15

Its not in my nature to deconstruct food and reconstruct it in into another form but chefs do if every day in restaurants around the world. I have a passion for food like any other who has passion for their crafts. To me its a way of life. I believe food is not just nourishment but educational in many ways. Not only does it keep us alive but it teaches us structure, organization and community among others and most importantly culture. Food comes in many forms in many places in many layers.

During my brief time in the this world I have found a multitude of challenges that pair with many layers of skill. It takes years from beginner to expert never to become a true master but some do achieve expert status more quickly than others. Its the passion and dedication that leads to trial and error basis until perfection can be attained.

I have randomly photographed a 5 day mise en place for 15 course dinner along with normal everyday mise just to show how mirthful this life is. With enjoyment, creativity, passion, and an unending learning experience I achieve complete satisfaction, gratitude and respect for it all. This is why I feel deconstruction and reconstructing is a form of art and being creative with it builds another layer and adds to the repertoire of experience and knowledge.

We are what our food eats

I truly believe if people eat organic food they will live happier, healthier, stronger and longer lives. To know where your food is coming from is so important for our health; what we eat is what we are. Its not about what we eat, as its about what we eat eats or how it is grown. My wife calls herself a Santévore, when I met her she was a vegetarian and like most vegetarians it was an easy decision to make considering the way the conventional (USA style of feed / mass lot production) animals are raised and treated. Through all my attempts to share this juicy beautiful peace of meat that I was enjoying so much I never succeeded. Not because the meat didn't taste good but for the deep roots of disgust, shame, and embarrassment of what America is doing to our food. After a year or so of trying to convert my beautiful wife to a meat eater again I decided to try a different approach. This approach was still trying to get her to eat meat but a different kind of meat, meat that you couldnt buy in the stores, meat that is hormone, steroid and antibiotics free, meat that was naturally raised, grass fed, organic vegetable and grain fed, left to roam, mate, play and do all it wishes as its raised for nourishment. At first I thought she might not care about this humanely raised meat to eat but I was wrong she totally embraced the idea that if I could find this kind of meat she would try it. WOW it worked I brought home a locally farmed naturally raised Berkshire pork chop and cooked mid rare for us and she tried it. She liked it and decided if ever to eat meat it will be raised this way. OK I thought now I am on a journey to find some naturally raised meat purveyors, in Oregon this was easy but in Spokane where meat and potatoes are easy to find nobody had naturally raised beef or pork and if they did they would make it hard to get. So naturally I look to the local farmers and spent the next five years developing my philosophy. You may know it as Santé...

Click the links to view my inspiration for my brief rant......

Dan Barber, Fois Gras

Spokane/food 2010

 Spokane seems to be brewing up some great new ventures that are focusing on local food.  New and exciting eats are on the way that carry charisma and good community ethics. We have chefs starting underground food eateries that seem to be mobile and will feed people in unusual places. We will be seeing extensive high end wine dinners that feature food & wine within 50 miles. Cool food markets that feature only local food and other organics, custom butchering that will allow customers to place whole hog, steer, lamb or wild game orders in for a standard break-down to a more customized  meat spread; The Big Table dinners, cheese making using Spokane Family farm milk. And we can't forget the re opening of a steak house that Spokane has seen before. Check out  popupspokane.tumblr.comwhere you will find chef David Blaine's new venture of unique eats. And thewanderingtable.com where chef Adam Hegsted is playing with his creativity by bringing something cool and unique to Spokane with his fresh and local approach, chefs table. There are also other events happening, like '15,' a dinner shaped around local wineries and food. 15 courses of small bites paired with wine that will have a multitude of textures, flavors and creativity. Like many new things in Spokane the new comes and goes but great things stick around and both nomad food sharing ideas and butcher shops I think will last to be old news. So good luck chefs I at least will be watching and attending and I am stoked. Thanks for being creative and extraordinary.

2009 in Prospective

Well it's been a while for a post, but not for rough drafts I have started.  I just cant seem to finish them. I will be posting more often while I finish my thoughts. First of all I would like to reflect on 2009 though I am 39 days slow.

Wow What a year! First of all I want to thank all of our fans and supporters who join us for food and drinks each day, thank you all so much. With out you it would not have been the year it was.

Menus I have written this year: 10 lunch & breakfast, 11 dinner, 12 first Friday menus with guest chefs, 18 other special event dinners including wine makers dinners and charity events as well as the first Big Table dinner. I am starting to see where all my time is going. 

