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Nathan and David, thank you for well-thought and written replies. This is a truly fascinating technique. I can say that I have eaten truly stunning products of it, yet concerns remain. I will add that I am not so much of a conservative here that I will not eat more of it in the future. I most certainly will do so despite the risks that there may or may not be with the technique. I will, however, continue to play devil's advocate here. The overall experience of twenty years may be sufficient to conclude that when done properly this technique is not a big short term risk, but it says nothing about long-term risks. This will probably be difficult to impossible to assess. One thing that is different about sous vide from more traditional techniques is the ambient temperature of the cooking medium. My understanding is that if cooking to a temperature of 115F with sous vide the cooking medium (water or steam) is kept at 115F. The temperature for conventional cooking is always over the danger zone. With the exception of previously processed foods like hamburger, most potential contamination is on the exterior of the meat and therefore subject to much higher temperatures, thereby significantly reducing the potential for contamination. With processed foods like hamburger this is obviously not the case thus the recommendations for more thorough cooking. This is true, but at even lower temperatures than with sous vide. I would agree that this appears to be true at least with processed foods. It also doesn't matter how food is cooked if it is contaminated after cooking. I very much hope that the technique is safe and is used wisely and appropriately with good technique since the results are so wonderful. I would very much hate to see the more puritanical components of the US Food Safety hierarchy come down on this like they have on raw milk cheeses. Personally I believe that everything has risk and that some risks are more worth taking than others. I still like Vioxx and Bextra for example

Some people expressed doubts, though everyone ate it. I had no problem with the shrimp being raw, however, the overall flavor was not the most appealing to me, although it wasn't bad. The texture was fine. Even in Japanese restaurants, it still is not common to see shrimp served raw, so this is still a relatively new phenomenon to most of us.

It is one of my favorites as well.

Perhaps I should clarify a few points about the GI issues. First, I am only postulating that the restaurant was the source. At this point I can not prove it. Almost half our group came down with the same symptoms independently starting about 6 hours after our meal and lasting through the next day. That was really the only day that was the case. We continued to eat quite well and richly after that without additional symptoms. It is possible that the bug came from somewhere else, but I doubt it. There were a lot of people handling our food. It is conceivable that one person, cook, waiter or other, might have handled food for some but not all of us. For example, I got sick, but my wife didn't. The association was close enough that the group leaders were going to report it back to the restaurant. I don't really blame the restaurant unless it is a consistent problem there, which I doubt it is. The overall sanitation appears to be impeccable as one can get a sense of in my last photo. A problem like this can happen anywhere at any time. It really doesn't take much. All it takes in fact, is one person involved with handling food to be working when s(he) shouldn't be. There is a lot of pressure for highly motivated people to work even when they are feeling suboptimal. It happens. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more. The bottom line is that I loved my meal and the restaurant. It was an exceptional experience and if I had to do it over again with the same result I believe it was good enough that I actually would. I would prefer to not continue to focus on this aspect. I mentioned it because of the apparent association and perception and its effect on myself and the group and believe it relevent to my discussion of the context of the entire meal.

There's nothing like a vineyard at harvest time. I recently had the pleasure of being in the Priorato at harvest. Wow, are those grapes tasty!

Wow. This is just absolutely awful. Victor, I see your points. They have great merit. It is difficult to believe that anyone who can create such stunning beauty can willfully be involved with terrorists. If the charges are indeed true, it is reprehensible, but we don't know what the extent of the extortion might have been. They may be guilty and worthy of the potential actions against them that you described in your post, but they remain victims as well. Unless we were specifically in their shoes we don't really know what we would have done in their stead. This by no means justifies the situation. It just makes it that much more potentially tragic.

Carolyn, That wsa a beautiful and moving tribute. Losing a parent is always difficult because of the permanence. Time does ease the burden and you can reflect on all the positive memories. Like you, many of my most cherisheed memories of my parents revolve around food. My deepest condolences. Congratulations on your writing success. It is writing like this that garnered it. You deserve it.

