This Ridgewood chef lived homeless, on the streets of Paterson

Vaughn Crenshaw always loved to cook. It is in his blood, he said — everyone in his family knows how to "put flavors together." But from the moment he saw Emeril Lagasse's cooking show at age 9, he knew the kitchen was his calling.

Four years later, however, he was living on the streets of Paterson, sleeping in an abandoned Volkswagen hatchback on Van Houten Street, hustling and selling drugs just to get by.

"It was a little two-door wagon, a blue joint," he said. "I remember that like it was yesterday. It was hard to stay clean, my clothes were extremely dirty, and I became very upset with anybody who looked at me wrong. I became very aggressive. I felt like nobody wanted me."

His future — if there was to be one — was bleak.

Things are different today. Sporting a shaved head and perfectly coiffed goatee, Crenshaw, 29, is the executive chef at Pearl Restaurant in Ridgewood. He lives in Hackensack with his wife of three months, Erica, and listens to jazz and plays basketball. He teaches conversions — how to use math the way a chef does — at the Paterson Adult and Continuing Education school, and is often involved in food drives in his old hometown.

He swears that cooking is his "savior," and refers to it as "playing" or "dancing." Although he is fond of saying that his is a "typical bottom-to-the-top story," there is little typical about his narrative. His life has always been an uphill fight.

He started out living with his mother, stepfather, and seven brothers and sisters in a tiny apartment next to a crack house on 12th Street in Paterson. At 4 years old, he and one of his brothers were badly burned after a pan of boiling chicken grease and fat fell on them. Third-degree burns covered 70 percent of his body ("The skin was bubbling and exploding"), and he still bears the scars all over his body.

When he was 9, the family moved to Fair Street, but he was kicked out by his mother at age 13 after arguments about him not caring for his siblings the way she expected him to. He lived in the blue hatchback a few blocks away for a year, he said, and he and his teenage friends became "like [drug dealer] Nino Brown in [the 1991 movie] 'New Jack City.' " But he was always looking for a way out.

"I knew there was more to the world, and I knew that I could do more … I just couldn't get there," he said.

That world opened to him at 14 when his mother, believing it would be better for her son, signed him over to his godparents, who lived in Hackensack.

Teacher helped mold him

Crenshaw wasn't used to being outside a six-block radius of his home in Paterson, and still recalls his incredulousness at seeing a black guy talk to a white girl — in Paterson, that wouldn't have happened, he said, admitting that he was "very close-minded."

"I always had the mean frown face on, because the streets build you that way."

His life changed again when he met English teacher Barbara Caruso at Hackensack High School in his freshman year. When he walked in, he could barely spell, said Caruso, who retired in 2005, but when Crenshaw left four years later, he had "taken off." Caruso admits that she was hard on Crenshaw, and many other kids didn't understand why she was pushing him so incessantly — but he understood.

"He had this tremendous desire to improve himself, to improve his circumstances …. There was a light in his eyes," she said. "I was a tough cookie … but I saw that he was willing to take on what I was offering him."

"She didn't cut me any slack," Crenshaw recalled. "If I messed up, she didn't pass me. Every year she was on my back, and she wouldn't take anything less than 'A' material. If it wasn't 'A' material, she would fail me."

He became captain of the football and track teams his senior year, and scholarship money paved the way to Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island (Lagasse's alma mater) where he could focus on his dream of being a chef.

On breaks from school, he'd work at the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack, where he was hired in 2005 after telling chef Gregory Sutton that he'd work for free just for the experience. Sutton placed him in the banquet hall, and was impressed with what he saw.

"That kid was just talented as hell," Sutton said. "He had the motivation — and passion. And if you're going to work with food, you've got to have passion."

Crenshaw worked there off and on for three years, and after he graduated (with an associate's degree in culinary arts and bachelor's degree in food service management in-hand), he followed Sutton to the Brick House Inn in Wyckoff and became assistant banquet chef.

A year later he took the head chef position at the Caribbean/soul food restaurant Jacksonville in Paterson, but two years later, still had nagging doubts that he'd assumed the top kitchen spot too soon. So he became executive sous chef at Mocha Bleu in Teaneck, where he learned to cook kosher under the watchful eye of the restaurant owner and a rabbi. Although he couldn't make a good matzo ball, his soups and specials "slapped their heads off," and Crenshaw added another skill to a growing list.

