The History of Melba

History of the dish Lamb Noisettes with a Melba garnish, also includes history on Peaches Melba, and Melba Toast

The wide array of dishes that are ordained with the name ‘Melba’ can only be attributed to the supposed culinary delights of the great Australian Dame Nellie Melba (1861-1931). Nellie Melba was a pseudo superstar of the nineteenth century, a famous opera singer that toured around the world and retained a status comparable to that of royalty. Perhaps the most famous dish named after her is the Peach Melba, although many calorie counters would argue that Melba Toast comes in a close second; and eventually the use of the word Melba in a dish also denoted the use of a mushroom, chicken and veloute stuffed tomato used for a garnish.

The story goes that while Melba was staying at the Savoy in London around 1892-1893, head chef Escoffier wanted to create a special desert for their illustrious guest, and thus designed the first prototype of Peach Melba. This version consisted of a swan of ice topped with vanilla ice cream and peaches, with a spun sugar garnish on top. The swan was said to have something to do with the opera that Melba was performing in while in London. Later in 1900 while creating the menu for the opening of the first Carlton hotel, Escoffier altered the recipe slightly, discarding the ice swan and spun sugar, and replacing them with a raspberry puree over the poached peaches and vanilla ice cream. Eventually the raspberry puree morphed into Melba Sauce, a combination of pureed and strained fresh raspberries, red currant jelly, sugar and cornstarch.

Escoffier paid attention to the gastronomic tendencies of his most famous guests and perhaps during Melba’s same stay at the Savoy (it is unclear whether it was in 1892 or 1893-or both) Melba Toast took its last step in the evolution of food history names. Melba toast is a thin slice of toast fried, and sans the butter. It was first created for Caesar Ritz’s wife when she flippantly commented on the fact that toast was never thin enough for her. Escoffier took this comment to the kitchen, and after frying up a regular sized piece of toast, cut it in half, and fried again, thus the beginning of this accompaniment originally named Marie’s Toast after Ritz’s wife. Escoffier heard that Dame Melba enjoyed her toast as well, and served his newest creation to her renaming it Melba Toast. Soon Melba Toast became a mainstay in dieter’s cuisine allowing them to cut their calories, and doubling as a platform when plating food.

Somehow the name also became attributed to the use of tomatoes stuffed with a salpicon of mushrooms and chicken bound by a veloute sauce and used as a garnish for dishes with small cuts of meat as noted in Larousse Gastronomique. A salpicon is a combination of one or more ingredients, diced or minced, and bound with a sauce. Perhaps it was developed during the same time as Peach Melba, Melba Toast, and Sauce Melba or perhaps it is a play off of Melba Toast considering this particular dish also utilized croutons the same size as the Lamb Noisettes. There really isn’t even any documentation that this dish was ever served to Dame Melba, or whether she had a proclivity towards stuffed tomatoes. One would think that her culinary tendencies towards healthier dishes would exclude her from a veloute stuffed tomato, a rich and savory side, but we all have our moments, and history likes to keep its secrets…

Ferran Adria - Mouth Full of Surprises

Ferran Adrià, head chef at El Bulli, has taken the culinary world by his strong forearms and molded it like a great slab of marble to become a reflection of his own innovative world and ideas. El Bulli, Spanish for ‘the bulldog’ seems such a perfectly fitting name for Adrià’s brawny exterior, but it wasn’t actually Adrià who started the restaurant or picked the name. Adrià, with no classical culinary training, started small and worked his way up through the restaurant and gastronomic world by way of his fervent desire to create new and fascinating dishes and presentations. These dishes, served along with twenty to forty other courses at El Bulli, are what have given him the reputation he maintains to this day.

Adrià began his culinary career washing dishes in a little restaurant in Spain in 1982, in 84’ he got a job working at El Bulli under Juli Soler, longtime chef and winner of one Michelin award for the restaurant (actually won two, but had one taken away). Just four years after Adrià’s humble start in the dish pit he was named head chef at El Bulli in 1986. We can take a closer look at his evolution as a chef once he began to run El Bulli’s kitchen. El Bulli, opened in 1962 by Soler’s family, is nestled in Spain on the coast of Costa Brava just north of France in a little town named Cala Montjol, and can only seat up to 50 diners per night. Cala Montjol is an itty-bitty coastal town that is actually an adventure just to get to, considering the winding roadways deathly close to the cliffs overlooking the water, and the scenic tour by another great innovator’s home, Salvador Dali.

El Bulli originally began as a French restaurant, and Adrià maintained that theme through the beginning of his reign (Stevens, 49). Just one year later, while attending a conference in Nice Jacques Maximin changed his life when he answered a question about creative cooking, “Creativity means never imitating.” Adrià took this to heart and began exploring the culinary world. After this the restaurant began to morph into more of a traditional Spanish theme, Adrià looked closely at traditional techniques and would put a twist on them. Many of his dishes at that time might be described by saying "this is a traditional preparation method of this small Spanish town", but it is done in a way that they would never have prepared it. He concentrates on the technique, not the chef; he learns the chemical boundaries of the food, not the replication of a dish itself. Pushing the limits, he quickly mastered traditional Spanish cooking, and in the early nineties explored other countries traditional cooking methods.

Adrià looks back on his dishes not as great dishes but as steps in his culinary education, marking technical turning points in his career, and launching him onto his newest fascination—and there is always a newest fascination. Since he took over El Bulli he has won two more Michelin awards, the highest honor of any restaurant. How does he create such innovative and extraordinary dishes? Adrià only opens El Bulli for six months of the year, April to September, and spends the rest of his time exploring the world, exploring foods, techniques, researching and reading everything he can get his hands on in the world of gastronomy and focusing on the next year’s menu. The rest of the time is spent in his workshop located in Barcelona with his brother Albert, and his other top chefs. There they focus on the technique of the dishes and then perfect the taste at the actual restaurant. If its already been done, they won’t touch it, and out of 5,000 creations, they might get 500 good dishes that they whittle to 25 to 50 dishes for the next year at El Bulli. There is even a person specifically to design the year’s plate presentations (Matthews, 36-50).

With all of this, many will still question what is so fascinating with this man. Well, try one of his many dishes in the array of courses and you will know. First, we’ll start with the dining experience. As stated earlier, a dinner at El Bulli will consist of twenty to forty courses, each course specifically designed to follow a course and to introduce you to the next course all at the same time. Adrià’s goal is “to make people happy for four hours (at El Bulli) that is a dream come true;” and he really does make this the dining experience of your life (Stevens, 50). All of the courses are tastings, no more than a couple of bites, and most dishes are meant to be eaten all at once so that the consumer gets the full burst of flavor—or surprise, all at once like an explosion in the mouth. Imagine Willy Wonka’s magical gum that imitates the flavors of an entire meal, Adrià has mastered this in the form of actual food. Thomas Matthews describes a dish served during his meal, it was served to him on a spoon by one of the many waiters (almost one server for each guest) and it looked like a crispy caramel square. The server advised him to eat it all in one bite, as they do with many of the dishes, the servers will describe Adrià’s theory on the best method of consuming the food. Matthews obediently heeds Adrià’s advice, taking it in one bite, to find out that the dish is actually a caramel covered quail egg scented with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. It’s like a sweet and salty, savory and toothsome, explosion in his mouth. These are the kinds of pairings and surprises that you encounter with Adrià, you have to trust him to eat his food, lust for the newest most unconventional pairings, forms, and techniques, and liberate your taste buds to precipitousness of the course.

