Jamie Oliver came to Huntington, and Jamie Oliver left Huntington. Newspapers, TV shows, magazines and all sorts of buzz has been created because of his visit. Not much has affected what the locals do every day. Life it seems has not changed. And yet, the world outside of WV, might believe that Jamie changed WV, or at the very least Huntington, and what kids eat there now. Think again. We are in Huntington and we are not seeing, tasting or feeling any change. But that said, this evening, we tasted, felt, and saw, change happening - in fact being lived in Huntington whilst at dinner at Huntington Prime. A change that began even before Jamie's TV appearance from Huntington aired. That change was the brainchild of another chef, Michael Bowe. Jamie has brought center stage the dialog we MUST have on what is parsed of as food at schools across America, and for that we are grateful to Jamie. And chef Michael is hopefully giving at least some parents in Huntington a new option for dining, where food is fresh, real, clean (yes food can be dirty, when laced with additives, chemicals, preservatives and who knows what else) and from this planet.
Michael Bowe, CCC (Certified Chef de Cuisine), is from Glasgow, WV. From the CIA, to Louisiana and now to Huntington, the chef is a native boy, on a noble mission. A mission that comes from the depth of his heart, the calling of his brain, and luckily for us, finds delicious translation through his able hands into food that will certainly create change if change is possible, in how and what West Virginians, the other 49 states and of course the people of Huntington eat.
The first signs of some hope were the fresh flowers, the simple clean shakers of salt and pepper, and the glasses of wine set on the table. Also the utter simplicity (well utterly simple at least for WV, where Bob Evans, Applebees and other such chains rule) of the space was telling of the food we could expect. And a statement about the taste, sensibilities and thinking of the proprietors.
Spinach and Onion Pizza, was ordered by us as a starter with Vegetable Tempura. The tempura looked so good (especially after the horrible version we ate at HIbachi Grill) that I was unable to photograph it before it was devoured by us. The pizza was surprisingly tasty. Well I should not say I was surprised. Since after meeting the chef, it makes sense that his food have good honest flavor. But I come to pizzas with a very puritan place. For me pizza is sacred. And the less people play with it, the better the potential for it charming me. Reading the menu, I was not sure I would love the pizza. But we loved it. The crust could be improved. Made a tad more delicate and supple, less crisp, more flaccid (can you imagine me asking for that? But good pizza should have that perfect balance between chewy, crisp, soggy and supple) and soggy. The flavor was terrific. I wish I was hungry, I could have eaten all of it myself.
The chrysanthemums in the simple glass vases with pebbles at the base, the ice water given casually without any ceremony, as if to say this is how water ought to have always been given, was another sign that gave us comfort in having made a good choice tonight. Our trips to WV, as many other states and smaller towns, not often lead to great culinary discoveries. Rather, they are fraught with the challenge of putting on a facade of feeling sated, feeling happy about our dinner, and thanking those we dine with, or those that take us to the restaurants about having given us a memorable experience. It has become part and parcel of living and dining in Small Town USA or what some call Hometown USA.
Brisket (cooked for 14 hours) was advertised on the menu as fork-tender, and it was that and beyond. Served with kale cooked with bacon and onions and fried mac-n-cheese. Grandma Hayes does not like Kale, and wanted baked potato instead. I wonder if Jamie thought he could change people like her, the natives of Huntington, and if the national media truly believes that change has happened? It has not. Grandma was able to get her way, get two starches with the brisket. She seemed very happy.
Mother Burd (Charlie's mom) ordered the prime rib and got it with baked potato and green beans. Loved it and found the beans just perfectly cooked. The potatoes were so beautiful to look at. How I wish more baked potatoes had that elegance. I have NEVER been a fan of this American indulgence. In fact I ate my first and only one in Ithaca, at the home of my dear friend Gail Finan. It was tasty, and hers I enjoyed with a delicious sauce that accompanied a chicken dish she had prepared. I think it was that yummy sauce that made the baked potato edible for me.
Charlie ordered the West Virginian Trout, served alongside Kale with bacons and onions and what I found to be the most delicious roasted potatoes I have ever eaten in a restaurant. They were creamy, not too crisp, perfectly salted and far from oily or fussy.
My dish was the Potato and Onion Ravioli with the mushroom-cream sauce. Not a big fan of cream sauce with pasta, this dish was as good as any version of a creamy pasta dish I have ever eaten. With 88% Humidity, I cannot fathom indulging myself to a cream sauce, and so, I would be lying if I said I was smitten by it. But it was just fine and in fact true to its description.
