Chefs Collaborative and Organic Valley Family of Farms will commemorate the 40^thanniversary of Earth Day with Earth Dinners at restaurants around the country.  Developed in 2004, the Earth Dinner provides diners with an opportunity to reconnect with their food, its source, and the memories and traditions associated with it.

“We’re really pleased to have more than 50 member chefs and restaurateurs participating in this year’s dinner series,” says Melissa Kogut, Executive Director of Chefs Collaborative. “Earth Dinners highlight the commitment to sourcing ingredients responsibly and talent of our member chefs. The dinners also educate the public about the importance of eating food that is locally grown, in season, and sustainable.”

Participating chefs have developed special Earth Dinner menus to be served during the week of April 18-24, 2010. “It’s great to be part of a national initiative like this that promotes my philosophy as a chef,” says Chef Paul Virant of Vie Restaurant in Chicago, Il. Chef Virant will offer a special Earth Dinner prix-fixe menu featuring regional favorites like local ramps and wood-grilled rainbow trout.

Join me in Portland!

IACP's Annual Conference will coincide with these Earth Day events. Our theme this year is The New Culinary Order. Ever heard "what's old is new again?" Well, in many ways the nature of being a responsible gourmet means looking back and celebrating traditions that sustain us. We've got many sessions doing just that and highlighting the leading edge of the Farm-to-Table food movement including a full day "Pork and Pinot" event, local Willamette Valley producers, growers and brewers are hosting sessions, and of course there are Pacific Seafood sessions, Carrie Oliver is offering her "Provenance of Beef" workshop, and we have Butchery classes hosted by the brand new PDX meat.

For those of you coming to IACP here are the Chefs Collaborative members hosting special Earth Day dinners or featuring special menus. If you're meeting a friend for dinner why not pick one of these spots?

Grand Central Bakery
Portland, OR
April 16-30, 2010 during regular business hours
Call 503-232-0575 for more information!

Lucy’s Table
Portland, OR
April 22, 2010 from 5:00 PM to close
Call 503-226-6126 for more information!

Oregon Culinary Institute
Portland, OR
April 20-April 23, 2010, noon lunch and 7:00 PM Dinner
Call 503-961-6200 for more details!

Paley’s Place
Portland, OR
April 22, 2010 5:00 pm – close
Call 503-243-2403 for more information!

Chef Twillia Glover of the Liberty Elm Diner will serve up a “Farm-to-Diner” dinner in a historic, lunch car located in the Elmwood neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. "One does not need to dine at a high end restaurant to receive a local, sustainable, and delicious meal," says Chef Glover who also owns her own catering business.

The proceeds from the Earth Dinners will support Chefs Collaborative and its continued educational programming for chefs. Restaurant contributions up to a total of $10,000 will be matched by Organic Valley Family of Farms. “We’re extremely grateful for the generous participation of our members and the support of Organic Valley,” says Kogut.

Click here for a full list of participating restaurants.

Founded in 1993, Chefs Collaborative is the nation’s leading network of chefs fostering a sustainable food system through education and collaboration with the greater food community. For more information, visit the Chefs Collaborative website: www.chefscollaborative.org.

• Mark your calendars for the 2010 Chefs Collaborative National Summit: Redefining our Culinary Traditions. Octoboer 3-5, 2010 Boston.

BLOG COMMENTS

Rick Moonen's chat at Google. Great stuff. His presentation traces his career and the evolution of the Sustainable Seafood movement.

Chef Greg Griffie - Interviewed in SeafoodSource.com. See, Q&A: Boston chef looks to sustainable fish. Chef talks about Green Chefs, Blue Ocean and a couple of outstanding examples of aquaculture done right.

Some good news out of Europe: Top French Chefs Take Bluefin Off the Menu. It's about time.

 

And I chatted with Time Magazine Environmental Hero Casson Trenor this past week, from his boat somewhere in the South Pacific. They're tracking illegal fishing and hoping to intervene. Keep up the good work Casson! Maybe I'll see you in Paris for the Seafood Choices Alliance conference and awards.

 

 

 

BLOG COMMENTS

This is a very good post and a fun video by Alan Richman featuring his field trip to CostCo with Eric Ripert. Yes, that's right, Eric Ripert. Chef and Co-owner of Le Berndardin and host of his show "Avec Eric". On Eric's show he goes to the farm, the market, the cheesemonger and with inspiration and fine foods, he produces a meal. Alan Richman decided to create "Avec Alan" and take Eric where Westchester-ites go for their culinary inspiration: CostCo. (Please don't tell my mother-in-law, I'll never hear the end of it!) Thanks to Carolyn Jung for the tip!

