In Our Winter 2019 Issue

Dear Reader,

As we usually do for our winter issue, we have taken a deeper dive into a topic that interests us and one we think will interest you, too. In these pages we drop in on the world of chefs and restaurateurs for a closer look at what inspires them, what vexes them and what drew them to work in food, especially here in Li’l Rhody. We’ve got history, current events and more on the wide-ranging topic of restaurants and we hope the serving we’re offering this winter gives you food for thought.

In this issue we learn from four female restaurateurs about the realities of owning a restaurant and what it means to be in that leadership role in a busy nonstop business that has demands coming from all sides—whether it be from patrons, staff or suppliers.

You’ll meet a chef/owner who was born in Haiti and, after settling in Rhode Island, has fulfilled a dream of opening her own restaurant despite the odds stacked against her. Her story will inspire you as much as her food will fill you with the warming flavors of the Caribbean.

Immigration is a hot button topic and the impact immigration policies are having on restaurants is being felt around the country, including a shortage in kitchen staffing from small chef/owner establishments to large resort and hotel kitchens. In "Cooking Up The American Dream" you will meet a number of chefs working in different capacities in Rhode Island restaurant kitchens and learn about their individual immigration stories and the challenges they’ve met carving out a living while moving up through the ranks of the kitchen hierarchy.

As restaurant customers, we can turn to Yelp to voice our opinions, whether warranted or not. Have you ever wondered what chefs are thinking and what their pet peeves might be? Find out here what irks both chefs and front-of-the-house staff and see if you’re guilty as charged.

We turn to several Rhode Island chefs to seek advice about their most essential tools—their kitchen knives. Narrowed down to the essential seven, find out what type of knife blades and shapes are missing from your kit and which knives chefs reach for most often.

In this issue we are also introducing a new column for seasonal cooking called Cooking Fresh Weeknight. Each season it will offer a delicious, quick-to-prepare recipe along with a great pro tip to ramp up the flavors for simple weeknight cooking with local and seasonal foods.

Looking for fun with food this winter? We’ve got another in our Gil’s Loves Local cooking class series—and this season we’ll be learning how to make a better risotto at home and how to prepare perfectly cooked, locally landed sea scallops with Chef Eddie Montalvo of Fluke Newport.

Don’t forget that December is the last month to vote for your 2020 Local Food Heroes. Please help us honor the people who bring us our food! 

And lastly, from all of us at Edible Rhody, we wish you a delectable holiday season and a New Year filled with mouthwatering flavors.