docsconz

I just received my copy of Gourmet today. Congratulations to Chef Achatz and his team. FWIW, Alinea is no. 1 on my list too.

Is there something you wish to tell us? ← Damn, busted. Ok, time to come clean. *)!^!@* spell checker. ← As someone who contributes more than my share of typos, I can relate Nevertheless, I couldn't resist.

Thanks, Robert. I hope we don't find out for quite some time!

Is there something you wish to tell us?

I too welcome any additional reports, comments, anecdotes or photos in relation to this event. In the meantime, I am still working on the second day's proceedings. Because of this pre-arranged meal I had to the beginning of the afternoon session including (regretably) Pierre Herme, Masaharu Morimoto, Josh deChellis and Wylie Dufresne. Fortunately, I still made it to Sam Mason, davide Scabin and Sergi Arola and then to The Rising Stars Revue and afterparty.

The original purpose of my trip to NYC last week was to egt together with friends for a special occassion and then to dine around and meet some new friends. I did meet some new friends as can be seen here, albeit in an unexpected way. One of the special occassions was to celebrate the birthdays of some friends with lunch at Jean-Georges. Unfortunately, this required me to miss part of the Congress. While I very much hated to miss the demonstrations by Pierre Herme, Morimoto, Josh DeChellis and Wylie Dufresne, the company at lunch and the lunch itself more than made up for it I have said before and I will say again, lunch at Jean-Georges has to be amongst the greatest bargains in the world of haute cuisine. As of last Wednesday, the current pricing is $28 for the required two courses then $12 for each additional course. I had a sandwich at Starwich two days earlier that cost more than one of these courses! In his recent review MobyP, a palate I greatly respect with culinary sensibilities I consider similar to my own was not at all pleased with his meal here, claiming that the flavors were out of balance with too much acid and spice. I will say that the food here does not shy away from either acid or spice. The flavors are strong and assertive. They are bold and in my opinion brilliant. I was not chewing the food looking for every subtle nuance of flavor. I was too busy swooning over the flavors that were bursting in my mouth. That is not to say that MobyP's opinion is wrong. He had the meal that he did and reacted to it in the way he did. I can see that someone with a preference for subtlety of flavor might feel that way, even if I don't. We started with atrio of amuses with instructions to eat from right to left. In that order they were Hamachi with Shiso Leaf and Jalapeno-orange Puree, Peeky-toe Crab Spring Roll with Pickled Romaine Heart, and Baked Potato Soup While I enjoyed the first two very much, the baked potato soup was the star of this round. It contained the flavor essence of the perfectly composed baked potato - perfectly flavored comfort food in a novel setting, much like what Jose Andres does with his cuisine at minibar. House made Lemon-Verbena Soda House made Cherry-Yuzu Soda. The sodas here are really flavorful and a good alternative to alcoholic accompaniments for the food. I can see that this might be one of the elements here attractive to Ulterior Epicure. I had a nicely made Negroni cocktail to start. Gulf Shrimp and Smoked bacon, Passion Fruit Mustard, Avocado This dish was not subtle. It was, however, profoundly delicious. Bluefin Tuna ribbons, Avocado, Spicy Radish, Ginger Marinade This was not one of my dishes, but I did get to taste it. I have had a lot of bluefin tuna lately (I know - pity me )and this was amongst the best that I tasted. Charred Corn Ravioli, Basil Fondue, Cherry Tomato Salad This dish was simply sensational, totally redolant of the end-of-summer seaason. Not only was this the dish of the meal, it was one of the finest I have had this year or perhaps ever. The smoky corn blended beautifully with the sweetness of the basil fondue and the acid of the tomatoes. I think the beauty of the plate speaks for itself as well. Black Sea Bass Crusted with Nuts and Seeds, Sweet and Sour Jus This was perhaps my least favorite dish of the afternoon. The fish itself was delicious, but the combination of vegetables, as well prepared as they were, were not as harmoniuos as some of the other dishes. It didn't help that it followed the ravioli either as almost anything was bound to pale after that. Our service throughout the meal was knowledgeable, courteous, and efficient. We were neither left wanting nor annoyed. This is the kind of service I think of when I think of classic four-star service. Sauteed Maine Lobster, Artichoke Hearts and Citrus-Chili Emulsion This dish was aggressively spiced. While it worked, I wouldn't have minded it toned down just a little bit to let the underlying ingredients shine a little more. Ponzi MV 2004 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon For the first couiple of seafood/vegetable courses we shared a nice Puligny Montrachet, the specific bottling of which escapes my memory. This wine, specifically bottled for J-G and reasonably priced matched up nicely with the remainder of the meal from the lobster on. Caramelized Sweetbreads, Fragrant Pickled Peach, Licorice and Basil The licorice was quite subtle. I love sweetbreads and this did not disappoint. Heirloom Tomato and Seared Beef Tenderloin Salad, Fresh Wasabi and Extra-Virgin Olive Oil This was not my dish either, although I tasted it. It was good, though the tenderloin was somewhat overpowereed by the rest of the ingredients. We had two different samplers of dessert totalling each dessert on the menu. Strawberry Consomme, Litchi Gelee, Anise Hyssop Granite Strawberry Shortcake, Creme Chantilly, Verjus Jean-Georges' Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream Granite, Gelee, Coffee-Cardamom Meringue Chocolate-Almond, Apricot Compote Chocolate Fig Tart, Almond, Mascarpone Grilled Fig, Raspberry Sangria, Cilantro Local Peaches, Pistachios, Farmers Cheese, Balsamic The desserts were a wonderful over-the-top way to finish a stellar meal. Johnny Iuzzini and his crew continue to do wonderful work composing beautiful dishes and great flavors. Of all of the desserts the Chocolate Fig tart was probably my favorite out of a fabulous sampling. I did get to see Johnny Iuzzini when I went back to the Congress and got to thank him personally for a job well done by his crew. While he was at the Congress, Jean-Georges himself was at the restaurant. I also had the chance at the end of the meal to convey my appreciation to him and his staff. Of course that wasn't the end of the meal! We each stuffed a few mignardises into our sated bellies. I particularly enjoyed the grapefruit marshmallow. After lunch and running into Bruce Willis on my way back from the rest room, I hightailed it back down to the Congress to catch the bulk of Sam Mason's presentation. I missed a lot, but at least I ate very well in the process.

