Meet the Staff: Chef Jake

Do you have any nicknames: The Hermanator, Sugar Beaver

How long have you been working at Beck’s? Since November, but I’ve always enjoyed Beck’s food and have been eating here a long time.

What’s your favorite Beck’s food? The Oyster Po Boy. I love Bill’s recipe.

When you’re not working, what do you like to do? I practice jiu jitsu. Jiu jitsu is a grappling art used for self defense. Everybody should have some basic training in self defense. A lot of chefs do jiu jitsu. That’s how I got into it—when I was working in fine dining.

Are you dangerous? No. And nobody who says they’re dangerous is dangerous and everybody’s dangerous in the right circumstances.

What belt are you? White belt. Red belt is the highest belt. It takes 30 to 40 years to get a red belt. I met a red belt once.

What’s your super hero power and why? That’s easy. Control metal like Magneto because then you can control the magnetic pull of the earth.

Ode to The Train Wreck, as written by a fan

So great, we had to post it again. Thanks, Jimbo, Beck’s Official Poet Laureate!

By Jim B.

Oh, great mash up of bovine and swine

Tossed greasily on a crusty roll with more satisfaction than 1,000 feasts

But unbeknownst to the tongues of those Muslim, & Hindu, & Vegan, & Jew…

As your name may suggest, you are the very depiction of carnage (in the flesh)

Just as wearily eyes are incapable of looking away, so are the mouths of men of turning away

As they yearn hungrily for your sloppy, beefy, cheesy goodness

Your creamy mayonnaise runs deep, deep within your warm center of salami and fried onions

And it is an obtainable spoil for even Scrawny Arms Rob Lowe to enjoy with messy dignity

For it is not without great condiments that any man should be laid to rest

Deliciousness is often fleeting

But yours is not, and it sends quivers down the spines of all with hearty appetites

Be it Adam Richmond, or Kobayashi, or Scooby Doo

The best description of its flavor: DIVINE

The best description of your affliction: INTOXICATING

And alas, the best description of your status post sandwich: COMATOSE

P.S. The Gator Gumbo rocks as well.  It’s a spicy, smoky bowl of reptilian joy.

Fall in love with Cajun Food . .bring New Orleans home!

We all love those sultry summer nights, but New Orleans’ fall season is scrumptious. The Saints marching in the Superdome, the Seafood Festival, Blues and BBQ, the Art Walk…these are just some of the amazing things that make New Orleans so unique in the autumn months. While every city around the United States is ramping up their food festivals, the lovely, rambunctious city of N’awlins, as the locals call it, brings the summer season to a close with a full-on celebration of all that this crisp and refreshing this time of year.

Picture yourself in a cardigan and boat shoes walking through the French Quarter, smelling not the heat and seduction of summertime, but the scents of fried shrimp and fires burning while you head to the New Orleans Film Festival, eating Beignets and drinking bourbon.

Get to Know Becks – Kimber

Cajunista Kimber is an enthusiastic young woman who has been working at Beck’s since 2009. Her father is the owner and she started working at the restaurant as soon as it opened, right after she graduated high school. Kimber has been working at Beck’s for so long that she has nicknames for all of her co-workers and says they know everything about her. When asked if she has funny stories about them, Kimber joked that “I have millions but I can’t think of anything work-related right now.”

Her favorite food at Beck’s is the Fried Shrimp Po Boy and the epic fan favorite, the gator gumbo. She recommends eating the gator gumbo with a spoonful of cornbread on every bite. When she is not working at Beck’s, Kimber’s main hobby is photography. She does mostly conceptual and self-portrait photography on an old-school 35mm camera. Kimber enjoys taking photographs and selling prints on the side.

Kimber says “working at Becks is awesome” and is excited about the new breakfast menu. She insists that every Philadelphian MUST try the savory Alligator Eggs Benedict. She enjoys working with the front of house staff and is eager to see how Beck’s continues to grow!

