Starchefs International Chefs Congress 2008

[docsconz]

After Enrique Olvera's presentation there was a break for lunch. Here are some photos from that time.

Daniel Boulud being interviewed.

George Mendes enjoying some jamon.

Box lunches representing Foods from Quebec were passed out.

The lunch menu.

Preparing the box lunches.

These delightful lunches prepared by chefs including Stelio Perombelon and Patrice Demers had nice Quebec ingredients like maple syrup, pork "cretons", Quebec cheeses, apples, crab and other delights. Washed down with some Unibroue, this was a lunch I would enjoy any time.

Iron Chef judges Akiko Katayama and Ted Allen having a chat in the press room.

Edited to add two photos.

Edited September 24, 2008 by docsconz (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Great stuff. I'd give my left... well... my left something... to have attended Chef Blumenthal's talk. A little brain-picking with Johnny Iuzzini would have been really cool too.

[prasantrin]

Did he happen to mention where he got those cool dishes that he uses for his mise? I love them!

[docsconz]

Did he happen to mention where he got those cool dishes that he uses for his mise?  I love them!

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While I am not certain, I suspect they were from one of the sponsors of the ICC.

[docsconz]

Great stuff. I'd give my left... well... my left something... to have attended Chef Blumenthal's talk. A little brain-picking with Johnny Iuzzini would have been really cool too.

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Chef Blumenthal's talk was great, but I think I would have given it to have been at that Christmas dinner!

[gfron1]

The dishes are Bauscher. How do I know?...I'm saving my pennies.

[prasantrin]

The dishes are Bauscher.  How do I know?...I'm saving my pennies.

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Ah, Bauscher Silhouette. I can't find any prices, but perhaps that's a good thing. The last time I coveted dishes I saw on eG, they were almost 200 euro per plate!

[docsconz]

The dishes are Bauscher.  How do I know?...I'm saving my pennies.

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Ah, Bauscher Silhouette. I can't find any prices, but perhaps that's a good thing. The last time I coveted dishes I saw on eG, they were almost 200 euro per plate!

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Bauscher was indeed a sponsor. Was the 200 Euros per plate with or without food on it?

[gfron1]

They're not that bad. I want to say that a dozen large plates were $450 US shipping included. I've been eyeballing the bowl that looks like the top of a lilly. Gorgeous.

[Tri2Cook]

Great stuff. I'd give my left... well... my left something... to have attended Chef Blumenthal's talk. A little brain-picking with Johnny Iuzzini would have been really cool too.

←

Chef Blumenthal's talk was great, but I think I would have given it to have been at that Christmas dinner!

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Yeah, that would have been awesome to experience. I already had my round of jealousy over that one when I watched that episode of "Perfection". I guess that episode and the "Fish Pie" episode (which discussed the sound thing) pretty much covered the topics but it would still have been fun to hear his thoughts on it now, a couple years down the road. I haven't figure out why he's still so secretive about using the word "gellan" though... it's not like nobody knows about it. Regardless, he's still one of my food heroes despite not having tasted his food. I just like the way he thinks.

[docsconz]

Great stuff. I'd give my left... well... my left something... to have attended Chef Blumenthal's talk. A little brain-picking with Johnny Iuzzini would have been really cool too.

←

Chef Blumenthal's talk was great, but I think I would have given it to have been at that Christmas dinner!

←

Yeah, that would have been awesome to experience. I already had my round of jealousy over that one when I watched that episode of "Perfection". I guess that episode and the "Fish Pie" episode (which discussed the sound thing) pretty much covered the topics but it would still have been fun to hear his thoughts on it now, a couple years down the road. I haven't figure out why he's still so secretive about using the word "gellan" though... it's not like nobody knows about it. Regardless, he's still one of my food heroes despite not having tasted his food. I just like the way he thinks.

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He actually did use the word "gellan." It was I that was being secretive.