"My thing is this: Closed minds equal limitation. I don't like to limit myself. Period," he said. "I think once you get stuck in how things are supposed to be that's when you become confined, and that's as far as you're gonna go."

A year later, he became executive sous chef at Fort Lee's Khloe Bistrot, where he cooked for celebrities like Ice-T and Tahiry Jose from the VH1 show "Love and Hip Hop." In 2012, he landed on an episode of the Food Network's "Chopped," but got cut in the second round after struggling with the odd ingredients and the show's time constraints. His work was below subpar, he said, and he's still disappointed that he wasn't more prepared.

"It was the wake-up call that I needed. At the time I thought I was pretty good and I was a little full of myself. But this was like, 'Listen guy, you're not as good as you thought you were. So what are you going to do about it?' "

He rededicated himself to being a student of cooking, and spends his time searching for new trends by talking to vendors, subscribing to every culinary magazine he can find, and living by the "Flavor Bible" — a well-known index of flavors and ingredients — in a determined effort to get his flavor "on point."

His enthusiasm has become contagious — Alex Garibian, owner and chef at the New Milford Delicatessen, often cooks with Crenshaw for fun at his establishment

"He's a very entertaining guy," Garibian said. "When the dish is done, he's got this ecstasy, this 'Oh my God! This came out so good!' He's a natural chef."

"Food is art at the end of the day," Crenshaw said. "You can mix colors and manipulate things the way you want to … and I was able to create something of my own. You kind of take over the world through someone's palate."

Reconciled with mother

Dishes like his quinoa chicken and red velvet waffles, which have a bourbon cream cheese drizzle on the top, exemplify his style, which, he said, has grown during his year and a half at Pearl Restaurant. The menu has an Italian flair but changes daily, and includes unconventional dishes like duck prosciutto or duck meatballs. In 2014, he started his own catering company, the Jersey City-based Fre Food Catering and Events, which creates customizable menus for events.

His relationship with his mother has also healed, and he now said that being thrown out of the house was "probably the best thing she could have done for me."

"It made me mature very, very early," he said. "Me and my mom have a very good relationship now. We've put that in the past."

But if, somewhere, there's a 13-year-old kid reading this by flashlight in the back of an abandoned car, Crenshaw offered four pieces of advice: Do the work. Be open to change. Take the help people give you. And keep your eye on the prize.

Ignore those, and life is going to be terribly difficult.

Take it from Crenshaw. He learned the hard way.

Email: janoski@northjersey.com

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Coffee with the Chef: Cesar Sotomayor of Cafe 37 in Ridgewood

Cesar Sotomayor, 38, owes his love of cooking to his Venezuelan roots — as a child in Caracas, his grandmother cooked for 10 family members each day. Sotomayor "grew up in the kitchen."

A few years after his arrival in the United States in 1999, a chance meeting with chef Michael Latour at Burlington Coat Factory in Paramus landed him a spot in Latour’s Ridgewood restaurant, where Sotomayor did menial tasks such as dicing vegetables and sanitizing the kitchen, all while learning the trade.

His five years at Latour, combined with an associate’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from Bergen Community College, landed him in the head chef position at Ridgewood’s Village Green in 2007. During his six-year tenure, he established his own cooking style, and in July 2012, the Hawthorne resident opened Café 37, also in Ridgewood, serving modern American cuisine. The restaurant received 2 1/2 out of 4 stars from The Record in 2012.

Here, Sotomayor talks about Whole Foods, his weakness for ice cream, and how to stay slim when you’re surrounded by food.

Toughest dish to cook at my restaurant: Asian marinated pork riblets ($28), because of the time factor; they marinate in their juices overnight and are braised the next day.

Favorite dish I invented: The Café 37 seafood pot ($35). It used to be made at my house on Sundays when I was growing up. It’s fish and whatever seafood was available, and a roasted tomato/garlic/white wine broth. My grandma would bring the pot to the table and everyone would serve themselves.

