There I was sitting in the dim ambiance, overlooking a crisp white tablecloth and an equally crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc. The sights and the sounds, I was taking it all in… from the waiters buzzing around wearing black and white to the hum of laughter and chatter that was so loud it was almost soothing.

We don’t go out to eat without our kids very often so this special evening at William & Henry Steakhouse to celebrate my mom’s birthday was a big treat.

When my dinner arrived, my senses officially went into overdrive: crab–stuffed salmon carefully arranged on top of colorful, steamed veggies, garnished with sprigs of green onion, red peppers, a lemon wedge… and something else fancy I couldn’t even identify. I hadn’t even taken a bite… and I was already drooling. After quickly snapping a photo for Instagram, I quickly convinced myself this masterpiece was worth ruining. I grabbed my fork (politely, of course) and dove in.

Whether you’re indulging at one of the nicest restaurants in town or grabbing a quick bite at your favorite Mexican spot, the way your food is presented adds to the overall experience of “going out to eat.” Do you ever wish you could make your home dinner party look just as good? In this Food Issue, we are focusing on plate presentation to give you some ideas. Mena Hughes, director of the Culinary Arts program at Central Virginia Community College, share some tips and tricks with us on pages 78-83, as well as a few tasty recipes. Also in our This City department, learn more about how Hughes is recharging CVCC’s Culinary Arts program by helping her students find jobs.

Also inside, our very popular Lynchburg Restaurant Week is June 22-29 and we have this year’s menus from 21 local restaurants. Local baristas explain how they make the foam on the top of your latte look like a miniature painting. We’re also sharing the story behind Live Pure Smoothie Cubes, a nationally-known company with Hill City roots. Plus, read about The Tides Inn in Irvington—if you’re a foodie, you’ll want to check this “bourbon and bivalves” destination off your bucket list.

My goal is that you leave this issue feeling very hungry (or thirsty!). Which reminds me…
I need to finish making that box of mac and cheese for my kids.
I guess I will have to work on my food presentation skills another night!

Cheers,

Shelley Basinger, Managing Editor
Shelley@lynchburgmag.com

Light and delicate choux pastry puffs filled with ice cream and covered with warm chocolate sauce. This dessert presents well with its height. You can also work on your presentation skills when drizzling the chocolate sauce.

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Ice cream flavor of your choice
1 cup heavy cream
9 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in butter and salt until butter has melted; reduce heat to low. Vigorously stir in flour until no dry lumps remain and mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Take off heat and stir in the eggs, one at a time, adding the next egg only after the last one has been completely incorporated. Drop the profiterole paste onto the prepared baking sheet in evenly spaced dollops.

Bake in preheated oven until pastries have puffed up and turned golden brown (25 to 30 minutes). Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack to room temperature.

Bring 1 cup of heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth.

To assemble, slice the puff (not all the way through), and scoop in ice cream. Place the filled profiteroles onto individual serving plates and top with the warm sauce.

Right after the release of our March/April issue, we received a special note from a reader that touched our hearts. Lynchburg resident Helen Swanson has a very personal connection to D-Day and was especially moved by our story “The Relics of War.” We are publishing her feedback in full.

“THANK YOU for the wonderful article in your March/April issue on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. The article was especially poignant for me because D-Day was the beginning of the American and Allied soldiers liberating the German slave labor and concentration camps one year later.

To explain in a condensed version—my father, Joseph (Jozef) Seczkowski, was just a young man of 19 when he was rounded up with other men, women and children in his hometown in Poland in April 1940. He was taken to various Nazi concentration camps in Germany. He spent five years of his life as a prisoner in these camps. Sachsenhausen in Oranienburg, Germany, located outside of Berlin, was the last concentration camp he was in. Not as well known as Dachau or Auschwitz, thousands passed through its gates and heinous experiments were conducted on many of its prisoners.

