STIR THE POTS

Tasting the stars

Luck was with me a few months ago, as a Twitter exchange with Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin (see below) won me dinner. A very good dinner, let me add. 

Yup, I found a photo online of another Le Bernardin, this restaurant in Winston Salem North Carolina. Thankfully I was able to schedule my prize after the holidays, but sadly missed Michael Laiskonis's famed desserts. Anyway, so off I went last week, my normally casual attire replaced by a jacket, tie... an entire suit. I was off to Le Bernadin!

Getting there, the rooms were buzzing. My wife noticed a famous Bollywood actor sitting across from us. What I immediately noticed was great service; water poured, wine list given, then taken away, with an inviting announcement that our wine was "taken care of, already." Remembering some nods and signals made between staff as we entered, I guessed that our Twitter award was going to be worth any need to put my neck under the strain of a suit and tie.  

From that point onwards, everything just became a dance of the senses, each dish's detail and array of flavors, well, I won't be overstating it to characterize it as amazing. Since words won't capture it as well as some photos, allow me to just share a few below. 

Gustare: To taste

The amuse was phenomenal, with us already gulping down some bubbly things were looking good.

Amuse: Tuna tartare, Sea Urchin, and Butternut squash soup.

1st Course:

Caviar Waygu Beef, Langoustine and Osetra caviar tartare black pepper vodka creme fraiche and gaufrette potatoes.

Wine: Montlouis "Triple Zero" Domaine de La Taille aux Loups NV

2nd Course:

Tuna: Ultra Rare Yellow Fin Tuna; Spiced Dashi gelée Green Peppercorn Iberico Chutney

Wine: Chablis "Vielles Vignes, Domaine Savary, Burgundy 2009

3rd Course:

Lobster:

Butter Poached Lobster Tail; Spiced celeriac, Earl Grey -Citrus Sauce

Sake: Yuki No Bosha, Yamahai Jumai, Akita

4th Course: Codfish

Codfish, Artichoke "Barigoule" Perigord Truffle Butter

Wine: Chassagne Montrachet, 1Cru Les Caillerets, Marc Colin 2006

5th Course: Hiramasa (Amberjack)

Laquered Hiramasa; Chayote Squash, Sofrito Broth

Wine: Barolo, Mirafiore, Piedmont, Italy 2007

6th Course: Black Sea Bass

Crispy Black Sea Bass; Pickled Cucumbers Black Garlic-Persian Lime Sauce

Wine: Syrah,Copain, Tous Ensemble, Anderson Valley, California 2009

Desserts:

Panna Cotta

Greek Yogurt, Candied Buhdda's Hand, Basil seeds

Wine: Torrontés Sparkling, Deseado Familia Schroeder, Patagonia

Chocolate- Olive Oil

Dominican Chocolate Cremeux, Toasted Bread, Brown Butter, Marcona Almonds

Wine: Passito di Pantelleria- Sangue d'Oro, Sicily 2009

Fin....

Thank you, Le Bernadin! Thank to your wonderful staff. Thank you, Twitter. And most of all, thank you Chef Eric Ripert. Next time you Tweet a request, fortune be with the lucky first reader.  

 

Student teaching the teacher...

Recently, my former mentor and boss, Chef Jean-Michel Bergounoux asked me about what flour I used when baking bread. I didn't think much beyond the fact that maybe he made a loaf occasionally at home or even if he was trying to make some bread for a special meal at his restaurant. We used to bake a lot when I worked with him over twenty years ago, but he surprised me by saying he'd taken up bread baking!

It all happened last Friday, when I paid him a visit at his restaurant, L'Absinthe. I found him in between shifts, sitting in the back as he polished off a pot au feu, a bunch of baking books next to him and a bag of breads from L'Ecole. I recognized one of the books instantly, "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Baking," a recent purchase of mine. It's virtually the short course I took at the French Culinary Institute, and includes the fundamentals of baking, whether it's hydration, flour types, pre-ferments or levains.

Jean Michel invited me up to his apartment to see his burgeoning "home labaratoire." Like a child in a toy store, Jean Michel's kitchen is filled with baker's tools, including a new Globe mixer, and a Bosch convection oven with two stones to mimic a bakers oven. And strewn on the counter were books surrounded by Jean-Michel's hand written notes - I recognized his familiar scrawl.

