Happy Easter

My Labor of Love

Greetings, my fellow slaves to the fork and cork!  I have been remiss in my posting, I know.  However, it's because there has been an unusually heavy workload since my last post, and I haven't had the time to post.  I have had, however, many things I've wanted to chat about, from Philly's shake-up in Four Bell recipients earlier this month by critic Craig LaBan, to the imminent Mid-Atlantic Food and Wine Feast coming to town next week.  And, certainly not least, the BIG news of the changing of le garde at Le Bec Fin.  


But, in the spirit of getting something out there for you, I've decided to post some random (ok, I mean favorite) shots of some dinners and events over the last six weeks.  Here's what we've been up to...

Aha!  Evidence that I was literally buried in work!  Working on plating design for our New Year's Eve Black Tie Chef's Table at the Club.  

Getting inspiration from Eleven Madison Park for the Kobe Beef Filet we served.  It ended up looking nothing like this- but sparks went off, just the same.

Rosti potato canape with Oyster Creme Fraiche and Caviar.  The oysters were vigorously stirred into the cream to release their briny flavor.  

"Chip and Neal", my sous chefs, are plating the foie gras torchon on a pear blini with burnt honey.  (They are, actually, Stephen and Drew.  But who's keeping track?)

This sous-vide lobster tail in white truffle cream with salsify and crispy spinach leaf was one of several courses for the induction ceremony of the First State Bailliage of les Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotissuers.  And yes- it rocked.

At that same dinner, we prepared baby New Zealand Rack of Veal with king oyster mushroom and baby turnips.

Overseeing the plating of cheese for le Chaine.  Tumalo Farms "Fenacho" is an aged goat cheese from Oregon flavored with fenugreek seed.  It was accompanied by pear relish, Mexican honey and toasted cumin vinaigrette.

The February Chef's Table had a very delicate seafood mousseline inside turbans of Hickory Shad with white asparagus and fines herbs sauce vin blanc.

A welcomed detour for cheese course:  a smoked Amish blue cheese souffle with date and orange marmalade crostini and micro arugula. 

Rich, but not too sweet.  A mascarpone cannoli with caramelized pine nuts and cape gooseberries.

White Winter Truffles.  White chocolate-pistachio, dried cranberry and vanilla-orange. 

Coming soon..."Open Burner Night" at Chez Robert!  The table is dusted off, the pots are polished and the larder is stocked.  See what's created on any given Friday night when the food cognoscenti descend en la maison.

Mr. Trotter Moves On

  “You know the old adage that the customer’s always right?  Well, I kind of think that the opposite is true. The customer is rarely right. And that is why you must seize the control of the circumstance and dominate every last detail: to guarantee that they’re going to have a far better time than they ever would have had if they tried to control it themselves.”  Chef Charlie Trotter

~

Last spring, I posted a quote and link to an article about one of my favorite chefs, Charlie Trotter.  Well- favorite is understating it a bit.  I can say without hesitation that I've been shaped by his artistic sensibilities, business acumen, tenacity, vision and even bravery.  The news that came this week of his plan to close his restaurant in Chicago took me off guard at first.  Yet, if you understand the man behind the apron, you had to know this was not only inevitable, but almost predestined.  Trotter, like so many of his contemporaries and mentors, is going out on top.  As a life-long scholar, the only way for a perfectionist to continue to pursue his passions is to do so unimpeded.  

It is extraordinary for a restaurant of Trotter's caliber to have lasted 25 years while continually ranking as among the most excellent in the world.  If there is any dissension about the food or service, it is only because he has raised the bar on himself.  For every foodie who is non-plused by Trotter's, you are enjoying a unique view of the food world from atop Chef Trotter's shoulders.  

After some consideration, I've decided to let the blogosphere and food pundits dissect the meaning of his decision, his contributions and where it all fits in historically.  Right now, it would feel too much like writing a eulogy.  So then, here is a re-post of that piece from last April.

 ~

I've long believed that the adage about the customer always being right was never intended for restaurants.  It is meant (and I suppose true) for the service and retail industries, instead.  The main difference here is that you are dealing with the culinary arts.  At this level of restaurant (and those like it), you are experiencing food prepared by someone who has devoted their life to educating their palette, developing their craft and creating unique meals to be shared unspoiled.  

As I have discovered over the years, those who pursue power like to exercise it to feel the full rush of what being powerful means.  Customers who like to flex that muscle and reconstruct a dish, substitute, omit and tailor a chef's menu to their liking are not, I repeat, NOT, getting what the chef intended, but some bastardized iteration that is akin to letting some unskilled orderly handle your delicate open-heart surgery.  Like giving your Mercedes to a hack mechanic and asking him to pimp it out and paint it cherry red.  Like ordering a diet coke with your breast of pheasant with morels and truffles.  There are those out there who disagree, and quickly bash chefs as egotists and inflexible snots, simply because they believe they have the right to get what they want because they're paying.  I argue that those chefs have the right not to serve you, either.  

Charlie Trotter is famous (among all his culinary and artistic skills) for being the first chef to go on record as saying that in order to perfect your product, service and brand- it's necessary to fire customers.  Get rid of those whose expectations don't meet your standards and focus on the ones who do.  At some point, the thinking goes, there will be enough customers who will give their loyalty to an establishment because of that vision, not in spite of it.  That was over 15 years ago.

A selection of amuse bouche from Trotter's September, 2000

If you care to read a bit more about Chef Trotter and his rare breed of customer service, click on the quote above that will take you to a recent article on the 51 year old chef and why he stands out (to some) as a genius and to others, a lunatic tyrant.  

