Day: July 31, 2018

Catching Up with Chef Joe Bonaparte by Melissa LaScaleia This month, the Insider took a look at what is cooking and in the works for Chef Joe Bonaparte, executive director of the International Culinary Institute of Myrtle Beach in the Market Common, and a trailblazer in the arenas of sustainability and food production from farm to table. “We have a lot of things going on that we’re excited about,” says Joe.  “Last August, we started a full-scale recycling program that includes plastic, cardboard, and glass.  We also have hundreds of pounds of compost that we’ve been sending to a compost facility each week that we’re about to get back for our gardens.  From implementing these two things, our waste has been reduced by 70%, which is drastic and a major accomplishment.” Joe is currently working with the James Beard Foundation which has developed a curriculum to reduce food waste by teaching students techniques to utilize the entirety of a food.  It involves things like crisping fish skin, doing something with the fish head, such as cooking the collar or cheek, using pits and peels; some are as simple as making sausage from pork trimmings.  Steven Satterfield, the well known author of Root to Leaf, is one of the program’s major contributors. “There are a lot of things that get trimmed and thrown away, and if you know food, ingredients, and cooking techniques, you know how to use those things,” Joe says.  “It’s another facet of creative cooking that we’re embedding in the curriculum for students; it can be incorporated into current culinary school classes with ease; and it reduces a significant amount of what gets sent to the landfill. Chef Joe Bonaparte (above) is a sought-after chef, lecturer and educator for his culinary knowledge and expertise in sustainability practices. He focusses on the importance of selecting high-quality, chemical and hormone-free foods not only for their superior taste, but also for their positive impact on our environment and economic livelihood. “Sustainability is going mainstream now.  It’s a big step for the James Beard Foundation, to branch out of just doing awards.  I give them a lot of credit.  There are probably around fifty chefs and instructors from around the country that were asked by the foundation to be pilot programs for this.  We’re going to be one of them so we can help make improvements.” The objective of the program is to promote sustainability and reduce food waste.  Composting, while an amazing practice, isn’t the ideal first step for implementing this.  Joe explains why: “When you don’t use the whole animal or whole plant, more has to be raised and grown to produce an equal amount of those items that are consumable. “There is a lot more to a pig than a pork chop, and a chicken than a breast or tender.  If you use more of the raw product, you buy less, and that goes all the way back up the line of the food cycle where we resort to factory farming in this country to meet demand— and it is a major problem with our food chain.  What we produce could be cut in half if we didn’t waste so much.  The answer isn’t modifying vegetables to be drought resistant or spraying them with chemicals, or producing meat like it’s a widget and it’s run through a factory.  It’s just ridiculous because it’s focusing on the wrong end of the food chain.” Joe has developed his personal reflections on food and its production based on his experience of over 30 years in this industry. Indigo Farms at the market “We’ve grown up in this country with abundance and waste,” he says.  “A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council in 2012 found that 40% of food produced in this country is never eaten, while at the same time, one in six Americans struggle to put a meal on the table. “If you’re reducing how many plants, cows or pigs have to be grown or raised, you’re talking about doing things for the environment that help to be more sustainable.  We want to get to the point where composting is the last resort.  Instead of approaching cooking with the mindset that all the carrot peels have to go into the garbage, it is thinking— what can I do with these?  How can I use this as food?  I can make a soup with them, I can fry them and make crunchy garnish, I can make carrot coulis, I can put them in carrot cake. “We’re just a small part of the feedback for this task force, but it’s a big thing for culinary schools nationwide because sustainability hasn’t been a major part of the focus in American culinary education, and it needs to be. There is a strong emphasis on education at every farmers market, to teach culinary students about food sourcing. “Sustainability hasn’t been a major part of the focus in American culinary education, and it needs to be,” says Joe “Culinary education has always been about technique,” he continues.  “But there is so much more to it.  Cooking starts with where we buy our food.  If I buy something that has lived an atrocious life, I might be able to take it and make it taste good and you think it’s great.  But to me, it’s not great for life as a whole.  It reflects a lack of understanding about where our food comes from and a lack of understanding about our planet— thinking that it has endless resources and can endlessly renew itself.  Food, from birth to table, is a really long evolution.  So with culinary education, it’s about adopting more sustainable principles, teaching our students, and then passing those on to restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores which in turn educate consumers.” Knowing where your food comes from is important to Joe; he’s been on the board of the Waccamaw Farmers Market Cooperative since moving here four years ago.  He’s also visited many of the area’s … Read more