Guilty pleasure: Ice cream. We make it homemade, and every time the machine is running, you’ll see me next to it scooping out a portion for myself. We make a coconut ice cream that’s a thing you can’t say no to — it’s in a dessert called golden puff and coconut ice cream with caramelized pineapples ($8).

Favorite local restaurant: Villa de Colombia in Hackensack. I usually get a steak, seafood chowder, or a yuca frita. They’re doing something right; the flavors are always great, the temperatures are where you want them, the service is awesome, and it’s very casual.

Best place to grocery shop in North Jersey: I like Whole Foods. It’s a little pricey, but they always have fresh, organic produce.

My last meal: Paella. It has seafood – which is my favorite thing – and the roasted garlic, rice and white wine make a perfect combination.

How I keep my weight down: I work out like a maniac. I just did 16 miles this afternoon on my bike, and I went right after to a yoga class. Every day I’m doing something — I have to either skateboard or bike or go to the gym or do some hiking. I’m always moving around. If you sit, you rust. And don’t eat after 7 p.m. It’s tough because I’m surrounded by food, but it’s all about discipline.

Presentation is important: Customers eat with their eyes. You want to put a plate in front of them so they will say, ‘This looks amazing.’ You’re a big step ahead before they even taste it.

More info: Café 37, 37 S. Broad St., Ridgewood; 201-857-0437; café-37.com. Appetizers: $12 to $17, entrées $26 to $36.

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Coffee with the Chef: Michael Latour at Latour in Ridgewood

Michael Latour, 51, was no stranger to high-end cooking even before he opened Latour in Ridgewood in 1998 — the Ramsey resident had cooked at the Jockey Club at the Ritz Carlton, the Four Seasons Hotel, the Doral Park Avenue Hotel (all in New York City) and L'Auberge de France in Wayne before opening his own place. Latour, a French-American restaurant, received three out of four stars from The Record in 2010, when it was last reviewed.

Although he has a degree in culinary arts from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island, Latour says it was his on-the-job experience that was most valuable — in cooking, he says, everything is based on interpretation, and learning from others is critical to create one's own style.

Here, Latour talks about convection ovens, his (negative) feelings for tilapia and his favorite local restaurant.

My favorite tool in the kitchen: The convection oven. It cooks evenly, it browns things better, and it helps with soufflés in particular. You try to make that in a regular oven, and it's just not going to come out as well.

Food fad I hate: Tilapia. That's the worst fish. It's a farm-raised fish that's raised in a cesspool. It's nasty. If you see that on a menu, stay away. It should have a skull and crossbones next to it.

Biggest misconception about chefs: Chefs have been glorified on the Food Network, and people think, "I'm going to come out of school and become a chef and open a restaurant." But it takes a long period of time to gain the knowledge needed — it's a minimum of 10 years.

The secret to great French cuisine is: The sauces. Without that, there's nothing.

My favorite kitchen knives: Henckels. They're very sturdy, they have some weight to them, and I like their feel.

My favorite local restaurant: Local Seasonal Kitchen in Ramsey. The presentation is fabulous, and Steve Santoro's style is very different — there are a lot of items on the plate.

Guilty pleasure: Chocolate. I love Cacao Noel. It's not too tart, not too bitter.

I keep my weight down by: Hiking. I go to Skyline Drive in Ringwood, or Seven Lakes or Sterling Forest in New York State. I go three times a week at least, and do 5 miles or more.

A tip for home cooks: When cooking fish, it's always better to have it a little underdone than overcook it.

Favorite dining experience: At the Moulin de Mougins in Mougins, France. The chef was Roger Verge, and the cheese course was amazing. We had a lobster navarin, and a noisette of lamb with morel mushrooms. The sauces, the quality of the meat, the presentation … it was the whole package. They really nailed it.

More info: Latour, 6 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood; 201-445-5056, latourridge wood.com. Appetizers $9 to $17, entrées $26 to $36. Tuesday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday 6 to 8:30 p.m., Sunday 4 to 9 p.m.