Some of the Good people I have met this year: 

Paul Haeder, one of the most passionate people I have ever met. He has brought inspiration from all directions and has opened my mind to the realities of life in many different layers  

John Allen from Vino

Chef Peter Tobin

Chef David Blaine

Author/Greenpeace activist David Suzuki

   Urban Farmer Novella Carpinter

Author David Sedaris 

Winona La Duke

Antonio Banderas came every day he was in town

Cast and crew of  The Lion King

Gary From Rocky Ridge Ranch.

Jennifer Hall

Jim Sheehan & progressive dinners at his house, with guest Woodie Tasch

Senator Lisa Brown 

Mike Jones Owner Mazuna

Mike Wiley 

   Dominic C. Brogna, future chef

Miscellaneous endeavors:

Cooking Classes

New York CIA extended learning certificate for charcuterie.

Guest chefs: Peter Tobin, Al Kowitz, Nancy Locke, Tukcha Kim, Tofu Phil, Austin Rockeman(feat. Shilo & Dave)

Guest Artist for each month as well, a new show each month.

EatSpokane.org 

 

Cool events: Take a Bite out of Hunger, Sustainable September kick-off, Futurewise Feast With Friends, Movie & discussion of Food, Inc., Grown-Up Grilled Cheese Grill Off, Black Box Kitchen Challenge, Green Drinks, Class of 2009 INCA Graduates Dinner

 

Some of the most remembered events for the year:

Wine dinners: Lone Canary, Whitestone, Barrister, Marryhill, Townsend. Special thanks to Vino, John Allen, and all of the winemakers for all of their help and knowledge. 

Things I have learned: too many to list but the most important was teaching myself how to balance work life and real life. Instead of separating them I have realized this is a life as one and not work at all. It all flows with its self and makes sense by making it a way of life all together. I don't go to work, I just live my life and do my best to follow the path of balance and love.

Things that Have challenged me: Long hours, employee personality management, keeping the balance of life, not forgetting the true-ness of food, and keeping the standards high without compromise. 

2010 is already looking to be as busy and fun as the last. 

Thank you all again and have a great 2010!

Home Brew

So a very good friend convinced me to brew beer at the restaurant during off hours. At first I thought sure, that would be cool if we actually did it.  Then I thought, well I could use it for cooking and it would be great to further my knowledge in this simple but intricate process.  We talked it over and decided a few more consequential components of the brew fest were needed. 1-Time, 2-will, 3-ingredients, 4-guru (the most important), and five friends with $ & beer. After spending 80$ & 20 minutes at Jim's Home Brew the guru and I decided to take on an educational approach and take it one step at a time and start with the fundamentals. With 5 of us involved only one really knows the true methods of brewing. 1st stage in the rudiments is to achieve fermentation and a drinkable beer. We decided to use a hop extract, kicker to squeeze out another % or 2 of alcohol, English & an American Ale yeast and Irish moss to help coagulate protein and aid in purification. The guru says this is a fail proof method if sanitization is in use & procedures are correctly applied. This quick & simple process will help provide an awareness of brew procedures while learning the basic method. Next week we advance our method to a half mash by using a hop extract and whole grains and our third week we will try a full mash by using all grains.

Week 1: 11.25.09

English Amber Ale

American Amber Ale

Brew Guru: John Christman

Brewer: Jeremy L. Hansen

Brewer: Anthony Stabile

Brewer: Ben Hansen

1 big city 2 days 6 stars 17 courses

A long train ride from upstate NY (Hyde Park) to uptown (upper east Side) in Hostel Chocolat we live for another weekend. My love and I checked in to a small room with an unexpected roommate from Japan. After changing we ventured out for an 8 mile walk through Central Park straight for our favorite pizza (Bravo Pizza), deep dish love.  Today is a very special day for me especially because I get to cash in on my wife's birthday gift to our first three star Michelin rated restaurant experience.  My first choice is Daniel, second Jean~Georges and I got both, Daniel for dinner & JG for lunch. Six stars in one weekend. 

Lunch at JG: Atmosphere was clean minus a couple details. Food was great showing skill & precision with flavors that punctuate with balance. Service was perfectly executed beyond expectation if you were blind. The five personnel who serviced us were polite, clean and noticed most details and had perfect timing but did it with a frown. They seemed to be almost demoralized by the upper management to the point where they did their best to express the least. Otherwise this lunch was my personal best ever.