The roasted potatoes, the asparagus and the mac-n-cheese were delicious and highlighted the attention to detail given by the chefs in the kitchen to each element they place atop the plates leaving their kitchens.
The customers and servers were excited being part of visible change unfurling this very moment in West Virginia. It was a change that permeate the food, the service standards and the aura of the restaurant. And was a change that the diner was able to fathom, embrace, accept and celebrate.
All one has to do is stand up, and at the corner of the bar, you can see your pizzas being made in front of the Woodstove oven by a chef. Made fresh, minutes before they come to your table. Can it get fresher?
The Soup & Salad Bar at the center of the restaurant, is a wonderful way in which the chef has created a change, that makes a change, and yet also gives the diners something they are so accustomed to wanting. But unlike those horrible salad bars that give the diners ingredients that have not been fresh for ages, but only seem fresh in name, the station here celebrated fresh and home-made. The dressings are home made, the greens local and simple, and the breads baked in house, and the soups simple and tasty. You can come feast on them and eat all you can and want for under 10 dollars. Or you can enjoy them in addition to what you order for a meal, for only $4. This is a bargain one should not miss.
West Virginian grandmothers, or shall I say the two that I know, are wonderful, brave, generous beyond measure, and independent and fierce - all at once. But I also see in them a little bit of what one finds across America - a disconnect between us and the planet at large. America being so huge, Americans seem to live as Americans, and often not even knowing diversity that exists within the country. This knowledge makes it is easy to forgive the xenophobia and parochial thinking that are part and parcel of so many otherwise exemplary lives. When I see Grandma Hayes enjoy something, I hope that it is something that the world at large can also enjoy. And when that happens, I know we have discovered something quite special, and something that has the potential to change lives. Grandma was smiling and was happy tonight. That appreciation, from a woman who represents what Jamie Oliver set out to change, is appreciation that is nothing Jamie could have hoped to incite. Jamie correctly has brought attention to what kids eat at school, and often what they eat all day (yes, many of our kids come from families where poverty or other constraints keep the care givers from being able to give a meal at home). And hopefully we will use what Jamie did as an honest exercise to ensure change is created and change is established. Not another moment of passing fluff in our history as a nation of rhetorical debates and news cycles, that come and go, without doing much. We would fail Jamie, and fail our kids, if we do not change radically how we eat, how we think of food, and how we ensure schools are not offering food that is really not food.
The appreciation, the amazement and the surprise I could see in the eyes of grandma was nothing Jamie set out to achieve. Rather, this is an appreciation that can only be found when you are presented with change that does not rob you of the comfort you expect to be part of your life and in this case, dining. And so, tonight, we salute chef Michael Bowe for what he has created and what he stands for.
It will be chefs like Jamie and chefs like Michael, each doing their bit, each inciting change and dialog at levels quite separate but also connected. It does not help the kids if schools begin feeding them correctly and at home, they are still fed garbage. We need a radical change around food, and that can only be created and sustained when at all levels of the food chain, we find real food. Of course in many diverse forms, tastes, looks and flavors.
Huntington Prime
(304) 697-1113
Huntington, WV 25701
www.huntingtonprime.com
PS: Jame knows a good thing when he sees it, or rather, his people know a good thing when they see it. Whilst his team was visiting Huntington after having filmed the show last year, they discovered Huntington Prime. Chef Bowe tells me that they were kind enough to take this restaurants story to Jamie and through him to USA Today and the Washington Post. Kudos again to Jamie and to Michael Bowe!
Ah be fair to Oliver Chef. He was attempting to shed light on the national epidemic of obese young people. What Chef Bowie is doing has nothing to do with what kids are ingesting on a daily basis.
Best,
D
Posted by: Anthonysgodfather | Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 11:18 PM
Thanks D, I have added more to the post. Please read again. Tell me if I make more sense. This is what happens when someone as mouthy/wordy as me tries to be concise. I fail.
Jamie's tryst with the media and obesity in children in America was necessary and quite important. And I think we all cannot thank him enough.
What it also speaks as much about is our nations obsession with mindless living. The media has been sleeping for the last several years as many in the food industry have been doing what Jamie brought to the fore, and yet, those soldiers of the obesity-fighting army, were either not media-friendly, or media-worthy or politically correct or who knows what, but the media not only has not helped their cause, but with the current buzz around this one city, perhaps they are still not helping the larger cause.
In the several parts of WV that we have traveled through and experienced dining at many levels of the food chain (from Applebees, to Huntington Prime), we have yet to see any real change take place. Of course Huntington Prime is a glaring exception. Sadly, the Bob Evans and the Applebees of the country are living just as they were a couple of months or years ago, and diners are still eating as if Jamie had never set foot in WV.
