Celebrity chefs give insight into trends
Celebrity chefs give insight into trends
Celebrity chef product endorsements are expensive propositions. Famous spokespeople like Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Paula Deen and Emeril Lagasse, who have achieved near movie-star status, cost about as much for an appearance as a college education. For a name endorsement on a product, their agents would negotiate a percentage of every piece of fruit or vegetable produced for the duration of a contract.
But those in the foodservice industry can certainly benefit by staying informed about this growing segment of the culinary industry in order to stay updated on food trends of the day.
One chef to watch is Walter Staib, a consultant and operator of the historic City Tavern in Philadelphia, who grew up in a family of restaurateurs in the Black Forest area of southwestern Germany. By age four, he was peeling garlic and doing other random kitchen jobs. There was never any doubt in his mind as to his life-long passion.
In the mid-1960s, Chef Staib worked at the Chessery in Gstaad, Switzerland, which was owned by Aga Khan. "The playground of the rich and famous," as the area was commonly called, was patronized by personalities including Brigitte Bardot, David Niven, Elizabeth Taylor, the duke and duchess of Windsor and other internationally known jet-setters.
Over the next couple of decades, Chef Staib entered the culinary industry in the United States, working for popular hotels and restaurants in several major cities, including Chicago and New York. In 1989, he founded Concepts By Staib Ltd., a hospitality consulting firm with an emphasis on turnkey restaurant concept development.
"Most people do not realize what it takes to maintain branding status and run a business at the same time," said Chef Staib. "It appears full of glitz and glitter, and people assume that the money is great. In truth, I put in 16- to 18-hour days when I am taping shows, giving demonstrations, traveling for book signings and appearances to promote books."
If one of the top criteria for maintaining celebrity status is high energy, Chef Staib is well qualified. He said that he either plays tennis or works out with a trainer every morning, and walks several miles every night regardless of what time his day begins or his night ends. In addition to his regular schedule, he appears regularly on NBC and CNN morning shows, and is involved in many charity and non-profit events.
"We are also asked to do frequent interviews for newspapers and magazines, and they are important because they help to promote the books, the restaurant and my other involvements," said Chef Staib. "You have to be as responsive as possible, but it's also important to be sincere and grateful for the coverage I am granted. Keeping up the momentum of branding status is a non-stop job, and one that must be done with energy, grace and generosity."
Many of the appearances that Chef Staib makes involve not only taping a segment, but he must also feed as many as 1,000 network crewmembers, depending on the television venue. When people see a celebrity chef, it goes without saying that they want to be fed. At the same time, he has to oversee City Tavern's business and tend to his book business and consulting clients. Regarding produce, Chef Staib said his mantra is a firm "fresh only."
"We try to use only fresh seasonal produce in the restaurant in every possible instance," he said. "We feel that supporting local growers is important, and we know that we can always count on them to supply us with high-quality product. Of course, we also use major distributors and depend on them to help keep our refrigerators filled with the highest possible quality conventional items."
Shades of the Black Forest peek through in Chef Staib's use of fresh produce. Among his favorite recipes are beet salad, celery root and carrot salad, brussel sprouts with fennel seed and his favorite, white German asparagus prepared in too many ways to mention.
Since founding his consulting firm in 1989, Chef Staib has conceptualized and implemented more than 300 restaurants worldwide. He has also authored three cookbooks, "City Tavern Cookbook: 200 Years of Classic Recipes From America's First Gourmet Restaurant" (1999), "City Tavern Baking & Dessert Cookbook" (2003) and "Black Forest" (2006), all published by Running Press Book Publishers in Philadelphia.
In 1986, Chef Staib was appointed commandeur by the Association Internationale des Ma?tres Conseils en Gastronomie Fran?aise, and in 1987 he was awarded the Silver Plate. In 1995, he was honored as the first inductee into the Caribbean Culinary Hall of Fame in recognition of his pioneering work founding the Caribbean Culinary Federation.