"Come on Jeremy," Jean-Michel said, "lets make some bread, if you got a minute?" He compiled a formula for  loaf of pain de campagne using a formula from Richard Bertinet. Then, as soon as the dough was mixed, Jean Michel wanted to try a baguette recipe I recognized  from famed Parisian baker Anis Bouabsa and which I recognized from  The Fresh Loaf. I reminded Jean-Michel that he should take time with all this bread baking, that he didn't want to rush. He chuckled at my concerns, telling me, " there you have it, the student teaching his teacher!"

Guess who came over for Thanksgiving!

Najat Kaanache Amghiraf

Gregoire Michaud

Meet Gregoire Michaud, world class chef patissier, baker, blogger, and native of Verbier, Switzerland. He's also currently the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong's Pastry Chef. And as author of four books that are filled with mouth watering, crowd tested formulas, you'll find a man with an anchor in what's been tried, but someone always looking to tweak tradition to create something new. In addition, Gregoire is involved in philanthropic charities, specifically Giving Bread, which reminds us how lucky we are that he enjoys sharing, now here to share with us on Stir the Pots. 

Click to listen

DNA (Derek and Alex)

Visiting Montreal, I was invited to eat at what sounded like a labratory or molecular restaurant called DNA. It's a terrific place, the science here mixed with great art created by Chef/Partner Derek Dammann and Wine director/Partner Alex Cruz (DNA's "Cuisine Complice"). 

Housed on the edge of the Old Montreal, it's an awe inspiring setting that delivers equal emotion in terms of food. A focus of the owners is to highlight Canadian products in terms of both food and wine.  

 

                                                          Chef Derek Dammann

Upon arriving with a party that included Montreal chef Michele Forgione, along with New York restauranteur Sarah Jenkins and her chef Lauren, we were given a tour of the facitlities, including the wine cellar where lots of Derek's home cured charcuterie hangs, literally. Then there's this amazing slicer....jaw dropping chef toy!

Dinner included an array of amazing dishes and wines. As Dana and Alex explained the cuisine, I snapped photographs, trying simultaneously to remember their words, capture the beauty of the scene, and also to sustain the succulence of all the flavors as long as possible. Enjoying a meal that could make you dizzy with delight, the evening became a wonderful blur which even affected my photographs (though let's blame that on the dimming of the lights).  

If I am so lucky to return again to Montreal, I will go back and visit, hopefully get a sample of nose to tail cuisine or more of that Sea Duck I had, how deliciously gamey and so Canadian!

I especially want to thank Michele Forgione, my host, for introducing me to two amazing gourmands, who by the way are headed to Noma, no doubt for some inspiration!

Thanks Alex and Derek, superb!

Osteria Venti, Michele Forgione

Over the Easter holidays I decided to head up to Montreal to visit a chef who I follow on Twitter, Michele Forgione of Osteria Venti. It turned out that my visit brought him another visitor, Chef and authour Sarah Jenkins of Pochetta in NYC.

 

My first day there, I also got to meet Michele's friend Marc Andre Cyr, someone else with whom I have corresponded with on Twitter. Marc and Michele both have encouraged me to see whats happening in the tight knit Montreal cooking community in Montreal. Their suggestion yielded rewards, letting me meet a community of dedicated and disciplined culinarians, cooking with esprit. 

Michele comes from Puglian stock, a proud Italian through and through. He makes simple and simultaneously delicious dishes that recall his childhood visits to his grandparents. From charcuterie to pasta, he stays true to the images and tastes that seem to be rooted deep in his soul.

What also impressed me was his team, from the newly hired restaurant front house staff in training, to several of his cooks who have followed Michele's career around Montreals kitchens.

 Michele loves his city, his heritage, and of course great food. I felt at home and pleased to find so many common interests and tastes in food with my new friend, and hope to go and visit a lot more. Especially if he lets me bake bread like I did this time, Pugliese bread of course!

 

 

Per Se, no not the restaurant....but the Chef!

What do you do when all hands are on deck, you're in the mad crunch and the last table of two is a member who owns restaurants. Then, later after paperwork, cleaning and planning the next meal, your boss tells you none other then Thomas Keller was the guest of that last table.

Yikes!  Well, here's what you do, of course. Look for the dupe, wondering what the hell he ordered. And then you worry whether it turned out well. Or not! And then you try not to think about it! Just knowing I crossed paths with this living legend, someone actually from my past... yikes, again. Because Mister Keller was chef at one of my previous kitchens, Restaurant Raphael. Now he has found me at the private club where I'm head chef. And I thought we were an "out-of-sight, out-of-mind club."

Deep breaths. And then some.

