chefzadi

They do this just to make 'foodies' cringe. ← You guys are all kidding, right? I mean latex gloves in the kitchen? I'm sure other chefs could weigh in here about the likelyhood of wearing gloves in the kitchen in real life, let alone a tv show.... ← I think Julia Child set the standard for cleanliness habits in front of the camera: she always used " my impeccably clean spoon" for each taste, and set it aside after the taste. If I remember, Julia only used a clean-up cloth, or napkin once, as well. If her hands mixed something, we were usually assured it was OK. The IC competitors could do as well. ← Did Julia ever work in a commercial kitchen? Was she under the time constraints of a competition? I'm certainly not defending bad hygiene in the kitchen. But the context is wildly different.

Why not go work for Bennigans or the Hotel that mushroom mentioned for better pay? Bourdain mentioned the power of a strike of sorts. Why not try it? Organize it online, go work for a better paying employer. Teach those who do not recognize talent a lesson.

Prison? Maybe it's my lack of English skills, but I'm very confused. Prison and cooking?

I noticed quite a few (not alot, but enough to make it noteworthy) restaurants on the fringes and outside of Seoul that specialize in live/kill to order poultry or game. I regret not trying pheasant and quail.

I especially appreciate the pictures of the sweets. They make me homesick for the North African pastry shops in France. I know I can get them here in the States but they don't taste the same to me. Nice report.

Very nice Behemoth. Middle Eastern Arab cooking and Maghreb Arab cooking can be so different. It's quite a learning experience for me about the other side of the Mediterranean. In France I've mostly just had the Lamb Kebab from the Turkish places. Side note. A bit of trivia, especially for Behemoth. In Turkish they are called manti. I'm sure you've had the Korean mandu, which are dumplings. My wife tells me that Korean and Turkish are both from the Ural-Altaic language family. Who would have guessed that one?

Spicy soup. The Koreans make a spicy soup out of them. They also grill it. So now the question is what's smells stronger plain old chitlins boiling or a pungent Korean soup? :-)

They do this just to make 'foodies' cringe. ← You guys are all kidding, right? I mean latex gloves in the kitchen? I'm sure other chefs could weigh in here about the likelyhood of wearing gloves in the kitchen in real life, let alone a tv show.... ← They edit out all the handwashing. We're cooking not performing surgery. Of course in a commercial kitchen no one should be handling raw poultry without washing their hands before and after. Some of the other stuff though, I can only say cooties help build your immune system.

I haven't caught a single episode of the IC Food TV version. But I've always had fun watching the Japanese version. I've also watched a few episodes of Tsai's shows. When I watch another chef cooking I can't help notice his technical skills, often times more than what they are actually making. Ming Tsai has very strong skills. I'm just translating how a French Chef would complement another. We say "he is strong." I just have to mention Emeril who is also strong as a chef. I haven't eaten at any of their restaurants. I'm just commenting on their cooking skills.

I think most of the comments were more about taking a little jab at Chef Fabio, not about questioning the integrity of the show so much and certainly not questioning Michael's.

Chef Tsai knows his stuff. Definately worthy of being an Iron Chef in the true sense of the word, not just the TV version.

They have to know. Ming Tsai had a freakin air compressor and a fan on the set for the duck. I doubt those are regular items they keep lying around. And they don't really talk about any kind of menu with their sous chefs in the beginning, everybody just seems to start cooking. ← Peking duck. The crispy skin needs to be dried out. Naturally or with fans. He knows his technique. Not really an Ancient secret.

The rules are for tinned or packaged haggis. At home or in a restaurant if you can get your hands on the proper ingredients I don't see why it can't be prepared using the traditional. stuff. Even though I worked in Scotland and loved the country I never quite embraced the local cuisine. I don't recall trying haggis. But I was there working in a French restaurant. You know it goes if you work at a restaurant you don't really go out to eat so much. Mostly go out after work to party.

My MIL seasons steamed rice with sesame oil and sesame salt, shapes the rice into logs and wraps them with fresh (unblached) sesame leaves. I don't really care for them, but I've yet to meet a Korean who has tried them who didn't find them addictive.

