Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Don’t Play With Your Food (file under categories Things Your Parents Should Not Have Said to You)
Heston Blumenthal’s More In Search of Perfection is truly an incredible book with the perfect marriage between the visceral animalistic response to food on a palette level AND the science behind the bodies response to food. His dense writing and extreme scientific approach to food makes it almost unreachable for the uninitiated. I have to tell you that being a cerebral (left and right brain) guy I find his work challenging. Moreover, the processes which he uses seem like something straight out Blade Runner or Star Trek as opposed to a kitchen.
Nonetheless, Heston opens up a world that once was foreign to me. I remember a long time ago I told my littlest brother that in order for something to become easy for him to learn he had to find a context appropriate to something that was second nature to him. In his case it is cars, for me, obviously, it is food. I hated science, I wasn’t very good at it, though I could pick up the concepts they meant nothing to me. That is until now.
Heston opened my eyes (as have all the books I’ve read thus far) to Chefs from across the ages. In this blog entry I am going to speak about Heston Blumenthal, one of his restaurants The Fat Duck and some of the chefs that he has exposed me to AND as a result of that exposure my firm belief that no parent should ever say to their child; “Don’t play with your food.”
Heston Blumenthal will travel to almost any length in order to find for him what equals ‘perfection.” Of course the very word itself proposes a problem. What “perfection” is to me may not be to another person. However his approach is methodical, scientific and of course tempered by his utter appreciation of food and the entire body experience.
He states that food is a multi – sensory experience; the look, aroma, texture, sound and taste all are part of the experience. Heston, in his search for perfection is looking for the perfect marriage of the body – brain experience. This is a very interesting concept to me as I believe (much less so in Europe or the Far East where the concept of a meal IS the experience itself) that food is looked at as merely sustenance. Something that we do only to fuel our bodies. I for one have never ascribed to this point of view. I through the years have thrown probably hundreds of dinner parties. At each I was trying to create an experience. Something that beyond the food would be remembered for years to come. I have included some of the photographs of meals I have made over the years here. Food is at its core a celebration of life itself. It is an experience that has become rushed in North America (as Exec Chef and I bemoaned at the event last week). I asked if we could change the culture of food here and he answered that he didn’t think so because we have had ‘fast food’ ingrained into our culture and it is difficult to overcome that. Perhaps I will in the future be able to overcome that. Only time will tell.
One of the great chefs that Heston introduced me to is Hannah Glasse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Glasse ). In short Hannah was the author of The Art of Cookery. The kitchen is an environment that as I’ve mentioned earlier is predominantly run by men. Hannah, a trail blazer on the title page of her book wrote; “THE ART OF COOKERY, Made PLAIN and EASY; Which far exceeds any THING of the Kind ever yet Published.” Many believe that food of a high quality is generally unreachable by the every day chef. However, Hannah challenged this belief and was highly regarded for her efforts (many even believed it was a man that wrote the book). If you read through the brief Bio of her at Wikipedia you will see that some even credit her as ‘The Mother of the Modern Dinner Party.’
Louis Lassen is the owner of Louis’ Lunch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis'_Lunch and http://www.louislunch.com/ ) in New Haven, Connecticut. Heston came across him while trying to find hamburger perfection.
Lassen is credited by the Library of Congress as being the first to serve Hamburgers and Steak Sandwiches in the United States. The burgers are made the same way today by the fourth generation of Lassens’ as they were by Louis over one hundred years ago. Moreover, he grills them on Bridge Beach’s Co No.1 Patent January 11, 1898. This of course is my birthday and I found it particularly interesting as now I’m paying careful attention to just about everything. You never know where that EUREKA moment is going to come from.
Also on the search for the perfect burger Heston ended up at Le Parker Meridien. Not exactly the place you’d expect to find the best burger unless you were thinking about some kind of Foie Gras melt in your mouth $200 burger. But of course New York is filled with surprises and I’ll be sure to get C to go and try this highly recommended burger. The Executive Chef there is Emile Castillo. There is a very small corridor that leads to one of the best burger joints in the whole of the United States (http://www.parkermeridien.com/eat4.php ) . I will give you a first hand understanding of it once I get my reporter on the beat C to go. There is not much on Emile Castillo but as I find out more I will let you know.
In Search of the perfect Peking Duck Heston travels to Beijing, China. Da Dong was one of the many chefs at the state run Quan Ju De. As an interesting aside Heston points out that a placard there read; “Quan Ju De opened in 1864. It has served 115,390,636 since then.” I can’t even imagine. Can you? At any rate Da Dong is an incredible chef who is trying to put food into a cultural context. It is widely suggested that this is the finest Peking Duck anywhere in Beijing. My supposition then is that if it is the best there then it must be the best in the world. Again there is not much information about him out there but when I find more I will pass it on. Though I will say if Blumenthal says that he is a rising star I am sure to believe it.
