Chef Jam tonight

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Tonight with Chef Jam

Chef Jam 2010 at promotes Cleveland-area restaurants with food, rock music
Published: Friday, June 11, 2010, 12:00 PM Updated: Friday, June 11, 2010, 2:13 PM
Michael Heaton, The Plain Dealer


Donn R. NottageCrop Bistro owner and chef Steve Schimoler, right, jams with Bootsy Collins at a 2009 event at the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern in Cleveland.
Steve Schimoler, the chef-owner of Cleveland's Crop restaurant, may mince homegrown garlic and chives, but he doesn't mince words. "Not to be crass, but if you own a restaurant in this town, you get asked to donate to every charitable event imaginable," he said recently. "And we do it. I thought, why don't we have an event to promote us?"

Thus was born Cleveland Food Rocks, an organization thatpromotes the best this town has to offer in the way of tasty comestibles. In 2009, the events were tied into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, which took place in Cleveland.


This year, Schimoler has come back with Chef Jam 2010, in which 25 local chefs will be offering rock-music-related dishes Sunday night at the Rock Hall to raise money for Cleveland Food Rocks and the Rock Hall education department. Some of the chefs who are musicians will also be playing. Schimoler is a drummer in Cream of the Crop.

Bands made up of employees of the Greenhouse Tavern, the Happy Dog and Melange will be playing in addition to Schimoler's group. And, oh yeah, Todd Rundgren will round out the evening.

"Todd has been to Crop a half-dozen times and always enjoyed it," said Schimoler. "He's doing this for free, because he loves Cleveland, the Rock Hall and good food."

PREVIEW

Chef Jam 2010

Where: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., Cleveland.

When: 7 p.m. Sunday.

Cost: $50.

More info: clevelandfoodrocks.com.
The Long Island native whose restaurant has been thriving on West Sixth Street for six years believes Cleveland's undying support of music and food makes this an ideal place for events and organizations like those put on by Cleveland Food Rocks.

"Shame on us if we don't leverage the great food and music so abundant in this town," said Schimoler.

Besides his own Grateful Dead-inspired Backpack Burritos, other offerings include:

• Moxie: Pink Floyd, "Dark Side of the Moon" Pies.

• Dante: LSD, Lemon-Scented Doughnuts.

• Bar Cento: Phish, "Bathtub Gin" Gumbo.

• Melange: George Thorogood and the Destroyers, "Bad to the Bone" Ribs.

• Blue Point Grille: Ramones, Oysters Vindaloo.

• ABC Tavern: Meatloaf.

• Prosperity Social Club: Hank Williams, Jambalaya.

• Johnny's Downtown: Frank Zappa, "Yellow Snow."

Rock Hall President and CEO Terry Stewart is on board with the concept.

"Steve is a great champion for the Cleveland restaurant community, a fabulous chef, and a pretty good drummer to boot," said Stewart. "He's also a passionate promoter who understands how Cleveland's rock and roll identity can be used as a headline for the entire Northeast Ohio community."

Schimoler said that working in a restaurant has much in common with being in a band.

"The menu is like a set list," he said. "You need everybody in the kitchen cooking/playing together. The rhythm, melody and harmony are like flavor texture and aroma. Coming up with a recipe is like writing a song. Great music and great food create memories."