Adrià is perhaps most well known for his work with foam, which he mastered in the late 1990’s, but began to ditch in 2004 because it was no longer new, conquering uncharted territory and leaving it for others to spoil. He develops foams of all kinds, fruity, salty, smoky, and omophagous. The process stems from Adrià and his chefs “throwing things into a cream canister and blowing them up,” the process concentrates the flavor of the ingredients into a light fluffy cloud. In 1996 Adrià didn’t think that it would work, but a mere year later had developed the foam that made him famous and by the year 2000 had accounted for almost 40% of his menu. He is most famous for his delicacy Spheres of Liquid Lamb Brains with Sea Vegetables and Mushrooms, where he transforms the brains into a shaving cream like substance. Adrià uses a pressurized nitrous oxide dispenser, usually used to make whipped cream, and loads it with a gelatin-stabilized base. It injects the base with the gas, which expands it much like shaving cream when ejected. Some of these dishes are more airy than others, some have a more gelatin like substance to them, but both transform in your mouth, melting from solid to liquid or visa versa, to reveal the true flavour and nature of the ingredients (Dawes, 45-46).

Ferran Adrià also has a fascination with ham; he loves the complexity of it, as well as its traditional roots in Spanish cuisine. His hog of choice, the Ibérian pig, or more specifically the jamón ibérico de bellota, raised on the southern border between Spain and Portugal. Adrià gets his ham from the best butcher in Spain, Joselito, a company based near Salamanca. Their pigs get six months of roaming and foraging in the woods, dieting on two kinds of acorns, one they eat in the summer, and the other in the winter. This acorn diet makes half of the pig’s fat monounsaturated, and at room temperature it melts into an olive oil like consistency. They are slaughtered at age two and cured for nine months, causing them to lose a third of its original weight. The entire butchering and curing process is done just as Joselito’s did it centuries ago, absolutely no machinery is used, it is the best Ibérian ham that you can purchase in the world (Lubow, 95). In one of the first dishes of the night Adrià served Tara Stevens thin strips of Toro tuna painted with jamón ibérico juices to look and taste like jamón ”while maintaining the variety and richness of the fatty tuna.” Arthur Lubow was served what looked like white chocolate covered cherries, but found out were actually cherries dipped in the fat of jamón ibérico. He described the fat as “earthy, nutty, and delicately perfumed,” a perfect combination with the luscious cherries. The use of the fat in a dish is one that Adrià holds dear to his heart, he claims that the American culture throws everything away, but he says that in Spain they use everything, it is just a part of their culture. In one of his dishes he uses the bones of Mediterranean Rock Fish fried whole and wrapped in a pale cotton candy shroud. He uses veal marrow to make his dish Sautéed Veal Marrow topped with Caviar (Stevens, 45). Adrià’s lust for food isn’t just skin deep, so to speak, he utilizes the entire ingredient, whether it be trout eggs to potato gnocchi with consommé of roasted potato skins, every part of the product is used.

Ferran Adrià creates gastronomic delicacies undiscovered in the culinary realm and infuses them with traditional ingredients and techniques from around the world to create a startling and unforeseen dining experience, consecrating ones palate with arresting delights. His endless search for knowledge of food, traditions, and techniques allows him to create such amazing dishes. Often comparing the experience of eating with that of making love, Adrià says that they are both the only things we experience will all five senses (Stevens, 43). The sensuality of his creations, affecting the guests with felicitous surprise, has established him as one of the most innovative chefs in the world.

Culinary School - WINTER TERM Part 2

It’s finally spring break! I’ve made it through two terms at Johnson and Wales University’s Charlotte campus, and am now officially a sophomore!

Our last cooking class of the term, and our next to last class of the term was Fundamentals of Food Service Production (FFP). This class reminded me a lot of New World because all of the food was really fun to make and really fun to eat. Also, it dealt with a lot of food that we were all really familiar with, but maybe didn’t really know how to make properly or didn’t know about all of the varieties. We did breakfast the first two days, and then moved on to baking and shallow frying. I’m not the biggest egg person, I can thank my mother and grandmother for that, so it was the first time that I had made an egg over easy. We also made fabulous biscuits. We started this class on a Friday and over the weekend I went home right after class because my grandmother, who has been sick with Alzheimer’s for over a decade, was close to passing away. She actually passed away that Sunday, I had just left home to return to school because I had probably the biggest project assigned to us due in Menu Planning and Cost Control (I’ll tell you about this class later) the next day and I had to finish up my demographics information. So I found out when I got home, somehow finished the project, and had the go to school the next day, Monday, before the whirlwind wake, service, and burial on the other side of the state on Tuesday.

Here starts the second day that I cried. We have to take these math tests because a lot of what we do this term is really math intensive, and I wasn’t really paying attention on that Friday when I took the test and was pretty sure that I had done an entire section wrong (I knew the section, I knew what I did wrong, and I knew how to fix it), but I got called up in front of everyone and given my little green slip that said that they wanted me to go to this math class that was actually during my afternoon class and either way, there was no way I was taking actually going to waste my time taking it. Now, I’m not knocking the system, but when you know the who and what and you know how to fix it and you already have a bachelors degree and have completed advanced calculus at a real academic college, you aren’t going to take this 18 year old centered, bad high school, 4x81=? type crap. Anyway the start of that Monday was getting this slip, so then we skipped lecture and started cooking. Our first step of the morning is to do our cuts, which we practice on potatoes. I had cut them all long way and was cutting them the other way when I got myself. I didn’t even really feel it, I knew I cut myself though, and I turned around immediately to go to the sink and then I saw some white down in my thumb—I cut the tip off! Shit! I wrapped it in paper towel and started squeezing because the blood was now flowing, went back to my cutting board, got the tip off of it, and went to the nurse. Oh my god did I get myself! They had to put this sulphur-ish powder on it to clot it and I swear it hurt less than the actual cutting of my thumb hurt…one of the few times in life that I’ve screamed the ‘f’ word. My teacher was so nice about it, maybe a little too excited because he wanted to see the tip, which we had already discarded because they weren’t going to try to reattach it or get stitches (it would have been my first stitches ever! (not counting surgery) I almost got them once over my eyelid but that’s a totally different story).

I got to a breaking point about two hours later because all they gave me was two ibuprofen tablets, and not even big ones, and I started to breakdown in dish pit. I found my out and sneaked out to the hallway and the tears just started to stream—right when my teacher is walking by returning to the classroom. So embarrassing!! I hadn’t even told him about missing the next day because of my grandma yet, so I sniveled that out, and he actually told me that I could leave and he wouldn’t count it off. I was pretty surprised because he was pretty hard-core, see, he had come from a strong restaurant/line cook/executive chef background, those guys are usually a little gruff and rough around the edges anyway—because they have to be. I think it was probably because I’m a girl, and on that same note, I didn’t leave partly for that reason, at least to prove myself, and mostly because if I was at home I would have just been sitting there looking at my TV, while all I felt was my heart beating through my thumb. Also, I had to turn in my Menu Planning project later that day, and I had to print everything out and turn it in (I literally handed the project to the chef in his office and was like, “My grandma died yesterday, I cut off my thumb this morning. Here’s my project, I am unable to make it to class today. Bye”. It was a bad day! Plus it got my group out of doing dishes everyday because we couldn’t get it wet. But the rest of the class was fantastic, I enjoyed all the lectures, I absolutely loved the cooking, and I really appreciated the teacher, not only for his teaching, but also because even to this day, a couple weeks after his class, he asks me every time I see him how my thumb is! We had a lot of practicals for this class, we had one for shallow frying, we had to fry catfish, veal, shrimp, cubed steak, and pork, and then present him a plate with one of each on it. Then we did one for baking, we got salmon, which was awesome because we got to break down the salmon, and then wrap it in puff pastry. The only problem with puff pastry is that you have to create a design on top—when I’m put on the spot to be creative I can’t do it. Or more to the point, I have no skill, so even if I had a good idea it would come out looking like plato designs of a three year old. Then we did a practical for sautéing and made a sauce to go with it, we had to do lamb with a yellow pepper red wine demi glace sauce; two of us would do it in front of the chef, who would just call us out of nowhere and you would have to drop everything and perform. I love the rush of all this, but I usually do something stupid that I wouldn’t otherwise do, like use too much oil to sauté my lamb in. We also had to do a French omelet, which was totally hard for me, it took me a minute to do one without any brown on it.