George Blanc is a fourth generation restaurateur with a twist (http://www.georgesblanc.com/ ). His passion and drive have caused him to turn the small town of Vonnas, France into a virtual Blanc monopoly. He is widely considered one of the greatest restaurateurs in France and certainly one of the best chefs in the world. As a side note he did try to bring some of his famous Bresse to Canada for a showcase but was not allowed as it did not meet Canada’s stringent rules.
I mention each of these because I have the utmost respect for Blumenthal. If he finds these people worth exploring further than I feel I must.
So how does all this relate to my subject heading?
Who among us has not heard from our parents; “Don’t play with your food?” Every single one of us I’m sure. Now my question to you my loyal readers is this; Would Heston Blumenthal be who is today if he did not play with his food? Would I be on the journey that I’m on today without playing with my food? Therefore parents, please don’t tell your children not to play with their food, you may just have a budding three star chef on your hands.
I hope you’re enjoying my journey. As this is the don’t tell your kids not to play with their food entry I thought the following quote was particularly fitting from Walter Savage Landor; “A good cook is the peculiar gift of the gods. He must be a perfect creature from the brain to the palate, from the palate to the finger's end.”
When today you find that you would normally be upset, LAUGH! You’ll find it is quite good medicine. Be inspired today and take that LEAP towards fulfilling your dream. It all starts with just one step.
Al la prochaine.
SDM
Nonetheless, Heston opens up a world that once was foreign to me. I remember a long time ago I told my littlest brother that in order for something to become easy for him to learn he had to find a context appropriate to something that was second nature to him. In his case it is cars, for me, obviously, it is food. I hated science, I wasn’t very good at it, though I could pick up the concepts they meant nothing to me. That is until now.
Heston opened my eyes (as have all the books I’ve read thus far) to Chefs from across the ages. In this blog entry I am going to speak about Heston Blumenthal, one of his restaurants The Fat Duck and some of the chefs that he has exposed me to AND as a result of that exposure my firm belief that no parent should ever say to their child; “Don’t play with your food.”
Heston Blumenthal will travel to almost any length in order to find for him what equals ‘perfection.” Of course the very word itself proposes a problem. What “perfection” is to me may not be to another person. However his approach is methodical, scientific and of course tempered by his utter appreciation of food and the entire body experience.
He states that food is a multi – sensory experience; the look, aroma, texture, sound and taste all are part of the experience. Heston, in his search for perfection is looking for the perfect marriage of the body – brain experience. This is a very interesting concept to me as I believe (much less so in Europe or the Far East where the concept of a meal IS the experience itself) that food is looked at as merely sustenance. Something that we do only to fuel our bodies. I for one have never ascribed to this point of view. I through the years have thrown probably hundreds of dinner parties. At each I was trying to create an experience. Something that beyond the food would be remembered for years to come. I have included some of the photographs of meals I have made over the years here. Food is at its core a celebration of life itself. It is an experience that has become rushed in North America (as Exec Chef and I bemoaned at the event last week). I asked if we could change the culture of food here and he answered that he didn’t think so because we have had ‘fast food’ ingrained into our culture and it is difficult to overcome that. Perhaps I will in the future be able to overcome that. Only time will tell.
One of the great chefs that Heston introduced me to is Hannah Glasse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Glasse ). In short Hannah was the author of The Art of Cookery. The kitchen is an environment that as I’ve mentioned earlier is predominantly run by men. Hannah, a trail blazer on the title page of her book wrote; “THE ART OF COOKERY, Made PLAIN and EASY; Which far exceeds any THING of the Kind ever yet Published.” Many believe that food of a high quality is generally unreachable by the every day chef. However, Hannah challenged this belief and was highly regarded for her efforts (many even believed it was a man that wrote the book). If you read through the brief Bio of her at Wikipedia you will see that some even credit her as ‘The Mother of the Modern Dinner Party.’
Louis Lassen is the owner of Louis’ Lunch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis'_Lunch and http://www.louislunch.com/ ) in New Haven, Connecticut. Heston came across him while trying to find hamburger perfection.
Lassen is credited by the Library of Congress as being the first to serve Hamburgers and Steak Sandwiches in the United States. The burgers are made the same way today by the fourth generation of Lassens’ as they were by Louis over one hundred years ago. Moreover, he grills them on Bridge Beach’s Co No.1 Patent January 11, 1898. This of course is my birthday and I found it particularly interesting as now I’m paying careful attention to just about everything. You never know where that EUREKA moment is going to come from.
