked his way up the ladder.

Before coming to the Harbor Hotel in 2008, he worked as the chef at Street and Co., Harraseeket Inn and Fore St. in Portland, ME.

In addition to cooking a diverse menu that speaks in luxurious flavors with a clean finish, Hascall is an expert ice and snow carver, ensuring that his meals always have one eye on the aesthetic and are sure to impress.

His current dinner menu is a clever blend of current trends, like quinoa stuffed eggplant and braised pork shank, and classic favorites, like lobster cobb salad and grilled sirloin steak.

The wine list at the Harbor Hotel is as attractive as the amenities themselves, featuring local product and spanning everything from Finger Lakes sparklers to sweet dessert ice wines. Local diners in the know are surely looking forward to tasting what Hascall serves up alongside the region’s best glasses.


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Menu | Coming soon!
Reservations607-535-6116

The Copper Oven ~ food, wine and style

Editor's note:  The Copper Oven at Cayuga Ridge Winery on Cayuga Lake has quickly developed  a name for itself within the food community in the Finger Lakes.  Last year they created the hugely popular "Drink Finger Lakes Wine" t-shirt and just yesterday released a photo of their new placement menu that caught our attention and prompted this interview with owner, Mary Jane Challen.  The Copper Oven is one of fifteen restaurants participating in the Finger Lakes Wine Country Restaurant Week, June 18-24. 

Mary Jane, Seth, and Graham Challen of The Copper Oven

Over the last couple years, you have really been able to generate a lot of buzz from foodie and wine lovers alike with your “copper oven” concept. Can you tell us more about The Copper Oven. How did you come up with the idea and what your food mission is?


The Copper Oven came as a result of a conversation we had one day about a wood fired sauna (that we still have yet to build) in our backyard. I said to Seth, “You can have your wood fired sauna as soon as I get a wood fired oven.” One thing led to another, until we found ourselves talking about a wood fired pizza business connected to my family’s business, Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery.

In the process, we did a bunch of research, traveled to a few places to test ovens and eventually fell in love with the one we purchased. The core of our 6,000 pound Le Panyol oven is made up of “Terre Blanche” (White Earth), a kaolinic clay that has been specially harvested in France since 1840 for the many special properties that make it ideal for wood fired cooking.

Over the years we have travelled to various places around the world, and the meals that always speak to us are the ones made from the freshest ingredients, using the most local produce. At The Copper Oven we strive to tell the story of the cornucopia of flavours available in the Finger Lakes. We want our guests to feel a sense of community when they visit. I think the reason we capture such a vibrant response from food & wine lovers is that they can truly feel our commitment to the Finger Lakes region.

The food mission at The Copper Oven comes from my main influences – my mom and dad. From my dad I learned a love of growing things. We put together a large garden each year and many of these vegetables make beautiful pizza toppings. And from my mom I learned a love of cooking. Rustic, family style meals were always served in our home growing up. Seth and I feel very lucky to be part of the family business and to use it as an opportunity to connect to the people who grow the ingredients we use and to the people who visit us as customers.

Photo credit:  Brooke McConnell of Hudson Photography

In addition to locally sourced food and wine, you have an amazing design aesthetic. Tell us a little of the story behind the graphic design, especially the idea for the new menu.

We really have to give credit to my sister and our graphic designer, Katie Challen and to a couple of artists that we’ve been lucky to work with. Everything that we do from a design perspective has been inspired by an ongoing appreciation for this thing that is happening throughout the Finger Lakes region, that is much bigger than we are, and that being in business allows us to participate in.

For example, the centerpiece of the placemat/menu that we’ll use for the 2012 season is part of a piece of art that we commissioned Alyson Thomas to create for us. You’ve probably seen Alyson’s work before if you’ve visited a Williams-Sonoma in the last year or so and come across a book on their shelves titled, The Cook and The Butcher. Just like what she did in the book, Alyson is known for these amazing butchery diagrams of all kinds of funny things including dogs, pigs, pizzas, coffee and cocktails (see www.drywellart.com for more info). The piece Alyson created for us is essentially a butchery diagram of our pizza. The art itself is beautiful and zany and entirely conveys who we are and how we are connected to this “something bigger” that’s happening in the Finger Lakes region.

And that’s exactly where my sister Katie comes in. We give her very loose instructions about what we are looking for and she comes back to us with stuff that is out of this world. In fact, already we’ve had customers ask for extra placemats so that they can take them home. Katie is also responsible for our advertisements in Edible Finger Lakes magazine. She created the website for our family’s winery as well.

The last integral member of our motley design crew is my husband, Seth. He created The Copper Oven’s website. He also designs the postcards we give each table at the end of their meal. He comes up with our t-shirts ideas each year as well.

