Lamb Champions

Lachlan Mackinnon Patterson
Owner and chef, Frasca Food and Wine

Lachlan's burgeoning culinary career began at the Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1999 he moved to Paris to obtain his Certificate d'Aptitude Professionnelle at the prestigious Ecole Gregoire-Ferrandi. After completing his training, he apprenticed with Benoit Guichard at the famed Jamin, a Michelin two-star restaurant renowned for its classic French cuisine. Thereafter, he continued to hone his culinary skills working under owner and chef Guy Guilloux at La Taupiniere, a Michelin rated one-star restaurant in Pont Aven, Brittany.

Lachlan moved back to the United States in 2001 to join the staff of The French Laundry in Yountville, California, as chef de partie under chef Thomas Keller. His international experience and expertise in this role contributed to the restaurant's innovative menus and numerous awards. It is here that he also met his future business partner, Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey.

Lachlan moved to Boulder, Colorado in the fall of 2003 to join Bobby and to pursue their vision of opening a neighborhood restaurant reminiscent of the Frascas they had visited in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. Having researched and traveled throughout Italy many times, both were deeply inspired by this region in particular — the international influences of its cuisine, the profusion of local ingredients in its rustic yet elegant dishes, its passionate relationship between food and wine, and the gracious hospitality of the locals. Today Lachlan applies his culinary talents at Frasca Food and Wine to create innovative yet traditional dishes true to the indelible spirit of Friuli, Italy.

In 2005, Lachlan was named one of Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chefs” in America and was also recognized by the James Beard Foundation as the first-ever Rising Star Chef nominee in Colorado. Frasca Food and Wine was also cited on the 2006 Conde Nast Traveler “Hot List”; it was the only Colorado restaurant to appear on the 2006 Gourmet Top 50 Restaurants in the US list; and USA Today’s Jerry Shriver voted it as serving the 2007 “Meal of the Year,” topping some of the best restaurants around the world – from New York City to Paris. In March of 2008, Lachlan was once again nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Southwest. In addition, Frasca Food and Wine was named Colorado’s Top-Rated Zagat Restaurant in the recently published 2008 Survey, with a food rating of 28, décor rating of 24, and 27 service rating.

Frasca Food and Wine is a member of Colorado Proud.

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Martin Emigh Emigh family
Dixon, California

Fourth-generation rancher Martin Emigh from Dixon, California, hopes that someday one of his three teenagers will get into the family business. Raising sheep in the hills of Solano County, Emigh still tends to the land his great-grandparents settled on in 1877, plus a few new acres of his own. In all, he raises sheep on approximately 4,000 acres in the area, producing high quality American lamb for Superior Farms throughout the year.

And not only does Emigh produce the highest quality lamb on the market, it is certified with the Superior Farms “Pure Lamb” program, which means the animals are pasture raised and vegetarian fed with no added antibiotics or hormones, truly making his product the healthiest on the market. Not only that, but the Emigh Ranch has “gone green,” implementing solar powered water pumps.

Still, this modern family man has an authentic rural feel with his cowboy hat and boots, driving in his Ford truck and examining his different pastures. “It’s great,” says Emigh, “to be a part of this family business and to be able to continue to grow and make it better. And of course my kids have helped since they were small, after school and summers. I just can’t imagine not doing this.”

Martin Emigh encourages everyone to learn how to cook lamb!

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Chef Raimund Hofmeister Chef Raimund Hofmeister

Chef Raimund Hofmeister started his culinary career at age 14. A native to Germany, he was apprenticed and classically trained in Baden. As one of only 61 American Culinary Federation Certified Master Chefs in the U.S., he has proudly served Superior Farms lamb on his menus and even used a lamb recipe to win the ACF Educator of the year award in 2006. He founded the Los Angeles Culinary Institute and was ECO from 1991 to 1999. He was the Academic Director of Culinary Arts for the Culinary Institute of Las Vegas between 2002 and 2006.

Hofmeister’s career has included many prestigious locations. These include his stint as Executive Chef at Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles; Chef at Graf Orloff Premier Private Business Club in Moscow, Russia; Chef in charge of culinary events in Los Angeles for President Ronald Reagan and the first family from 1982-1990. With 40 years of international experience on four continents, Hofmeister has been awarded with several honors including:

The Culinary World Cup Competition with Team U.S.A., 1986, Luxembourg
Twelve Best Chefs in the US by “Best of the Best Finest Dining Awards”, 1992
Food Service Person of the Year, City of Hope,Los Angeles, 1992
Inducted into the International Food and Beverage Forum Hall of Fame, Johnson and Wales University, 2003
Gold medal winner Master Chef Challenge at the Chinese 5^th Annual Food Festival, Chongquing, China, 2004

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Chef Tim Love
New American Lamb spokesperson

New American Lamb spokesperson Chef Tim Love is considered the foremost pioneer of urban Western cuisine in America. His culinary achievements have received both critical and industry acclaim including the James Beard Foundation which nominated him as a Rising Star in 2003. Self-taught Love, known as the Cowboy Chef, has earned his reputation with his mastery of meat, specifically domestic cuts and game meats including steer, buffalo, American Lamb, turkey, red deer, antelope, and wild boar.

Love, a native Texan, opened his flagship restaurant, The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2000. Last year he added Duece, a modern European restaurant also in Ft. Worth and just opened The Love Shack in Ft. Worth, earlier this month.

When he isn’t making magic in the kitchen, Love hunts, drives cattle, does philanthropic work and enjoys family life with his wife Emilie and their three young children.

If you want to know more about Love look for him in the pages of such notable publications as The New York Post, Cowboys & Indians, Food & Wine and Bon Appetite. He is also scheduled to be on an upcoming episode of Iron Chef. Visit www.lovestyleinc.com for more information.

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Learn how to cook lamb the easy way.