Nov 2 – Redler Institute of Culinary Arts

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Guy

Join me this Saturday and learn a little about The Butler Community College (BCC) Redler Institute of Culinary Arts or RICA.

Up first is Les Padzensky, a good friend and more importantly a powerful presence in the Wichita Culinary Scene and now the Director of RICA.

An award-winning professional with more than 30 years of management experience in the local culinary and hospitality industry, Padzensky returns to Butler after having served as an adjunct hospitalilty professor for several years starting in 1998.

Good Life Guy & Padzensky

Padzensky has worked for several notable food service and hospitality organizations in the Wichita area during his career, including LaTour Management, Inc., where his major concerns were Piccadilly Market & Grill, Timberline Steakhouse & Grill, and Epoch Development where he was a Regional Manager for Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers. He also spent 12 years as Vice President of Food and Beverage for Warren Theatres.

Padzensky is a past chairman and current board member of the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association and has served on the Redler Institute’s Industry Advisory Committee for three years, most recently as Chairman.

While the relatively new, Redler Institute of Culinary Arts has had a talented cadre of instructors, the new batch brings some of Wichita’s most talented chef-instructors training an enthusiastic group of new food service students.  One of them is Robbie Lynn Garlick (not garlic 🙂 ) who I had the pleasure of meeting last week at a RICA event.

Chef Robbie Lynn Garlick

Ms. Garlick is The Pastry Arts Instructor at Redler Institute of Culinary Arts and Pastry Chef at FioRito Ristorante.  This gal is so talented and loved by the students she teaches and mentors at RICA. I had a loaf of bread from a recipe of another instructor that she guided her students in producing last week, probably one of the best baked items I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.

Then this past Saturday at Scott & Betsy Redler’s home after a splendid gourmet club dinner, we enjoyed some of the most amazing macaroons ever!  She is a great addition to the teaching staff at RICA and FioRito is lucky to have her.  I am always interested in ones journey in food or wine. I look forward to sharing her story with you.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2021 Haraszthy Family Cellars, Bearitage LODI Petite Sirah
An immediately noticeable dark inky color typical of Petite Sirah greets your wine glass. Flavor and bouquet of blueberries, chocolate, and black pepper. Nicely balanced, dense tannin structure balanced against the jammy character of this wine, ABV13.8%  91-Califoprnia State Fair

 

Get some at Jacob Liquor Exchange on N. Rock Road and join us!

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Oct 26 – Sauce Up Your Boards

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Guy

This week I’ll be talking to Hillary Davis about her new book “Sauce Up Your Boards – More than 250 Recipes for Co0ndiments, Dips, Jams & Spreads.” I LOVE this book!

Elevate your boards and meals with over 250 easy-to-make condiment recipes that add a burst of flavor and a lot of style to what you serve.

Sauce Up Your Board by Hillary Davis is a must-have cookbook of over 250 super-simple, healthy recipes for condiments to complement everything from brunch to buffets, family dinners, barbeques, picnics, holidays, and special occasions presented in a chic and sophisticated way. A condiment board is set in the middle of the table, on a counter, or on picnic blanket, and holds a selection of condiments for tasty embellishments for the other food choices. Much like charcuterie boards, condiment boards gather together in one place a variety of offerings for people to enjoy and share―think updated and upscaled lazy Susans. Or, you can add little pots, sprinklings, smears, and drizzles of these flavorful additions to your cheese, meat, fruit, vegetable, or sweets boards.

You will find creative and easy recipes for mayonnaises, ketchups, mustards, vinegars, flavored oils, vinaigrettes, dressings, toppers, salts and seasonings, flavored sugars, butters, jams, chutneys, pickles, relishes, sauces, dips, and spreads that take your boards and dishes to tasty new levels.  Get a copy NOW

Hillary Davis is the author of Les Desserts, Le French Oven, French Comfort Food, Cuisine Niçoise, and  A Million A Minute. She is the coauthor of the cookbook, The Hamptons Kitchen. She has two more cookbooks being published in 2024: French From The Market and Sauce Your Boards! And she is presently at work on a novel.

Author, food journalist, cooking instructor, and writer—Hillary Davis is a long time food columnist and restaurant critic for New Hampshire Magazine and her work has been featured in the Boston Globe, Connecticut Home Living, Hartford Magazine, Tastes of New England, ParisLuxe.com, eGuideTravel.com, CelebrationNH Magazine, Bonjour Paris, French Entree Magazine, and other regional, national, and international publications. Learn more about Hillary.  She’s on Facebook too.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2019 Achaval Ferrer Quimera, Mendoza $46
Lush Bordeaux blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Malbec. Green bell pepper and oak spice open the nose. After aeration, a core of concentrated ripe black-fruit aromas is revealed. Bay leaf, raspberry, boysenberry and earthy plum join notes of mineral and toasted oak in the rich palate. It has a chalky texture and lively acidity balancing ripe flavors in the finish. ABV14.6% JS95

This wine is a Malbec driven Bordeaux Blend from Argentina that was the #1 choice by the majority of attendees at my recent WSU Varital Comparison. Get some at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road.  Order some now and join us Saturday.