What we ate:

Gulf Shrimp with Smoked Bacon, Papaya Mustard and Avocado

Sea Scallops, Caramelized Cauliflower, Caper-Raisin Emulsion

Skate with Château Chalon Sauce

Carmelized Sweetbreads, Candied Pumpkin, Liquorice and Sherry Emulsion

Beef Tenderloin and Crunchy Potatoes,Tomato Compote with Chilies and Garlic

JG's signature chocolate cake

Apple cider & pomegranate with Apple Ice Cream

Chef de Cuisine:Mark Lapico

Chef/Proprietor: Jean-Georges Vongerichten

For Dinner From Chocolat we crossed Central Park to Park Ave. and walked south a few blocks to Daniel. Chef Daniel Boulud is an all time favorite with lots of knowledge and passion for french influenced food. I have studied his passion and techniques for some years now and only now can I truly understand it. The restaurant has also graduated from a two star to a three which is now one of only six restaurants in the states to have been given this world wide recognition. We were ten minutes early and greeted with a coat check and a seat in a elegant lounge style waiting room. Within a minute we were provided gratis, champagne and hand made olive stuffed pretzels. An awe- inspired conversation with my wife for eight minutes and we were graciously seated at our table for the rest of the evening. With my wife the day has been perfect and the dinner has begun to remind us of other beautiful days in the big apple we have shared. 

First the water guru, somalier, server then somalier again. By using eye contact the floor personnel worked together in stride. After friendly & witty conversation with the staff we soon had our orders in and a trio of amuse bouche on the table for each of us. The show begins and the food is amazing followed by the impeccable service. Some courses paired with wine and some not. The portioning was scaled perfectly just to give you enough to appreciate it and keep you satiated and wishing you had another bite.  All courses were built with balance in mind using professional techniques with precision. It is truly amazing to see such respect for food and be able to appreciate it for the work that is put into it. But its not just about the food its about the combination of professionalism, service, food and the paying attention to details. Chef Daniel Buloud has been a chef icon for years careering two stars for a while and is definitely staying on top of the game. 

What we ate:

Pressed Duck and Foie Gras Terrine

Chimay Gelée, Chestnuts, Red Cabbage Chutney

Mosaic of Capon, Foie Gras, and Celery Root

Pickled Diakon, Satur Farms Mâche, Pear Confit

R, Haart Riesling "Piesport Kabinett", Mosel 1999

.......

Olive Oil Poached Cod "En Salade"

Artichoke Purée, Anise Hysop Dressing, Lemon Zest

Duo of Hamachi

Lettuce Wrapped Tartare with North Star Caviar

Vodka Beet Cured with Walnut Pistou, Mâche Salad

Grüner Veltliner, "Freiheit", Nigk, Kremstal 2008

.......

Handmade Spinach Tortelloni

Chanterells, Thomme de la Chataigneraie,Lomo, Black Garlic

.......

Whole Grain Crusted Skate

Chanterells, Swiss Chard, Kamut Berries, Capers

.......

Duo of Dry Aged Black Angus Beef

Red Wine Braised Short Rib with Parsnip~Potato Gratin

Seared Rib Eye with Black Trumpets, Gorgonzola Cream 

Foie Gras Stuffed Scottish Grouse

Celery, Caramelized Salsify, Beets, Walnut~Calvados Jus

Bosquet des papes "Couvée Grenache", Châteauneuf du Pape 2001

.......

Duo of Fruit and Chocolate Desserts

A few more things that I would like to mention about Daniel. To prove my point about paying attention to detail our main server knew who we were and I'm sure he did some research as well. The details were watched and attended to- even a personalized menu of what we had to eat and drink was presented to us. The Duo of desserts were wonderful but the birthday dessert was a surprise as well as the silver platter of friandise, seven mini assorted house made chocolates,  madelines and others. The service details can make or break you; when your server drops off a plate and tells you what it is you're about to experience you should commend them for caring. This is a major detail that cannot be overlooked. It lets the customer know that all involved with dinner are dedicated and have respect for all aspects & efforts of service. Daniel covers all details and more.

     

C.I.A. 3 & 4

Still another amazing day at the CIA. Day three was a day of organization & speed with one man less in our team the task at hand was rough but doable. day two's mise helped tremendously. We had six recipes to complete and completed all of them with precision. Day three tasks: start and stuff emulsified garlic sausage in beef middles and bring to pelical for smoking, creole beef & veal daube, smoked pheasant sausage, finish teté pressee, finish sulze. The day was short so speed was necessary 

Day 4

Because we cooked like seasoned pros yesterday, today was all about conversation and condiment building for Friday's feast. Today I decided to stay in 1st gear and break into my Santé salami for show and tell. After receiving permission from our chef I opened my airport inspected brown bag of cured meats. Inside was spec 9 months old, cold smoked  five spice cured duck prosciutto, saucisson sec that is filled with Berkshire, garlic & black pepper dry aged for 8 weeks using #2 curing salt and a 10 week old dry aged kielbasa that has no curing salt at all.  out of all of these fine specimens of charcuterie the most intriguing was the kielbasa and the saucisson sec. The flavor profiles and consistency  in texture in both are on point. Both sliced well and melted into your mouth as they should with the essence of cured meats.  The intriguing part was the absence of curing salt in one of them. The chefs words were "sexy". I was hoping for such words from an expert of charcuterie especially coming from a CIA chef. I knew they were good but not compared to the outside world, now they are and I feel good about it.  Sorry I have no photos of finished product unless Pete has some I'll find out and get back. 

