New Columns, and New Writers

This year has been excellent for Santé Magazine. We consistently delivered quality monthly editions by some of the best writers in the industry. We ran our second consecutive wine and spirits competition, successfully celebrating some of the best beverages in the industry, and we doubled our readership, now reaching over 200,000 readers!

We are introducing two new columns this month to keep content fresh and contemporary.

Eating the Neighborhood

This month’s cover article is the start of our column, Eating the Neighborhood, by Chef Ric Orlando.

Ric is legendary and is an institution in the Hudson Valley, north of New York City. He co-owned with his wife, Liz, and operated the New World Home Cooking Company from 1993-2018.  It was a beloved community hub and gathering restaurant for the Hudson Valley, a site for hundreds of wine, beer, and spirits dinners, fundraisers, and holiday meals.

He’s won too many awards to count, including two victories on Chopped, beating Bobby Flay, and he won numerous Albany Times awards, plus Best Hudson Valley Chef. 

Ric now takes people on Experience Sicily tours, does Pop-Up events all over the Hudson Valley and Capital Region of New York, and owns and operates Ric Orlando’s Best – a line of Hot Sauces, BBQ Sauces, and Custom Seasonings that originated in his restaurants.

Culinary Coffee

Next on our new line-up is Culinary Coffee by Jake Leonti. Isn’t it about time that we talk about coffee in fine restaurants? We take spirits and wine seriously – why not coffee? Many fine restaurants, particularly on this continent, seem afraid to address the issue. In reality, it is a missed business opportunity. Jake intends to educate us on the nuances of coffee in a busy, fine restaurant through his monthly column.

Jake is a food and beverage advisor working in New York City and around the world. His work has involved importing green coffee, blending, roasting, building brands, packaging, developing RTD beverages, syrups, full-scale menus, and overseeing international product launches. Jake is a member of the Roasters Guild, a certified MuMac trainer, and Editor-in-Chief of CoffeeTalk Magazine. F+B Therapy is a food and beverage consulting company that offers an array of services, including opening cafes to menu creation, staff training, product development, branding, and business strategy. F+B is based in the Northeast, with offices and training labs in New York and Miami. Clients range from 100-year-old international brands to owner-operator small businesses across the US, Europe, Australia, South, and Central America.

Cidre pour la Vie

Also, this month is Cidre pour la Vie by Philip S. Kampe on cidre (or cider here in the U.S.A.). But Phil is writing not about just any cidre. He’s writing about what is arguably the leading cidre in the world.

Philip is a writer and consultant for U.S.-based wine, travel, food, and spirits. At a very early age, he developed a discerning palate. He followed his path through his palate at a young age, later recommending to established food and ice cream shops to improve their products.

Philip spent four years in Europe in a VW camper, following the wine and cheese trails of France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Greece, and Spain. 

Upon returning to America, he opened an ice cream and candy shop with his recipes, credited as one of the cookie dough ice cream co-inventors. His Fabulous Phil’s shops achieved a top ten rating of all of the ice cream shops in the United States. 

Philip also holds several wine certificates from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, and France. He is a certified Armagnac teacher, as well. He was a jury member for numerous prestigious worldwide wine competitions, including Antiprima Amarone, Languedoc Millesime, The Bar Show, Star Chefs Sommelier Competition, Southwest Wines of America, Berkshire Tasting Panel, and TAP Airlines Business Class Wines, to name a few. Philip is a current member of the Wine Media Guild and a wine consultant for the two branches of Sparrow Wine & Liquor of New Jersey. Philip taught several wine classes, created wine lists for restaurants, was a brand ambassador for Domodimanti Wines of Italy at Vinitaly, set up the cheese and gourmet food section of the Wine Library, and renovated the cheese department at Sickles Market.

The Bar Exam: How to Pass the Cocktail Taste Test with Flying Colors

In our burgeoning management category, we have an article by Chris Tunstall, The Bar Exam: How to Pass the Cocktail Taste Test with Flying Colors, on making sure that your bar meets the standards that your restaurant deserves.

Chris Tunstall is the co-founder of A Bar Above and brings more than 15 years of experience in bartending, managing, and consulting for bars and restaurants throughout California. With his decade and a half of experience in the service industry, Chris not only uses his industry and bartending knowledge to create hundreds of training videos and articles for A Bar Above’s blog, social media, and YouTube channel, but he also co-creates the company’s bar training courses and heads product development for their line of premium barware.

Surrell in Seattle: Fine Washington Wine and Food

Returning with her restaurant review, Deborah Grossman regals us with the flavors of Surrell in Seattle.

Deborah is a San Francisco Bay Area journalist whose specialty is writing about people and places that craft unique beverages and food. Her gastronomic travel articles depict experiences at the global dining table.

The Dozen

Continuing with his weekly column, Roger Morris deliver on his weekly Dozen, reporting on the top trends in wine.

May I Quote You

Roger re-invigorates his May I Quote You column in which he interviews key people in the industry. This month Roger interviews Brian Freedman, who just published a new and important book that will make a great holiday gift for anyone interested in wine and how global warming can change the wine and spirits we drink. It’s called Crushed: How a Changing Climate is Altering the Way We Drink.

Roger is beloved amongst wine writers and has a robust following. He writes about wine, food, and travel for The World of Fine Wine, Drinks Business, Meininger’s Wine Business International, Wine Enthusiast, Santé Magazine, and other publications in the U.S. and Europe.

You will discover this top of the month, but remember that we publish content throughout the month.

Stay tuned for even more exciting news about Santé Magazine as we roll out some great new projects for 2023.

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Enjoy your day.

À Votre Santé

Emiliano De Laurentiis