Staff Meals: La Condesa
Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing
2012
The second film in the Staff Meals series takes us to La Condesa in Austin, TX where Executive Chef Rene Ortiz has created an oasis of Interior Mexican food surrounded by a sea of Austin's famous Tex-Mex.
- The second film in the Staff Meals series takes us to La Condesa in Austin, TX where Executive Chef Rene Ortiz has created an oasis of Interior Mexican food surrounded by a sea of Austin's famous Tex-Mex.
In the first installment, shot at Houston's Uchi restaurant, I profiled a restaurant that went out of its way to bring in fesh ingredients for each Staff Meal. At La Condesa, they go for a different approach, utilizing the "trim" from each night's service to create the meal for the following day.
This technique forces the staff to get creative with each meal, making the most out of what's available to them. Executive Pastry Chef Larua Sawicki says, "Everything we purchase has to go to feeding someone in some way, and they definitely learn that from cooking Family Meal every day."
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A Culinary Equation is a series that breaks down famous dishes into their most basic components and examines how all the elements come together in the end.
Our first episode takes us to Ramen Tatsu-Ya in Austin, Texas so we can break down traditional Tonkotsu Ramen into it's most basic elements.Cinematography, Directing2013 -
Top Chef and James Beard Award winning chef Paul Qui takes you inside his East Side King Grackle food truck to plate a couple dishes on their regular disposable plates and then to take that same food and put it on the fancy white plates used in restaurants. Perception plays a big role in how you eat and Paul hopes to show that the food in their food truck is just as good as any restaurant.
Paul cooks two dishes, the Foie Gras Sando and the Uzura Don (Hill Country Quail served over rice).Cinematography, Directing2013 -
Some of the staff from Contigo in Austin, TX talk about what they do on their off-hours.Cinematography, Directing2012 -
East Side King is moving into the back of The Hole in the Wall, a famous bar in Austin's University district, and taking over their very first brick & mortar kitchen. They're bringing a "greatest hits" menu (pork buns, brussel sprouts, beet fries & more) along with some very non-traditional ramen.Cinematography, Directing2012 -
The 3rd entry in my Staff Meals series takes us to Canlis, which has been a Seattle staple for the past 62 years.
Opened in 1950 by Peter Canlis and passed down through the generations, the restaurant is now in the very capable hands of Mark and Brian Canlis, brothers who have worked in the restaurant since they were kids, helping take coats during New Years Eve dinners.
The theme of family runs through every aspect of the restaurant, including the staff meals, which they sometimes call Crew Chow or, very fittingly, Family Meal. “Staff meal is what drives the place”, says Mark. “These people give hours of their lives to this place, you have to feed them and take care of them.”
Directing2012 -
Bar Manager, Houston Eaves, talks about the drinks at Contigo and his favorite concoction, The Texicutioner.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
The East Side King food truck at The Grackle is re-opening and Chefs Paul Qui and Motoyasu "Moto" Utsunomiya are talking about the new truck (designed and painted by Peelander-Z's Yellow) and the new menu.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Contigo is the kind of place that cultivates a sense of community and with that comes regulars that feel at home when ever they walk in.
Becky Willard is one of those regulars. Most of the time, Becky says she feels like an alien, but at Contigo, she feels right at home. Watch the video and see why.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Contigo partners with many local farms in the Austin area, but Johnson's Backyard Garden supplies them with a lot of their produce. It's okra season here in Central Texas and Contigo's Executive Chef Andrew Wiseheart does some amazing things with it.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Last month, Paul Qui announced a series of dinners that he was putting on at City Grit in New York City. City Grit is a culinary salon owned by Chef Sarah Simmons, which is housed in an old Catholic School House in the NoLiTa neighborhood of Manhattan. “We host food culture events about 10-15 times a month.”, says Simmons. “We bring in chefs from all over the country, really with a focus of bringing in the next wave of up and coming chefs.”
I was lucky enough to get invited to the opening night (he’s at City Grit all week) and it did not disappoint. Paul also discussed his upcoming plans for not one, but two different brick and mortar restaurants in Austin as well as plans for his East Side Kings food trailers.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
The Chicken Thigh is one of Contigo's most popular dishes and now you get to see the entire process of how it's made, from the butchery of the chickens through to the final flourishes that make the dish amazing. This one's gonna make you hungry.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Every once in a while, the owner of Contigo, Ben Edgerton, gets together with some of his friends to play music at the restaurant.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
In the spring of 2011, Contigo celebrated it's one-year anniversary by taking all of the staff that had been there since opening day out to the Contigo Ranch for an overnight trip. There was a whole roast pig, lot's of beer, swimming and eating.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
This is the first in a series of short films exploring the staff meals at restaurants around the country.
The first stop is Uchi in Houston, TX where Executive Chef Kaz Edwards and visiting Chef Paul Qui (winner of Top Chef and the James Beard Award) talk about what goes into making the staff meal at the Uchi restaurants and how taking time out to make this meal each day brings a sense of unity and pride to the people who work there.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
This short film tells the story of how Contigo brought in Brian Chilton to hand make all the furniture at the restaurant.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Every Wednesday morning Contigo gets a whole or half hog delivered to the restaurant. Chef Andrew Wiseheart and the kitchen crew break it down, and they utilize the meat in various parts of our menu.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Shot over one 21-hour day, this short film shows how Contigo (an award-winning restaurant in Austin, TX) creates the amazing food and service that they have become known for.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
A short profile of Chef Gabe Pellegrini and his Austin, TX restaurant SAGRA.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Do you know where your food comes from?
In the past ten years, the organic food industry has become big business and consumers have been left wondering exactly what the word “Organic” means and how they can really know what they’re eating.
With the rise of farmer’s markets and more and more chefs sourcing their ingredients from local farms, consumers are now able to meet and talk to the people who are growing their food.
LOCAL discusses the rise of the local food movement, the challenges of sourcing locally and how it’s become a growing part of the Austin, Texas food scene.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Charcuterie is defined as the cookery of meat, but in the past 700 years, it's become so much more. From the Pâtés and Terrines of France to the Salumi of Italy and Spain, the world of Charcuterie is rich with tradition. This short documentary highlights two of Charcuterie's rising stars, Lawrence and Lee Ann Kocurek of Kocurek Family Charcuterie in Austin, TX.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
After working with Bryce Gilmore on my documentary, Farm to Trailer, I was contracted by his PR company (Bread&Butter PR) to direct a reel of Bryce talking about his restaurant, Barley Swine, and his culinary point-of-view. We also mixed in some TV appearances from No Reservations and VendrTV.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012 -
Farm To Trailer documents the award-winning Odd Duck food trailer in Austin, Texas and chef Bryce Gilmore's use of only locally-grown, organic food for their menu. The film also examines the Farm To Table movement, how it's effecting the Austin food scene and the benefits for consumers.Cinematography, Culinary Arts, Directing2012