We always love catching up with Chef/Restaurateur Chef Jordan Andino of big Flip Sigi here in NYC! In addition to bringing Filipino flavors and a great personality that you can see on a number of his shows, he is always working on his latest project that is bound to be exciting!
We caught up with him ahead of his newest show he's hosting on Netflix, Cook at All Costs on Dec 16th, to talk about his partnership with Allstate! The rise of mocktails has increased for those that don't drink alcohol or are the designated driver. He shares a recipe with us as well as how you can enter to win a limited-edition Allstate Good Sips mocktail kit with ingredients, tools and more. The kits are available in limited quantity via sweepstakes now through Dec 8th and you can enter and find out more on their Instagram post!
ATHLEISURE MAG: Obviously you know we are fans of yours and we loved having you as our NOV ISSUE 2018 cover as well as other times you’ve popped up! What is it about the holiday season that you love?
CHEF JORDAN ANDINO: Well listen, I love a lot of things obviously hearing your voice and seeing you again! But really for me, the best thing about the holidays is the fact that you get to be with people and you know, just really celebrate life and celebrate relationships that have really been building throughout the year. Because of that, a lot of people don’t realize that you’re sharing a lot of these times together and you really want to keep the roads safe and that’s why I’m here because Allstate has this legacy for safe driving advocacy and we’ve seen a big growing rise in popularity of mocktails. So they took that and used this climate to help promote safe driving for the entire holiday season.
AM: That’s great to hear and it’s crazy how the mocktail scene has just increased in general whether it’s restaurants adding more interesting cocktails or destinations that only serve them. What can you tell us about mocktails in general for those that may not be familiar with this?
CHEF JA: Ok, so everyone, mocktails is a cocktail without the alcohol. So let’s just put that out there. So then everyone says, why would you have a cocktail without the alcohol? Because! What a lot of people don’t realize is that you drink a cocktail because it will give you a head buzz and it will make you feel all loopy and whatever, but you know what? That’s not the main point! It’s because it’s a social drink and it’s fun to have a cocktail and to be out with people. So now, the alternative to cocktails and in this case, mocktails, are being made so that people can still be out, socialize, enjoy everything that is around you with other people, but all the while ensuring that you will get home safe.
So here, the Allstate Mocktail Collection gives people non-alcoholic options to enjoy not just now during the holidays, but year around as well.
AM: I know that you have created some signature mocktails. What do you suggest that we can have with our friends and family?
CHEF JA: There’s 3 of them that I created. So the 1st one is the 10 and 2. It’s an alcohol free version of an Old Fashioned. Then there’s the Silver Sage, a festive gin inspired one with cranberry, sage and a serrano pepper simple syrup, soda water and of course a sage leaf as a garnish. But the one that I am going to show you is the most important one which is this one right here. This is the Safetini. It’s like a non-alcoholic take on a classic Martini in this beautiful Allstate Blue.
I’m going to make it for you and it’s pretty simple! All you have to do is start with this lovely shaker which I need you to ask me about later so that we can touch on this. You have this shaker with a little bit of ice in it and what we’re going to do is we are going to take one measurement of the blue Curaçao syrup – this is going to give you the sweetness that you need in a drink and it also gives you that blue and a bit of aromatic. Then you're going to have another pour of the lime juice. The lime juice is really going to help you balance the entire drink and to make it delicious and then we’re going to take some mint. The mint has some elements that is two fold it will keep you concentrated, but not just that. It will also keep your drink minty fresh and delicious. So now we’re going to put on the lid and we’re going to shake and now it feels like I’m just the bartender making you drinks like we did before when you came to the restaurant. So take the lid off after shaking and you get that amazing Allstate Blue. Now we’ll top it off with a bit of soda water and there’s your drink with some cranberries right inside and of course a nice sprig of mint to really drive that home – it’s so delicious.
AM: Definitely looks like a fun drink and it’s great that you brought the point home that grabbing a drink is a social type of thing and whether you don’t drink alcohol at all or you are the designated driver, you still want to feel like you have something fun and Instagramable that you can take a picture of but knowing that there isn’t alcohol in there.
You were talking about this shaker – what’s going on with that?
CHEF JA: Ok I appreciate that pitch right there! Starting today, you can visit Allstate’s Instagram page for a chance to win a limited edition Good Sip Mocktail Kit. It comes with all of the ingredients and of course, the highlight of it is this amazing golden shaker! It’s so pretty and it’s perfect for the holidays. You can mix everything and anything in here and it’s a great way to serve up drinks and all the while, there’s no booze in here which means all of the roads are going to be safe thanks to Allstate.
AM: Love that and because I know you’re always on the move and have something going on – you have Flip Sigi, you’ve opened up various locations and you’re always on Food Network as a judge or a host, you’re hosting Cook at All Cost which is coming up on Netflix next month, what can you tell us about this show?
CHEF JA: That’s right! I’m very fortunate, very happy, very grateful! It’s called, Cook at All Costs and it airs on Netflix on Dec 16th – 8 episodes that will be released internationally to every Netflix account in the world! It’s a cooking competition, 3 home cooks are given $25,000 to start at the beginning. They go through 2 rounds that are 45 mins each and they use that money to bid on ingredients that will help them elevate their dish. Then the trick is, whatever money they don’t spend is the money that they take home if they win! It’s a fun kind of strategic part of it. I’m the chef and I go into auction mode so – I’m the chef, I’m the host, I’m the auctioneer and it’s so much fun and I can’t wait for y’all to see it.
AM: That’s super exciting is there anything else that you want us to keep an eye out for? I’m waiting to see when you’re going to be making a cookbook!
CHEF JA: Ok listen, unfortunately cookbooks take 2 years! Believe me, cookbook is in the works! If you really want to know, I have another restaurant opening in the West Village it’s called Carriage House. I’m really excited and it’s actually American Home Style fine dining and we’re launching that right after Thanksgiving! So stay tuned for that as well. It’s a busy busy year!
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Chef Jordan Andino