A moment of silence...(for Michael)

Yesterday I got sad news about my friend and chef Michael Kobylanski. Apparently, he passed away last weekend. It had been a beautiful day up till then, sun shining outside, inside cooking up a good lunch. The day reminds me of Michael. He wasn't just a dedicated cook. He was a lover of the Sarangi and all sorts of Eastern mystic stuff or other quirks that made him who he was. Special. I will miss him, whether for his politically incorrect jokes or his perfect imitation of one of the characters from Deliverance. 

He once greeted me at his apartment wearing overalls without a shirt. "Howdy Clem", he said, pinching his  nipple, a typical Michael-moment. The man was full of laughs, once spiking a waiter's egg sandwich with Nigerian cayenne pepper, which became a regular event. 

He also baked incredible breads, unorthodox and with a hand feel approach. His  pizzas were brilliant. And as an innovator, he always encouraged us not to follow the mise-n-place list of our former chef, a guy characterized by over-seasoning, herbs and copious amounts of flavored lipids. What was hilarious was the same chef tasting our food, believing we'd followed directions, telling us how wonderful it turned out because of his specialized ingredients. Knowing better, Michael and I just listened, sharing a grin. 

What I most recall was Mike's professional irreverence. He never could seriously respect the food wannabe, or the superstar chefs. Mike would much prefer eating at home with his beloved wife Renata than try the latest trendy supposed hot-spot. Not that he always stayed home. He sought interesting eats with passion, and looked to push the imagination of younger chefs. I'll always recall him encouraging those working under us. In the stress filled and sometimes less then friendly field we call cooking, Mike stood out as a stand-up guy.

I have so many stories I could share of my good friend, I am sorry we didn't spend as much time together to gather more memories, but I wish him sunshine and good lunches and love, wherever he is. 

Rest in peace friend, dziękuję.

Motorino

Just like me to get on the pizza craze kind of late and miss out on Anthony Mangieri's famed Una Pizza Napoletano while he was still in NY. But not to worry, there is pizze  being made there again, that of Chef Mathieu Palombino at his new outpost  Motorino.

 

It's definitely made some waves, the likes of Rachel Ray anointing it amongst others with the seal of approval...at first I was sort of turned off, with the thought of a good thing turned out or spoiled by fame, plaudits and celebrity...but I was hungry the other day  and was itching to try some pizze! I had already seen Mike Colameco's recent show where he tried some pizze at  the flagship, Motorino in Williamsburg. Mike usually is a good indicator whats hot  and I like the places he goes to.

So upon entering the minuscule storefront that is well manicured and well tended by a sharp staff, I couldn't wait, just the first sighting of a charred, puffy and steaming pie made me even more hungry.

So my wife and I perused the menu and ordered the signature Octopus and warm potatoes flecked with pepporoncino, capers, celery, parsley.The wife ordered some non-descript mixed green salad, simple unpretentious, with some health factor or reasoning I suppose?

We ordered a pizze to share, the spicy sopressata pizze along with a fabulous barley ale from Sardinia.

 

We quickly polished off the first pie and I couldn't help but order an other.This time the special of the day with chopped ramps....my wife doesn't really enjoy pizze like I do, but she helped wipe out the two, exclaiming how good it was and so lite!

The acoustics were a bit loud with the peoples voices drowning out the old school playlist of Elvis and Sinatra, but I was entrenched in my birra and fabulous pie, oh yeah, the service was tops! Vespa, taxi, bike or whatever, get some pizze!

Small world

Yes I am endeavoring to cut back on social networking. Facebook. Twitter. The latest, Posterous. But it's fun when you see old friends, army buddies, and meet new food oriented people like, well, a lot of your readers.

Recently, such networking reconnected me with Bob del Grosso. Talk about "blast from the past. I met Bob not long after getting out of the Army. It was my second professional kitchen job, a place no longer in existence called Le Coq Hardi. Yet, the memories are fresh as ever; its copper bar, the oysters (which I shucked), the chores of making granite to cleanse the diners palates. This was back at the end of the 80's, when food was really blooming in America.

Bob was an erudite, well read man. I recall his copy of Escoffier, along with his quiet, serious demeanor as he worked, always precise in his movements on the line. A man of few words, save for explaining method and techniques, lots of thinking and no wasted movements. So when we touched base through a mutual friend, and I found he writes just as eloquently as he spoke back then (a bit of humor and of course seriousness, focus on food and a bit on politics), well, it's a joy.

So let me share the joy. Even if we only worked three months together, the shifts we enjoyed together induced so many memories and lessons, remembered to this day, etched from the heat and blur of a busy kitchen. Click here and enjoy him like I did. And do.