Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Family, and Traditions

Publishers Information

About Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Family, and Traditions

Publisher Web Link: http://runningpress.com/

“Seasonality is the cornerstone to our menu-planning success,” says Chef Chris Hastings. The Hot and Hot Fish Club Restaurant is one of the best in the South because it only uses the finest and freshest ingredients in their recipes. From the fresh-caught Pacific seafood flown in from Osprey Seafood in San Francisco to the blackberries and Vidalia onions from local Garfrerick Farms of Alpine, Alabama, Hot and Hot goes to great lengths to make sure that what goes into every dish is always fresh and in season.

The Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook contains more than 200 creative and delicious recipes that are organized to reflect the seasonal nature of local ingredients. It features profiles of dozens purveyors who supply the restaurant with the freshest ingredients. With more than 50 full-color photographs, lifestyle menus complete with wine and beer pairings, and a sourcing section, The Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook is your guide to preparing exquisite, fresh cuisine from the hottest restaurant in the South.

Author Information

About Chris and Idie Hastings

Author Web Link: http://www.hotandhotfishclub.com/

Christopher and Idie Hastings are chef and co-owners of the nationally celebrated Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama.  Located in a historic building on Birmingham’s Southside, the award-winning restaurant has earned a reputation for serving some of the finest, freshest dishes in the region.

Chris developed his love for and relationship with food during family vacations spent in South Carolina’s low country.  He graduated from the Johnson & Wales Culinary School in Providence, Rhode Island and then returned to the South in 1984 to work at the Atlanta Ritz Carlton. After moving to Birmingham, he worked for Frank Stitt as Chef de Cuisine of Highlands Bar and Grill and helped launch the opening of Bottega. In 1989, the Hastings moved to San Francisco, where Chris helped Bradley Ogden open the Lark Creek Inn. Ogden left a tremendous influence on Chris’ culinary education; according to Chris, “Brad’s unrelenting pursuit of intense, clear flavor was never compromised. He also opened my eyes to the local farmer and how he could impact the food and help set it apart from the others.” While in California, Idie attended the California Culinary Academy and worked at Jeremiah Towers’ famed Stars Café and Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio, and honed her bakery skills at Patisserie Francaise.

In 1995, the Hastings returned to Birmingham to open the Hot and Hot Fish Club where Chris focused on the dinner menu and Idie used her pastry experience to develop the dessert menu. Today, although the menus change daily to highlight the best possible products available, several signature items remain: the Hot and Hot Shrimp and Grits made with Country Ham, Fresh Thyme, Tomatoes and Ver Jus is always a favorite among the locals; and Elton’s Chocolate Soufflé with Fresh Cream continues to be the preferred ending to many meals at the restaurant.

Chris and Idie have recently expanded their geographical, if not culinary, boundaries by adding a consulting company to their growing list of roles. They have provided operational and culinary guidance to the Standard Bistro, an independent restaurant owned and operated by EBSCO Industries in the town of Mt. Laurel, Alabama, and to The St. Joe Company where he is Culinary Advisor to their northwest Florida restaurants. Currently they are working with Russell Lands, one of the Southeast’s largest private recreational developers. Russell’s restaurant SpringHouse at Russell Crossroads opened in April 2009. Chris was hands-on with the redevelopment of The St. Joe Company’s Fish out of Water and BaitHouse restaurants, both located at the WaterColor Inn and Resort.

Hot and Hot has earned the Wine Spectator’s “Award of Excellence” 11 consecutive years. In March 2007, Chris was one of five finalists nominated for “Best Chef in the South” by the James Beard Foundation. Chris’ previous honors include: induction into Leadership Birmingham in 2005; service on the advisory board to the Chef’s Garden’s Culinary Vegetable Institute with Charlie Trotter, Alain Ducasse, Norman Van Aken, Douglas Rodriguez, Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Ed Brown, and Bradley Ogden; 1998 winner of the Robert Mondavi Culinary Award of Excellence for “Best New Restaurant” and voted Birmingham’s best chef in Birmingham Magazine’s Readers’ Poll. In 2003, the Birmingham Business Journal listed Idie Hastings as one of the Top 10 Birmingham Women.  This year she was listed in the Women’s Issue of Birmingham Weekly, which promotes women in business. Idie is passionate about the University of Alabama Birmingham’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and is committed to animal welfare causes, including the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.

The Hastings are active participants in charity events with the James Beard Foundation, and have been guest chef and speakers at other culinary events, including the International Wine & Food Society, The Culinary Vegetable Institute, the Institute of Culinary Education, the Charleston Food and Wine Festival and the Southern Foodways Alliance.

Chris also serves as a consultant and Culinary Advisor to restaurants and restaurant groups across the country and is an Alabama spokesperson for Wild American Shrimp. Idie and Chris live in Birmingham with their two sons, Zeb and Vincent.

Cookbooks by Chris and Idie Hastings

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Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Family, and Traditions

by Chris and Idie Hastings