My mother’s home and village in Poland were burned to the ground in 1943 by German soldiers. She and her parents and sister were given the choice to stay and be killed or board the train that took them to a slave labor camp near the port city of Kiel, Germany. My mother Irena was just
15 years old and was forced to work at the shipyard unloading coal from the ships. Some days she tended to graves at a local cemetery.

After the camps were liberated, my parents spent five more years in “displaced persons” camps set up by the Allies before obtaining sponsors and visas to come to the United States. Troop ships were retrofitted to transport refugees to their new destinations. With a few meager possessions, they boarded the General W.C. Langfitt at Bremerhaven, Germany on November 4, 1950. Jozef was 29 and Irena was 22. They arrived at Ellis Island, New York on November 14, 1950. From there they traveled by bus to Chicago, where they began their young lives in America.

Full of spirit and determination my parents worked hard, learned the English language, and became naturalized American citizens in 1960. They loved their newfound freedom in their new country and never looked back. They were forever grateful to America and the soldiers who freed them. My mother passed away in March of 2006. My father died in January of 2017 at the age of 95. He felt that with the passage of time the struggles and strife of WWII and his generation will be forgotten.

It is important that we never forget the sacrifice of our soldiers or the strength and courage of the immigrants who came to the United States. The D-Day Memorial and your article certainly keep them in our memory.”

Enjoy every moment!

Change has come to Shoemakers American Grille, an upscale culinary delight in downtown Lynchburg that serves as the primary dining spot for the Craddock Terry Hotel. It’s also one of Trip Advisor’s “Top Five Restaurants” to visit in Lynchburg.

“It has more of an Italian steakhouse feel,” says chef Jason Arbusto, who took a new position early this year as culinary director of the Bluffwalk Center, which overlooks the James River from Commerce Street. A level below on Jefferson, the complex also includes Waterstone Pizza.

Arbusto’s experience in Europe heavily influences his food choices. His impressive resume includes study at the Culinary Institute of America in New York City, along with eight years of work in France and a stint in Monaco for world-renowned chef and restaurateur Alain Ducasse. By age 26, he was the chef of a two-star Michelin restaurant in France.

Arbusto has enhanced the choices at Shoemakers by offering a rich menu including fried calamari and seared scallops for appetizers and 90-day dry-aged New York strip and blackened salmon with a Mediterranean-style sauce among the entrees. The restaurant extrudes its own pasta and uses French-style butcher’s cut steaks.
Another big change at Shoemakers is the wine list, which Arbusto said had remained the same since the restaurant opened in 2007. He has also added new cocktails. Four people could easily share an enormous piece of chocolate blackout cake or Italian cheesecake for dessert.

To keep returning customers happy, Arbusto was careful to retain some of Shoemakers’ signature classics, including its seafood chowder and crab cakes.

The chef grew up in a “foodie” family in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but spent his high school years at Virginia Episcopal School. He returned to the Hill City three years ago after he had had enough of big restaurants and big cities, including San Francisco and Las Vegas.

For his first three years here, he became well known for fine catering, pop-up dinners, and opening his own restaurant, Daughters & Sons Pizza on Fifth Street, which his wife helps operate.

When the opportunity came to expand the vision at Bluffwalk Center, he was primed for the challenge. The whole complex provides diners and visitors with a combination of luxury and history by retaining the theme of the shoe factory housed on Commerce Street in the early 1900s. At the time, Craddock-Terry Shoe Co. was the fifth largest shoe manufacturer in the world.

A large red high-heeled shoe hangs on either side of the hotel.

At 39, Arbusto plans to ramp up the Craddock Terry Catering business and oversee the creation of a new beer garden next to Waterstone Pizza, featuring 16 beers on tap. The interior space will be small, with perhaps 12 to 14 seats, while a heated tent will be able to hold 200 to 250 people, he said. Arbusto envisions serving small plates, tapas, burgers, bratwurst, pretzels, and sausages, in keeping with the German beer garden theme.

Plans are also underway for a smaller roof-top venue, as well as adding three new hotel rooms and expanding the third-floor kitchen for banquets.