Buying razor blades at CVS in Huntington, I asked two sales clerks what they thought of Jamie Oliver and his bringing such amazing national attention to this town of theirs - want to know the answer? Neither of the two knew who Jamie was and what I was talking about. One of them was in her early 20s and the other in her late 40s or early 50s.
And so, I reiterate that change and pandemics such as obesity are not changed on TV, and by chefs visiting for a week or two. They are changed when locals work with locals and community elders and youth to create awareness and change that then is mirrored across the many different aspects of life around a community.
My point in this post was not at all to belittle Jamie, but to ensure we also highlight a local story that will create and actually has already in this case started (even if in a small way) the road to change.
And I disagree with your thinking that Chef Bowe has nothing to do with what kids ingest on a daily basis. Sadly, it is the elders that make or break the eating habits of kids. We are what we eat - and we (elders) make the kids who they are. They have us as their role models.
No amount of feeding correct in school could change how a kid eats. Unless of course the kid happens to be one of those that sadly only gets fed at school. And that is a media story that the media does nothing to talk about. It is not a story any American has the desire to appreciate, digest and act on. Poverty is here in America, and not only the reality of life in the third-world.
My nephew till age 7, ate EVERYTHING. Any thing and everything we adults around him would eat. Nothing was too scary, to "ewww" or bad. And then it all changed when he was just past 7, and he had spent around a year in school. Now he would come home, every few days with a new pronouncement about what he did not like anymore and why. As I asked him why he did not like a certain veggie, or a certain cuisine, he would say a friend of his called it "ewww" and also said his mommy or daddy thought is "sucked". Kids want to fit in, and kids want to be part of the A Team. If parents are not eating correctly, and eating a diverse diet, no matter what we do, our children will not be eating correct either.
The debate on the obesity pandemic is important to have nationally on TV and in the media, but the larger debate that must be sustained (it is already taking place in places of greater leverage, but just not getting picked up by the fickle media yet) is the conversation that grips the hearts, minds and attitudes of families every day and shapes how, where and when they eat.
Posted by: suvir saran | Friday, May 21, 2010 at 09:17 AM
Whew Chef, so much to consider! ;-)
What I meant about Chef Bowe, was that what the kids in his community are eating and what he is serving are miles apart.
I am very lucky to live in the San Francisco/Bay Area and have a wealth of sustainable agriculture/meat/poultry/sea food is quite astounding. Our farmers markets, hell even my Raley's Supermarket, is brimming over with an interesting variety of all of the above.
Back in the day, I can't believe I'm old enough to say that, my family sat down and ate dinner 6 nights a week regardless of the after school/work activities that 5 boys, two parents, one grandmother were involved in. Both of my parents and my mom's mom shared the responsibility of preparing wonderful food. We didn't eat twinkies, etc because my grandmother spent the day baking sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, brownies, cakes, etc...We knew how good we had it, believe me. When I went to pastry chef school I spent a good part of the time in a haze of grandmother memories.
We know why all of this is happening. I face the same kind of frustration in my profession....the parents of this generation of skaters really don't understand what it takes to be world class figure skater. That same generation started taking short cuts in all aspects of their lives due to two parents working, single parents raising children. Fast food companies lurking about like vultures found their entry and went for it.
So the David's, Suvir's AND Jamie's of the world will preach the gospel (and thousands of others - I can't believe the heat Alice Waters is getting these days, I digress) and we will continue to educate and enlighten many generations to come (my two passions food and skating, I'm a lucky man.)
D
Posted by: Anthonysgodfather | Friday, May 21, 2010 at 11:19 PM
David, I wrote a long response, and then lost it all to Redbox. Charlie decided I needed to look into renting a movie through Redbox, and so, I guess I entered that address onto my comment window. Now I am not even sure I will sound smart, if I attempt reacting again.
Maybe I can do it tomorrow, or later tonight.
You have given me much to ponder over, and react to. Thanks!
Suvir
Posted by: suvir saran | Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 07:00 PM
Years ago in the days of modems - remember those? Someone shared what he did - composed everything in Word (saving it periodically) and then cut and pasted it to where he wanted it.
I look forward to your reply.
D
PS: That youtube clip of you giving that reporter a hard time is hysterical. He just didn't get it. LOL
Posted by: Anthonysgodfather | Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 07:22 PM
What journalist? What youtube? Remind me please. Not sure what you are referencing. I am always giving a hard time to someone or another. Friends call me an imp.
Will reply I promise. Even tonight.
