playing with fire and water

ICC 2010: the dishes

Once again, Starchefs gathered together some of the most talented chefs from around the world to share ideas and techniques at the 5th Annual International Chefs Congress.

The event kicked off with a panel discussion on this year's theme: Art vs. Craft. Present on the panel were chefs Dan Barber, David Kinch, and Thomas Keller, with Michael Rhulman moderating. The discussion brought up some thoughtful points about intent and perception. While Barber and Kinch were willing to entertain the notion of chef/artist, Keller adamantly stated that he was a craftsman, not an artist. The consensus seemed to be that it was hubris for chefs to label themselves as "artists", though it was OK for the consumer to do so. The lack of a radically opposed point of view, which would have added another dimension to the conversation, became apparent when Barber admitted that the panel was mostly  ''vanilla' on the subject.  

Here are most of the dishes prepared on the main stage over the course of three days:

ICC 2009: the dishes

The 4th annual Starchefs International Chefs Congress took place last week in NYC. Once again, it has proven to be a fountainhead of creativity for chefs, mixologists, and industry professionals. I could wax on at great length about the ideas and inspiration presented there, but instead, I'll let you see for yourself.

Richard Blais      Workshop: Breakfast, in B Minor  

smoked corned beef hash sausage, buckwheat pancakes, whipped maple, iced coffee, brown butter. 

David Bouley      Paris to Tokyo: French Cuisine, Japanese Techniques    

miso black cod, black onion powder 

Yoshihiro Murata  The Quest for Umami

Modern kaiseki; an homage to autumn. 

vegetables with kuzu jelly and aromatic kombu dashi. 

April Bloomfield  Pig, Pig, Pig   

slow poached St-Canut suckling pork belly, onion puree, deep-fried garlic confit, fried pig ears, puffed skin.  

Pierre Gagnaire   Creativity a la Minute

Le maitre de Cuisine takes on a mystery basket of American ingredients. He prepares 3 dishes plus 3 alter-dishes from leftover components.  

top: duck and shrimp sauteed in duck fat, teardrop tomatoes.  alter-dish: langoustine bouillion, kale, beet and asian pear puree, micro-greens butter.  bottom: almond and toasted flour crumble, salmon belly, scallions, pequeno cucumbers, fresh dates, thyme, honey.

Johnny Iuzzini, Sam Mason, Alex Stupak     Three Men and a Dessert

Actually, three men and three desserts. 

top: Alex Stupak's "Apple Pie" (sauteed apple mosaic tiles, pecan shards, whipped cider, vanilla ice cream with liquid caramel center.  bottom: Sam Mason's "Jello Shot" (bbq sauce-infused whisky, watermelon) missing: Johnny Iuzzini's "Dirt Pot" (chocolate pudding, soil, and agar noodle 'gummi worms')

Jose Andres     American Cuisine Through a Spanish Lens

"Tom Collins"  carbonated spheres

Masaharu Morimoto     Hook, Line, and Sinker

raw fluke, cooked eel

Rohini Dey and Maneet Chauhan     The Deal with Fusion

India meets Latin-America

Tandoori Skirt Steak, sauteed spinach, fried plantains

Juan Mari Arzak   Techniques From Arzak Laboratory

top: seared tuna with blackened tuna skin emulsion.  bottom: "Lunar Rock" orange, passionfruit, milk chocolate, black sesame, red wine. Last picture shows the dish glowing on a custom LED-lighted plate. 

Sean Brock   Getting Down with Lowcountry Cuisine

top: "the garden"  bottom: "hoppin' john"

Rick Tramonto    The Birth of Modern American Cuisine

lavender lamb loin with toasted almond espuma and chocolate-red wine sauce

Nils Noren and Dave Arnold     High-Tech Delicious

Mokume-Gane fish and lamb, pumpernickel ice cream, curried apple and fennel

The descriptions of the dishes are from memory (which sometimes fails me). I would appreciate any corrections/clarifications.

For a day-by-day wrap up, go to starchefs.com

For more photos and descriptions, check out docsconz's blog. John photographed everything.

let freedom ring

Branford, Ct.                 June 27,2009

ICC 2009

StarChefs.com has announced that the 4th annual International Chefs Congress will take place on September 20-22, 2009 in New York City. If you work in the food & beverage industry, you won't want to miss this event. As an added incentive, StarChefs.com is offering a special 3-day early bird pass for only $199 (regular admission is $325). Hurry, though...the offer expires February 28th.

Register here or call 212-966-7575.

ginger bread bourbon

Its hard to believe that nearly four months have passed since the Starchefs International Chefs Congress and I am just beginning to assimilate the plethora of ideas and information that I gathered there. Over the course of three days, a large group of food professionals witnessed demonstrations by some of the most creative chefs on the planet: Heston Blumenthal, Jordi Butron, Masaharu Morimoto, Joan Roca, Carlo Cracco, Rene Redzepi and Grant Achatz, to name a few. And that was just on the main stage.

