Chef Sessler: January 2017

Thursday, January 5, 2017

January 2017

Just like a bottle of wine hopefully we are getting better with age….

We hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday season. We want to thank everyone who came out and spent time with us in 2016. It was a great year filled with many wonderful events and memories here in Portsmouth. Everyone at Cava is looking forward to another great season in 2017! This will be Our Ninth Season!

-Cheers!

Here’s what’s happening…

Cava

Chef Gregg Sessler

are Proud to present…

POP UP and Coming!

A dinner series

Featuring the talents of our young apprentice chefs

January 11^th Featuring…. Chef Erika Singson

8:30pm Reservations Required

February 1^st Featuring….Chef Chris Hoch

8:30pm Reservations Required

March 1^st Featuring….Chef Elena Faltas

8:30pm Reservations Required

March 8^th Featuring …. Chef Qvon Williams

8:30pm Reservations Required

March 15th Featuring….Sous Chef Hillary Schmidle 8:30pm Reservations Required

Support our young Chefs

as they have the opportunity to take over the

Cava Kitchen for an Evening

*A three course menu designed and prepared by our apprentice chefs

$30 per person tax and gratuity not included

Cava’s Hours

Winter 2017

we are open 7 days a week!

Sunday through Thursday 5pm to 9pm

Friday 5 pm to 10pm

Saturday 2 pm to 10pm

Happy Hour

at Cava

Buy any bottle of wine off our list

and get an artisanal CHEESE & CHARCUTERIE plate

to enjoy with your wine!

Saturday 2 to 4pm

Sunday 5 to 6pm

www.instagram.com/cavakitchen

Cava’s Menu

Tapas

PATATAS BRAVAS / 7

fried potatoes • garlic aioli • fried herbs

MEDJOOL DATES / 9

stuffed with manchego • serrano ham

CHICKPEA “FRIES” / 7

harissa • cucumber yogurt • tabbouleh

SPANISH CHEESES / 8

olive oil • herbs • roasted garlic

GRILLED ARTICHOKE / 8

quail eggs • romesco

CROQUETAS DE JAMON SERRANO / 10

saffron aioli

FOIE GRAS & TRUFFLE MEATBALLS / 16

burgundy truffle • porcini demi glace

CRISPY PORK BELLY / 12

mojo picon • salt wrinkled potato • fried chick peas

BOCADILLO / 8

jamon serrano • queso de mahon • membrillo

BASQUE STYLE FENNEL SOUP / 3

golden char roe

MARCONA ALMONDS & ARBEQUINA OLIVES / 5

orange • rosemary

DARK CHOCOLATE BOCADILLO / 5

sea salt • pistachio

CITRUS “SALAD” / 8

marcona almonds • pomegranate • chevre

CHAR-GRILLED BABY OCTOPUS / 9

sofrito ink • potato • tomato

SCALLOP / 18 **

sunchoke veloute • chicken skin

BISON LOIN / 14 **

salsify • spruce tips • huckleberry

STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS / 10

shrimp & serrano • mita crema • sofrito • migas

RABBIT SAUSAGE / 12

butternut sqaush • mushroom escabeche

CONFIT QUAIL LEGS / 10

cranberry red wine jam • roasted game sugo

KING TRUMPET MUSHROOM & SNAILS / 10

beluga lentils • black garlic • porcini consomme

BEEF SHORT RIB / 18

truffle potato cream

Small Plates & Paella

SPANISH CHARCUTERIE BOARD / 22

spicy chorizo • jamon serrano

fig mustard • guindilla chili & pickled vegetables

CAVA’S MEZZE / 16

hummus • tabbouleh • marinated beets & yogurt • feta

PAELLA DE CAVA / (two) 16 : (four) 30

chicken • house chorizo • piquillo peppers & herbs

Sweets & cheese

QUESO de ESPANA / 20

queso de valdeon • cana de cabra • omorro

fig jam • torta de aciete • honey comb

PINEAPPLE • POMEGRANATE • LIME / 6

ALMOND TORTA / 9

meyer lemon • hibiscus • huckleberry

VALRHONA ALMOND CHOCOLATE TORTA / 9

dolce de leche • coffee mascarpone • cocoa nib & sea salt

KRISTIN’S FAMOUS CHURROS / 9

“hot” chocolate

**Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food borne illness.

* 20% Gratuity will be added to parties of 6 or more

CHEF / PROPRIETOR GREGG SESSLER

GENERAL MANAGER / PROPRIETOR JOHN AKAR • SOUS CHEF HILLARY SCHMIDLE

Chef’sTasting Menu

CHEF’S collection

Of TAPAS

For your table

CITRUS “SALAD”

