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> The Evolution of Wednesday Night Dinner
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After eight years as commander of Fork's kitchen, Chef Thien Ngo has announced his retirement from cooking. In addition to feeding close to half a million people during his tenure in our kitchen, Thien provided the majority of recipes in our recent cookbook, Forklore, and created the weekly Chef's Bistro Dinner in Fork:etc., that won a Philadelphia Magazine Best of Philly™ award and was recently mentioned in Food & Wine Magazine (January 2009) as one of "Fifty Trends to Try." Thien has always been a modest chef who claimed that "food only tastes good when you're hungry." Roberto and I have enjoyed so many memorable meals, often with Thien at the table. Thien's inventive international style and colorful personality will be greatly missed by many of our regular guests, but we hope to see him on the other side of the kitchen—in between traveling to visit friends all over the world. Thien, on behalf of all our guests, we thank you for so many wonderful memories and wish you bon voyage on your travels. We look forward to sharing a bottle of wine and stories of your travels soon!

Replacing Thien is no easy feat. Early morning Fork:etc. guests and late night bar patrons have all witnessed Thien's tremendous dedication. However, Roberto and I are pleased to announce Terence Feury as our new chef beginning February 1st.

Chef Feury's accomplished résumé includes working as sous chef at Le Bernadin, the acclaimed seafood restaurant in Manhattan, under the late Chef Gilbert LeCoze and Chef Eric Ripert, as well as leading the kitchens of the original Striped Bass of Philadelphia, the Ritz Carlton of Philadelphia and the Ritz Carlton of Georgetown. On behalf of our entire staff, we are thrilled to be collaborating with Terence and look forward to continuing to move the restaurant's concept forward in its second decade!
Welcome Terence!

From the Kitchen
I'm excited to be here at Fork! For the coming year our focus in the kitchen will be to continue our mission to serve the best and freshest local ingredients. As a New American bistro, we'll emphasize artisanal and hand-crafted items such as breads, pastas, charcuterie and smoked fish. As some of you know, I've have had a passion for seafood my whole life, so this should figure prominently as well. In not so many words: ingredient driven, straightforward and fresh!

I look forward to seeing many of the guests I've served throughout my career here in Philly as well as meeting those I don't know who have been eating at Fork over the years. See you at Fork!
—Terence Feury

(Chef's Bistro Dinner) From Forklore: Recipes and Tales from an American Bistro

One of my fondest memories of our years with Thien includes our weekly Sunday night dinners. In the past on Sundays, we would have our weekly wine tasting, and Roberto would graciously bring in a great bottle from his wine cellar. Then, one day Thien added a new excitement to the evening. Knowing we would be drinking well, he said to us, "I want to cook for you on Sunday nights. You're the owners; you should be eating something special. I would love to do it." Suddenly, Sundays had taken on a new twist.

At first we used these Sunday nights to develop and test new menu ideas. The first few dinners started out that way and included unusual dishes such as steamed clams and eel with tomato and watercress and roasted ring-necked dove with sauce chasseur. Often, new ideas from Sunday's experiments would go on the menu the very next day.

Thien's Sunday-night dinner was not just a family meal or a wine tasting; over time I realized that Thien was not only introducing us to a new palate, he was also using Sunday nights as a way to educate us about his culture—either that or just to indulge his desire to shock people! One memorable dinner began with duck eggs, which seemed harmless when he had first described them but turned into embryonic baby ducks. Thien had explained that the eggs provided all the protein a person needed in a day, and that he and his mom used to eat three each morning. The following week, with just the five of us, Thien announced that he had made another Vietnamese specialty. He brought out a big bowl of pickled duck tongue.

When Fork:etc. was conceived, Thien loved the idea of the big table where everyone could sit together. It reminded him of one of his favorite places in Paris, a restaurant called Madame Muscatère. It was a very small place, almost a hole in the wall. But as he tells it, he and other local chefs would stop there on their way home from work. Every night, Madame Muscatère would cook whatever she felt like cooking, usually lots of stews and braised meat. When you were done eating, you'd get up and the next person in line would sit and eat until the food ran out and she closed for the night. Thien thought that creating his own Madame Muscatère in the center of Fork:etc. on Wednesday nights would be an enjoyable way to express his creativity. As he saw it, these Wednesday nights could offer him a way to experiment with the menu, a spinoff of the Sunday-night dinner!
—Ellen Yin

Chef Ngo's tradition of Wednesday night dinners in Fork:etc. will continue with Chef Feury. Visit forkrestaurant.com for the revised schedule.

Baumann, Domaine des Cassagnoles, Colombard Blend, 2007, Gascony, France $32

Fork has always prided itself on finding great wines for our guests. Whether they be small, lesser-known producers or wine regions, or incredible reserve wines that may be off vintage or under-valued, our list is full of gems. One of my personal favorites is a simple but delicious food-friendly white wine from Gascony created by Gilles Baumann of Domaine des Cassagnoles. Gascony is known for producing Armagnac from the grape varietal Ugni Blanc. Our trusted wine distributor Peter Weygandt of Unionville, PA personally selects the cuvée, which is a blend of Colombard, Ugni Blanc and Gros Manseng. Baumann is a consistent Medaille D'Or winner in Eauze (the local competition) and Paris, as well as three star and Coup de Coeur in Guide Hachette, the famous French wine bible, and is entirely estate grown and bottled.

Soon it will be time for wedding showers, anniversary celebrations and more. Celebrate in style at Fork's elegant private dining facilities—perfect for parties of 6 to 45. For a more at-home environment, contact our catering department to learn how we can help you.

After the movie or show, stop by Fork's bar for a warm and cozy nightcap, Hot Éclat, the perfect hybrid dessert/cocktail.

West Chester chocolatier Chris Curtin created these chocolate sticks to be mixed with warm milk, cappuccino or coffee. Nine-year Fork veteran bartender Guy Smith melts and mixes Curtin's award-winning chocolate with foamed milk, Barbancourt Three-Star rum and Bailey's Irish Cream. Barbancourt, a Haitian rum, is made directly from sugar cane juice rather than the sugar cane by-product of molasses. Fermenting fresh sugar cane juice provides a more flavorful product. Éclat's Cocoa Sticks are also available in Fork:etc. for $4.50 each.