In the Chef's Corner with John McNabb

John McNabb, Vineyard Restaurant

In the Chef’s Corner with John McNabb
Executive Chef at the Vineyard Restaurant, Knapp VineyardsWritten by Rochelle Bilow

The Vineyard Restaurant at Knapp Vineyards on Cayuga Lake is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year - and it looks great for its age. Originally able to seat 40 diners, the space now has room for 56 seats indoors, as well as an additional 60 on the patio outside. The restaurant is open seasonally, offering its last service the first week in December, then opening back up for regular lunch and special wine dinners in the spring.

The kitchen is run by John McNabb, an Auburn native who attended Le Cordon Bleu in Pennsylvania and worked at The Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Florida, before making the move back to the Finger Lakes in 2005. Citing proximity to family and refuge from hurricane season, it’s a move that McNabb feels good about. He’s been cooking at the Vineyard Restaurant since 2007, and estimates that the menu is, at any given time, already comprised of 65-70% local ingredients.

“The locavore movement is real, and it has been critical to the success of restaurants in the Finger Lakes,” he says. The menu changes with each season and is sure to cite ingredients that are locally-sourced, like tender greens and lamb.

McNabb is classically trained, but insists that his style of cooking involves “embracing technique and throwing rules out the window” in favor of unique, “eclectic” food.

He’s looking forward to rising to the challenge of a 100% locally-derived menu, and has no qualms about making it happen. “Every [food product] in the Finger Lakes is fantastic,” he says. “We already work our menus around what’s available, what’s fresh and what’s great.”
Website 
Menu | Coming soon!
Reservations
800-869-9271

Editor's note: Over the next few weeks we are going to tell the stories of the chefs and restaurants participating in the Finger Lakes Wine Country Restaurant Week Challenge, June 18-24. Some of the chefs have had surprising entry points into the culinary scene in the Finger Lakes. For others, their paths were more planned, more part of a master plan. For all however, the common theme is their passion and commitment to the food movement in the Finger Lakes. Help us celebrate their commitment to sourcing 100% local ingredients and wines during this special week and may Restaurant Week become Restaurant Year.

Dinosaur Bar-b-que is Featured Partner at Keuka Lake Wine Trail's Barbecue at the Wineries

The Keuka Lake Wine Trail invites visitors to celebrate the beginning of summer with Barbecue at the Wineries. Enjoy this ever popular food and wine event on your choice of two weekends, June 9-10 or June 23-24, 2012. As a new addition to the event, each of the eight participating wineries will use a different Dinosaur Bar-B-Que sauce or rub in the food served. From Cabernet Franc to Riesling, ticket holders will have fun exploring how well local wines complement mouth-watering barbecue and summer side dishes. Weekend tickets and Sunday Only tickets are available for this self-guided tour around beautiful Keuka Lake, which includes wine tasting matched with food samples and a souvenir wine glass. Event hours are Saturday 10 a.m. to 5p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

"The Keuka Lake Wine Trail has a fantastic range of wines with some impressive member wineries. We're looking forward to seeing how the wineries creatively use our award-winning sauce collection...what a scenic place to visit for enjoying the flavors of barbecue and refreshing wines!” says Emily Launt, Syracuse Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Catering Manager. A selection of the food served will include pulled pork sliders, Southern-style potato salad with Cajun Foreplay Spice, smoke beef brisket with Wango Tango sauce, and roasted mojito chicken with dirty rice.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.keukawinetrail.com, by phone 800.440.4898, or at any Wegmans customer service desk.  Weekend tickets are $25 per person and Sunday Only tickets are $19 per person.  Designated driver tickets are available at a $5.00 discount. Large groups should contact the Wine Trail office to confirm their itinerary prior to booking through a transportation company. To receive the latest event updates and previews, find the Keuka Lake Wine Trail on Facebook.

Established in 1985, the Keuka Lake Wine Trail aims to provide a high-quality, lively experience where guests will feel excited by the food, wine and scenery and stimulated by the conversation. Member wineries include: Heron Hill Winery; Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars; Stever Hill Vineyards; Hunt Country Vineyards; Keuka Spring Vineyards; Barrington Cellars; McGregor Vineyard Winery; and Ravines Wine Cellars.

In the Chef's Corner with Orlando Rodriquez

Editor's note: Over the next few weeks we are going to tell the stories of the chefs and restaurants participating in the Finger Lakes Wine Country Restaurant Week Challenge, June 18-24. Some of the chefs have had surprising entry points into the culinary scene in the Finger Lakes. For others, their paths were more planned, more part of a master plan. For all however, the common theme is their passion and commitment to the food movement in the Finger Lakes. Help us celebrate their commitment to sourcing 100% local ingredients and wines during this special week and may Restaurant Week become Restaurant Year.

