Restaurant dining provides a refreshing change of scenery and ensures that, mercifully, someone else will do the dishes. Sometimes, however, the notion of dressing up and heading out just doesn’t sound very appealing.
For fine food lovers who’d rather stay home, the Central Coast’s Chef Kurt Alldredge has developed a tasty solution. With the launch of The Chef’s Touch@ Home, Alldredge aims to put gourmet meals on every dining room table and with a minimum of fuss.
“Our customers love to eat great food,” Alldredge said, “but don’t have time to cook and don’t always want to go out to eat.
“This is a brand new line of products,” he continued. “It started from our customers requesting a high quality, convenient, and inexpensive way to have great, interesting food at home.”
Whether picked up or delivered to the door, these meals set the standard for creative cuisine packaged as a portable feast. Using only the freshest ingredients, Chef Alldredge prepares fully cooked meals and then vacuum seals them in an airtight bag that can easily be reheated in boiling water.
The menus change from week to week and include a variety of entrees. Dishes may include roasted duck in a Chu Chee curry with mushrooms and Thai basil, barbecued beef tri-tip drizzled with housemade sauce, or boneless beef short ribs braised in a red wine-tomato sauce seasoned with fennel.
Prices are reasonable, ranging from $12.99 per pound for barbecued tri-tip, to $17.95 for a generous serving of juicy short ribs. According to Alldredge, future items will include a tempting variety of locavore, organic, and multi-ethnic offerings.
“It’s food that’s inspiring,” Alldredge mused. “We’ve always said The Chef’s Touch is ‘creative food that inspires, excites, and fuels amazing human beings,’ and the foods that we offer fit within this commitment.
“We are really excited to offer these products,” he added, “and hope this will assist you in enjoying great food conveniently.”
The chef readily admits that his secret to success is to start with local ingredients whenever possible, the fresher the better.
“It’s hard to go wrong,” he said. “The best recipes I’ve created are the ones that capture that fresh taste, straight from the garden.”
Each Monday, Chef Alldredge sends out a list of the dishes he’ll prepare for the following week. Orders must be received by Wednesday at 3 p.m. and meals will be ready for pick up or delivery (for a $10 fee) on Tuesday of each week. Alldredge includes serving suggestions with each meal.
[image-2]
Chef Alldredge also has created a line of edible goodies that he bottles under The Chef’s Touch Label. These sometimes accompany a prepared meal and may be purchased individually online, as well.
These housemade salsas, sauces, and seasonal selections are designed to help customers whip up a tasty meal at home. Prepared from simple, fresh ingredients, they contain no preservatives or additives to muddy delicate flavors.
The Rustic Sauce reflects the heart of Italian cooking. Made from tomatoes, garlic, onion, and extra virgin olive oil, it contributes the finishing touch to pasta, pizza, cacciatore, or even as a baste for eggs.
Alldredge’s Spicy Marina, a feisty blend of tomatoes, onion, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and chili flakes, dresses up prawns, clams, and mixed vegetables, while his Salsa Chili Verde, served over pork, makes a perfect filler for corn tortillas.
The Salsa Colorado combines ancho, guajillo, and arbor chilis with a hint of cinnamon, and the North Carolina BBQ Sauce enhances everything from grilled pork loin to broiled chicken. The Chef’s Touch line of products also features Apple Cranberry Chutney, Spicy Tomato Chutney, and Sicilian Eggplant Caponata.
Born in Gustine, in Central California, Chef Alldredge grew up cooking for family and friends, deftly turning fresh ingredients into culinary masterpieces. He was such a natural that he gave his first cooking class before he was old enough to legally enjoy a glass of wine.
Alldredge honed his skills on the East Coast and then spent several years in Chicago before returning to the West Coast, where he worked as sous chef for Monterey’s Restaurant Central. While working as chef de cuisine at Old Europe Restaurant in Pacific Grove, he earned his Working Chef’s Certification from the American Culinary Federation.
In 1988, Alldredge moved to Lake Tahoe and then San Francisco to work with the Hyatt Hotels. After acing an interview that required he prepare a dish from a pre-selected bag of groceries, Alldredge was hired at Universal Studios, where he oversaw food operations for the entire theme park.
“I love the passion that is around food and wine,“ he says, “and the wonderful people involved with them.
“You can always count on The Chef’s Touch to be looking for the next [dining] thing,” he added, “because it’s all about fun with food!”
K. Reka Badger is all about fun with food and wine. Contact her at rekabadger@hotmail.com.
This article appears in Sep 8-15, 2011.
