CLEAN CUISINE

Clean Cuisine ---pop culture mega trend or  lifestyle prescription for long term wellness

When we opened the doors of Beyond the Bull (BTB) at our first location in Central, SC, in 2012, and coined the term smart food,  little did we know that BTB was at the forefront of a dietary renaissance referred to as clean cuisine currently sweeping across the nation.   Although definitions of clean cuisine by restaurateurs may vary depending on whether they are promoting sustainable ingredients, vegan, local, or whatever else is the latest fad, if you ask those who are clean eaters, they will all agree on one thing --- the goal of clean eating is to reduce inflammation and maximize nutrient value.  Beyond the Bull’s menu of eclectic and highly flavorful smart food does just that.

To many people, clean cuisine conjures up plates of vegan chili, tofu and baked kale chips.  But clean is not synonymous with vegan or even vegetarian.  On the contrary, some animal protein is a good thing ---some, not a 20 oz center-of-the-plate slab of beef sirloin with a micro green garnish.  It’s all about proportion.  Since the most anti-inflammatory and nutrient dense ingredients are unrefined plant foods, it follows that the higher proportion of whole plant food on the plate, the better. 

From its inception, the mission of Beyond the Bull has been to offer just that.  How do we do it? 

 

Prepare food from unadulterated whole ingredients as close in form to what Mother Nature intended as possible. All menu items are prepared from scratch using whole ingredients, not heat and serve from bags, boxes, bottles or cans.  Instead of buying cans or jars of tomato salsa, for example, BTB buys whole tomatoes, fresh jalapenos and corn, vinegar, spices and herbs and combines them to make a clean product.  

Braise, steam, poach and roast animal proteins that are grazed, hunted, caught or fed a natural diet.  Which is closer to what Mother Nature intended, wild caught hake or pellet fed Salmon?  Hunted wild boar or corn fed beef?  Rabbit, quail, duck and lamb, lobster, mussels, scallops, octopus, bison, hake and wild boar --- at BTB, we know where it’s from, what it eats and how it’s processed. 

  Create exciting original recipes packed with anti inflammatory ingredients. Herbs, spices, and aromatics are powerful phytonutrient rich foods used in large doses throughout the menu.  Blueberries in dipping sauce, spinach and kale in “smart” greens, turmeric and parsley in warm potato salad, cilantro and lime in sweet potatoes, tomatoes in braising liquid, wraps and sides, cinnamon in house sangria, cucumber in green gazpacho, chili peppers, cumin, olive oil, Brussels sprouts and apple cider vinegar to name a few.  

Occasionally a guest will ask why I do this.  I think what is understood but unspoken is why (at my age) I do this.  Shouldn’t I be leading the life of a retiree, taking it easy, traveling the world, going to the theater or joining a club?  Why, after three previous careers in other industries, why take on the difficult task (again, understood ---at my age) of managing a restaurant.  My answer is that I like it.  I like having a purpose, one that not only makes me eager to get out of bed every morning, but one that I know makes a difference one plate at a time.  

And now, thirteen years from our start, we are either part of a mega trend or clean cuisine is here to stay.  Which is it?

Eat Smart, Feel Good. Chef AngelaB.

 Chef Bell is the author of the book GOOD FOOD BAD FOOD available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

If you would like to contact Chef Angela, you can email her at 2birches@att.net. 

 

 

 

30 day moratorium --- SCDHEC continues no tableside service at your favorite restaurant

What can you do to help make sure your favorite restaurant, Chef, bartender and tipped server are still there for you this summer?     

Buy yourself or a loved one a present

Purchase a gift card from your favorite eatery to use for yourself or someone soon to celebrate a special occasion.

Order dinner out

Instead of cooking all your meals at home, order a fine dining restaurant quality meal for curbside pick up.

Buy a bottle or glass of wine

Along with the dinner meal, buy a single glass or a whole bottle of premium wine (perfectly legal) and don’t forget to add a service charge as a tip for your favorite server.  

Buy a seat for a prepaid event

Check Facebook, Google Business and restaurant websites for prepaid events and secure a seat now for yourself or a special someone.