In addition to these demonstrations, there were optional hands-on workshops and seminars that catered to smaller groups. I wished that I could have attended all of them, but time and money forced me to choose the ones that I felt were relevant to my interests. In the end, these were the ones that I chose:

Wylie Dufresne of WD-50--what was supposed to be a demonstration of his re-interpretation of the classic Eggs Benedict turned into an invaluable discussion of the evolution of the dish and his unique process of creativity.

Michael Laiskonis of Le Bernadin--a thoughtful and meticulous approach to creating petit-fours using classic flavors and modern techniques.

Blogging with Andrea Strong, Traci Des Jardins, Aki Kamozawa, Alex Talbot and Michael Laiskonis--lots of good information and insight from a panel of chef-bloggers.

Eben Freeman of Tailor--this one proved to be the sleeper of the bunch. I was hesitant about this workshop that was geared for mixologists and controlling costs in a recession, but I've been an ardent fan of his innovative cocktails and hoped there would be some creative content. I wasn't disappointed--his sound economic strategy could be applied to all aspects of operating a restaurant and his discussion of infused spirits and flavored sodas broadened my horizon of perceived liquid flavor. In retrospect, this workshop was confirmation that a modern mixologists approach is the same as a chefs and that a well conceived and executed cocktail lifts the craft beyond the formulaic blending of beverages and into an artform. Did I mention that the 9:00 AM workshop started out with a sample of Eben's popular cocktail: the Waylon, a blend of bourbon and smoked coca-cola? Amazing depth and complexity of flavor.

As it turned out, the day ended with more Waylons at a cocktail party where Eben Freeman, along with other master mixologists, offered up some of the most deliciously creative potions that I had the good fortune to sample. Among these were: Junior Merino's Ginger Julep, Hibiscus Cocktail with rose-aloe foam, and a savory fennel potion; Simon Difford 's In-Seine--an evocative blend of cognac, St. Germaine and absinthe; and Audrey Saunder's refreshing and beautifully balanced Gin Mule.

Modern cocktails--its a Brave New World.

ginger bread-infused bourbon

The yeasty, fermented aromas of brioche reinforce those that are already present in bourbon. The spices add an evocative complexity. I leave the quantities up to you and your personal taste.

bourbon

thick slices of spice brioche

whole cloves

cinnamon sticks

chunks of nutmeg

slices of fresh ginger root

Place the brioche and spices in the bottom of a glass jar. Cover with bourbon. Seal and set aside for at least 3 days. If you have access to a chamber vacuum sealer the process is instantaneous. Strain through a very fine mesh. 

timely

It's here! 

Just in time for tonight.

mozzarella balloon

Back in May, I received an email asking me what I thought about the newly launched Mosaic site from Alinea. Just as I began to fret about not receiving the required password, I found it in a junk folder. I spent the next few hours (and many since) pouring over the techniques and ideas contained in the sampling of the anticipated book.

One of these, the mozzarella balloon, was what prompted me to give fresh mozzarella another try. It was very rewarding to finally succeed at making a high quality cheese that had eluded and frustrated me, but it was really the viable curd that I was after.

A few days ago, while in NYC for the International Chefs Congress, I took a break to visit Kitchen Arts and Letters. I can never resist perusing through their trove of esoteric cookbooks that is full of surprising gems. The biggest surprise awaiting me on this visit was a trail copy of Alinea. I'm here to tell you that it's for real, and it is an opus of a book, more massive and beautiful than us mere mortal cooks had any right to expect. Those of us who pre-ordered it directly from Mosaic will have it in our hot hands as early as next week. Get ready folks--this book is going to change everything.

mozzarella balloon

 Break off a 4-5 oz. piece of mozzarella curd that has been acidified and ready to stretch. Place it in a bowl and cover it with water that has been heated to 71C (160F). Allow it to melt for a few minutes, then pull and stretch it to form a disc of uniform thickness that is roughly 6" in diameter.

Form hand into a C-shape and drape the disc loosely over.

 

Half-fill a whipped cream charger with a mixture of salted tomato water and extra-virgin olive oil that has been set with 1.5% gelatin. Charge with NO₂ cartridge. Chill. Shake charger firmly and place tip of nozzle over the center of mozzarella disc. Gather the disc around the nozzle, wrapping thumb and index finger around to hold firmly in place. With nozzle facing down, slowly discharge foam into mozzarella. While maintaining a firm grip, slowly slide balloon off of the nozzle, pressing and pinching the ends together to seal. Cut off any excess.

Serve immediately.

 

culinary discussions

If you will be in or about New York City next month, there are two events hosted by the New York Public Library that may interest you:

On October 10, Ferran Adria will be discussing his book A Day at elBulli, scheduled to be released at the beginning of October. 15$ will buy you an hour and a half with The Man.

On October 29, Grant Achatz and Nathan Myrvold will hold a discussion moderated by Mark McClusky titled The Cutting Edge: Tales from the Culinary Frontier.

See you there?