Mikeb19

I don't buy and read cookbooks necessarily for the recipes, rather for the techniques, inspiration, stories, etc... I enjoyed reading Thomas Keller's books but honestly am not all that moved by the recipes. And then theres Pierre Gagnaires 'Reflections on Culinary Artistry' - it's not even a cookbook, rather just a bunch of pictures and PG's stories of inspiration. Aquavit was another of my favourite books to read, but I don't really use the recipes. Cookbooks that I do occasionally use - Michel Bras' self titled book, Ducasse's encyclopedia, Pierre Hermés ph10, and my Larousse des Desserts. Lately though, as wierd as it seems, the book I've been looking through most is a cheap book on Ukrainian food (my grandmother died before she could teach me Ukrainian cooking, this style of cuisine was my inspiration to start cooking in the first place).

I'll walk out on a limb here - I foresee this whole 'molecular gastronomy' thing going away in a few years. As fun as it is to play with chemicals (I've done plenty of it), the best food I've ever had is the old-fashioned completely natural kind. For instance, I can't stand truffle 'oil'. It tastes so fake it's not funny, I don't think it adds a thing to the food. Certainly doesn't come close to the real thing (of which I've tasted plenty). Ditto for 'mirin' seasoning, real mirin is much better, and North American caviar certainly doesn't come close to Caspian. If you can't afford a certain product, then don't try to imitate it. Even the most humble ingredients can be made into a luxury meal with a little thought and technique. I think back to my culinary heritage (Ukrainian cooking) - beets and potatoes are incredibly cheap, but Borsch can be amazing if properly done, and Varenyky/perohy (commonly known as perogies) can be very luxurious, they're my favourite potato preparation (although the vast majority out there are terrible). The best thing to come out of the molecular gastronomy craze is the techniques and knowledge gained about food (sous-vide cooking, equipment like the paco-jet and thermomix, stuff like the 65 degree egg), alot of it is applicable for everyday cooking. But artificial flavourings deserve to die a slow death. And as fun as it is for a cook to make foams, imitation 'cavier' and 'ravioli', I really don't enjoy eating that stuff. And don't forget the over-reduced sauces (I liken it to serving orange juice concentrate instead of plain OJ, even though the flavour is stronger it really isn't as pleasurable). Sorry for the rant, but cooking is my passion/career and seeing/tasting some of the stuff out there makes me sick and upset... p.s. - It's also unfair to the customer/guest - many people are unfamiliar with haute cuisine, or even properly executed cuisine, and are led to believe this 'fake' cuisine is the real deal, thus being unfairly separated from their money. I know many people who were turned off completely by haute cuisine because they had a meal at a restaurant serving this 'fake' stuff and thus have no idea what real food is

"La Cuisine - c'est de l'amour, de l'art, de la technique" written by Hervé This and Pierre Gagnaire. Very good almost philisophical book (not really a cookbook in the traditional sense, although there are some 'recipes'). French only right now though.

Michel Bras - "Bras - Laguiole, Aubrac, France" Ducasse - "Grand livre de cuisine" Pierre Hermé - "ph10" Pierre Gagnaire - any of his books

A recent release, but currently I'm reading the newest book co-authored by Hervé This and Pierre Gagnaire entitled "la Cuisine - c'est de l'amour, de l'art, de la technique". It's a very cool book, more philosophical than most cooking related books. Available in french only as far as I know, I had to order my copy from a french source. Very good book though, it combines This and Gagnaire's musings with a story throughout the chapters, I've never read anything like it... Good stuff so far.

Yes, sorry. I did make that mistake during the translation, not to mention my math skills are a little off.... Should be 170 degrees Celcius for 11 minutes (338F). For a traditional oven PH recommends 250 degrees C for the first minute (to get the initial rise), then an additional 7-8 minutes at 190 degrees C. I've only cooked them in convection ovens so I can't personally guarantee the method, however PH's recipes so far have been solid so I would trust it.

