Cooking with Strangers,

Dining with Friends, An

Interactive Experience

Ray Brasted and Susan Lazarus

We didn't know what to expect as we walked into the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival's Barilla Interactive Dinner. We were actually going to cook with strangers? How was that going to work?

We found our table in the banquet hall and introduced ourselves to our new cooking colleagues. We were already feeling a lot more relaxed thanks to the champagne we sipped while waiting for the doors to open. A bit more wine was served at the table and we were ready to cook.

The evening was facilitated by Lidia Bastianich, award winning chef, author and Public Television cooking show host. She was joined by her son, Joe Bastianich who owns a number of award winning restaurants and three wineries. Also on the podium were Lorenzo Boni, Executive Chef of Barilla America, Cody Hogan, Chef at Lidia's Kansas City, Fortunato Nicotra of Felida New York and Phillippe Ruiz of the Palme d'Or restaurant at the Biltmore Hotel.

With such an illustrious team helping us out, how could we go wrong? After enjoying the already prepared Academia Barilla, consisting of Cherry Tomatoes and Academia Barilla Shaved Pecorino and a plate of Organic Goat Cheese Terrine with Black Olive Tapenade, Roasted Italian Sausage and locally grown greens, we were ready to cook.

In turn,  members of our table prepared Montasio Frico with Potato and Crab Filling and then moved on to Fish Soup with Barilla Ditalini and Academia Barilla Cherry Tomatoes. The main course was Ahi Tuna, Radicchio and Balsamic-Beet Vinaigrette and we finished up with the already prepared Pistachio Brownie Napoleon. Along the way we enjoyed wine pairings with each dish.

By the end of the evening we had made new friends and discovered the joy of cooking with a team. "This is a fantastic way of giving a cooking lesson," said Chef Lidia Bastianich. "You can really get into it and these recipes reflect who we really are."

Participants left with a copy of "Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy - A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes", assorted Barilla products and wonderful memories of an interactive experience.

Learn more about the festival at www.sobe.com and mark your calendars for next year's events. (Photo by Ray Brasted)

FIU Students Work Hard, Raise Money for

Scholarships at Wine & Food Fest

When the greatest names in the restaurant industry converged for FIU School of Hospitality annual fundraiser: 2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, February 25 – 28, 2010 it was not only good food and good fun, it was also for a good cause: Florida International University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. More than $2 million dollars has been raised for FIU School of Hospitality for student scholarships, and to enhance the experience of students by investing in program, faculty and facility enhancement.

For the 2010 Festival celebrity chefs and personalities such as Rachael Ray, Emeril Lagasse, Ming Tsai, Paula Dean, Bobby Flay, Michael Lomonaco joined famed South Florida based chefs such as Michelle Bernstein, Kenny Lyon, Michael Schwartz, Jonathan Eismann and Allen Susser – to name just a handful of participants -- to once again position Miami-Dade County as the culinary capital of the world during the festival. Everyone is drawn to the event, not just for the celebration, but also for the opportunity to benefit one of the leading hospitality programs of its kind in the world.

Formerly known as the “Florida Extravaganza”, proceeds from the South Beach Wine & Food Festival benefit FIU’s School of Hospitality. Over the past 10 years, over a $6 million dollars has been raised to enhance the students experience at the School of Hospitality by expanding the School of Hospitality Teaching Restaurant and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were set aside for student scholarships.

“The students of FIU are the real winners of this festival. They provide tireless support for the four-day weekend of events while reaping indispensable real world industry experience,” says Joan Remington, Interim Dean, FIU School of Hospitality.

FIU Hospitality Management senior AJ Mindermann, assistant culinary manager at the 2009 festival, knows first hand the value of working with industry leaders in a real-world experience. “The experience is priceless,” Mindermann said. “You can’t put a number on it. I got so many internship opportunities from chefs last year. The networking is terrific. It’s probably one of the biggest career-jumpers there is.”

Having just completed his second year in a leadership role at the Festival, Arthur was honored with the Barilla Best FIU Student Chef Award, and a $1500 cash prize.  Barilla established this award to recognize students at FIU’s School of Hospitality and who exhibit their commitment to and passion for the culinary arts.

Hundreds of other students benefit from real-world experience at the Festival. Experiences range from fulfilling thousands of ticket orders to restaurant solicitation, sponsorship fulfillment to meeting and greeting guests at myriad activities throughout the annual four-day festival. Overall, some 850 Hospitality majors – most with excellent internship experience already under their belts – worked in a variety of key capacities both before and during the festival.

