Bombay Gin Tips Its Glass To The Pawpaw

Zak Renzetti-Voit © Larry Hamill

In this month’s issue of Gentlemen’s Quarterly, GQ teamed up with Bombay Sapphire to feature the nation’s most inspired bartender search.  Among the 41 bartenders is Zak Renzetti-Voit of Black Olive restaurant, located in the Columbus Short North district.

The magazine insert, printed in blue of course, contains each bartender’s unique recipe and the source of their inspiration.  Zak’s mission was to change people’s perception of gin by showcasing the spirit’s versatility, as well as showcase local Ohio produce.

During a three-day, end-of-summer event, hosted by the U.S. Bartender’s Guild, a team of master mixologists sampled each of the 41 gin based concoctions.  From a rooftop lounge, with the lights of Las Vegas sparkling in the evening air, Zak raised his glass to the pawpaw.  With a texture comparable to an avocado and a flavor that’s reminiscent of banana and mango, the pawpaw is the largest native tree fruit in North America.

Ohio Grown Pawpaw © Larry Hamill

This past September also marked the 11th year for the Ohio Pawpaw Festival. Held at scenic Lake Snowden in Ohio, the celebration featured foods and beer made from this nutritious fruit. The Ohio Pawpaw Growers Association served up a small collection of recipes that included pawpaw cookies, ice cream, pasta salad and a chicken Paw-B-Que sandwich.

Ohio's Annual Pawpaw Festival © Larry Hamill

Since attending his first pawpaw festival some years ago, State Senator Jimmy Stewart had been lobbing for state recognition for the fruit.  Stewart believed it held potential both in terms of tourism and agricultural revenues. According to organizers of the annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival, some of the largest and best tasting wild pawpaw patches on the planet can be found in southern Ohio.

Earlier this year, Gov. Ted Strickland signed a bill raising this obscure fruit to its new status as the native state fruit of Ohio.  George Washington would have been proud, as chilled pawpaw is reported to have been his favorite dessert.

Chris Chmiel, one of the founders of the Ohio Pawpaw Festival, said the fruit’s new status could become a marketing strategy for pawpaw growers. In an interview with Ohio University News writer Meghan McNamara, Chmiel said they are trying to educate people about the fruit. Around Athens, OH, pawpaws typically sell for $5 to $10 a pound, depending on size and quality. However, in order to introduce the pawpaw into the mainstream market, there needs to be improvements in the preserving and shipping of this delicate fruit.

Until then, you might want to try your hand at recreating Zak’s libation.  The following is Zak’s recipe for his BOMBAY SAPP-HIO.

CHEERS! © Larry Hamill

Shake 3 parts Bombay Sapphire Gin, 1 part Cointreau Orange Liqueur, ¾ part ginger and carnation-petal-infused simple syrup*, 4 parts pawpaw juice and a squeeze of fresh lemon with ice.  Strain into a chilled martini cocktail glass and garnish with a frozen ginger-marinated carnation pedal.

*Make the simple syrup with 1 cup granulated sugar cane, 3 cups boiling water, 3 cups diced ginger root and 2 cups carnation petals.

Posted by Pamela J. Willits

Another Banner Year for Columbus State

Columbus State Award Banner

Columbus State Community College, recently ranked the third largest educational institute in Ohio, recently honored teachers and staff.  As in years past, we had the opportunity to photograph the recipients, whose photos are reproduced onto six-foot high banners and displayed on campus throughout the academic year.

Through photilation, a technique of merging images with computer produced graphics, each recipient is portrayed will a background that illustrates their field of expertise.

Sudha Kolathu Parambil, Math Instructor

Four outstanding faculty members garnered the 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award and a staff member was named Employee of the Year at Columbus State’s annual Employee Celebration, held June 5 at Confluence Park.

The Distinguished Teaching Awards are given to faculty nominated by their students, following a classroom evaluation by a committee of master teachers. This year the awards went to Leslie Smith, professor in Mathematics; Julie Molnar, professor in Modern Languages; Gene Strickland, instructor of Integrated Media and Technology and Sudha Kolathu Parambil, adjunct faculty member in Mathematics.

Leslie Smith, Mathematics Professor

The Employee of the Year is James Stafford, network application programmer in Information Technology.

Service Awards for employees reaching five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five and thirty years of service to the college were also given.  Adjunct faculty and part-time employees with equivalent service in quarters were also recognized.

More than 500 attended the event, which featured dinner and dancing.

Information Security Magazine Receives Tabbie Award

Carnegie Mellon's CyLab © Larry Hamill

Kudos to Information Security Magazine for an honorable mention at this year’s Tabbie Awards. The Tabbies, awarded by Trade Association Business Publications International, recognize excellence in trade, association and business publications.

Maureen Joyce, creative director at IS Magazine, notified us of the honorable mention in the category of Front Cover – Digital Imagery. We produced the cover image of Marios Savvides, last fall at Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab.

Through the use of algorithms, Savvides is developing facial and iris recognition software at CMU’s biometrics lab. In the article entitled, Think Tank, Michael Mimoso writes that “it’s no surprise that most of this work is earmarked for use by certain three-letter government agencies…since criminals and terrorists are experts at evading detection.”

The 2009 Tabbie Awards received 500 entries, with nominations coming from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, France, China, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Germany and India. According to TABPI’s website, “judges were once again impressed by the quality of the submissions”.

Read more of Mimoso’s article on line.

Let us know what you think of this image and/or the growth of technology in monitoring society. Will Big Brother watching out for us come to be viewed as a positive influence on our quality of life?

German Village Photographer Receives Award

The German Village Society’s annual membership meeting, held May 17, included the presentation of the Fred and Howard Ambassador Award. We’re happy to announce that Larry Hamill was recognized this year.

Over the years, Larry has captured the glow of Schiller Park on Village Lights Night, the Haus und Garten Tour and documented a dozen residences of German Village, in the buff, for the society’s promotional calendar, “The Naked Truth: The Men of German Village”.

The society’s president, Brigid Butler, said they were lucky to have a gifted artist in German Village who contributes his talents so generously.