Local chef shares passion for cooking on Internet show

Joe Arvin is crazy about cooking and he wants to pass along his passion for the culinary craft to the masses.

Arvin, chef/owner of Smashmouth in Schererville, is serving up flavorful recipes and displaying his charismatic personality on a new Internet show titled "Mad Love Cooking."

"With this show, I want to portray that true passion for life, family, relationships and food," said Arvin, prior to the taping of his first "Mad Love Cooking" show.

The first episode, which can be seen at www.madlovecooking.tv, debuted Jan. 22. The show is taped in a local family friend's kitchen with Allyn Hane of Blue Suit Media L.L.C. as executive producer.

Through "Mad Love Cooking," Arvin will highlight various stories of visitors to his Internet site — all the stories will involve food in some way — and he'll choose a recipe they've shared, or asked him to research and then recreate it in his own style.

"They can tell me about the flavors they remember (from their childhood) and I'll research it and find it," he said.

"What I'm trying to get across (in the show) is that anything in life somehow revolves around food, whether it's your first date, someone's won a championship ballgame and you want to celebrate or it could be Sunday and you want to share a meal with your family," he said.

The majority of our memories in life, he said, are often tied to food or a meal.

Arvin, who previously had a show on YouTube filmed at Smashmouth last year, said he enjoys sharing recipes with others. And with the "Mad Love Cooking" concept, he's looking forward to getting feedback and correspondence from people across the country with interesting tales.

On the first episode, Arvin created a Dutch Pepperpot Soup with Dumplings.

The recipe was inspired by correspondence from Dixie Plotts Campbell of Kentucky who asked Arvin about a dish her father grew up eating.

"She said her paternal grandmother made it for her father. And her father was from Pennsylvania," explained Arvin.

So the chef did some digging and came up with a Dutch Pepperpot Soup, which sounded similar to what Campbell described. Arvin then added his own touches to it and also included dumplings into the mix.

"I take a lot of recipes and modernize them," he said. "My take on food is to take everything old and make it a little bit new."

Part of Arvin's culinary mission revolves around the idea to "Inspire....Dream...Cook."

The chef, who grew up in Lexington, Ky., attended culinary school at Baltimore International Culinary College. He enjoys experimenting with various flavors and is also versed in Italian and Mediterranean styles of cooking as well as the Southern dishes he grew up eating.

Arvin has said he's intent on bringing "boldness" to cooking.

The chef and his wife Sarah, are the parents of four children. And Sarah continues to be one of the chef's biggest cheerleaders.

"I back everything he does," Sarah said. "I believe in him. He knows food like nobody else."

Arvin, who's also a baseball coach, said the term "Mad Love" is one his children and kids he coaches are familiar with.

"All of them know it. I always say 'I've got Mad Love for all you kids,'" he said.

It's that passion for people, life and good food that Arvin said he  stresses always.

"I remember meeting Paul Prudhomme and he said 'Don't ever lose your passion for cooking.'"

Arvin took that advice to heart and never tires of bringing joy to others through food.

In celebraton of Valentine's Day, Arvin is requesting visitors to post their love stories on his website. He'll then post those stories on Mad Love's Facebook fan page and ask people to vote for their favorite story. The winner will then get a five-course dinner prepared by Arvin in their home. Relay your story at www.madlovecooking.tv

The following recipe is from the first episode of "Mad Love Cooking."

DUTCH PEPPERPOT SOUP WITH DUMPLINGS

For Dumplings:

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons milk

Beef Soup:

3-1/2 pounds beef, cubed or beef strip loin

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 medium potatoes, small diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons pepper (or to taste)

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 tablespoon marjoram

1 pinch of cumin

DIRECTIONS: Mix dumplings: In a mixing bowl, add the eggs and sift in flour and salt. Blend. Roll out lightly on a floured board, until very thin. Cut into squares and let dry on cloth for an hour. Or, if you prefer to make them "Joe style," pull the dumplings directly from the dough lump and drop into stock pot. Beef Soup: In slow cooker on high add butter and let it brown. Then add in veggies and spices. Place meat in also. Add water to cover the beef and let simmer in slow cooker 8-10 hours. Next day remove beef, let stand a few minutes. Pour remaining broth into stock pot and bring to slow boil. Pull beef into shreds and add back into stock pot, then add dumplings. Simmer dumplings 10-12 minutes (or until cooked), stir in and serve.