We are just sitting to dinner at home tonight (Charlie's mom and grandmas home) and eating Barilla Plus penne pasta made with cherry tomatoes and bacon. Of course some salad as well.
Modems?? Of course I remember those days. And I would only ever do work on word or claris emailer and then post after. Those were the days...
Posted by: suvir saran | Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 07:25 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l09TpgrB0m8
Posted by: Anthonysgodfather | Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 08:08 PM
David, the essence of what I had shared in the comment that got lost, was that America is where it is at, around obesity, because of the way Americans treat dining, eating at home, and what we consider food.
Your point about eating dinner together as a family, is at the very core of the obesity pandemic. It is the reason our kids, our youth and our elders are all obese. Across the different ages, people are eating kaka and eating it with pride.
To change how we eat, and what we eat, Americans would need to cook at home, cook using fresh ingredients and eat together as families, couples, friends or in whatever combination of the above.
If we cannot make time to eat, if we cannot make time to cook, and if we cannot make time or room to share our meals with loved ones, we are NEVER going to eat correctly or live happily.
You are what you eat - and it is never more true than today. Society is at a very low, at least here, in terms of knowledge, family values, societal peace and nurturing or caring amongst families. A lot of that has to do with parents not providing appropriately for kids, kids growing up and not providing for their parents or kids, and the cycle continues.
Sadly, when faced with challenges that require great amounts of our time, of our resources and our time management skills, Americans time and again show how savvy they are, and how gifted they are in manipulating any and everything to make time for that which they are wanting to make time for. What parents are not willing to carve out time for is a family meal. It is convenient for all parties that make up a family to eat by themselves. Parents get to work and eat, kids can do homework and eat, or watch TV and eat or drive and eat... or however else one can multitask and make eating part of another chore. It is this disrespect for food, for eating and for family time, that has led to obesity and also the increased visits to shrinks. In other communities where families dine together, a lot of the vagaries of day-to-day life get sorted through healthy and sometimes not too comfortable discussions at the table. The food acts as a social lubricant if you will, and keeps conversations flowing, and even difficult conversations pass on, sometimes even finding needed resolution. Such is the power of food and family dining.
You are smart that you gave that to your kids. How lucky they were to have grandparents and parents like you. I hope they remember that time, the effort you and yours made, and are doing the same for their own kids.
You hit a nerve with your comment above, and I hope more people will make every effort possible to make time to eat at the table, as a family. I so wish people would treat cooking as a family chore. Include kids, neighbors, elders and one and all that are willing to be part of the act of cooking, and bring them into the kitchen, so they come with pride to the table.
How fondly and clearly I remember each meal time in Delhi. It was wonderful for the conversations that would take place. The knowledge we kids gained at the table. The joy we had to be at the table, for at our table, we were treated as equals, we had voices, we were allowed to speak our minds, enter into debates with our grandparents and parents, with relatives and friends, and theirs. Not every conversation, always, was a welcome one, but nothing was taboo. There were no unspoken codes that barred sex, religion or politics from table-talk. Kids could ask a question no matter how difficult it was. If parents were uncomfortable handling a question, there was a neighbor a grandparent, a relative, or a friend who would. In end, the kids would get their answer (or not) and another kid would ask another question. Kids were not treated as kids, rather, got every bit the same face as elders, and kids enjoyed being at the table. I loved nothing more than to come home for lunch, and then again for dinner. Of course I also LOVED bringing friends to these meal times at our table. They were fun times.
How I wish more kids today, could grow up living like that. I know for sure it would change how kids will eat, live and look at the world. But perhaps I am dreaming and I am stupid.
Life does not tarry with yesterday, nor should we hope for it to be similar today, to what it was yesterday, or a decade ago, or a century ago. I am sure the world will make peace with itself, somewhere down the line, and generations from now, others will look back at this moment in time, and marvel at what we are doing today, or at least some bits of it, and hope to be able to copy it for their own time.
