Tyler Florence: Camp Cuisine

By JULIETTE ROSSANT An article in the Marin Independent Journal about competing summer camps mentioned in passing that Tyler Florence had designed Steve & Kate's Camp menus in Marin County, CA. If Joachim Splichal and his Patina Group are expanding the super chef space by bringing better food to a ski resort (see yesterday's article below), Tyler is expanding the celebrity chef space by bringing better, more imaginative meals to a kids summer camp. The camp Tyler picked is not your run-of-the-mill summer camp. Kids can choose from a multitude of daily activities like film making with HD cameras, dancing, acting, and plenty of sports. The camp for 4 to 12 year olds is expensive, with lunches included. It runs $167-$375 a week, depending on whether parents purchased the whole season or by the week. Super Chef decided to find out more about how the new camp cuisine came about by speaking to Camp Director Mike Saperstein. It turns out that Tyler's oldest child went to Steve & Kate's Camp last summer. The camp was already working with Whole Foods for several years, so they had high quality ingredients. What they lacked were exciting recipes. "That is where he is making a big difference. The children are eating grass-fed Niman Ranch All-Natural burgers, Tyler's Phat Flavor Bar with apricot mustard and roasted tomato ketchup." The cuisine seems to be inspired by Tyler's Ultimate cookbook and his cuisine on his Food Network shows. The camp is now sourcing from Marin Organic, a non-profit association of organic food producers that hooks up local, organic farms with schools and restaurants and the camp. Tyler coordinates with caterers who prepare much of the food on site so it is hot and fresh. Tyler also opened a store (Tyler Florence-Mill Valley) recently that has a full kitchen where he films programs. There he prepares and tests weekly specials for the camp. " He is new in this community, he is very receptive right off the back. He thought it would be a very good way to get involved with community in a low-key way. " Mike says he visits all three locations and talks to kids and the camp staff about the weekly specials. The children start each morning by choosing what main dish they want, the camp logs the information, and caterers have the food ready by noon. There is also an all day café where the kids can have caterers make fresh organic crepes, and they can choose organic fruits and vegetables, and organic bread. Super Chef wondered if the new menu was a success with the kids and their parents, or was meeting some resistance, as Jamie Oliver new school dinners did initially in the UK. People do request all sorts of things. "When are you going to do chicken tenders?" We are educators. The educating doesn't stop at making films and playing soccer. Some children want to eat plain noodles, it's not junk food, but it has zero nutritional value. We steered them away from that by offering enough choices that kids find something. If you did vegetable sushi roll with braise tofu, half wouldn't eat it. So we offer them the burger, the flavor bar, and homemade ketchup. We haven't done French Fries or chips or anything like that. But perhaps the reason the camp food is so successful is because the camp is in Marin, an area already known for great food? Part of it is Marin. The San Francisco Bay Area is a place with a lot of foodies, they go way out of their way to find the best of the best. A lot of parents want to instill the same values in their kids. It's not the parents who want French Fries, it is the children who want chicken tenders and plain pasta. Below is a sample menu from Steve & Kate's Camp. Deep Dish Sicilian Pizza with Organic Local Tomatoes and Fresh California Mozzarella Cheese Niman Ranch All-Natural Hamburger served with lettuce and tomato Tyler's Phat Flavor Bar: Apricot Mustard, Roasted Tomato Ketchup, Homemade Barbeque Sauce, Avocado-Crema, Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce, Creamy Parmesan Ranch, Pink Chile Mayo, and Pico De Gallo. All sauces made fresh daily. California Burrito made with Natural Sonoma Turkey, Black Beans and Rice *Pico de Gallo and Avocado Crema are at the Flavor Bar Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Crispy Croutons and Creamy Parmesan Ranch Dressing Tyler's Ultimate Sushi Roll Japanese Rice, Tofu, Avocado, Cucumber, Carrots, Daikon Radish *Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce at the Flavor Bar Weekly Special Mac and Cheese Creamy Parmesan Sauce and Fresh Organic Peas Super Chef predicts that more private camps and schools will hire chefs to design their menus. Unfortunately, until the government or public school boards step in to implement public school-wide menu and ingredient change, it seems the kids who will benefit already have access to better food at home. Previous articles: Joachim Splichal Mammoth Mountain Mogul Tyler Florence: Tyler's Ultimate Tyler Florence: New Year Buzz Christmas Coffee; Tyler Florence and Senseo Tyler Florence: Eat This Book Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef