Welcome to

Zakary Pelaccio has four restaurants in New York City and Brooklyn, but the
flavors and textures come from 9,399 miles away.

At his Fatty Crab restaurants, Malaysian-inspired food is king. They use spices,
fermented condiments, chiles, and tons of coconut milk to build their unbelievable
flavors. And while the cuisine stays true to the Malaysian palate, the Fatty uses
ideas from other Southwest Asian cultures as well as western techniques to
accomplish some really amazing food. Along the way they support as many local
farmers and producers as possible. No small feat when cooking tropical cuisine
in a temperate climate.

Zak gives all the credit to his people.

A tight-knit core group of young, knowledgeable, energetic people is the crew
that makes these joints jump. And jump they do. A great mix of music, refined
cocktails, a wine list to match the food’s robust flavors all combine for an exhila-
rating time at the table.

But Zak’s not a one-trick pony. His interest in all things Malay is spilling over into
an Asian-inspired barbecue joint called Fatty ‘Cue. Opening in early 2010, this
outpost in Williamsburg, Brooklyn will surely become a ‘must go’ destination.

But, wait–that’s not all!

In Spanish, Cabrito means ‘kid goat’. In the West Village find the magenta goat
above the door and you’ll be moments away from the tastiest tacos around. Zak’s
partner in crime here is David Shuttenberg. David and his crew are masters of
marinated, spicy flavorful meats. Pork belly, al carbon, goat belly, al pastor, even
braised tongue fill house-made tortillas with run-down-your-arm goodness. (If this
sounds like a plug it’s because we can’t get enough of these little packets of joy.)

Good food. Good people. Good vibes. It is truly the Fatty Way.

Joseph Wrede is as farm-centric as they come. If it’s grown (the right way) in
the ground, on pasture, or pulled from the water, he wants it in his restaurant
and on his plates.

Since the early days (when his restaurant was only slightly less well-known)
and located down the road in Ranchos de Taos, Joseph has turned out com-
pletely original, yet somehow classic plates. Now located on the historic Taos
Plaza, inside the Hotel la Fonda de Taos, Joseph’s Table has become what
The New York Times described as, “unmissable”.

Joseph has worked with the notion that to use anything other than the very
best ingredients was not an option. Forging an alliance with his local sources,
he gets vegetables from up the road at  Morning Star Farm of Taos, wild things
(like chanterelles) foraged by a few of the area’s in-the-know folks, lamb from
over the mountain, impeccably fresh fish and beef from pastured cows.

Joseph is doing more than cooking. His devotion to ‘local’ extends to helping
to build Taos (and its local farmers) into a stronger, better community.

Special thanks to Putnam Murdock for the brilliant music you hear.

Andy Little has a dream job. No, his salary is not equal to or greater than the
captains of industry of whom we’ve been reading. He has no private jet on call.

Not yet.

What he does have is a food community in his home town of Hanover, PA
that would be the envy of a lot of chefs from New York to San Francisco.

The Restaurant at the Sheppard Mansion is where Andy is executive chef and
chief procurer of all things local. Perfect local produce? Check. Absolutely
delicious pork, beef and chicken? Check. He gets it all from local, small-scale,
growers and producers that just happen to also be his very good friends.

“When the tomato lady comes in for dinner, she’s treated like a rock star,”
says Mr. Little. “Our servers tell our guests, ‘that lady grew the tomatoes you’re
eating tonight’ and they get very excited’. There’s an identity, a story behind
their food and people are more and more appreciating that.”

If you’re ever in and around the southern Pennsylvania, Northern Maryland
area, The Restaurant at the Sheppard Mansion is well worth a detour.

You might even see the Tomato Lady.

Last year, at Thanksgiving time, we were given an incredible opportunity.
Beth Hauptle from Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) asked us to document
an event in which her organization was involved in New York City.

Animal Welfare Approved is a non-profit organization that goes out into the
field and verifies the conditions under which a farm’s animals are being raised.
Earning an approval from AWA means the animal was raised humanely and in
a sustainable way, on a family farm, with animal welfare at the core of their
program. To quote Robert Kennedy, Jr., “Animal Welfare Approved is the
gold standard for how animals should be taken care of.”

