Building Brevards Flavor Profile

Brevard County has a mouth-watering future in store thanks to a crop of innovative local chefs looking to add our area to the culinary map.

Cedar’s Cafe, Trend Kitchen, Crush XI, The Chef’s Table . . . locals looking for a memorable dining experience have more choices than ever before. The outlook for the Brevard food scene just continues to get brighter. Our area, which has always been a haven for independent restaurants, is currently home to some of the best chefs in Florida. And these local talents are joining forces to inspire residents and bring cutting-edge cuisine to Brevard.

To that end, Cedar’s Cafe head chef Toni Elkhouri is hosting Brevard’s first ever James Beard Foundation Celebrity Chef Dinner at the end of September. The James Beard Foundation is a national nonprofit whose mission is to educate professional chefs and promote wholesome, healthful, and delicious food. Only 20 of these dinners are held nationwide each year, so the selection of Melbourne as a tour stop is a sure sign of that Brevard has made it on to the culinary map.

This special, one-night-only event begins with a cocktail reception, followed by a multi-course dinner with wine pairings, prepared by JBF Award winners and local chefs. The meal ends with a decadent dessert course served during a question-and-answer session with the featured chefs. The Melbourne dinner features a lineup of all female celebrity chefs, specifically selected by Elkhouri to inspire young girls.

Elkhouri designated the event as a benefit for the Brevard Zoo, which is serving as the backdrop for this scrumptious soiree.

“Brevard Zoo could not be more grateful for Toni’s remarkable and meaningful generosity in deciding that the proceeds of the event would be donated to the Zoo in support of its critical missions,” said Karen Davis, Brevard Zoo director of development.

The best burger?

The buzz surrounding the JBF Celebrity Chef Dinner is probably not the first time Brevard’s in-the-know gourmet diners have heard of the James Beard Foundation. This past summer, four local chefs entered their unique creations into the foundation’s Blended Burger contest. It was Elkhouri — whose entry won the contest in both 2016 and 2017 — who convinced fellow chefs Brandon Basista (Bearded Chef food truck and catering), Kyle Hash (Pizza Gallery & Grill), and Justin Medina (Playalinda Brewing Co. - Brix Project) to enter.

Each burger entered in the contest is an exotic concoction, made up of at least 25 percent mushroom for health and sustainability. Adventurous diners were able to sink their teeth into all four creations, from sweet to spicy, throughout June and July and vote for their favorites.

The chefs teamed up, working together to get the word out and promote their burgers in their restaurants and on social media. When voting ended, all four Brevard County entries were among the top vote getters in the country. The burgers created by Elkhouri, Basista, Hash, and Medina will all move on to the final round. A panel of food experts, selected by the James Beard Foundation, will determine five winners from the top 20 entries with the most online votes. Those five will travel to New York and make their burger at the iconic James Beard House.

It’s this spirit of cooperation and fellowship that is spurring excitement in our local culinary scene. Basista of The Bearded Chef Food Truck and Catering cites the unusual rapport among chefs here in Brevard as one of the reasons so many locally owned restaurants are successful.

“We have created a family where we can learn from one another, grow together,” Basista said. “Camaraderie and mutual respect are the keys to growth.”

Elkhouri agreed. “In order for our area to be recognized nationally, we need to all work together and push each other.”

Getting adventurous

Both Elkhouri and Basista have noticed a big shift when it comes to customers’ attitudes about food. Diners are more knowledgeable about ingredients and where their food comes from than ever before. And many are willing to pay more for higher quality products.  

At Cedar’s Cafe, which she runs with her mother, Marlene, Chef Elkhouri experiments with new dishes all the time. Her restaurant is known for its specials, and Elkhouri takes the time to explain her dishes and their components to her customers. She uses Cedar’s Instagram and Facebook pages to give in-depth explanations and hosts a monthly question-and-answer session via Facebook Live. 

Elkhouri says some of her most loyal customers “are people who are adventurous, with a true love for food and an understanding of balance and pairings.”

Her most ardent and steadfast regulars know they can order a “hodge podge” for the table — a series of dishes created just for them. To create these special meals, Elkhouri has a chat with her diners before returning to the kitchen to whip up a personalized creation. No two hodge-podge meals are ever the same.

Basista also likes to try to push the boundaries when creating new dishes, while keeping a few elements within his customers’ comfort zones. The “Thai-My-Shroom” burger he created for the Blended Burger contest is a good example of his culinary sensibilities. Though his burger is made utilizing ground mushrooms alongside beef, pork, and a variety of Thai spices, his exotic ingredients are presented in a familiar way — on a bun with ketchup and mayonnaise style sauces.  

When asked about the future of food in Brevard, Basista predicts local chefs will continue playing with more diverse foods and that in the near future, our area will see a rise in different types of ethnic restaurants. Elkhouri thinks we will hear more about the “slow food” movement, which emphasizes using ingredients only when they are in season and at their very best.  

Both chefs agree they are excited to see how the Brevard restaurant culture grows and develops in the near future. They see their patrons as more than just customers, but as family.

After all, as Elkhouri said, “At the end of the day, food is the most personal thing. We get to have a moment with every customer.”

James Beard Foundation Celebrity Chef Dinner

https://www.jamesbeard.org/events/melbournefl

Cedar’s Cafe

(321) 751-0000

http://www.cedarscafe.com/home.html

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cedarscafefl/

Instagram @cedarscafe

The Bearded Chef

(321) 427-9130

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheBeardedChefEats/

Check out this article in our DIGITAL MAGAZINE.