Day: October 1, 2016

The International Myrtle Beach Culinary School Opens by Melissa LaScaleia The International Culinary Institute of Myrtle Beach, part of Horry Georgetown Technical College, is opening its state-of-the-art $15 million facility here in the Market Common. The building was designed by Mozingo and Wallace, a local architectural firm. What’s inside the building, including the school’s curriculum, has been designed by Joseph Bonaparte, the executive director of the culinary school, and a revolutionary force in the culinary education world. Joe’s interest in food and cooking began at a young age. “I grew up in a New Jersey Italian family that cooked,” Joe tells me at our meeting at the culinary school. “My mother, grandmother, and dad were all excellent cooks, but we all had to help too. “My father died when I was 7 years old, and I ended up spending a lot of time with my mom and aunts; they were in the kitchen, so I was too. Then we moved to Texas. “My mom, who is very adaptable, began cooking Southwestern and Tex-Mex cuisine and dishes like chicken fried steak. So I gained a wide appreciation for diverse cuisines at a young age.” Joe attended the California Culinary Academy in his youth and since that time, has logged an impressive amount of foreign travel studying world cuisines, as well as earning accolades for his skill in the kitchen. He spent eighteen years with the Art Institute Culinary Schools, working in culinary education as the national culinary director of curriculum and quality assurance for their many locations across the U.S. Joe was instrumental in the school’s growth and branding; when he began, there were four culinary programs under the tutelage of the Art Institute, and by the time he left, there were thirty-eight. In 2013, the board of the Horry Georgetown Technical College sought out Joe for his expertise in the culinary teaching world, as they were in the process of revamping their school and offerings. They told him of their plans to build a culinary school in the Market Common, and Joe offered to help. “I had no interest in coming down here,” he says. “But I wasn’t excited about what I was doing, traveling so much with the Art Institute, and I liked the opportunity to get involved in a community project and be a part of something that was more affordable to students than the average program. This was something really good for the community, and what the community here really needed.” “This sustainable state of the art facility provides a functional and dynamic social environment. This is our third project for HGTC and likely one of the most advanced projects we have done in our firm’s 30 plus year history. We are very proud of it.” – Derrick Mozingo (Photo Meganpixels Parker) The main entrance was designed to look like a wave and harmonize with the school’s ocean backdrop. (Photo Meganpixels Parker) “Even though we have such a high tourist population,” he continues, “Myrtle Beach isn’t a culinary destination. We thought the school would have a really big impact on helping to develop the food and culture in a positive way. “So we looked at Charleston: why is it known for its food? It never used to be a hub, it was a historic town by the water. Then Johnson and Wales arrived. That’s when the dynamics of the food scene began to develop there, and it began attracting and producing chefs. Once you get a trained workforce in the area, it allows for greater execution of that skill set.” Additionally, Joe envisioned how the new culinary program would expand the breadth and depth of community interdependence. “My job,” he says, “is not only to be an educator of culinary students, but people in general. To not only connect students with chefs, but chefs with local producers of raw produce or purveyors of food items that are done healthily and properly, and the consumer. It becomes a cyclical and self-sustaining relationship between all of them. “If the consumer only wants to buy McDonalds, and doesn’t understand the value of spaces for pigs and collards, then we don’t have jobs for our culinary students or our farmers; we have a less healthy community, and a divided one.  “So a long time ago, I decided buying commodities products and many products that are raised, or grown overseas wasn’t the best thing to do for our bodies or our communities. I like that the college understands and supports this. We live in a global world, but it’s important to look around us and to see how the things we do work in the big picture of the world and the planet.” I took a look around the new culinary school facility, set to open this month. “The architecture establishes a marketable identity for HGTC and the advancement of the culinary program,” says Derrick Mozingo, project architect and designer with Mozingo and Wallace. There are four teaching kitchens; a demonstration kitchen; the restaurant production kitchen, with a gorgeous drool-inducing range; outdoor BBQ cooking center, replete with a $10,000 Argentinian grill; indoor and outdoor restaurant seating areas for patrons; marble-topped counters for pastry making; maplewood-topped counters for bread making; various offices with adjacent lounge spaces for the students; a sunny, glass-walled conference area in the shape of a chef’s hat; and a greenhouse for growing their own food. The amount of refrigerators, freezers, and meat-curing chambers we passed seemed never-ending. And there are kitchens pretty much everywhere— even adjoining the conference room by the teachers’ offices. The restaurant demonstration kitchen where second year student chefs wow patrons with their culinary skills. (Photo Meganpixels Parker) There’s a climate-controlled area for chocolate making, and a designated retail section where they will sell pastries, cakes, and chocolate confections. Joe is excited about this section. “We have Geo Blount, who is a world certified master pastry chef and master chocolatier,” he says. “I secured him to come and build the best baking and pastry program … Read more