In the meantime, to all of our loyal guests, thank you.   We will joyfully continue serving our entire menu of eclectic, healthy, creative foods via curbside pick up for as long as it takes.  

Eat Smart, Feel Good!

Chef Angela

Beyond the Bull Tableside

864 508 1254

www.facebook.com/beyondthebull

Note:  Beyond the Bull Tableside will be celebrating a 5^th  anniversary at the current location in Seneca on Friday, April 24.  We fully intend to be around for number 6.  

15 day moratorium --- no tableside service at your favorite restaurant

Almost 1 week has gone by since our Governor’s executive order to cease all restaurant and bar service (indoor and outdoor) with the exception of take-out, drive through, delivery and curbside.  So, how are we doing so far?

Drive throughs are jammed, food truck windows are packed, grocery stores are barren as more people dine at home, and cars line up curbside.  But how does all this help the small, independent fine dining local restaurant or, the one where you love to dine with friends and on special family occasions because the food is unique, wines are premium and the server has fervor?  Unfortunately--- out in the cold!   

What can you do to help make sure your favorite restaurant, Chef, bartender and tipped server are still there for you?  Here are four ways to help:

Buy yourself or a loved one a present

Purchase a gift card from your favorite eatery to use for yourself or someone soon to celebrate a special occasion.

Order dinner out

Instead of cooking all your meals at home, order a fine dining restaurant quality meal for curbside pick up.

Buy a bottle of wine

Along with the dinner meal, buy a bottle of premium wine (perfectly legal) and don’t forget to add a service charge as a tip for your favorite server.

Buy a seat for a prepaid event

Check Facebook, Google Business and restaurant websites for prepaid events and secure a seat now for yourself or a special someone.

In the meantime, to all of our loyal guests, thank you. 

Eat Smart, Feel Good!

Chef Angela
Beyond the Bull Tableside
864 508 1254
www.facebook.com/beyondthebull

Note:  Beyond the Bull Tableside will be celebrating a 5^th  anniversary at the current location in Seneca on Friday, April 24.  We sincerely hope we will be around for number 6.  

Tax Relief For Restaurants?

COVID 19 Tax Relief For Restaurants ?  Not so --- ­

In a 4 PM press conference on Tuesday, March 17, Governor McMaster announced a plan to help curb the spread of COVID 19 in South Carolina which included the involuntary closure of all restaurants.  In the same press conference, he also required the South Carolina Department of Revenue to extend tax deadlines until June 1^st---  “That is to file and to pay all state taxes, including income taxes, business taxes, sales taxes for small, as well as large businesses”.  Governor McMaster said and further explained the intent, “The idea behind the extension is to allow businesses to maintain their cash flow during the crisis and pay their employees”.  My interpretation offered me the opportunity to continue to use the cash on hand to pay expenses that are critical to continuing operation after the two week moratorium, expenses such as liability insurance and equipment repair. 

Today, on Thursday, March 19, two days AFTER the Governors announcement, I received an email with a special announcement from SCDOR regarding the COVID 19 Tax Relief.  One day before the monthly sales tax is due and two days after the Governor’s announcement, the special announcement from SCDOR stated the following, “This tax relief does not affect returns and tax payments that are due in March. These deadlines still apply.”

Seriously?   March?  As in March, 2020?  During the two weeks that we are complying with closure?  Either the SCDOR has gone rogue, totally ignoring the “requirement” not “request” (also in the words of the Governor) to extend ALL tax deadlines to June 1, or one of these parties has made a mistake.  How does extending deadlines for April and May help restaurants with cash flow NOW.  It is NOW and for the next two weeks that there will be no revenue.  Surely this was not the intent. 

As an independent small restaurant owner who is forced to comply with an order to close, I did so without malice or hesitation knowing how critical the situation is and praying for success.    And it was with relief that I heard the Governor’s requirement regarding tax filing and payment --- a message of a tax extension that would help us all carry on.  Specializing in “clean” food, alternative proteins, tableside service and fine wine, it is highly unlikely that our restaurant will have any revenue from take-out.  So now, because SCDOR is choosing to ignore the Governor’s “requirement” to extend the deadline on ALL taxes due, or the Governor forgot to say all taxes due AFTER April 1, I have a difficult choice to be made  --- file and pay sales tax due to SCDOR tomorrow or pay my loyal and irreplaceable employees tomorrow.  Hmmm, what would you do?