Our final class together was Skills of Meat Cutting. In this class we would start out in a classroom, and then go down to the basement where we had the Product ID class, into a refrigerator classroom ideal for dealing with meat. We started out with chickens, which I loved, because I’ve already taken to just buying a whole chicken at the grocery store and breaking it down to cook, or roasting it whole—its so much more cost efficient! We learned how to make them boneless skinless, and statler style, I actually just broke down one boneless skinless yesterday. You just wrap everything up separately and freeze them, its great if you live alone. Anyway, on day 3 we came into class and had these huge hunks of beef waiting for us, and the next it was a whole pork loin. It was great—20 pounds to break down and I realized that I really enjoy breaking down a huge chunk of meat, or a primal cut, as I learned. I only wish that I had the opportunity to do it on a regular basis so that I knew all the steps by heart. It was great pulling out the beef and pork tenderloins, how freaking cool. Plus we got to fabricate baby back ribs, so yummy. This was definitely my favorite chef since I got here, he knows what he’s talking about, he’s liberal and anti-government/USDA, don’t get me wrong, it was just more that he would open your eyes to the standards that are in place in our country and the potential for outbreak, and try to inspire us to make changes. We cooked some of each, steaks, ribs, lamb, sausage, only with an addition of salt and pepper and it was so good. Especially when you’ve been up since 5:45am, you haven’t eaten anything, and its 10:15am—crucial. Then we did veal, which was okay, not as exciting, just a huge hunk boneless veal that we scraped the fat off of and then cut into roasts for stew or to be ground. All the while we got to make pork sausage too, our group made breakfast sausage, and some groups got to make things like chorizo and one group made a sweet sausage I think. We got to fill them in the casings and everything. Then we got to do a lamb rack and a lamb leg which was really great, it’s always good to get practice frenching. For our practical we had to break down two chickens, one statler style and one boneless skinless, pretty crazy. My chef decided it would be really funny to have a bullhorn in class and I ripped my oyster jumping from it—crap!

Throughout the entire term I had to take two afternoon classes, they were Sanitation and Menu Planning and Cost Control. Sanitation was kind of boring, but I really don’t think that it couldn’t be. Most of it was like 18 hours of an online program, so I’m not really sure why we had to go to class. Wow, these kids were pretty immature in this class, mostly freshman, mostly really young. I really liked my teacher though, she was so straight up; some kids really didn’t like here, but they are the type of kids that are told three times to do something, don’t do it, and then give lip back when someone gets on them for it. Did really learn a lot though, it is amazing how many evil things are lurking in and around a kitchen, or are brought in from an outside source. I did pass the test, and actually just today was sent my official certificate for Food Safety Management.

In Menu Planning we basically learned how to run the business side of a restaurant. I could write forever on this class, I learned so much. Cost cards, profit and loss statements, edible yield charts, on and on, it was a lot more math than I like to deal with, but it was all worth it. I didn’t take any sort of business classes in undergrad really so I was pretty ignorant about all this before taking the class. My teacher was a chef from New England, and I loved his accent! It was so Boston; my only regret is that I didn’t have him for a lab class. He really does have a knack for teaching math though, and he’s hilarious, could listen to him for hours. We did a project in this class where we had to create a restaurant, a concept, menu, location, research demographics studies, create cost cards for menu items, and even a profit and loss statement. Crazy! I actually started working on the menu part of it pretty early, I knew I wanted to do a Spanish/Latin restaurant, with common enough menu items not to throw anyone off too much, like empanadas and paella. I decided to put mine in Wilmington, NC, where I went to college, because there are absolutely no Spanish restaurants in that town, outside of your family style Mexican restaurant. I did really well on the project, the best part is that it’s basically a business plan to use for the future, and only has to be tweaked—good stuff!

Charlie Trotter’s, A Dining Experience - Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

If you are looking for one of the most exquisite dining experiences of your entire life, then you must visit the lush, elegant Charlie Trotter’s. Charlie Trotter, owner and head chef, knows how to create an exquisitely high class setting, from the minute you enter the establishment, to the service and atmosphere, to the impeccable food and the presentation, you will be treated to the best of the best. This amazing experience will put a dent in the wallet of most of us, there are three daily menus, the Vegetable Menu, the Grand Menu, and the Kitchen Table Menu, each changing daily and ranging from $125 to $200, and wine selections will always add to that—especially considering the amazing selection, they are recipients of the Wine Spectator Grand Award.

Trotter, who has his own cooking show on PBS and is the author of 16 books on cooking and management, believes that guests should be treated to an array of petite courses, each exemplifying the previous while at the same time setting you up for the next. This experience will introduce you to new and innovative foods, styles, and parings, and each the of the highest quality and skill, utilizing premium naturally raised meat and game, line caught seafood, and organic produce. Trotter focuses on saucing with vegetables and juice based vinaigrettes; light emulsified stocks, purees, delicate broths, herb-infused meat and fish essences, each sounding more delectable than the next. The Grand Menu could include anything from quail egg and black truffle, spanner crab with tomato ice, to south Texan antelope with amaranth and chanterelle, or muscovy duck with bitter melon & Szechwan infused duck consommé, rounding out with black cheese with fig jam and candied hickory nuts, Indonesian chocolate with pine nuts and pandan broth, and finishing with coffee, tea, and caramel.

Habanero Peppers

Habanero peppers shoulder a rich and fiery history, culinary, medicinal, and vanity, renown for its illustrious potent punch. These infamous peppers have staked their claim in the history of numerous countries, and is quickly spreading through advances in transportation to become increasingly common in countries that couldn’t previously grow the prized pepper. Consequently, there is a reason that the cruelly infamous fiery heat of the habanero is so loved by consumers. Not only is it used for medicinal purposes, it releases waves of endorphins in the epicure best described as “scary fun”. Growing, purchasing, and storing the habanero can also be a slippery slope, its high level of moisture giving it the delicate composition of most fruits.

Habanero peppers are one of five domesticated species of peppers and is categorized in the species Capsicum Chinense. It was actually incorrectly named Chinense by a Dutch physician in 1776 while traveling to the Caribbean and collecting plants for the emporer. That crazy Dutch, misguided by common theory of the day, thought that he was in China! This day and age no one is really aware of this blunder, they just refer to the entire species as habaneros, even though just one strand out of the hundreds of Chinense is actually a habanero and is native to the Yucatan region. The habanero is also easily confused with the scotch bonnet, another fiery pepper. Each are native to the Caribbean, Yukatan, and the Northern Coast of South America.

