Read the APR ISSUE #112 of Athleisure Mag and see THE 9LIST 9M3NU in mag.
In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with Restaurateur Master Chef Masaharu Morimoto who we first saw via Iron Chef Japan and then continued to Iron Chef America. Whether he is judging, participating in culinary competitions, opening more restaurants, or more - he is always focused on the power of food and how he can continue to entice us with flavors! On May 10th, he will be the Grand Marshal of the Japan Parade on Japan Day in Central Park West. We caught up with him to find out how he got into the industry, his passion for cooking, upcoming projects, and more!
Last month we had an incredible series of conversations with Co-Creator/Executive Producer, and writer Chris Brancato as well as cast members from MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem. We caught up with 2 additional cast members of this series, Elvis Nolasco and Erik LaRay Harvey.
We had the pleasure of chatting with Chef Esther Choi about her passion for Korean cuisine, her restaurants, and her upcoming season of Food Network’s 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing where she serves as co-host for this competition series. She also shared why she partnered with LISTERINE for a fun immersive culinary experience that we enjoyed as well.
This month, the NFL Draft took place and many people that we have enjoyed watching throughout their college career found out where they will be playing this season. We had the pleasure of connecting with QB Dillon Gabriel who played for the University of Oregon days before the draft to talk about his love for the game, how he trains, his partnership with Echelon Fitness, what the NFL Combine is, and what he is looking forward to in terms of the draft. We look forward to seeing him on the Cleveland Browns!
We caught up with noted designer Lele Sadoughi who collaborated with CHLOE Wines on a stunning bottle that we can enjoy. We talk about her line, creative process, and upcoming projects.
For over a decade, we have enjoyed seeing Titus Welliver playing Harry Bosch in Prime Video’s BOSCH and BOSCH: LEGACY! With BOSCH: LEGACY streaming its final season, we sat down with Titus to talk about how he came to this series, what it’s like to play this character, how he prepares, and the takeaways he learned from being in this series. We look forward to the spin-offs from this franchise.
We’ve been fans of Bachelor Nation from the first season and when we were first introduced to JoJo Fletcher in The Bachelor we knew that she was someone who we would continue to see - especially when she became The Bachelorette. Since then, she continues to share her entrepreneurial world with us. We talk with her about what it means to be part of Bachelor Nation, being an entrepreneur, and her latest project - Saint Spritz!
We’ve been a fan of WTA #2 doubles tennis star Taylor Townsend for years! When we caught up with her, we wanted to know more about what she loves about the game, how she trains, what it’s like playing singles vs. doubles and the legacy that she wants to leave!
We head to Singapore for this month's The Art of the Snack which takes us to 3 Michelin Star Zen. We chat with Chef TC and Chef Martin Ofner to find out about their culinary backgrounds, the ambiance of their restaurant, and what we can expect when we come in to dine there.
This month's Athleisure List comes from member’s only The Ra Ra Room located in Phoenix, Arizona - it’s definitely a culinary experience that you will want to know more about! We also talk about one of our favorite places to pop into after a day of running around - Tacombi. With multiple locations including a number here in NYC, it’s always an easy vibe.
This month we have our 9CH3F ROUTIN3S from our cover star, Chef Morimoto who talks about what he does Morning, Afternoon, and Night. This month's 9PLAYLIST MULTI comes Pro Surfer Brianna Cope who shares what she enjoys listening to, streaming, and reading. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from Dillon Gabriel and from Team USA Olympic Volleyballer Kelly Cheng they share what they enjoy having, doing, and being Morning, Afternoon, and Night. This month’s THE 9LIST STORI3S comes from JoJo Fletcher as well as Taylor Townsend. This month's THE 9LIST 9M3NU comes from Chef Johnny Chan Boon of The Ra Ra Room in Phoenix Arizona, Restaurateur and TV Personality Chef Esther Choi of Mokbar and GAHM, and Restaurateur, TV Personality, Author, Master Chef Morimoto - who shares with us what they enjoy about the Spring, ingredients that they enjoy cooking with, and what dishes we should try when we are at their restaurants.
Of course, we have a number of roundups that you can also check out from our must-haves to yours!
Read the APR ISSUE #112 of Athleisure Mag.
There are a number of events surrounding the holiday from those that you plan to those that just happen! We took some time to get tips from Chef Tom Douglas, an Executive Chef, Restaurateur of Tom Douglas Seattle Kitchen Restaurant Group, author and radio show talk host. He is known for his innovative role in defining Pacific Northwest cuisine. He won a James Beard Award in 1994 for Best Northwest Chef and in 2012 he won another for Best Restaurateur. He is the author of Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen which was named the Best American Cookbook by the James Beard Foundation and KitchenAid in 2001. Later he would appear on an episode of Food Network's Iron Chef America where he defeated Chef Masaharu Morimoto.
With a number of restaurants under his belt, Prosser Farm which provides all his restaurants with organically grown produce, a catering business, an event space, a product line of sauces and spices, a cooking school and NY Times Best Selling Author, he seemed like the perfect person to get us ready for our culinary challenges as well as how to be the hostest with the mostest.