marcona almonds • pomegranate • chevre

BASQUE STYLE FENNEL SOUP

golden char roe

2014 Chardonnay, Jonathan Edwards • North Stonington, Connecticut

STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS

shrimp & serrano • mita crema • sofrito • migas

SCALLOP / 18 **

sunchoke veloute • chicken skin

2014 Sangiovese, Gagliole • Chianti, Italy

KING TRUMPET MUSHROOM & SNAILS

beluga lentils • black garlic • porcini broth

BEEF SHORT RIB / 18

truffle potato cream

2012 Monastrell/Cabernet, Gordo • Yecla, Spain

PINEAPPLE • POMEGRANATE • LIME

ALMOND TORTA

meyer lemon • hibiscus • huckleberry

2013 Riesling (Dry), Boundary Breaks • Finger Lakes, New York

38 dollars per person

wine pairing additional 30 dollars per person

2 person minimum

ta·pas

ˈtapəs/

noun

Small Spanish savory dishes, typically served with drinks at a bar.

Valentine’s Day Menu

9^th Annual Aphrodisiac Menu

A TASTING OF APHRODISIAC FOODS

YELLOW FIN TUNA CRUDA

blood orange . avocado . tamari

POMEGRANATE

fennel . cara cara orange . arugula . pistachio

$Description: C:\Users\Cava\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\V3Z6EYMP\MP900449072[1].jpg$

ASPARAGUS

romesco . meyer lemon . cured egg yolk

DAY BOAT SCALLOP & SAFFRON

plum & red wine . serrano ham . celery leaf . botarga

MUSHROOMS

ricotta gnudi . porcini broth . kale

CHERRIES

beef short rib . anise spice . cocoa nib . parsnip vanilla

BANANA . HONEY . SWEET BASIL

torta . caramelized . walnuts

WHIPPED CREAM & CHOCOLATE

mascarpone . raspberry . hazelnut

**aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire. The name comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sexuality and love. Throughout history, many foods, drinks, and behaviors have had a reputation for making sex more attainable and/or pleasurable. However, from a historical and scientific standpoint, the alleged results may have been mainly due to mere belief by their users that they would be effective (i.e.. the placebo effect). In particular, Western medical science has no substantiated claims that any particular food increases sexual desire or performance.

Chef/Proprietor: Gregg Sessler GM/ Proprietor: John Akar Sous Chef: Hillary Schmidle

POP UP and Coming!

Cava

Chef Gregg Sessler

are Proud to present…

POP UP and Coming!

A dinner series

Featuring the talents of our young apprentice chefs

January 11^th Featuring…. Chef Erika Singson

8:30pm Reservations Required

February 1^st Featuring….Chef Chris Hoch

8:30pm Reservations Required

March 1^st Featuring….Chef Elena Faltas

8:30pm Reservations Required

March 8^th Featuring …. Chef Qvon Williams

8:30pm Reservations Required

March 15th Featuring….Sous Chef Hillary Schmidle 8:30pm Reservations Required

Support our young Chefs

as they have the opportunity to take over the

Cava Kitchen for an Evening

*A three course menu designed and prepared by our apprentice chefs

$30 per person tax and gratuity not included

For more information on our POP UP and Coming! Dinner series see below

*all dinners begin promptly at 8:30pm

*Reservations required please call 603-315-1575

*Please let us know in advance of any food allergies…otherwise no substitutions

Cava’s Pop UP and Coming dinner series is back by popular demand. 2017 will be our third year and I am thrilled to say all the chefs are back from 2015 and 2016. With the addition of one more chef this year I am proud to say we have an excellent line up.

POP up and Coming!

about the event:

We are proud to say there are a few members of the Cava staff that have been working with us for multiple years as cooks. The POP up and Coming! Dinner series was created by Chef Sessler and debuted in January of 2015. The premise of the dinner series is for Chef Sessler to step back and allow the apprentice cooks on his staff the opportunity to showcase their skills. Cava’s kitchen becomes their venue for a multi course creation of apprentice chef’s design.