Unfortunately I have yet to find any decent fish stores in the neighborhood. There are 3 stores that I know of that look clean and well kept but unfortunately their product doesn't move as quickly as I would like which leads to not super fresh fish. There was one passable one I went to for a while that I would puchase things from every now and then, but last xmas my Korean mother-in-law was in town and we went in there to buy some fish for her to make a korean kimchee/fish pot. Unfortunately I don't think I will be going there anymore because after making the stew she determined the fish wasn't that great and actually called the Korean owner back to complain. All I know is there was a lot of banter back in forth in Korean and only afterwards did my wife tell me that one of the things her mother told them was something along the lines of: I haven't been back since. If I need to get fish now I will try to get as much as possible from the fish stall at the local farmers marker, or I will go to Wild Edibles in the Grand Central Terminal market. ← Not too long ago therre was a decent fish store on Court Street next to Esposito's Pork Store, my favorite food store in Brooklyn.

I didn't realize you grew up in Park Slope! I don't think things changed much since you were a kid, what was that, 10 years ago? I currently live on 16th Street between 5th and 6th avenues. Some people say it is borderline Park Slope and probably is Windsor Terrace/Prospect Heights. If you ask a realtor, they think 75% of Brooklyn qualifies as Park Slope. Prospect Park has really become even more amazing in the past few years. They finished the Audubon center and 2 years ago reopened the "forest" which was closed to allow nature to regrow itself in a protected fashion. This coming Saturday I am going to take a bikeride down to the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket and take lots of photos along the way. In terms of changes to the neighborhood it is pretty extreme. 7th Avenue was the area to first change as it had the most foot traffic. Now almost every store is either an organic market, restaurant or clothing store with a few Starbucks and Barnes and Noble scattered in. 5th avenue is still somewhat Bohemian, it is a mix of hole in the wall restaurants, cool local bars to have a beer and listen to the jukebox, or discount 99 cent stores. ← Seventh and Fifth Aves. were the big commercial streets when I was growing up, but they were different. Seventh Ave. was undergoing gentrification in the early 70's, especially from 7th St. down to about Flatbush Ave. If there was a fancy restaurant or store in the area it would be found there. 5th Ave was much more ethnic with the ethnicity depending upon what stretch one was traveling. In those days it was either mostly Italian or Puerto Rican. I remember accompanying my father to the Italian fish store on 5th Ave. to get live crabs so my mother could make crab sauce for pasta. There may still be fish stores down there, but they are no longer Italian. Even in Carroll Gardens/Red Hook the traditional Italian stores are dwindling. I don't care who runs a store, so long as the product is good. It seems that most fish shops in Brooklyn today are run by Asian fishmongers, who seem to be doing a very good job so far as I can tell given the few times in recent memory that I have shopped for seafood in Brooklyn. It will be harder to replace the old time Italian salumerias once the original producers are gone, because they are much more dependent on specific consumer preferences. As the old-time Italians leave or die out so too will their recipes and preferences for particular items. Change is constant. In some ways it has been good. In other ways not. It is still very much a question of individual perspective. I very much enjoyed growing up in Brooklyn. There are some things I don't miss and many others I do. My parents remain in Brooklyn in Greenwood. It gives me reason to visit periodically.