Where Shopping is Pure Epicurean Pleasure by Melissa LaScaleia Right in the heart of the Soho district of the Market Common is a lovely store featuring epicurean delights from the Mediterranean and beyond— The Olive Shoppe… Tasters Welcome. Darya Suddreth, who grew up in Surfside Beach, began the business with her husband, John, five years ago. “When my daughter was two,” she tells me, “she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. In order to get her to eat healthier, we started using a lot of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on her foods. And it was amazing the types of foods she began to eat.” It sparked a love and fascination with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the Suddreth family, which gradually evolved into a total life makeover. “My husband and I wanted to be entrepreneurs— we were looking for opportunities,” says Darya. “He wanted to leave Charlotte, where we were living at the time, and move back to the beach. This is where we met; he wanted to raise our children here. “John had been to an olive oil shop in California and thought it was a great thing to do in Myrtle Beach. When the opportunity arose for us to move back, we did. And it’s probably the best move we ever made.” The pair opened their first store at Barefoot Landing, July 1, 2011. They opened a second location at the Cotton Exchange in Wilmington, N.C. in 2012. And in May 2015, they opened their location in the Market Common. The bar at The Olive Shoppe may be the healthiest one you’ll ever visit. (Photo Meganpixels Parker) Lucky for us who visit or live here. Stepping into The Olive Shoppe, I’m transported to a different place, where olive oils and balsamic vinegars from around the world sit side by side, emanating their unique multicultural self-expression in the form of heavenly taste. The shop sells traditional extra virgin olive oils from Argentina, Chile, Greece, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey. Darya and John are currently looking into adding oils from Jordan and Mexico. They also carry hand-stuffed olives, olive spreads, and olives and brine to make special martinis. “At The Olive Shoppe, we want our customers to have a tasting experience that will wow the senses,” Darya says.  I try the jalapeño infused olive oil which she pairs with peach white balsamic vinegar, and assure her she’s on track with her mission. “We have a full service tasting bar, where our customers have the opportunity to sit down, and we are like bartenders with olive oil and balsamic vinegars,” she says. “I always say,” she adds with a laugh, ‘It’s the healthiest bar you’ll ever belly up to!’” Before the two began their venture, they researched a lot of olive oil growers and companies— something they continue to do to this day. “We are constantly looking for new growers and suppliers, and we hand pick every one we work with, not just for their taste, but also for their company principles and growing practices,” Darya says. “Every one that we select is very high quality.” For their flavor-infused olive oils, they selected oils exclusively from Spain, with strongly infused flavors— Darya’s preference. Olive oils and balsamic vinegars from around the world line the walls at The Olive Shoppe. (Photo Meganpixels Parker) “I found that the majority of flavored olive oils I tried were not very prominent with that flavor, or hard to discern from the strong flavor of the oil,” Darya explains. “I like that Spanish olive oil is lighter in taste, and therefore the flavors don’t compete with one another.” All of their balsamic vinegars are imported from Modena, Italy. They are rich and thick, like a glaze, the way Italians have been making them for centuries. The flavors of these balsamics can’t begin to compare to what you can find in the grocery store. As I bite into a garlic and herb cheese-stuffed olive (pure heaven) handmade by a small California farmer, Darya continues to tell me about the many uses of flavored olive oils and balsamics beyond salad dressing. Put strawberry balsamic over vanilla ice cream; cracked black pepper olive oil to marinate and tenderize meat; Meyer lemon olive oil can be added to brownie mixes; the pineapple white balsamic also goes divinely with the jalapeño oil over fish. The options and potential seem endless, and with approximately 50-60 varieties of flavored oils and balsamics, and a little creative genius thrown in the mix, they just might be. Dawn Yarborough, a longtime friend and customer who now works at the shop says, “Once you start cooking with olive oils and balsamics, you have no idea how creative you are. You just amaze yourself. You lose all fear in the kitchen. And,” she adds with a sly smile, “your friends think you’re a chef. So come on in and taste with us!” The Olive Shoppe Open M-Sa 10am-6pm  Envelope Phone Internet-explorer