It Starts with the Chef
Traditional culinary training equips budding chefs with a basic-to-good understanding of wine, but beer is rarely part of the curriculum. Never the less, a number of celebrity chefs have reputations as “good beer guys,” according to Wendy Littlefield, co-founder of Belgian beer distributor Vanberg and deWulf. She cites Rick Moonen, Emeril Lagasse, and Charlie Trotter as examples of chefs who appreciate—although they may not sell—beer.
And she notes a natural appeal beer has for professionals: “Most chefs don’t drink wine at the end of the night: it’s too heavy. They drink beer.”
When a chef takes the lead in bringing great beer to the customers, the public notices.
Greg Higgins makes every beer expert’s list of beer-savvy chefs. Higgins Restaurant in Portland, OR, is nationally known for promoting fine local beers and Belgian ales along with its fresh, Northwest cuisine.
Beer dean and Portland resident Fred Eckhardt traces the origin of a well-known beer concoction: “Greg Higgins invented the stout float I have gotten so much mileage from.” At the restaurant, Eckhardt says, “He simply promotes Belgian and other wonderful beer imports, plus local and nationally known craft beers, and has an excellent draft beer list.”
Higgins’ sommelier Warren Steenson is equally enthuaiastic: “Greg Higgins is one of the most knowledgeable chefs I know. His love of edibles and drinkables is unlimited, and that includes beer. People don’t want a Bud and a steak; they are looking for true pairings of beer and food.
With over 125 beers on offer, it’s difficult to single out favorites. “It’s the little guys I really appreciate,” says Steenson. “Their beers might offend people who aren’t ready to get their feet wet, but these are wonderful beers, worth taking a chance on.”
I know this is an old article, but I stumbled upon it, and had to comment. One of my continuing complaints is that good (food) restaurants know nothing about beer and good brewpubs know nothing about food. (I should also add most restaurants in general have generally crappy food, but that’s another pet peeve.) I cannot count the number of times I enjoyed a great beer at a brew pub only to be served some of the most disappointing food. It almost seems to me that the better the beer gets, the worse the food gets. And not to be too alliterative, I don’t get it. Of course, even at a good food place, good wine is only found if the place has someone employed for whom that is a specialty. Brewpubs need to seek out some better chefs, and perhaps if there were a fancy French word like sommelier for an equivalent beer expert, we could get somewhere at the existing good eats places.