Chef Jernard Wells describes food as an art form, a picture a cook paints with his plating. He suggests layering, or stacking, Surf & Turf for a visual treat. He begins with his green beans/butternut squash, adds a 6-ounce filet mignon and tops with the lobster tail.The Chef of Love’s Valentine’s Day Menu
Cocktail: Lemon SurpriseAppetizer: Skinny Dippin’ Shrimp CocktailEntree: Surf & TurfSide: Haricots verts (green beans) tossed in almond sauceDessert: Fruit parfait
Since placing second on "Food Network Star" last summer, Chef Jernard Wells has created his own line of cookware and knives through the Gunter Wilhelm company. "Uncivilized by Chef Jernard" includes waterless, nonstick cookware and two knife collections. One knife line, Pro Lightning, is for commercial chefs; the other, Pro Thunder, is for home chefs.Food Network success opens doors to new ventures
Since placing second on Season 12 of “Food Network Star” last summer, Chef Jernard Wells has begun five new business ventures in addition to his job as a chef and restaurant consultant in Atlanta.* Culinary Fight Club: Wells bought the Southeast region franchise of Culinary Fight Club, which covers six states.Culinary Fight Club is similar to television cooking competitions except audiences watch it live. Chefs are given a theme, such as bacon or their best “street food,” then have 45 seconds to run to the pantry and pull whatever ingredients they want to cook a dish that best highlights the theme. They have one hour to cook and plate their dish. Winners of Culinary Fight Club get a golden ticket to compete in the World Food Championship.Wells serves as host of these food fights. He says he wants to schedule Culinary Fight Club matches in Chattanooga and Knoxville later this year.“It gives me the opportunity to highlight a lot of upcoming chefs. I didn’t have anyone to open doors for me. I want to make it easier for these young chefs because cooking is a competitive career,” he says.Tickets (which average $30 to $40) are sold to attend Culinary Food Fights, and audience members have the chance to taste the chefs’ dishes and vote on their favorites. Proceeds benefit Fight2Feed, a nonprofit that feeds the homeless.Wells appreciates that the Culinary Food Fight’s involvement in Fight2Feed is not just lip service, but he and other participants actually put on their Fight Club T-shirts, go into cities to cook and give away free meals.For a schedule of Culinary Fight Club battles, or for chefs interested in competing, check the website at www.culinaryfightclub.com.* Celebrity Chef Bookings: On Feb. 13, Wells will join Gina Neely and Jerome Brown in Miami as celebrity chefs at An Afternoon with a Southern Soiree to benefit the Sickle Cell Research Fund.“Chef Jerome and I have become brand ambassadors for Sickle Cell Disease fund and we travel for them doing live shows,” Wells says.He also served as a guest judge for an episode of “Chopped Jr.” on Food Network that aired on Feb. 7.* His Own Cookware: Wells has created his own line of cookware and knives called Uncivilized by Chef Jernard through the Gunter Wilhelm company.“It’s waterless cookware. You can cook anything in it and not worry about it sticking,” he says.“The knives are phenomenal. There is one line of knives for commercial chefs called Pro Lightning and the other is for home chefs, Pro Thunder.”* Brand Ambassador for Voss Water: Voss is a naturally pure, artesian water bottled in southern Norway. Wells says he and his family already drank Voss Water before he was asked to become the company’s first celebrity chef.* Rhema Restaurant Group: Wells is part owner in this business that has launched new restaurants in Miami and Chicago.
When Valentine's Day rolls around, Chef Jernard Wells is in his element.
After all, he is known as The Chef of Love. And he literally wrote the book on romantic meals: "88 Ways to her Heart: Cooking for Lovers from the Kitchen to the Bedroom" ($18.99 paperback on Amazon.com).
"The quickest way to anyone's heart is through cooking. When you first meet somebody, what's the first thing they ask: 'Can I take you out?' Food is always first base," says the former Chattanooga and Ringgold, Ga., restaurateur turned Food Network celebrity.
And, oh yes, he believes food is sensual. Just like physical attraction begins visually, so does a tempting meal, explains Wells, who now lives in Atlanta, where he is a partner in the Rhema Restaurant Group.
"Food is very sexy because food is an art form. I encourage people to paint a picture with their plate. We eat with our eyes; we fall in love with the food before we put it on our mouths. Food has its own personality and it's all brought to you by whoever creates it."
The average cost of a Valentine's Day dinner for two dining out is $100, according to OpenTable reservation service. Perhaps that's why only 25 percent of Americans celebrated Valentines Day's at a restaurant last year. Statistics from Reserve, a reservation app, show more Americans preferred to cook - or order delivery.
According to a 2015 ConAgra Foods survey, 52 percent of millennials think cooking at home is more romantic than going out for Valentine's Day. However, 84 percent of those millennials surveyed said they really lacked ideas on what to make for a romantic dinner,
The Chef of Love can help.
When Wells begins planning a romantic dinner for wife Keena, his mood-setter is Skinny Dippin' Shrimp Cocktail.
"I take jumbo shrimp, a syringe injector and inject the shrimp with melted butter mixed with Cajun spices."
He adds several chopped vegetables (yes, the recipe is below) and serves it in a martini glass.
"That's one of those dishes that you sit on the couch by the fire and eat with your fingers - or feed each other," he suggests.
His dinner entree of choice is Surf & Turf: a 6-ounce filet mignon coated in a coffee-grounds-and-brown-sugar rub layered over haricots verts (long, thin green beans) topped with lobster tail. For added decadence, serve the lobster tail with truffle butter. Wells believes layering, or stacking the three elements makes the plate more interesting and gives it personality.
Of course, every romantic meal needs a cocktail or wine pairing.
"I'm big on mixing up good cocktails," says the chef. "My Lemon Sunrise is a mixture of fresh-squeezed lemonade and champagne. You can use any champagne. The key is making lemonade from scratch using raw sugar."
After a heavy meal, he suggests ending with a light touch such as a fruit parfait.
"I'm a Southern boy. I take whatever seasonal berries I have and blend them with sugar, using a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to pull out the juice. Make a fresh mint whipped cream to finish it off.
"Then you can stick a fork in us because we're done!"
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.
Chef Jernard's Skinny Dippin' Shrimp Cocktail
1 pound cooked medium shrimp, chilled
1/2 cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 tomato, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
9 green onions, thinly sliced
1 ounce fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
Using a syringe, inject each shrimp with mixture of melted butter and desired spices. Cook shrimp in melted butter in skillet until pink.
In large bowl, combine shrimp, cucumber, tomato, green onion, cilantro and serrano pepper. Stir in tomato sauce and vinegar. Squeeze lime juice over mixture, and it is ready to serve.
- Jernard Wells
Chef Jernard's Surf & Turf
2 6-ounce beef filets
2 lobster tails
1 cup diced butternut squash
2 cups green beans
3/4 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon coffee grounds
Italian parsley
Olive oil
Blend coffee grounds, 1 tablespoon granulated garlic, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Rub spice blend over steak on both sides. Allow skillet to get hot. Place beef in skillet to get a sear. Cook steak on both sides for 4 minutes.
Use cooking shears or a knife to split back of lobster open, then place lobster face-down in the same skillet you are cooking the beef. Mince parsley and toss over steak and lobster.
In separate pan, add olive oil, butternut squash, minced garlic, green beans. Add remaining garlic, salt, onion powder. Add almonds. Toss and simmer 5 minutes until tender.
Place green beans and squash in center of the plate. Lay the filet over the green beans, top with lobster and serve.
- Jernard Wells