Update from Flavor Forays
Hello Flavor Foray Friends,
"For now, traveling down our memory lanes is the only safe travel," Chef Vitaly Paley wrote when he told us about his new cooking show on Instagram, "In the Kitchen with Vitaly Paley.”
Chef Paley and his wife Kimberly are now live on Instagram every Friday evening at 5 PST. They revisit recipes from some of their favorite travels abroad and help viewers sort through their pantries for simple, homey dishes. Here’s how to participate. Download the Instagram Ap and visit Chef Paley’s personal account @vit0bike. When you see a pink circle around his profile picture the live has started. You can even ask questions.
On our Flavor Forays to Portland, one of our most popular visits is Chef Paley’s Russian Samovar Service at the Heathman Hotel. Chef Paley pays homage to the rich history of the Heathman while adding a Russian flare that speaks to his own heritage. At Christmas time, the Russian tea does 200 to 300 covers a day.
In our last letter, we reported that Treaty Oak Distilling, Dripping Springs, Texas, one of our favorite visits during Austin Flavor Forays, has switched production from Bourbon to hand sanitizer. We have since learned that Desert Door, the sotol distillery nearby in Driftwood, has made 40K bottles of sanitizer which they have donated. Amazing! We’ve also learned that Straightaway Cocktails in partnership with Kombucha Brew Dr. in Portland is also creating hand sanitizer.
Booze itself is a stronger than ever profit center. Drive-by has been a creative solution for sales. The adorable drive-by Rosé wine stand created by Wolffer Estates in Sagaponack, NY, where customers can order from their full portfolio as well as the wildly popular Summer in a Bottle Rosé, helps offset losses from their closed tasting room and restaurants. Back in Austin, Desert Door and Fall Creek Vineyards are also selling drive-by bottles. Award winning Austin restaurant Emmer & Rye is offering a curated wine list for pickup and delivery as well as a sommelier selection featuring six packs of themed wines. In Portland, Nostrana is selling wine from its extensive cellar. And the fact that many states allowed restaurants to include cocktails in the take-out orders has been a saving grace.
We understand how hard this crisis has hit the restaurant/foodservice industry. Sadly, some restaurants have closed. Hopefully, others are surviving by offering take-out. We would love to hear about any particularly creative approaches you’re taking or any partnerships you may have formed to help you feed first responders or food banks. Perhaps you’re devoting time to r&d, developing new menus, researching new ingredients, or developing new formats of service. Some hotels are housing first responders. Our hope is that we all have a future in this industry.
Please share your actions and ideas with us. We’ll then compile them and share them with all of you. We don’t want to create a burden when you’re already overstretched. But if you can take a minute to write a sentence or two, and email bstephenwest@gmail, it could be helpful or inspiring to your colleagues.
Heartfelt thanks and stay in touch,
Barbara Mathias & Beverly Stephen
Flavor Forays