At Waterstone, where the line is often long on weekends, diners can enjoy fire-roasted pizza, salads, pasta, and sandwiches, along with rotating taps of Virginia beers. Arbusto has already freshened up Waterstone’s menu, while staying true to its core.

“In general, I want a more local feel for everything,” he said. That means offering as much locally sourced food and drink as possible, as well as displaying local art and hosting community events.

Photos by Ashlee Glen

BEHIND THE SCENES

Two cameras, three lights, one stepladder… even a teenager—it takes a lot of equipment and teamwork to pull off a successful food photo shoot in Lynchburg Living.

Photographer Ashlee Glen, her daughter Tyne and editor Shelley Basinger descended upon Central Virginia Community College’s culinary department in March. Program director Mena Hughes was highly organized and prepared most of the three dishes ahead of time. Ashlee took action shots as Mena assembled each plate.

Ashlee also took the extra step of carrying each dish to the atrium nearby to shoot the dishes in natural light. She learned even her trusty stepladder wasn’t quite high enough so she braved a bar stool to get the perfect angle.

See how the photo shoot turned out in our Taste department on page 78 as well as our This City department on page 35.

BEHIND THE COVER

The cover of the Food Issue was a team effort: Art Director Chris Meligonis made the pie and the accompanying crust words on top, as well as styled the shoot. Angela Blue, wearing a bright summer dress, held the pie while Dave Uhrin took photos in direct sun.

Black & Blueberry Pie
Recipe from the Kitchen of Mena Hughes, Program Director of Central Virginia Community College’s Culinary Department

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 sticks chilled unsalted butter,
cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cups blackberries
2 cups blueberries
3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca pearls
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions
For the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and the butter. Pulse until the butter forms pea-sized crumbles. Pour in 1/4 cup ice cold water and pulse briefly until dough begins to clump. Scrape the dough onto a work surface, kneed until it just comes together, and mold into a ball. Half the dough and shape each half into a half-inch thick disc. Wrap each disc separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (You could also purchase pie dough discs from the grocery store. You will need 2, one for the bottom and one for the top.)

For the filling: In a large bowl, toss the blackberries and blueberries with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the tapioca pearls until evenly combined. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll one dough disc into a 14-inch circle and fit it into a 10-inch glass pie dish. Stir the berries to redistribute the juices and the sugar, then scrape into the pie dish. Roll the second dough discs into a 12-inch circle and place over the berries. Trim, seal, and crimp the edges of the dough and cut four slits in the top. Brush the dough all over with the beaten egg.

Place the pie on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and bake until the crust begins to turn light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue baking until the berries are bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let the pie cool before serving. Serve with ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream!

A Local Pro Shares Food Presentation Tips that Will Please the Pupils and the Palate

ne of the best parts about going out to a nice restaurant—aside from the fact that you just get to sit there and relax while your meal is prepared—is the way the dish looks when it slides in front of you.

Let’s be honest—we’ve all drooled a little bit.

“Whether you’re at a restaurant or a home dinner party, you want that ‘wow’ factor,” says Mena Hughes, Culinary Arts Program Director at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC). “What I tell my students is we all visualize our meal before we taste it, so plate presentation is very important.”

It’s so important that Hughes incorporates lessons about presentation into her curriculum. She wants to make sure students know how to make meals that taste good… and look good, too. (You can find out more about CVCC’s Culinary Arts Program in our This City department on page 35.)

For those of you who want to step up your game at your next dinner party, we asked Mena to share a few of her top tricks, along with three tasty recipes that will be sure to impress your friends and family.

Prepping
For those who dream about carrying out fancy, impressive dishes to their guests, organization is crucial. “There are a lot of extra details involved when plating special dinners. I would suggest you write down everything you want to do and when you should do it,” Mena says. Translation: You don’t want to have hungry guests standing around while you slice up sprigs of green onion for a garnish—it needs to be ready to go when the food is hot.

