ludja

Another very good article from the NT Times this past spring: click (It's available for free but you probably fave to sign up for free registration) Seven or eight black chefs are interviewed and speak of their experiences. Many of the issues that were brought up in this thread are discussed including: Cultural stigma in their family's eyes Lack of role models/fellow workers/mentors in high end cuisine Racism Stereotyping (only cooking “soul food”) Jean George Vongerichten is mentioned as being a mentor who has trained or nutured many black high end chefs. Judy Rodgers and some others mention that applications from blacks are extremely low. The figures given for black attendance at several culinary schools is low but getting closer to population percentage (85 out of 2700 at one and 40 out of 450 at another.) Several people say that they see it changing with the added postive exposure of food related careers in the media such as The Food Network. People do have to push and be creative to reach goals or dreams they are passionate about especially if they are in a demographic that is underrepresented in a given field that may be very competitive or require a non-traditional path. As a female scientist I have seen many examples and challenges and firsts for women pushing up to the higher levels in science (top research labs, research faculty positions, executive postions in industry, etc.). I am speaking of events in the last 10 years also, not 50 years ago. edited to add: This article has already been cited and linked by a few others above... It's a nice article by Michael Ruhlman; check it out if you haven't yet read it.

i can give you the general population part: 12%, with the percentages being higher in major cities, for the most part. ← Here is a pretty interesting article on black US chefs written in June 2006:click The way it is written, I *think* it is saying that of the African American in the food industry, 4% of those are sous chef or higher so this does not get at an estimate of the percentage of blacks in the available sous-chef and higher positions. Maybe this sentence is clearer to someone else... (bold text highlighted by me) The article then has comments from six black executive chefs about their experiences and opinions. The chefs in the article are: WALTER ROYAL executive chef angus barn Raleigh, NC JEFFERY HENDERSON executive chef cafe bellagio Las Vegas, NV WAYNE JOHNSON executive chef andaluca restaurant Seattle, WA ERIKA DAVIS executive pastry chef the peabody Memphis, TN MARCUS SAMUELSSON executive chef & co-owner aquavit New York, NYC TIMOTHY DEAN executive chef & owner timothy dean bistro Baltimore, MD Read each of their stories about how they got into cooking and progressed in their careers. It is pretty fascinating and reveals many different paths to the goal. Some went to college, some attended culinary schools and some were mentored by established chefs and learned on the job.

You're right; the "e" is pronounced although it is not strongly emphasized. Thanks for correcting me; I'll go back and edit it. Yeah, I think it sounds more melodious than 'chocklet' or even 'chocolate'.

I like the German word for chocolate: Schokolade (Show'-koe-lahd-eh) The first syllable is not really "show", it's somewhere between "show" and "shah". There is almost an equal accent on the first and third syllables.) edited to improve the phonetic pronunciation...

I'd be interested to hear your results as well. This recipe has been on my list for awhile. Do you have pre-peeled chestnuts are you starting with the shelled beasts? The red tomato and vanilla jam sounds very interesting as well. Good luck with your weekend of jam making!

Hey, your limerick is great!

Nice suggestions, torakris. Add some green peas or green beans with mushrooms. Creamed onions? For the poultry, I might also consider a tonkatsu or schnitzel type preparation; i.e. a breaded and sauteed chicken or turkey cutlet. You could make a pan gravy a la chicken fried steak ot have with the cutlet and mashed potatoes. Start off with sweet potato tempura. Frying is another option for dessert--sweet potato or pumpkin fritters with caramel sauce or apple fritters with the same. A little vanilla ice cream would be nice also. Another fried option are individual southern fried pies--apple, pumpkin, etc. There are some threads on the fried pies, I think. Other no-bake options for dessert might be a no-bake chiffon style pies if you can find or substitue for something like graham crackers or vanilla wafers, etc. Here's a no bake pie crust using coconut: click Or simply crepes filled with sauteed apples or pumpkin pie filling and topped with whipped cream and toasted almonds or walnuts.

I suspect you've been on a schedule all week, but when does your kitchen schedule start tomorrow? Does the feast start in the early evening?

