Posted on

Chef Rogers Returns to Kitchen of Romaine’s and Smokestack Urban Barbecue

Chef Neil Rogers during a Mass Foodies Test Kitchen Event (Mike Hendrickson)

Chef Cornelius Rogers announced yesterday that he’ll be re-joining the team at Romaine’s and Smokestack Urban Barbecue. He’ll be moving on from his position of Kitchen Operations Manager at Worcester Regional Food Hub, a job he accepted in March of 2017.

Returning to his roots, Rogers first worked with Richard Romaine and his team nearly twenty years ago as a Sous Chef. In today’s position, Rogers will focus on creating and executing pastries, charcuterie, butchering, and supporting the rest of the team in their daily responsibilities. On Facebook, Roger added, “I really missed cooking in my time at the hub, and felt like it was time to remedy that. I did pick up a side gig for a bit making pizza with Nate from Treehouse, which in and of itself was a once in a lifetime experience. Now it’s time to get back to what I’m good at: Making people happy with food and having a blast while doing it.”

In 2015, Chef Rogers was executive chef at Niche Hospitality’s  The Test Kitchen in Worcester, where he explored the collaborative “think tank” possibilities the space offered by working with other chefs at Niche’s eight restaurants.

Mass Foodies looks forward to seeing Rogers back where he thrives and drives.

Posted on

Be Good…Sippin’ Santa will be Watching at The Citizen

miracle at The Citizen

Miracle, the beloved Christmas-themed pop-up bar launched in 2014 in New York City, will continue spreading holiday cheer around the globe in 2018. It will return to Niche Hospitality’s The Citizen on Commercial Street as the brand celebrates its five-year anniversary. This year, Miracle will launch in over 80 locations around the world with Sippin’ Santa expanding to multiple locations in partnership with notable tiki-connoisseur Jeff “Beachbum” Berry.

Launching the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 23rd, Miracle locations throughout the United States and beyond will offer seasonally-themed cocktails in a festive setting through New Year’s Eve, Monday December 31st, 2018. Miracle creator Greg Boehm and long-time manager Joann Spiegel are pleased to be able to continue expanding the concept to new cities across the U.S. and to locations in Europe, Asia and Central America.

“The growth of Miracle and the love that guests have for this concept has been completely amazing,” says manager Joann Spiegel. “Our partnership with Jeff ‘Beachbum Berry’ will be a fun and new way to elevate our Sippin’ Santa locations this year as the love of tiki continues to grow in the U.S. Our partners across the world continually overwhelm us with their creativity and festive good spirits, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for all of our locations in 2018.”

Spiegel, together with esteemed bartender Nico de Soto of Mace and Danico, have created the much buzzed about roster of Christmas concoctions served at all Miracle locations, from favorites such as the Snowball Old Fashioned (Gingerbread Bourbon, Wormwood Bitters, Lemon Zest) to newcomers including Christmas Carol Barrel (Aged Rum, Aquavit, Amaro, Pumpkin Pie, Demerara Syrup, Lime, Vanilla, Angostura Bitters) and the And A Partridge In A Pear Tree (Reposado Tequila, Pear Brandy, Mezcal, Spiced Demerara Syrup, Lime, Egg White, Club Soda, Angostura Bitters, Cinnamon). All cocktails will be served in Cocktail Kingdom®’s custom Miracle glassware, from mugs to coupes, highballs and rocks glasses. Many locations will have these items available for purchase with Miracle donating 10% of select glassware sales to Action Against Hunger – making the perfect gift that keeps on giving.

Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, described as one of Imbibe magazine’s “25 most influential Cocktail Personalities of the Past Century”, has created tiki holiday-themed cocktails, that will be center stage at all Sippin Santa locations. This year’s roster includes drinks like the Kris Kringle Colada (Dark Jamaican Rum, Cynar, Allspice, Lime & Pineapple Juice and Cream of Coconut) and Hawaiian Milk Punch (Bourbon, Cream, Chai Syrup, Sarsaparilla and Tobacco Bitters, Nutmeg). Sippin’ Santa will pop-up in none other than Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 in New Orleans, in addition to tiki locations in Chicago, Sacramento, Washington D.C., Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, Springfield, and at Boilermaker in New York City, the original outpost for the concept.

The concept for Miracle was born five years ago, when upon the advice of his mother, Greg Boehm decided to halt construction of what was to be his new East Village cocktail bar Mace to transform the unfinished space into a pop-up bar serving holiday-themed drinks among festive décor. As crowds swarmed the NYC location, Boehm’s friends throughout the bar industry asked how they could recreate the holiday magic in their own bars and expansion became inevitable. Over the past few years, Miracle has expanded from 4 locations to over 50 in 2017. In 2018, Miracle in conjunction with Sippin’ Santa will reach a total of over 70 locations internationally at some of the most highly revered cocktail establishments around the world.