MIAMI, FL — (Marketwired) — 10/24/13 — Jason Starkman, owner of Epicure Gourmet Market & Café and Epicure with Love (EWL), and Epicure Specialty Chef and author Michael Love are proud to announce that their agent, Alan Morell, Creative Management Partners, in collaboration with co-agent Regina Brooks, Serendipity Literary Agency, have sold The Salvage Chef Cookbook to Skyhorse Publishing, Lyons Press.
This trending cookbook shows home cooks how to make fabulous use of their leftovers and products on the verge of expiring. The Salvage Chef Cookbook is partly based on the partnership that Starkman and Love have at Epicure Gourmet Market & Café whereby Chef Michael transforms surplus food into delicious dishes and meals.
Said Mr. Starkman: “We knew we had something very special with Chef Michael and our Epicure Gourmet Market & Café brand. We are all very excited about The Salvage Chef Cookbook, which is perfect for our audience. With the sale of The Salvage Chef Cookbook through Alan Morell, our agenda of a future TV series and Epicure with Love commercial products on shopping channels is on course.”
Added, Chef Love, “I am very excited about being an author for Skyhorse Publishing and our future together. -Salvage- to most people means saving something that has been discarded. To me, salvaging in the kitchen is about taking real food that is either leftover or unused, finding an innovative and delicious purpose for it, thereby saving money, and reducing waste and delivering delicious food to the table. Working with Alan and Jason on broadcast and licensing projects is the next step.”
But don-t take their words. Restaurant: Impossible star and celebrity chef Robert Irvine is already a fan: “Michael is one of the upcoming stars in the constellation of the Miami food scene. His Salvage Chef Cookbook is a wonderful collection of dishes for cooks of all levels looking for ways to cut down on food waste, lower their food costs and put contemporary spins on classic dishes.” High praise from one of the country-s top food authorities.
“Working with Jason and Chef Michael on a -Master Strategy- has been a great collaboration. I invited well respected Literary Agent Regina Brooks to co-agent the literary piece. Additionally, we have attached to the TV project, acclaimed Executive Producers Tim Troke (CEO Frogwater Pictures -Chefs Run Wild-), and Mike Morris (Producer -Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives-) for the Broadcast piece, as well as positioning EWL line of products on shopping channels,” said agent Alan Morell.
Epicure Gourmet Market & Café is South Florida-s leading fine foods source. What began in 1945 as a small butcher shop owned by the Thal brothers, has grown into a delicious destination for prepared foods, wine, artisanal cheese, cured meats, smoked fish, pastries and fresh produce. This is foodie central for gourmets, epicureans and people on the go.
In 1998, Epicure Market was purchased by the Starkman family, who were already involved in the food business as the owner of 10 Jerry-s Famous Deli locations in California. Since then, Epicure has expanded. The Sunny Isles Beach location opened in 2008, and contains a full-service restaurant and bar along with a more casual café. A third branch in historic Coral Gables is under construction. Meanwhile, the original store on South Beach has recently undergone a top-to-bottom renovation and there are plans for a restaurant.
Epicure Gourmet Market-s food has also been elevated with the collaboration between owner Jason Starkman and Chef Michael Love. Their co-branded food line Epicure with Love, launched in 2011. The resulting freshly-made fare contains no preservatives and is truly gourmet. Selections span all natural soups like 8 Vegetables Puree, Wild Mushroom Bisque, Prime Beef and Italian Sausage Chili, Vegetarian French Onion, Broccoli Vichyssoise and Roasted Tomato and Basil, prepared foods including Bacon, Onion and Truffle Four Cheese Mac- and Cheese and Spiced Pumpkin Corn Bread, a line of 8-inch Chunk Cookies, and the BIG BOLD BROWNIE COLLECTION featuring The Ultimate Dark Chocolate Brownie.
The growth of the New American Cuisine movement has resulted in a new paradigm for chefs. Rather than progressing through an apprenticeship program beginning at a young age, chefs are primarily self-taught and frequently come to cooking from other art forms. The career of Michael Love, Specialty Chef at Epicure Gourmet Market & Café in South Florida, is consistent with this tradition.
Michael began the professional phase of his life as a musician. But the transition from piano to pots and pans actually was completed almost twenty years ago, and now many more have seen him demonstrate how to “make three soups in less than an hour” or “the perfect weekend brunch” than heard him play after attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.
As an apprentice, Michael entered the professional kitchen, first at Cappy-s in the Back Bay area of Boston tossing pizzas and learning to become a grill cook, and then at the highly-acclaimed Versailles Restaurant in suburban Arlington, Massachusetts where he witnessed French cooking at the highest level from famed chef, Isaac Dray.
He moved to Florida in 1996, and a year later was the founding chef at Tabu Grill & Bar, a popular late-night spot in Sunny Isles Beach known for its Mediterranean flavors.
Leaving the professional kitchen for a time, Michael amassed a loyal following as a private chef and cooking instructor. In addition to classes at such noted spots as Bloomingdales and Williams-Sonoma stores, he created a cooking class series called “Cooking with Love,” which was featured on Deco Drive, a popular nightly entertainment TV show.
Michael, dubbed a “culinary guru” by The Miami Herald in 2010, took his live cooking series to Epicure Gourmet Market & Cafe. Two years ago, Epicure hired him as its Specialty Chef with the purpose of creating and launching a new line of co-branded, all-natural gourmet food products called “Epicure with Love,” or as Starkman refers to it, “5-star in a jar.” Epicure with Love includes soups, breads, entrees and desserts.
Additionally, Michael participates in various charitable benefits run by culinary luminaries such as Michelle Bernstein (Common Threads), and Allen Susser (Share Our Strength-s Great American Bake Sale).
For further information, go to:
Contact:
THE CREATIVE MANAGEMENT AGENCY
Creative Management Partners LLC
508-292-7900
505 Beachland Blvd. Su. 1 #195
Vero Beach, Fla. 32963
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