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Coffee with the Chef: John Vitale of Caffe Anello in Westwood

Although John Vitale, the 33-year-old chef at Caffe Anello in Westwood, has no formal background in cooking, his family ties to the pursuit run generations deep — the Cresskill resident grew up in the kitchen with his parents and grandparents, all of whom were "tremendous cooks." And though he spent a few years cooking for campus restaurants during his years at Elon University in North Carolina, Caffe Anello, which Vitale opened with his wife, Alissa, nine months ago, represents his first foray into the world of fine dining. It received three out of four stars from The Record.

Here, he talks about mushy pasta, Snickers bars, and why Americans use too much salt.

Biggest mistake home cooks make: Not being creative enough — it's the key. For example, cook with orange champagne and garlic, and reduce it down to a garlic shrimp dish, instead of just doing traditional scampi, so you'll get the citrus flavors, too.

Culinary hero: My mother. That's where I learned everything, and it would be her over anyone.

What I would never pay for at a restaurant: Any pasta dish, because we make and cut our own fresh. So I'm expecting boxed pasta, and it's just not as good as fresh cut pasta. It's a major difference, and I don't think people know that.

Best dish I ever ate: It was wild boar ragout over fresh-cut pappardelle at La Campana in Rome, Italy. It was so unique — it was done in a very rich sauce that used fresh tomatoes reduced in a brown sauce, which is something I've never seen before.

At a vending machine with a buck, I get: A Snickers. It's the only candy bar that can actually quench your appetite, and I like the salty and sweet combination.

My favorite tool in the kitchen: Sauté pans. I have several going at one time because we don't fry anything here.

Most overused spice: Salt. There's too much of it on too many dishes. I think it's compensation; it's used to mask things that aren't as fresh as they should be. People use it on everything, but there are a lot of other spices I'd rather go heavy on, like garlic. I can't get enough garlic.

Strangest request from a diner: Once, a diner asked me to make sure that the pasta came out mushy. They did not want it al dente. That's just a sin.

Most overrated food: The steaks at a lot of restaurants are overrated. I use Westwood Prime Meats, and they take the time to bring in the highest quality stuff you can get. So when I go to a fine dining restaurant, and I order a steak and pay a lot of money, it's a big disappointment after having had their quality.

I hate it when diners: Ask for more salt on anything. We don't even have it on the table.

The next food fad is: Crepes. They're a large part of European and Asian culture, and I don't see a lot of places doing them.

Presentation is important because: Your eyes, mouth, and nose are completely connected. I don't send anything out of the kitchen that doesn't look like something I'd want to be served.

My favorite dish to cook: "Chef's suggestion tonight." When a diner comes in and says that's what they want, it means they don't have boundaries for what they're willing to try, and it allows me to be creative.

More info: Caffe Anello, 429 Broadway, Westwood; 201-786-8137; caffeanello.com. Appetizers: $8 to $15, entrées $13 to $36.

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Coffee with the Chef: Wilson Lindemann of Biddy O'Malley's in Northvale

The restaurant might be called Biddy O’Malley’s Irish Bistro and Bar, but that doesn’t mean Wilson Lindemann’s culinary creations are limited to different variations of shepherd’s pie and fish and chips.

The 27-year-old executive chef, who is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in New Hampshire, said that Biddy’s does a little bit of everything — even if that means using Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Italian dishes to compliment its traditional Irish fare.

Before coming to the Northvale restaurant three years ago, Lindemann worked for the Ship Lantern Inn and the Tuxedo Club — both in New York State — for about two years apiece, and was also contracted to work on Norwegian Cruise Line for five months.

Here he talks about lobster, French knives and how to cook the perfect duck.

Toughest dish to cook at my restaurant: Sake-marinated Goffle Road Farms duck breast ($26). It’s about getting the temperature right — a lot of cooks have difficulty with doneness with a duck because it has a different texture than, say, a steak. If somebody wants duck medium-rare, it might feel a little softer than the chef is used to.

Favorite kitchen tool: A French knife. It’s very versatile, and if you don’t have a boning knife or a paring knife, you can use that. It really should be attached to the chef’s hand. I use a Shun Classic because it’s very lightweight and it holds its edge for a long time, which is very important.