When planning your meal, consider foods with different colors and textures, Mena says. “If you decide to have grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and cabbage, that’s pretty blah,” she explains. Try carrots and something green to go along with your chicken instead.

To make the colors of your food really pop, Mena suggests staying neutral with your plate color. “White plates are a great canvas,” she says. But “go crazy” with the shape. To add some interest to the table, consider incorporating square or even rectangular plates into your cupboard.

Use a round plate for the main course and other shapes for salad and dessert.

There are also some tools you can have on hand to make adding those little “extras” much easier. Toothpicks help with larger garnishes. A piping bag can assist you when embellishing desserts. (If you don’t have one, a Ziploc bag with the tip cut off works just fine.) A plastic squeeze bottle can be used—and reused—for drizzling chocolate or fruit sauces. Mena also uses a pastry brush from time to time to brush sauces onto the plate. (Learn more under Accessorizing.)

Assembling
Unless you have a very picky eater, Mena says you want all of your main course ingredients to be very close to, if not touching, each other. “A lot of people make the mistake of spreading it all out,” Mena says. “But it’s much more pleasing to the eye have everything arranged on the plate closely together.”

For example, start by spreading out your sauce or puree, put your protein down on top, and then make sure your veggie or starch is close to or leaning up against your protein. Layering your food items also adds some height to the plate, which you want to do. “Visually interesting dishes are taller,” Mena says.

Choosing the right ingredients will help you add height to your meal. For example, Mena says a chopped salad presents well since it’s taller. She also likes a Mesclun mix because you can make it fluffier.

Accessorizing
Another way to add height to your dish is to use fresh herbs as a garnish. “If you have some parsley or any kind of greenery that complements your dish, place a sprig of that on top of your protein or even your vegetable,” she says. “Fresh herbs just make the plate look finished.”

For those dishes that taste amazing but just don’t look as appealing (think: boeuf bourguignon) herbs can add a pop of color that those plates need. With boeuf bourguignon, adding a dollop of sour cream on top can give the dish a focal point.

Then, sprinkle some herbs on top of the sour cream for an added pop of color.

CHEF’S TIPS: Accessorizing

Keep in mind that less is more. “You don’t want to overdo it. Because then the extras take away from the main event,” Mena says. “You want your guests to be able to see what you made!”

Here are a few more ideas:
Use a pastry brush to swipe sauce onto your plate so that it’s thick on one end and thinner on the other. Then lay your protein on top of the sauce. Mena says it’s subtle but adds visual interest to the plate.

If you are making pies and have a little leftover dough, use it to make shapes, such as leaves, and add them to the top of the pastry with egg wash.
After using a squeeze bottle to drizzle chocolate sauce on a dessert, take a toothpick and run it through the sauce that’s on the plate. Have some fun making shapes or designs.

When dressing up a salad, use your veggie peeler to peel cucumbers into long curly ques. This same technique can be used with carrots.
Consider pulling one of the main ingredients from a dish to use as a garnish. For example, use a toothpick to add a whole shrimp and some herbs on top of jambalaya.

French Onion Tart
By cutting onions into half moons and layering them with cheese and herbs, your guests will be impressed by the effort you put into this tasty tart.

Ingredients
Pastry
Puff pastry sheets, store bought

Onion Topping
1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded (4 oz.)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons fresh chives, minced
1/4 lbs. sweet onions peeled, halved, and very thinly sliced into half moons (keep the moons intact, about 3 medium onions)
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper, slightly larger than 10 x 14 inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the onions.

Sprinkle the rolled pastry with the cheese right to the edges.

Sprinkle with thyme and chives.

Place the onion half moons on the pastry in diagonal lines, just barely overlapping and brush lightly with cream.

Dot with butter and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the tart is golden and browned. Cover the edges with foil if the tart is getting too brown during baking.

Let cool slightly and cut into squares to serve. Serve warm or at room temperature.