This could either be a major walk down Nostalgia Lane for me as I grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn or just a reminder of how old I am getting and how long ago I lived there. unfortunately, I fear the latter is more likely. John, what part of Park Slope do you live in? I grew up on 9th St between 8th Ave. and the Park. BTW, Prospect park is all that. It is a beautiful park, that is probably in better shape today than when I lived there. I still remember having my bicycle stolen from me in the park when I was 14 years old. Now the area is restaurantville. Back in my day, we could get a decent slice of pizza or a good meatball hero and not much more.

It's public knowledge that Leibrandt and Lee replaced each other, Lee permanently, Leibrandt maybe not.... but that is the deal. Not planned that way, just a twist of fate. Strange though because i dont see Leibrandts cooking philosophy in a Starr restaurant. I like Starr but he isnt interested in that kind of precision food. Strange bedfellows indeed. ← Vadouvan, are saying that Liebrandt is going to work for Starr? That is not the impression I got from him last week, although I suppose it remains a possibility.

Funny thing - prior to Pascal Barbot's demonstration I had neither seen nor heard of a "pineapple tomato." Wouldn't you know that a local farmer had some at my local Farmers Market yesterday. Of course I bought a couple. I used one to make a salad with fresh mozzarella and arugula. The tomato, beautiful as it was, was a little bland and needed some salt and acid to bring out its flavor. I used Acetaia del Cristo Cilegio Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena for the acid. I used the other tomato tonight to make a salad to go over some grilled veal chops. Tonight's tomato had more inherent flavor. Because of their relatively low seed and water content I would think they would be interesting used in a sauce.

Jose Andres - Reinventing American Classics It is easy to see why Jose Andres has a successful cooking show in Spain. It is also easy to see why he is a successful chef, restauranteur and businessman. He is a man with great personality and presence. At a time when most of the attendees were beginning to drag after a very full, long day, he had everyone eating out of his hand. Backstage preparations. Onstage preparations. Chef Andres opened with an explanation of how he views the process of re-inventing dishes by taking the familiar, completely altering it into new components while retaining the familiar flavor. This incorporates the pleasure of surprise along with the comfort of familiarity. The first demonstration of his team, which consisted of himself and minibar chefs Katsuya Fukushima and Ruben Garcia was of "Corn on the Cob". The dish incorporated a subtle element of smokiness by using a very small smoker. The dish uses a variety of unusual ingredients including young corn plant shoots. Working on and plating the final dish. Here is a photo of the dish from my meal at minibar this past May. My view of Chef Andres' espuma! see this post for an alternate and better view. Chef Andres demonstrating how to make a mousse out of just about anything. The mousse was part of his new New England Clam Chowder. The "chowder" from my minibar dinner. Working towards "An Organized Caesar Salad". Sfericos of Caesar Slad dressing Chef demonstrates the concept of the "sferico" The finished product from my minibar dinner. Venturing away from reinventing classic dishes, this was a live demonstration of a technique similar to what Albert Adria showed on video earlier in the day when he made the head for his "colibri". Once again, from my minibar dinner, the "Olive Oil Bon-Bon". An explanation of his "Lightbulb of Flavor" This ended the first day of the Congress for me. Many of the chefs and a few lucky others went to have dinner prepared by Paul Liebrandt at Butter. Though I tried to get a spot for myself and a guest, it was fully booked. I toyed with the idea of attending an after-party at the Hotel QT, but I was exhausted and decided to save my energy for the following day (and night).

