Culinary Trends and more

American Academy of Chefs Dinner

American Culinary Federation Chefs gather to discuss culinary trends and more.

Recently I attended the American Culinary Federation’s ChefConnect event, a regional conference featuring culinary education, networking, competitions, and a forum for professional chefs to network with peers and industry partners, discussing current and emerging trends. Chefs exploring new ideas and flavors, students looking to gain experience and food service professionals keeping atop the latest and greatest enjoyed plenty of educational and networking opportunities.

Native and Indigenous Foods

One of the conference keynote speakers was Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota, who has been cooking across the US and World for the last 30 years.  He is the Founder and CEO of Sioux – Chef an Indigenous Kitchen. His presentation on the revitalization and awareness of indigenous foods systems in a modern culinary context was inspiring.  Sean has studied on his own extensively to determine the foundations of these food systems which include the knowledge of Native American farming techniques, wild food usage and harvesting, land stewardship, hunting and fishing as well as food preservation, his passion to share and educate was very evident

Waste reduction

At Graffiti Earth, chef and owner Jehangir Metha serves vegetable-forward courses with flavors rooted from his native India, creating an interesting juxtapose of temperatures, textures and tastes, with flavors from all around the globe.  One of the luncheons was focused labeled “Transformation Lunch” and focused on this concept. Conscientiously focus on working with unloved produce and underutilized seafood, sustainable proteins and healthy grains with the ultimate goal of reducing food waste. Seafood and Meat offerings will be beautifully balanced with plant-based options sharing equal billing if not center stage,  in ways that maximize flavor, utilizing “ugly” (or cosmetically challenged) fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste because of minor aesthetic flaws, and calling for underutilized fish that can be caught without damaging ecosystems.

Culinary trends and more

As I had previously written in breakfast evolution, the trend continues with global flavors, mash-ups like Korean egg Benedict, Indian biscuit & gravy; and breakfast foods (pork/bacon is king) being popular all day any day like shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles to name a few.

At Watson Lake Inn we strive to chart our own course rather than follow the beaten/new path, focused on our attempt to expose our guests to an exciting global culinary experience.

When visiting a destination like Prescott you’ve got a lot of options for lodging; but when you stay with us at Watson Lake Inn, you may “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a peasant” as the saying goes; and yes we do dinners on request as elaborate as you wish…

Watson Lake Inn – “Where culinary pleasures and experiences become lifetime memories.”

Sioux Chef Presentation by Sean Sherman

Salmon on Sugar cane

Herbal Chef presentation

South Western Cuisine demo- Pork loin and prickly pear glace