Carrying on the Chowder Tradition

Castle Hill’s Chef Jon was featured Cultivating Life with Sean Conway,  a weekly television series that aims to prove “reconnecting to the land is as easy as stepping out your back door.” Sounds like Chef Jon and Sean’s culinary philosophies have much in common.  Whether Chef is incorporating herbs and vegetables from the Castle Hill garden into his dishes or taking a fishing trip out in Narragansett Bay to catch fresh striper for dinner that night, he (quite literally) uses his backyard for culinary exploration and inspiration.

Watch the video above as Chef shows Sean how to make the quintessential New England dish, Clam Chowder.  To quote Cultivating Life, “The flavors in his version are clean, and rely on the best of his main ingredients for the flavor, bacon, onions, home grown potatoes and Quahogs harvested from the beaches nearby.”  Sounds like the celebrated approach each of our Newport Restaurant Group chefs take when creating a dish – relying on freshness and local flavors to leave a lasting impression.

Speaking of our Newport Restaurant Group family carrying on the New England Clam Chowder tradition, we have a bit of boasting to do.  At the Knorr Great Chowder Cook-Off held at the Newport Yachting Center on June 5th, chowder enthusiasts tasted various recipes from 29 different restaurants and voted on who they felt made the best Clam, Seafood, and Creative Chowders. The Boat House took home top honors for their Creative Chowder, and Waterman Grille won bronze in the same category.  Hemenway’s Seafood Grille & Oyster Bar secured second place in the largest category, Clam, as a first time entrant.  We are ecstatic that the hard work of our culinary teams was recognized at what is considered by most the premiere chowder tasting event in the country!

…Hungry yet? You can make Chef Jon’s scrumptious clam chowder on your own. Just visit here for the recipe!