Local with Local: 2 Regions. 2 Chefs.
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher
My ongoing Local with Local project is expanding beyond Long Island this summer. Expanding to the Finger Lakes.
Today, I'm happy to announce that Chef Deb Whiting, chef at Red Newt Bistro on Seneca Lake in New York's Finger Lakes region will be joining LwL vet Chef Doug Gulija of The Plaza Cafe in Southampton, NY. (Read more about Chef Doug)
Deb also happens to be co-owner of Red Newt Wine Cellars with her husband Dave Whiting, who is the winemaker. A winemaker and chef owning a winery and restaurant. Sounds like a power couple to me.
To side-step any potential conflicts or perceived conflicts, I will likely never ask Deb to create a dish to pair with one of Dave's wines. There are plenty of other great wines in the Finger Lakes to focus on, anyway.
My current plan, if the chefs can keep up with it, is to pick one one for each of them to create a dish for per month. We'll start this Wednesday with pairings for Channing Daughters Winery's 2007 Tocai Friulano and Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc.
Welcome aboard, Chef Deb. Looking forward to your contributions!