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Oct 19 – Super Food Sprinkles

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Guy

My first guest is Mareya Ibrahim Jones, a driven woman of many talents with one of her new endeavors, “Super Food Sprinkles.” This lady is a chef, inventor, author, holistic nutritionist and more!

Mareya is known as “The Fit Foodie,” a nationally recognized food safety and clean eating expert, an award-winning entrepreneur, television chef, author and inventor and body builder. She is the CEO and founder of Grow Green Industries, INC. and the patented co-creator of the eatCleaner®, eatSafe™ and eatFresh™ line of all natural and organic products that help offer cleaner, safer, longer lasting produce. Her book “The Clean Eating Handbook” was released in May 2013 and is being touted as the ‘go-to’ guide for anyone looking to eat cleaner and get leaner. She is a contributor to “The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life” by Rick Warren, Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Mark Hyman. She is a featured chef on the Emmy-nominated cooking show Recipe Rehab, eHow.com, Livestrong.com and is a frequent guest on San Diego 6 and Fox 5 San Diego News. Her back-page column, “The Fit Foodie”, appears in Edible Orange County Magazine.  Follow Mareya on Facebook & X @fitfoodie

Superfood Sprinkle ™  is the world’s first chef-crafted functional superfood spice blend filled with over 300 phytonutrients to elevate your plate with a powerful punch of flavor and nutrition. www.mysuperfoodsprinkle.com

“I took the world’s most amazing superfoods and combined them into a power-packed blend to elevate your tastebuds and boost your health. The featured ingredient is black cumin (aka ‘the blessing seed’) – the longevity secret of my ancestors, the pharaohs of Egypt.”

Mareya is also the co-inventor of the patented Eat Cleaner Fruit + Veggie Wash and Wipes line of products.  Superfood Sprinkle ™ is made in the USA by a minority woman-owned business.

In the second half I’ll be talking to Tom Brown owner of Meadow Lark Farm Orchard and Cidery.
Meadowlark Farm Orchard and Cidery is a peach and apple orchard, pumpkin patch, & Hard Cidery east of Wichita, Kansas.

Tom says “Meadowlark Farm Orchard and Cidery was started by my wife and I (Tom and Gina Brown) in 2010, with the help of many friends. We have planted about 4000 peach and apple trees and our fruit is sold fresh as well as used to make hard cider; we are unique from other cideries as our cider is from apples grown ourselves. Our orchard has many varieties of peaches and apples (check Facebook for current availability), and our store has hard cider (5% alcohol) on tap and fresh pressed sweet cider (no alcohol) in October. We also grow strawberries for harvest in May. We sell what we grow at our farm and also the Old Town Farm and Art Market in central Wichita. Our pumpkin patch is also “pick-your-own”, as we grow pumpkins here as well. We welcome visitors to the farm all year round. Come pick-your-own fruit, or come out for a draft, snacks, nature trail, goats and games. We want to help your family and friends enjoy nature and create fun memories.”

It takes a full year to make a bottle of hard cider. We produce it from juice of fresh-crushed apples, then ferment with cider yeast to produce a refreshing drink with an alcohol content of around 5%. Grown, made and bottled all at Meadowlark Farm.

Our cidery is the only local estate cidery that produces from apples that we crush ourselves. We are federally and state licensed and sell from our farm as well as other locations. Check the Farm out on Facebook and Instagram!

The farm is located at 11249 SW 160th St, Rose Hill, KS 67133, Wednesday-Sunday, year-round: 10am – 5pm (On Fridays, August through October open until 7:00 pm)

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week: 
2020 Bogle Family Old Vine Zinfandel, California
Bright, ripe and intriguing our Old Vine Zin bursts from the glass with aromas of raspberries and pink peppercorns. Cranberries mix well with brambly berries, creating dense fruit flavors framed by pipe tobacco leaf and cedar. Finishing with great structure and moderate tannins, this wine is the epitome of balance and finesse, while never compromising its authentic Zinfandel character. ABV14.5 WE90

Check out the tech sheet to learn more!  Get some at Jacob Liquor Exchange.

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Oct 12 – Appalachian Appetite

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Guy

My guest this week is Susi Gott Séguret author of Appalachian Appetite: Recipes from the Heart of America – Paperback 

Susi was my guest August 3rd to talk about Favorite Culinary Quotes, her latest book.  She was nice enough to send me a copy of her 2016 Appalachian Appetite.  She and her family had to endure the Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction across the U.S. Southeast and Susi is still enduring the damage and outages.

Appalachian Appetite is a groundbreaking, influential cookbook featuring over 100 recipes that represent an innovative take on tradition, with contributions and stories from this mountain region’s best chefs, restaurants, and citizens. From Asheville, NC to Nashville, TN; Oxford, MS to Millinocket, ME, when asked which cuisine most typifies America, chefs are bound to tell you it stems from the South, the heartbeat of which is Appalachia.