Huntington has been left by Jamie a city that many now know across America. But sadly, Jamie and his people have come and gone, and their change may have taken place on camera, but it has not stuck to the locals. Not at any visible or commendable level. I was taken to the studio where the show was aired, and I was amazed to see how beautiful it is. It was a cooking store when I was last in Huntington, and now it is a store with great ego and attitude. Sadly, for me, for the store, and for Jamie, I was given way too much information by over-zealous and very excited employees of the store. What they told me was affirmation of all the doubts the nay-sayers of the planet need. Sad but lucrative partnerships/sponsorships made the show possible, but handicap the ability of the teaching kitchen to make any real change in the real world. US Foods is the preferred vendor. The chef showing me around commented on how US Foods may be the worst of the three major food providers serving the community. Fresh food? Think again. Processed is where it is at. Similarly, sponsorship opportunities led to the choices made for the appliances used, equipment brought in and the books collected for the kitchen library. No thought was given to reasoning behind the choices, and so cheap, flimsy, not very cooking friendly non-stick cookware with plastic handles that melt easily on a gas stove, make the cooks fearful of really cooking. I was desperate to leave since I knew I was getting feedback that was honest, but not what those I know watching the show, were seeing on TV. I left saddened not for what Jamie did, but for what it takes to bring a show to air. The story Jamie shares is brilliant and much needed. The message is necessary to be brought front-stage in our national discourse. But how sad that even the very store (forget the larger community) that is used as a set, is not really sustainably changed to tackle a new future.
One of the employees innocently told another in my ear shot when asked about what role Jamie was playing with the community and this store now - "He is done with us". That summed it all up. That was then, and it is now another day. Huntington is in the media now, but Jamie was here months ago.
They are now alone, with equipment that is new, not all even user-friendly or worthy of ones time or efforts. No one within the store has much knowledge of what Jamie may have wanted, other than posters of Jamie, and posters of food from his books and his life somewhere. They do have some sheets of papers from a time past, and they do have ego from having been on national and international TV. What they do not have is a know-how about how to educate themselves or others about taking what Jamie did to the next level.
And here is where Michael Bowe and his little restaurant, a couple of blocks away, is doing what could be the beginning of the next chapter.
Certainly no kid is eating what Michael is cooking at their school. But every kid that is brought by their parents into Huntington Prime, and exposed to honest, freshly prepared, and delicious food made with love, is a kid that can then share this story with another kid at school.
Yesterday at lunch, I met a young lady (girl) who goes to school in Huntington or a suburb around Huntington, and she was certainly someone changed, smitten and enthralled by what Chef Michael was doing and how he was doing it. Her family was lunching as we were as well. Our mutual enthusiasm for the restaurant and the food, somehow managed to connect us all. And this young lady, who is poised to be someone that will make a difference in this world, used the "ewww" word I had used in my post. She shared how when she shared with friends that she eats escargot and other stuff they are not familiar with, she prepares herself to hear "ewws".
I did give her my email and I hope she will come and add her comments to this dialog. Maybe even her parents will.
Sorry to go on and on, as you can see, how we eat, what we feed, and what we celebrate in the media, and how we focus on what we celebrate in the media - are topics dear to my heart, and trigger something deep within me, that makes for outpouring of thoughts and musings that no one would want to hear. Sorry to bore you and all with all of this.
Posted by: suvir saran | Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 08:50 PM
Well said as always and I agree 100%. I can understand the town feeling "left behind by Jamie."
Let me clarify one thing, I'm not a parent nor do I have kids (I am as gay as they come, though does not deny one kids) - MY parents had us sit down every night at the table and my grandmother, who lived with us, shared the responsibility and joy of feeding us and could bake with the best of them.
Most of my professional career has been working with kids, I was a competitive figure skater, professional dancer and professional skater and have coached for many years. Now I'm a Skating Director at wonderful facility near San Francisco.
I remind my staff of coaches on a regular basis that we are teaching them as much about life as we are about skating. I am strong believer in mentorship.
On a very personal note, I am now over weight due to an eating disorder caused by my time as a professional dancer/skater - food is the enemy there ya know. So I have my own ax to grind. However sitting at lunch with my boss in Oakland, CA the other day at Cafe 15 eating a salad of roasted peach/field greens/bacon.....I,as I said above, understand how lucky I am. To have a boss who loves/craves GOOD food and to have it available to me in a multitude of ways.
D
Posted by: Anthonysgodfather | Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 09:33 PM
I now realize how clearly you stated that your family sat down for dinner, and you were talking of you as one of the kids. Sorry to have misread it. Thanks for clarifying.
You might be overweight, but you are also confident, honest and daring. Kudos to you for sharing this fact so freely and effortlessly. That tells me if anyone could change anything that bothers them, you could. And so, if and when your weight is an issue again, you will deal with it squarely and without fear.
How wonderful for you to have the boss you do, and to enjoy great food. Oakland is having a renaissance that will certainly be a wonderful study years from now. Do you like Pizzaiolo? It is one of my favorite places to dine. Chef Charlie is wonderful. What a story teller too. And has a beautiful daughter.
Mentorship is everything in this world. I wish more parents, more teachers and more elders would make time for the young minds that are around them, and secretly and often not too secretly, wanting their time, their support and their brilliance. We have become a selfish society, where everyone is for themselves, and so, in end, we are all poorer for that fact. I am sure this too shall change. Life is cyclical and nothing is constant.