Favorite dish to cook: Plum-braised short rib with foie gras fried rice ($25). I’ve never eaten at a restaurant that had something like that, and the final product is awesome. The sweetness of the plum compliments the foie gras very well, as well as the short rib.

The secret to being a good Irish restaurant: The hospitality. It’s always very welcoming, very warm, it seems like people don’t have any choice but to come back.

Most overrated food: Lobster. Oftentimes it’s very expensive, but I don’t think it has a ton of flavor. I’d rather have a diver scallop over lobster any day.

Simplest tip to improve home cooking: Less is more. If you put too much of something, like a spice, into your dish, you can’t take it out. But you can always add more.

How I keep my weight down: It definitely is difficult, and I’m a big guy. And one thing that I was always taught: You have to try everything you put out. I stand by that.

My pet peeve: When cooks feel the need to add their own twist on one of my recipes. That’s a big no-no. I always encourage them to be creative, but let me try it first before we go with it.

Biggest misconception about chefs: That we’re all angry all the time. And I don’t think that Gordon Ramsay helped us with that one. This can be a very stressful job if you let it, and I have stressful times, but there’s no need to get that hyped. Even if they paid me the money they pay him, I don’t think I could do it. I wouldn’t want to be angry all the time.

My guilty pleasure: Foie gras. I love it. It’s very rich and full of flavor.

Next food fad: Fermented foods, like kimchi. There are so many restaurants that are going farm-to-table, and because chefs are becoming more involved in farms, they don’t want to see food go in the garbage, so I think they’d rather ferment or pickle it so you can use it all winter.

What I’d never pay for at a restaurant: Bottled water, like Pellegrino. I would rather have a glass of wine with a meal.

More info: Biddy O’Malley’s Irish Bistro and Bar, 191 Paris Ave., Northvale, 201-564-7893, biddyomalleys.com. Appetizers: $8 to $13; entrées: $11 to $25. Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 a.m., Sunday noon to 2 a.m.

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Apple is still the flavor of the fall

Pumpkin spice may be the favorite flavor of autumn, but apples, the old standby, remain the true herald of the changing season. And although thousands of varieties are grown the world over — nearly 7,500 in total — classics like the Red Delicious and Granny Smith remain as popular as ever in New Jersey.

Which is "best," though? That depends on your personal preference and how you intend to use it.

Celery root and apple puree from Saddle River Inn

Jessica Marotta, 31, pastry chef for Local Seasonal Kitchen in Ramsey, uses apples throughout the winter, and although she personally prefers the sour, tart flavor of the Granny Smith, she uses several varieties when cooking. One of Marotta's favorite concoctions is apple cider caramel, which she makes using caramel combined with puréed apples and apple cider (in place of heavy cream.)

"It's a little lighter, but the flavor comes through," she said. "It tastes like liquefied caramel apples, and it's really good over vanilla ice cream."

Over the last few years, Marotta has found a new favorite branch of the fruit's extensive family tree: the Honey Crisp. "They're not overwhelmingly sweet, and they've got this really nice floral flavor," she said. "And they're super crunchy … I can't get over them."

Jason DeGise, whose family has owned Demarest Farms Orchard in Hillsdale since 1886, is a Honey Crisp fan too, noting that their "sweet flavor with a little hint of tartness" has led to an explosion in their popularity. "It's a giant," he said.

DeGise, along with co-owner James Spollen, grew 18 varieties over 14 acres this year, and thousands of visitors paid the $5 admission to wander his fields and pick their own bag of Galas or Wine Fats (another popular brand often used in cooking). He often sees multiple generations of the same family return year after year.

"It seems to be a tradition that just stays in families," he said.

There's an added benefit to picking your own, DeGise said: When you pull the fruit off the tree yourself, you know you're getting this year's crop. That's not the case when purchasing apples in supermarkets, where transporters and grocers have found that apples can be kept for up to a year if they're put in a temperature-controlled environment free of oxygen. That apple you grab in the "fresh produce" aisle, he said, may have been picked eight months ago.

Michael Sinatra, spokesman for Whole Foods' northeastern region, said that the apples' ongoing popularity is rooted in its tremendous culinary versatility.

"As you walk around the store, you see that they go well with so many recipes: pastries, sauces, jellies, etc.," he said.