Peppers are rated by their levels of heat using the Scoville system, a heat deciphering model developed in 1912 by a pharmacist named Wilbur Scoville. Since then scientists have altered this measuring technique to include the amount of capsaicin in the pepper. Habaneros are so hot because they contain a high amount of capsaicin, an alkaloid that makes chilis burn the mouth and is also said to act on the endorphin centers of the brain similar to the effect of opiates. This gives one the effect of being on a roller coaster, or as Betty Cortina described them as “scary fun.” Habaneros can range in Scoville units from zero to the hottest, which are now making it up to one million. The test consists of a “liquid chromatography measurement” which measures how many parts per million of capsaicin it contains, scientists then convert this to Scoville Units, which was previously measured by how much liquid dillution is needed to drown out the heat. Capsaicin is very interesting, not only does it fluoresce, but interestingly enough, birds are totally immune to it.

Habaneros are obviously infamous for their heat; it is one of the hottest peppers that exist. Many say that Americans are more interested in heat in their cooking, while Mexicans and Latin Americans are more interested in the taste created by blending a variety of peppers. When handling habaneros it is very important to be careful of the spread of capsaicin, it can get on your fingers which you then spread to your eyes, nose, mouth, etc., many advise that handlers wear gloves. Direct contact with capsaicin can cause poison ivy like symptoms on the skin of its handlers. Make sure that you don’t make the mistake of using water as a heat diffuser when habaneros are burning away at your mouth, dairy products are actually the best way to reduce the heat.

The average habanero pepper plant is one to four and a half feet tall and has white flowers and pale to medium green crinkled leaves. The shapes of the pepper range from pendant and lantern-shaped, to campanulate (flattened bell shape) and most are pointed at the end. The pepper is green at immaturity and can mature to a an array of colors from red to orange to yellow and even white. Habanero peppers can be used raw and stored in a refrigerator for up to two weeks, or frozen, pureed and combined with vinegar, or dried. When a chili dries out it loses nine tenths of its original weight and there is also a noticable change in smell and flavor. Habaneros are often described as having a distinct tropical flavor and even aroma; because of this they are often paired with tropical fruits counteracting its fire with the sweet of the other fruits.When purchasing habanero make sure that the peppers that you choose are not soft and wrinkled. Habanero peppers are extremely high in moisture, they are classified as a fruit, which can make spoilage a problem when shipping. Many growers reduce the amount of moisture in the pepper before shipping to ensure a quality product.

The oldest found pepper of the Chinense dates back to 6,500 BC and was found in Guitarreo Cave on coastal Peru. Domestication of the plant occurred in 2000 BC east of the Andes mountains, and by the 17th century European explorers were roaming the Latin regions that have traditionally grown habaneros and began recording their experiences. Bernabe Cobo, a Spanish naturalist, documented up to forty varieties already existing in the New World. Eventually sugar cane became the cash crop of the region and with that brought the slave trade; and habaneros made their leap off the continent and traveled to Africa and on to the West Indies.

Since habanero peppers have made such a substantial footprint in the history of South America, it only makes sense that it has a variety of uses other than the simple joy of consumption. Dave DeWitt documents the uses for habanero peppers in many ancient and present day civilizations. The Mayans used chili powder as a beauty aid, women would wash their faces with urine, then chili powder, and then would repeat the process. Chili powder also had a darker side with the Mayans, being thrown in girls eyes when looking at boys, and was even thrown on the privates of unchaste women. In the West Indies, they used chili powder to cure baldness, and used parts of the plant for hair dye. Denorex, a common dandruff shampoo, uses chili powder so that users feel a slight irritation on the skin, to make them feel that the shampoo is doing its job. Latin Americans and Mexicans would put hot chili powder on their kids thumbs to keep them from sucking them. Samoans used a concoction of chile seeds as a love and virility potion. The Aztecs would smoke the peppers and hold disobedient boys over the fiery smoke. It was also used for many health treatments; anywhere from vertigo, conjunctivitis, effects of a stroke, earache, cuts in the mouth and on the tongue, sore joints and muscles, fevers, diseases, and even lung problems.

It is clear that habanero peppers play an intricate part in the cultures of many South American societies. Since the pepper is so delicate, there are also precautions that growers, shippers, and purchasers should make to ensure a quality pepper. Not only does it pack a tasty punch of fire, the various medicinal uses for the plant, as well as the chemical reaction it causes in the consumers brain, prove the significance of this imposingly delicate and hellacious fruit.

Culinary School - WINTER TERM Part 1

Okay! New term, new group of people to spend 11 weeks with, six hours a day. This term I’m taking a 7am-1pm class (so early! waking at 5:45am) for lab classes and then two afternoon academic classes, sanitation and menu planning and cost control—so it’s kind of a long day. Our first class was Principles of Beverage Service, it was a really cool class. You know how cool the bartender is, we got to be that cool! :0 Anyway, I’m a total wino so I really enjoyed all of the information on wine, the different varieties and vineyards. Really handy information for a restaurant and just for wine drinkers in general, it has broadened my choices when choosing a wine at restaurants and in grocery stores. I really enjoyed this teacher too, she was inspiring, the kind of teacher that makes you want to fulfill your lifelong dream and trek around Europe for a year. She was also a chef, so she made really great connections between drink choices and food, as well as cooking with alcohol—great ideas for cooking with gran marnier. First impression of the class is pretty good, there are two older people, a man and a woman, and the rest of us are pretty much 20 to 27 years old, much older than my last class whose average age was 18.5. We’re not cooking in this class so we really don’t know how each other will be once we finally get in a kitchen. Felt pretty good about throwin’ the bottles around in this class, finally learned what a Manhattan and a Rob Roy and a Cosmo had in them—I’m such a loser all I ever drink is captain and tequila. Also, really liked learning about making beer (one of the guys from class brought in homemade beer), fortification of spirits, and food and wine pairings. We even had port and really expensive bleu cheese on Christmas Eve, and made bleu cheese stuffed green olives. For our practical we had to memorize and serve drinks, four of us went at a time, and our chef would call out a drink and you would make it and just hope that you remembered on the spot. It really wasn’t that bad, either way, you just had to make it look like you knew what you were doing.

Our next class was Purchasing and Product Identification; this was a really cool class, even though it was down in the dungeon of the school. We got to work in the storeroom that fills requisition forms for all of the culinary classes cooking upstairs. We got to learn what all these crazy spices, produce, and grains, just everything down there—it was great! I saw uncooked whole Japanese eggplant for the first time, and totally didn’t know what the names of all those nuts and seeds and lentils were. Another fabulous teacher, I keep telling my parents that each gets better than the next, but I think what it really is is that they are all great, its just that I keep expecting one of them to be like this one professor I had in undergrad that was literally the bane of my existence for two years. Even the rigid and tough teachers at JWU have redeeming qualities, and I’m not talking about tough on uniform teachers—they are just following the guidelines (and all this little kids that complain about it all the time are the same annoying little kids that are never going to make it because not only do they not respect authority and the principles of the school, but they are unable to uncomplainingly follow it. Its right there, its all written out, they knew that this was the way it would be, why complain?). Excuse my tangent…Anyway, great teacher, we weren’t cooking in this class, but our teacher was a chef (the teachers trade around classes a lot-god it would be so cool to work here!) who used to have a restaurant that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen, it was out on the beach here in NC and my mom’s brother has a house in the same little town—so it was a great connection. We did a group project on Habaneros, and I was in a group with the two 18 year olds of the class, so I wrote the whole thing, blah! I was like 13 pages! Johnson & Wales is a writing intensive school, were we have a writing project for each class. I, of course, love this because not only is it building my culinary portfolio, but also it keeps me up on writing. For our practical there were about 6 tables, each with like 8-10 products on them and a number and you had to identify each of them. Now this included liquids, and it was a pleasure smelling fish oil at 8am. I actually did better on this than I thought! She gave me a B+ though, and I’m not totally sure yet (because I’m waiting for final grades, but I’m pretty sure she’s the only one out of 22.5 hours worth of class this term that gave me a B L Either way, I learned so much in this class and have a lot of great resources left from it to look back on later.

