Dining out for Haiti

Atlanta restaurants are helping in the relief efforts in Haiti by raising funds. Here's a roundup of benevolent dining deals and ways to help the earthquake victims in Haiti.

Got a tip for me? E-mail me at kpalladino@sundaypaper.com.


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The Melting Pot Atlanta Area makes it easy to help Haiti. Post your words of encouragement for the people of Haiti to the Melting Pot's Facebook Fan Page wall at https://www.facebook.com/meltingpotatl. The restaurant is donating $1 per post to the American Red Cross and one lucky fan will receive a $100 Gift Certificate.

Tuesday, Jan. 26
The Mellow Mushroom at Ivan Plaza in Downtown Atlanta will be donating 100 percent of their sales all day to the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti.

Amuse, Anis, Village Pizza, Carroll St. Café, Carpe Diem and Apres Diem are actually hosting a Dine Out for lunch and dinner. They will donate 20 percent of all their profits to Doctors Without Borders.

Tuesday, Feb. 9
Toulouse Restaurant is hosting a Steve Penley Wine Dinner to benefit the ServeHAITI Foundation. The dinner will feature a five-course meal with two glasses of wine and the chance to meet artist Steve Penley and view his artwork. Throughout the evening, guests will be able to view and purchase Penley’s paintings, reproduction posters and book with illustrations. In addition to Penley’s artwork, guests will also get to see photographs of Haiti from Donna Williams, a photographer who has been working with ServeHAITI. Guests can meet the artist and get books autographed at 6:30 p.m., and dinner begins at 7:15 p.m.

The menu will feature a field green salad with red wine vinaigrette; seared scallops served with broccoli and sundried tomatoes in a rosemary-citrus reduction; wild mushroom ravioli atop arugula sprinkled with gorgonzola cheese, cranberries and pistachios drizzled with a white balsamic sauce; beef tenderloin filet with mushroom cream sauce coupled with grilled salmon in a balsamic beurre blanc; and Robert’s flourless chocolate cake with chocolate glaze for dessert.

The cost is $125 per person and includes tax and gratuity. A portion of the art proceeds as well as a sizeable portion of the nightly proceeds will be donated to the ServeHAITI Foundation. Toulouse is located at 2293 Peachtree Road NE. To make a reservation, please call 404-351-9533. For more information on Toulouse, visit www.toulouserestaurant.com.

Sushi saves

Looking to start your weekend early? Head to Genki Noodles & Sushi in The Prado tonight, Thursday, Jan. 14 from 7 to 10 p.m. for Genki Gives. The FREE event features guest bartenders, Sully from Dave FM, Thrillist Atlanta editor Michael Jordan, and Stephanie Davis - skirt.com's National web editor.

Nosh on Genki's regular menu, sample speciality items created by certified master chef Kevin Walker of Cherokee Town & Country Club or enjoy a four-course prix fixe dinner with wine pairings for $75. Proceeds from Genki Gives (bar & food sales) will be donated to Autism Gives & Steps to Grow On - a CHOA initiative to help fight childhood obesity.

Special guest and Atlanta resident Daniel Wilcox of the Baltimore Ravens is also going to stop by before he heads to the playoffs.

RSVP to Caren West PR at 404.614.0006 and rsvp@carenwestpr.com

If you would like to make a reservation for the prix fixe dinner, call Genki at 404.843.8319 or email Saffold Barksdale at saffold@genkiatl.com.

Take a deep breath

We’re busy creatures, us humans. Everything’s whizzing by as we rush out the door in the morning to work, race to beat the clock on projects and deadlines, shoveling our quick meals in our hungry mouths as we go. We extend this frantic lifestyle to our children, as our parents did to us. We're always on the go. It's the American way. Achieving success takes all our time, and we have none of it left to give ourselves. Or do we?

What would we gain if we were to stop, sit and be absolutely silent and completely still? The world would not leave us, as we might fear. It would wait for us, available as soon as we came back, but we would return to it differently, with a heightened sense of self-awareness, better able to connect to the world and its inhabitants. This is just one aspect of the practice of meditation, but it is a very important one, as it is a major draw for people who are drowning in life, for whatever reason. But you don’t have to be in inner turmoil to meditate. “I think most people come to meditation because they have a feeling that they’d like to connect more in their lives, and they’d like to have more sense that they’re actually living their lives, that it’s not just passing them by,” says Jackie Muse, practice and education director of the Atlanta Shambhala Center, of which she is a founding member. “Especially in our culture, it seems like life gets speedier and speedier as we go along, so people have a feeling that their mind is racing. Some people that I instruct say they don’t feel like they have control of their mind, like their mind is driving them crazy, pulling them along.”