In the Chef’s Corner with Orlando Rodriquez
Executive Chef at The Inn at Glenora Wine Cellars
Written by Rochelle Bilow

Orlando Rodriquez

Veraisons at the Inn at Glenora Wine Cellars and Executive Chef Orlando Rodriguez are a match made in foodie heaven. The gorgeous dining room and terrace champion farm-fresh local ingredients and, lucky for wine-savvy diners, so does Rodriguez.

“[When I started cooking professionally] we would change our menu every day depending on what farms brought. That’s just the way I did it,” says Rodriguez, speaking of his start as a chef.

He has been working as Veraisons’ Executive Chef for five years, but before that he worked at both tavern and fine dining-style restaurants in Connecticut. Prior to that, he earned an Associate’s Culinary Degree and a Bachelor’s in Restaurant Management, both from the Culinary Institute of America.

Rodriguez began cooking at a much earlier age, though, in his father’s restaurant. He was a part of the operation as early as age 12, and when he hit high school, he knew that his childhood passion was destined to become a career. “My mother says I would pull out pots and pans and pretend to cook,” he says. “I don’t remember it, but maybe that’s where I got my start. Food has always been my passion.”

He moved to the Finger Lakes with his wife and children to work at Glenora, where the menu changes quarterly, boasting local and seasonal ingredients like Lively Run goat cheese, ramps and pea shoots in the spring. Diners can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner at Veraisons, taking note on the menu of the growers that provide each ingredient, like Cornish game hens from Autumn Harvest Farm. The restaurant is offering both lunch and dinner specials with optional wine pairings for the Finger Lakes Wine Country Restaurant Week Challenge.

Restaurant Week-goers can expect great things from Rodriguez and Veraisons. “I’ve done local before,” he says, “but there are a lot more products here in the Finger Lakes than I’m used to having access to. We have dairy, meat and produce; every day I’m finding something new. It’s great to cook here.”

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Menu
Reservations 
800-243-5513

The Café at Heron Hill Winery's Keuka Lake location opens May 18

Heron Hill Winery will re-open the popular Blue Heron Café on Friday, May 18, 2012. With panoramic views of rolling vineyards and beautiful Keuka Lake, the Café and outdoor terrace provide one of the best settings in the Finger Lakes region for savoring local wine and fresh food in a casual afternoon atmosphere. The Café opens initially Friday through Monday, regular summer hours will extend Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Menu items range in price from $3 to $12 with satisfying options like paninis, wraps, flat bread pizza, appetizers, salads, a variety of beverages and even children’s meals.

“We take great pride in using only high-quality ingredients, produce is often organically farmed and many products are sourced locally. The style of the menu will remain consistent with last year,” says Mike Oliver, Café Director. “Overall the menu offers flavorful fare and healthy choices to please everyone…always best enjoyed with our suggested wine pairings.” The Blue Heron Café also has a group menu available to bus tours and large groups. For convenience all groups are required to order in advance, a group menu is available by contacting the Blue Heron Café or on the Heron Hill Winery website.

Beginning in July, the sounds of live music fill the Blue Heron Café Terrace every Sunday afternoon through the summer. Sunday visitors are encouraged to sip, eat, relax and enjoy free live music by a rotating mix of talented area musicians. To learn about fresh-picked weekend specials and the latest Sunday music updates, ‘like’ the Blue Heron Café on Facebook: Facebook.com/BlueHeronCafe.

Heron Hill Winery was chosen as one of the ten most spectacular tasting rooms in the world by Travel + Leisure! For over 30 years Heron Hill Winery has grown cold-climate Riesling and Chardonnay grapes and made elegant world-class wines on a slate hill overlooking scenic Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region of western New York. The magnificent vaulted Tasting Hall overlooking vineyards and Keuka Lakes provides a beautiful backdrop for tasting our full portfolio of wine including Rieslings, Chardonnays, Vinifera reds and our popular Eclipse Series. The Gift Shop specializes in handcrafted gift items and works by local artisans, as well as locally produced food products and quality wine accessories. Heron Hill Winery on Keuka Lake also hosts weddings and events.

Damiani Wine Cellars on the east side of Seneca Lake, announced two new wine classes:



Register online now.

In the Chef’s Corner with Suzanne Stack, Executive Chef at Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine

Editor's note: Over the next few weeks we are going to tell the stories of the chefs and restaurants participating in the Finger Lakes Wine Country Restaurant Week Challenge, June 18-24. Some of the chefs have had surprising entry points into the culinary scene in the Finger Lakes. For others, their paths were more planned, more part of a master plan. For all however, the common theme is their passion and commitment to the food movement in the Finger Lakes. Help us celebrate their commitment to sourcing 100% local ingredients and wines during this special week and may Restaurant Week become Restaurant Year.

