This past week I worked a corporate food show and was amazed at the differences between consumer food shows and corporate shows. First of all, at a consumer show, anyone who can afford a ticket can go and it is usually restaurants and local and/or celeb chefs doing the cooking. The attendees just go around and try samples of food that the chefs are featuring at their restaurants, or food that they are showing off. Sometimes it is even chefs showing off for one another. At a corporate show, the attendees are buyers for corporate chains and the chefs from product lines and different companies are showing folks at the corporate level the different ways their products can be used. Of course there is a measure of showmanship involved, but it is more about the application of the featured products or product line that is key to the event. Here is one of the dishes Chef James O’Donnell with Texas Pete made (I assisted him).
Left to right: Chocolate Chipotle Truffle with Spicy Raspberry Sauce, Tempura Bacon with Hot Sauce Spiked Whipped Honey, Fruit “Sushi” with Spicy Coconut Raspberry Sauce – of course all the items were made with sauces from the Texas Pete line.

Also at a corporate event there are seminars of all kinds showcasing new techniques, and of course food trends. Apparently Southern Cooking is on the rise, according to one of the experts at the event. So here is what I want to know:
Who decides what the upcoming trends are?
How do they make that determination?
Do they have a panel of foodies that get a questionnaire?
Is it like the fashion industry, where a bunch of designers decide Burnt Umber is THE color and that’s that?
Do they follow what Chefs are doing and extrapolate from there?
Inquiring minds want to know!

Well, one of the food trends that has taken hold nationwide and is peaking, is a return to farm to table cooking and utilizing ONLY what is in season. Restaurants change their menus frequently, sometimes daily, based on what they can get their hands on, but a “seasonal” menu has become the norm. This is the way people used to eat. No strawberries in December, fresh tomatoes in the summer and squashes in the winter months. A simpler task in California and the mid-west to be sure, but even Chefs here in Vegas strive to work with THE most seasonal produce available and do it very successfully. That being said, I had one of the single best meals in LA recently. John and I went to a place called animal. Yes, it’s all lower case, and don’t bother looking for a sign, there isn’t one. It’s on Fairfax, up the street from Canter’s Deli (Moment of Truth – Canter’s was some of the worst corned beef hash I have ever had…I don’t care if they are a landmark institution!). Chef Frank Anderson from their sister property, Son of a Gun, made the reservation for us (Thank YOU Chef Jesse Moreno for the recommendation and intro!) at 9 pm and when we arrived the line was STILL out the door.

Let’s just say we had 7 different dishes – all small plates – and they each had a completely different flavor profile. No one in the kitchen was playing favorites in the spice cabinet. There wasn’t a dog in the bunch and the nectarine and goat cheese salad was so delicious those nectarines had to have been picked that day! The Chefs at animal could teach a few things about farm to table to lots of people here in Vegas. It was truly one of the best meals I have ever had, and incredibly reasonably priced!

Chicken Liver Toast with Blackberry Jam

Nectarine and Goat Cheese Salad with Purslane

Buffalo Style Crispy Pig Tails

We also went to a cocktail event at Son of a Gun for a Low Country Boil sponsored by Imbibe Magazine – another fantastic meal!

So if you go to LA and you need recommendations on where to eat – definitely go to animal and Son of a Gun. Remember – don’t bother looking for signs…there aren’t any…