NEW WORLD CHEF For Florida “fusion cuisine” pioneer Norman Van Aken, co-owner of NORMAN’S in Coral Gables, the kitchen is his classroom. By Mervyn Rothstein January/February 2000 ~~~~~~ On West Flagler Street in Miami, not far from Calle Ocho, the long street that’s the heartbeat of…
Category: Postcard
City & Shore Feature and Interview
Journalist Greg Carannante of City & Shore Magazine asked some fun questions to me for City & Shore Magazine. I appreciate the fun he injected into the interview format! Have a read. “Let’s not allow the huffing and puffing of the current celebrity chef trend drown out the bellwether contributions of Florida’s…
FLAMINGO MAGAZINE PONDERS THE BEARD AWARDS
Journalist Eric Barton writing for Flaming Magazine asked some questions about if those of us in Florida should still care about the annual James Beard Awards. It is a lengthy piece with an examination of the highly esteemed awards now coming under fire from some quarters. You can and should form your own…
The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Foods
“When you’re the Eagles…” Chef Norman Van Aken begins, “you’ll have one fan yelling for ‘Desperado’ and another for ‘Tequila Sunrise’ and the band has to deal with that, of course, but they’re also artistic in nature. And they have to evolve so they don’t feel like a lounge act.” I smile….
FLAMINGO MAGAZINE ON NORMAN VAN AKEN
NORMAN VAN AKEN The founding father of New World Cuisine has been busy tackling several new projects during quarantine. Photography courtesy of Norman Van Aken Chef Norman Van Aken has no shortage of accolades. You can find his name in the list of Who’s Who in American Food and Beverage from the James Beard…
The New York Times Visits Miami
The article provided in the link was written by award winning journalist Brett Anderson (@BrettEats) in for The New York Times. (@nytimes). It is a feature on local rising star chef Niven Patel who is moving forward despite the challenging times for which I say, ‘Bravo!’. Each generation in every cultural center…
Flamingo Magazine; “A Sunshine State of Mind”
By Journalist Jessica Giles “We wanted to know how some of our state’s most notable and noteworthy citizens have been coping, creating and adapting during this time. Our Sunshine State of Mind series comprises virtual fireside chats with everyone from famous chefs to Grammy Award-winning musicians to iconic authors to extraordinary athletes…
Cigar Snob Magazine Feature: “If Hemingway Were a Chef”
Norman Van Aken is widely known as the father of New World Cuisine. The Midwestern chef found his voice in a Key West kitchen and went on to bring the flavors and sensibilities of the Caribbean to diners and cooks all over America. Now he’s focused on cementing his legacy and making…
TIME TRAVELING
My cell phone rang. It was our daughter-in-law Lourdes. It was about 8:15 at night. She was driving in Key West with our granddaughter Audrey. They don’t usually call this late. It was quite late for Audrey as she is just 7 ½ years old and would need to be up for…
The Times We Are In.
A week ago the world was almost normal. Not so anymore. “Ball of Confusion” is the song on the turntable now. It is streaming in our blood too. People are actually considering a world without neighborhood restaurants in our collective future. I say that is impossible. The carnage will be awful ……