Sethro

I thought "petit larceny" was a funny little food pun, but I'm no legal eagle...

Potential silver lining: community service looks good on a resume.

I have some of the chefrubber ones but I have yet to figure out any ingenious applications for them. You have to be pretty careful about isolating them from moisture or they will melt. Whatever you incorporate them into needs to be either dry or very viscous. Maybe try folding some into ice cream or ganache or something.

I think they're both fun. At WD you will have to focus on the food somewhat, wheras Craft is more condusive to focusing on your compadres. Maybe that distinction is useful.

Dan Barber was in the Kitchen though...I don't see what the difference would be. Unless your implying their available farm fresh bounty was significantly deplenished that night?

Less amuses, petit fours, luxury ingriedients. It was still a great meal, but what you had seems more deserving of the term farmers feast. Then again, every table recieves a slightly different menu, so maybe it was just luck of the draw.

Doc, did you somehow identify yourself to the kitchen as a VIP, foodblogger, critic or somesuch? I went one day after you, paid the same price and recieved a MUCH less ambitious menu.

Vadouvan: I don't really want to redefine the wheel to argue with you. You differ on some matters that I consider to be fact, such as the existance of seperate pastry programs, the definition of pastry, etc. Have to agree to disagree here.

I think your splitting hairs when it comes to Pastry/Dessert--we both know what the topic at hand is. My point was that an exec chef works 70-100hr weeks just to manage the main menu, payroll, food costing etc, so when is he going to tac on the time to self-eductate and execute a substantial dessert menu? The amount of off-hours work that goes into devoping and fine-tuning menus is never-ending. Most chef's are just not passionate about creating desserts, and that is a far more crucial ingredient to sucess than schooling. I guess we'll see in five years if I'm out of a job. If I am, I certainly won't go back to hotside, although i think I was pretty good at it. I'm not a pastry chef because I'm incapable of fabricating proteins or afraid of burners...I'm a pastry chef because I love being a pastry chef. I love desserts. If pastry chefs do become an endangered species, it won't be because Sam Mason changed the way that people structure a meal, in the span of five years.

I was forced to learn the basics of biology in high school but I wouldn't be a very confident biologist! Probably part of the reason is that school (technical schools in particular) merely provide you with a platform to build upon with real world experience. If a chef doesn't want to be a pastry chef, he/she isn't going to put in the huge effort it requires to become confident running a pastry department. Most of the chefs I know want their restaurants to have great dessert menus, but they don't want to be burdened with it at all.

All I'll say is there are a lot of earger young pastry chefs in NYC who would jump at the opportunity to run their own department for a fraction of 90k. Put an ad out, let a few of them do tastings for you...whats the harm? You may stumble across a burgeoning star.

Forgoing a serious wine or pastry program is just leaving yourself open to attack. Kind of a risky proposition in NY, where the critics swarm like wild wolves. Even otherwise well recieved two-stars like little owl get a mention for their below par or outsourced desserts in every review, and that's not the best paragraph to close on.

Very nice experience. Service was outstanding and the room was beautiful. Standouts were: eldeflower royale, mini-beet burger, cauliflower and greenhouse greens with fromage blanc, passionfruit souflee. Berkshire Pig was unpleasantly chewy, but imediately replaced by lamb and carrot gastrique. Dining time elapsed the 4 hour mark, so the pacing could have improved, but otherwise it was terrific.

Besides Blue Hill, Chinatown Brasserie and Crave, I can't think of any examples (not counting the exec chef/exec sushi chef combo which is common).

Good to hear; I'm going this Sunday...

Ah yeah that sounds like something you make a stage do and then watch him and giggle. I'd say do it in the freezer but then of course the choc will sieze. I would definetely work in the freezer and wrap the ice cream balls in something else first, like mochi, powdered nuts or rice paper, before attempting that. Otherwise you're going to get a really streaky temper from all the dairy melting into your chocolate. Tiny ice cream balls are going to become un-handle-able pretty fast. I would adjust your recipe to account for that...no dextrose, trimoline or anything else that would depress the freezing point. I would also be sure to scoop all the balls and then give them overnight to re-freeze (on sheet trays, not touching each other).

They spread curd on the scanner at Moto. Just kidding. heh heh. I use gelatine sometimes depending on what the application is. I also like to raise it all the way to a boil and then stick blend it. I find the coagulation at that point is enought that it will stand fine at fridge temp without weeping.

Its been on the ala carte menu at Nobu for about 12 years.

These are the three I would pick! ← If you have room for a fourth, the seared foie they're running right now is spectacular.

I would wait to hear something from the horse's mouth before guessing at the reason. Eater bi-lines are equal parts news and speculation (not a knock on eater, that's their writing style).

I have a decent one. Is there a certain brix you look for in paco bases?

I have only a batch freezer right now. I'm just researching recipes for my next endeavor, and I've never spun yogurt in a paco. Do you still drain the yogurt as you would normally, or is that now unnecesary?

Anyone have experience with this?

Well that is sad sad news. Which is the second best GS?

I actually thought that was one of Bruni's more fair and informed reviews. He duely noted the pedigre and talent of the chefs. His major gripe dealed with the restaurant at its conceptual core, which I agree is a little pretentious (and expensive). The positve is that he actually reviewd the desserts! Hopefully he shows similar respect to other hard working pastry chef in reviews to come.