Salt before cooking. If you salt a minute or two before it goes into the pan then it won't have time to draw out any moisture. The flavour of salt in the crust is a beautiful thing, salt sprinkled on afterwards isn't the same, although I also like to sprinkle a little fleur de sel on the meat afterwards as well. As for the amount of browning, I haven't noticed much ill-effects from the salting, the other factors in building a good crust are more important than the salt. Plenty of barbeque rubs contain sugar in them to add that caramel flavour, I don't see why you couldn't experiment with this when it comes to grilling/searing either...

Old whites meaning left out to age for a day or so at room temperature. Apparently they make for a more stable meringue. I usually just use old whites left in the fridge from other preparations, it doesn't seem to make much difference - italian meringue is pretty stable already, and the powdered whites also act as a stabiliser. I was pretty shocked when I first saw the recipe that some of the whites are folded in unbeaten as well, but it seems theres a method to his madness - the extra liquid is needed to 'collapse' the italian meringue (of course it's not really falling, I'm just short on words to describe the process) - just adding more TPT would make it too dry.

PH10 Recipe Appareil à macaron: - 600g tant-pour-tant (50/50 mixture of finely ground almonds and icing sugar) - 110g of 'old' egg whites - 300g granulated sugar - QS water (QS means sufficient quantity) - 110g of 'fresh' egg whites - 3g egg white powder - QS coloring Put 250g of sugar in a pot with enough water to make it fluid, then cook to 118 degrees C. Meanwhile, mix the remaining (50g) sugar, the powdered egg white, and the 'old' egg whites. Add the syrup to the whipped whites while mixing to make an italian meringue. Add the TPT to your meringue, then the fresh whites (un-whipped) and coloring. The meringue should 'fall' and have a smooth and glossy look to it. The batter should be liquid enough that small peaks smooth out, but still hold a bit of shape. Pipe out the batter onto parchment. Cook in a convection oven (with steam if possible - I usually put another tray in with water to get the oven steamy) at 170 degrees celcius for 11 minutes. Let cool on the tray, they will come off very easily after. I've found they have the best texture when left out for a few hours, PH recommends letting them 'age' in the fridge uncovered for half a day or so. Then fill with a generous amount of your favourite ganache (or jelly) and enjoy! (I'm not a fan of buttercream) This recipe so far has produced perfect results every time - the look is exactly like Hermé's (both before and after being bit into), and the taste and texture are amazing. Every time I've made them for the restaurant they've been a huge hit (just a little note - I'm very concious of the issue of 'stealing' recipes in restaurants, there have been recent discussions on these matters - and I make sure to give credit to Pierre Hermé whenever anyone asks about the origin of my recipe, as well I use all original ganaches and flavourings.) I've also tried adding fruit purées to the batter instead of coloring (of course adjusting the other ingredients) and so far have been successful (although the flavour has been a little weak - will try with fruit concentrates when I have the time). Other modifications is to use other nuts/powders in place of the almonds/icing sugar, or combos of several different powders (almonds, icing sugar and green tea powder for example; or almond, noisette and sugar, might try making some dried fruit or vegetable based powders for the TPT in the future). Hopefully I can get some pics of my macarons one of these days, but work has been very busy.

Made Macarons for the first time a couple weeks ago, using PH's recipe (out of his newest book "ph10") for the cookie (but our own ganache). Worked absolutely flawlessly (apart from my lack of piping skills) - crunchy exterior, chewy interior, looked EXACTLY like they do in his books (tasted amazing as well), even after biting into them they looked the same as PH's once you bite into em. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to make some more and post them up here right now

ph10, by Pierre Hermé (his newest book I believe). It is THE pastry book to have. Every recipe I've tried worked absolutely flawlessly, and tasted amazing. Not to mention the amount of recipes, the index, base recipes, and even just the quality of the book itself, the photos, the intoduction - the book itself is a work of art. The only downside - French language only, and I was only able to obtain it by ordering from a French website. The exchange rate, taxes, shipping, etc..., made it a very expensive book (didn't want to look at my bill, well over 200 canadian dollars, possibly closer to 300)

