[CINCINNATI] Gourmet Sensation 2007

[vogelap]

During the early part of September each year, the Bethesda Foundation hosts GOURMET SENSATION, one of their signature fund-raising events. Since 1988, chefs from all around the world as well as local chefs have shared their culinary creations with an ever-growing and appreciative crowd to raise funds for Hospice of Cincinnati. This year's event was on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Gourmet Sensation table display

My involvment with GOURMET SENSATION is as an appreciative guest, but I am involved with an event that occurs before GOURMET SENSATION -- that is the chefs' appreciation dinner the night before. For more than 12 years, Michael & Kathy Brown have prepared a multi-course meal for the chefs and their guests. For two of the last three years, Michael & Kathy have allowed me to assist them with preparations and service of this meal (I missed helping in 2006 because I was on vacation). This grand meal is presented in the beautiful dining room of the Cincinnatian Hotel, in their Palace restaurant which closes for the evening to allow Michael and his crew to move in and work in the hotel's kitchens. This year, we served over 70 people.

On Thursday and Friday September 6 & 7, I went to the Brown's house to assist with preparation of the meal. Several other professional cooks and enthusiastic amateurs show up to work for short or long shifts at the Brown's house, so their large kitchen is crowded and bustling with activity.

The menu Michael & Kathy designed was as follows:

* Home Cured Wild Coho Salmon and Gazpacho

2006 Gunderloch “Redstone” Riesling (Rheinhessen, Germany)

* Medallion of Foie Gras, Viognier Gelee and Fig Compote

2003 Gregory Graham Viognier (Napa Valley)

* Walleye with Braised Artichokes, Artichoke Puree and Lobster Mushrooms

2006 Four Sisters Sauvignon Blanc (South Eastern Australia)

* Loin of Veal, Sweetbread, Corn and Apple Ravioli, Honey Crisp Apples and Calvados Sauce

2004 Four Sisters Shiraz (South Eastern Australia)

* Epí

* Couronne Lochoise, Roasted Beets and Pistachios

2005 Chateau Calabre (Montravel, France)

2004 Domaine de Pallus Chinon (Loire, France)

* Chocolate Caramel Walnut Tart

2003 Gregory Graham “Red Hills” Syrah (Lake County)

The gazpacho was novel -- Michael used gelatin filtration (as discussed in McGee's column in the New York Times (registration required)) so the resulting liquid was intensely flavorful and crystal clear with a reddish tint. The home cured salmon was very tasty (though I only had a nibble).

I prefer seared foie gras to cold, but this preparation of the foie in a tourchon was quite nice (when isn't foie gras nice?!) and very simple to serve, though I didn't love the plating -- I thought it looked a little crowded. Still, the plates were virtually licked clean when they came back, so the crowd must have been happy. The Viognier gelee was tasty and attractive.

The walleye was cooked very well (Keith has been cooking at the Palace for longer than he cares to admit, and he's got a real master's touch with fish and meats), and the lobster mushrooms were a very nice compliment to the flavor of the fish.

A personal favorite dish was the veal -- it was beautifully prepared and cooked -- very tender, and the sweetbread, corn, and apple ravioli were quite tasty.

The cheese in the cheese course -- the Couronne Lochoise, a soft and creamy raw goat's milk cheese from the Loire valley -- was absolutely delicious, though before we portioned them, the individual cheeses looked like glazed yeast doughnuts! We cut each "doughnut" (actually, the word "Couronne" means "crown") into four wedge-shaped pieces, which was a generous cheese course. The roasted beets & pistachios were wonderful together (very earthy) and complimented the cheese very well. This was one of my favorite elements of the meal.

Couronne Lochoise

After the cheese course came Kathy's delicious Chocolate Caramel Walnut Tart, a beauty for the eyes and a delight on the tongue. Even though I am not a "chocolate person", I certainly appreciated the rich flavors of this dessert. We served it with a squiggle of Syrah reduction to decorate the plate.

Service of the meal went very quickly and smoothly -- Gina, Jody, Tarrick, and others made light work of the plating and service. The menu was well planned and well prepped, so there was very little that needed to be done a la minute. Once service was done, we were taken out into the restaurant and presented to the appreciative crowd.

It was nice to recognize many faces from my previous GOURMET SENSATION experience -- good to see Juho and othersm and it was nice to connect with new faces like Nancy & Steve from Baltimore! A few drinks were poured, a lot of conversation, and then I went home and sacked out! I heard reports that lots of the guest chefs went out and painted the town red -- some reported getting back to their hotel rooms at 4:30am!

The next evening, Wendy & I attended the GOURMET SENSATION and were very impressed with the dishes prepared by the chefs. While every dish was tasty (and we tried them all), standouts included the bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with bleu cheese, the venison burgers, the sticky toffee pudding, the short ribs, the soft-shell crab, and the fish-in-coconut-milk-broth. A nice upgrade this year was the keepsake wine glass and plastic plate (with wine glass holder). It made juggling food, forks, and wine much easier than before.

Wendy & I were invited to go out with the chefs after GOURMET SENSATION and we intended to... We really did! We went home for a bit of downtime between the event and the partying, and never managed to get back up again to go out. So we missed a good time with the chefs, but I've made a promise to myself that next year we will make it!

[JAZ]

How much of the prep gets done beforehand at their house? Do you use the hotel kitchen for a la minute stuff (like the fish) and plating only, or do you do more there?

[MichaelB]

How much of the prep gets done beforehand at their house? Do you use the hotel kitchen for a la minute stuff (like the fish) and plating only, or do you do more there?

