Executive Chef

In its short life span (it opened early this summer), the Patterson Park restaurant Three ... has gone through at least one major change. Normally, I would have eaten at a place getting this much buzz sooner, but it seemed only fair to wait, considering that the owners named their restaurant Three ... and then promptly lost one of the three - Jack Starr, the one who was the executive chef as well as an owner. Talk about landing on your feet. The restaurant then hired Peter Livolsi, the chef who opened Pazo in Fells Point.

Gourmands gathered at Linwoods/Due restaurants in Owings Mills as the Family Tree held its eighth annual Great Chefs' Dinner. This year, the $200-a-plate meal was masterminded by renowned chef Alessandro Stratta, former executive chef of the four-star Mary Elaine's restaurant at the Phoenician hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz.During the cocktail hour, dinner co-chairs Georgia Stamas and Ziba Franks welcomed eager epicures, including the Family Tree's deputy executive director, Stephanie Davis, and director of development, Judy Hyman; Joanne and Abraham Rosenthal, CEO of Prime Retail Inc.; Dort and Richard Mollett, owners of Antrim 1844 Country Inn; Caprece Jackson Garrett, special-events coordinator for Port Discovery, and Dennis Garrett, president of Arcadia Transportation; and Joan and Tom Smyth, VP of the Albert S. Smyth Co.After cocktails came the serious supping: a five-course meal that began with sea scallops and asparagus with black truffle hollandaise, and ended with chocolate mousse.

Like a crystal-clear tomato consomme reduced to its summery essence, preparing a virtuoso, seven-course feast for 157 guests boils down to one vital principle: mise en place. It's a French phrase that means having all the ingredients for a dish prepared and ready to combine up to the point of cooking.Sounds simple enough. But consider the mise en place required for creating such a meal, as seven certified master chefs from around the country did on Sept. 13 to celebrate the 16th anniversary of Rudys' 2900 restaurant in Finksburg.

As a spate of recent cookbooks makes clear, there's plenty of soul - in the form of tradition and reminiscence - in the kinds of foods favored by African-American cooks. But if you're going to talk about the dishes, you might want to find a more inclusive term than soul food.Call it Southern revival, African-American (as in Italian-American) or heritage cooking. For those terms more accurately reflect the history of food prepared by people of color, say today's chefs and cookbook authors.

WHEN I HEAR THE word "reunion," I usually think of bowls of stale chips, beverages in plastic cups and uneasy moments trying to remember the names of high school classmates from long ago.But recently I went to a reunion at Rudys' 2900 that was deliciously different from the stale chips type. At this reunion, chefs who learned their craft under the tutelage of chef Rudy Speckamp (and maitre d' Rudi Paul), returned to the restaurant in Carroll County to help their former tutor prepare a feast celebrating the establishment's 15th anniversary.

"Chef Paul," celebrated by Baltimore-area private club patrons for his unparalleled terrapin dishes and souffles, died Friday of stomach cancer at his home on Bodkin Creek in Anne Arundel County. He was 71.Wilfred Paul Crowninshield, who retired two years ago as general manager of Chartwell Golf and Country Club in Severna Park, fed heads of state, movie stars and corporate chairmen during his 50 years as a chef. His specialty: continental cuisine, stamped with the seafood and accents of his Scandinavian heritage.

After Champagne Tony's turned into Truffles at the Belvedere last month and Morou Ouattara became executive chef, I got mixed reviews from those who had eaten there. I gave the kitchen what I hoped would be enough time to get its act together, then went with lowered expectations -- not encouraged by the fact that when we arrived the gorgeous dining room was empty except for the staff.Picture the high-ceilinged room with its beautiful murals, marble fireplace, comfortable chairs, elegantly set tables, crystal chandelier and mahogany-dark paneling.

Mark Henry returnsFans of Mark Henry, chef-owner of the now closed Chester River Inn and before that chef at the Milton Inn, will be glad to know that the local culinary celebrity is returning to the Baltimore area. Henry will be in charge of the Oregon Grill's kitchen when the restaurant opens this summer. (The tentative date is July 1.)Mt. Washington Tavern owner Ted Bauer is renovating the Oregon General Store, a 19th century landmark at the entrance to the Oregon Ridge Park, as an upscale restaurant.

In the nine years that she's been at the Harbor Court Hotel, Holly Forbes - now executive chef - has won national recognition for Hampton's, the upscale restaurant under her direction (although credit has to go to chef of the restaurant Scott Hoyland as well).After March 16, though, Harbor Court will have a new executive chef. Forbes' husband has been transferred to Dallas, and she's going with him. "It's cheaper to relocate than to get a divorce," she says with a laugh.Forbes isn't sure what she'll be doing in Dallas, but she hopes eventually to open what she calls "an adult place."

IT'S "OLYMPIMANIA" time -- and I'm not talking about the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where the world's greatest athletes are gathering to compete. Nope, it's the International Culinary Olympics, which will be in Berlin in September. Kitchens throughout the world are filled with more than 2,500 chefs training to compete against culinary masters, all hoping to take home a gold, silver or bronze medal.It's one of the most prestigious culinary competitions in the world, and Maryland is sending a team of eight chefs.