AWA teamed with The Community Kitchen at the Food Bank for New York City,
Heritage Foods USA, the Greenmarket of New York City and Good Shepherd
Turkey Ranch located near Lindsborg, Kansas to provide a unique Thanksgiving feast.

On Wednesday, November 26, 2008, over eight hundred clients of the Food Bank
were fed a hot, delicious Thanksgiving banquet. The meal featured donated locally
grown, organic vegetables and humanely-raised, heritage turkeys from the
aforementioned Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch.

Work had begun two days earlier with Executive Chef Zak Palaccio (known for
his NYC restaurants, Fatty Crab and 5 Ninth) and Executive Chef David
Schuttenberg (Cabrito, NYC) helming a troop of unpaid volunteers generously
donating their time. The team peeled vegetables, ‘pre-roasted’ the turkeys and
set the stage for what was a genuine, shared experience.

Nathan Gross, Head Chef at the Food Bank, coordinated the workflow in the
kitchen as he spoke to us about the people enjoying the meal he helped prepare.

“These folks can’t afford to go to a good restaurant, but there is no reason we can’t
bring a good restaurant to them. They say to me, ‘Chef, this is delicious.’ That’s all
the thanks I need.”

It never ceases to amaze us how generous food people are with their time,
talent and energy. To learn more about this special day and the amazing people
who made it possible, click on the video below.

For a guy who thinks locally, he sure gets around: Training at La Varenne
in Paris, cooking at notable 3-stars in France, mentored by Alice Waters
at Chez Panisse, then on to Michael’s in Santa Monica. From there, New
York, where he’s credited with bringing California cuisine to the city’s scene
with Jams, Bud’s and Washington Park.

Jonathan’s upbringing got him into local food early on. Growing up visiting
his grandparents’ farm gave him knowledge of how agriculture works.

Today’s he is chef-owner of Barbuto in the West Village and Madaleine
Mae on the Upper West Side. He manages to still keep a hand in California
with his West County Grill in Sebastopol.

A wag once said that ‘it’s easy when you know how” and Jonathan’s
use of simple ingredients, simply prepared, proves how right the wag was.

Shot at Barbuto in New York City and in the Hudson Valley. Special thanks
to Steve Lewis for producing Chad Fisher Group’s music for this story.

Thank you to Peter Pioppo for use of his handsome portrait of Mr. Forgione.

Rhinebeck, New York–In an beautiful renovated church, Josh Kroner is serving
the freshest possible ingredients at his hugely successful restaurant. He is a
supporter of the Slow Food movement, so much so that he named his restaurant,
Terrapin. As in turtle. Pretty slow. Not the service–the local food attitude.

In an earlier life, Josh chefed at Mesa Grill (under Bobby Flay) where he learned
all about building flavor. He’s taken those lessons to heart at his own restaurant.
There’s even a duck quesadilla on his menu.

His support of local producers means great stuff on the plates coming out of
his kitchen. This is a chef committed to local, slow, quality ingredients.

Shot in and around Rhinebeck, New York.

When discussing ingredient driven restaurants, Blue Hill at Stone Barns in
Pocantico Hills, New York and the original Blue Hill in New York City have to
be near the top of the list. Chef Dan Barber may be the face of this operation
but he is quick to credit the professional staff that makes things work so well.
Blue Hill at Stone Barns combines a working farm, restaurant and education
center in spectacular Hudson Valley surroundings. When you eat dinner in
the restaurant, chances are the produce was brought to the kitchen from the
field that afternoon. Yes, it’s that fresh and local.

Watch the video shot at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Stone Barns Center for
Food and Agriculture

Chef Peter Hoffman has a knack for choosing produce for his renowned restaurant at just the right time. He’s well known for riding his custom designed bicycle to the Union Square Greenmarket to supply Savoy with the freshest fruits and vegetables. His mission is simple: to produce memorable meals from the finest ingredients purchased from farmers he knows. He’s also very active in the politics of food and supports sustainable farming wholeheartedly.

The video below was shot at the Union Square Market in New York City.