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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Salma Abdelnour

Aired June 22, 2003 - 10:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: So are you hungry this morning? How about some steak and eggs, prepared with venison and dug eggs? Well, that's just one of the delicious dishes prepared by these chefs right here on the cover of "Food and Wine" magazine. They named these folks the best new chefs of the year. Senior editor Salma Abdelnour join us from New York with more on these cooking cooks. Good to see you, Salma.
SALMA ABDELNOUR, SR. EDITOR, "FOOD AND WINE": Great to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, how in the world do you narrow it down to just 10 fabulous cooks across the U.S.?

ABDELNOUR: Oh, it's so hard. We started out with a list of hundreds and hundreds of really talented young chefs. We get nominations from a huge network of food experts around the country, like other chefs, and cook book authors and food critics and all types of food experts. And we start out with a huge list, and then we just gradually narrow it down.

WHITFIELD: And I envy the person or the judges that get to go and actually sample out these foods. Now, what do they look for in these dishes? Really innovative kinds of ingredients, or chefs that just do wonders with the simplest of things?

ABDELNOUR: Right. Well, we look for the most cutting edge things that are happening in the kitchen. And this is something that we do at "Food and Wine" magazine all the time. We look for the next new thing. So we just look for chefs who are doing really an innovative thing with their cooking.

WHITFIELD: All right, for example, let's bring on some of the 10. Stewart Briosa of Ellsworth, Minnesota. For one, in your magazine you said he brings a Mediterranean flavor to Michigan using some real local ingredients. Like what?

ABDELNOUR: Like, for instance, he finds this amazing rabbit. And he just finds all kinds of amazing ways to use it. And he goes out and finds local Michigan mushrooms, like morels and ramps (ph), which are these delicious wild (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and he uses them to create these just gorgeous Mediterranean dishes.

WHITFIELD: Nobla Fakuda (ph) at the Seesaw (ph) in Scottsdale, Arizona. And you applaud him for introducing izokaya (ph), which is a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) type style Japanese cuisine? ABDELNOUR: Exactly. It's a traditional style of Japanese eating called izokaya (ph), and it's small plates of dishes that are meant to be paired with wine or saki. And Nobla Fakuda (ph) takes it to another level. And he does really modern take on these Japanese dishes. For instance, he'll do emisso (ph) marinated fagrah (ph), which he serves sushi style on top of rice, and it's just fantastic.

WHITFIELD: That sounds good. All right, now, from New York, you know there's always got to be at least one restaurant from New York represented, at least one chef. This one, Cornelius Gallagher, who creates an interesting dish by the use of your typical breakfast food of corn puffs.

ABDELNOUR: Yes. He does this dish of halibut with a corn (UNINTELLIGIBLE) butter. And what he does is use his cornpop cereal to make the butter, and he uses it in a really delicate way. It is fabulous.

WHITFIELD: And then from Los Angeles, David Myers, blending French and Japanese cuisine.

ABDELNOUR: Right. He does French dishes, very modern French cuisine, in a very minimalist Japanese sort of presentation. For instance, he has this amazing dish of mussels with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) tapioca that he serves on bowls that have the texture of rolling waves in the ocean. And it's just beautiful.

WHITFIELD: I'm a little disappointed that you don't have any women on this list. I mean, how about some of the more noted chefs out there, from New Orleans, Susan Spicer (ph), Nina Gardener (ph) from Long Island? How come the women are not on these lists?

ABDELNOUR: This year it just so happened that it was 10 male chefs. But we always find amazing female chefs. Every year, we have a pretty diverse list. And we've really found some female superstars around the country every year. And this year, it just kind of happened that it was 10 men. But we're always in search of incredibly talented female chefs as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. One more male chef that we'll go ahead and applaud here. Scott Tycer, who blends a little bit of Texas with some international flavors. And what is it that's so unique about what he brings to Houston?

ABDELNOUR: He does kind of this blend of Texas cuisine, regional Texan cuisine with French cooking. He does this fabulous dish, which is a bread pudding that uses sweet (UNINTELLIGIBLE) onions. Just the most delicate bread pudding you've ever had, using just really deliciously juicy, sweet onions. He's very talented.

WHITFIELD: I'm so hungry now. OK, well, if only you guys could come up with some kind of scratch and sniff for some...

ABDELNOUR: Maybe next year.

WHITFIELD: ... of our items there in your magazine. ABDELNOUR: That's a good idea.

WHITFIELD: All right, Salma, very good. Thanks very much, thanks for joining us from "Food and Wine" magazine.