[docsconz]

The lunch period was brief, especially as the Congress was delayed starting and the schedule was already off-track. The next set of events was a group of simultaneous hands-on workshops covering a variety of topics and a few interactive seminars. Being that I did not have a space in any of the workshops, I made a point of wandering amongst them and getting a taste along with some visual impressions of what was going on. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide anything more than that here. Even with that, somehow I completely missed a couple of cool events taking place within the labyrinthine space of the Armory such as a Chef/Producer Panel moderated by Dan Barber, The Rising Stars: How to make it Career Panel and a blind tasting of wines with Madeline Triffon of Detroit's matt Prentiss Restaurant Group emphasizing common qualifiers and reference points in good wines irrespective of price.

I did get to pop in on a workshop with Paul Liebrandt on cooking sous vide. Lamb was the principle ingredient used for this workshop. Popping into this area was no mean feat as the interest level was extremely high and the area was quite crowded with people just wishing to watch Paul and listen to his sous vide experience as well as those signed up to be at the workshop stations.

Each work station was set up for approximately four people and had a cook from the Corton kitchen as a resource. At this station Gabe Quiros handled those duties.

Lamb let out of the bags.

Paul Liebrandt leading the charge.

A water bath in action.

I would have loved to have stayed and kept a spot to play and learn, but I had other things to check out as well. I returned a bit later on...

[docsconz]

The renaissance of mixology and the world of cocktilia has not been lost on the organizers of the Starchefs International Chefs Congress. It has earned and been given ever more prominence with each ICC. This year was no exception as a number of cocktail heavyweights once again took part in this Congress. Another hands-on workshop that I would have loved to just partake of and absorb was Toby Maloney's (aka Alchemist) treatise on Bitters. Instead, I managed to smell a few different concoctions and enjoy the lighting in this wonderful, old wood-paneled room being careful to not disturb those who were concentrating on the tasks at hand.

The students...

...and the teacher.

Edited September 25, 2008 by docsconz (log)

[docsconz]

Another extremely well-attended workshop was the Pastry Workshop put on by Pop-Sci gurus and FCI Faculty members Dave Arnold and Nils Noren using the Randell's FX Refrigerated Drawer Chilling System (see here for more info.) to effect changes in familiar foods based upon their levels of coldness.

An array of ingredients to play with.

Nils Noren passing a plate.

This is something that looks pretty interesting and in retrospect I wish I had paid closer attention to.

[prasantrin]

Bauscher was indeed a sponsor. Was the 200 Euros per plate with or without food on it?

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If it had come with food, I'd have bought it! (They were dishes from L2O...I'd like to get there eventually for the food--do you think they'd notice if a few plates went missing? )

[hathor]

Sort of an off topic question: do you think calling these chefs 'stars' is a good thing? "A Rising Star"? Just a meandering thought....I'm wondering if that puts too much emphasis on celebrity, then again celebrity brings money.... Meandering, like I said.

Very happy to see that cocktails are getting their due. I would have loved to be at that bitter workshop.

[docsconz]

Marco Pierre White signed copies of his classic book White Heat including weathered copies brought by admiring chefs.

[docsconz]

Sort of an off topic question: do you think calling these chefs 'stars' is a good thing? "A Rising Star"? Just a meandering thought....I'm wondering if that puts too much emphasis on celebrity, then again celebrity brings money....  Meandering, like I said.

Very happy to see that cocktails are getting their due. I would have loved to be at that bitter workshop.

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Interesting thought, Judith. I think that it is a double-edge sword. On the one hand, it raises the profile of cooking which is a good thing. On the other hand, it sometimes raises expectations, especially of young cooks to be something that they may not or can not be as relatively very few rise to this status. I think it is good to give people their due who deserve it. Sometimes, however, in the rush to celebrity, things can get sidetracked and careers or more can derail. The nice thing about the "star" chefs at the ICC is that they have indeed earned their "star" stripes through actual cooking in real kitchens and not celebrity for celebrity's sake. One possible exception to that rule is Tony Bourdain, who although by all accounts a fine chef, really made his mark through his writing and television rather than directly through his cooking. Even there though, I think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that he hasn't earned his celebrity status as he is extremely good at what he does.