Since I have returned to work it has been more difficult to find the time to put together the logs for our trip. On the 29th of September we went for lunch at the first Three Star Michelin Restaurant I have ever been to. I have been to comparable restaurants in the U.S. such as Per Se, Daniel, Jean-George, Charlie Trotter’s, etc., but this was the first of this caliber as recognized by Michelin. We drove up from Barcelona after a morning touring the Casa Mittla’ and El barrio Gotico. I was actually relatively hungry (a rare thing for this trip that involved almost constant eating) and arrived in Sant Celoni to find El Raco de Can Fabes The sign The Entrance As we entered we passed through a couple of lovely as yet empty dining rooms with beautiful place settings. We were placed in a large private room, elegantly appointed and overlooking the large and efficient kitchen. I asked for and had the pleasure of meeting eGullet’s own Simon Sunwoo, who was working the last day of his staige at Can Fabes. In our private room we had ready access for viewing the provision rooms, the cheese caves and the production areas themselves. Every thing was temperature controlled. We were given a tour of the wine cellar. It was filled with exceptional wines from all over Europe and possibly elsewhere, although I didn’t see any from other places. The Tasting Table Returning to our tables, the amuse cocktails arrived on long trays that were set on the table. These consisted of a small potato chip with fried quail egg, a ball of foie gras with gelatinized figs, a banana chip with sweetbread mousse, an almond mousse, marinated raw salmon and a potato with mussel and anchovy. These were served with Cava Gran d’Abbatis Brut Nature, a single varietal (Perellada) cava. All were excellent, although my favorite was the potato and egg. The waiter brought around a variety of breads. This was the most impressive looking bread selection of the trip. They weren’t too bad to eat either. No, they didn’t serve the entire loaves. The first of the regular courses united whimsy with wonderful, intense flavor. It was “Tomato with Mascarpone and Basil”, which consisted of tomato aspic, hollowed in the center and filled with basil mascarpone. An “Esqueixada” of white prawns was next. Although “esqueixada” is usually a salad of shredded (what esqueixada literally means) salt cod and vinaigrette with tomatoes and onions, this consisted of shredded raw prawns with diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and other ingredients. Though interesting and beautifully presented, this was probably the group’s least favorite dish of the meal. Some of that I believe may have been cultural as a number of people expressed doubts about eating raw shrimp. Macaroni with little Cuttlefish and paprika followed. This dish also had red mullet and Parmiggiano in it. The pasta was first boiled in stock then quickly pan-fried to give it a crisp texture. The flavors were fantastic. This dish combined elements of comfort food and haute cuisine to a remarkable degree. It was truly delicious on every level. Wild Mushrooms cream with Sweetbreads was a delicious soup with sweetbreads and langoustines that captured the essence of the mushrooms. The sweetbreads themselves were actually unremarkable. The Original Plate The Service. The Final Plate. A Couple of Soup Fans Uum, Uum Good! The wine paired with these courses was Xarel.lo Pairal ’01 from Can Rafrols dels Cavs. This is a small production wine made from 50y/o vines with barriques of a special Catalan chestnut wood. “Corvina” with “sofregit” came next. This was a beautiful piece of hard to come by sea bass served over a sauce of caramelized mushrooms, onion and I think, tomato. The dish was magnificent. Leg of baby goat with sage was a tour de force. It was cooked sous vide and then finished for external caramelization. This dish along with the other sous vide roasts we have had on this trip including the veal leg at Aligue and the suckling pig at Abac, prove the value of this technique as each was amongst the most beautiful and delicious dishes of their kind I have ever had anywhere. See this topic for an interesting discussion on sous vide. I came to Catalonia expecting great seafood, but these roasts have been the most outstanding dishes so far. With this series of photos I had the opportunity to show the range of a dish from initial presentation to production and plating in the kitchen to final service. The Presentation of the kid. The legs. Santi Santamaria at work in the kitchen. Starting to Plate the Kid. Simon Sunwoo in the Thick of it. Next part. Just Prior to Service. Two different plates. An impressive cheese tray was carried by two people to the table. I selected about four different cheeses of mostly Spanish origin, the names of which elude me. The wine for these courses was perhaps the best red of the trip so far, 159 Barricas ’02 from Mas Arago’ near Tarragona. It consisted of 80% Merlot and 20% Tempranillo. Unfortunately dessert needed to be abbreviated secondary to our time constraints. This meal took a wonderfully long time. Dessert consisted of figs in vanilla cream and wonderful petits –fours along with Moscatel de Jerez Emilin. Santa Santamaria was gracious to visit with us, pose for photos and autograph our menus and his books. It was a particular highlight to watch him hold court in the kitchen as he oversaw production of the meal and the aftermath of the kitchen. Here I developed a basis for understanding what a Michelin Three Star meal is all about. Nevertheless, not all the details were perfect, as the men’s room had run out of hand towels and was mildly unkempt. Then there is the legitimate question as to whether a number of our group suffered a day or so of major gastrointestinal distress from that meal, the timing of which makes it the most likely culprit (onset later that night and early the next day). It is extraordinarily unlikely that the source was spoiled or bad food. More likely, something may have been contaminated by someone handling some of our food in the kitchen who probably shouldn’t have been that day. The meal itself in terms of presentation, service and flavor was certainly one of the best I have ever eaten or hope to eat, but its memory, unfortunately will remain slightly tainted by the events that followed. Nevertheless, while I certainly would have preferred that it didn't happen and that my following day wasn't spoiled, I think if I had to I still would have paid that price again for that meal.

So long as they don't rush you when your finishing your meal too

I'll second Lucy's sentiments. Please drop by any of the Boards as often as you can or care too. You are always welcome.