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to be a chef?
CHEF TOM DOUGLAS: Well you know, back in Highschool, I took Home Ec and it turns out there were a lot of girls in Home Ec and it seemed like I was in the right spot! I’ve been enamored with it ever since and it has become my life’s challenge, work and passion.
AM: How do you define your style of cooking?
CTD: I would call it Northwest in a way because for us the real key is to keep it simple. For us, I’d say that we spend about 50% of our time on trying to buy the best product and then really, it’s all about getting out of the way whether that comes down to wine or fish or meat. You just try to buy the most delicious things, put them together, walk away and let people enjoy them. That’s a real Northwest style.
AM: What is the most important part of creating a successful holiday party.
CTD: The plan! You have to have a plan. I plan everything – the dishware and the wines. I buy the wine about a week in advance so I can taste them and see what kinds of foods I want to serve with them. For me, at a party, I always want to have a little sparkling wine for people when they walk through the front door so I bought the Domaine Ste Michelle Brut and I made a homemade cranberry syrup, I got some cranberry bitters at the store and I made what I like to call, a Cranberry Fizz. It’s a welcoming pink fizz cocktail that goes great with Goat Cheese Fondue which is goat cheese, cream and chives that are mixed together – super simple with grilled bread and apple slices which gives you a welcoming feeling that says, “I’m happy to have you at my house.”
AM: That sounds pretty easy for a lot of people to do!
CTD: Well, it’s super easy and I serve them in individual goat cheese fondue pots so that you don’t have the big crush! A lot of people have the one big fondue pot and it gets a little funky in there after a few minutes. With these, I can just put them around the house because they have little tealight candles under them and you can refresh them at any point and just a couple of people are eating out of them. It’s a nice way and trick to have a successful fondue party.
AM: You mentioned that you want to test the wine about a week in advance – why is this something that we should do?
CTD: Because I want to think about things and get things prepped in advance. So let’s take this Eroica Riesling for example, I tried it and it has this lemony kind of citrusy flavor. It’s a bit sweet and has nice acidity. It seemed to me that it would go with all sorts of foods and I know that in my menu planning, I want some vegetarian and some not and some gluten free and some not for dishes. So it’s all part of that process and I thought about the wine and decided on a leek and potato empanada. It’s got cheese tarragon in it which is fragrant and I just baked them off and the treat is that I can get them all made up and then freeze them raw so an hour or two before your party, you can pull them out and bake them and it feels like you made them that afternoon. Those are little tricks of the trade that help you to be a more successful party planner.
AM: How easy is it for someone to take a dish and change it for those that are vegetarian, gluten free or other kinds of dietary needs?
CTD: Well it’s super easy because just 10 years ago, it was hard to find a good gluten-free flour, now they’re all over the place and they’re really good! Gluten-free flour, pasta, you name it – the key has been into the lock on gluten- free so we have delicious foods that way. Simplicity is key and vegetarian is key too so this little fennel tart that I made – a little caramel, a little fresh fennel slices and a little gluten free fennel on top, you cook them upside down so when you pop them out you get this golden mahogany nugget of deliciousness and you can serve it just like that or you can take a nice piece of Wagyu beautiful steak like what I have here and sear it and slice it thin and put it right on top and now you have a meat eaters delight. So with the same dish, you have made a classic dish that no one has had vegetarian wise and something for the meat eater that is coming to the party.
You know that you’re going to have red wine and we have the Chateau St Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon from Indian Wells Vineyards so you need a rich dish to go with a wine like that. You’ve got a party with all of these different kinds of wines and it really helps to try them in advance and then to plan the apps to go with them!
AM: What are ingredients that we should always have at home just in case someone comes by that we don’t expect and then it becomes a bit of a party?
CTD: That happens all the time at my house – that’s so funny! There are some really good premade dough out there. I try to always keep in my freezer, a pie dough and puff pastry dough. It’s the beginning of everything good and I always keep a chunk of smoked salmon in my fridge. We have beautiful wild salmon here and it would go along with all of these wines (probably not the red one that we talked about). I always keep that around and have good crackers, a little fresh chevre (goat cheese) – those are some of my ideas on quick apps to get things rolling.
AM: What are your suggestions for dishes to make for office parties for busy people that want to look like they have spent so much time on them?
CTD: Well they have to look good right? I mean, if you’re bringing it to work, it’s going to be hours later. One of the dishes I love to make which everybody loves them is a Roasted Vegetable Salad. It goes great with a Northwest Chardonnay. Take all the different veggies – fennel, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, pepper rings – all those different vegetables, douse them with a little olive oil and pop them into a 500 degree oven and roast them off until you have all kinds of caramelized edges, and dress them with lemon juice and vinegar. Bring a bottle of the Eroica and bring it to the office as you’re going to be a hero because you have solved every problem right? You’ve solved gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan!
Read more from the Dec Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Handling the Holidays with Chef Tom Douglas in mag.