Most of Whole Foods' stock comes from the Hudson Valley, and he noted that the Honey Crisps and SweeTangos (similar to Honey Crisps with pinkish coloration) are the popular varieties at the moment. Newcomers like Zestar (a cross between a Honey Crisp and a Golden) and Kiki (similar in taste to the well-known Fuji) will be making an appearance in late October and November.

"A grocery store should be very indicative of seasonal change, the produce department specifically, and these just sort of scream 'fall,' " Sinatra said.

One big benefit of the apple inundation, said Nicole Dvorak, registered dietitian with Hackensack University Medical Center, is that the fruit is widely respected as a health food, what with their low calorie count (95 for a medium), high fiber content, and complete lack of sodium or fat.

Do yourself a favor and eat the skin, Dvorak said, because that's where the vitamin C and fiber are. "You should eat the entire fruit, and eating them fresh is probably going to be the best option versus baking them in a pie," she said.

Tell that to chef Steven Christianson, and he'll probably ignore you.

"I make apple crisps or strudels over the whole winter," said Christianson, who worked at the Four Seasons in Manhattan, Café Panache in Ramsey (where he was a partner), and owned Citrus Grille in Airmont, N.Y., before opening St. Eve's restaurant in Ho-Ho-Kus in 2011. "How can you go wrong with an apple tart and some ice cream?"

Most of Christianson's apples come from orchards in New York State, and when searching for the perfect one, he looks for firm ones without any bruising. He often uses combinations of Honey Crisps and Granny Smiths, and said the sweetness of the former perfectly complements the tartness of the latter.

"They're so flexible, and I can do so much with them," he said, adding that this fall he is trying his hand at homemade apple cider. It's not complicated, he said: Juice a few kinds of apples; add autumnal spices like cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon; and cook for an hour before straining it. He's never done it before, but the first batch will be served this year.

Jamie Knott, 34, the chef and owner of the Saddle River Inn, cooks with Honey Crisps, too calling this year's yield "amazing." He roasts them and features them on a dish with a celery-root apple purée and pan-seared scallops topped with an apple cider reduction. He also plans to pair them with the first cuts of Iowa venison, which are set to arrive next week.

When buying apples, Knott looks for firmness, but acknowledged that you can't ultimately tell an apple's quality until you eat it. "Apples fool everybody," he said.

DeGise focuses on firmness and color — stay away from the "spongy, dehydrated ones" and head for the deepest red — while Marotta seeks apples that still have the stems attached. Why? Because that denotes a fresh apple, Marotta said; as the fruit ages, the stem is likely to dry out and fall off.

And don't worry about how shiny they are, said DeGise, because that's just a wax sprayed on post-picking meant to boost marketing appeal.

"When they're fresh, they're obviously not shiny," he said.

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The changing tastes of Jersey corn

The Jersey tomato always snatches the spotlight, but it's not the only produce the Garden State is famous for: Our sweet corn, grown by the acre and sold at countless roadside stands, has quietly carved out its own reputation for unforgettable flavor.

But doesn't something seem different about that corn nowadays? It was always sweet, yes, but this sweet? And didn't you have to cook it right away, or else the ears would turn into rows of cardboard-dry kernels that gummed up your mouth and ruined your meal?

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That might have been true once, but it isn't anymore. Why? New hybrids of the grain that are not only made to last, but also satisfy the most demanding sweet tooth.

On average, the sweetest corn today is about one-third more sugary than the sweetest corn of three decades ago, said Jack Rabin, associate director of farm programs at Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing depends on one's personal preference, Rabin said, although he hasn't heard any complaints thus far.

Corn has become a big crop in New Jersey — according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 48 million pounds (about $14 million worth) were grown over 6,000 acres in 2013. That's twice the acreage devoted to the vaunted tomato.

"We produce a lot of corn, and we use a lot of land to produce it," said Lynne Richmond, public information officer for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.

But the reality is that 300 years ago, those perfect ears of yellow-and-white sugary goodness didn't even exist, Rabin said. The sugar that lends the grain its sweetness would immediately turn to starch, and the corn that grew in the Americas tasted terrible.

