The Tasting Panel magazine

November 2015

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28  /  the tasting panel  /  november 2015 I t's farm to spork [half-fork/half spoon] at the Saint Marc Pub-Café, Bakery and Cheese Affinage test kitchen as Executive Chef Jay Bogsinske tastes us on aged cheeses from all over the world, flavored bacon I never thought possible and freshly baked breads and pastries, all washed down with high-end, top-ingredient cocktails served in red Solo cups. Former Las Vegan Kent Bearden (who reigned as MGM Mixologist and then more recently as Wirtz Spirits Specialist) is going to deliver the best in the bev biz alongside former Phoenician (Arizona's top resort) chefs Bogsinke and Frank Belosic, who serves as Saint Marc's VP of Operations. This A-team (the "A" stands for Americana in this instance) is led by Mac Gregory, a force in the hospitality industry as the man who ran the international F&B program for Starwood for the past seven years. Planning a 6,500-plus-square-foot indoor/outdoor restau- rant at Huntington Beach, CA's soon-to-open Pacific City, deemed one of the largest retail and hospitality projects on the West Coast, was a modest task for Gregory, who was used to opening dozens of hotels, managing hundreds of outlets and overseeing thousands of associates. For his first foray, Saint Marc Café-Pub, Bakery and Cheese Affinage will be built ground up and offer customers the ease and flexibility of iPad touch service for ordering food and drink. "All Saint Marc employees and management will wear white chef coats, jeans and Chukka boots," Gregory says. "The customer will know who we are and we are all there to help." From communal tables to grab-and-go beer-by-the-can, drinks in Solo cups and wines-on-tap (served in Riedel crystal), the atmosphere is a fine excuse to sit and enjoy or walk across the street to the beach with your bacon, cheese, Kobe chili, side-by-side salads, sandwiches or other culinary stash. "We're keeping it simple, but serving the best, created by the most talented people I know," comments Gregory, as he inspects a strand of garlic parmesan bacon. "The idea is we want the customer to act like he or she does at home, whether it's standing up at [our] counter and munching on pastry or relaxing on our patio and enjoying the view." SAINT MARC PUB-CAFÉ, BAKERY  & CHEESE AFFINAGE WILL LEAD  AN UPSCALE, CASUAL DINING  REVOLUTION by Meridith May / photos by Margaret Soss As Americana as Apple Pie... Bogsinske tastes us on aged cheeses from all over the foray, Saint Marc Café-Pub, Bakery and Cheese Affinage Mac Gregory is CEO of Saint Marc USA, a concept destined to grow throughout the country. The first location is slated to open later this month in the Pacific City complex in Huntington Beach, CA. UPCOMING

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