I do not thing the town feels Jamie personally has left them behind. I think it is more that he has moved on. And why not? He has other things to do and take care of. I believe where the town, Jamie and each of us around the country have been failed - is our media, that can make a story seem very worthy and relevant, and yet, when relevant change does take place, in forms that are sustainable, that media is either absent, or not interested to give air time or ink, or just not able to comprehend the realities of the communities they can help change - if they only gave media to the forces that may not be media-savvy, but are doing much more sustainable work towards bringing change to places where change would otherwise not be possible.
Jamie and his work are very important and very relevant. But Jamie could have only hoped for us to have this dialog. Now it is up to each of us, and the media, to look where something relevant is being done, and where tragedies are happening even if sold otherwise.
Posted by: suvir saran | Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 10:00 PM
Hi Suvir,
I got your e-mail. Thank you.
Huntington Prime is the best restaurant in West Virginia. It is amazing. I will take both you and Chef Bowe up on your offers. I would love to come to your farm and restaurant and go in his kitchen. Thank you both for everything. This will be and is a great experience.
With Love and Spatulas,
Mary Zarilla
Posted by: Mary Zarilla | Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 11:53 AM
Hello Suvir,
Huntington Prime is amazing! Chef Bowe is great. I will happily take both of you up on your offers. I would love to go to your farm and restaurant and go in Chef Bowe's kitchen with him. Also about Oliver's food it is gross. If he wants us to eat healthier he needs to make it appetizing. He needs to make it flavorful and suculent. If he inproves it we might eat it. Everyone at my school gets trays then just throws them away of don't eat at all and that is NOT a healthy opition.
With Love and Spatulas,
Mary Z.
Posted by: Mary Zarilla | Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 02:01 PM
Hi Mary!
It was wonderful meeting your family and you at Huntington Prime.
I was very impressed by your knowledge of food, and your enthusiasm about dining and food in general.
What school do you go to? How do you know about Jamie Oliver? Have you eaten his food?
I want to understand why you think his food is gross, and also know where you are coming from. I would think that Jamie is making the food he serves kids quite flavorful and appetizing. But this is news to me, your reaction to his food that is. Please share your thoughts in greater detail if possible.
Throwing food into the garbage tray is never an option. What a shame. But does your school give you food prepared using recipes from Jamie, or are they approximations of what he might have suggested?
Before we bash Jamie, and ascribe bad cooking to him, I want to make sure we have our facts all correct.
I look forward to cooking wit you, at the farm, and at your home.
And like you, I too have become a fan of Chef Bowe.
Suvir
Posted by: suvir saran | Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 11:48 PM
Hi again!
I go to Milton Middle School. They serve Oliver's food. Not their interpretation of it. Even the cooks said it was unappetizing. I think it is gross because it just does'nt taste good. It is absolutely not appetizing. Next time you are in Huntington, I would love it if you come to my school to find out for yourself. The chicken is undercooked and dry. The steak sandwiches are like rubber with cheese on a bun. Please come help us next time you are in town. P.S. if you would happen to take chef Bowe with you if you come that would be great!
With Love and Spatulas,
Mary Z.
Posted by: Mary Zarilla | Monday, May 24, 2010 at 09:44 PM
Hi Mary!
I am sorry that you all are having trouble enjoying Jamie Oliver's food. I cannot imagine that it is as bad as you suggest.
Would you mind taking photos of it? Emailing them to me? I would be happy to post them on the site, and then understand where you are coming from.
Why did the chefs agree to make this food if they found it that unappetizing? Were they doing it for the media ride?
Wondering if Oliver's food is bad, or that the students are so used to eating what has been cooked and served for all these years? Do you think our perceptions of what is good and what is tasty are askew?
Sadly, this is not about what I like, but rather, what should be eaten by kids, and made with respect for health and wellness and for sustainability and keeping the local dialog thriving. If kids are throwing out their food in disgust, there is something missing here.
I cannot imagine Jamie Oliver going through this trouble only to have angry and hungry kids and chefs. The entire idea I am sure was to educate the chefs to cook better, using fresher and more local ingredients. And to have the kids enjoy the food they were eating and also the process through which that food came to their plate.
Steak Sandwiches? Really? That is a new item? How is the chicken prepared? It is undercooked and dry? Usually it takes over cooking chicken to dry it out. Mind boggling!
