Sponsor:
International Polo Club Palm Beach
www.peronafarms.com
Executive Chef Kirk Avondoglio, Perona Farms, Andover, New Jersey is an exciting contemporary chef who is sought after from his home state's Drumthwacket, the official home of the New Jersey Governor in Princeton, to California, the Far East and Brazil. He participated in the First Festival of Master Chefs, held at the International Hotel in Mexico City and has given several seminars at Columbus Isle in The Bahamas for Club Med Resorts.
He has been recognized by Art Culinare, the James Beard Society, The New York Times, New York Newsday, Asbury Park Press and the Chicago Tribune as one of America's top contemporary chefs.
Kirk has hosted James Beard Dinners and has cooked at The James Beard House in New York City on many occasions, and has appeared on "Ready, Set, Cook" on TV's Food Network Cable Channel.
In 1992, Kirk established Perona Food Specialties, featuring his salmon products after trying his hand at smoking salmon in his great-grandfather's smokehouse. |
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Since that time, Cook's Illustrated Magazine has rated his smoked salmon the number one smoked salmon in the world. It is now shipped worldwide to the finer hotels, restaurants, and to discerning chefs.
Kirk is a graduate of the New York College of Culinary Arts. He and his wife, Mary, reside next door to Perona Farms. A picturesque and rambling 100 plus acre oasis established by his great-grandparents in 1917, Perona Farms is a Sussex County landmark. |
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David Britton
Managing Partner Saratoga Polo
Owner/Executive Chef Springwater Bistro
Sponsor:
Mr. and Mrs. I. Thomas Uskup and 302 Polo Cooperative
www.springwaterbistro.com
www.saratogapolo.com
“To nourish as well as nurture guests -- that is our ultimate goal.”
David Britton, Chef/Owner of Springwater Bistro, brings to the table more than two decades of experience in the United States, the Islands of Hawaii and Southern Europe. Chef Britton blends a mixture of classic and modern European culinary techniques in the kitchen. His international influences combined with a strong French foundation create a modern American style.
Born in Arizona, his mother encouraged him to understand the basic principals of a home kitchen. “She is a home economist by profession and simply insisted all her children learned to cook.” I always remember a gourmet club coming over for dinner, having to prepare our own school lunches and “family meal once or twice a week. Homemade ice cream was a weekend tradition. A high school food arts teacher suggested pursuing a culinary career.
Now just eighteen, he began cooking shortly after graduating high school at the Mobil Five Star Arizona Biltmore Hotel. Britton then enrolled in the American |
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Culinary Federation Cooks Apprenticeship offered by the Biltmore, a rigorous three year training program focusing on classic European and international cookery. Then, he subsequently worked at a series of premier world-class hotels -- The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, La Costa Resort and Spa, and Century Plaza’s “La Chaumiere” -- all located in the Golden State.
After wearing the top toque as Executive Chef at the Manele Bay Resort and Spa on the island of Lanai in Hawaii, Britton crossed an ocean and a continent to work at the renowned Inn at Little Washington. After the Inn, the Sagamore Resort on Lake George enticed Britton where he was Executive Chef at the Trillium Restaurant, earning a AAA Four-Diamond award as well as a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
Now firmly established on the East Coast, Chef Britton is dedicated to carrying on his tradition of excellence with his own restaurant. Springwater Bistro is a leading advocate of local regional fare. Innovative menus are created by
David Britton and written daily based on the availability of product, and the abundance of upstate farms keeps the kitchen of Springwater full of artisan ingredients.
A current member of the Chaine de Rotisseur and Chevalier de Taste Vin, David thoroughly enjoys meeting people who share a passion for food and wine.
“I have a humble philosophy; it simply takes a lifetime to learn how to cook. There are so many incredible influences; we are involved in such a dynamic profession. Always surround yourself with those of similar interests and be willing to accept new ideas.”
Fortunately, David has had an opportunity to work with some of the finest Chefs in the industry -- Patrick O’Connell, Kirk Avondoglio, Hubert Keller, Julian Serrano, Alan Wong, Gunter Seger, Michel Richard, Daniel Boulard, Ming Tsai, and Emeril Lagasse.
David lives in Upstate New York with his wife Cristina and their three children, Davin, Xander, and Madeleine.
Springwater Bistro is located in Saratoga Springs, New York, approximately 40 miles north of Albany on Route 87. |
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Hubert Des Marais
Director the Four Seasons Resort
Palm Beach’s Three Dining Venues, including The Restaurant
Sponsor:
It is not surprising that the culinary artistry of Hubert Des Marais is celebrated far and wide. Named one of “America’s Ten Best New Chefs” by Food & Wine magazine and frequently seen on PBS’ “Great Chefs of the Southeast,” Des Marais directs the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach’s three dining venues, including The Restaurant, which holds the American Automobile Association’s Five-Diamond Award.
In addition, Florida Trend magazine has presented Des Marais with the Golden Spoon Award, positioning The Restaurant among the “Top 20 in Florida” for ten consecutive years and South Florida magazine’s Critics Choice Awards named The Restaurant “One of the Best of the Year.” Of the cuisine, Palm Beach Illustrated recently noted, “be prepared for something unusual -- for once, everything is right.”
