Dishing with the Chefs
Dining out is a vacation staple for many visitors, and with some of the Jersey Shore’s best restaurants located on the island, you’re sure to find exactly what you’re craving. With 7 Mile Restaurant Week scheduled for June 4-10, we thought we’d take you into some of the finest kitchens in Avalon and Stone Harbor and introduce you to the faces behind each restaurant and your favorite dishes.
Chef Ryan Macey holding oysters stuffed with oregano garlic butter and extra sharp provolone
Café Loren
2288 Dune Drive, Avalon • 609-967-8228 • cafeloren.com
Chef Ryan Macey
What did you have for dinner last night?
Pasta and broccoli rabe with sausage.If you weren’t cooking right now, what would your profession be?
Working in a hospital. Got a degree but didn’t like doing it – then found cooking.What are you excited to eat when someone else cooks?
A cheesesteak.Last day on earth – what restaurant or meal are you eating?
Commander’s Palace in New Orleans.How would you describe your approach to food?
Treating food with respect and keeping it simple.
Chef Woody Smith of Chill with the jerk chicken, rice and beans and vegetable du jour
Chill Rooftop Grill
224 96th Street, Stone Harbor • 609-368-8500 • chillstoneharbor.com
Chef Woodrow “Woody” Smith
If you weren’t cooking right now, what would your profession be?
I would like to teach and give back to the field that I love.What do you do on your day off?
I like walking or hiking through the woods or old villages taking photos.How would you describe your approach to food?
Plain and simple: Let the food speak for itself.What do you think is the most challenging ingredient to work with?
Things people don’t eat a lot of – squid, octopus, liver and Brussels sprouts – and try to make them like it.Who is the most prominent person you have prepared a meal for?
Chuck Norris.
Chef Joe Sparta of Fred’s Tavern with the Fred’s Burger
Fred’s Tavern
314 96th Street, Stone Harbor • 609-368-5591 • fredstavern.net
Chef Joe Sparta
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A lawyer.How would you describe your approach to food?
I never follow recipes, I do it my own way always and just like to keep it simple and flavorful for the customers.Who or what inspired you to become a chef?
My parents. They always took me to nice restaurants growing up and I envied the chefs and what they could create.Who is the most prominent person you have prepared a meal for?
Two football greats: Joe Theismann and Ron Jaworski.If I gave you $5,000, what is the first thing you would buy for your kitchen?
New fryers and a large pantry for storage.
Chef Paul Drew of ICONA Avalon with chicken breast stuffed with spinach, mozzarella, roasted peppers, risotto, and minted spaghetti carrots
ICONA Avalon
7849 Dune Drive, Avalon • 609-368-5155 • icona.com/avalon
Chef Paul Drew
What are you excited to eat for dinner when someone else cooks?
I love a rib eye steak.How would you describe your approach to food?
Open-minded.Where did you receive your training?
England.Who is the most prominent person you have prepared a meal for?
Paul Bocuse; Henry Haller, chef for President Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter; Chef Michel Richard.If I gave you $5,000, what is the first thing you would buy for your kitchen?
Combination oven. It can roast or steam.
Chef Dana Erskine of Kudos with a grilled rack of lamb over rice pilaf, sautéed spinach, and a strawberry mint glaze
Kudos American Grille
2619 Dune Drive, Avalon • 609-368-7422 • kudosamericangrille.com
Chef Dana Erskine
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A fisherman.What are you excited to eat for dinner when someone else cooks?
Veal Marsala.What do you think is the most challenging ingredient to work with?
Skate wings.Who is most prominent person you have prepared a meal for?
Robert Irvine.If I gave you $5,000, what is the first thing you would buy for your kitchen?
Steam kettles.
Chef Hazbi Daku of La Vecchia Fontana with homemade fettucini with clams, shrimp and scallops in a light cherry tomato sauce
La Vecchia Fontana
700 First Avenue, Avalon • 609-967-7708 • lavecchiafontana.net
Chef Hazbi Daku
Is there a charity that you are involved with/cook for?
We work with the Sea Isle and Avalon first responders each year to offer a night where they can sell tickets to dine at our restaurant and we donate all the food. It’s our way to give back to our community.If you weren’t cooking right now, what would your profession be?
I would be a professional soccer player.Last day on Earth – what restaurant (or what meal) are you eating/in?
Fresh, homemade gnocchi with pesto.What do you think is the most challenging ingredient to work with?
Two things actually: steak and pasta. Getting the perfect sear and getting the pasta to be the perfect al dente takes practice.If I gave you $5,000, what is the first thing you would buy for your kitchen?
New knives and copper pans.
Chef Michael Hall of Oceanside Seafood with a bowl of shrimp scampi
Oceanside Seafood
2489 Dune Drive, Avalon • 609-368-2114 • oceansideseafoodavalon.com
Chef Michael Hall
What did you have for dinner last night?
Pan seared halibut with lime, roasted turmeric cauliflower with Parmesan.What are you excited to eat for dinner when someone else cooks?
Anything! I’m so happy when someone else prepares the food and I get to enjoy it. Always so appreciative.Last day on Earth – what restaurant (or what meal) are you eating/in?
