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Chef John Minas adds Armenian Flair to Florida Fare as New Executive Chef at the Governor’s Mansion
Chef John Minas adds Armenian Flair to Florida Fare as New Executive Chef at the Governor’s Mansion
By Doug Kalajian
FLArmenians Cuisine Contributor
Ask anyone with a glimmer of culinary consciousness about Florida cuisine and you’ll most likely hear a tale of Caribbean-Latin fusion that sizzles like the sands of South Beach.
Then ask Chef John Minas.
For one of his first dinners as Executive Chef at the Florida governor’s mansion, Minas served notice that there’s a new culinary accent in the Sunshine State: Armenian.
“I made grape leaves,” he said proudly.
Executive Chef John Minas
Minas, who grew up in the deep-rooted Armenian community of Watertown, Mass., inherited a love of food from his Armenian and Assyrian family. He credits his paternal grandfather, Bashir Minas, with inspiring him.
“Every Sunday, we’d go to my grandfather’s house,” he said. “He cooked the best Armenian and Middle Eastern food I ever tasted. Dolmas, sarmas. And his fasoulia — oh my gosh! He made it all and he made it amazing. He wasn’t a trained chef, but he was a great cook.”
On weekdays, young Minas rushed home from high school to watch the back-to-back shows of Food Network pioneers Emeril Lagasse and Mario Batali. “Those guys were all about the food and the technique,” he said.
The idea took hold that he could meld the elegance and discipline of Western fine dining with the flavors and ingredients he grew up with.
After training at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Minas worked at several restaurants in the Northeast and was planning to open his own when he heard about the unique opportunity in far-off Tallahassee, Florida. He sent a resume and got a quick invitation for an interview on April 11, his 26th birthday.
The interview turned out to be an audition.
“All of a sudden I was cooking breakfast at the mansion,” he said. “That was followed by lunch and then dinner.” While he was at it, Minas volunteered an afternoon snack, “a real mezze platter” including feta cheese and pita bread.
Nearly every dish in his day-long cooking marathon reflected Minas’ cultural connection.
“My dinner entree was a watercress tabbouleh with Chilean sea bass and grilled asparagus,” he said. “It was a French take on Middle Eastern. I’m very big on that.”
The fourth of six candidates to try out, Minas was barely back in Boston when he received news that he’d been hired. He started his new job in May and launched straight into an exciting yet demanding routine. Minas supervises all planning and preparation for a whirlwind of state dinners and charity events as well as daily meals for Gov. Rick Scott and First Lady Ann Scott.
Minas said he’s excited about Florida’s rich variety of fresh seafood and produce, but the job has kept him so busy that he’s had limited opportunity to travel around the state. “I’m really looking forward not only to getting to know the state, but to meet the Armenians here,” he said. “I want to get to Boca Raton and all the other Armenian communities.”
So far, Minas has brought not only Armenian touches to the mansion menu but other Middle Eastern favorites.
“I take our cuisine and try to make it relevant for a new generation,” he said. “I make a very refined hummus, with several variations on a plate. For example, a kalamata hummus served with traditional pita chips and a basil-pesto hummus with tomato pita chips. It’s no better than my mother’s hummus, but it’s my version.”
Gov. Scott has become such a fan that he appointed Minas and his sous chef, Carin Butler, to represent the state in the 2011 Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans. “John is a talented chef and cooks up some of the best food I’ve ever tasted,” the governor announced. “He’s going to give those other chefs a run for their money.”
Minas presented a Florida black grouper with avocado crème fraiche and spicy shrimp toast that he said “tastes like the state of Florida on a plate.” He didn’t win, but he wasn’t discouraged.
“I’m just getting started,” he said. “The job and the people here are wonderful. I plan to be in Tallahassee for a long time. Then, who knows?”
Doug Kalajian is a retired journalist in Palm Beach County and Sous Chef at http://www.TheArmenianKitchen.com.
Article: Tallahasse Democrat: Foreign Journalists Spending Time at Democrat
The Tallahassee Democrat
Foreign Journalists Spending Time at Democrat
By Ashley Ames • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
Published: May 04. 2011 2:00AM
On April 22, two journalists from halfway across the world walked into the newsroom of the Tallahassee Democrat.
Ofelya Kamavosyan and Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu, both first-time visitors to the United States, are here for three weeks through the International Center for Journalist’s program, New Media, New Challenges: Turkish-Armenian-American Journalist Exchange Program.
Kamavosyan, who hails from Armenia, and Oztarsu, who is from Turkey, will be working as reporters at the Democrat.
ICJ’s program aims to develop professional skills and relationships between media professionals that will foster understanding, effective communication and collaboration between the three countries.
Kamavosyan and Oztarsu are hosted by Democrat staff for the duration of their stay, and at the end of three weeks their hosts will go to conferences in Turkey and Armenia to watch Kamavosyan and Oztarsu present on what they have learned. They are also working on a joint project for their presentation. Kamavosyan and Oztarsu are two out of 12 who were paired to participate in the program.
Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu, left, and Ofelya Kamavosyan are foreign journalists spending three weeks with the Tallahassee Democrat. (Photo by Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu)
Executive Editor Bob Gabordi said he is glad to have the Democrat participating in this partnership.
“We’ve had a long-standing relationship with ICFJ and have hosted journalists through the years from several former Soviet republics and Africa,” he said. “And now this is among the more interesting situations: two journalists from neighboring nations with a long history of distrust are here working together as a team.
“Their countries share a border that is closed to each other, and they have not had normal diplomatic relations for a very long time. Through their shared journalism and mutual respect, perhaps Mehmet and Ofelya can inspire progress. If we can be helpful by providing a common working environment, we are glad to do so.”
Ofelya Kamavosyan
I am an Armenian journalist working for the online daily armar.am. I also have worked for the daily Hayastani Hanrapetutyun (Republic of Armenia) for six years.
I have a bachelor’s in International Relations from Yerevan State University and a master’s in political science from Public Administration Academy of Armenia.
I previously worked at Armenpress News Agency as a correspondent. I cover both political and legal issues and events in Armenia.
I am 30 years old and this is my first time in the United States. During my first week with the Tallahassee Democrat, I have been impressed by the professional approach of the news staff and the extensive technical equipment available to the staff here.
This program is a good opportunity for us to learn how the American media operate, what are the differences and difficulties of our colleagues’ work. Everything is new for me here: the lifestyle, people, culture, nature and even English.
Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu
I am from Malatya, Turkey. I graduated from Baku Caucasus University with a focus on International Relations. I live in Yerevan and cover international politics for Turkish and Armenian media outlets.
I’m a co-author of “Nagorno Karabakh Conflict for 100 Questions,” an academic book for Qafqaz University. I have written another book, “Armenian Chronicles,” about my observations as a Turkish journalist working in Armenia. I am one of few Turks living in Armenia.
I am 25 years old and this is also my first time in the United States. It is a good experience for me. The style of journalism here, especially the business ethics, is very different from what I grew up with in Turkey.
I have found some Armenian people in Tallahassee and look forward to adding their observations to my book, “Armenian Chronicles.” It is scheduled to be published in the fall.
Florida Armenians 