It wasn't until the 19th century that someone — we don't know who — discovered that the plant had undergone a random gene mutation that enabled it to maintain its sweetness just a little longer. Rabin said it's believed that Native Americans saved those seeds, and colonists began growing the crop. With the arrival of hybrids, like Rabin's personal favorite, Silver Queen, during the Great Depression, availability increased greatly, and scientists gave it the nickname "Su" to denote its sugar content and describe the "wonderfully sweet taste" that created the formidable reputation.

The one drawback? It was a culinary time bomb.

"Even though it had this beautiful texture, it didn't hold for more than one day," Rabin said. "It was only good if you picked it that morning and you boiled it that night."


Boon for farmers

Thus, sugar-enhanced versions ("Se") like Frosty or Whiteout were developed in the 1980s so the kernels would keep their flavor for two or maybe three days, and super-sweet varieties ("Sh2") like Munition could hold even longer (although they didn't have the best reputation for tenderness, Rabin said). Others, like the synergistic ("Sy") and augmented ("Aug"), were combinations of both that sought to create the perfect ear. There's no difference in size or color, and Rabin said, "I think they taste just as wonderful as our memories of yesteryear."

These developments are a boon for farmers like Jason DeGise, who co-owns Demarest Farms Orchard in Hillsdale with James Spollen. The farm has been in DeGise's family since 1886, and they planted 30 acres' worth of corn in April. DeGise said that although an extra day or two's worth of flavor might not sound like a lot, in the fresh produce world, it's an eternity.

"Twenty years ago, the old-fashioned white or yellow corn would be picked when it was ready, but a day later it turned to starch. Now, you can pick it on Monday and it tastes just as good on Wednesday," he said.

Customers haven't noticed the change, he said, and many simply expect the product to always be good. But before the se and sh2 varieties hit the market, sinking your teeth into an earful of gummy kernels was much more commonplace.


Shorter maturation

"If you had the corn from years ago, I don't know if you'd like to eat that now," said Todd Keuhm, owner of Farm's View in Wayne, who also noted the improved flavor retention that genetic improvements have bestowed.

On top of that, Rabin said, the new varieties have a shorter maturation period, meaning they arrive on the market about two weeks earlier than they used to.

"That two weeks is the difference in making your money for the whole year," he said. "And if one farmer has sweet corn on July 4, and one has it on July 20 … well, who do you think is going to the bank afterwards?"

But if you don't get it straight from the farmer's hands, what exactly are you getting? And how fresh is it?

Rabin said the answer depends on how much local grocery store managers care about their produce. Some stores have deals with local farmers that lead to morning deliveries of fresh-picked produce, but others are happy with ears grown in Florida, shrink-wrapped, and shipped to New Jersey. This often happens in May or June, he said, just before the local farmers have begun their harvest.

"I don't care how many good genes are put in it, with that amount of time, some of that sugary texture is going to convert to a grainy starch," he said. "You might as well buy frozen corn in the bag until the season [in New Jersey] starts."

Chef Kevin Portscher, 30, has owned the Village Green restaurant in Ridgewood for the past three years, and said the freshly-picked South Jersey crop is "far superior" to what's found in supermarket bins.

Portscher is a bit of a mad scientist when it comes to corn, and has incorporated it into all sorts of dishes — his corn gelato was a big hit this summer. The grain's longer shelf life helped him avoid spending money on fresh shipments that sit around for a day, only to be thrown out if no one orders them.

"It helps keep food costs down," he said. "And it allows for a nice, sweet flavor [in a dish] without having to add processed sugars to it."

Adam Weiss, the 37-year-old chef of Ridgewood's Due, said that he's noticed the increasing sweetness over the years, but that's not a bad thing in his line of work.

"You use its natural sweetness in an additive sort of way — to counteract the saltiness of something," he said. "And it's a great accent."

When the sweetness isn't there, or the quality is lacking, the dish must be changed accordingly.

"That's when you have to add more salt or sugar, because if the quality is lower, you have to force the flavors out by other means, even if that's grilling or boiling," he said.