“I hear comments like ‘the experience changed my life’,” said FIU Chef-Instructor and South Beach Wine & Food Festival Culinary Director, Michael Moran. “You don’t expect to go to school and have a teacher say that there’s a field trip to cook barbecue for 500 people.”

Students are required to work 1,000 hours in the hospitality industry and then complete a 300-hour internship. Upon graduation, students are prepared to compete for top positions in every aspect of the hospitality industry. To date, the School’s graduates have a 100% career placement record.

For more information, visit www.hospitality.fiu.edu.

Rock Musical "The 12" World

Premiere, April 1 at Broward Center

If the World Premiere of "The 12" scheduled for April 1 at the Broward Center has half the passion as the show's composer and lyricist Neil Berg and show producer Adam Friedson, audiences will be in for a very special treat.

This is an original rock musical that seeks to join the ranks of Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, Rent and Spring Awakening. The story and concept are by Berg who expressed a "life long fascination with religion" when he spoke at a recent Fort Lauderdale press conference. The show is written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Robert Shenkkan.

"This was written from the heart," Berg told reporters at a special screening of a 12 minute "showcase-type" performance recently held in a New York City club. "I wanted to explore the dramatic questions surrounding one of the most important events in human history." Berg developed the music, lyrics and story concept.

Berg said that he was a rock and roller at heart and a musician with a love of the history of the genre. "I wanted to write an authentic rock and roll show," he emphasized.

Producer Adam Friedson said it was his goal to bring together the b iggest names in contemporary theater to create a "great fusion" of Broadway talent. The show has cast Ron Bohmer (Phantom, Les Miserables, Ragtime) as the apostle Peter; Jeremey Kushnier (Rent, Footloose) as apostle Thomas; Pattie Russo (featured singer from Meatloaf, Trans Siberian Orchestra) as Mother Mary and The Devil; Michael Lanning (Broadway's The Civil War) as Simon; Sophia Ramos (VH1s Best Undiscovered Artist), as Mary Magdelene.  One of the great surprises was the casting of Palm Beach resident and former lead guitar player from the heavy metal band Anthrax, Dan Spitz.

Spitz said that he and Berg have known each other for a long time but was still surprised when offered a part in the musical. "Neil came to me and said, you need to be a part of this," Spitz said. This is another in a series of dramatic changes in the life of Spitz who gave up the music scene and left Anthrax to become a master watchmaker and founder of Spitzwatch.

The rock and roll production will be set in the context of a modern day underground rock band whose members face a crisis in their lives when their leader is murdered. The team behind the show expects "The 12" to appeal to a wide range of audiences and are doing a lot of preliminary ground work to let the religious community know about the show and what it seeks to accomplish. They say it is about how people react under pressure and how they interact with each other. It won't hurt that, judging from the samples of music from the production, at heart it will be a rock and roll event with great vocal talent and great music.

The show will play in several small markets as the cast and music is fine tuned and then open April 1 at the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. For ticket information visit www.browardcenter.org.      (Story and Photo by Ray Brasted - Promenade News)

"Where the Boys Are"

On January 29, 2010, Singer Connie Francis exited from a vintage muscle car, escorted by modern day muscle men, to promote the 50th Anniversary event remembering the movie "Where the Boys Are" filmed on Fort Lauderdale Beach, across from the famous Elbow Room, which still remains. Francis recalled that when she visited the beach for the first time she thought there was nothing there. Little did she know at the time that the movie would inspire millions of spring breakers for the next four decades.

Mayor Jack Seiler announced plans for a special event May 28-29, 2010 to celebrate the anniversary of the film.

"Crazy Heart"

Acting of Jeff Bridges; script

Put "heart" into familiar theme

Movie Review by Susan Lazarus and Ray Brasted

You don't have to like country music to like this movie, but it helps. Jeff Bridges, one of our favorite and, we believe, sometimes undervalued actor, shines in the role of Bad Blake in the movie "Crazy Heart".

Bridges melds into the personality of a talented, but aging country singer on the skids. We first meet him, drunk and his pants unbuckled, driving to his next gig at a bowling alley. We are looking at a man who was once famous enough that people immediately recognize him. They know his songs and want to hear them over and over. But his life is as empty as the terrain of the vast southwestern states he drives through on his way to each job.

Booze, cigarettes and sometimes aging female groupies are his companions and he hasn't written or recorded a hit song in years. Got the picture? This would be a somewhat stereotypical movie of aging star in a downward life spiral if it weren't for the acting of Bridges who channels singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, who would have been perfect for the role a few years back.