Doing Things Right, The First Time by Melissa LaScaleia Since its beginnings in 1997, Conway Builders of Myrtle Beach has taken pride in offering quality workmanship.  The family owned and operated company specializes in interior house restoration and remodeling.  They handle everything from framing, drywall and cabinet installation, painting, flooring, trim, and plumbing. Michael Sokolik, Jr. is vice president of the company and partner with his stepfather, Victor Conway.  Victor has been in this industry since the age of eight, when he would accompany his father and uncle on jobs.  As an adult, he forged Conway Builders of Myrtle Beach with values based on stellar customer service and first-rate artistry. “People go to our website and see our testimonials, so they understand that we don’t play games,” Michael says.  “We do quality work and use quality materials.  And our motto is: quality above quantity.  So what we tell our customers is, we work on a first come first serve basis.  We want each customer to have the same excellent quality as the person before them.  We give our full attention to the project we’re currently working on.” “Our main goal is to make our customers happy,” Victor adds.  “And that’s a lot of hard work and hands-on mentality to achieve it.  We’re a family business, and you’ll always have a member of the Conway family on the job.” A phrase that Victor coined sums up their company’s approach— ‘there’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Conway’— taking care of their customers the right way, the first time. “My stepfather would say, if you can see it, the customer can see it,” Michael says.  “So we look with attention to detail to catch things and take care of any loose ends the first time.  That way, we’re in the clear, and not giving them anything to go looking for.” Michael Sokolik, Jr., puts the finishing touches on a kitchen remodel. –Photo by Meganpixels Parker “We recently had a customer sign a contract with us that was significantly higher than the competition for this particular project,” Michael says.  “He went with us because we understood what he was looking for, number one, and number two, we knew what it was going to take to do the job. “Believe it or not, that is rare in this industry.  A lot of times people think— you take something out, you put something in— but that’s not always the case.  When you’re removing something, you don’t know what is behind there.  So you have to be prepared for the worst, and hope for the best. “I’m willing to sit and spend time with customers to understand what they want and answer any questions.  But what I hear from a lot of people who end up choosing us, is that a lot of companies are just there to take measurements and write up an estimate, not answer questions.” Michael at work. There’s always a member of the Conway family on every job. –Photo by Meganpixels Parker and Latoya Grayson Conway Builders takes the time to give a complete verbal overview of the labor process, so that customers can hear and understand what it takes to do the work, the skill and knowledge needed to execute the project in a timely manner, and a complete price with all the taxes included.  They give accurate and detailed assessments that are clear, transparent, and up-front both about the cost and the time needed to complete the job, and make themselves available to customers to answer any questions. They also give clients a list of products needed for the project and the locations where they can be found, so that the homeowner can select the style, price, and quality of the materials personally. “We try to steer our clients towards using higher quality materials, because those will stand up over time,” Michael says.  “But anybody who can’t afford higher quality materials, we still give them the same level of workmanship. “They have to live with the products, so we’d rather they pick them out.  That way, there’s no question as to what kind of products they’re getting.  They’ve seen it, touched it and they know all about it.  So we’re setting our customer up for success right from the get-go.   A completed kitchen remodel in Cherry Grove– the creative design brought to fruition by the collabora- tive efforts of Conway Builders and the homeowner. This is just one example of the type of design work Conway Builders excels at. –Photo by Meganpixels Parker and Latoya Grayson “And if they choose to use another contractor, we’ve given them an organized form that makes it easier to have a complete breakdown of what they’re buying and for what.” “Just like any other business, we don’t like loosing time and money, but we won’t send a final bill for a project until the client’s entire punch list is completed and the customer says, ‘job well done.’  And if they don’t, we go back and fix it for free,” Michael says. Conway Builder’s incredible attention to practically meeting and addressing customers’ needs earns them grateful and loyal clients as much as their industry and design knowledge: “A lot of people go with our ideas because we know what we’re talking about,” Michael says. “People look at their bathroom or kitchen and say, ‘I want this or that.’  I’m able to create a design for them that is going to get them all the different characteristics of their varying ideas and make it into one final transformation that’s tangible, workable, and solid.” Conway Builders of Myrtle Beach LLC Envelope Facebook Phone Internet-explorer