C.I.A. day 2

Today was a day of mise en place. Mental mise en place ranges from thinking ahead about the procedures, cooking times for each item, and setting ourselves up for the next day. We did everything we could to make our next day easier because we  knew the day we were off to the city.  On todays prep list is S.W. green chile pork sausage, duck sausage w/sage & roasted garlic, smoke our beef jerky, and check the brining pig heads. 

On another note our trip to the city was an amazing 5 hour adventure with a visit to Columbus Circle to see my old work place Cafe Gray, which has since been replaced by a new restaurant called A Voce. We were able to walk in and explore the dinning room and check out the kitchen. Our next stop was Bouchon Bakery, Masa, and Masa Bar. Another interesting part of the food mecca in 10 Columbus circle is Thomas Keller's Per Se where I spent 3 hours with Johnathon Benno the chef de cuisine and got a full tour of the kitchen. Per Se has a new addition which is a bar with a projected wine menu on the bar itself where you can scroll through the list with your finger, crazy cool! Also across the street is another Chef I admire named Jean George where Tobin and I watched the kitchen in action from outside through the window. 

At the end of the night at 3am Pete and I ended up at a traditional diner with the silver sides.  The cooks and servers where happy but bickered in Spanish at each other while cooking up our orders. The place was packed and all of us participated late night conversation about nothing with plenty of laughter. If you park in the Bronx and are leaving your vehicle for a late night jaunt park in front of a 24 hour diner where the cooks can see and watch out for you and don't forget to tip well. I had the classic pancake & maple syrup and it was exactly as I expected but what was amazing was a plain muffin that was sliced in half buttered and grilled to crispy and if was the best muffin ever, plain & grilled YUM!

Culinary Institute of America Day 1

For being recognized as the most preeminent culinary school in the world, you would think that would be an overstatement like most things that are dubbed as the best. The CIA proved to me today that their title has been earned. The clean, groomed and well cared for campus is as beautiful as you could imagine. Our first day in class and Tobin and I are the team of two from the west. Our first project is tête pressee and sulze which are both a form of head cheese. Two pig heads were given to us to take across campus to slice in half so we could discard the brains. We decided to pan fry and eat "yum brains".  We also made beef jerky and Kansas City Spareribs. Our instructor was as pro as they come with a wealth of knowledge. The day went great with a three course meal: Italian sausage risotto, salmon w/beurre rouge  and cheese cake. All & all the day was great with 4 more to come. 

New York City

       On my way for another culinary adventure in one of the worlds greatest cities. One hour and forty minutes north in Poughkeepsie, NY  the Culinary Institute of America resides as I will for a week at the school.  Chef Tobin and I  will be entering the next level of charcuterie by completing the schools extended learning program. My focus will be on patés, terrines, ageing and bactoferm. The campus looks beautiful and prodigious, I cannot wait to explore it. My adventure does not end at the school as my need to dive deep into food while I spend an extra three days in Manhattan. Old photos new photos and food photos will be posted during this literary viand fête. I will be eating at Del Posto, Daniel, Bark, Jean Georges, and a few others. This will be my first experience eating at a three Michelin star rated restaurant and I will eat at two of them.

Michelin Stars: The highest and most profound award ever to be given to a chef. Only a few have them and even less have multiples. Each restaurant is only awarded three at most but a chef that is worthy with other restaurants can accumulate them. Both Daniel and Jean Georges have three stars.

Manhattan Food Sean is where being a pro is a way of life. The best of the best are at play with research and creation of new and recreations of old. The food is well thought out, and teamwork and organizational skills are on display at its highest level. Not many cooks can make it in a New York City Kitchen as the demand for high energy, dexterity, and precision are required all day and every day. Passion, understanding of methods teamwork, communication, and uncompromising execution is mandatory. Many young culinarians go home broken with a new found respect for this world.  I would not recommend it for the faint hearted as most are chewed up and spat out and left to dry as the tears pour down the faces of defeat. I can only suggest you hold your head up and know you tried to compete with the best. Though failure is abutting all you have to do is stay focused, pay attention, move quickly with finesse, do what is asked in a timely matter, keep your head down and work, oh ya and "yes Chef". Oh ya and if you don't know your products, methods, or flavor profiles you might as well turn back now and return when your absolutely ready.

 Photos: First pic back in the city Time square, Bryant Park my favorite park in the city.