by Virginia B. Wood
The handsome cadre of kilt-clad young men dashing around town on Saturday, December 7 was not a musical group or a soccer squad; it was Bertram’s chef
Peter O’Brien and his groomsmen. “We’re all Scotch-Irish,” explained the
bridegroom, “so we each wore our clan colors, or as close as we could get.”
Chef O’Brien married his lovely bride Kara McGorrian early Saturday afternoon
at the Perry Mansion and then catered his own wedding reception that evening at
the same venue. He was aided and abetted in the adventurous undertaking by his
groomsmen, the talented Bertram’s kitchen staff, and Eddie Bernal, Tim
Albright, and Chap Ross of 34th Street Cafe. Bertram’s pastry chef Louise
McLaughlin created both the exquisite bride’s cake and a smashing dessert
assortment which included a dense chocolate groom’s cake layered with various
chocolate mousses and chocolate ganache decorated with spun sugar Christmas
ornaments and pulled sugar and hard-candy Christmas ribbons; a gingerbread box
spilling forth an assortment of cookies backed up by gingerbread and
sugar-stained glass windows; and a grocery-sized chocolate bag filled with
dried fruits, strawberries, and three varieties of chocolate-covered
strawberries!…
Restaurants & Institutions magazine has taken a
real interest in Austin restaurants lately. A photo crew from the magazine was
in town in early December, shooting their February cover at the Shoreline
Grill. Shoreline chef Dan Haverty’s original creations will be the focus of the
story, featuring both recipes and photos. Fonda San Miguel restaurant was
recently notified that they are nominated for R&I’s prestigious Ivy Award,
given for “excellence in food service.” Only 34 restaurants from across the
country are nominated for the 1997 award and of this year’s nominees, only
three are located in Texas. Fonda San Miguel is the only Austin restaurant ever
to be nominated for an Ivy Award. Of the yearly nominees, eight restaurants
will be inducted into the exclusive Ivy Society at a private ceremony at the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Chicago in May. “I feel this nomination recognizes years
of hard work by our whole staff,” says Fonda San Miguel co-owner Tom Gilliland,
“including our former chef Miguel Ravago. To be on the short list for this
award is an overwhelming honor”…
La Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe
founder Patrick Esquerr� was in town to open his third local store in
the Village at Westlake on Bee Caves Road. The opening included the debut of
some new La Madeleine products such as premium coffee blends and teas, an
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Merry Berry Confiture, and Chocolate Truffles which are
available in all La Madeleine locations…
Renaissance Hotels International has
published the perfect gift for foodies to whom favorite chefs are celebrities.
Their 1997 Chef-of-the-Month Calendar serves up chef profiles and a
selection of recipes for delicious fresh vegetable dishes created by the
hotel’s chefs in the US and Canada, including executive chef Albert Musca of
the Renaissance Austin Hotel. For a copy of the calendar, call their corporate
office at 216/498-9090…
All the coffee lovers who voted Starbucks as their
favorite coffee in our recent readers’ restaurant poll will want to check out
the cafe’s holiday gift catalog. It offers all their popular coffee bean
blends, coffee press pots and mugs, compilation CDs, gourmet desserts, candies
and cookies, even coffee-related jewelry. Many of the items are available at
Starbucks outlets but some are available by mail order only, so call
800/611-1669.
This article appears in December 20 • 1996 and December 20 • 1996 (Cover).