Also on the search for the perfect burger Heston ended up at Le Parker Meridien. Not exactly the place you’d expect to find the best burger unless you were thinking about some kind of Foie Gras melt in your mouth $200 burger. But of course New York is filled with surprises and I’ll be sure to get C to go and try this highly recommended burger. The Executive Chef there is Emile Castillo. There is a very small corridor that leads to one of the best burger joints in the whole of the United States (http://www.parkermeridien.com/eat4.php ) . I will give you a first hand understanding of it once I get my reporter on the beat C to go. There is not much on Emile Castillo but as I find out more I will let you know.
In Search of the perfect Peking Duck Heston travels to Beijing, China. Da Dong was one of the many chefs at the state run Quan Ju De. As an interesting aside Heston points out that a placard there read; “Quan Ju De opened in 1864. It has served 115,390,636 since then.” I can’t even imagine. Can you? At any rate Da Dong is an incredible chef who is trying to put food into a cultural context. It is widely suggested that this is the finest Peking Duck anywhere in Beijing. My supposition then is that if it is the best there then it must be the best in the world. Again there is not much information about him out there but when I find more I will pass it on. Though I will say if Blumenthal says that he is a rising star I am sure to believe it.
George Blanc is a fourth generation restaurateur with a twist (http://www.georgesblanc.com/ ). His passion and drive have caused him to turn the small town of Vonnas, France into a virtual Blanc monopoly. He is widely considered one of the greatest restaurateurs in France and certainly one of the best chefs in the world. As a side note he did try to bring some of his famous Bresse to Canada for a showcase but was not allowed as it did not meet Canada’s stringent rules.
I mention each of these because I have the utmost respect for Blumenthal. If he finds these people worth exploring further than I feel I must.
So how does all this relate to my subject heading?
Who among us has not heard from our parents; “Don’t play with your food?” Every single one of us I’m sure. Now my question to you my loyal readers is this; Would Heston Blumenthal be who is today if he did not play with his food? Would I be on the journey that I’m on today without playing with my food? Therefore parents, please don’t tell your children not to play with their food, you may just have a budding three star chef on your hands.
I hope you’re enjoying my journey. As this is the don’t tell your kids not to play with their food entry I thought the following quote was particularly fitting from Walter Savage Landor; “A good cook is the peculiar gift of the gods. He must be a perfect creature from the brain to the palate, from the palate to the finger's end.”
When today you find that you would normally be upset, LAUGH! You’ll find it is quite good medicine. Be inspired today and take that LEAP towards fulfilling your dream. It all starts with just one step.
Al la prochaine.
SDM
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Passion
I’ve become quite comfortable with Brunch now. I, as always, arrived early for work and started at it right away. I’ve taken to writing a little something each day I work on butcher paper. I am keeping them all and will someday publish them. I had an internal argument as to whether or not to share an example with you here and guess what; the writing won. As I have shared here, none of this would have been possible with out the love and support of my friends and family. C, especially, has been my guardian angel. She has stood by me when no one else would. She is a true marvel in the world and I am fortunate to know the love we share. Most of what I’ve written so far has been a tribute (albeit nowhere near adequate) for the love, support, guidance and little (read necessary kicks in the ass) pushes along the way. I love you C;
Finally
Finally,
At peace with myself,
The internal dialogue a consistent strife,
Keeping me from me,
Has quieted,
Being replaced by the fan fare of trumpets,
Heralding my awakening,
Signaling a bright future,
Personal,
With love as my guide,
And too personal,
As in the kitchen,
I’ve come to find,
ME;
You are my beacon,
The prism of my soul,
Without whom none of this would be possible,
As I start another day,
Stepping into my future,
Now,
I am reborn,
As too is our love,
And I am grateful.
When I write it takes me about two or three minutes to produce something like that. I don’t think about it before or during. It is more like I am a conduit and the universe, God, or whatever you would like to term it, is flowing through me. It is my fervent desire that food becomes the same way for me. Not thinking about it (as I find that we are often in the way of ourselves) but instead further building on my intuition with food. Grasping all the knowledge I can so that I can become what I’ve always said I wanted to be. A RESTERAUNTEUR.
So I set up for brunch and then ran out for a smoke as again I was in the front of house. Brunch delivers me the opportunity to come face to face with some of Reservations clientele. As I mentioned last week at brunch, again this week, one man and a woman both mentioned that I was beaming. Asking why I gave them the same answer I gave last week; “How could I not be, I’m living my dream!”
The funny thing about dreams is that everyone has one. But not everyone is willing to do what it takes to make his or her dream a reality. Taking that first step that brought me into the kitchen was not easy. BUT, the moment I put on my whites for the first time. I knew. I KNEW that I was where I belonged and since then I have been reassured many times both by others and by that once really ugly voice inside of me that now sounds like my angel (C). That voice has made all the difference in my life now. I’m no longer running away from myself. From what I want. From WHO I AM!
After brunch was over we naturally ripped it down and cleaned the kitchen. I had asked Head Chef if he wanted to go for a beer after I was done work and he said he had a meeting but that he would love to after it was over.
