Mattison's Restaurants, Grill, Steakhouse & Catering in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Longboat Key and Bradenton, Wedding Caterer

The Bradenton Herald Tribune, March 14, 2008

Chefs cook up Florida tourism in N.Y. LOCAL FLAVOR by Sara Kennedy, Thursday, March 14, 2008

MANATEE --

Two high-profile local chefs are in New York City to cook for top food writers and editors and to lead culinary demonstrations at Bloomingdale s department stores as part of an effort to attract tourists to the Gulf Coast.

Executive chef Paul Mattison, of Mattison s, with restaurants in Manatee and Sarasota counties, and executive chef Raymond Arpke, of Euphemia Haye on Longboat Key, will be showing off unique Florida flavors during the Big Apple tour.

It s part of the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau s efforts to attract foodie tourists during the traditional off-season by flaunting the Gulf Coast s wealth of fresh, local ingredients and independent restaurants.

Arpke planned to prepare shrimp, orange and tomato risotto, while Mattison was cooking braised short ribs with yuzu citrus barbecue and dried hibiscus flowers Wednesday during a tasting at The Culinary Loft in Soho.

Both planned risotto dishes for today s demonstrations at New York Bloomingdale s stores.

What I m trying to do is show what great independent restaurants we have in our area, said Arpke during a phone interview from New York on Wednesday. I m using fresh Florida citrus, fresh Florida shrimp.

Tourists appreciate the area s fresh local produce and seafood when they come to visit, said Arpke, whose award-winning restaurant on Longboat Key is a tourist attraction in itself.

So does he find it intimidating, cooking for such a group?

I m used to it, Arpke laughed. I ve got food critics at my restaurant every night.

Mattison said his restaurants attract people from all over the world.

We get Europeans, Canadians, lots from the Midwest and the East, he added. More and more (from the) New York market are starting to come to the west coast of Florida. If we can help promote what s going on in Sarasota and Bradenton and Longboat Key, we can help them come in that direction for a change.

The bureau s slogan is Time to be a Florida foodie, said Gentry Baumline, whose public-relations firm was helping the chefs in New York City.

The bureau s Sarasota counterpart, the Sarasota and Her Islands Convention & Visitors Bureau, is on a similar mission with an upcoming local dining event. Savor Sarasota, slated for May 27-June 8, will feature fixed-price meals of $15 per person for lunch and $25 for dinner at more than 34 eateries in Sarasota and Manatee counties, according to Erin Duggan, of the Sarasota bureau.

Sara Kennedy, Bradenton Herald business reporter, can be reached at (941) 748-0411, ext. 4500 or by e-mail at skennedy@bradenton.com