So what does it mean to meditate? The basic practice of meditation begins with sitting cross-legged, spine upright, eyes closed and concentrating on your breathing—and nothing else. From there, the world of meditation is your oyster. There are guided meditations, solitary silence, walking meditation circles, retreats, temples and entire communities devoted to finding inner peace through meditation. A plethora of meditation variations exists, and a trip to a bookstore or the Internet will provide the education if you yearn to know the 2,000-year story of Buddhism. Though it’s important to note that you needn’t change your religion to enjoy the grounding powers of meditation. Swamiji Nithyananda, a world-renowned leader in the practice, is quoted as saying, “Meditation is nothing but a preparation to rediscover the state of bliss that is already inside you.” A visit to a meditation center, a yoga class or a retreat will provide the beginning of a new life or could be the catalyst for change in your life.

In addition to helping us deal with the emotional stress of life, meditation offers a multitude of other health benefits. Along with having better posture and lowered blood pressure, which can lower your risk for heart disease, Muse says meditation is “helpful with sickness and dying—for both the patient and the caretaker. There’s a lot of anxiety involved, but meditation helps you relax and let go.”

One draw for meditation, then, is the allure of silence and stillness. “The first thing that happens with meditation is you sit down and stop the body. Then the mind has a place to come home to. So we’re really talking about making friends with ourselves, taking a journey inward and rediscovering ourselves,” Muse says, “And then you can see what’s going on around you.”  By Kirsten Palladino

MEDITATING IN ATLANTA

Atlanta Shambhala Center
1447 Church Street, Decatur
404-370-9650
www.atlanta.shambhala.org

Balance Yoga
524 East Paces Ferry Road NE
404-869-7575
www.balanceyogaatlanta.com

Kashi Atlanta Ashram
1681 McLendon Ave. NE
404-687-3353
www.kashiatlanta.org

Peachtree Yoga Center
6050 Sandy Springs Circle
404-847-9642
www.peachtreeyoga.com

Pierce Yoga
1164 N. Highland Ave. NE
404-875-7110
www.pierceyoga.com

Siddha Yoga Meditation Center of Atlanta
2531 Briarcliff Road NE
www.symca.org

Urban Yoga
At Danneman’s Coffee
466 Edgewood Ave.
404-380-1393
www.dannemans.com

Kitchen confidential

{Published in The Sunday Paper on Dec. 13, 2009}
Atlanta’s “Top Chef” Kevin Gillespie

/Photo by Fredrik Brauer

By Kirsten Ott Palladino
As I walked into Woodfire Grill the morning after the finale of “Top Chef: Las Vegas” aired last week, I noticed half-full glasses and empty bottles of wine strewn about the bar—signs that, perhaps, a festive and celebratory viewing party had ensued just hours before, with Atlantans and the rest of the nation holding on with baited breath to see if Kevin Gillespie, the final of three Atlanta competitors, would win the last and most important challenge in the competition.

According to head judge Tom Colicchio, host Padma Lakshmi and food critic and author Toby Young, Michael Voltaggio was the winner, and his older brother Bryan came in second place. The competition is a series of challenges, and each one has a winner. Gillespie, executive chef and partner of Woodfire Grill, won the most throughout, and had the show’s winner been judged cumulatively, he certainly would have been crowned Top Chef.

Still, though, in Atlanta’s heart—and optimistically speaking, in all of America’s, too—Gillespie is our Top Chef. He played the game with restrained grace, humility, heart, refined skill and an innate understanding of the purest essence of food and its ability to speak to the soul. Gillespie invited me in for a chat, and here’s what he had to say for himself.
Q /
You’ve won five challenges before the finale. Which one were you most proud of?

A /Probably the Bocuse d’Or. It was certainly the most challenging.


In the final challenge, you doubted Preeti after drawing her name first, and you got mad at her when she wasn't pulling her weight. How’s your kitchen-management style at Woodfire?