I went over to our sister restaurant to let Head Chef know that my cell was dead but that I was going to go over and have a drink. He suggested that I have a seat at the bar (I asked if it was okay for me to have a drink there as in my contract it says that I can’t drink at work). He said sure. I had a Makers Mark. Haven’t had one in years but just felt like it.
After that Head Chef and I walked towards our next destination. He asked about what my challenges were and was quick to quiet them. I’ve come to realize that the make up of great chef is a complicated mish mash of a million different skills. If I had to mathematically equate it it would look something like this (in no particular order);
Passion (to the power of 10)+
Drive+
Knowledge+
Intuition+
Daring+
Wisdom+
Compassion+
Strength+
Task masker+
Drill Sergeant+
Fearlessness+
Problem Solving+
Creativity+
Attention to detail (squared)+
Desire =
A GREAT CHEF!
It will be interesting to see how that formula changes over time and I out right apologize for anything I’ve overlooked. But I think you get the idea.
Of course it is Valentines this week and we will be very busy. We have a couple of really big functions as well so I will be working from 10 to close everyday. I believe that this week is going to be the closest to what summer looks like (though I may be wrong) at Reservation and I am excited to see it.
Adelle Davis once said; “We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are.” What are you? What do you want to be? I can answer it. I want to be a Great Chef.
I hope you all have an inspired day and tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to write a bit about Heston Blumenthal and my feelings towards what it is he does.
A la prochaine!
SDM
Finally
Finally,
At peace with myself,
The internal dialogue a consistent strife,
Keeping me from me,
Has quieted,
Being replaced by the fan fare of trumpets,
Heralding my awakening,
Signaling a bright future,
Personal,
With love as my guide,
And too personal,
As in the kitchen,
I’ve come to find,
ME;
You are my beacon,
The prism of my soul,
Without whom none of this would be possible,
As I start another day,
Stepping into my future,
Now,
I am reborn,
As too is our love,
And I am grateful.
When I write it takes me about two or three minutes to produce something like that. I don’t think about it before or during. It is more like I am a conduit and the universe, God, or whatever you would like to term it, is flowing through me. It is my fervent desire that food becomes the same way for me. Not thinking about it (as I find that we are often in the way of ourselves) but instead further building on my intuition with food. Grasping all the knowledge I can so that I can become what I’ve always said I wanted to be. A RESTERAUNTEUR.
So I set up for brunch and then ran out for a smoke as again I was in the front of house. Brunch delivers me the opportunity to come face to face with some of Reservations clientele. As I mentioned last week at brunch, again this week, one man and a woman both mentioned that I was beaming. Asking why I gave them the same answer I gave last week; “How could I not be, I’m living my dream!”
The funny thing about dreams is that everyone has one. But not everyone is willing to do what it takes to make his or her dream a reality. Taking that first step that brought me into the kitchen was not easy. BUT, the moment I put on my whites for the first time. I knew. I KNEW that I was where I belonged and since then I have been reassured many times both by others and by that once really ugly voice inside of me that now sounds like my angel (C). That voice has made all the difference in my life now. I’m no longer running away from myself. From what I want. From WHO I AM!
After brunch was over we naturally ripped it down and cleaned the kitchen. I had asked Head Chef if he wanted to go for a beer after I was done work and he said he had a meeting but that he would love to after it was over.
I went over to our sister restaurant to let Head Chef know that my cell was dead but that I was going to go over and have a drink. He suggested that I have a seat at the bar (I asked if it was okay for me to have a drink there as in my contract it says that I can’t drink at work). He said sure. I had a Makers Mark. Haven’t had one in years but just felt like it.
After that Head Chef and I walked towards our next destination. He asked about what my challenges were and was quick to quiet them. I’ve come to realize that the make up of great chef is a complicated mish mash of a million different skills. If I had to mathematically equate it it would look something like this (in no particular order);
Passion (to the power of 10)+
Drive+
Knowledge+
Intuition+
Daring+
Wisdom+
Compassion+
Strength+
Task masker+
Drill Sergeant+
Fearlessness+
Problem Solving+
Creativity+
Attention to detail (squared)+
Desire =
A GREAT CHEF!
It will be interesting to see how that formula changes over time and I out right apologize for anything I’ve overlooked. But I think you get the idea.
Of course it is Valentines this week and we will be very busy. We have a couple of really big functions as well so I will be working from 10 to close everyday. I believe that this week is going to be the closest to what summer looks like (though I may be wrong) at Reservation and I am excited to see it.
Adelle Davis once said; “We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are.” What are you? What do you want to be? I can answer it. I want to be a Great Chef.
I hope you all have an inspired day and tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to write a bit about Heston Blumenthal and my feelings towards what it is he does.
A la prochaine!
SDM
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