We finally get to cook! We’re taking Nutrition and Sensory Analysis, which is kind of intimidating if you’re not totally up on nutritious substitutes for butter and cream! I’m in a group with a guy I’m dating now, and I don’t know what wayward demon possessed or convinced me this would be a good idea. He’s got so much more training and experience than me we shouldn’t even be in the same school; and he’s so used to working in a restaurant that he’s not really nice when working together in class. I keep trying to ‘get hard’ and I’m pretty hard most of the time, I can sling ‘em back or suck it up depending on the circumstance, but sometimes I just have to cry (which I’ve only done that once so far!), it’s a little harder to take when you’re sleeping with that person. Moving away from my personal life to the class, my teacher was great, she was very creative and inspiring. I found it difficult to cook nutritiously with what we were given, not the recipes, but the type of recipes. Positives, I wasn’t totally up on my poaching and this class has sparked my interest—you can poach anything in anything kind of, and I’m having a lot of fun at home trying crazy combinations (although poaching in a compound butter is not nutritious in any sense, it tastes amazing). I also wasn’t used to making healthy sauces, I mean I’ve made light sauces before, but this class was more like demi-glace sauce or a sausage gravy with no butter (oh my! Secret-I did use a little butter:) We had to poach an egg for our practical and turn in two plated dishes that our group made on two days of production.

Check back soon for Part 2 of the Winter Term!

Manresa: 320 Village Ln. San Francisco, CA

Manresa specializes in French and Spanish cuisine, dousing diners with delicious Catalonian influenced cooking. The menu is a four course prix fixe menu amounting to about $92 or $150 with wine pairing. Owner and executive chef David Kinch opened Manresa in 2002 after studying in France, Spain, Germany, and Japan, naming the restaurant after a medieval Catalonian town. Manresa hales its Dungeness crab with exotic Indian spices and its local abalone in brown butter with braised pig as some of its most renowned specialties. The braised pig literally falls apart at the bone and is so moist, and the browned butter compliments the slight crisp on the outside of this delicious meal. Its obvious that Kinch takes Spanish and French cuisine and immerses it in local products like grain fed meats and biodynamic produce grown exclusively for Manresa at a farm near the Santa Cruz Mountains. The concentration on local ingredients, the variety of difficult cooking techniques, and the unique menu items available make Manresa a great restaurant experience.

Culinary School--Fall Term

I’m really going to try to add more posts during the upcoming term, but here’s a little bit to catch you up!

FALL TERM
During my fall term we took five classes, six hours of lab a day, we did each class for nine days in a row, and stayed with the same twenty-two kids for the entire time. I took a Soups, Stocks, and Sauces class first, my chef was a great teacher, could sometimes be a little tough, but you could see that he was a soft guy—no matter how hard he tried to hide it. I’m so glad he was my first chef because he considered his specialty to be knife cuts, and he quickly instilled in me a solidly based skill (definitely has helped with my knife cut grades in other classes). Also, I think understanding the primaries of making stock, its flavor and composition, and developing a grip on all the basic sauces are crucial to the cooking process. I made friends with this girl Lauren in my class, we were in a group together, which you would think would make us butt heads, but we actually worked really well together. I love to make sauces, stocks aren’t really that exciting, they totally can be when you get into some of the stranger stocks, but I love the magic of making a sauce. The timing, the ingredients, emulsifying, thickening—love it, love it, love it! We had to make a Hollandaise sauce for our practical which was intense, and also a roux and veloute, which were both pretty easy. It was also the first time I poached an egg, or ate a poached egg. I did really well in this class—A+!

Next we moved on to Traditional European Cooking. I was a history minor in undergrad so I really enjoyed seeing the tie between the food in this class and the state of the country that they evolved from. The incredibly variety of potato dishes, one of the easiest things for the poor to eat, but they adapted and created different ways of eating the tuberous produce. Processes like slow braising and stewing of tough cuts of animals, because the majority of the medieval European population couldn’t afford the better, tenderer cuts. As you can guess we did mainly braising and stewing of meats which I really enjoyed—intense for like twenty minutes and then get something else done while it simmers away in the oven. I loved my teacher in this class, he allowed us to develop new recipes based on the given ones, feeding our creative juices, while teaching us about why certain combinations work well or why the don’t. He would also explain the European influence of certain herbal mixtures, techniques, and meat products. I had certainly never worked with oxtail before. Its odd that so many of the male chefs here have a military background, I would love to hear the connections that all of them eventually made with food. Also our class was picked for service, so we had to be ready everyday to serve by 5pm—no matter what…it got pretty intense. See Johnson and Wales has two dining classes, an introductory course in service and an advanced course that involves more intricate processes like tableside service. So we got to work on our plating skills and got really good at plate presentations, and our chef was obsessed with us learning how to cut potato fondants, so I got really good at doing those too. We had to braise one day, and stew another for our practical, and I had to make braised rabbit. It was the very first time that I had ever broken down a rabbit, so that made things a little crazy, but otherwise they went great.

It was soon our turn to take the Essentials of Dining Room class. It was awful for me, I don’t know how to serve, much less how to serve in a fine dining establishment. I’m a little uncoordinated, so I spilled water, I knocked over salt and pepper, but I did not drop a tray with food on it! That was for sure the bees knees of the entire class, b/c not only did I get close a couple times, but I was notorious for it at my old job. Once again I loved my teacher, I turned 25 during this class and the entire class signed a card for me—even the teacher! I felt like I was in fifth grade again, it was great. JWU feeds us everyday, this was an afternoon class, so we got dinner and our class has officially been eating Traditional Europeans food for four weeks in a row—I have had enough! Can’t believe I made an A in this class, I had to do every bit of extra work possible to pull it off. Also, I am now a Certified Dining Room Associate for Fine Dining Establishment. It was good to learn about the productions in the front of house, continuity throughout the entire restaurant is key…I get it, moving on.

New World Cuisine was the fourth class of the term, and it was an awesome class. The concentrations were on grilling, roasting, and deep-frying. Which we all loved because, who isn’t already pretty comfortable doing this stuff? They are the techniques that most of us were raised on…I know for myself that I would have been excommunicated from the family if I didn’t know how to fry. Once again we had an amazing teacher, this guy is a dead ringer for Jeff Foxworthy, so much so that I’m pretty confident he could make money on the side doing appearances for Foxworthy. Amazing recipes in this class, brined pork tenderloin with a cilantro and garlic rub that we grilled, I learned how to fillet a snapper or grouper with my eyes closed, grilled steak everyday, fried fish, empanadas, and grilled corn, roasted chicken and pork—it was great! Besides the obvious welcome change from beef stew, I could cook and eat this food everyday of my life. We did three days of practicals, one where we roasted, one we deep-fried, and one we grilled. It was sweet, we all had times that our food was due, like exact minutes, so you were going by the clock in some occasions, and others you had a lot more time at first to work on other projects, depending on what you were doing. Obviously, people that were roasting went last. We also had to do it as a plate presentation, and everything that we did for the deep fry practical was snapper or grouper, which we had to break down and make a tarter sauce to go along with. It was great though; we did steaks, medium rare everyday for the grill practical-yummy! Another A, doing pretty well so far! I’m dreading my next class though!