Great report! I loved the kitchen photos in particular. Chez Panisse is about great ingredients prepared simply but expertly. There is certainly nothing wrong with that.

Frederic Bau The Chocolate Cuisine - Discover Savory Chocolate While the AC was a problem that can be remedied, one other issue that is probably inherent to this type of program is the big tease of watching all these incredible looking dishes being made that one just knows are wonderful, but can't be tasted, because of the scale that would be necessary for production. Thanks to Frederic Bau of L'Ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona in Tain L'Hermitage, that would not be the case with this presentation. Chef Bau brought samples of one of the dishes he would create on stage. Pascal Barbot and his assistant enjoying their colleague's creation. Chef Barbot organizing samples for the rest of the kitchen staff. The remainder were brought to the rear of the auditorium and passed out to the Conference attendees. The dish that incorporated his newest chocolate creation, Xocopili, a blend of Venezuelan 72% cacao chocolate, spices and salt with tomato water gelatin/piquillo peppers, shredded crab with chorizo"fumet" and crispy paprika noodles, was fabulous. Chef Bau started with a brief discussion of using chocolate as a main ingredient in savory cooking. Peter Elliot is looking at Bau's book, recently translated into English, called Chocolate Fusion. The book is entirely about using chocolate in savory cooking as a centerpiece to the dishes rather than just as a finishing accent. If the crab dish is any indication, I am sold. The book, by the way, is beautiful. Chef Bau crumbling some crispy paprika noodles into the bottom of the glass bowl. Chef Bau picking up and showing a piece of the tomato water gelatin with piquillo peppers that he layers on top of the crumbled fried noodles. Shredded crab meat with lemon juice is sandwiched between the gelatin piece and another. Chef Bau spoons a quenelle of a whipped chocolate ganache "chantilly" of crab and chorizo fumet atop the top gelatin layer. He topped the dish with alfalfa sprouts, a little espalette pepper and a noodle crisp. Bau also demonstrated his Original BobBons...of Young Drome Guinea Fowl in Chocolate Chaud-Froid, Shiso, Dill and Tahitian Vanilla. Peter Elliot certainly appeared to enjoy his sample!

Matthew, thanks for your thoughts. My understanding is that the event will be in a different location in NYC next year, still to be determined. For my purposes, I thought the location was good for transportation purposes (I was staying in the Upper West Side and it was an easy subway ride), but though the size of the auditorium was good, the layout of the rest of it was a little confusing. I never did try to venture out to the workshops. The biggest problem for me, given that I was running around a lot with my camera was that the AC did not work very well and it was hot as an oven in there. In fact, at one point, one of the live mikes caught one of the assistants commenting about that just offstage

Louisa, I too enjoyed finally meeting you. The hands-on workshops must have been fun. I didn't get a chance to attend any of them as they were offered simultaneous to the demonstrations. There was a foie gras workshop, " Foie Gras: From Production to the Plate." with Izzy Yanay of Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Joel Antunes of Joel that looked pretty appealing as well. Outside of the realm of offal David Myers of Sona did one on ""The Art of Presentation," Pichet Ong of P*Ong had one on "Working with Tapioca" and Lee Gross of M Cafe de Chaya on "Culinary Yin and yang: Vegan Charcuterie and the Order of the Universe" In addition to the Hands-on Workshops the Congress provided Chef Career Counseling with Chefs Patricia Quintana, Wylie Dufresne, Todd Gray, Tadaashi Ono, Waldy Malouf, Norman van Aken, and Traci Des Jardins; Industry Seminars with Adam Block on "The Art of the Deal", John Egnor on "Kitchen Design with Operaytions in Mind", a Panel including Susan Ungaro, Mitchell Davis, Claudia Karach and Izabela Wojcik on "Inside the James Beard Foundation: Its Mission, Awards and Programs", Phillip Baltz on "The Value of Public Relations" and Linda Pelaccio on "Making the Media Work for You: How to Talk to the Press". Wine and Beverage Seminars were held by Adrian Murcia of Chantarelle on "Food-Loving Tempranillo" and Bart Vandaele of Belga Cafe on "Pairing Belgian Beer with Food" I would love to hear what these were like from anyone who attended any of these events. If there was a flaw with this program it was that there was so much to experience and not enough time in which to do it all.

