Stephen Frank, Chef de Cuisine at The Turtle Restaurant in Brownwood is scheduled for the Culinary Tent at the San Saba River Pecan Jam during the October 20 Pecan Jam festival. He will share his passion for foods in a cooking demonstration with festival goers at 3 p.m.Chef Stephen, fondly known as “Bubba,” was born into a family of food. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago Bubba started at a young age in the kitchen helping his parents prepare meals around the same time he started Kindergarten. His parents, former restaurant owners in Arlington, TX (his father’s home town) have very different cultural backgrounds. This is reflected through his cuisine, drawing on his mothers Italian and Mediterranean style; as well as his father’s soul and southwestern style. Since taking over at Turtle he has changed the menu drastically and is now serving mostly rustic Italian, even several varieties of fresh homemade pasta, but also offers a variety of other flavors. Recent offerings include everything from blackened scallop chile relleños with a chipotle cream sauce to grilled lamb tenderloins with tzatziki sauce. You can follow him on twitter @ TheTaestro and see how he is conducting an orchestra of flavors!In 2009 he graduated from McMurry University in Abilene, before returning to Chicago where he opened a catering business. About a year later he returned to Texas to be with his girlfriend who was caring for elderly family members.When Bubba walked into The Turtle Restaurant, he immediately knew that it would be his new culinary home. Unlike many chefs, he remains calm under pressure and enjoys meeting customers, often inviting them to taste something new while listening to their suggestions.Mary and David Stanley are owners of the fine dining restaurant, which is located in historic downtown Brownwood. Mary also serves as the restaurant’s Gelato Artisan crafting over 16 flavors of gelato and sorbetto. The Turtle and Gelateria have been featured in Texas Highways, Edible Austin, and Edible Dallas Ft. Worth. The Turtle’s Enoteca showcases wines from Italy and Texas and received the coveted Award of Distinction in 2009 from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.The Stanley Family recently took Chef Bubba to SIGEP in Rimini, Italy to assist in picking out new pasta making equipment and experience the cuisine of his mother’s ancestral country. Kevin Wenzel of Wiseman’s Chocolate House will be back by popular demand demonstrating the techniques for making chocolate and pecan confections at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Kevin has been creating award winning chocolates in an historic building in Hico since 1996.Jim Brozo of San Saba will take the stage at 11:30 for a demonstration of his products in a shrimp dish with local pecans. Jim, an avid cook and former restaurateur, spent 25 years in the produce business in South Texas. When he sold his produce company and had more time to pursue his interest in cooking, he began to search for high quality olive oils to enhance his foods. This interest led him and wife, Linda to open San Saba Olive Oil Company this summer. They retired to San Saba County in 2007 where they have experimented with olive tree plantings on their property.For additional information about this year’s festival, please visit usonline:www.pecanjam.com