Aurora Gets Ready To Go Green
Avner Samuel is going to turn his fancy-pants fine dining restaurant into a salad bar. KIDDING. (I’ve got a million of these and I’m not going anywhere.) Seriously folks, he is going to take his freckle-faced 5 stars and turn them into 10 by cutting his prices in half. (Eric Celeste calls that “Nancy math.”) Here is the deal: the cost of flying live scallops from Paris and dead lamb from Scotland does not make sense anymore, especially when there are so many local and regional ingredients to be eaten. Late to the eat-local party? Perhaps a bit, But sometimes it takes a big ego a little longer to move. But kudos to him—and other restaurateurs in the same jam– for making significant changes.
Starting June 2, Avner, along with his hippie-chick daughter, Atali Samuel-Carr, will retool Aurora. Atali’s goal? “To transform Aurora into an eco-responsible dining establishment while reducing its carbon footprint by making conscientious decisions for the future of our community and the planet.” Avner’s goal? “To get back in the kitchen and do what I do best,” he says. “I’m going to buy locally grown, organic ingredients and turn them into culinary masterpieces.”
Are they going switch out the chairs in the dining room for bales of hay? Nope. You’ll be able to eat a user-friendly, lower cost prix fix menu in the same sexy digs. I’ll post the full details when they arrive.) I’m so glad somebody listened to me. It’s good to be king when dogs have wings. Ouch.
6 Comments to “Aurora Gets Ready To Go Green”
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Bravo, Nancy! I hope more chefs and owners follow suit. They just may have to make it on volume for awhile like Wal-Mart or that fine French store Target. You do what you have to do to survive. I myself would like to be able to afford to go into more mid-to- high-end places. A man cannot live on Cowboy Chicken and Hawaiian BBQ alone (although both are quite tasty). Besides, my anniversary is coming up and my lovely wife has already mention how long its been since she’s seen the inside of Roys.
Soooo, instead of Hudson Valley foie gras we’ll now be eating Brazos River Valley foie gras?????
Seriously, any restaurant/chef that throws their support to our local farmers gets big props from snootyfoodie. Thumbs up Avner and great work Nancy!!
Excellent news, well done Avner ! I still say he is the best chef in Dallas in my opininon and his temperament only proves his passion - reminds me of when I worked at the Savoy Hotel kitchen in London. Every chef was like Avner (smiles)
Funny you mention Lamb Nancy, this was my pet peev and I blogged about it on my website theroyalchef.com on March 5th…
March 5 2008
Wholetruths ? …
I was at my local Wholefoods this morning grocery shopping and noticed the new ad campaign they had started (especially all over those recycled paper sacks that the handles fall off with more than 4 items in because it is like they are stuck on with a flour and water mix) “Locally grown” they shout - because quote…” Buying produce from local growers reduces the environmental impact and costs of transporting product.” So there you go !
Tell me then just why the Lamb I bought for dinner had traveled 7,000 miles from New Zealand (leaving it’s carbon footprint as it did so) probably flying over Fox Fire Farms in Colorado where lambs are never fed any grain or corn, just lush green certified organic grass, the way nature intended. Fox Fire lambs are never administered growth hormones, antibiotics, and are also treated humanely.
So, can someone tell me just WHY Wholefoods buyers don’t buy lamb this locally ? It can’t be cost… can it ? I called Wholefoods Southwest distribution center to find out, but so far no one has returned my call.
I think that’s Karen Lukin’s job. Karen, the floor is all yours.
Nancy,I did get a reply ( I don’t know if Karen got a cc. - I love Karen to bits) This is from my April newsletter that I email out. Sorry it’s so long but it does talk about buying local produce (smiles)
In an attempt to find out why Whole foods seemed to be duping its loyal customers I contacted Barry Hirsch, the Associate Marketing Coordinator at Whole Foods Market - Rocky Mountain Region and also Brent Walter from Fox Fire Farms in Southwest Colorado.
Barry told me “We sell NZ Lamb because it is available to us 52 weeks a year. We can buy the cuts we need without having to purchase the entire carcass. Our customers have a tendency to purchase far more rib racks and loin chops than shoulders or legs. Most lamb programs require purchasing the entire carcass which would contribute to inconsistent stock conditions. We would be facing shortages of loin and rib chops while waiting to sell through the shoulders.
“Brent says “Something to remember about Lamb or for that matter beef, onions, strawberries, etc. is that there are correct seasons for each of these products. Eating out of season is not always healthy, and not good for the environment around us. New Zealand Lamb is mostly a wool breed of lamb, the more wool breed in a sheep the more gamy and strong the flavor (ours are hair sheep, Dorper breed), both New Zealand and Australia control the wool market in the world, They breed specifically for fine wool and in my opinion strong meat. As a side product New Zealand sells their meats to the US and other countries.”
So, are Whole foods customers gullible, hypocritical or just uninformed on this ? Hopefully the latter ! Brent has a point though about seasons. “We” as customers, with the help of stores like Whole foods are starting to ask where the food we put on our tables comes from. So why not the next stage “does it have a season?” If “we” weren’t demanding produce like lamb and strawberries all year round then the stores wouldn’t have to outsource to places like New Zealand. How cool would it be if on the next set of Whole foods paper sacks the wording read “Eat in season, it’s better for us all” - well unless you are a sheep farmer in New Zealand that is… but they could leave that last part off (smiles)
(smiles)