Mr. Staib serves as the Ambassador to the Culinary Institute of America, and in 1996 he was also appointed the First Culinary Ambassador to the city of Philadelphia.
But those in the foodservice industry can certainly benefit by staying informed about this growing segment of the culinary industry in order to stay updated on food trends of the day.
One chef to watch is Walter Staib, a consultant and operator of the historic City Tavern in Philadelphia, who grew up in a family of restaurateurs in the Black Forest area of southwestern Germany. By age four, he was peeling garlic and doing other random kitchen jobs. There was never any doubt in his mind as to his life-long passion.
In the mid-1960s, Chef Staib worked at the Chessery in Gstaad, Switzerland, which was owned by Aga Khan. "The playground of the rich and famous," as the area was commonly called, was patronized by personalities including Brigitte Bardot, David Niven, Elizabeth Taylor, the duke and duchess of Windsor and other internationally known jet-setters.
Over the next couple of decades, Chef Staib entered the culinary industry in the United States, working for popular hotels and restaurants in several major cities, including Chicago and New York. In 1989, he founded Concepts By Staib Ltd., a hospitality consulting firm with an emphasis on turnkey restaurant concept development.
"Most people do not realize what it takes to maintain branding status and run a business at the same time," said Chef Staib. "It appears full of glitz and glitter, and people assume that the money is great. In truth, I put in 16- to 18-hour days when I am taping shows, giving demonstrations, traveling for book signings and appearances to promote books."
If one of the top criteria for maintaining celebrity status is high energy, Chef Staib is well qualified. He said that he either plays tennis or works out with a trainer every morning, and walks several miles every night regardless of what time his day begins or his night ends. In addition to his regular schedule, he appears regularly on NBC and CNN morning shows, and is involved in many charity and non-profit events.
"We are also asked to do frequent interviews for newspapers and magazines, and they are important because they help to promote the books, the restaurant and my other involvements," said Chef Staib. "You have to be as responsive as possible, but it's also important to be sincere and grateful for the coverage I am granted. Keeping up the momentum of branding status is a non-stop job, and one that must be done with energy, grace and generosity."
Many of the appearances that Chef Staib makes involve not only taping a segment, but he must also feed as many as 1,000 network crewmembers, depending on the television venue. When people see a celebrity chef, it goes without saying that they want to be fed. At the same time, he has to oversee City Tavern's business and tend to his book business and consulting clients. Regarding produce, Chef Staib said his mantra is a firm "fresh only."
"We try to use only fresh seasonal produce in the restaurant in every possible instance," he said. "We feel that supporting local growers is important, and we know that we can always count on them to supply us with high-quality product. Of course, we also use major distributors and depend on them to help keep our refrigerators filled with the highest possible quality conventional items."
Shades of the Black Forest peek through in Chef Staib's use of fresh produce. Among his favorite recipes are beet salad, celery root and carrot salad, brussel sprouts with fennel seed and his favorite, white German asparagus prepared in too many ways to mention.
Since founding his consulting firm in 1989, Chef Staib has conceptualized and implemented more than 300 restaurants worldwide. He has also authored three cookbooks, "City Tavern Cookbook: 200 Years of Classic Recipes From America's First Gourmet Restaurant" (1999), "City Tavern Baking & Dessert Cookbook" (2003) and "Black Forest" (2006), all published by Running Press Book Publishers in Philadelphia.
In 1986, Chef Staib was appointed commandeur by the Association Internationale des Ma?tres Conseils en Gastronomie Fran?aise, and in 1987 he was awarded the Silver Plate. In 1995, he was honored as the first inductee into the Caribbean Culinary Hall of Fame in recognition of his pioneering work founding the Caribbean Culinary Federation.
Mr. Staib serves as the Ambassador to the Culinary Institute of America, and in 1996 he was also appointed the First Culinary Ambassador to the city of Philadelphia.