Who can change his life? Not his agent. Not the young country superstar he mentored. He has no family, no friends and is killing himself. Hmmm. Maybe a woman could turn his life around.

Enter Jean (played by a coquettish Maggie Gyllenhaal) who is a reporter seeking to interview Bad for her newspaper. They have chemistry and she isn't turned off by his cigarette and booze breath or slept-in clothes. Or the fact he is more than twenty years older than her and she has a four-year-old son who needs a father figure in his life. Bad doesn't have a chance. He is totally captivated.

Their relationship hangs together out of genuine love and also their own individual need to find a future. We watch Bad struggle with being a responsible person while trying to reunite with his fan base with the encouragement of the young singer he helped to fame (played by a miscast, but adequate, Colin Farrell). But will the 57-year-old Bad work it all out before he keels over for good?

He has the help of the always dead-on actor, Robert Duvall, who  provides wisdom, support and friendship as an old friend. Duvall was one of the producers of the movie and his part probably wasn't necessary to film, but the on-screen time between Bridges and Duvall offered up some nice moments.

Finally we learn that Bridges can sing. He does his own vocals and was totally believable in the roll of a former star trying to find his long lost center. Sounds like a story line for a song. Maybe call it Crazy Heart, or something like that.

Although we start out thinking we know the outcome of each scene, the script doesn't take the easy way out and we are kept guessing what will happen next.

You will like Crazy Heart.

Ed. Note: Crazy Heart was written and directed by Scott Cooper. Producers, in addition to Robert Duvall were Scott Cooper, Judy Cairo and Rob Carliner. It screened at Cinema Paradio, Fort Lauderdale's year-around Art Theater which features movies, special events and programs. Learn more by visiting their web site at www.fliff.com.

Under a tent, golden shovels lift up the ceremonial dirt for what could be many major projects in this historic city. See related story on this web site, and watch for more more details in the upcoming edition of the Promenade News in print in February.

City of Dania Beach Breaks Ground for New Library

January 9, 2010: On a chilly, rainy Saturday morning, the visionaries and the government officials whose job is to attend such events (in some case they were one and them same) gathered outside of Dania Beach City Hall to break ground for a new library and parking garage.

Golden shovels in hand, city and county officials scooped up the wet soil marking the beginning of what planners hope will be a new Dania Beach, complete with a major City Center that will retail stores, parks and components of a major marine industry.

"We are going to bring restaurants, shops and tourists to our community," said Anne Castro, City of Dania Beach Mayor. Other speakers included Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl who recalled how important libraries were to him as a boy who was  often too poor to buy books.

The mayor recognized Jeremy Earle, Executive Director of the Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. Earle envisions a major marine industry and, in the coming years, new bridges, hotels and facilities that can accommodate all requirements of the $10 billion marine industry, even the owners  of the mega yachts that will come there from around the world.

But that is in the future. And it all has to start somewhere, and the new Paul DeMaio Branch Library is a fitting beginning. Keep your eye on Dania Beach, South Florida, the best is yet to come.

Is Bigger Always Better?

Okay... how do you start to talk about the largest cruise ship in the world? The Oasis of the Seas, whose home is in Fort Lauderdale, went on its first voyage in early December and that is where the reviews will begin to come out.

On a recent three hour walking tour we found that the inside of the Oasis is impressive. Theaters, pools everywhere, restaurants and, of course, Central Park, an atrium where inside cabins with balconies provide occupants a wonderful view.

We sampled several of the restaurants and checked out the spa, gaming area and clubs. We asked to view the rooms but were told they were not available. We were particularly interested in checking out the rooms designed to be accessible to persons with disabilities but, unfortunately, that was not to be.

Media colleagues who were invited on a two day cruise indicated that the size of the ship gears it more towards families then couples. One reason given is that reservations are needed for the shows and events. When you have over 5,000 people on board it is necessary to schedule everything.

This might not be a problem for some, but does contradict the long accepted concept that when you are on a cruise you have flexibility and freedom to be spontaneous. This is not a practical idea with five thousands fellow passengers trying to get into the same venue that might hold 1,400.

Our impression is that although the Oasis is beautiful, once you step on board you could just as well be in a grand hotel or even an upscale mall. You have to pay for some services such as the steam room in the spa, even if you pay for a massage, and there are other add-ons.

The cruise industry has been ahead of the curve in offering choices and upscale adventures, and there has been a lot of effort to make the Oasis of the Seas an attractive and very special ship. However, with more mega ships coming, it is our sense that there will be marketing challenges.

We are already hearing, "it is beautiful, but it is just too big."

Ray Brasted - Publisher, Ftlauderdalenews.net