Pandemic Chefs Pivot

NOM NOM NOM KITS

For an empath like Dave Heide, the chef and owner behind New Orleans-style, fine dining establishment Liliana’s in Fitchburg, his immediate reaction to the shutdown was strategizing how to support all the other people affected by his business. “My biggest worry was our little small mom and pop farmers,” says Heide, indicating farms that sell exclusively to restaurants.

He knew those farmers were about to harvest produce like bitter lemons and celeriac—items unknown to many household cooks—and had a significant population of animals ready for slaughter. So he developed the Nom Nom Nom Kits, partnering with chefs like Tory Miller and Jamie Hoang. The kits contain farm fresh ingredients to make a gourmet dish, along with recipe and video tutorials. In 2020, the boxes put $78,000 back into the local farm economy.

Heide is planning to reintroduce the kits this June through October, during Wisconsin’s peak season. Until then, he implores diners to continue doing takeout for just a bit longer. “Liliana’s survived because Madison stepped up and supported us when they saw what I was doing in the community,” says Heide. “But restaurants have used up everything we have left.”

UPTOWNE CAFE

In La Crosse, Adrian Lipscombe has been using this time to reimagine her definition of the restaurant industry and community. Lipscombe is the owner and chef of Uptowne Cafe & Bakery, a Southern-American spot with subtle Midwestern influences. She also has a background in community planning, propelling her to convert to a takeout-only model before the shutdown was even official.

Over the holidays, Lipscombe and her staff experimented with shipping some of their baked goods and confections nationally, after a sweet potato butter rum cake she created went viral on social media. The adaptation was a success, so the cafe will continue to ship a limited supply of goods indefinitely.

Lipscombe also recently had the opportunity to teach virtual cooking classes in partnership with Pasture & Plenty, which she intends to continue in the new year. Not only does she get to live out her childhood dream of emulating Julia Child, but she also appreciates getting to know customers on a deeper level and vice versa.

Lipscombe wholeheartedly believes in trying things at the risk of making mistakes. “We have to keep moving forward, with the understanding that if you’re wanting to keep your business open, you have to change and adapt to what’s happening at this moment.”

LARK

For Joan and Richard Neeno, the pandemic has been a reckoning of sorts, pushing them to explore new concepts. The Neenos broke onto the Janesville dining scene in 2017 with Lark, a fine dining restaurant located along the banks of the Rock River. Right before COVID hit, they were in the midst of renovating the space upstairs for events, and thinking about opening two new restaurants in a building they owned down the street.

They quickly converted half of that space into Lark Market, a gourmet grocery with specialty cheeses, dips, sauces and desserts. They also incorporated take-and- bake meals into the mix. Based on the initial success and continued concerns over the pandemic, they’ve shelved the pizza/pasta concept initially planned for that space in order to keep Lark Market going.

At Lark, they’re debuting a sandwich menu through spring, which they’ll carry over to their newest restaurant opening in April: Sandwich Bar. The spot will be modeled after the artsy vibe of Turkey and the Wolf, a James Beard Award-winning sandwich shop in NOLA. There’s already a mural in the works of Anthony Bourdain and Julia Child, painted by a local artist. Neeno says Lark will go back to “being Lark” at that time, hopeful that dining out will see a resurgence by May.

THE DELICIOUSER

As a partner at both Tipsy Cow locations and partner and chef at iconic Lombardino’s, Patrick O’Halloran has “been in the kitchen at the cutting board for twenty straight years.”

“I hadn’t done a lot of home cooking because the restaurant’s just a demanding way of life,” says O’Halloran, adding that the shutdown provided him the opportunity to do just that with his wife Michelle.

They started experimenting with dried spices in an effort to evoke travel memories, and created a series of YouTube cooking tutorials. The spices took off, and they brought on Patrick’s ex-wife, Marcia Castro (co-owner of The Old Fashioned) and their daughter Lucy, plus Michelle’s future daughter-in-law, Anne, for a truly original family business, launching The Deliciouser.

The Deliciouser blends all have a story, shared on the sleekly designed labels embellishing simple, yet practical jars with openings wide enough for tablespoons (or your fingers). Creations like Thai Night Market transport you to distant locales, with ingredients like coconut cream, lemongrass, fish sauce, and kaffir lime.

They’re developing a new blend for Valentine’s Day, and teasing the idea of single ingredient spices, like paprika from Spain smoked over live oak fires. Plans to expand their production capabilities are in the works (they are doing everything by hand in the basement of Bunky’s).

Despite the continued challenges posed by the pandemic, O’Halloran is optimistic about The Deliciouser. “I hope this can go somewhere. Part of why I was drawn to cooking in the first place is because food really connects you to people.”

While we’re all eager for the pandemic to be a historical reference, no one can predict what that future will look like. But we know the restaurant industry will be permanently changed. For the establishments that adapt and survive, the connections and experiences will be more meaningful and diverse as many have found new ways to share their love of good food with a larger audience, and there really is a silver lining in that.