Kitchen on the TV

Recently I had the opportunity to do a cooking demo on a local Fox affiliate. It was a little nerve racking getting to the point of being set but definitely worth it. Not only was it worth it, I enjoyed it immensely. This is a short blog because I'm just excited about having done this and hope I get a chance to do it again soon. So, for any of you living in the Rhode Island area check out the Rhode Show, Monday-Friday @ 8:00 AM on Fox. Anyway here's the link and maybe there'll be more one day.

http://www.foxprovidence.com/dpp/rhode_show/rhode_show_cooking/rhode_show_cooking_scallop_truffles_20090504

Chefs, artist or laborer?

It's a strange thing sometimes working for a design school. Many people think that culinary arts are difficult, and many (often those on the outside) believe they are simple. I remember when I first started working at RISD at an event a voice in the crowd basically said, "well that should be easy it's just cooking". A facinating statement since "just" cooking is still a growing industry in this country.

I once had a discussion with a student about deadlines and how it's very different in my art form compared to theirs, when using a restaurant for example. Imagine someone asking for two of one style painting/sculpture/design within a time span that would really allow you very little room for error, then imagine that happening over an extended period of time (within a day) and then imagine it happening every day. In kitchens you have similar emotions to art studios and a space to foster the artistic spirit, but with constant questions, perpetual demand and then add heat (although many of these relate to other art forms).

I love cooking in kitchens but there is something to be said about having a few moments to reflect on the food you are about to serve. So many times when I do catering I revise the plate in my head two or three times before it hits the plate (and occaisionally one or twice after it hits the plate) but that is not a luxury for many establishments or many chefs. Plate presentation can come in many forms from high art to "rustic" to family style. It's tough if you haven't worked in professional kitchens to appreciate the difference between cooking and cheffing. Chefs have the advantage of time away from the minute to minute to make those reflective decisions that influence the shape of their foods. Cooks have to make split second judgment calls regarding everything from the doneness of a steak to the amount of dressing on a salad. All the time they might have the chef figuratively over their shoulder demanding nothing less than perfection.

I tend to think of culinary atrs as arts on demand, maybe that's why chefs are so popular these days. In our society we've come to appreciate what can be brought to us quickly and with consistency. It's a situation that you really can't judge until you've walked in someone elses shoes. All I know is that many chefs to be probably start their career hoping that one day they'll be culinary artists but until they have their culinary epiphany they're just food artists on demand.

Hope: talk the talk

I haven't blogged in a while, since I need inspiration to write, but recently I was truly inspired.

The other night I had the rare opportunity to be the key note speaker for the Amos House in Providence, RI. For those of you not familiar, "the Amos House runs the ACE culinary arts training program, helping poor and unskilled individuals and those at risk of homelessness secure the skills they need to become more stable and self-reliant." I was asked to speak there because we had recently met with their employment specialist. We actually plan to start working with the Amos house here at RISD to develop asort of internship program. It was the first time I had to give any sort of inspirational speech, in a professional sense, and I felt a little out of my element. These people had done something spectacular to re-right their lives and now I was supposed to inspire them. It really felt the other way round. I haven't always gotten what I wanted from life, few of us ever do, but I consider my life to be exceptional and I feel pretty blessed. These people that I spoke to had come to a crossroads and were taking their destinies in their own hands, hoping to maybe turn their lives around and create a future for themselves and their families.

I was surprised by all the friends and family that showed up for these 13 individuals. Not because I didn't think people cared for them, on the contrary I found that people cared for them a great deal and that was part of the reason that they were in this program. It was just very intense; it was the emotional electricity of a sporting event at a graduation. I'm not sure if you can understand, since you weren't there, but these graduates had made their loved ones so proud that the sense of pride and of renewed hope was palpable. I hope that what I said inspired or at least remained with those I spoke to. I had a few guests and fellow speakers comment about the final story in my speech, which was not actually a personal anecdote but a Zen koan (a story sort of like a parable) I had learned many years ago. Nothing like a little mental/spiritual reality check. I don't know if they'll ever ask me to speak to their graduates again but if asked I would gladly accept. Inspiring others by your actions and words is nothing compared to the inspiration received from watching those who may not truly believe that they can do something, do that and more.

What about leftover leftovers?

Recently I've catered some events that require food for hundreds, if not thousands, of people. The math to produce adequate amounts for that many people gets a little fuzzy. So I'm sort of posing a question to the three or four people out there that may read this blog.

What is a fair and equitable way to "dispose of" leftovers?

I know the most obvious answer is to not have any. So much easier said than done and sort of a catch-22. You see, if we run out it looks like we haven't prepared for the event and we get criticized for that, but if we have too much then people accuse us of being wasteful. Now don't get me wrong we don't have thousands of pounds of food that we're discarding, still in today's market the dramatic increase in food prices really make any waste economically and socially questionable. It is up to we, who produce the food, to try and control this (over) production. So how? It is a question I pose to any who read this blog. I'm interested in the suggstions of others because I don't think there is a right answer. So blog away!