Even in Calgary there is a severe shortage of decent cooks. Tomorrow I could go out with 10 résumés and get 10 job offers. It's rediculous (I've been offered jobs at restaurants I've eaten at once they discover I'm a cook). Cooks are dropping out of the industry altogether at a very fast pace (heck, in the last 4 months I've seen half a dozen very passionate and skilled cooks leave the industry), and I can see why. You bust your ass cooking for 12 hours a day, making 10-14 (*maybe* 15-20 if you're a journeyman in a large organisation) dollars per hour (with no benefits other than free food and liquor), or you can get into construction or a skilled trade and START at 16-22 dollars per hour with full benefits, and be making 30-40 dollars per hour by the time you're done your apprenticeship in those fields. With the cost of living growing at the current pace, it's becoming almost impossible to make any sort of a living working in restaurants. I feel even worse for those who've paid money for culinary school, as they've basically thrown their money into the garbage because they won't be able to afford to work in the industry with those school loans. If owners don't start paying more for kitchen staff they could soon find themselves having to close their doors...

I wouldn't call the new cooks being produced today 'fantastic'. Hell, I've worked with dozens of culinary school grads (from reputable schools) over the last 3 months who have made me lose sleep. The restaurant I work for is horribly understaffed, it's impossible to find even somewhat qualified cooks, despite the STACK of resumes we've got. I would be hesitant to call some of these culinary school grads a 'cook' of any kind these days... Anyhow, back to the book. To me, I didn't get a feeling that the book was anything more than 1 cooks story. Didn't sound like he was trying to talk himself up, just sounded like he was telling his story. And finally, I'd like to dispute one of your characteristics of what makes a great chef. No one who works 80+ (thats EIGHTY in case you think its a typo) hours a week, in a 110+ degree kitchen, non-stop all the time for the wages we do, is what I'd consider 'mentally stable'. No, the longer I work in fine dining restaurants, the more I realize good chefs are crazy (I'm not saying I'm not either). Any sane chef would be more than happy to work in a large institution, anonymously, making his 6 figure check working only 50 hours per week. It's the mentally unstable who go for broke, put their name out there, risk everything for the glory of being the best. Just look at what happened to Bernard Loiseau, yes that's an extreme case but it's certainly not uncommon among the best chefs.

As a cook who cooks at a high level (at least for the area I'm located in), I'll say this: why care if you've insulted a few B-list chefs (or even the almighty Thomas) if you've got someone like Alain Ducasse in your cornor. And regardless of what he said in the book, the guy can cook, you don't become the Chef de Cuisine of a Ducasse restaurant if you can't cook. From what I've heard about the fine dining restaurant Country (not the cafe), the food is excellent, and it will be successful.

Old concepts, new packaging. Just another 'theme' restaurant. At most of the restaurants I've worked in we'd have the same philosophy about ingredients (we just used more butter and foie gras). Top quality ingredients delicately cooked. He just takes it a little bit further than most.

I would love to get one of these. Grant Achatz is not the first to come up with this idea, but that doesn't make it any less cool Decent price too.

Most commercial french fries are brined before they're fried, so you should be able to do the same with whole potatoes. Just curious though, what is the finished product? (Mashed, purée, hash, etc...)

All these culinary competitions are pointless and rediculous (and usually filled with hacks). Theres only 1 real competition: real life - it's called who's restaurant is making the most money and has the happiest customers. Nothing else matters. You can win as many competitions as you want, but the man who has the most profitable restaurant (and is making customers happy) wins in the end. Real life is far more interesting than TV anyway...

Unfortunately people are easily swayed by the media. If you've got beef with the media (for any number of reasons, even not giving free dinners...), they will try to bring you down. It's a cruel world out there, often being the best is not enough. From what I've heard so far though, Gilt looks like it will make it past the negative media rumours.

