On this month’s Sound Bites segment produced in partnership with Sauce Magazine, managing editor Catherine Klene gave an overview of the six up-and-comers the publication chose for its annual "Ones to Watch" feature. The article highlights local culinary talent to watch in 2018.
On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh talked to Klene and featured chefs Bryan Russo and Evy Swoboda.
“It’s definitely a chef year,” Klene said. “It speaks to the caliber of restaurants in St. Louis and the talent that these kitchens are incubating.”
Klene said Sauce Magazine selected the professionals who not only cook well, but have potential to lead and partake in different culinary projects.
“We want people with goals, who really want to grow in the St. Louis food scene; who are committed to this area and growing their careers and the culinary scene as a whole,” Klene said.
For example, Russo experiments with bread and its various fermentations. He’s a chef at Público, a Latin-inspired restaurant in University City.
“You get to learn different ways of baking [bread], different ways of fermenting things,” Russo said. “I might not use a sourdough I might make an apricot ferment from the meat of the flesh and use that as a leavener.” Leavener agents are what cause the expansion of doughs and batters by the release of gases.
Swoboda is a chef at Pastaria, an Italian-inspired restaurant in Clayton. She said that while she is honored to receive the recognition, she hasn’t stopped learning. She’s worked side-by-side with five others on prior “Ones to Watch” lists and admires where those professionals are in their careers now.
“I feel like I’m just beginning [career] and to be at this level and still learning, it’s really cool to know that there’s a lot more ahead of just this,” Swoboda said.
The other professionals recognized were Hana Chung at Vista Ramen, Eric Tirone at Truffles Butchery and Patrick Seibold and Alec Schingel at Vicia.
Listen to the full discussion:
St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Mary Edwards, Alex Heuer and Lara Hamdan give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.