Beck’s Cajun Cafe Staff Love on the Pets at the PSPCA

What happens when Beck’s Cajun Café’s staff gets trained as PSPCA volunteers? They stay extra hours so they can cuddle and love on the pets. Pictured is Kimber and Grace with Holly. Holly’s a pit mix and has been at the shelter since Christmas!

The PSPCA has a fantastic pet volunteer trainer, and her name is Jennifer Johnston.  She gave our staff a tour of the shelter and shared some interesting facts, that we’d like to share with you!

• Clear the Shelters – will be held on August 19, 2017, from 10-5 pm. All pet adoption fees are waived.
• The Pit Bull breed was originally intended to be a nanny dog to watch over and protect children. The shelter is full of surrendered or abandoned Pit Bulls.
• Kitty Cam – The cat rooms have remote control toys, which you can move remotely using your computer to help entertain the cats in the play room.
• The 350 E. Erie location has a mini barn on site that can house up to 28 goats and 14 horses – these animals are considered property and the PSPCA get involved when there are disputes about who owns the animals or neglection of an animal.

Bring a little “who dat” to one of Pennsylvania’s Favorite’s – Scrapple

Need a satisfying yet surprisingly subtle, lower-fat version of Scrapple?  Why not put a Cajun twist on it and add shrimp and Andouille?  We’ve got just what you are looking for with Chef Bill Beck’s recipe. It is not too spicy and great with fried eggs and cheese on French bread as a specialty breakfast po-boy.

Take it from Chef Bill Beck, it brings a little “who dat” to one of Pennsylvania’s favorite foods!

Ingredients:

1.25 Lbs. Andouille Sausage
1 Lbs Shrimp, peeled, deveined,and raw
3 Cups Yellow Cornmeal
2 Cups Buckwheat Flour
2 Quarts Pork Stock (use low salt bouillon cubes or make your own from scrapes)
1.5 Cups Onion
2 Tbl Fresh Garlic
0.25 Tsp Mace
1 Tsp Oregano
2 Tsp Beck’s Devil Dust
2 ea Tbl Vegetable oil
To Taste: Salt and Pepper

Preparation:
1. Slice Andouille sausage links into four pieces per link, top to bottom
2. Medium dice onion and garlic, keep separate
3. Heat skillet, add half the veg. oil and lay Andouille sausage out like bacon and lightly caramelize in pan, do all and set sausage a side
4. In same pan while still hot, add rest of oil followed by the onion, cook till lightly caramelized. Then add the garlic, cook two minutes while stirring.
5. Add shrimp to the onion- garlic mixture and let simmer until the shrimp have released their liquid and the pan is dry.
6. Cool mixture for a couple of minutes, then combine with Andouillie and liquefy the mixture in a blender.
7. Put pureed mixture into sauce pan; add the seasonings followed by the cornmeal, buckwheat flour and the stock, add stock slowly stirring all the while.
8. Bring all to a simmer, and reduce for 10 to 15 minutes stirring all the while until the mixture is very thick and paste-like.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Butter loaf pans 3-4, pour in mixture, and refrigerate 4-6 hours till firm. Freeze well.
11. When ready to cook, cut and dredge in flour on all sides, cook in grease or oil until crispy and brown.

We’d love to hear from you when you try this recipe.  Please let us know on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram how it turns out!

Shrimp are Jumpin Out of the Bayou! Creole Shrimp Recipe

 

 

The shrimp are jumpin out of the bayou!  Quick scoop those clean and crisp shrimp up! Try cooking Chef Bill’s Creole Shrimp Recipe.  Guaranteed to get your Taste-buds a hoppin!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1. 3 TBL olive oil (divided into two equal portions)
2. 16 jumbo shrimp( 16-20 size)
3. 1.25 TBL Beck’s Angel Dust
4. 1.25 TBL Beck’s Devil Dust
5. 1 shrimp bouillon( Swiss Knorr does a acceptable product)
6. ¾ cup white wine ( chardonnay or pinot grisio)
7. 2 cups diced tomato
8. 4 oz celery, small diced
9. 4 oz green bell pepper, small diced
10. 4 oz onion, small  diced
11. 4 ea garlic cloves, sliced
12. 2tbl butter, unsalted
13. ½ cup water
14. 4 scallions, sliced on a bias (will use as garnish)
15. 4 cups white or brown rice cooked