Avec Alan, click here to go to the article and embedded video.

 

Now, this may fall into the category of too much information, and undoubtedly I will one day regret sharing this with you. But, I must, because it involves a dream I had with Eric Ripert. I know what you're thinking and everyone I've told this story to, giggles, blushes and tells me THEIR dream with Eric would be very different.

You see, mine was more like a nightmare.

I was in the kitchen avec Eric. Were we pawing each other and breathing heavily? Looking at each lustfully across the pass? No. I was standing beside the famous and famously nice and charming chef, with a knife in hand at the cutting board. He asked me to cut "brunoise."

I bring my knife down on whatever vegetable it was and suddenly, the knife acts like it has a mind of its own. Instead of cutting beautiful, small, even dice (AKA brunoise) I'm hacking huge uneven chunks like some one eyed zombie in a horror movie.

Mortified, I explain, "I'm so sorry chef. I know what brunoise is, really I do. I can do this!" Patient and calm but no longer smiling he nods for me to try again.

Beyond mortified. Once again my knife is possessed. Once again, huge ugly hunks of Flintstonian proportion.

Well, there you have it. If I were you, I'd stick avec Eric. Or even avec Alan.

BLOG COMMENTS

Boston Magazine just popped in my in box, with a blurb about open kitchens. I love the concept and here's the comment I left:

Craigie on Main, photo credit Boston Magazine

I love open kitchens. The main thing it tells me is confidence. The chef has confidence in his staff. The staff are confident in their skills and the system they're working in. If you see a smooth functioning open kitchen you can bet that hours of good solid management and training go on behind the scenes. No place to hide. And don't we all want a little more transparency and authenticity these days?

 

What do you think?

BLOG COMMENTS

Jacques Pepin's Ballotine of Chicken

Jacques Pepin teaches Ballotine of Chicken at the New York Culinary Experience - and I was there!

The annual weekend called The New York Culinary Experience is a fundraiser for the school's scholarship fund and is co-sponsored by New York Magazine. See Up Close and Personal with Renowned Chefs.

You can get a feel for the class by watching the slide show below. For step-by-step instructions see Iconic Chef Jacques Pepin Demonstrates Ballotine. You can also see the true Cassoulet from Gascony, taught by Ariane Daguin.

Dorothy Cann Hamilton founded The French Culinary Institute in 1984. I got the chance to chat with her upon her induction into the James Beard Society's Who's Who list. (See the full interview in my Gourmet Food column: James Beard Inductee: Dorothy Cann Hamilton - Who's Who Honoree - On Wanderlust, Recessions and a Perfect Peach.

This is just the second year and it sold out completely. I talked with "students" who were clothing designers, prostodontists, landscape architects, programmers, bartenders, retirees. It's hard not to be gobsmacked walking the halls and seeing the culinary stars. The most amazing part of being there is that the staff are all so open, friendly, accessible. They are obviously friendly and respectful of each other, too. It's a beautiful atmosphere and the whole weekend carried an extra charge with eager students (and equally eager press) in attendance.

In 2006 Nils Norén Formerly of Aquavit joined the school as VP of Culinary and Pastry Arts bringing his considerable industry experience to the school’s curriculum. Also in 2006, The Italian Culinary Academy launches at The International Culinary Experience with renowned Italian chef Cesare Casella as its Dean. The first program to launch is the Italian Culinary Experience program, the first-of-its-kind that combines hands-on study in cuisine, language and culture at The Italian Culinary Academy in SoHo and ALMA, The International School of Italian Cuisine at  in Colorno, Italy, followed by an optional nine-week stage at a top-rated restaurant in Italy.

cocktail anyone?

True Tuscan at work (also the name of his cookbook)

 

Feeling for pin bones

 

Holding the tail end with his left hand he gently pulled the knife across the side in a back and forth sawing motion.

 

Making ribbons of cucumber.

Chopping chives.

...et Voila! Gravlax, Salmon Tartar - very easy to make and great luxury for entertaining. The bread was spread with a radish butter, stacked and cut into these seasoned slices for serving the salmon.

All very easy to do ahead.

This NYCE weekend was heady stuff. Everyone I spoke with was having a blast, excited by what they were learning and thrilled with who they were learning it from. It's really a unique weekend. What a great gift for a special birthday or anniversary or say Christmas?