Toby's workshop was definitely one that I would have loved to just absorb as I consider my knowledge of cocktails to be rudimentary, although I do enjoy and appreciate a well made one and am learning more and more about them as my own interest continues to wax. I have to say, though, that there wasn't a single workshop offered that I wouldn't have loved to fully partake of.

[docsconz]

Mis-en-Place for the Next Presenter

[docsconz]

eGullet Society member and Professional Culinary Photographer harlanturk photographing the mis-en-place.

[docsconz]

The Next Presenter

[docsconz]

A View From Above

[docsconz]

Before the next presenter got underway, I managed to return to see the end of Paul Liebrandt's sous-vide workshop.

Applying the finishing touches.

The finished lamb dish.

[Alchemist]

Sort of an off topic question: do you think calling these chefs 'stars' is a good thing? "A Rising Star"? Just a meandering thought....I'm wondering if that puts too much emphasis on celebrity, then again celebrity brings money....  Meandering, like I said.

Very happy to see that cocktails are getting their due. I would have loved to be at that bitter workshop.

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I must say that it was a pleasure to do the event as it was so well organized. The Mixology Crew were fantastic. Without their competent support things would not gone as well as they did. Just like a bar, it's the people in the back, running around like crazy, that make the whole operation seem to happen effortlessly.

I would be happy to do it again, I had a blast! It's got me thinking about where to do it, and also how to arrange it. It would be cool to have some people who produce bitters on a large scale. It doesn't make sense to do it for less than 25-30 people. I know Astor Place has a great room, but it's rather big, and I'm guessing expensive.

Toby

[docsconz]

Charlie Trotter - Chef Responsibility & The Evolution of Creativity

The beginning of Chef Trotter's presentation focused on a video documenting the first twenty years of his eponymous restaurant as well as his approach towards the responsibility of a chef.

According to Chef Trotter, all who are in the world of service/food+wine/hospitality are the luckiest people in the world. Use of the terms "industry" or 'business" in combination with food/service/hospitality should not happen, because hospitality is “such a great calling.” He stated that he grew up in a place where food was not a big deal nor particularly special. In college, his roommate would shop all over town and cook good wholesome food. Eventually food became more important than academics to Trotter, and after he graduated from college he decided to become a cook. He felt that he could always pursue law or medicine after a few years if he wanted to. Working in restaurants, he took every job to heart, and he said that "ever since he was blessed enough to walk into the world of food" he has done the same with even the smallest jobs. It’s important because one is doing something that is one of the most intimate things that a person can do for another. At his restaurant, if he spends even more than 4-5 minutes at a table in the dining room, he wants to comp the table, so his staff does all they can to keep him from the dining room!. Trotter says doesn’t like doing it for the money because it is such an intimate action. At the same time he loves to make money. Chef Trotter agrees that cooks/chefs can indeed be artists, but it is essential that they make money and are able to extend their positive reach in the community.

Trotter outlined a 3-tiered goal. The first is to make an aesthetic contribution (beauty for its own sake), such that there should be no difference in the appearance of separate areas of the restaurant: "the dumpster or changing area should be as pristine as the front of the house"The second tier is to make a cultural contribution. He asked, "what enhances our lives in modern times?" and answered, "opera, great books, ballpark, restaurants - a special location" etc. The third element is to make a social contribution, to help with the community, to provide something that money can’t buy - to show what goes on behind the scenes in a high-powered restaurant. Ten years ago they started a foundation which has given about $1.5 million to young students going to culinary school.

is even more important to him. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night an area school chooses 20 students to go to dinner, where they discuss excellence over a 10 course meal. according to Trotter, “the beauty of it is that you get what you give. if you want a lot you gotta give a lot.” A member of the staff comes in and introduces a dish and discuss what they do to strive for excellence. Trotter doesn’t motivate his staff, because if they are unable to find motivation themselves, then they do not belong in the kitchen. He feels that the greatest thing anyone can do is create leaders.

to be continued...