Showing posts with label female chef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label female chef. Show all posts

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Petrossian: Staying Strong with New Executive Chef Giselle Wellman

Bloggers' beloved chef Ben Bailly may have left Petrossian for Fraiche, but that doesn't mean we should all forget about Petrossian. Their new executive chef, Giselle Wellman, is keeping the West Hollywood restaurant going strong.

Chef Giselle Wellman
Giselle is one of a few female executive chefs in Los Angeles and previously worked at Bouchon, Jean Georges and Del Posto in New York, and Jack's La Jolla. Savory Hunter and I were lucky enough to be invite to try the new menu at Petrossian.

First thing's first: prosecco and caviar blinis.
Not that the blinis have really changed with the changing of chefs, but being at Petrossian we felt that we should start with some anyway. They're great as always.
Caviar Blinis
Blinis (Caviar, Trout Roe, Salmon Roe) -$18

Then a delightful little surprise came: Egg Royal (Scrambled Egg, Vodka Whipped Cream, Caviar) -$14
Egg Royal
Although we hadn't thought of ordering it, we're so glad Giselle decided to bring this out. This dish is somewhat rare in LA, and I usually find it at places like Providence and Melisse as a part of the tasting menu. It's good to know I can get it here without spending the dough for a whole tasting menu. It's quite different compared to the others, though. The scrambled egg was incredibly light, especially combined with the vodka whipped cream.

We mainly tasted the new items that Giselle had put on the menu, like the Smoked Sturgeon Risotto (Pressed Caviar, Chive, Crème Fraîche) -$22
Smoked Sturgeon Risotto
An unusual flavor for a risotto (at least for me) and another table favorite. The creme fraiche balances the smoked sturgeon, and you get pleasant bursts of surprise as you encounter the caviar. The crisp apple slices act like a palate cleanser at the end of each bite.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Young Women at the Helm: Nick + Stef's Steakhouse (Downtown Los Angeles)

A recent article in Brand X spotted a trend of young women heading restaurant kitchens. One of them is 29-year-old Megan Logan, who is the new executive chef at Patina's Nick + Stef's Steakhouse.

Chef Megan Logan
Megan externed at Nick + Stef's while at Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, CA, which then opened doors for her. After graduating in 2003, Logan continued with Patina Restaurant Group, eventually becoming sous chef at Patina before being promoted to executive chef at Nick + Stef’s in 2010.

I had the opportunity to try her creations myself when I was invited to a blogger dinner back in October.

Our meal kicked off with a Kusshi oyster followed by a beet salad with gorgonzola cheese, toasted hazelnuts.

Beet Salad

We enjoyed our appetizers, but the steak and the sides were the stars of the night.

When our main attraction came, we were served not one but two pieces of steak: Prime Angus Rib eye and New York steak, both cooked to a wonderfully juicy and tender medium rare. The rib-eye steaks at Nick + Stef's are dry-aged for 28 days.
Steak

Of course, the steak came with a variety of sides. All of the sides were excellent and we dug into them like mad, especially the cabbage and kale fricassee with bacon lardon.
IMG_4363
sides
Mushrooms and creamed spinach.


Nick + Stef's is also doing a nice cheese and craft beer pairing program, which we also tried. Everyone's favorite pairing was the Hook's 10-year cheddar with Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale ale.
Cheese Board

Craft Beer Tasting

The lack of women in the professional kitchens used to be common knowledge, but Megan showed that even a young woman can lead the kitchen of a steakhouse, thought to be male-dominated, and do it well. Here's to all the female chefs out there.

Nick + Stef's Steakhouse
330 S Hope St
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 680-0330
www.patinagroup.com/nickStef/
Nick & Stef's Steakhouse on Urbanspoon

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