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A Taste Of The Stew

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By JEFF HOUCK | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2007

CHANGES AT BERN'S: The news Monday that Jeannie Pierola was out as executive chef at Bern's Steak House and SideBern's restaurants after nine years at the helm hit many in town by surprise.

"Wow, she really made those places new and trendy," a chef I know e-mailed me when she heard. "She brought in a consultant from NYC for SideBern's to teach her cooks gastronomics."

Pierola and Bern's owner David Laxer wouldn't specify what the point of contention was. Pierola would only say that their visions had "forked" a while back. She said she was saddened by the change but realistic. Executive chefs don't usually stay at one restaurant as long as she does, much less at a place like Bern's.

"This is what happens to chefs," Pierola told me Monday night. "You shed skin. You continue to evolve. That's what it's really about. New layers will be shed and it will be business as usual, but probably steps above."

Asked about her biggest contribution to the restaurants, the Ybor City native said she would leave that to the customers to decide.

"I was born here, and this town and the dining public have been great to me," she said. "I just want to create something even better yet, hopefully."

Stay tuned.

TABLE CONVERSATIONS, PART 1: I'll admit this from the start: I'm late to the Rocco DiSpirito Appreciation Club.

I watched a couple of episodes of his reality show, "The Restaurant," when it was on NBC from 2003-04. I didn't care for the show, — I had yet to be properly weaned on the reality culinary genre — but I thought he was an engaging personality

So I was intrigued when he started showing up in TV commercials this year after a lengthy public visibility hiatus and then popped up a few months ago on the most recent season of "Top Chef," including cooking with eventual winner Hung Huynh in the two-part finale.

DiSpirito has a new cookbook out aimed at the home cook, "Rocco's Real Life Recipes," so I arranged an interview with him. I knew he would be a great podcast guest when we got to the part in the conversation where he said that only food writers have fetishes for cooking appliances.

You can hear my Table Conversations podcast by going online to my blog, The Stew, at TBO.com, keyword: Stew. You also can download the podcast and subscribe to it through iTunes.

For the Shrimp Parmigiano recipe he mentions during our chat, go online to the blog, too.

PARTY MADE ME SENSELESS: For years, I've been hearing about what a great time the Party for the Senses is at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, but I've never had a chance to go until last weekend.

Every Saturday during the six-week festival, Disney throws one whale of a party just behind the Canadian pavillion. Appetizer entrees, cheeses, wines, pastries. Entertainment by Cirque du Soleil. You name it. It's excess in its finest Disney form. For $135 a ticket, plus park admission, of course.

My favorite dish of the night?

I've gotta go with the Tentation au Chocolat served by Richard Capizzi of Per Se in New York City. The dish included homemade scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream on a graham cracker with a dried banana wafer.

The Epcot festival ends this weekend. You can see a gallery of photos of the food and entertainment and a highlight video on my blog. Keyword: The Stew.

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