Our final class of the term was Intro to Baking and Pastry, and it also had one of the hardest teachers I’d had since my teacher in soups, stocks, and sauces. I had a decent baking background from my mom, she baked the bread and made the dessert, I cooked the meal. But I knew that it wouldn’t be the same, I hadn’t really helped her making the bread, and had only made focaccia for myself thus far, and usually our cake decorating skills were only for family eyes anyway, so it really didn’t matter. We made sponge cakes, and challah bread, French bread, Italian butter cream…it was pretty great! My teacher German, and he was pretty hardcore but I really liked him, and I learned so much from him. He had a very strong background in food science, so all of that was really interesting—as long as you could keep up with him! We had to ice a cake perfectly for our practical, and we had never practiced it before, he just did it and we had to copy it for a final grade…intense.
The next day we had to make pastry cream for our practical and I had missed the day we did it in class because I had strep throat. The night before I had to make the pastry cream I stayed out a little later than I should have and was in a bar that was held up. We got shot at, yelled at, it was pretty damn crazy, and then we had to stay for hours to give the police our statements—and of course I was last to give mine! Needless to say, I was a little stressed out for my pastry cream practical, I knew it would be like making hollandaise sauce or something—timing and temperature would be crucial. My chef hovered over my shoulder while I was making it at the stove, followed me back to my table as I was finishing it. Al the while, I know I’m totally destroying it, something isn’t working, and he’s right there, not saying a word—because he can’t, and I just wanted to cry. I had slept like two hours the night before after all was said and done, and I never told him about it because I didn’t want him to think that I wanted any special treatment or anything. He finally leaned over to me and said, “We can go next door and get some powder that you mix with water that will be better than that.” Damn! That was the point I had to go into the freezer….I did remake the pastry cream perfectly though, sometimes it takes destroying something to perfect it. First and only B of the term. :(

I learned so much this term, I loved to cook before, I love the hub bub of a restaurant, I love high stress jobs where you look down and the next thing you know its 6 hours later and each class trained me for all of the things that I loved. I know its not near as stressful as actually being on a line in a restaurant, but I have learned the basic techniques, and some steps above the basic, and that is what is important to me. I feel like I can step in and perform any recipe, my cuts might not be as perfected as they will be after I brunoise a gallon of salsa everyday for a year, but that comes with practice. Our class had been though a lot too, like I said, we were with the same group throughout all of these classes, so once again, similar to a restaurant, but more importantly dealing with different people, ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities. We all had our fights, but we all came out united in a way. Like when you experience something life changing with someone, it creates a connection that you keep with you forever. Perhaps I'm being sentimental and nostalgic because it was the first term at school, but I don't care!

Estiatorio Milos: Get Ready to Go Greek; 125 w. 55th St., Manhattan, NY

Nestled in the south end of Central Park Estiatorio Milos has maintained exquisite style and delectable taste grounding them on this block of nearly one hundred restaurants. Owner and Executive Chef Costas Spiliadis, a native of Patras Greece, prides himself on serving the freshest Greek and Mediterranean Seafood dishes, concentrating on the natural flavors of the product. Chef Spiliadis originally opened Milos in Montreal, Canada in 1980 and decided to move his incredibly popular restaurant to New York City in 1997, quickly establishing themselves as one of the most original and freshest Greek restaurants in Manhattan. Milos’ style reflects many of those found in Patras not only in the food, but in the high ceilings, white marble, and ancient Greek vats placed haphazardly around the restaurant, all take you to a place where you almost expect to see the pebbly sand and ocean view of Patras when glancing out the window.

The cuisine is so fresh that seafood and produce are displayed in market style windows for customers to select their own, dividing the dining room and the open-air kitchen. Fish is brought in daily and it is phenomenal, garnished with olive oil and fresh lemon juice so that one tastes only the flavor of the fish as opposed to a detracting sauce. It just proves their emphasis on freshness. The yogurt in their infamous dessert is made of 100% goats milk from a family owned farmed outside of Montreal, the honey drizzled on top of the yogurt is from the small island of Kythira in the Aegean Sea. Fresh Greek oregano is also brought in from Greece. The zucchini, eggplant, and saganaki cheese appetizer is phenomenal, fried, but only lightly, without weighing you down. The soft shell crab, shrimp scallops, tuna, and swordfish are phenomenal. Don’t come here if you are expecting to have a complex, heavy dining experience, but if you want quality freshness, an emphasis on simplicity, and consistency--visit Estiatorio Milos.

Italian Food and Regional Specialties--il Mio Amore!!!

Nestled in the southern most tip of Europe with centralized Rome as its daunting capitol, Italy’s cuisine magnifies simple healthy elegance that is so awesomely desired by those around the world that Italian food can easily be found in every country. An Olive Garden and Dominos in every town, high end corporate Italian like Carrabba’s and Maggiano’s, and the local fineries are found in almost every small town of the United States and can misguide most American’s ideas of Italian food. This can be said to be the influence of Italian immigration in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, or from the appearance of US soldiers in Italy during WWII who carried it back to the states. It could also be that Italian cuisine is so creative and so individual and so…well just so phenomenally delicious that there is no wonder that the world has caught on. Pasta, garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, pesto, balsamic vinegar, red wine, the list continues and each so endemically Italian.

Americans might feel an association with the Italians because we do share some things in common in terms of our culinary specialties. Italians are famous for taking foreign foods and perfecting them to such a point that everyone assumes they were the original creators. Pasta and tomatoes, two Italian favorites, originated from China and Latin America respectively, but the Italians adapted them and made them their own, just as Americans have taken pizza and run to great and far corners. Another way that America and Italy are similar is that we are always looking for a reason to shut down a street. Festivals and great celebrations are the primary reason for street closings in Italy, whereas in America, well there are sometimes other reasons. Festivals for polenta or the wine harvest shut down cities to villages to celebrate with food and wine in abundance. The Italians knew what a commodity they had, relishing in the fruits of a good harvest, festivals were a celebration of culinary delight.

Italian food is characterized by an abundant use of wholesome and fresh ingredients like olive oil vegetables and fruit. So much so that hey have a general rule that all ingredients have to be consumed by the end of the day to ensure freshness. All these foods basil, prosciutto, risotto, balsamic vinegar, parmigiano reggiano, and wine are all indigenous foods of Italy. Each have gone abroad and have been changed to compliment other local specialties.

A variety of popular dishes around the world originate from Italy. Their infamous dishes range from the basic spaghetti, bread, and pasta to more original dishes such as Jota a stew of beans with bacon and Risi e Bisi, which is rice with young peas. Favorite Italian dishes can, and often do, include fish, meat, cheese, and wine. Another unique Italian dish that is commonly eaten on special occasions is marinated eel which is bite-size pieces eel deep fried and seasoned with salt and pepper marinated, after being fried, in a garlic, balsamic vinegar, and sugar sauce. There are many unique and special dishes all across Italy and the type of dish is usually locally specific. The varying climates of Italy allow for one dish to be unique to one region while being completely common in another.