Sous-vide is real cooking for sure, but some people are always looking for the 'next great thing'. Is sous-vide cooking this 'next great thing'? Who cares, it is a handy trick but will never replace roasting in an oven, searing in a pan, etc... For some foods it's nice to cook low and slow or sous-vide (beefcheeks, lamb shanks, duck leg confit), but sometimes nothing can beat traditional methods (eg. if you want a fish that is seared hard on the outside and raw inside like bonito tataki, or a leg of lamb cooked over coals, etc...) The main advantage of sous-vide cooking (hate me now), is that it saves time and money. You can make duck confit with 1/4 of the duck fat, braise meats with much less liquid, save time by not having to reduce to braising liquid as much, etc... Not to mention being able to cook and store the item in the same bag, not dirtying any pans, etc... Also, you really don't 'need' a proper circulating water bath, you can get pretty good results in a large pot on the stove with a probe thermometer. The proper equipment will make it more precise, but then again theres a huge range in quality when it comes to ovens as well so this is a moot point. Sous-vide cooking is nice but not better or worse than other methods (they all have a place), I'd call it evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and all this arguing is kinda rediculous...

This is definitely interesting. I'm not sure I agree with Ferran's manifesto, I don't think his way of presenting food is the future. I disagree with many of his points (4, 5, 20, 22), and many of his other points are not significant as they are part of older cooking philosophies as well. Another thing, where is Pierre Gagnaire, Michel Bras, etc...? Are they not part of the new food movement as well? Certainly this is interesting news in gastronomy, but IMO has little real significance.

Well, I used to live in conditions that would most definitely be considered "ghetto" : we had couches in our backyard, in the middle of the kitchen, our doors were never locked because we had nothing worth stealing, our microwave cost us 10 dollars, we had dozens of empty "OE" 40oz malt liquor bottles (as well as literally hundreds of regular empties), at one point we even had a friend brewing us some filthy cheap liquor. Between 3-5 people living there, we had 4 automobiles, only 2 of which worked. Our house was where everyone in the 'hood was always hanging out, I'd come home from work and people I didn't know would be drinking/smoking in our house already, party didn't stop until the sun came up. Police would come over all the time (only 1 person ever got arrested in our house though, usually the police had nothing on us). Meals consisted of random pasta with hotsauce, hotdogs cooked on a barbeque that was found in an alley (don't ask where we got the propane) with processed cheese, the cheapest buns we could find and ketchup/mustard taken from various fast food outlets. Sometimes we'd have frozen hamburgers with just 'spice' (store bought spice blend) and hot sauce, store-bought perogies straight up boiled and a little butter added to finish (or cheap oil if we couldnt afford butter), and often plain rice with a bit of spice and hotsauce. Canned chili was always good, sometimes we'd add some cheese (if any was available). Chicken was a luxury, usually it was cooked plain (or with 'spice'), and added to plain rice, topped with hotsauce, as was canned tuna (served on plain bread). Peanut butter was another staple, added to plain bread. Once in awhile we'd have some jam too. Later as we got more money, breakfast sausages, bacon and store bought hashbrowns (cooked in the bacon fat) became a favourite hangover feast (still is when we hang out again now that we've left the 'hood). Sometimes I miss those days (parties with 10-30 people every night of the week), but overall life is much better now. No more getting drunk/high every day (or having the police come over all the time), I've got a developing career in fine dining (I've worked in most of the top restos around here as Chef de Partie), and my meals are alot better these days, example would be roast chicken with a jus made from the carcass, beef ribeye or tenderloin, leg of lamb, with a random starch/vegetable. Occasionally I still slum it, rice soup is a favourite (plain rice with a broth poured over top and a little sambal oelek).

From C-Town here. Nice to see theres some locals posting here, interested in reading reviews of our fine dining restos...

I wouldn't want to be the cook for any head of state. Many reasons, including politics, fear of offending guests with food choices (stifling creativity), and the fact that at these 'dinners', food is secondary to other matters.

Larousse des Desserts by Pierre Hermé. Best pastry book. Ever. None of my other books even come close. If I were to move and could only take a single book with me, this would be it. Downside - took me forever to aquire a copy, and I could only find a french language version (good news however, I'm fluent in french and english). It has hundreds of recipes, thoroughly describes every technique (worth the price just for that), tool, ingredient, layout is great. I would have paid much more money for this info than I did, at 60 dollars I consider this book a steal.