They are good aren't they? Alain Ducasse says he likes Burger King burgers. But I suspect he has not tried In n Out. It's getting harder and harder to find true Burgundy snails in France. Those delicate morsels *sigh*

Canned snails are used more often then fresh. Snails would have to become trendy again for more restaurants to use the fresh stuff. The canned can be pretty tasty though.

The Japanese use of mayonnaise and ketchup is pure genius, no doubt. ← My last post on egullet sniff sniff or ha ha I don't give a shit. Lmao Rotfl. Russian dressing and the other great sauce, tartar that is (canned or jarred). I've said it before, a "genius" in one cuisine is an ape in another.

A cup is a conservative grab with one's hand. Does that make sense to you? Try it.

My wife wants to know which dim sum place you go to. She goes to the bakery next to Ai Hoa market for Vietnamese sandwiches. She's gotten her whole family addicted to them. Her aunt used to take her to a dim sum place when she was little, but she can't remember where.

It's on Sunset, non? Right at the junction if I recall. I'drather go to In n Out for 3 Double Doubles.

UPDATE: Turns out, you have to be available to travel across the contry for 3 weeks. Does not mention who will pay your bills while you do this???? First of all! I work for a living, and I'm changing accounts next week. Next, my dream job is not to work for TE. I'm very happy with my 5 days a week, 3 weeks vacation, home by 4pm, ect. I left the insanity of the A la Carte kitchen, for foodservice stability. I practice my passion in my own catering business now, for ME. ← Did you read the bios on PBS? I can't work for someone who was voted by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people. We'd bicker too much about who gets more time in front of the mirror.

I don't know your town, or that pocket of France, but I know the story. We've been visiting various parts of France since the mid 60s. The best I can say is that the quality of food in France has dropped sufficiently enough for there to be movements of resistance and artisanal producers who are rejecting an urban lifestyle rather than those who are carrying on the business of the family farm. Regional microbreweries are part of that movement. ← You are right, Bux, that there is backlash among the artisans for real food and that is why I am not completely pessimistic. And I have run across farmers who are serious about growing good varieties of vegetables and pastured animals. But the movement is stronger here in the US. My French friends are always surprized when I tell them that. For some reason the French as a people are much more willing to settle for mediocre food than the Italians have been. Italians have been much craftier in finding their way around EU rules (I believe they have protected 2000 artisanal foods from EU rules by declaring them National Treaures). The French are in danger of losing young raw millk cheeses! It is not an accident that there are many more Slow Food members in Italy (and the US) than in France. ← I refer you to Igles Corelli's thoughts on the 55 million "experts" in his country. It's Q&A with him.

Loiseau had a tender, fragile soul and ego. He was also a manic perfectionist and tempermental. Like an artist maybe. This is when I really wish I spoke English as well as I do French. This made him a great chef. But the world of Michelin starred chef's is one of intense pressure and scrutiny. He was also a celebrity chef another world of intense scrutiny. He had to endure criticism when he went public with his company to further his culinary empire. He had to answer to demands from investors. It was too much. It would be too much for most of us. I could go more into this, but I don't want to bore anyone with my lack of style in English.

I just wanted to add that my dishwashing days are hardly worthy of a sob story. The restaurant was located in an old Castle in the Beaujolais. The plates were all fine china. The kitchen was huge and it felt like hearth and home to me. The larger than life old chef and his even plumper wife treated me very nicely. They didn't over work me at all. The chef would show me his stocks and sauces. I also got things from the pantry which I loved doing, I would stay in there in awe of the indgredients for 20-30 minutes at a time. It was more like staying at home with mom and dad doing chores on a farm or something than work. Hardly high volume dining. I's sure the washers at Les Halles work much harder.

This is definitely a major component of ICA. Regardless of whether Bobby Flay's "jerk" persona is staged or not, I think a lot of us (including me) will be more excited about watching Flay battles just because we want to see him go down. He's the designated bad guy. In fact, I wonder if that was an element of the original show when Morimoto became the Japanese Iron Chef. Did the Japanese audience tune into his battles hoping to see his "New York" style and attitude get badly beaten by a pure, thoroughly traditional Japanese chef? Personally, I hope Flay wins every battle, allowing his arrogance to reach unknown heights, before he is soundly beaten in the final battle by... [blush] a woman! ← My wife is up for the battle. Of course I would be her Sous Chef.