A Family Owned Business With Good Old Fashioned Values by Melissa LaScaleia Custom Outdoor Furniture is a family owned business in Garden City; and next year they’ll be celebrating their 40th anniversary in business. In an interview with the Insider, the second-generation co-owner, Gregg Holshouser, shares the story of how they got started. “My dad was living in Garden City Beach, just south of Myrtle Beach,” Gregg says, “and one day in 1979 he was driving along Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.  He saw a few chaise lounges out beside a dumpster, and noticed that the frames were in very good shape, and only the straps needed replacing.   He began thinking— there has to be a way to replace the straps and salvage the frames— rather than throw the entire piece of furniture away.” Gregg’s dad, Carrol Holshouser, investigated his idea further, and found contacts in Florida who provided vinyl strapping.  Before long, in his own garage, a block from the beach, he started restrapping furniture from local hotels. The business was born. “Back then, my dad called our business Furniture Restrapping,” Gregg says.  “And it evolved from there over time.  He originally built a little contraption that you could cut the straps on, and you used a mallet and a hand punch to cut the straps by hand.  That’s how basic it was at the beginning.” “At that time,” Gregg continues, “Myrtle Beach was comprised of family-owned, mom-and-pop hotels.  My dad was a very hands-on guy.  He went down the boulevard and got to know everyone who owned the hotels.  And the business kept growing and growing.” Restrapping has saved many a chaise lounge from the trash bin for almost 40 years. Here Gregg Hols- houser (left) and Stevie Nobles (right) give this one an aqua update. –Photo by Meganpixels Parker/Latoya Grayson In the 90s, Carrol began selling new aluminum strapped furniture to go with the restrapping service.  Customers could now choose the color and style frame they wanted, and he would put the color strapping they selected on the lounges and chairs.  There were now unlimited possible color combinations. “It was a good service for the community,” Gregg says, “because if you ordered from a factory, it would take around 4-6 weeks for it to arrive.  But my dad could do it in less than a week.” In the early 90s, they became a stocking distributor of Grosfillex, the premium resin furniture in the world.  The company originated in France and has since reached international acclaim. In 1999, Carrol began constructing the building of their current location in Garden City.  His son-in-law is a building contractor, and together the two coordinated construction of the 15,000 square foot building, which they opened in 2000. “When we moved into this building, we were pretty basic,” Gregg says.  “Restrapping was still a big part of the business.  The new aluminum-strapped furniture and Grosfillex furniture were big parts of the business too, and we were still heavily wholesale.  After we opened our new building, we became more retail oriented.  We transitioned from a very vanilla patio furniture company, to a full-service commercial and retail business.” Carrol passed away in October 2016, the day that Hurricane Matthew hit the South Carolina coast.  He is survived by Gregg’s mother, Jane Holshouser, who was at his side the whole way as the business was growing.  They both poured their heart and soul into it. Tom and Ann Owen look at furniture color options with Olivia Cox (far right). –Photo by Meganpixels Parker/Latoya Grayson Gregg worked in the family business while he was in college, and he’s been permanently with them since 1999.  Today, he and his sister, Sarah ‘Sam’ Cox, are partners. “We are a family-owned business with one location, we’re not a chain— with good old fashioned values,” Gregg says.  “We stand behind our manufacturers’ warranties; we try to do everything on time, and right.  We are always looking out for the customer, no question.  We do everything within any kind of reason at all, to make sure our customers are happy. “In the eighteen years that we’ve been at this location, we’ve had very few unhappy customers.  We really aim to please.” Today, Custom Outdoor Furniture carries a huge variety of art, including metal and beach-themed pieces.  They sell a wide array of patio furniture, including aluminum sling furniture, and the popular poly recycled plastic furniture.  They also have an outstanding line of high-quality wicker, suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Gregg is proud of their long history and their reputation as a quality place to shop for superior patio furniture and accessories.  Their retail store manager, Happy Land (her name), has been with them for ten years.  She is on the board of the International Casual Furnishings Association, a prestigious trade organization which is a global leader in promoting business development and partnerships in the outdoor and casual furnishings industry, and promotes industry growth through professional education, networking and development. “My favorite thing about what I do,” Gregg says, “is seeing our customers pleased with our products, not only immediately, but for years to come.  Our furniture is designed to literally last a lifetime.” “When customers come into our store,” he adds, “they’re surprised by how fun of a store it is.  It’s just a fun, happy place, a half a mile from the beach.  We have a lot of variety here.  We don’t just carry furniture.” Custom Outdoor Furniture Open M-Sa 9am-5pm. 