Full disclosure:  I am a huge fan of Trotter's philosophy, his cooking, his books and accomplishments.  His style of cooking and commitment to excellence have shaped me and help me become the chef I am today.  I spent a week in his kitchen in September of 2000 absorbing, tasting, cooking and finally, partaking of his Grand Tasting menu.  It was, quite simply, one of the most unique experiences I've had in my career.  

The staff of Trotter's circa 2000. I am located dead center, (back) with the Cheshire grin next to my future buddy, and Top Chef Season 2 contestant, Otto Borsich.

The great artists are rarely understood in their time, and much of the article in The Times attests to that in its myopic view of Trotter as of late.  It attempts to psychoanalyze why Trotter is not in the press more or hasn't expanded his brand into multi-unit prostitution, or why he has failed in his attempts to do so.  In each of these scenarios where he tried to recreate the level of excellence of his restaurant in Chicago, there were contributing factors that didn't meet his standard of the original, and subsequently he pulled the plug.  While some call that failure, others would call it integrity.  

The copper pots that distinguish the tiny, talented kitchen.

As far as Grant Achatz is concerned, I have immense respect for him.  He is cut from the same cloth as Trotter, Ferran Adria and Thomas Keller.  Yet, I can't help thinking his publisher and/or partner pushed to create controversy to sell more books with all the volatile portions in the book dedicated to his pent up angst toward Trotter- especially now, since he appears to have "a cordial if not close relationship" with him. But then, FUCT (F*** You Charlie Trotter!, the acronym supposedly adopted by Achatz and his partner to emote his feelings about his post-Trotter's tenure) is pretty harsh, no matter how you slice it, and I believe somewhat unprecedented among chefs of such stature.  Achatz maintains it was included in the book to later draw a parallel between the two chefs and their shared commitment to perfection.  Still, the Golden Rule seems more apt among culinary professionals.  

Van Gogh's The Golden Rule

Whatever your view, I believe there can still be room for an innovative artist and an artistic innovator in the same arena. 

Happy New Year

Farewell, 2011! 

It was another interesting year for food, celebrity cook-types, wine, The Phils and of course, music.

A VERY quick wrap of some of my 2011 favorites.  

Dinner at Amis after ONE of the blizzards in February.  Guinness Export: first time in the states since- 1940s? Dope.  Eleven Madison Park and Rotis cookbooks.  

In concert, Aimee Mann, OMD and English Beat.  On TV: Portlandia, Workaholics, and Beavis and Butthead.  

2011 Philadelphia Phillies- 102 wins, 5th consecutive NLE Championship.  And on that note, Vance Worley's pitching.  Wilson Valdez's winning pitching effort in the 19th against the Reds! What the WHAT? Cliff Lee's first major league HR.  Hunter Pence (Good Game! Let's Go Eat!).  And following it all on Twitter was pretty fun, too.  

Beer got more delicious.  Produce got more local.  Good cheese became more available.  In addition to my 4 year old's penchant for seaweed, olives, bacon, salmon, and soba, we added shrimp and octopus!  Three or four dozen delicious Sunday dinners at M&D's (right?).  

The Chef's Table revival at the UWC.  Shigoku oysters from the West Coast (holy mother of God- over the top).  Foie gras and shrimp toast together in one dish.  Scallop dumpling and squab consomme.  Amazing locally foraged mushrooms- and monstrous porcini from Oregon. Kabocha squash (don't know how I missed this).  Barely Buzzed coffee-rubbed cheddar from Bee-Hive Cheese Co.  And, home-made Orange Grappa from Italy.  

Domestic sparkling from Argyle in Oregon and Gruet in New Mexico.  Robert Stemmler Pinot Noir, Estate.  Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc. Mission Estate Pinot Noir.  Barricadiero, carried all the way back from Italy (MiMi!).  Just about every wine I drank from Moore Brothers, especially the wines from Mas Amiel.  

Gabrielle Hamilton's Blood, Bones and Butter and the return of non-fussy food. Amazon's Cloud Player and Kindle App. for the Android.  

I caved in and for the first time watched episodes of Top Chef: Texas and Harry Potter.  I liked both.  

To anyone I cooked with, ate with or drank with in 2011, I'm looking forward to lots more in 2012.

Happy Christmas: War is Over

   
"Sweet Bird of Truth"  Matt Johnson of The The, 1987


(Spoken) Flight leader, this is "Combat" your forward end controller
I have three targets for you
Your first target is a blockhouse, target number 11 at the north-east corner of the combat zone, request: Napalm
Rodger, flight leader, the identity of your request is, eh, batch of Napalm on the blockhouse in the north-east corner of the target area
Flight leader, understand, 30 seconds
White flag, this is "Combat", we have you in sight
Roll on to the west, call to confirm you have target area, a'ight

Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia
Six o'clock in the morning and I'm the last person in this plane still awake
Y'know I can almost smell the blood washing against the shores of this land that can't forget it's past
Oh the wind that carries this plane is the wind of change, heaven sent and hell bent
Over the mountain tops we go, just like all the other GI Joe's, adios
This is your captain calling (With an urgent warning), we're above the gulf of Arabia (Our altitude is falling)
And I can't hold her up (There's no time for thinking), all hands on deck (This bird is sinking)
Across the beaches and cranes, rivers and trains, all the money I've made, bodies I've maimed
Time was when I seemed to know, just like any other GI Joe
Should I cry like a baby, or die like a man while all the planets little wars start joining hands?
Oh what a heaven, what a hell, y'know there's nothing could be done in this whole wide world

Arabia

I don't know what's wrong or right, I'm just a regular guy with bottled up insides
I ain't ever been to church or believed in Jesus Christ but I'm praying that gods with you when you die
This is your captain calling (With an urgent warning), we're above the gulf of Arabia (Our altitude is falling)
And I can't hold her up (There's no time for thinking), all hands on deck (This bird is sinking)
Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia, Arabia

Iraq War~ 2003-2011