I have been traveling for over 6 years now, often teaching chefs that cook for food service providers that also serve K-12 and colleges. Have done my share of Jamie Oliver like stunts, but never in front of the camera. I can tell you that I never cared to make change happen just for the sake of it. It was always about changing recipes to create pride, interest and change. Hence I am at a loss of words here.
You all should reach out to Chef Bowe, since he is local, and ask him to come help even before I can make it back. He is a champion of local cuisine and understands the tastes of the Appalachian people better than most others, and certainly has pride about his areas cuisine and heritage. It would be a win-win situation for all concerned.
Would you find out from the chefs how they learned to prepare these Jamie Oliver dishes? I wonder if they ever got trained by the chef, or just follow what came through in an email, or a booklet. In which case, I would give Jamie Oliver some slack, and appreciate the fact that there could be some blame assigned to the chefs, the trainers etc
Do you think I am crazy? Being too generous? Or do you see where I am coming from, and can give Jamie some benefit of the doubt?
I must admit I did not see whatever it was he did on TV. And so, I have no idea about what his mission was, how he went about making his mission known, and what he wanted to see done with school dining. Maybe you can tell me some of that? Or perhaps you have not seen his show.
Thanks for making time to chat with me here. I appreciate this a great deal.
Hope you have a great day at school tomorrow.
Suvir
Posted by: suvir saran | Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 12:31 AM
The chefs had Jaime come to school to teach them and meet the kids. I understand where you are coming from and i know chicken usually has to be OVER cooked to be dry so i don't know how they are pulling it off??? I would absolutely love tyo talk to Chef Bowe and i might talk to him at the restaurant tonight if i go. I think it is mostly the chefs though so it probablt isn't Oliver's food and he is probably getting blame for what he can not control. Please write back and/or e-mail me.
With Love and Spatulas,
Mary Z.
Posted by: Mary Zarilla | Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 04:24 PM
I have to step in here, you've been waiting haven't you Suvir? LOL
At this point Jamie isn't preparing Jamie's food. Other "cooks" are.
And I will stop there.
Best,
D
Posted by: Anthonysgodfather | Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 10:37 PM
Suvir, Thank you for the kind and gracious things you wrote about Huntington Prime, and for recognizing the the challenges and risk associated with opening a restaurant like H Prime in our particular region.
While we make no assertion to specialize in healthy cuisine, Chef Bowe and I do share a mutual passion for freshly prepared regional American cuisine which utilizes locally sourced products whenever possible.
As for Jamie Oliver and his food revolution. While I do not doubt the sincerity or fervor of his intentions, I think it is both foolish and naive to think that a small, rather insular community such as ours would respond to a British celebrity chef (camera crew in tow) with anything other than reluctance, and skepticism. Attempting to Attempting to highlight and correct a communities dietary problems on national television is questionable at best, and not entirely unlike trying to work out marital problems on Maury Povich.
Ultimately I don't think people feel so much left behind or abandoned as they do somewhat exploited.
In the end Jamie Oliver did manage to make us begin to examine and address some all to real dietary and nutritional shortcomings within our community and school system. Problems that we were otherwise all to comfortable continuing to ignore. For that i suppose we do owe him some debt of gratitude.
Bruno Young
Chef de Cuisine
Huntington Prime
Posted by: Bruno Young | Tuesday, June 08, 2010 at 11:24 AM
I agree with you Bruno around how you treat the Jamie Oliver issue. At least he made some of us examine the issue at hand.
The press/media is to blame for the hyperbole. Not Jamie. And it is them that use celebrity, rather than work on details that matter.
Luckily for Huntington, they have you and Huntington Prime and through your efforts, finally some real food. We salute chef Michael and you and hope to see you succeed with each passing day. Thanks for all your efforts.
Posted by: suvir saran | Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 11:27 AM
We are all in the position of the farmer. If we plant a good seed, we reap a good harvest. If our seed is poor and full of weeds, we reap a useless crop. If we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.
Posted by: coach handbags | Monday, June 28, 2010 at 10:12 PM
How beautifully said "coach handbags".
You must be a poet. Tell us more. Give us more food for thought, please.
Thanks for stopping by.
Suvir
Posted by: suvir saran | Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 10:53 AM
Interesting topic opened by this story. The way we eat and what we eat begins in our homes. Parents set the examples and traditions that can be perpetuated through generations.
I was listening to a PBS talk show while driving today that discussed a school district who tried to make changes in their menu by replacing white bread for whole grain breads last year. The kids did not like the change so it was abandoned for a short time and other healthy choices will be considered.
How sad that healthy choices were not liked by the kids. It comes from home and habits they learn there.
