From left: Chefs Kent Rigsby, Mark Heyes and Pedro Aleman in the kitchen at the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany. Photos courtesy of Scott Cunningham Photography
Chef Mark Heyes
In addition to the England native’s daily meal preparations for a busy family of six, Heyes has spent 16 years as Abigail and Les Wexner’s house chef, solidifying him as a name to know in New Albany. An advocate of 24-hour harvest-to-table cooking, Heyes strives to perfectly match menus with the occasion, whether it be casual or fine, small or large.
Chef Kent Rigsby
Kent Rigsby’s first taste as head of the kitchen far precedes his appointment as executive chef of the New Albany Country Club in 2015. After opening Rigsby’s Cuisine Volatile in the Short North in 1986, Rigsby took the farm-to-table approach to cooking that was far ahead of the time. Rigsby has ushered in a food renaissance during his reign at the New Albany Country Club, offering a plethora of dining options to members.
Chef Pedro Aleman
Private Chef Pedro Aleman’s passion for farm-to-table cooking was born during his daily visits to the farmers markets of the Hamptons on Long Island, but his travels didn’t begin there. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Aleman attended the Boston Culinary School and completed courses at The New School in New York City, and has lived in France among his many travels. Aleman uses this worldly experience throughout his cooking.
Amanda DePerro is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
RECIPES:
Ohio Mixed Berry Pie
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- 1 cup butter, diced
- 5 oz. icing sugar, plus 2 Tbsp. extra
- 3.5 oz. ground almonds
- Zest of 1 orange or lemon, or both
- Orange juice
- 1 large egg
- Approx. 1 ½ lb. mix of berries and cherries, or whatever fruit is at hand and plentiful (stoned if you have a stoner, or halved and stoned); blueberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and blackberries
- 2 Tbsp. corn flour
- Granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Put flour, butter, icing sugar, ground almonds and zest in a food processor and whisk to crumbs. Mix the yolk with 1 Tbsp. cold water, then add to the processor and pulse until the dough comes together.
- Split the pastry in half, wrap in cling film, then chill for 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 20-centimeter pie dish with half the pastry, add a sheet of grease-proof paper and baking beans, and bake blind for 30 minutes. Remove the paper and beans. Mix the berries and corn flour with the extra 2 Tbsp. icing sugar and a squeeze of orange juice, then pile into the pie base.
- Roll out the remaining pastry until big enough to cover the pie with a slight overlap. Whisk the egg white with a fork, then brush a little around the pastry rim. Carefully lift the pastry lid, trim the edges and press with fork prongs to seal. Use a 2-cm. cutter, the large end of a piping nozzle or a bottle top to stamp out a few pastry polka dots, discarding the pastry circles you stamp out. Brush all over with more egg white, then sprinkle generously with granulated sugar and bake for 30 minutes until golden and the syrupy fruit has started to bubble out of the polka dots.
- Allow the pie to cool for a few minutes before serving hot, or warm or at room temperature. Serve with your favorite ice cream.
Green ‘Tabbouleh’
Ingredients
- ½ cup medium grain bulgur wheat (substitute with quinoa for gluten-free)
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup diced firm summer zucchini
- ⅔ cups fresh peas (good quality frozen will work)
- ½ cup fava beans (can substitute diced asparagus)
- ¼ cup green beans, finely diced and very quickly blanched
- 1 heart Bibb lettuce, finely shredded
- ½ cup English cucumber, peeled and finely diced
- ¼ cup scallions finely sliced
- ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 cup roughly chopped Italian parsley
- Seasoning to taste
Instructions
- In a skillet, add olive oil and quickly cook the chopped zucchini, then remove and drain on paper towel.
- Place the bulgur wheat in a bowl and cover with 3 times the volume of boiling water, cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain well.
- In a large bowl, add all ingredients, with the lettuce last. Dress with lemon juice and olive oil, and salt to taste.
- Serve immediately. Consider serving with good quality ricotta.
Quinoa Corn Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 4 cups yellow squash, shredded
- 8 cups zucchini, shredded
- 1 ½ cup medium diced onion (sweated)
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 cups cooked tri-color quinoa
- ¼ cup Dukkah seasoning
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 2 Tbsp. dry parsley
Instructions
- In large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together. Form into patties and bake in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes. Rotate baking sheet and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let cool and then pan-sear burgers to brown on both sides.
- Serve. Works great when served with guacamole.
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