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Des Marais is noted for his southeastern regional cuisine, characterized by an inspired blend of the traditions and flavors of the Deep South, Caribbean, and South and Central America. Menus in both The Restaurant and The Ocean Bistro (the more informal of the hotel’s two dining rooms) typify this innovative style and include |
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such favorites as Yellowtail Snapper with Watermelon Relish, Lemon thyme and Tangelo Sauce and Guava Braised Short Ribs of Beef with Truffle Scented Cress Salad, Okra and Sweet Corn.
The source for much of Des Marais’s inspiration is found in his tropical herb and rare fruit garden. Located just beyond the kitchen door, it is a verdant patch producing quantities of Jamaican pink guavas, Meyer and Ponderosa lemons, carambola, five varieties of edible ginger, lemon verbena, pineapple sage, and seven varieties of basil, to name just a few. The garden’s focal point: a new state-of-the-art greenhouse, constructed under the direction of the President of the Orchid Society, where Des Marais cultivates orchids and exotic tropical herbs. But the truest testament to his passion for freshness is his extraordinary network of suppliers. This network of local fruit and vegetable growers, farmers, ranchers, and fishermen allows Des Marais to create menus that showcase not only the freshest, but the most interesting regional products Hubert Des Marais available. From Northern Florida, for example, come 30 varieties of garden greens, as well as heirloom vegetables and tomatoes.
While the menu primarily showcases the regional bounty of South Florida, Des Marais goes further afield for many signature ingredients. From the Caribbean, comes hearts of palm, hog snapper, and conch and from Europe, crones (Chinese artichokes).
His inspiration for many new ideas and ingredients comes through traveling, whether on vacation (Italy and Asia are at the top of his list) or “at work” as a guest chef (Four Seasons properties in New York, Chicago, Punta Mita, Aviara and Austin have showcased Hubert). He has been a guest chef aboard QE2, cooked at the James Beard House in New York many times, and was among a handful of chefs invited to cook for the James Beard Foundation Awards Gala.
His aim is simple, to prepare “deliciously healthy” food that is fresh, flavorful, and truly inventive in their marriage of textures and seasoning. Cooking Light magazine’s “Enlightened Chef” column showcased his “alternative cuisine,” spotlighting a 308-calorie Skillet-Seared Salmon with Curried Pineapple Essence. He is a two-time regional winner (1995 and 1996) of Evian’s Healthy Cooking Awards.
Des Marais grew up in North Carolina, in a family interested in art, theater, and cooking. His grandmother, whose culinary pursuits included everything from gardening to cultivating bees, inspired an early love of cooking. “I learned the basics of elegant Southern cooking and very formal entertaining. In Blowing Rock, we got out all the silver, even for everyday celebrations.”
Prior to joining Four Seasons, Des Marais honed his cooking and administrative skills at several of the South’s most luxurious hotels. These include the Ritz-Carlton Houston, where he was executive sous chef; Hawk’s Cay Resort in the Florida Keys, where he was executive chef; and South Carolina’ s famed Kiawah Island, where he was chef of The Charleston Gallery, the resort’s fine dining room.
Des Marais is actively involved in dozens of food-related organizations, including the James Beard Society, Chaine de Rotisseurs, the American Institute of Wine and Food, the American Culinary Federation, the Herb Society, the Rare Fruit Council and the End Hunger Network. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the Florida Culinary Institute. In spite of a non-stop schedule, he is a frequent participant in the many local charity events that mark the Palm Beach social calendar. On the occasional day off, he spends time with his wife and young son, tending to his rare fruit trees, growing orchids and sport fishing offshore. |
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Warren Drew
Executive Chef Chef at the Lancaster Country Club
Sponsor:
Mr. and Mrs. John Walsh
Chef Warren Drew began his career in the restaurant trade when his father bought a restaurant. At the tender age of 10, Warren found himself doing everything from washing dishes, making garlic toast, and chopping bleu cheese, to breading fish. On weekends, he even cleaned the restaurant. You might say he started at the bottom.
By the age of 14, Chef Drew was cooking 110 dinners a night, and had the thrill of cooking for one of his childhood heroes, Evil Knievel. In high school, Drew attended the BOCES food service program under Chef Maurice Clark. Clark later willed his 1861 Mrs. Beetons Cookbook to his star pupil. Chef Drew catered his first wedding at age 17, and has continued to enjoy catering ever since.
When Drew was just 18, Chef Bob Mason recruited him to the Hall of Springs, in Saratoga Springs. Drew found himself working at the Patrons Club, with an elite clientele that included Governor Nelson Rockefeller, the Whitneys, the Vanderbilts, and others. Secratariat ran that year, and it was an exciting time to be in Saratoga. That fall, Drew accompanied Chef Mason to Safety Harbour Spa. He returned to western New York to work at a family-owned country club, and then the Hunters Horn Inn, a five star restaurant. Drew welcomed the opportunity to personalize every dish served in his dining room. He worked with Chef Louis Venezia during these years, and spent several years as a food service instructor in Sanborn, New York. Chef Drew left teaching to open a restaurant located in a mansion formerly owned by Susan B. Anthony’s cousin and Supreme Court Justice Henry Childs. When he sold this business, Drew returned to working in restaurants and clubs throughout western New York. He is currently Chef at the Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, New York, where his menu features progressive twists on classic cuisine.