Eat Smart, Feel Good!

Chef Angela

Note:

According to the National Restaurant Association, there are approximately 10,000 restaurants and 200,000 restaurant employees in South Carolina.  Those restaurants contribute sales tax on approximately 10 billion dollars in yearly sales.  Tomorrow, many of the 10,000 restaurants will be required to file and pay sales tax. 

Germaphobic Chef --- Not Just Clean Food!

Not just clean food                                          

Beyond the Bull’s (BTB) mission is to serve clean food which we define as food prepared from clean ingredients, unprocessed and free of additives, added sugar, flour, and using methods that avoid the use of bad fats --- as close to what Mother Nature intended as we can get.  We do our best to provide our guests with creative, interesting menu choices in a fine dining environment offering fine wines and fine service.   

But to me, it is about more than just clean food.   As the chef/owner of BTB, a certified and registered ServSafe Food instructor and proctor, a senior citizen (a member of an at-risk population) and a little germaphobic (aka OCD), I am fervent  about providing a clean, safe, comfortable dining environment as well.  How do we do that?

Limited staff

BTB has one chef in the kitchen and one server in the dining room, the same chef and server every night.   Both are well trained in procedures that ensure food, food contact surfaces and guest contact surfaces are free of contaminants (including mold, bacteria, toxins and viruses). Except for special occasions, Chef Angela and Erin do it all.     

Limited seating

BTB provides an intimate, semi private dining experience.  We limit reservations to 24 each night we are open.  With limited seating in a restaurant that has a seating capacity of 64 spread throughout three dining rooms, our guests are guaranteed an un-crowded space, plenty of elbow room and private conversations. 

Extended sanitation and food safety procedures        

BTB extends the same standards of sanitation out to the dining rooms (including rest rooms), tables, chairs, door knobs, glassware, flatware, check holders, pens and all hard surfaces are regularly wiped with the same sanitizing solution specified by food code regulations for use on food contact surfaces in the kitchen.  Dress uniform, personal hygiene and hand-washing requirements are extended to the dining room as well. 

Clean air

At BTB we take your comfort and well being seriously.  So, in addition to practicing the FDA and SCDHEC standards of practice for food safety in the kitchen and dining rooms, we maintain our air handling system with the same vigilance, including the regular use of antimicrobial air cleaners.   

Some might say this is over the top.  We don’t think so.  Common cold, seasonal flu, new and old viruses, they are here to stay.  Is all this due to the current pandemic?  No. It is what we do, have always done and will continue to do to provide our guests with a safe, clean, comfortable experience.  Besides, I am much too old for cognitive behavioral psychotherapy.  If I must have a behavioral disorder, I can’t think of a better one to have in my line of work.   

Eat Smart, Feel Good!

Chef Angela

WHY MEET AND EAT at Beyond the Bull

MEET AND EAT is defined as a group of people gathering in comfortable surroundings for the purpose of celebrating, communicating, officiating while dining. 

Seven reasons to meet and eat at Beyond the Bull:

The indoor venue

BTB provides seating for 64 in three separate dining rooms, or 24 in the private dining room.  We are proud of our simple, clean, uncomplicated décor which includes a gas log fireplace, lots of natural lighting, and old creaky wood and flagstone floors.   Your guests will appreciate the clean restrooms and   that the only aroma in the house is coming from the food on their plate. 

The outdoor venue

The outdoor deck seats 28 or more.  Surrounded by ornamental trees and shrubs, the remaining evidence of a long ago greenhouse and nursery, BTB offers serenity and solitude away from the crowd and what only nature can provide.  And bring Fido, always a welcome addition to any party!

Easy to reach location 

BTB is located in close proximity to all of what Lakes Keowee, Jocassee and Hartwell have to offer.  At the crossroads of Rte. 183 and Rte. 188, it is easily accessible from Rtes. 123 and 11, Seneca, Clemson, Greenville, Charlotte and Atlanta. 