Hailing from the very depths of Appalachia in western North Carolina, author and chef Susi Gott Séguret honed her culinary skills in France earning a diploma in Gastronomy and Taste from the Cordon Bleu and the Université de Reims. This unique combination is highlighted in Appalachian Appetite as (says Fred Sauceman, author of Buttermilk & Bible Burgers) “the loving product of that convergence.”

Appalachian Appetite is filled with recipes straight from the heart of Appalachia. As Dr. Jean Haskell, co-editor of Encyclopedia of Appalachia says, the book brings together “the region’s music, food, stories, and its great chefs and home cooks.”  Get a copy at Amazon NOW!

Recipes featured include:
● Tennessee Corn & Truffle Flan
● Ramp & Nettle Quiche
● Venison Country-Style Steak
● Cast Iron Trout, Smoked Grits, Farm Egg, & Potlikker Jus
● Bourbon-Marinated Flank Steak with Blueberry Barbecue Sauce
● Southern Sweet Potato Praline Spoonbread

An inspired collection from chef Susi Gott Séguret, Appalachian Appetite brings together the beloved recipes of the region for, as proclaims Jess McCuan, former Business Editor for The San Francisco Chronicle and Founding Editor of The Asheville Scene “an authoritative and colorful guide.”

About The Author: Susi Gott Séguret, CCP, CSW, hails from the depths of Appalachia in Madison County, North Carolina, but honed her culinary skills in France, where she resided for over 20 years, earning a diploma in Gastronomy and Taste from the Cordon Bleu and the Université de Reims. Author of several cookbooks including Appalachian Appetite, and Cooking with Truffles, Susi orchestrates multiple sensory experiences including the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts, the Asheville Truffle Experience, and the Appalachian Culinary Experience. Passionate about elements of taste and style, and how they extend from our palate into our daily lives, Susi strives to blend food, music, words and images into a tapestry for the senses.  you must visit her site  susigott.com and learn more about this talented lady!
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Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
NV PRIMI-40 Cabernet from Navarra, Spain
Dark-garnet in the glass, this wine has a nose of blackberry, mocha and a touch of summer farm stand. A wall of rugged tannins supports black currant, raspberry, cocoa powder, coffee bean and olive-tapenade flavors that fade into a lasting, orange-zest finish. ABV 13.5%
…
Grab a bottle or three at Jacob Liquor Exchange on N. Rock
and join us.  Navarra is one of the lessor known regions in Spain
and has had great success with growing Cabernet!
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Oct 5 – ATBBQ Fundraiser, Grape Stomp at Grace Hill and InstaFarm

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Guy

Lot’s of FUN to be had today!  Up first is Don Cary founder and KING of All Things Barbecue in Delano.  Not only have they started doing dinner on the grill cooking demos with Chef Tom, this week they are hosting a Fundraiser on The Patio for Rainbows. Today, 11am-2pm.  Rainbows United Wichita  All Things Barbecue

Up next is Dave Sollo, former MD and now Founder and chairman emeritus of Grace Hill Winery in White Water.

Grace Hill is hosting  the 11th Annual Grape Stomp!  A unique opportunity for the whole family to enjoy, the event begins at noon with a stroll into the vineyard looking for the secondary crop of grapes put on by the vines after the primary crop was picked the month before. While these grapes won’t ever reach a ripeness level to be made into wine, they are perfect for stomping on!

And since you’re sure to work up a thirst and an appetite while channeling your inner Lucille Ball, Mi Sueno will be serving up delicious eats, and the bar will be stocked with Grace Hill Wines, sangria, local beers, sparkling grape juice, soda and water for all to enjoy! We’ll also have live music providing the musical inspiration to get your dancing feet stomping on them grapes!

Admission is free, no reservations are required, all ages are welcome, and it is a come and go event, so show up whenever you would like and join us for a stompin’ good time!  www.gracehillwinery.com

Last but certainly not least is Philip Hartman, founder and CEO of  

Based in northern Colorado, Instafarm was started by a group of entrepreneurs who also happen to be health enthusiasts. We believe that growing in soil is the best way to produce our food, since most food naturally grows that way. This belief set us out on a journey to discover the best way to automate soil based growing. After several years of R&D on automating soil based growing, we launched Instafarm to bring our countertop farm to market. Instafarm now has customers all around the United States and is preparing to expand internationally.  www.instafarm.ag

This is a cool device that allows you to produce several different herbs and salad greens through the winter.  Completely self contained, easy to use and a great teaching tool for kids and adults about growing healthy, nutritious greens year-round.  Buy one outright, lease one, order seed trays or subscribe to get even more.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2023 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc
Our California Sauvignon Blanc has aromas of white peach, honeydew melon, guava, and passionfruit with citrus notes. On the palate, the wine opens with tropical fruit flavors followed by crisp, refreshing acidity on the mid-palate and notes of tangerine and grapefruit on the long, clean balanced finish. ABV13.9%

Check out the tech sheet to learn more.

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