Warren Drew has appeared numerous times on television, and has been frequently profiled for his support of a variety of charity dinners, including a five course meal to benefit the Liver Association. He has received medals for beef and poultry preparation, as well as an award from the Wine and Food Society when he was chef at the Hunters Horn Inn. Chef Drew’s philosophy is simple: if you are not going to have fun and express your passion for food, do not bother to show up for work in his kitchen.
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Stephen Topper
Chef du Cuisine Saratoga Polo
Chef Topper grew up in this area of upstate New York in the small town of Galway. He is no stranger to farm fresh product as his family operated a small hobby farm raising their own beef, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and rabbits. Topper got his formal education at Johnson & Wales University completing his bachelor’s degree in culinary arts in 1997.
Early in his career Chef Topper spent time working in Washington D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia before coming home to upstate New York. He worked at The Sagamore Resort on Lake George for seven years moving up through the ranks to the position of Executive Sous Chef. His next move was to assume the role of Executive Chef at The Friends Lake Inn in Chestertown where elevating the quality of food to match the impressive wine list won many awards. Wine Spectator’s Grand Award, along with hardware from Santé Magazine, and several medals from local American Culinary Federation sponsored competitions all came in short order under Topper’s direction.
Leaving the inn to join forces with David Britton of Springwater Bistro, the duo set out to take on the foodservice at Saratoga Polo –Catering and Events. Topper is the Chef de Cuisine at Saratoga Polo leading a culinary brigade through un-chartered territory and delighting patrons all along the way.
When he’s not in the kitchen, you can often find Topper in the fields and forests or on the streams and lakes of New York pursuing his other passions; hunting and fishing. As an avid outdoorsman who takes pride in the utilization of the resources afforded to him through living in rural New York, Topper has his roots in this area. |
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Suzanne Tracht
Chef and Owner Jar Restaurant
Sponsor:
Mr. and Mrs. Joe DiMenna - Equuleus Polo
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Suzanne Tracht began her culinary career during college, where, as an apprentice to renowned chef Siegbert Wendler at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, she spent three years learning the complexities and demands of the professional kitchen. She worked her way through nearly every job in the restaurant, including dishwashing, pantry and cooking vegetables, mastering enough skills to move to Los Angeles in 1988 and break into the city’s already growing restaurant scene.
After completing stages at the Westin Century Plaza Hotel & Spa and the prestigious Hotel Bel Air, Suzanne became sous chef at the new Noa Noa restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1991, one of the first Cal-Asian fusion restaurants to introduce the flavors of the East to those of the West.
Following this achievement, she joined the critically acclaimed Campanile restaurant as sous chef in 1990 where owners Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton provided the guidance and freedom for Suzanne to prepare delicious food made with quality and simplicity, a style that defines her culinary trademark today.
In 1994, Suzanne became the executive chef of Jozu, a restaurant praised for its imaginative menu blending Pacific Rim flavors with California Cuisine. The restaurant experienced a successful run, but Suzanne dreamed of opening her own contemporary chop house in Los Angeles.
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Her ambition was realized with the opening of Jar in 2001 and business continues to thrive four years later. Suzanne is finally cooking the foods close to her heart and experiencing the greatest triumph of her career. “I love feeding people,” says Suzanne. “I like to cook what I like to eat, using wonderful ingredients and cooking them simply. Jar is just the perfect environment for making my favorite foods and we provide a warm and relaxed setting that makes it the neighborhood restaurant I’ve always imagined.”
Food & Wine magazine named Suzanne among “America’s Best New Chef’s 2002” and she has been recently featured in the Los Angeles Times, More and Bon Appetit magazines. Jar has received stellar reviews in Los Angeles, Angeleno and Los Angeles Confidential magazines. In her three star review of the restaurant, Los Angeles Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila says, “Tracht’s attention to detail sets Jar apart. It's not only good, it's absolutely reliable. How rare is that?” Brad Johnson of Angeleno gives Jar four stars saying, “I can’t think of anyone who makes a better pot roast than Tracht.”
Patric Kuh gives Suzanne the highest accolades in his review of Jar. “Suzanne Tracht has a French sense of proportion, and Italian appreciation of minimal intervention, and a Japanese awareness of modulation. She might have the most finely tuned and modern sensibility of any cook working in L.A.,” says Kuh in his review for Los Angeles magazine, December 2005. Kuh also named Jar as one of Los Angeles’ top 25 restaurants in Los Angeles magazine’s January 2005 issue.
Suzanne has two children, Ida and Max, who can often be seen doing their homework at Jar. She balances out the pressures of running a busy restaurant with spinning class, hiking in the Hollywood Hills and riding her bike at the beach. |
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