POP up and Coming! Dinner series

GIVES CAVA’S APPRENTICE COOKS THE CHANCE TO BE

THE CHEF FOR THE NIGHT!

Each pop up dinner is all about the featured chef exploring food that intrigues them. Cava’s apprentice chefs design a menu, as well as manage all areas of preparation for the event. They also develop an execution strategy for service. By engaging the staff in this exercise the Cava cooks are all learning how to develop and manage a dinner service. As well as lessons in team work, organizational skills and problem solving skills, these dinners give them valuable experience that is part of their training in become a chef.

The dinners are designed to give the young cooks a platform in which to execute their ideas and showcase their skills.

We have put together five dinners for the winter 2017 season.

about our chefs

About Hillary

Hillary graduated from UNH and is an avid adventurer, traveler and mountaineer. She has a diverse knowledge of food and a tremendous work ethic. She started working at Cava about a year after we opened in the summer of 2009 as a dish washer and has been working her way up through the kitchen ever since. This past year she was promoted to the position of SOUS Chef and has been assisting in all aspects of managing the Cava kitchen. She is a dedicated chef who has spent endless dedicated hours to refining her craft. Her attention to detail and relentless self discipline gives Hillary an amazing chef quality. Along with her artistic touch and creative mind she is poised to take over a kitchen soon and put her spin on the culinary world. I am looking forward to seeing this young talent develop in the years to come.

- Gregg Sessler

ABOUT QVON

Qvon was the inspiration behind the “POP Up and coming!” dinners. Completely out of the blue one day this past summer he asked me if he could buy some duck breasts and some other supplies. He was putting on a pop up dinner out on Pierce Island. It was his night off and he had plans to do a four course menu for anybody that would show up. He put it out on Face book announcing the dinner. A few people showed up and he proceeded to make a great meal on a little grill. He had basically no equipment; he had to borrow plates for Cava and other small tools. He took pictures of each course and showed me the menu after the dinner. I was so impressed with his motivation, passion, and desire to just create food. It is not often you find young chefs with such motivation that they are willing to spend their own money and take their time outside of their work kitchen to go and offer up such an evening and cook for people not expecting anything (money) in return. Did I mention he wasn’t charging for his 4 course meal! He just wanted the opportunity to cook. It was from that pop up dinner we began talking about providing a venue for these guys to do an event of their own.

Qvon has worked here at cava for five years now. He began his training where all great chefs start, washing dishes. He has put in many pain staking hours of washing scrubbing and sanitizing all to get to this point. He has earned a position in the cava kitchen where his passion for food and a relentless work ethic shine through. Qvon is hungry for knowledge, filled with passion and highly motivated and that make him a wonderful student. Qvon has a real touch with food and as he develops his skills I am excited to see where it takes him. It is a pleasure to have him as a member of our team and a real honor to have him take over the Cava kitchen for a night. With his soon to be world famous southern fried chicken I know I can’t wait.

- Gregg Sessler

ABOUT CHRIS

Chris is the newest member of the cava crew. Chris is a local from Portsmouth, NH. He has worked extremely hard over the past two years developing his skills. His passion for food takes him well beyond the Cava kitchen. He is currently working on perfecting his own brand of handmade ice creams. Be sure to keep your eyes out for this chef entrepreneur will surely impress and is well on his way to something big!

- Gregg Sessler

About Erika

Erika is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University with a degree in culinary arts. She is a motivated young chef and mother. She has balance her home life and life in a professional kitchen. She has been at Cava working both in the front of the house and as a cook since May of 2014. She is a firecracker who has endless positive energy and an amazing work ethic. I am so pleased to have her as part of our team here at Cava.

- Gregg Sessler

ABOUT Elena

Elena started as an intern working in the beginning of 2015. Her positive energy and desire to improve her skills makes her a pure pleasure to work with. She has lived in Spain and speaks fluent Spanish. She is always egger to speak Spanish with our vendors and learn more about Spanish culture. She has a very artistic touch and is always thoughtful when it comes to preparing and presenting food. I look forward to seeing Elena develop during her time here at Cava.

- Gregg Sessler