Off street, safe parking

Located on 6.5 acres, with 3 parking areas, there is always room for more. 

Excellent service

BTB’s reputation for excellent dinner service is well documented in customer reviews and social media. We have extended that same quality of service to cover on premise catering.

Catering concierge

With the help of the most recent addition to our team, our NEW in house Catering Concierge, you can be assured that your event will be planned and executed flawlessly, and that your guests will remember it always.

Unique, interesting and unforgettable food and beverage

Chef Angela is known for her originality in the use of clean ingredients, especially alternative proteins and fish.  Although she and BTB are best known for lamb, game, and lobster dishes, she works hard at customizing original menus for each event.  It is never ordinary!

To book your celebratory party, civic event, business meeting, reception, award dinner, festival, or photo shoot, call 864 508 1254. 

Dedication to Michael "Miggs" Daly from 

Good Food Bad Food by Chef Angela Bell 

Letter to Michael’s Family and Friends

When I was 5, I had a friend named Michael who saw my shyness and coaxed me to play with others with his easy smile and sweet words of encouragement.  We played at the beach in a town named Old Saybrook.  I felt safe. 

When I was 12, I had a friend named Michael, who saw my teenage insecurities.  He went out of his way to include me in his circle of friends with his easy smile and sweet words of encouragement.  We were friends at the beach in a town named Old Saybrook.  I felt safe.

When I was 18, I had a friend named Michael who visited me, frightened and alone in Boston, my first time far away from the beach in a town named Old Saybrook.  But he was there with his easy smile and sweet words of encouragement.  I felt safe.

When I was 25, married with kids of my own, I had a friend named Michael who gave me strength and made me laugh with his easy smile and sweet words of encouragement in a surgical suite in a hospital far away from the beach in a town named Old Saybrook.  I felt safe.

Now, I have only the memories of my friend, Michael, with his easy smile and sweet words of encouragement.  Alone, for the first time, I walked to the beach in a town named Old Saybrook where my world no longer felt safe.  But, with an easy smile and sweet words of encouragement, I prayed for Michael, that he did.    (Letter from Michael’s friend, Christi Moutinho Holmes on Michael’s passing)

From the Author:  My nephew, Michael Scott “Miggs” Daly passed away on October 10, 2010.  He was 35 when he died in his sleep from complications of diabetes, T1D (type 1 diabetes).  He was uncle, brother, son, and nephew, but most of all, friend.  If friendships were wealth, then Michael’s legacy was worth a fortune.  This book was dedicated to his memory.  To Michael, the richest man in town!

If you would like to help in the fight, please join team Chef Angela Bell as part of the annual "Miles for Miggs" sponsored by JDRF and captained by his mother, my sister, Joanne Civitillo, also living with T1D.  To donate, please go to  Miles for Miggs and help the fight to create a world without T1D.   

The plant as center of the plate --- a bit pricey?

At least once a week I read the phrase “a bit pricey” in reviews, postings, and tweets in relationship to fine dining entrees served up in some of the finest restaurants as well as some of the worst.  Yes, indeed there are some “pricey” menu items at some “pricey” restaurants, but most often the term is used without any substantive argument behind it, by readers, guests, and customers who have little or no experience with the preparation of fine dining quality food for service.  Most recently I read it from a young woman who after seeing the BTB vegan menu for December 8, commented that the three course vegan (all plant) menu “is a bit pricey for veggies”.

As a chef educator, a chef owner, and a practicing chef with decades of experience in serving up bar food, barbecue, Italian, vegetarian, steak and fish, Asian, breakfast, lunch and dinner, the truth is, while the cost of serving prepared foods has decreased, the cost of serving what we in the industry refer to as “clean” food from scratch has risen.  For example, take the commonly offered side of haricot verts in butter sauce that sells in a local establishment for $ 3 as a side  ---  really, butter sauce?    As a fine dining chef, if I want to offer haricot verts as a side I have two choices:  option one, the boil in bag beans swimming in a sauce of industrialized “fake” butter sauce which I can purchase for pennies per serving or, option two, purchase fresh beans, trim them, steam them and serve them in real butter or ghee, seasoned with kosher salt or drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with fresh parsley leaves.  If you have become accustomed to the $ 3 haricot verts in “butter” sauce, then yes, $ 4 or $ 5 for the second option may seem a “bit pricey”.    And while the price of many of the center of the plate proteins served in restaurants today, such as farmed fish and pork, has decreased over my lifetime, the price of local, unadulterated plant foods, which can be elevated to the center of a vegan plate, has not.  

