Chef's Kitchen

Each month, a guest chef gives us a tip that elevates their cooking or simplifies things in the kitchen; something a home cook might not know. They also provide a recipe that uses the tip so you can practice at home. Our guest chef this month is Chef Hayden Smissen of Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods Market is committed to selling the highest quality natural and organic foods available seven days a week. Part of downtown Seattle at their South Lake Union location at Westlake and Denny, they offer fun happenings like their weekday Pop-Up Lunch Grill to the Sunday Night Paella Party, cooked live on their patio. Call or visit the store for event dates and times.

Chef Hayden Smissen grew up in restaurants as a boy learning to cook at his Grandfather's knee. He knew he wanted to be a chef at 15, and began cooking in Spain on the Costa Brava and in Barcelona at that time. Since then Chef Hayden opened a restaurant in the East Bay with his father, cooked in the finest restaurants in Seattle, managed The Hot Stove Society Cooking School, and has worked at Whole Foods Market since 2000, most recently as the Events Chef for the last 7 years.

Improve the flavor of hothouse tomatoes off-season, by Chef Hayden Smissen

Making a fresh seasoned tomato spread is a wonderful way to enhance and elevate the flavor of hothouse grown tomatoes during the colder months of the year. For those of us who love the flavor of fresh tomatoes this recipe is perfect in appetizers and salads.

By removing the seeds and using a grater to remove the pulp, you can season the tomato spread in myriad of ways. Keep it in your fridge for quick appetizer ideas, snacks, and even an amazing base for salad dressings. I have included a very simply seasoned version in the recipe below but your imagination is the only limit!

Click here to see Chef Smissen's recipe

Whole Foods Market South Lake Union
2210 Westlake Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
206-621-9700
www.wholefoodsmarket.com

October 2017