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Thank you for the report Andrew. I'll jump in with the logistical details, as this is my meal.

Breads (epi [30 pounds] and brioche [6.5 pounds]) are prepared Labor Day weekend, frozen and thawed for service.

Stocks are cooked early in the week and held for sauce making later in the week. This year 8 gallons (50 pounds bones) veal and 3 gallons (30 pounds bones) chicken.

Salmon was cured from Monday evening until Thursday afternoon. Diced Thursday afternoon. Cucumber, red onion and fennel cut into brunoise Thursday. Salmon, cucumber, red onion and fennel rings fabricated Friday morning.

Gazpacho pureed, tami'ed, gelatined and frozen Wednesday evening. Drip thawed Thursday morning through Friday afternoon.

Foie gras cured Wednesday evening, fabricated and cooked Thursday. Gelee prepared Thursday. Fig compote prepared Thursday.

Artichokes trimmed, vacuum packed and sous vide cooked on Thursday. Globe artichokes pureed Friday morning. Sauce prepared Friday morning. Fish scaled, fileted, and pin boned Thursday night. Fish portioned and trimmed Friday morning. Mushrooms cleaned, cut, and sauteed Thursday.

Veal loins trimmed Thursday. Sweetbreads blanched, cleaned and sauteed Thursday. Corn roasted Thursday and removed from cob Friday. Apples diced and parisian balled on Friday. Ravioli fabricated on Friday (one of Andrew's jobs).

Beets roasted and diced on Thursday. Pistachios blanched, skinned and toasted on Thursday. Pistachio vinaigrette made Friday. Rings of beet and pistachio are fabricated on Friday morning.

Tarts prepared and baked Thursday afternoon and evening.

All the above is done in our home kitchen with volunteer help. In fairness, several of our volunteers are professional cook friends.

Then all this transported on a refrigerated truck a friend lends me for the purpose to the hotel. Transportation is around 3:00 pm for service at 6:30.

At the hotel, we pre-sear the meat and fish just before service. We portioned the foie gras and refrigerated it about 30 minutes before service. All else done at pick-up with the assistance of the restaurant's line staff. The chef and both sous were guests in the dining room. The hotel GM expedites.

Reservation count this year was 85. 76 meals served.

[MichaelB]

Oh, and Andrew is correct about the foie gras plate being crowded.

One of the limitations in a meal like this is the coordination after the menu is set with the hotel chef and maitre d' for china and glassware. For the china, I have to take what is available. I am requesting 90 each of 7 different pieces of china (including the liner for the soup plate) from what is normally a 60 seat restaurant.

[vogelap]

Michael does a great job of coordinating everything... The prep sheets were comprehensive and well-thought out. And, Michael does a heck of a lot of the prep on his own (I think that most of the volunteers are at their house only on Thursday & Friday).

Also, and Michael wouldn't mention this... His kitchen at home is larger than some professional kitchens I've worked in, and better appointed than most (he's got a cryovac machine in his home kitchen!). To give you an idea of how large it is... Think elegantly re-purposed two-car garage!

[FabulousFoodBabe]

MichaelB, when you say "salmon gelatined," did you mean you put it in lime Jell-O? Or Lemon? For something this fancy, maybe both.

I see it presented in little fish molds with Miracle Whip eyes piped on, and paprika for color.

It sounds amazing. My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.

[MichaelB]

MichaelB, when you say "salmon gelatined," did you mean you put it in lime Jell-O? Or Lemon? For something this fancy, maybe both. 

I see it presented in little fish molds with Miracle Whip eyes piped on, and paprika for color.

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Hey! This was a "sophisticated" meal with guests from all over the world -- yes, the world, I tell you. This was NOT some pot luck in the basement of a west side church.

Only the finest for my guests. As this was a play on gazpacho, the jello was half strawberry and half cherry, resulting in a beautiful faux tomato color.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Hey!  This was a "sophisticated" meal with guests from all over the world -- yes, the world, I tell you.  This was NOT some pot luck in the basement of a west side church.

Only the finest for my guests.  As this was a play on gazpacho, the jello was half strawberry and half cherry, resulting in a beautiful faux tomato color.

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Ahem. I'm a sophisticated wordly type. I actually left my zip code -- moved from the west side to the east side, I did! If it were a church basement, it'd have lots of fried stuff, anyway.

Love the fauxmahto. I can see a whole line of foods now : Fauxmahto soup, fauxmahto paste. What kind of fusion do you call this -- French-Kentucky Rim?

Edited September 13, 2007 by FabulousFoodBabe (log)

[MichaelB]

If it were a church basement, it'd have lots of fried stuff, anyway.

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And just how else would one cook the brioche croutons for the foie gras, the fish, and the ravioli?

I said sophisticated, not froo-froo. There has to be some fried stuff in there to make it taste good.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

And  just how else would one cook the brioche croutons for the foie gras, the fish, and the ravioli?

I said sophisticated, not froo-froo.  There has to be some fried stuff in there to make it taste good.

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Lightly buttered, and toasted. And you know that brioche and croutons aren't the same as "fried stuff." Unless you pass it through a deep fryer about two hours after you start frying fish ... oh, man. Imagine that!

Seriously, MichaelB and vogel, this sounds amazing. Such a lot of work and heart went into this. Beautiful stuff.

[MichaelB]

Unless you pass it through a deep fryer about two hours after you start frying fish ... oh, man. Imagine that!

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That's how I did it. In the deep fryer. Fish first, then the sweetbread ravioli, then the brioche.