Regions in Italy

Italy is divided into twenty provinces that are so diverse that each have a culinary or wine specialty. Italy has been taken over by so many foreign invaders and assimilated with many that they conquer and that has allowed the local areas to maintain their cultural heritage. Although they worked as individual city states until unifying in the nineteenth century, it created the unique autonomy of their culinary range. Also, the variety of climates in the country allow for each region to create an individuality in their produce.

Abruzzo: This is a small region just under the calf of Italy on the eastern coast. It is most famous for a festival called Panarda that features local specialties like smoked herring in milk, cheeses like scamorza and cacciacavallo, sweet breads, beef, and beans. Abruzzo was not originally known for its wine, but became a formidable wine growing region in the 1950’s when grapes were imported from the Tuscan region.

Apulia: Apulia makes up the heel of Southern Italy. Their diet is heavy in pasta and bread, figs are grown in abundance, and local dishes feature an abundance of seafood like oysters and lobster in truffle oil. They are also famous for their fish soup which they trace back before the ancient Romans to the Greeks. It is also one of the most important sources of olive oil production. Apulia produces the most wine in all of Italy, and many also believe it is the strongest wine available in the country.

Basilicata: Many historians believe that this region located on the foot arch of Southern Italy is the ‘birthplace of pasta’ and trace it back to Horace’s’ writings. They are also known for their cheese, lucianian pecorino, and produce elaborate sausages, well seasoned and hot sauces, ginger, hot pimentos, and olive oil. Some say that Basilicata has the best red wine in southern Italy.

Calabria: Located on the toe of the boot of Southern Italy, Calabria is known for their simple and healthy dishes, and it is widely thought that this is because the weather is so hot. Pasta is in most dishes, mixed with other foods or light soups. Vegetables are served regularly with spicy sauces, eggplant is used constantly and in a wide variety of forms, seafood is very important, and they are known for a special snail sauce. The area of Sila in Calabria is known for its prized mushrooms, porcino silano. They are also known for a cheese called buttino, which is cacioavallo provolone with a butter center. This region is not so known for their wine because of the extreme heat.

Campania: Located Italy’s upper ankle on the western coast, Campania is often thought of as the ‘birthplace of pizza’ and specializes in alla Napolitana and Margherita pizza. Of course, along with this, they are renown for their mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Campania traces its strain of grapes to the Greeks and also produces Strega, one of Italy’s most popular liquors.

Emilia Romagna: Located on the underside of the knee joint on the eastern coast, Emilia Romagna claims to have the best Italian cuisine of all the regions of Italy. The city of Bologna is known as ‘the fat’, Parma is the home for parmegiano and parmegiano regiano cheeses, and Modena is a center for balsamic vinaigrette and ham. The entire region is known for its tortellini, tagliatelle, and lasagna. Emilia Romagna has a festival called Sangiovese that features Biso, a boiled sangiovese wine, and varieties of bruschetta.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia: This region is located on the upper thigh of Northern Italy on the east coast. They are known for their goulash, prosciutto, breaded spider crab, strudel and Brovada (Friulan Sauerkraut), showing the German influence on cooking. They are a big wine region featuring Pinot Grigio and Pinot Bianco.

Lazio: On the western coast at the shin of Italy, Lazio features simple country dishes like Porchetta a spit roasted suckling pig, and Colle Picchioni a milk fed lamb, and tripe dish. They have an abundance of artichokes, thus they have a lot of artichoke dishes; and many cheeses like sharp pecorino romano. There is lots of wine production and trace it back to the ancient Romans settling in the Setine area of Lazio.

Liguria: Below the kneecap on the western coast, Liguria is known for its olive trees and flowers, particularly carnations, on their hills, as opposed to grapes, the typical Italian landscape. They are also known for pesto, a combination of parmesan cheese, olive oil, and pine nuts, and claim to be the creators of ravioli.

Lombardy: Landlocked and in the middle of the northern most border of Italy, Lombardy cuisine almost always features polenta or rice, and have a saffron flavored rice reminiscent of Spanish influence. They produce gorgonzola cheese, and a grana cheese similar to parmesan cheese. Lombardy features the nebbiolo grape and produces a sparkling red wine and a red wine.

Marche: Nestled on the eastern coast and forms the calf of Italy, Marche is best known for their truffle sauce, breaded olives stuffed with meat and truffles and then fried or baked. Their local specialty is roast pig with fennel and other spices. Their wine region is known for verdicchio, a strong wine that is an aged sweet cooking wine.

Molise: A very small region just above Southern Italy’s Achilles heel features an abundance of pasta and potato dishes. Their local specialty is capuzelle e patane, lamb brains and spices, and Ripalimosani is known in the region as the Molise capitol of bread. The Molise region is not known for their wine production.

Piedmont: One of Italy’s most well known regions located in the northwest of Italy Piedmont is often thought to have two cuisines, one for the rural highlands and one for the urban low lands and cities. The highlands have more of a local taste featuring heartier meals like fondue; rice and polenta are so widely used that they have a celebration for it each year. The low lands and cities are more heavily influenced by Lombard and French cooking, and feature the ‘home of breadsticks’ in Turin. Alba is known for its white truffle. The Piedmont uses the nebbiolo grape producing Barolo, a famous Italian wine, and the most common local grape is the Barbera grape.

Sardinia: This island to the west of Italy and north of Sicily is known for its dairy farming, and is the only region in Europe to have the DOP on three cheeses. They are also known for battarga, a caviar dish, and also for their eel dishes, muggine a native fish, and a paper thin bread called pave carasau. Sardinia traces its wine all the way back to the Phoenicians and Spanish influencs.

Sicily: Known as the island that Italy’s mainland boot is kicking, Sicily is famous for its abundance of fruits, vegetables, olives, and fish in their cuisine. Swordfish, sardines, tuna, and anchovies are in the majority of seafood dishes. Sicily produces 291 million gallons of wine each year and is second only to the Apulia region. Marsala is their most famous wine and production started on it in the eighteenth century due to Great Britain’s demand for marsala.

Trentino-Alto Adige: Trentino-Alto Adige is located in the Northeast part of Italy and heavily influenced by German cuisine. Knodel (dumplings), speck (smoked bacon) are prevelant in the northern areas, and polenta and gnocchi are popular in the south. They also have a lot of hearty german bread, strudel, and vienesse pastries. On the second day of October the locals of Trentino-Alto Adige celebrate a grape harvest festival that features pinot grigio and chardonnay.

Tuscany: One of Italy’s most famous regions just below the knee on the western coast, Tuscany features an abundance of grilled meats such as wild game, legumes, and farro, a cereal grain seen in thick soups and pies. They are prized for their olive oil, seafood, and farvolli, which are large reef crabs. Their major wine export and specialty is chianti.

Umbria: Between the calf and the shin, Umbria is completely landlocked. They have a reputation for meat, especially beef and pork, and cardoons (a cousin of artichoke), and the infamous black truffle. Their wine dates back to the Etruscans, before the ancient Romans, and they produce Orvieto and a Red Riserva.

Valle D’Aosta: Located on the northern top of Italy, it is the smallest region and is completely landlocked. Polenta and soups are widely used, and valpellinentze is a local specialty dish that is a combination of soup and fondue. They are also known for their fontina cheese, honey, and spiced trout. Valle D’Aosta uses the nebbiolo grape, and locally uses the moscato grape.

