General Manager Andrew Macker and Executive Chef Brett Neubauer are back once again with a summer seasonal ingredient: corn. Their ‘Follow The Ingredient’ series offers a chance to look behind the scenes at Howells & Hood as they select fun ingredients throughout the seasons to incorporate into a unique cocktail and entrée.
Between the food and the beverage programs at Howells & Hood, the team like to use as much of the fresh produce as possible, creating minimal waste and challenging each other in the process.
Follow The Ingredient: Corn
Summertime, and the living is… corny? Yes, corn is at its best right now, and so we decided to take this summer staple and see how we could use it in fun and interesting ways for this season’s installment of Follow The Ingredient. After traveling to Slagel Family Farms in Fairbury IL to learn a bit more about corn and pick some fresh, Executive Chef Brett Neubauer works corn kernels into a Crusted Scallop dish in three different ways, and then also creates a beautiful corn cob ‘ash.’ GM Andrew Macker pushes the creative envelope and manages to use the remaining cob to infuse some rum and put a spicy spin on an old favorite; the Hemingway Daiquiri. Corn season will be over very soon, so enjoy it (and the hot weather) while you can!
Follow The Ingredient intends to offer a behind the scenes look at how seasonal recipes are created, from the initial coming-of-season of the ingredient, to figuring how to use as much of a product with minimal waste, aiding in recipe creation by challenging the talents of chefs and mixologists, while reducing the waste of a restaurant or bar.
Episode 2 – ‘Follow The Ingredient: Ramps’
Episode 1 – ‘Follow The Ingredient: Blood Orange’