flamenco

Hi Martin, Lonnie's my wife, and we had a great time eating in Kingston. We only were there for a couple days, so we gobbled rapidly and often. When we got to town, we went to the tourist booth at the nice waterfront area. We asked where we could get a homey breakfast. The young lady didn't answer readily; she probably didn't eat breakfast, but she suggested we go to "pann-chann-chose". My wife looked mystified, so I smiled and chimed in, [in Spanish] "Pan Chancho", and then she got it. That was a nice bread shop, btw, and we had a good snack there. Our first night we quickly found good Vietnamese at Golden Viet Thai (was that the name?) - nearly always the best food for the money anywhere. We also had a killer dessert at the Best Western - we got the sampler and split it - best creme brulee we've had (perfect texure, and a touch of Grand Marnier didn't hurt), also homemade ice cream with roasted nuts (lovely), yummy flourless chocolate cake, and maybe one other great thing that I've forgotten. Later we walked by Luke's, and sure enough, the backstory of the 16-year-old wunderkind chef proved irresistible (especially with our son at the CIA), and we decided to eat dinner there (we had almost opted for Le Chien Noir). The meal we had was highly impressive. Some highlights - the appetizers included a rabbit rillette, a delicious rillette variant that I had not had before. I had the mixed grill, and I loved the variety of sausages (including pork belly - oh YEAH), and the sweet pea flan was a very cool touch. They are raising their own pigs now, and we also had homemade prosciutto made from one of these noble porkers. Wow, just buttery rich flavor. Lonnie had the Rainbow Trout, which caused her to make rapturous expressions, and she was amazed at the cauliflower veloute, another first. Lots of pleasant surprises. We enjoyed talking with Luke's mother, who was very welcoming and friendly. Apparently Luke is on a historical kick, doing his take on recipes that he's found in his research of the way they ate many years ago in France. I don't know much more old-school you can get than Tete et Pied du Cochon! They just put up their new website: Luke's! Interesting that they name the courses in Italian (Primi Piatti and so on), but the menu, to me at least, seems very French. Of course, with his curious mind, I wouldn't put it past him to suddenly come up with a completely Spanish menu or something else. And with the press that Luke's starting to get, I wonder how the other chefs in town (many of them excellent) are taking it. Possibly not well. All in all, a great visit! Cheers, Dave

I read and enjoyed the article - thanks for providing the link to it! I think it summarizes the current TV food phenomenon quite well, from the common man's point of view - if scrambled eggs are one of the few things he can actually make, he's obviously not coming from a cooking background. btw, I got no particular conservative vibe from it. Some will disagree, I'm sure. I've read somewhat exhaustively about the debates concerning the dumbing-down of the Food Network, so I wasn't especially agitated to read about it. I do find Rachael Ray to be quite annoying with her dopey patter, but I can understand her appeal to your average Joe/Jane, who finds her cute, barely cooks at all, and is so stressed out by modern life that they just want shortcuts, no intellectual stuff thank-you-very-much. Fortunately, I've discovered that I can just turn it off! Bourdain has certainly mellowed with age, he almost sounds like an elder statesman these days! He remains forthright with his opinions, many of which I agree with. On the other side of the coin, I remember years ago watching Mario Batale's early show where he just very soberly cooked some stuff and described what he's doing. I wasn't hoping that he would yell BAM, start running around the set, have an amusing sidekick, and start pimping some cookware, but I remember thinking, "Wow, this guy is serious. I wonder if he could tell a joke once in awhile". Then later I found out that he's a legendary hellion, prone to stupendous bacchanalian excess! I guess the network must have told him to keep it serious! So we are in a new world. Maybe the Food Network would have folded without all this Ray-ism. Who knows? Cheers, Dave

Mark, It sounds like you're having a great time in a great place. When I first read your thread, I think I misunderstood. I had thought that the scenario you described was extremely risky; going into a (fairly expensive) culinary school seemingly with almost no plan, having a family and children that ostensibly need your time and support, and going into a profession whose typical work hours usually heavily impinge upon any family life. To me, it just didn't add up, and sounded like a great recipe for a trip to divorce court. But then I realized that there must be information that I'm unaware of, such as you may be sitting on a nice big pile, or have other unseen means of support, and can thus afford a nice exploratory sabattical. Definitely a great and enviable position to be in, and quite different from the lot of many culinary students. And it's possible that after school is done, you can come upon a position other than that of the normal chef; something with normal hours. Hope school is treating you well!

Mark, Best of luck to you! I believe I walked by your school a few weeks ago when I was in Boston. Cambridge is a great place! My son just graduated from the CIA, and we couldn't be happier. He is so fired up that he's staying there to get the Pastry degree, too, an unusual double-major. He externed at Hiro Sone's Terra restaurant in Napa, a place whose reputation is close to the level of the French Laundry. My wife and I are both foodies, and food is our main interest anywhere we've travelled. We both worked in restaurants in our youth, and we cook pretty much every day. I've already taken a one-day class at the CIA, and my wife and I are signed up for more this year. My son has been working in kitchens since he was 14, and really knows the deal, having worked all sorts of hours, good places and bad, with luminaries and degenerates alike. Though I love food, restaurants, and cooking, I don't have the right stuff. First, I'm not keen on burning and cutting my hands, whereas my son proudly shows his burns, and gives them funny names! He'll also gleefully recount anecdotes where someone has managed to cut themselves and draw plenty of their own blood!?! Also, I don't particular enjoy working tons of (and peculiar) hours; in contrast, if my son has a good double-shift, he comes out still energized and in a good mood. It seems to me that the rule of thumb is that chefs are working when regular people are not - nights, weekends, and so on. He has worked for some people that were very hard on him. Still, he is stoked about food, and we were amazed at the CIA how wherever he goes, he's a very Big Man On Campus. Although he's done some dating, he has put his work at the highest priority, knowing that this intense focus is the key to moving forward. Free time and relationships are often a fond memory to a chef, and they wouldn't have it any other way. He clearly has the right stuff. Because of the extreme demands of restaurant work, I gather that you'll be looking for something other than the traditional chef path. Best wishes to you in your studies! Dave