Kerry Beal

I spoke with the people who make the waxed sugar today - suggested they might want to make waxed salt. They seemed to think I was an idiot - explained that no one would ever want waxed salt.

Real wasabi from one of the Japanese booths.

Two Friends - girls I taught when they first arrived in Canada - they've come a long way! I was just conscripted to go to the first aid room to remove a toothpick from a foot (cheese section) but an officious ems type insisted both of them go to the hospital because of possible nerve damage! hope the food show is footing the bill!

Yeah right! My table just after I poured my tea all over it and before all my cards curled! The show was successful I would say. The fellows from Keychoc will be ordering a unit as soon as they get back to the UK - they have this fabulous machine that has pump capabilities that can allow attachment of dosing, enrober, cooling tunnel etc but it still requires seeding - they wanted to see my EZtemper because they realized it would be an excellent way to quickly temper the chocolate in their tank. Here is a link to the machine they brought. They have shipped one to Canada recently - I need to contact that person and let them know about the EZtemper for sure! I also dropped in yesterday to the production facility of FIKA - Hakan the owner/chocolatier was there in the back talking to a couple of other fellows. I asked the staff to see if he would speak to me, he was willing and was extremely interested in the EZtemper. A few minutes after he went back to work - one of the fellows he had been talking to came out - said "hello Kerry - I had just been telling Hakan that he needed to get one" - turns out that he was one of my earliest customers who purchased a unit shortly after last years show. He is also in town for the FCIA. He knows Hakan and was in visiting the shop.

I'm going to post some pictures - slug down a cup of tea - then set up my fcia booth - later I'll try to caption u

Nope - Rodney's leave these ones in the dust - these aren't dark enough or caramelly enough

Yes - quite good

Bostock, canelle, kouign aman So at Dominique Ansel you are called a guest. Apparently guests get to find out after they waited a half an hour in line that there are no cronuts, the avocado toast is not served until 11 and the cookie shots until 3! iced coffee

Sorry - late to seeing this - used the peeled ones purchased from the grocery store - not Christopher Ranch however.

Interesting that to both of us we loved the baked alaska most of all. Not impressed with getting squirted by cheese and didn't actually enjoy those little brioche - camembert had gone past it's best I think. Loved the idea of them though. Oh and the peekytoe crab salad was quite delicious with a good crunch vs soft thing going on.

We did not get a kitchen tour - we were anxious to get over to Eataly and check that out - Franci had a bunch of interesting things to show me there and we were meeting her hubby and kids.

Next a very rich broth representing either the duck or beef ordered. Duck - honey and lavender glazed with spring onion and rhubarb compote and shavings of same - with another topping of broth. 180 day dry aged beef. It also had broth (I only got the menu for the things I ordered and since Franci ordered the opposite if there was a choice she gets the description). Sauce spoon came out again with these two dishes. New potatoes in a puree of likely retrograded potatoes. Morels in a light custard - what's the name of the japanese dish Anna? These are brioche pumped full of camembert - beware they squirt - I was wearing the filling after the first bite - and where was my damn sauce spoon then? Why back in the dish pit of course! The rhubarb and sorrel compotes to go with them. A game of what kind of milk have they put in each of these Mast Bros chocolate - c'mon folks - Mast Brothers Chocolate? The baked alaska after it had returned to the kitchen for carving - will try to put up the video that Franci took - I faithfully filmed then realize that I hadn't turned it on. St George white dog brandy with reformed pretzels - you take a pretzel - grind it up, add it to white chocolate, reform in pretzel shape, dip in dark chocolate and decorate with salt.

I had serious trouble uploading pictures to the forum last night so I left the rest until this am - hopefully it will go more smoothly. The Black and white was filled with a cheese ganache and an apple compote I'd say. Seared foie with sorrel Foie as pate with a croquante and white asparagus foam. Butter poached maine lobster. Halibut with some sort of sauce - will have to get Franci to check in here. The pigs bladder table side! Which yielded two spears of asparagus that had been cooked 'en vessie' - same as en papillote but in a bladder instead of paper.These were served with a truffle puree under a potato puree and given a sauce of the stock they were cooked with that had been reduced down and I assume mounted with tons of butter. This was the first appearance of the elusive sauce spoon.

Keep tripping over the bastards while I'm walking around!

Thanks for that! Wish I'd known that - there wouldn't have been that embarrassing moment when I got the sauce on my nose. Oysters with caviar Eggs benny with english muffinettes Bread and butter - really, really good butter

Black and White - savoury version Cocktail for me Champagne for Franci Fava Bean croquettes Peekytoe crab salad Rye crisp with morel

They brought it out twice - the first time for the asparagus with the pureed potato and truffle beside it - then again for the beef and duck with the potato puree and morel custard.

Wondered about that - it was placed in the classic spoon position - but a rather strange one. It had no discernible bowl in spite of appearance in the picture.

Quick - I'm at 11 Madison park and I don't know what this utensil is for

And it would have been a hell of a lot easier to pick up the repaired car! Nothing flys directly in to Fort Wayne I have discovered. If the car is done on Monday I might trying flying from NYC to Chicago then Fort Wayne.

This is the free treat machine at the dealership where we left the car - @Alleguede was like a kid in a candy shop - I should have been a little more so and perhaps we wouldn't have had to stop for dinner.

All to soon after my rather challenging trip to Indianapolis - I find myself on the 40th floor of the Crowne Plaza in Times Square. I'm here for the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA) Summer 2016 Elevate Chocolate event. Of course the EZtemper is with me - just one - and I realized that I hadn't brought along stainless containers of cocoa butter to put in the machine so I've been trying to get all the black stuff off a new turned stainless container with hand lotion and body soap from the hotel. Fortunately there was a loose bottle of mycryo in my suitcase that can be the source of cocoa butter. At 5 PM @Franci is meeting me in the lobby. We will be dining tonight at 11 Madison Park - arranged by the wonderful wife of @Alleguede. It was a surprise that was sprung on me yesterday while we were arranging the rental car at the Fort Wayne airport to get home after the little pot hole incident. When he explained it was a table for two - and I mentioned that I wasn't really interested in eating all by myself at a posh restaurant in NYC - I couldn't think of anyone else close by with whom I would enjoy a nice dinner more! 'Snack' on the very short flight.

If I'm not mistaken the GTA does have some good Burmese food.

Well sadly we didn't get to enjoy Burmese food in Fort Wayne - we grabbed food from Chick-fil-a again because by the time we got the car sorted, a rental car obtained, the car contents emptied into the rental car - we needed fast. Still took until 10:30 to get home - but on the upside - perhaps Burmese when I'm back to re-collect the car! Hope that can be done before I head north to Manitoulin on Thursday. Welcome suggestions for how to fly easily into Fort Wayne. So right now packing to head out in about 30 minutes to NYC for the FCIA. Had hoped I could do that yesterday - but hey - shit happens. Did I mention the speeding ticket?