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Keeping Myrtle Beach Clean Goes Commercial by Melissa LaScaleia The existing clients of GermBustMyBins, the Myrtle Beach based trash and recycle bin-sanitizing company, have often inquired about that company’s capability to clean commercial dumpsters; they were unable to say yes…. Until now! “We’ve had a lot of requests to clean dumpsters,” says the owner John in an interview with the Insider.  “Because of the demand, we’ve added a custom-built system that will clean dumpsters in the same way that we clean residential trash bins.” For those who haven’t seen the previous Insider articles (March 2017 & June 2018), GermBustMyBins has been servicing the greater Myrtle Beach area since 2016, relieving Grand Strand residents of the noxious odors and disease-causing grime that lurks in the depths of their garbage cans.  In our hot climate, it’s an essential sanitation practice, as well as a great way to stay on good terms with your neighbor.  They currently provide monthly residential service to over 1200 clients. Here’s how it works.  A truck arrives curbside on the same day that garbage bins are emptied by your trash collection service.  The bin is lifted into the truck which acts like a giant dishwasher— spraying your bin with 200 degree pressurized water inside and out, power-cleaning it with three extreme rotating sprayers, and leaving it clean, deodorized, and 99% germ free.  The rinse water is retained inside the truck which is properly disposed of utilizing the local water treatment system— unlike the contaminated run-off water of do-it-yourself garbage bin cleaners which works its way down the sewers and pollutes our oceans. “Dirty bins and receptacles are not only issues for residences,” John says.  “It’s arguably a much bigger issue on the commercial side when you consider the private dumpsters that serve the tourist industry at restaurants, hotels, golf courses, and day care centers.  This is a huge tourist area.  And typically when tourists are here, it’s the hottest part of the year, and these dumpsters are very dirty. “If you’re on your own with a hose, first of all, who are you going to send to climb into the dumpster and clean that, and secondly, what do you do with all the left-over detergent water and grossness, the accumulated debris at the bottom?  For the people who are in charge of these bins, there’s no sustainable option to get them cleaned.  There’s an obvious need for this service that we can fill.” The current protocol is that a business gets to the point where the dumpster is in a desperate state before placing a call to their trash collector, who eventually replaces it, free of charge.  Businesses will receive one new dumpster per year; after that, it can be over $150 per replacement. The new truck in action with a dirty dumpster. –Photo courtesy of GermBustMyBins “This is an ongoing issue,” says John.  “You need to maintain that sanitary state to prevent the accumulation of bacteria, disease, odors, and the wildlife, roaches, and pests that dirty dumpsters attract.  But because there’s not a good solution, no one is doing it.  It’s not good for the tourist industry.  People are going out to eat, and everywhere they go they’re exposed to unsanitary trash receptacles.” The new GermBustMyBins truck has the capability to lift commercial dumpsters up to 10 cubic yards into it and clean them inside and out. The company offers options for customers to have monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or seasonal dumpster cleaning, because the continuity of the service is what holds all the bacteria and night crawlers at bay. “It’s not just the dumpster,” he says, “it’s the outside, and the dumpster pad around the dumpster.  You have critters crawling around there all night long.” “You need to maintain regular cleanings in order to prevent odors, bacteria, and pests from accumulating in and around the dumpster,” says John. Luckily GermBustMyBins has the solution. –Photo courtesy of GermBustMyBins Technicians will clean up any way- ward trash around the dumpster pad that didn’t quite make it into the dumpster.  Then they use 200 degree water to kill all the bacteria in that area, and rinse it using the same method. In addition to their dumpster service, GermBustMyBins also cleans restaurant and hotel compost and trash bins used in food prep areas. “I think back to my college days when I used to work in the restaurant industry,” says John, “and there aren’t lots of options for a consistent, easy, and sanitary way to get the restaurant trash bin, compost, or recycle bin cleaned.  At the end of the night, they typically drag the bins out to the dumpster, hoist it up, and lean it against the side of the dirty dumpster to empty it, then bring it back inside to the food prep area.  We service these bins just like any other.  And in essence we can provide a more consistent and healthy process for hotels and restaurants and return the bin to a sanitary state.” GermBustMyBins Be on the lookout!  The new GermBustMyBins truck is green and wrapped in their logo.  Flag it down to enroll in commercial or residential service on the spot, or visit our site, call  or email info@germbustmybins.com. Monthly commercial dumpster cleaning from $30-$70/month depending on dumpster size and location.  Bi-monthly, quarterly and seasonal programs as well as bulk discounts available.  Trash, recycle, and compost bins from $7-8 per service.  Call to receive your personalized quote. Residential service: $8.30 a month to have your bin germ-busted; half price for each successive bin that has trash pick up on the same day; no long-term contract necessary.  *GermBustMyBins respectfully requests that solicitors for advertising do not contact them. Phone Internet-explorer At