It was fun, especially that in addition to being acknowledged experts in the area, the three were also very good and entertaining speakers. I will try just about any kind of offal at least once if I know that it is coming from hands familiar with its preparation. Obviously there are some kinds that I prefer more than others with foie gras and sweetbreads at the top of the list. I have also very much enjoyed preparations of pig's trotters, chicken feet, pig's blood (sanguinaccio), tripe and other offal. One specific item that I have yet to try that the three were waxing eloquent over was pig tail.

In honor of the one year anniversary of my trip to South Africa, last night I opened a couple of bottles of 2004 Chocolate Block from Boekenhoutskloof, composed of 45% Syrah, 25% Grenache Noir, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cincault, 2% viognier. The wine was quite lovely and full of various dark fruit. It paired very nicely with roasted fresh ham with garlic, rosemary, sage and thym, cumin-scented roasted fingerling potatoes and local, farmer's market spinach sauteed with garlic, nutmeg, pinenuts and raisins. This should cover me for both "B" and "C"

Very nice Hiroyuki. Do you have any idea what the parasite was? Which fish was it from, the horse mackeral or the sayori?

There was a whole topic devoted to sustainability and the offal discussion focused on using the entire animal as one might imagine given the presence of Fergus Henderson and the title of his book. I am a little concerned about the shark fin situation as well, though I was reassured by the apparent difficulty of adapting that particular ingredient into western kitchens. I would hate to see it become an even more sought after item than it already is. The specific question did not come up in this context though.

Ken Oringer - Inventive Preparations of Unusual Ingredients Ken Oringer has been one of the most creative young chefs in the US for a surprising amount of time given his apparent youth. I personally know some very talented people who have come out of his kitchen, a number of whom are eGullet members. It is no surprise that they too are extremely creative. I very much enjoyed my meal at Clio this past summer with my son. Chef Oringer had just been married the week before so I missed him then. I almost missed him again this time as I was delayed getting back from my personal obligation, but did get to see the majority of his very fascinating demonstration using ingredients like dried shark fin, dried scallops and pico roca barnacles. In the accompanying Congress program Chef Oringer lists his favorite ingredient of the moment aas "Grains of paradise", a sweet, flowery and spicy African pepper that is white on the inside and black on the outside. Their main preparation was a Shark Fin Hot Pot using reconstituted shark fin and dried scallops that were smoked for additional complexity before their addition to the bouillon. The dish is finished with king crab legs, foie gras and black truffle amongst other ingredients. Though shark fin is a highly prized ingredient in Chinese kitchens it is used rarely in western kitchens. Chef Oringer discussed at length his team's trials in figuring out how to use it and reconstitute it succesfully. For this dish they use a pressure cooker. Chef Oringer also discussed the use of the pico roca barnacle, a large creature for a barnacle unlike any other I have seen. For example, these are totally different from the Spanish and Portuguese percebes. Has anyone here any experience using or eating these? If so, please share.

Patricia Yeo - The Nuances of Smoking with Tea Unfortunately, this was one presentation that I had to miss. I would appreciate any input on the demonstration of this talented chef.

Susur Lee - Traditional Chinese Steaming Using Unusual Spices I have already introduced Susur Lee, a uniquely creative chef based in Toronto. Susur and his assistant preparing the mis-en-place for their demonstration. Chef Lee and his assistant were supposed to demonstrate traditional Chinese fish-steaming techniques, but as a result of one of the few technical glitches of the Congress, the actual cooking of the fish had to be completed off-stage. Chef Lee finished the remainder of his Cantonese steamed fish on stage. Cantonese Steamed Fish - this dish utilized traditional spices such as ginger, garlic, shallots, orange zest, coriander, red chile, soy sauce, sesame oil and fermented black beans.

Patricia Quintana - Chiles en Escabeche Patricia Quintana of Izote is a legend of Alta Cucina Mexicana. Chef Quintana talked about ingredients in Mexican cuisine, particularly chiles and provided some historical context for that cuisine. She and her assistant demonstrated making chiles in escabeche using anchos that were pickled and then stuffed with guacomole. Michael Harlan Turk in on the action Chiles in Escabeche Stuffed with Guacomole Chef Quintana finishing up.

Thanks, Ronnie. It's been fun, but a race against time as I have to return to work on Monday. Somehow, I missed a particularly cool photo: Norman Van Aken and Susur Lee, two masters of different areas of Fusion cooking. I have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing Van Aken's cooking, but was thrilled with Susur's on a visit to Toronto in 2003.