Veneto: Just above the back of the knee on the western coast, Veneto still uses a lot of spices that date back to the medieval spice trade through Venice. Rice, risotto, and soup are featured alone or in combination in most dishes. Squid ink is a local delicacy, and pasta is not used very much because of the prevalence of rice. Veneto produces more wine than any region outside of Sicily and Apulia, and is most famous for their merlot.

Serving Styles, Techniques, & History: American, French, & Russian/English

There are three primary service styles that influence restaurants, parties, and any catered affair all over the world. American, French, and Russian/English styles of service vary in many different ways and revel in their mark in the history of the restaurant world, and offering guests an array of dining experiences. Many are not aware of how each style differentiates from the other, how they’ve influenced the service industry, and how the evolution of each technique gives way to the history of restaurants, and service styles of great Russian and European royal families, their interesting familial connections, their conflicts, trades, and most importantly, their parties.

The word restaurant originally stems from the French word ‘restaurer’ or ‘to restore’ that first appeared during the sixteenth century. Helen Greenwood notes that around 1765 the word is first applied to an eating establishment, a Parisian soup seller named Boulanger. While the Chinese started out early with teahouses, Europe traditionally had inns that fed travelers but didn’t usually cater to the locals. When Europe finally caught on in the Middle Ages food was served family style where food is placed in a large platter in the middle of the table of guests and they serve themselves. It was often joked about that the diner with the longest arms got the best choice of food, but it was more luck of the draw as to what dish was placed closest to you. This was the style of service when America first entered the restaurant business in 1794 when the first one appeared in Boston.

As to the association of French service with France or English/Russian with Britain or Russia they are not so closely tied. Royal families were all related and dined together, fought together, and traded goods and ideas with each other. Plus, they were the only ones that could afford such extensive service and ambiance. The czar of Russia and the head of the British house could both cut meat French style and call it their own—especially if they are at war with France. In fact French style of service was actually brought to France by a Russian! Prince Alexander Kurakin of Russia brought Russian service to France in the 1850’s, revolutionized what was formerly a cluttered, unorganized, and unsanitary event by introducing specific plates, refined flatware, and warmer food via tableside preparation. France didn’t become famous for its restaurants until after the French Revolution, the aristocracy had broken up the catering guilds and placed some of them in the Bastille, they were freed during the French Revolution and came together to revolutionize the dining industry throughout the world.

Russian service actually originally began in Constantinople and was brought to St. Petersburg around 1810 by an ambassador to the czar. It gained such popularity with the czar that he began to use it at every food gathering. Meats would be cooked and prepared in kitchen and then put back together, bone and all, so that the server could present and carve it tableside. The integration of the English service style stems from the butler service where canapés and hors de oeuvres are placed on a platter in the hand of servers and offered to guests as they pass by. The two came together to form the Russian/English service were food is brought on platters or tureens, typically pre-portioned, and served to the seated guests; butler service is still the primary style of service at parties and gatherings.

American service style is what many of us are most familiar with, as it is the primary service technique in the majority of restaurants in America. It can range from the fine dining experience to the most casual dining experience, emulating to many degrees a culture of jeans and instant gratification. Service is fast, less importance is placed on server training, and many say that it lacks the pomp and circumstance of French and Russian/English dining. On the other hand, restaurants are saving money via the lack of extra tableside equipment or elegant service settings, the lack the costs of extensively training servers, and the chef can better manipulate cost and the presentation of food than in the other styles.

American has two fundamental service styles, a la carte and Banquet. In a la carte food is prepared, plated, sauced, and garnished in the kitchen, none of the food is prepared tableside. Servers usually maintain three to five tables, set up to serve a lot of customers and turn tables quickly. In upscale restaurants servers are set in a brigade were one server is responsible for only one table. There is much more emphasis on the guest, and the service is more streamlined, there is less equipment, and there is less training for the servers. Banquet service is another form of American Service where a meal is predetermined for a set number of guests, menus are usually set ahead of time, and servers work as a team under a captain or a maitre d so that all guests can be served at the same time. Servers are assigned stations consisting of around twenty to thirty guests.

Russian/English service is when the server spoons or plates portions directly onto a dish in front of the guest, this style of service is sometimes called silver service in America. All of the food for this service is prepared, portioned and garnished before being presented on platters, tureens, and service plates. There are some initial equipment costs, guests lose some of the glamour when their food has already cooled from a platter, or they are the last to be served. Unlike French service this can involve a single server or a team of servers and the food is served much quicker. Servers must be well trained to serve and present, but are not otherwise trained extensively. Servers use service sets to transfer food from the platter to the guest plate, and the three primary service styles, that can all take place during a meal are tureen service, platter service, and casserole service. Each contain the guests food pre-portioned or not, and the server serves the guest their desired amount. More space must be available between the guest’s seats in order for the server to have room to serve the guests. Unlike American service Russian/English only partially completes the meal in the kitchen, the rest is presented proportionately to the guests tableside.

French service is synonymous with elegant settings, expense with abandonment, and the service and food preparation must go along with that style. French service is typified by tableside preparation and food plating right in front of the guests, and is for the diner with a heavy pocketbook. Food is prepared and served by a group of highly trained servers called a brigade that work together to ensure the diners sense of elegance and sophistication. All plates are presented to the guests at the same time by the brigade, and is sometimes served sous cloche, literally translated to ‘under bell’ or a domed plate. French service sets demands both a refinement and an extensive array of plates, dishes, and silverware each for a specific purpose. It is obvious that French service demands an extensive and highly trained workforce; there is a dining room manager or chef de service (translated ‘service boss’) who keeps things connected with all departments, a sommelier or wine steward, the captain of the brigade or chef de rang (translated ‘row boss’), the waiter or commis de rang (translated ‘front waiter’) who serve under the captain, the back waiter or commis de suite serving as a channel between the kitchen and the brigade, and the busser or commis debarrasseur, an entry-level cleaner of the restaurant and clearer of the tables.

French service also requires more table equipment, a service set, gueridon, rechaud, blazer pan, chauffe plats, flaming swords, and a wagon or slicing cart. All play in integral part in the elegant tableside service in which servers assemble salads or tuna tar tar, finish off an already plated meal with a sauce or garnish, or the server will carve or debone fish, poultry, game, and meats, or peel or slice fruits and cheese. Whole venison, duck, halibut, salmon is prepared tableside and sometimes the guest admires it before cooking to ensure freshness.

The level of quality and pure elegance in French style service is unparalleled with any other. The amount of time, precision, and training required of the work staff helps ensure the same quality food and presentation as dining experience. French style and Russian/English style regulate portion control for the guest, and Russian/English style ensures quickness. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and many restaurants integrate the styles into their own unique service. The development of restaurants throughout history and the evolution of each service style embody the culture and progress of the dining experience.


A Little Hisory
The sign above the soup sellers door advertised restoratives, or restaurants, referring to his soups and broths. By 1804 Paris had more than 500 restaurants, and France soon became internationally famous for its cuisine. Other European restaurants include the Italian trattorie, taverns featuring local specialties; the German Weinstuben, informal restaurants with a large wine selection; the Spanish tapas bars, which serve a wide variety of appetizers; and the public houses of England. Asian restaurants include the Japanese sushi bars and teahouses serving formal Kaiseki cuisine as well as the noodle shops of China. Most U.S. restaurant innovations have revolved around speed. The cafeteria originated in San Francisco during the 1849 gold rush; cafeterias feature self-service and offer a variety of foods displayed on counters. The U.S. also pioneered fast-food restaurants such as White Castle (founded 1921) and McDonald's (Ray Kroc), usually operated as chains and offering limited menus and fast service.