Interesting...tamales are more specific to New Mexico but empandas might be another possibility. ... The other meat flavored profile that I thought about is red mole. Perhaps one could tweak the balance of flavorings to make a sweeter but still pleasing take on the mole flavorings in a dessert. One could play up the dried fruit, toasted nut and chocolate flavors. ← I just ran across this older post from albiston about a trip he took to Sicily... click The dish sounds like beef mole filled emanadas!

For posterity...

Thanks for pointing out these chefs and their blog, moltoe! The blog is fascinating and as docsconz mentioned of high quality and very gernerous in all the wonderful information, ideas and thought processes that they share there. I will be reading their blog on a regular basis from now on. Kayeh Grande looks like a beautiful destination as well, set up in the Rocky Mountains in Pagosa Springs, not far from Durango. What an experience to stay in the beautiful, intimate lodgings and to eat their food! I'm intrigued and would like to check it out when I am in Albuquerque or Santa Fe. Did you have your dinner there yet?

Come by to the school I teach at and you'll meet quite a few future chefs of African-American descent, from the continent and the diaspora. They come from all walks of life. There are instructors from the same backgrounds as well. I started a thread here about African and African-American chefs a while back. I haven't had time to follow up with the leads I got. I think I will send chef Samuelsson an email about my experience with this and the Africans (all the diversity of people from this continent) that I know in the food industry. I suspect the scene will be very different in 5 years, in 10 years, in 15 years, etc... ETA: same thing with Hispanics, Asians, women, etc... ← Good to hear; a healthy pipeline of people entering the field is mandatory for achieving some of the end results discussed by MarketStEl in his first post.

Here is full title of the book: The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation (Still a quirky title, but a little more informative.) The link that moosnsgrl provides in her first post has a pretty good summary. The excerpt is a very fun and interesting read. I've read many descriptions of the early and developing days of Chez Panisse but this account is very engaging and added a lot more detail. Even in this short excerpt the characterizations of the different Chez Panisse players are vivid as chefzadi mentions above. I'm looking forward to reading this book. Thank you for bringing it to my attention and for providing the Vanity Fair link!

Schneier just posted on a new creation at the North Carolina State Fair... fried coke. Fried Coke Hmmm... the fried stuff is fun in an outrageous way, but hopefully, if it's not too late already, State Fair food doesn't all evolve to only this. I guess it is easier to fry up a new creation rather than make something like a homemade pie...

Any cookbooks from chefs in Montreal/Quebec/Eastern Canada that you use to cook at home?

edited to reflect merge

I'm trying to get my head around what the potential raw ingredients for this challenge might entail... It's fuzzy to me since I've never been involved with home beer making. Pearl barley barley flour malted barley grain (can one buy this? is it wet or dry, in a jar?) barley flakes malt extract (syrup or dry powder; is this the same as wort?) dried hops (the form is dried flower heads) yeast If anyone can correct or add to this, I'd appreciate it!

Turkey pot pie with carrots and peas...

^Thank you, it looks great! I love ricotta desserts and ginger and am intrigued iin picturing the mozzarella in there too! I"m sure it will be over the top with the candied rose petals... Will there a dedicated food photographer for the event? I imagine you will be so busy. edited to add: What a cutie pie Venya is!

What a nice grandma! I'm sure you daughter really enjoyed the experience--the learning and the sense of accomplishment.

In what forms can one purchase malted barley and hops in retail? Buying these items would necessitate a trip to a beer brewing supply store, I guess.

What a nice hobby for a spouse to have--making incredible ice creams, gelatos and sorbets... The color of the huckleberry ice cream and sorbet is amazing. The menu looks so appetizing; less "strange" than I thought it might be although I don't know much about Italian rennaissance cuisine. Lynne Rosetto Kasper has a few interesting recipes from the period in her Emilia-Romagna book, "The Splendid Table". All the dish soung good but I am particularly interested in the Torta Alba. Good luck with your preparations this week!

I really like their branch just outside of Philadelphia. There is an existing thread on the newer NYC store here.

Cinnamon, in moderation, may also be a nice addition to dark chocolate. Almonds, cinnamon and chocolate go together in Mexican chocolate...

Another wonderful porcini dish! Your wonderful photos and descriptions bring the food into my mouth. Thank you for a wondeful culinary tour of your home and town! edited to add: Reading back on this, I realized I used "wonderful" three times... I guess 'wonderful' was the feeling in my subconscious...