In the Chef’s Corner with Suzanne Stack
Executive Chef at Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine
Written by Rochelle Bilow

Suzanne and Bob Stack

Before opening Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine on the east side of Seneca Lake, Suzanne Stack had all but conquered the culinary world. Having worked in catering and teaching both college and adult culinary classes, she knew food inside-out. She resided in New Jersey for 25 years with her husband, Bob, where she had carved out a successful career in professional catering. She also worked with Macy’s to make their chef demonstrations run smoothly, eventually giving some of her own.

Ten years ago this August, the couple rented a house in the Finger Lakes to relax and recharge after a busy season. It was then they stumbled across a beautiful old house for sale on Seneca. “When I walked into that main room I began to cry,” Stack says. “And I just knew.” They purchased the property three months later and, eight months later, Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine took the Finger Lakes Culinary world by storm.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Stack says with a laugh, referring to the frustrating yet rewarding world of restaurant ownership. “Bob and I learned how to operate a restaurant together - and we’re still learning.” Local and visiting diners may disagree, however - eating at Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine makes one feel pretty confident that the pair knows already exactly what they’re doing.

Open seasonally - the restaurant closes in the winter months - “Suzanne” is a restaurant for special nights and impeccable food. The menu hints at classic French technique while making use of the region’s bountiful produce, dairy and meat. Diners can sip Finger Lakes wines with their meal, choosing from over 90 selections. An optional wine pairing will be offered during the Restaurant Week challenge, as well.

“The 100% local challenge is actually quite easy,” Stack says, “because we have so many farmers in our backyard. It’s great to do farm-to-table and be sustainable.”

Having learned to cook from her mother, Stack knows a thing or two about what makes good food great: “It is so important to eat well,” she says. “It makes you feel truly nourished.”

Website

Menu

Reservations

697-582-7545

In the Chef’s Corner with Brud Holland, Executive Chef at the Red Newt Bistro

Editor's note:  Over the next few weeks we are going to tell the stories of the chefs and restaurants participating in the Finger Lakes Wine Country Restaurant Week Challenge, June 18-24.  Some of the chefs have had surprising entry points into the culinary scene in the Finger Lakes.  For others, their paths were more planned, more part of a master plan.  For all however, the common theme is their passion and commitment to the food movement in the Finger Lakes.  Help us celebrate their commitment to sourcing 100% local ingredients and wines during this special week and may Restaurant Week become Restaurant Year.

In the Chef’s Corner with Brud Holland, Chef at the Red Newt Bistro
Written by Rochelle Bilow

Brud Holland in the kitchen at Red Newt Bistro. 

Often referred to affectionately as the “mad scientist” of the Finger Lakes culinary world, Brud Holland is always cooking up new ideas in the kitchen. Whether its bread made from spent grains, tortillas branded with a sizzling hot newt-shaped iron or to-go lunch boxes for wine trail guests, the Executive Chef of the Red Newt Bistro in Hector on Seneca Lake isn’t content unless his creativity is flowing.

And that’s a good thing, because Red Newt is known for being a little bit quirky-creative itself. Owned by Winemaker Dave Whiting, Red Newt Winery and Bistro has been promoting local wine and seasonal eating since long before they were buzzwords. Original Bistro Owner and Chef Debra Whiting created a restaurant that championed locally-sourced products that perfectly complemented the winery’s wide range of aromatic white and complex red wines.

Holland, a friend and chef with a similar vision, took over the bistro in summer of 2011, and the bistro has continued to be a leader in the region for the use of responsible ingredient usage.

Holland’s has a background in restaurant cooking and culinary education - he also teaches classes at 171 Cedar Arts in Corning - make him hyper-aware to what people really want to eat, so diners at the “Newt,” as it’s known among locals, can expect mouth-watering flavor combinations with personal and creative touches. A French onion soup, for example, appeared on a recent menu, topped with a mini brioche roll in the shape of - you guessed it - a newt.

And although he’s sure to have fun with the Restaurant Week Challenge, Holland takes the task seriously. “When you think about 100% local, that means more than just the center of the plate. Local pork is good, but 100% means everything from spices to sweetener.”

That also means things like Spanish saffron and sugar are off-limits, but lucky for Holland, the Finger Lakes has a wealth of flavorful herbs and produce, as well as local maple syrup and honey. Lucky for restaurant week diners, he’s more than up to the challenge.

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Menu 
Reservations
607-546-4100