I’m fairly easygoing in the kitchen here. And I really feel like I owe Preeti [Mistry] an apology, because it wasn’t her fault. I was misdirecting my emotions at her, and it was unfair of me. 


Who would you rather have drawn?

Jennifer [Carroll] and Eli [Kirshtein]—because I’m the most comfortable with them and they know my philosophy and vision for my food.


What are the main reasons you entered the competition? And looking back, did you meet that goal?

I entered to see how I would perform. Of course, I wanted to win. And in my opinion, I did win. 



Tell me about your simple, Southern style. Has it evolved over the course of this show?

My food style is to use traditions that I grew up with combined with techniques I’ve honed in my career. I cook food I believe in. But it didn’t really change during the show.
 


During the airing of the finale, you Tweeted that you were the first Top Chef in history to receive third place.

Yes, I do feel like I was robbed of my moment there, because normally in the final, you have the winner and the runners up. You don’t get sent home. And that was really embarrassing. 


You said on the show, “Pork is my jam.” What’s the allure of pork for you?

Ha! I love pork. Pork, as an animal, is the most utilitarian—it’s the most usable. Pork has the capacity to be a leading act or to play a supporting role.
 


When you started the competition, who did you feel would be your biggest competitor?

From the very beginning, I felt like brothers Michael and Bryan Voltaggio would be my biggest competition. … Isn’t that funny?


On the show, Padma seemed to be a big fan of yours. How were she and Tom off the air?

You know, I didn’t get to spend a lot time with them until the show was over, but they’re both really great. Tom also is a chef, so he and I have a mutual respect for different cooking styles. There’s no “my method is better than yours.” And Padma is a really lovely person.

You said on the finale that you were an underdog in this competition. Do you still feel that way?

I came into this with no celebrity experience. Though I have plenty of experience, it’s a little bit more modest. People viewed me as just some kid from the South. People don’t always realize that [in the South], we’re not just about comfort food. I intended to show that we have fancy food, too—with focus, flavor and execution.


I hear you—and your beard—are now single. What dish or dinner could a woman make to impress you on a date?

Anything! Everyone is scared s**tless to cook for me. Please cook for me! No one cooks for me. I would love to not have to cook for myself one night or have to go out to eat. I’d be impressed with any dish she knew how to make. 
 


How has the volume of sales at Woodfire Grill increased since this season of “Top Chef” started?

We’re up by 300 percent and booked almost three months 
in advance. I’ve talked to some of the others [competitors], and their restaurants are busier, too. But I really think we’re the busiest. And we’ve risen to the challenge. 
 


What did you think about that “biscuit and gravy” comment from Tom?

I thought it was funny. People do generally think the South is full of common folk who cook food that doesn’t belong in a culinary competition. And I want to change that. The South has the richest, longest storied food history, and we should celebrate that. There is elegance and refinement in the tradition of Southern cooking that we can be proud of. 
 


Tell me about the matsutake mushroom. It seemed to be the downfall of the evening.

The mushroom was tricky. I wouldn’t have used it after seeing the way it came out, but I had to use it. That comment from Tom last night about “Why did he put it on the plate?” … Tom knows exactly why I put it on the plate. It was either get [in trouble] for not using it or for using it. My cooking technique for it was my best perception, and it turned out not to be right. Frankly, the mystery box pissed me off because what was inside was garbage.



Regardless of how the show ended, Atlanta loves you and you’re our top chef. You really do have a gift. Out of all the chefs on the show, you cooked with the most heart, and it really comes through in the food you serve here at Woodfire Grill.

I think it’s about staying focused and honing in on my skill set. I feel like cooking is the birth of my body, soul and mind … that food is a tangible art.



In your senior year of high school in Henry County, you hid your acceptance and full scholarship to MIT from your friends and family and ultimately decided you wanted to be a chef. What was the turning point for you?

I had an epiphany. There was a moment of clarity when I realized that my happiness was not based on a fiscally sound career choice. I have to use my brain doing something that 
I believe in and have my choice of work allow me to live the way I want.
 


Where do you go from here?

I’m staying at the restaurant. I want to continue to focus on improving the quality and achieve five stars. There’s a lot that I want to do though that I can’t talk about quite yet. I want to write books. I feel like I have a gift for speaking and educating. All I wanted to do was to tell my story through food, and I think I’ve done that.

Woodfire Grill is located at 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road NE. 404-347-9055. 
www.woodfiregrill.com.