Unselfish about their shellfish

I recently ate dinner execute by Slow Food RI and hosted by New Rivers restaurant off Steeple St. in Providence. For those who don't know Slow Food USA, "envisions a futurefood system that is based on the principles of high quality and taste, environmental sustainability, and social justice – in essence, a food system that is good, clean and fair." This particular meal was memorable, beyond the fact that New Rivers is a consistently well received establishment, but because the "theme" of the dinner was shellfish all harvested from the waters of New England. It was delightful to see these products, many locally harvested or produced, being brought together in a unique and harmonious concert of courses, flavors and textures.

I went with two of my co-workers, who enjoyed the meal as well, especially the wine pairing. They are both very passionate about the use of local and sustainable products used in food service. So, I was in good company.

The first course was raw seapowet oysters. Delicious!

Second, we had a salad of warm grilled squid over local greens with rose vinaigrette and charred pink grapefruit. I really like the charred grapefruit, I only wish I'd gotten more in my salad. C'est la vie.

Next, a stylized po'boy sandwich with Rhode Island scallops and crispy slow roasted pork belly. I wish I had a camera, the plate presentation was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the scallops and the pork but alas wanted more bite in my horseradish aioli.

Then, the braised Narragansett little necks with kale, white beans and chorizo chips. Wow! After one chip I thought that was good after two I was hooked. Coupled with the little necks and the beans, this had to have been my favorite dish. I'll say it again, Wow!

Following, was the grilled Point Judith lobster served on a Plum Point oyster pot pie with tarragon-cognac butter. An elegant dish and definitely a nice presentation but I think some of its subtleties were lost after the previous dish's exuberance.

Finally, the blood orange and campari sorbet with warm madeleines. An excellent finish, because its' light and palate cleansing properties help lessen the veil of excessive eating of delicious foods.

To everyone involved in the dinner, Bravo! It makes me miss the years I spent in restaurants and envy the level of creative adrenaline you must get from dinners like these. If you ever need a hand let me know and I'll do what I can. Until then, just let me know where they are and I'll be forced to enjoy a spectacular dinner!

Theft: Local but not Sustainable!

Ordinarily I would not vent on my blog. Many do vent on blogs and quite honestly I go to blogs for pleasurable readings about subjects that interest me, not to hear (at least in my head) someone carrying on about their views on certain things that generally have no impact on me and mine. However, lately there's been a problem with theft in our food service program at RISD. Actually, it's more constant than simply lately. It's causing me to get overly paranoid and it makes it difficult especially for people like myself, who want to be able to develop relationships with students, but are forced to be a little leery. I find myself wondering will this person, possibly on their own or now because they know me, think that they are deserving of more than their dining points buy. There is a level of frustration caused by this unearned sense of entitlement that some students use as their logic shield to justify theft. It makes us (myself and my chefs) ask questions of ourselves; are we good role models, do we have enough available, are the prices too high? All potentially valid questions but as we watch students not merely take food but also flatware, sleeves of napkins and "plastic" cups and treat washable plates and cups as disposable it's difficult to fathom how this school has such a loud voice for local and sustainable. Contrary to popular actions, theft does not help to sustain anything and the only thing that makes theft local is that you are in a sense taking from your own.

Now, I've just started working with some ceramics students to see if we can have a closed loop recycling program using student made coffee mugs at the our dining facility the Portfolio. We had a similar program at the Freshmen dining hall, the Met, the only problem was that all the mugs got stolen. So, maybe we're hoping against hope that this other program will be more successful or maybe that the students won't want to take or destroy the work of their peers. Maybe it's too much to hope for.

A taste by any other name...

Recently I was reading an article in a professional culinary magazine and there was an article about "umami". Now I certainly don't think I know everything about food but I like to think I stay informed and I'd never heard of this. This word, umami(oo-ma-mee), refers to the fifth flavor that the mouth can taste. I was always taught that there are four flavors: sweet, sour, bitter and salty; this is the fifth taste - savory(?, there is no direct English translation). It was discovered in Japan one hundred years ago by an individual trying to determine the flavor profile for seaweed broth and he determined that glutamates and inosinates produce a "deliciousness". This is not so much a simply described taste as a binding taste philosophy.

I think as I read more about it I liked this word not simply because I like many of the things associated with umami: tomatoes, cheese, ham, shiitake mushrooms; I really like the concept of this other taste that through synergistic action makes these other tastes taste better. It's very much like, and the natural equivalent to, monosodium glutamate. Now I don't like MSG, but I certainly understand why it's used. Who doesn't want there food to taste better. The great part about this word/concept/taste is that it suddenly makes me realize why chefs have been putting certain flavors together forever, it's natural MSG! There are lots of opposing tastes that we put together; sweet and salty, sweet and sour, salty and sour. Now when I combine a salty or even sweet thing with an umami (glutamate based) flavor I'm going to be much more conscious of how people react to the dish and how I might feel that dishes flavor relates to similar dishes that aren't rich in umamai. This seems like something I should have learned in culinary school or at least in the last decade, but it seems they haven't really emphasized this information until recently. So for those of you who are like me and just realizing this taste sensation (even though we've been eating like this for years) revel in its new found wonder.