After hitchhiking cross-country, Illinois-native Van Aken landed in
Key West in its pretourist days, where the island's "acceptance of
artists, hippies, adventurers, drifters, and scammers" brought out
the spiritual side of him. The convergence of cultures in the
Florida Keys became the defining theme of Van Aken's cooking. As
much a philosopher of gastronomy as a practicing cook, Van Aken
says, "New World cuisine is at the nexus of
North America and the
Caribbean, drawing influences from
Cuba, the
Florida Keys, the
Yucatán, the
West Indies,
the Bahamas, and South America." Dishes
such as Van Aken's Down Island French Toast, made with
curaçao-scented fois gras on brioche, or his grouper "painted" with
Caribbean rum and pepper, are perfect examples.
Van Aken is also a prolific cookbook author. His recently published
New World Kitchen explores the vibrant Latin American and Caribbean
cuisines that have had such a significant influence on his own
style. As part of the KitchenAid Dinner Series, Van Aken's food
will be included at the Beringer Blass Wine Estates dinner at the
Miami Ritz-Carlton during the South Beach Festival.
Allen Susser
Chef and co-owner
Chef Allen's
19088 N.E. 29th Ave., Aventura, Florida, (305) 935-2900
www.chefallen.com
Allen Susser - better known to most of his fans simply as Chef
Allen - was born in
Brooklyn but wound up at hospitality management
school in Florida by the late 1970s. After stints in the kitchens
of the Bristol Hotel in
Paris and Le Cirque in New York, he
returned to
Miami and adopted the region as his own culinary turf.
The rich gastronomic resources of coastal Florida, matched with
Susser's natural talent, made him one of the rising stars of New
World cuisine, and netted him a James Beard Award in 1994 as Best
New Chef in the Southeast.