 

Preparation:

1. Wash and dry shrimp
2. Toss with olive oil and Beck’s Angel Dust and Beck’s Devil Dust
3. Add to preheated sauté pan and sauté until halfway cooked (will be pink-white with plenty of “give” to the flesh)
4. Remove the shrimp and set aside while we stager cook the rest of the ingredients
5. Add celery, pepper, and onion, sauté till lightly caramelized (about 2-3 minutes)
6. Now add the garlic, cook till lightly browned about 30 seconds.
7. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, allow to flame up, and add bouillon cube.
8. Add the diced tomatoes and water, simmer for 2 minutes
9. Add the shrimp back to the pan cook for I minute
10. Cut butter into 4 equal pieces and add to the sauté pan, turn off the flame. Stir in the butter till fully incorporated into the dish.
11. Divide Creole shrimp into 4 equal portions in wide shallow bowls, pull the 4 shrimp per bowl to the outer edge of the bowl to allow room to put a nice round hot steaming scoop( ice cream scoop ) of rice in the center of the bowl and garnish with fresh scallion.

Need to add some Cajun flare to your next event?  Try Beck’s Cajun Catering at your next event.

The Philly Ice Cream Scoop Event @RTM on 7/29 –Beck’s Bananas Foster Flambé

 

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream! Do the memories come flooding back when you hear those words? Now you can make long lasting memories for your family by attending the biggest event of the summer! We’re so excited to be part of the Reading Terminal Market‘s event, The Philly Ice Cream Scoop on 7/29! Don’t miss this event from 10am-4pm in Center Court!

We’ll be serving up our famous Beck’s Cajun Café’s mouthwatering Banana’s Foster Flambé.  We’re teaming up with Bassetts Ice Cream , along with Franklin Fountain, Little Baby’s Ice Cream, Lil’ Pop Shop, Zsa’s Ice Cream, and more than 20 other merchants to dish up delicious frozen treats. Come visit Beck’s on July 29th and order some great tasting Bananas Foster Flambé! – follow Chef Bill’s video steps and you’ll make the best tasting Bananas Foster Flambé!

Get to Know Beck’s – Johan

Server Johan brings enthusiasm to the Beck’s table with his passion for people and interesting pursuits and hobbies. Johan found Beck’s through a Craigslist ad and immediately applied to the open position. He landed an interview the next day and was hired shortly after. Prior to working at Beck’s, Johan worked as a counselor at an addiction treatment facility. His professional experience in a service-oriented field helps him immensely at Beck’s as he interacts with customers hailing from vastly different backgrounds.

Johan brings a down-to-earth, positive attitude to Beck’s. He is at home with his Beck’s family, saying that “everyone is dope and I love them.” Johan’s favorite menu item is the infamous Gator Gumbo. In his spare time, Johan enjoys video games and working on various art projects. He hopes to travel more in the near future and eventually settle down with the right woman.

Get to Know Beck’s – Laura

Cajunista Laura enjoys the authentic New Orleans grub and family vibes at Beck’s. An enthusiastic young woman with a passion for photography, Laura first heard of Beck’s on a photo shoot with Beck’s manager Kimber. Kimber encouraged Laura to come in for an interview, insisting she would enjoy the upbeat work environment. Laura immediately felt at home at Beck’s. When asked what her co-workers don’t know about her, she responded with a laugh, “they know everything.”

Two of Laura’s favorite meals at Beck’s are the gator gumbo and the shrimp wrap. Laura also enjoys rock climbing, drinking beer, and volunteering at her church’s soup kitchen in her spare time. She keeps grounded with her hobbies and friendly attitude that her Beck’s family and customers appreciate!