zilla369

Mountain Potato thread

I'm with you. I am going to go against the grain and say Stephen has grown on me, too. He's consistently won. Yeah, he might be full of shit...but it's all about being able to sell it, baby. AND he has the wine pairing thing going on. In the early going I thought that would get tiresome - but he's kept it up along with consistently cranking out dishes the judges admire. People eat with their eyes first. Then they take a sip of wine. I dunno how it all turns out, but he was probably laughing his ass off at this point in the game. Stephen has a fantastic future ahead of him. Maybe not as a high-paid executive chef, but certainly as a menu/wine list consultant (which, come to think of it, is more lucrative anyway). Go Stephen!!

I just wish I could afford to do it. When I see it done, I'm totally envious.

There are some very fine pictures that Michael took at the Per Se kitchen and elsewhere last fall here

Went for $20,000. Video of the auction

Yeah, that's a standard butler-passed HD on the catering menu where I work. If only each and every one was as carefully styled as that one was. Hee hee. Blini's a great idea, though. Personally, I'd rather eat it on a blini than a tortilla chip. For catering, I always try to imagine eating stuff while wearing a beaded party dress, with a tiny purse in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other - and in that case, a blini would be neater than a crispy tortilla chip. Probably taste better, too.

Buy various flavored tortillas and cut them into wedges. Pan-fry them in your choice of high-smoke-point oil. Top tortilla chips with salmon and creme fraiche or sour cream, and capers and fresh dill. Like so, but with better salmon:

Great news indeed, Chad! I can't help but emphasize that Chad's agent found him through his eGullet Culinary Institute Knife Maintenance and Sharpening Course. If you haven't visited the topic, please do so with all haste! There's a great Q&A topic that goes with the course. Let's make Chad work for his good fortune! I'm sure he'll be glad to answer any new questions that crop up.

Mike, thanks for that link. I was happy to see this: Sweet.

My roommate passing through while the China show was on: "Damn, I wanna hang with Tony. There's always shots wherever he is."

I wouldn't drink it, but I'd sure like to own it. I think it's beautifully creepy, all under-lit as it is in the photo.

When it's in season, I'd be interested to learn how watermelon puree would play against the rosemary syrup. I make a watermelon-rosemary sorbet that's always a big hit. So....watermelon puree, rosemary syrup and....vodka? Midori? Gin?

Moderator's note: As suggested by several alert readers [/Dave Barry], we've merged the three threads about Meal Preparation Centers. Consequently, some of the links to the various threads posted upthread are no longer valid, because, well - those threads are now within this thread. Clear as mud? We now return you to your merged thread.

Michelle - I'm glad to see this topic - I suppose it might mean that artichokes can be considered Kosher? My roommate noted we were serving chicken and artichoke skewers at a catered Bat Mitzvah Saturday night. Now, the event wasn't strict Kosher, however, we did make some concessions (such as beef franks-in-a-blanket) for the more conservative attendees. Roomie said "artichokes can't be kosher, they have all those little leaves!" and I was feeling guilty that perhaps someone's grandma hadn't been able to eat them. Artichokes: Kosher? Yay or Nay or "It depends"? I did notice that - at least where we purchase them from - there's no Kosher symbol beside the product on our purveyor's website.

Here's the link to the restaurant website: Proof on Main

Here's the link: Meals that Moms can almost call their own (Free registration may be required)

Glenfiddich to Auction the World's Oldest Bottle of Whisky RSVP required to attend the auction. If anyone from eGullet attends, I hope they will post about it here afterwards.

$120, breakfast included. In off season (May-Sept) down to $100. ← Typical for the Wilderness area? Seems extremely reasonable. Especially if it includes ostrich filet for breakfast! I noticed you said "more wine" in one paragraph. Do you provide a bottle with the room?

Proof got a four-out-of-four stars rating in the Courier Journal (which has just changed restaurant reviewers). I can't believe they didn't even wait until they'd been open a month to review them. Almost everyone who's been there is raving about the place. I have heard one or two slow-service reports, but I think anyone in the business would agree that the crowds generated by the type of fanfare this place opened with would bog down almost any new dining room. When I eat there, I'll post here again. I really need to get down there.

Boy, oh boy - have I ever been looking forward to this! Gerhard knows that I sometimes act as relief breakfast chef/innkeeper at a bed and breakfast, so it'll be cool to see how it's done half the world away. At the Inn where I work, the owners long ago decided to do away with an ala carte menu and just offer the same thing to everyone each day (with exceptions cheerfully made if requested). That made my life easier - but I still wish we had the manpower to do a choice of two or three. And a printed menu every day! My stars! Gerhard, if you don't mind - what's the cost of a double for a night (and then can someone convert that into US$ for us Yanks)?

Can blue cheese be a component of the hot nibble? mmm....hot nibble

I think the most horrifying part about the whole situation for me is that he actually staged at Alinea. I believe he also staged at FL and Per Se, as well...is that right? I suppose he was afraid to put any of Keller's dishes on his menu because they are so well-known? Well, I for one just can't resist saying how provocative I found this statement. I'm extremely interested in the tenor of this apology, and whether Chef Wickens actually didn't see the error of his ways until it was pointed out to him, or rather that he didn't think he'd be found out, and now he's sorry. Since Chef Wickens hasn't responded recently, I wonder if we could convince him to respond now? Obviously Interlude has given permission for their photos to be used in the Daily Gullet piece. Robin, what do you say?

Sugarella, I think you're right. I know at a couple of conventions I went to, everyone wore a dress shirt (and tie!) under their chef's jacket. I've sported that look a couple times myself - very professional. There's even a special way to iron the back of your chef's jacket for convention meetings, in certain circles. Silly rituals, I guess - but no worse than any other professional group.

Not if nobody busts you on it, it's not. Yeah, he should have tasted them, but he didn't have time - instead, he decided to execute something with a flourish and he won. I don't want to marry the guy or anything, and I think he's probably a great bullshit artist, but I have gained some respect for him. He's smart and creative. In a competition, that's better than being cuddly. He might hurt himself by shoving the wine pairing angle down everyone's throats for the duration, though.

I thought I must be some sort of major perv, because within moments of finding out what the challenge was, I had a mental list of about 20 options going. And what's up with all these contestants whining "I'm not a pastry chef..."? What planet are they from? Most line cooks I know view pastry work with major disdain, and barely acknowledge the need for a kitchen to employ a pastry chef, although they do acknowledge that having one on the payroll ensures that they don't have to sully their golden hands with icing sugar. Do I sound bitter?