'Mike Colameco's Food Lover's Guide to NYC' Wiley, $19.95: PBS and radio personality and former executive chef Mike Colameco knows his way around a restaurant - and New York City. In this impressive guide, Colameco offers his informed opinion about the best of the city's eateries. He has dined at every restaurant in the book numerous times, spoken with the chef and owner, and spent time with them in the kitchen. He marvels at the concept of being able to eat "virtually anything from anywhere" less than an hour from Midtown.

One of the most interesting Baltimore restaurant stories lately (that doesn't involve a closing) has been the goings-on at the Inn at the Colonnade and its restaurant, Alizee (4 W. University Parkway, 443-449-6200). Alizee got off to a bit of a rocky start, and in April the chef and then the owners decamped. The official word is that they have moved on to other projects. The restaurant was taken over by Richard Naing, owner of the hotel. With the arrival of Christian deLutis as executive chef last month, the place may finally have gotten its act together.

Chefs from Maryland are finally getting the recognition they deserve - at least as far as reality TV is concerned. The 17 contestants on the next season of Bravo's popular Top Chef include three from the Old Line State. Jesse Sandlin, 30, has been executive chef of Abacrombie Fine Food & Dining in Baltimore; and Bryan Voltaggio, 33, is chef/partner of the relatively new but already acclaimed Volt in Frederick. Bryan's brother, Michael Voltaggio, 30, is also one of the contestants. He considers Frederick his hometown but last worked as chef de cuisine at Jose Andres's Bazaar in Los Angeles.

CHRISTIAN 'HITSCH' ALBIN, 61 Four Seasons executive chef Christian "Hitsch" Albin, who fed the world's luminaries for decades as executive chef of The Four Seasons - a restaurant that invented the "power lunch" - has died. He was 61. Albin died at New York University Medical Center on Saturday, five days after being diagnosed with cancer, the restaurant's owners said in a statement. The Swiss-born chef's hearty laughter filled the ritzy Manhattan restaurant's kitchen for 36 years, serving guests who included Jacqueline Onassis, Elton John, President Bill Clinton, Princess Diana and Martha Stewart.

A few months back, Jill Snyder, executive chef at the Red Maple tapas lounge in Mount Vernon, wasn't a big fan of Bravo's Top Chef. "I hadn't really watched many episodes," she admits, a little sheepishly. That's probably about to change: Snyder, 28, will be on the show when it kicks off its fifth season Nov. 12. A native of Latrobe, Pa., who moved to Charm City eight years ago, Snyder is one of 17 chefs competing for the grand prize of $100,000 toward opening their own restaurant. The reality show tests not only culinary skills, but also contestants' resourcefulness, quick-thinking and business savvy.

Baltimore chef Jill Snyder to compete on 'Top Chef' Baltimore's Jill Snyder, executive chef at the Red Maple tapas lounge in Mount Vernon, will be one of the 17 chefs fighting for top honors on the new season of Bravo's Top Chef series. Snyder, 28, has studied under local legend Spike Gjerde. Among her favorite ingredients are semi-sweet chocolate, sushi rice, micro-herbs and champagne, according to a statement from Bravo. Top Chef, which begins its fifth season Nov. 12, pits chefs from around the country against one another in contests that test their culinary skills, their inventiveness and their determination.

This is sad news for Baltimore foodies. Instead of creating omakase, chef Edward Kim is creating spreadsheets. If you're one of Kim's many fans, for the past eight months he's been in charge of all the food at the Westin Hotel near BWI Marshall Airport, including what's served at Luminous, its main dining room. Baltimore has a few celebrity chefs, but for the most part we don't pay much attention to who's preparing our food as long as it tastes good. Kim has always been the exception. He was Ixia's first chef when it opened in Mount Vernon in 2001, and his innovative fusion cuisine captured people's imaginations immediately.

At long last, it looks as if Abacrombie (58 W. Biddle St., 410-837-3630) will be reopening, perhaps as early as tonight. The tiny basement restaurant succeeded so well under former chef/owner Sonny Sweetman that the new management doesn't plan to make major changes in the format. That means fine dining, a European menu with some contemporary twists, and a European wine list. Rumor had it that Corks was somehow going to be involved in the new Abacrombie. That turned out not to be true. Jerry Pellegrino, co-owner of Corks, is, however, "the producer of this project although he's not the major investor," says Greta Clausen, the new general manager.

In its short life span (it opened early this summer), the Patterson Park restaurant Three ... has gone through at least one major change. Normally, I would have eaten at a place getting this much buzz sooner, but it seemed only fair to wait, considering that the owners named their restaurant Three ... and then promptly lost one of the three - Jack Starr, the one who was the executive chef as well as an owner. Talk about landing on your feet. The restaurant then hired Peter Livolsi, the chef who opened Pazo in Fells Point.

After local chef Jerry Pellegrino dined at Minibar restaurant in Washington two years ago, he felt as if he had just been to a Broadway show. There were no glitzy costumes or song-and-dance numbers. Instead, the executive chef of Corks restaurant in Federal Hill experienced a 34-course tasting menu that took hours to finish and cost more than $100. But after the meal, the chef still wasn't satisfied. "I left feeling hungry," said Pellegrino. "I had to grab a chili dog down the street."