Lots of food news to catch up on, so here goes:
Check out TODAY tomorrow: Aviva Goldfarb, the Chevy Chase cookbook author, school lunch activist, family dinner aficionado and creator of “The Six O’Clock Scramble” dinner planning service, is appearing on NBC’s TODAY show, tomorrow June 12. Goldfarb said she’ll be demonstrating easy family-friendly meals that can be made in less time than it takes to heat up a frozen pizza. “Probably one of recipes will be fried egg and avocado sandwiches,” she said.
Although Goldfarb has appeared more than a dozen times on television, this is her national network TV debut. “I’ve been trying to get on the TODAY Show for 10 years,” she said. A public relations firm with good connections to the show finally made it happen. She’ll be appearing sometime during the 10 a.m. segment, probably at the end of the hour.
For more information about Goldfarb, go to www.thescramble.com
New toque at the top: The Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club promoted its former sous chef, William Pack Jr. to the top position. Pack replaces former executive chef Scott Mullen, who left several weeks ago. Lorraine Martineau, the former pastry chef, is now sous chef at the Wisconsin Avenue music and dining venue, which opened on March 1. The continental menu, which features a taste of New Orleans cuisine, is currently under review; some items will be added and others deleted, according to proprietor Rick Brown.
7719 Wisconsin Ave. Bethesda, bethesdabluesjazz.com
Gator Ron’s goes international: Last August, Bethesda resident Connie Griffith started selling a line of Bloody Mary mixes and barbecue and wing sauces using recipes from her late husband Ron, who died from Lou Gehrig’s disease in November 2011. A portion of the proceeds from the products have been going to the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at John Hopkins.
In less than a year, Gator Ron’s Zesty Sauces & Mixes have really taken off. And just today, the first orders for the products were shipped to Canada.
Griffith and her business partner Debbie Kaufmann were introduced to an Ontario distributor through the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s import/export group, and “he loved our products,” Kaufmann said.
So do a lot of other people. Not only did the company recently receive recognition as the “Start Up Company of the Year” by Montgomery County's Small Business Awards, but Gator Ron’s products are now sold in more than 70 locations in the Baltimore/Washington metro area and the Eastern Shore. The Bloody Mary mixes are also available in 17 of Montgomery County’s 23 liquor stores, and are used by a number of restaurants and bars, including Mon Ami Gabi and Olazzo in Bethesda.
Bryan Voltaggio returns to Top Chef: If you haven’t already heard, Bryan Voltaggio, chef/co-owner of Range restaurant in Chevy Chase (and Volt, Family Meal and Lunchbox in Frederick) will be among 13 chefs appearing in season five of “Top Chef Masters,” premiering July 24 on Bravo. The Washington Post first reported the news last week.