Terry, Welcome to eGullet! I think you hit the nail on the head with your description of your expectations for service. I look forward to reading more of your experiences and insights here and on other boards and please keep up the good work on the wine importation front. I remember a wine dinner of your selections a few years ago at The Friends Lake Inn in Chestertown, NY. that was one of the better ones amongst many very fine ones that I've attended.

And they probably are. I just wonder though that since this is relatively new technology what the science behind it is. For example are there any plastic molecules leaching through or are the quantities just deemed to be at a safe level? If the latter, I'm not really sure how "a safe level" would have been determined since the use of this technique hasn't been around long enough or been extensive enough (this appears to be changing) to get a sense as to what long-term health effects might be. In reality, chances are it is less of a risk than microwaving foods in plastic containers, but then health concerns about that are relatively new. Personally I love what the technique can do and I don't eat from it often enough at this point that I'm overly concerned. Even if there is some risk, the qualities of the final product are good enough that I think the benefits are worth the risk. Nevertheless I am curious.

Chez Sophie in Malta, NY , near Saratoga has served Stone Church pheasant in the past and I believe serves Stone Church duck on occassion. I just had a wonderful meal there last night, but I had the rabbit fricasee rather than the duck. If I had read this thread first I would have tried the duck. My sense though is that if they are serving it, it is a good product.

Nice report, JJ. The gnocchi are like Joe Bavuso's only not quite as good. The mushrooms are fantastic.

This is a fascinating and informative topic hat somehow I missed until now. I was just in Spain and it seemed as if everything from veal leg to pigeon to roast suckling pig to eggs were cooked with this technique. Unfortunately I had to miss a sous vide demonstration from Joan Roca himself because of a GI bug I caught (hopefully not from having eaten something cooked this way). The results were uniformly magnificent. I do actually have some health related concerns, though. While the lack of oxygen may inhibit many forms of bacteria, it could actually enhance the growth of anaerobic forms like those responsible for botulism. How is this combated in the kitchens that employ this method? Secondly, does anyone know the science enough to be certain that there isn't leakage of plastic into the food? If there is, there may or may not be short or long-term related health effects.

The photos are great! Thanks for adding them. It is particularly interesting to see the similarities and the differences. The squid is a prime example. The dishes ar very similar but clearly not the same. I love the photo in the mirror. You were obviously enjoying yourselves and your wonderful enthusiasm shows. Please do not hesitate to add any more photos to this or other topics.

Amen.

It strikes me that if this story is true these chefs are victims.

I'm not saying I didn't love the place, the meal and the people, and they did treat our group royally. Elena Arzak herself showed us around. She couldn't have been more gracious and charming and fortunately she wasn't the one doing the service. She had better things to attend to. However, the table service was less than I've experienced in comparable restaurants. It was good, but in most of the better restaurants I've been to, the service anticipates ones needs and responds to them seemlessly and are proud to do so. I do have arms and had I been able to reach the wine or the water I would have been happy to serve myself, but then again I wouldn't want to appear to be showing up the waitstaff in a three star restaurant either. It was simply an observation and criticism that as good as the place was and it was great it still had imperfections. I really don't mean to be ungrateful, but I don't need to be fawning either. Would I return with the same flaws as I described? Absolutely in a heartbeat. In the grand scheme of things the service criticism was a minor point, but I still feel the critique is valid. You are correct about the lack of stuffiness. That is a wonderful thing and contributes greatly to the soul of the restaurant. Since your comment made me focus more on what was less than perfect about the experience, I must add something else that I had actually forgotten. Allowing for cultural differences and the fact that smoking is much more widely accepted and practiced in Europe, the smoking there was the most bothersome I've ever encountered in a high end restaurant in Europe or elsewhere. I must attribute that to the poor ventilation as cigarette and cigar smoke drifted over from various parts of the room on a nearly constant basis. I was able to tolerate it and others may not find that to be a problem or an issue, but in a perfect world (or restaurant) those who wanted to smoke could do so without inconveniencing those who prefer to not be around it. Once agin, though, my overall experience remained fabulous despite my perception of imperfections.

You forgot the appropriate smilie

I can't wait to get a sense of the Salone. I expect this to be my best source for living vicariously for this event. Don't skimp. I want details!!! Please?

A peon, Don? I think not! I would just love to read Terry's thoughts and opinions directly as I do yours. C'mon Terry, don't be shy. We don't bite....at least not hard. Seriously, Terry, if you are reading this, it would be an honor and a pleasure to have you be a part of our community...directly.

I'm sure you acquited yourself well. When will the show be on?

The other aspect about charging a lot of money is the cache one receives from having an expensive wine Seriously, this would be a major aspect for those doing so for the ego gratification. An expensive wine is supoosed to be a good wine whether or not it is. Conversely, if the wine is too cheap then the suggestion is that it must not be too good. Obviously, this is not necessarily true for any given wine.

Miguel, this is a post for the ages and one that should be made available for anyone going to a restaurant, FD or otherwise. Another gem. Thank you.