ABDELNOUR: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 22, 2003 - 10:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: So are you hungry this morning? How about some steak and eggs, prepared with venison and dug eggs? Well, that's just one of the delicious dishes prepared by these chefs right here on the cover of "Food and Wine" magazine. They named these folks the best new chefs of the year. Senior editor Salma Abdelnour join us from New York with more on these cooking cooks. Good to see you, Salma.
SALMA ABDELNOUR, SR. EDITOR, "FOOD AND WINE": Great to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, how in the world do you narrow it down to just 10 fabulous cooks across the U.S.?

ABDELNOUR: Oh, it's so hard. We started out with a list of hundreds and hundreds of really talented young chefs. We get nominations from a huge network of food experts around the country, like other chefs, and cook book authors and food critics and all types of food experts. And we start out with a huge list, and then we just gradually narrow it down.

WHITFIELD: And I envy the person or the judges that get to go and actually sample out these foods. Now, what do they look for in these dishes? Really innovative kinds of ingredients, or chefs that just do wonders with the simplest of things?

ABDELNOUR: Right. Well, we look for the most cutting edge things that are happening in the kitchen. And this is something that we do at "Food and Wine" magazine all the time. We look for the next new thing. So we just look for chefs who are doing really an innovative thing with their cooking.

WHITFIELD: All right, for example, let's bring on some of the 10. Stewart Briosa of Ellsworth, Minnesota. For one, in your magazine you said he brings a Mediterranean flavor to Michigan using some real local ingredients. Like what?

ABDELNOUR: Like, for instance, he finds this amazing rabbit. And he just finds all kinds of amazing ways to use it. And he goes out and finds local Michigan mushrooms, like morels and ramps (ph), which are these delicious wild (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and he uses them to create these just gorgeous Mediterranean dishes.

WHITFIELD: Nobla Fakuda (ph) at the Seesaw (ph) in Scottsdale, Arizona. And you applaud him for introducing izokaya (ph), which is a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) type style Japanese cuisine? ABDELNOUR: Exactly. It's a traditional style of Japanese eating called izokaya (ph), and it's small plates of dishes that are meant to be paired with wine or saki. And Nobla Fakuda (ph) takes it to another level. And he does really modern take on these Japanese dishes. For instance, he'll do emisso (ph) marinated fagrah (ph), which he serves sushi style on top of rice, and it's just fantastic.

WHITFIELD: That sounds good. All right, now, from New York, you know there's always got to be at least one restaurant from New York represented, at least one chef. This one, Cornelius Gallagher, who creates an interesting dish by the use of your typical breakfast food of corn puffs.

ABDELNOUR: Yes. He does this dish of halibut with a corn (UNINTELLIGIBLE) butter. And what he does is use his cornpop cereal to make the butter, and he uses it in a really delicate way. It is fabulous.

WHITFIELD: And then from Los Angeles, David Myers, blending French and Japanese cuisine.

ABDELNOUR: Right. He does French dishes, very modern French cuisine, in a very minimalist Japanese sort of presentation. For instance, he has this amazing dish of mussels with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) tapioca that he serves on bowls that have the texture of rolling waves in the ocean. And it's just beautiful.

WHITFIELD: I'm a little disappointed that you don't have any women on this list. I mean, how about some of the more noted chefs out there, from New Orleans, Susan Spicer (ph), Nina Gardener (ph) from Long Island? How come the women are not on these lists?

ABDELNOUR: This year it just so happened that it was 10 male chefs. But we always find amazing female chefs. Every year, we have a pretty diverse list. And we've really found some female superstars around the country every year. And this year, it just kind of happened that it was 10 men. But we're always in search of incredibly talented female chefs as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. One more male chef that we'll go ahead and applaud here. Scott Tycer, who blends a little bit of Texas with some international flavors. And what is it that's so unique about what he brings to Houston?

ABDELNOUR: He does kind of this blend of Texas cuisine, regional Texan cuisine with French cooking. He does this fabulous dish, which is a bread pudding that uses sweet (UNINTELLIGIBLE) onions. Just the most delicate bread pudding you've ever had, using just really deliciously juicy, sweet onions. He's very talented.

WHITFIELD: I'm so hungry now. OK, well, if only you guys could come up with some kind of scratch and sniff for some...

ABDELNOUR: Maybe next year.

WHITFIELD: ... of our items there in your magazine. ABDELNOUR: That's a good idea.

WHITFIELD: All right, Salma, very good. Thanks very much, thanks for joining us from "Food and Wine" magazine.

ABDELNOUR: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com