Parents need to be the example that kids will follow, then they go to school and make better choices when they eat. Jamie may have hit a nerve but he also planted seeds that hopefully may grow into something as positive as healthier eating in schools.
it is up to us to broaden our kid's horizons by introducing them to these choices, taking them to weekly farmer's markets and teaching them how to buy fresh food some someplace other than a supermarket.
We have lost a connection to where our food comes from (well, not all, but so many folks). We have been a culture that relishes convenience instead of making food from scratch. With long hours that people work, myself included, it is not easy to come home after a long day and make dinner from scratch unless you have habits and a kitchen that will make this possible.
Some schools have programs that introduce cultural diversity to children by allowing them to share pieces of their culture with others...such as a multicultural food week.
Open doors, plant seeds, broaden horizons...
Posted by: Bonnie | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 08:42 PM
Bonnie,
You say beautifully and succinctly what so many would want to say, and many more should read and understand. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. They are glorious!
I agree with everything you say. In fact I see my sister and brother-in-law do what you say with their 10 year old, and he is so lucky for that. He eats everything. Well almost. In fact a lot more than I did as a young man. And we ate a lot. He is willing to try everything and often enjoys much more of everything new than even the adults around him.
The outlook of kids to food reflects the mindset of the elders in their lives. Kids are blank canvases that are shaped/colored by us, the artists that influence and make them what they are. The richer we make our own lives in variety and diversity, the more colorful/beautiful/blessed and better the kids lives.
I wish every parent, no matter how long and hard they work, would just ensure that their family ate at least one meal a day together, at the dining table. That would change many of the maladies affecting us and make life so much better.
I look forward to hearing more from you and enriching my life through your wisdom.
Suvir
Posted by: suvir saran | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 10:54 PM
Thanks for your positive reinforcement Suvir! When my boys were young I would always put something new on their plates and asked them to at least try it. What I miss from my childhood are those regular sit down dinners every night and on Sundays after church.
I have not kept that alive with any sort of regularity..
It is a different world today.
Something also connected to our relationship with food are the traditions we keep and maintain.
We are connected by food.
My youngest son relishes the cultural heritage of his many friends and comes home with neat foods he has tried at friend's houses. That is really cool.
BTW Suvir, I made lemon rasam last week along with lentil salad and it was just wonderful! Thank you for your influence on my cooking. : )
I toned it down spice wise for the rest of the family and they enjoyed it.
Who knows, maybe cultural diversity in this country will bring us back home....
must go to work now and start vacation in a few hours... : )
Posted by: Bonnie | Thursday, July 01, 2010 at 05:41 AM
Bonnie - I think if you want to be at the table daily, you will make it happen. Try it. Make it your one and only goal. Soon you will wonder why you ever thought it impossible. Several people I know are doing it. My sister even makes several dishes each night... but she is something else. And yes, she does not have a 9-5 job. She does go to school and also raise a son and live in Manhattan with many other distractions. But she is never distracted enough to give up on cooking for herself, her husband and their son a wonderful dinner. Of dishes that each of them love. Of course everyone eats everything. But every day, she makes sure each of them get to enjoy one favorite and then more stuff too.
Lemon Rasam, eh? WHat made you try that? IT is one of my favorite things. Ever made the pineapple rasam from Indian Home Cooking? Try it.. you and the kids may love it to. Of course toning down the cayenne and the jalapenos is a good thing. You seem very smart!
Enjoy your vacation and keep in touch. Check out some of the other posts. YOu will see the idea behind all of them is consistent. Thanks for offering us your words and wisdom.
Posted by: suvir saran | Thursday, July 01, 2010 at 03:21 PM
Suvir,
Well yes...the pineapple rasam we made at The Silo was my inspiration to try your favorite lemon rasam. I had some leftover the next day so warmed it up and added a spoonful or so of the leftover lentil salad and it was delicious. Now cannot wait to try the other rasams to compare...
And to 'dust off' my lovely dinner table and put it to use.
Have a nice weekend and holiday to you and Charlie and the baby goats too.
Regards, Bonnie : )
Posted by: Bonnie Deahl | Thursday, July 01, 2010 at 08:49 PM
Bonnie Deahl.... Duh... I did not see Deahl on your last post and thought it was some other Bonnie. Sorry about that.
Hope you use the dinner table a lot as time passes. There is never a reason not to work in the kitchen and chat, have cathartic relaxation and enjoy at the table. Glad you are dusting the table... wish you much joy in the kitchen and around the table. Your life will change, and I believe for the better.
Thanks for your wishes to the goats, Charlie and I. We appreciate that. Enjoy your weekend.
Posted by: suvir saran | Friday, July 02, 2010 at 09:09 AM