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In today's local paper (Orange County Register) their 2013 Restaurant Awards recognized Chef Noah Blom as the O.C. Chef of the Year. Noteworthy, is that he went out on a limb and created a menu that is 100% cooked on either a wood-fired grill or his wood-fired oven. Here's the article:
CHEF OF THE YEAR
Noah Blom: Arc, Shuck Oyster Bar
Noah Blom's rise to the top might seem swift, but this Orange County native hasn't taken any shortcuts. He simply got a head start by securing his first kitchen job at the age of 14 at The Ritz in Newport Beach. He eventually took his knives to New York and worked in the trenches with some of America's best chefs like Daniel Boulud and Laurent Tourondel. He helped the latter open 14 restaurants across the U.S.
When he opened Shuck Oyster Bar in Costa Mesa last year at age 33, he gave Orange County residents exactly what we were missing before we even realized it: a no-nonsense, oyster bar with a profound appreciation for quality and simplicity. From a business perspective, it was a risky niche, a daring but ultimately brilliant move. And when he followed that with Arc, he took an even bigger risk and gave us what the entire country was craving: a groundbreaking, back-to-basics reprieve from modernist cuisine. By eschewing the avant-garde, he became the avant-garde. Everything at Arc is cooked over the wood-burning grill or in the wood-fueled oven. Even the simplest of tasks that other chefs take for granted, like boiling a pot of water, must be done using a live wood fire.
Of course, it's never enough to simply be a rebel. This guy can cook. Using that wood-burning grill and an assortment of cast-iron pans, he transforms a half-dozen different mushrooms and a free-range egg into an epiphany. Employing the fiery hearth and a big spoonful of duck fat, he turns potatoes into a luxury good. The steaks, the tacos, the burger ? it all might sound familiar, but rest assured, nobody else is cooking food like this.
And here's something more to look forward to: Blom has ordered a new, even larger wood-fired grill for Arc, one with a smoker built in. As soon as it arrives, which should be any day now, he'll be moving the existing grill to Shuck, where he plans to expand the menu to include wood-fired seafood and more.
Arc, 3321 Hyland Ave., Costa Mesa. 949-500-5561
Noah Blom: Arc, Shuck Oyster Bar
Noah Blom's rise to the top might seem swift, but this Orange County native hasn't taken any shortcuts. He simply got a head start by securing his first kitchen job at the age of 14 at The Ritz in Newport Beach. He eventually took his knives to New York and worked in the trenches with some of America's best chefs like Daniel Boulud and Laurent Tourondel. He helped the latter open 14 restaurants across the U.S.
When he opened Shuck Oyster Bar in Costa Mesa last year at age 33, he gave Orange County residents exactly what we were missing before we even realized it: a no-nonsense, oyster bar with a profound appreciation for quality and simplicity. From a business perspective, it was a risky niche, a daring but ultimately brilliant move. And when he followed that with Arc, he took an even bigger risk and gave us what the entire country was craving: a groundbreaking, back-to-basics reprieve from modernist cuisine. By eschewing the avant-garde, he became the avant-garde. Everything at Arc is cooked over the wood-burning grill or in the wood-fueled oven. Even the simplest of tasks that other chefs take for granted, like boiling a pot of water, must be done using a live wood fire.
Of course, it's never enough to simply be a rebel. This guy can cook. Using that wood-burning grill and an assortment of cast-iron pans, he transforms a half-dozen different mushrooms and a free-range egg into an epiphany. Employing the fiery hearth and a big spoonful of duck fat, he turns potatoes into a luxury good. The steaks, the tacos, the burger ? it all might sound familiar, but rest assured, nobody else is cooking food like this.
And here's something more to look forward to: Blom has ordered a new, even larger wood-fired grill for Arc, one with a smoker built in. As soon as it arrives, which should be any day now, he'll be moving the existing grill to Shuck, where he plans to expand the menu to include wood-fired seafood and more.
Arc, 3321 Hyland Ave., Costa Mesa. 949-500-5561
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