Cheesesteak, pizza, soda, hoagie. All in the comforts of home.How would you describe your approach to food?
Technique. I don’t get overly complicated with lots of ingredients. Keep it simple and get flavor and texture from good execution over different culinary methods.What do you think is the most challenging ingredient to work with?
Octopus is tricky. Lack of experience would be the issue here and technique is critical.
Chef Juan Hernandez of The Reeds at Shelter Haven with the Korean bowl and the summer beet salad
The Reeds at Shelter Haven
9601 Third Avenue, Stone Harbor • 609-368-0100 • reedsatshelterhaven.com
Chef Juan Hernandez
What do you do on your day off?
Quality time with my family.How would you describe your approach to food?
Eclectic.Who or what inspired you to become a chef?
My grandmother.Who is the most prominent person you have prepared a meal for?
George Bush Senior.What is your least favorite ingredient?
Chocolate chips.
Chef Jay Otton of The Watering Hull with the pan-seared salmon entrée and the oysters Rockefeller appetizer
The Watering Hull
261 96th Street, Unit 202, Stone Harbor • 609-830-3106 • thewateringhull.com
Chef Jay Otton
If you weren’t cooking right now, what would your profession be?
A beekeeper.Where did you receive your training?
I worked with great chefs since I was 14 years old. I learned a lot working in kitchens in Stone Harbor and Great Guana Cay, Abaco, Bahamas.What do you think is the most challenging ingredient to work with?
Conch, a native shellfish from the Caribbean.Who or what inspired you to become a chef?
My mother.If I gave you $5,000, what is the first thing you would buy for your kitchen?
An air conditioner.
Whitebrier Chef Derek Clayton with Scottish salmon with wild rice and a vegetable medley over a tomato jam
The Whitebrier Restaurant
260 20th Street, Avalon • 609-967-5225 • thewhitebrier.com
Chef Derek Clayton
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
When I was really young, I actually wanted to be an auto mechanic. My grandfather was always working on cars and I was intrigued. I honestly didn’t know I had a passion for cooking until I started working in restaurants at the age of 14 and fell in love.How would you describe your approach to food?
My approach is to create modern twists on classic dishes that will be appealing to normal diners and foodies alike, all while never sacrificing quality. Simply put, good food done right.What do you think is the most challenging ingredient to work with?
Using annatto correctly can be challenging. It is easy to use it just for its color, but it can be difficult to extract the full flavor of achiote from it.Who or what inspired you to become a chef?
I started working in kitchens at a young age and was intrigued by the fast pace and the adrenaline of it all. I looked up to my mentors and started using cooking as an outlet for creativity. I haven’t looked back since.Who is the most prominent person you have prepared a meal for?
John Travolta.
Chef Linda Schwartz of Tortilla Flats with the Chili Rellenos and pulled pork and Chorizo Chimichanga
Tortilla Flats
2540 Dune Drive, Avalon • 609-967-5658 • tortillaflatsavalon.com
Chef Linda Schwartz
Is there a charity that you are involved with/ cook for?
Teach free cooking classes for senior citizens.What do you do on your days off?
Gardening, reading, watching movies.What do you think is the most challenging ingredient to work with?
Hot chili peppers.Who inspired you to become a chef?
Father and grandmother, who were both chefs.What ingredients are available to you in South Jersey that chefs in other areas would be envious of?
Jersey tomatoes.
Chef Michael Blaszczyk of the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor with pan-seared local sea scallops topped with crispy garlic, with Lobster Risotto, seaweed salad, and Lobster Aioli
Yacht Club of Stone Harbor
9001 Sunset Drive, Stone Harbor • 609-368-1201 • ycsh.org
Chef Michael Blaszczyk
Is there a charity that you are involved with/cook for?
My father was the acting president for the Sunshine Foundation and I volunteered with the organization for more than 20 years. It’s based out of Philadelphia and is an amazing charity that reaches out to chronically ill, and severely handicapped children. We would take them to Disney World, race car driving, a ton of great stuff that would bring a smile to their face during a tough time.What do you do on your day off?
I love music, so you will see me at a ton of concerts in the area. I also like to just relax with my son and daughter when they’re in the area, and our dogs.Who or what inspired you to become a chef?
Graham Kerr from “The Galloping Gourmet”!Who is the most prominent person you have prepared a meal for?
Bobby Clarke from the Philadelphia Flyers.What is your least favorite ingredient?
I hate too much garlic.
Chef Jim Kurtz of Windrift Hotel Resort with the NY Strip and Shrimp entrée from Restaurant 105.
Windrift Hotel Resort
105 80th Street, Avalon • 609-368-5175 • windrifthotel.com
Chef Jim Kurtz
If you weren’t cooking right now, what would your profession be?
A teacher; I have an education degree, but I love being in the kitchen.What do you do on your day off?
I like to take my kids to the beach.Last day on Earth – what restaurant (or what meal) are you eating/in?
Barbecue overlooking the beach.Who is the most prominent person you have prepared a meal for?
Graham Nash.If I gave you $5,000, what is the first thing you would buy for your kitchen?
A combination oven.