However, chef Christine Nunn, who said she will be opening the Ridgewood restaurant Picnic on the Square in two weeks, believes the opposite: We have lost something with the new breeds, which taste nothing like the corn she grew up eating during summers in Maine.

"It just doesn't taste like corn," she said. "It tastes like candy corn to me, and you can see that by how many people are racing to put it in desserts, like crème brûlée."

She has found a way to cook it that she likes — sautéing it for a minute with butter, herbs and a little salt to balance out the sugar — but finds that eating it on the cob can be a bit much.

Vincent Barce-lona, 50, corporate chef for Supreme Oil Company/ Admiration Foods in Englewood, had a slightly different take, and said that although the consistently sweet corn has made his life easier — there are fewer "bad batches" nowadays — he's against the seed modifications that have taken place to get it that way.

"Part of what makes our job interesting and creative is that we cook from the land," he said. "The challenge of cooking is what I signed up for, and we shouldn't be looking to make things easier, or look for the quick fix."

Email: janoski@northjersey.com

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Chef Kevin Kohler of Ramsey's Cafe Panache in "Coffee with the Chef"

If it were up to Café Panache chef and owner Kevin Kohler, his popular Ramsey restaurant would offer only three appetizers and three entrées each night, and the selection would depend entirely on what the freshest fish or best cut of meat was that day.

Although the 56-year-old Mahwah resident and father of four has had to expand the offerings during his 29-year tenure at the eclectic BYOB restaurant, he focuses on creating specials and says he enjoys "changing dishes frequently."

Here, Kohler, who has worked at the Four Seasons in Manhattan, speaks his mind about reality cooking shows, the $10,000-plus meal he once cooked and why he absolutely hates Chilean sea bass.

The most difficult dish to make at my restaurant: Nothing really scares me. It’s like playing music: If you play long enough, you can play everything after a while. Nothing is harder than anything else.

Best part about cooking in this area: It’s close to home. I used to commute to New York, and for 29 years I haven’t had to.

Favorite local restaurant: Arturo’s Restaurant in Midland Park.

My pet peeve: Not cleaning up after yourself. Don’t make a mess, keep it clean.

The most expensive meal I’ve ever had: At Alain Ducasse’s restaurant in Monte Carlo. It was foie gras, black truffles, caviar, wild mushrooms, and zucchini flowers with lobster mousse. It was so expensive that my comment to my wife was that I should trade my car for the check. It was delicious and it was never worth it; there’s not a meal anywhere worth more than $200 a person.

Most expensive meal I’ve ever made: In 1979 I was working at the Palace Restaurant, which was the most expensive in New York City at the time. We cooked a dinner for an oil guy from the Middle East that was in the Guinness Book of World Records because it cost north of $10,000.

It was, like, 12 courses, and it was weird — he wanted things like a birdcage made of spaghetti, that held a quail wrapped in gold.

What I’d never pay for at a restaurant: Expensive cocktails, because I know what a rip-off they are.

Strangest request from a diner: One guy asked for 1 pound of salad with no dressing. And he knew what a pound looked like, so we had to weigh it on the scale, and then put the salad onto a plate. That’s got my record.

My guilty pleasure: Mousse foie gras. It’s buttery and creamy, and really, really good. I love slopping that on bread when I’m cooking. You have that with wine, and it’ll make you happy.

Most overrated food fad: Chilean sea bass. It’s garbage. It’s frozen when it comes over and it’s greasy ... and it smells; you put that next to a good striped or sea bass, and it’s night and day.

Best place to grocery shop in North Jersey: Steve’s Market in Ramsey. Steve always has beautiful vegetables and great meat, and he’s always there making sure the quality is good.

What cooking show I’d like to be on: I really don’t like cooking shows; I think they’re stupid. I don’t think food should ever be a competition. It’s a profession, something that none of us should want to race or make a show out of. It’s pathetic. I like shows that are more culinary, where you get to see great chefs prepare food accurately.

The next food fad: Classic French dishes are going to make a move. They’re due to come back, and I think they’re the ones that have been forgotten and misunderstood. It’s still the mother of all cooking, though, and if you understand French cooking, you can cook anything.

Info: Café Panache, 130 E. Main St, Ramsey 201-934-0030; cafepanachenj.com.

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