Veganism prohibits the consumption of the most common and inexpensive ingredients used by culinarians such as meat and fish stocks, eggs, butter, milk, and honey to name a few,  and requires the use of ingredients such as nuts, seeds, more exotic beans, grains, fruits, herbs, spices and vegetables for variety.  As a result, it requires methods that require more highly skilled labor and therefore more expensive labor costs.   No wonder there are no vegan restaurants!

USDA statistics show that the majority of Americans have become used to cheap food and expect it, both at home and in restaurants.  One only has to stand beside a check-out counter in a local grocery store to see it for themselves, baskets full of boxed macaroni and cheese, frozen pizzas, jars of spaghetti sauce, bottled condiments, canned this and boxed that to which one only has to add water or heat.  Yes, income level has much to do with it, and yes, you get more for your buck with prepared foods in terms of quantity.  But, if we really are what we eat, then maybe it is time to do what people in other countries do and spend more of our household income on food both at home and eating out.  Yes, clean food costs more.   So, if it’s a “bit pricey”, then maybe it’s because it is just plain better.      

Hats off to those of you who live the vegan lifestyle --- you are creative, ingenious, disciplined and out of necessity, you must be darned good cooks!

Please check out

GOOD FOOD BAD FOOD by Chef Angela Bell on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

Eat smart, feel good! Chef AngelaB

Beyond the Bulll (an "eat smart" kitchen)

8095 Keowee School Rd., Seneca, SC 29672
http://antiaginggastronomy.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ChefAngelaB

https://www.facebook.com/BeyondtheBull

Bison, Boar and Beer No. 5

Rocky Horror Halloween at Beyond the Bull

Don’t Dream It, Be it ---

A Rocky Horror Halloween Dinner Party

If it’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show it must be October --- almost!  Just around the corner is the first ever Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) Halloween at Beyond the Bull.  Over the last 40 years, the performances by Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, the brilliant Tim Curry, and the original and entertaining rock opera style of music from Lou Adler, have captured the minds and spirit of generations of participants.  I use the word participants rather than viewers because those of you who know all the words to all the songs, also know that RHPS is an interactive experience.

Next month, on Friday, October 28, Beyond the Bull is hosting it's first Rocky Horror Halloween dinner party in celebration of 41 years of the show.  Food, drinks and the original RHPS will be offered at Seneca’s most original restaurant, Beyond the Bull, located on the old Garrett Nursery grounds at the end of Keowee School Road in Seneca where guests can step outside the ordinary and into the extraordinary venue of dining and cinema at Beyond the Bull.  Chef Angela Bell has created a menu to die for that finishes with a grand finale dessert of Rocky on a Slab, an over the top bread pudding based on familiar rocky road ingredients. 

As is true for all events offered at Beyond the Bull, seating is limited in order to create a more intimate, memorable dining experience and seats must be purchased in advance, before noon, Friday, October 21.  Bell hopes that the experienced RHPS viewers will bring their props and dress in their favorite character, and that those who are new to the RHPS will remember this experience as not only their first, but best.  So, for just a few hours, and in the words of Dr. Frank N. Furter, don’t dream it, be it. 

You can reserve your seat by calling 864 508 1254 or messaging via facebook, before October 21 for the October 28 halloween celebration of RHPS.    

Buon Appetito e Buona Salute, Chef AngelaB

Beyond the Bulll (an "eat smart" kitchen)

8095 Keowee School Rd., Seneca, SC 29672
http://antiaginggastronomy.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ChefAngelaB

https://www.facebook.com/BeyondtheBull