These masters have made their mark on the restaurant scene, and now they'll teach you the tricks of the trade.
DESCRIPTION - (D) Internationally known for its vast wine collection, perfectly aged steaks, and famous dessert room, Bern’s Steak House offers a world-class, incomparable dining experience. When Bern Laxer opened it in 1956, he envisioned Bern’s as Art in Steaks. Today, son David Laxer and Chefs de Cuisine Andy Minney and Habteab Hamde continue Bern’s tradition of excellence with a gastronomic adventure that includes prime steaks cut to order, 21 choices of caviar, fresh seafood, and organic vegetables grown on Bern’s farm. The menu also boasts a weekly specials page offering fresh oysters, seasonal delights, and entrées with suggested wine pairings.
Inspired by his grandfather, a World War II cook who owned a farm where he raised & cured his own food - from animal to vegetable, Andy Minney knew he wanted to be a chef.
It was this early exposure to understanding exactly where food comes from – garden or farm to table - that led Andy to culinary school at Johnson & Wales in Charleston, South Carolina. While he has worked in a variety of different restaurants throughout the Southeast, Andy and co-Chef de Cuisine Habteab Hamde are now tantalizing guests nightly at Bern’s. Even though he loves the upscale cuisine at the Steak House, Andy’s favorite food to cook is casual – for friends and family.
Affectionately called “Hab” by everyone at Bern’s, Habteab emigrated from the small African country of Eritrea in 1983. Since he enjoyed preparing meals for his family when he was young, everyone predicted he would one day be a chef. Eventually, he did attend the Swedish Culinary Institute in Sudan, Africa.
When he settled in the United States, he left his culinary career behind and began attending USF to pursue a degree in accounting, but soon, the childhood predictions came true and he decided to return to the kitchen. He says, “It is truly exciting to take different ingredients, textures, and fl avors and create something completely new and different. And at Bern’s we have so many opportunities to utilize some of the best products in the world.”
DESCRIPTION - (D) Jaden Hair specializes in Asian cooking that’s fast, fresh, and simple enough for tonight’s supper. Spend your evening with her, and you’ll leave knowing how to make incredibly simple yet spectacular Asian appetizers and small bites.
Jaden is a Tampa Bay local with a national presence. She’s a weekly food columnist for the Tampa Tribune and can also be seen live on CBS Channel 10. She’s a regular television chef for Daytime, which is syndicated in over 90 markets in the U.S. Her blog, SteamyKitchen.com, is full of fantastic Asian recipes and is one the world’s most popular food blogs (as ranked by Times Online). Her first cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, hits the shelves October 2009 and features over 100 easy Asian recipes.