 

 

BLOG COMMENTS

In planning the recent Chicago Teach a Chef to Fish workshop (see Radhika-ly Good Meal of Sustainable Barramundi), I was reminiscing with Mary Smith of Plitt Seafood about Alaska and our fond memories of the Reluctant Fisherman's deck and the town of Cordova. Imagine my delight when she extended an invitation to the James Foundation dinner taking place the night before our workshop.

As much as I love the James Beard Foundation and the work they do, as an independent writer the ticket for these dinners is still out of reach. Now I was being invited to share a meal with a new friend - Score! And what a meal it would turn out to be. The Publican (not "Republican" as my hotel staff insisted, "there's no Republican restaurants around here.") is one of the hot tables in Chicago. Blackbird, avec, and The Violet Hour are all part of the same restaurant family, all noted in their own right.

The Publican, Photo credit: Bob Briskey, Publican Website.

Amidst delightful company, we swooned and squealed over course after course, pairing after pairing. Classical guitar, travels in Greece, lamb, goat, pigs and fish, of course...conversation ranged far and wide. We sat in one of the booths with doors like old Puritan church pews. Note the pig artwork. Was I in the right place, or what?

Bob Briskey Photographer, courtesy Publican website

James Beard Foundation Dinner

Executive Chef Paul Kahan - formerly of Blackbird and avec, and now The Publican, Kahan has been honored by selection as a James Beard nominee for Outstanding Chef in 2007 and winner of James Beard Best Chef of the Midwest in 2004.

Each of the courses were outstanding. And each gave us a new talking point, an interesting pairing, a new ingredient, a favorite item.


Sweet Delicata Squash - Koren Grievson
heirloom apples, sicilian pistachios, fiore sardo*, baby chard
2008 Blackbird Vineyards “Arriviste” Napa Valley (deep rose)

*Fiore Sardo is a cheese from Sardinia that predates Pecorino Romano.

Turbot & crispy sweetbreads - Paul Kahan
golden turnips, orange & lucques olives
Sophie, Goose Island Brewery, Chicago, IL

*Goose Island Brewery was new to me, this Sophie had complex citrusy notes and a clean crisp taste that was perfect with the richness of the sweetbreads and the turbot.

Slow roasted goat and crispy goat prosciutto - Mike Sheerin
Crab apples, dates and hazlenut oil
2006 Blackbird Vineyards “Arise” Napa Valley

*Goat was rich and prosciutto was like chips.

Suckling pig - Brian Huston
canadice grapes, matsutake mushrooms, cavolo nero & verjus
2006 Blackbird Vineyards “Illustrator” Napa Valley

*Not surprising that this dish was a standout. The Publican has a reputation for good porcine treats.

"Coldbox" Photo Credit: Sam Rosen, The Publican website.

Sweet potato panna cotta - Becky Broeske
Smoke cider, milk chocolate & bourbon ice cream
Conquistador de la meurte, Three Floyds Brewery, Munster IN

*This dessert and dark beer pairing was really tremendous. A dark cookie shortbread underneath a light but richly flavored panna cotta little cocoa nibs and the cider and ice cream all complemented the chocolately, smokey notes of the brew. Really a surprising and delicious pairing. Our server asked another server how many Floyds were at the Three Floyds Brewery: answer: three.

The atmosphere is bustling and congenial, warm saffron walls and shared tables encourage the friendly atmosphere. Servers were knowledgeable and attentive. I would highly recommend this delicious and funky spot for your next trip to Chicago.

The Publican

837 West Fulton Market
Chicago IL

312-733-9555

BLOG COMMENTS

Welcome sign, on laptop, the FishChoice.com site.

 

With Top Chef Radhika Desai preparing a delicious lunch on state-of-the-art Fisher & Paykel equipment, chefs and culinary students, future fishmongers and conservation activists got together Monday for Teach a Chef to Fish.

Chef Radhika Desai on cooking on the Fisher & Paykel range: "I want to take it home!"

While delicious scents wafted through the gorgeous showroom, an intimate but lively group chatted around the jumbo kitchen island, learning about new sustainable seafood sourcing and education tools. The group included folks from across a broad spectrum of the food service industry including one chef in training whose family also runs aquaculture in the Philippines.

We heard from the Shedd Aquarium’s Kassia Perpich who outlined the five general topic areas we cover in the discussion of sustainable seafood:

1. Overfishing - in the US it's estimated that 40% of our fisheries are over-fished, globally the figure is 70-80%.
2. By-catch - the by-catch from harvesting one pound of shrimp is often as much as seven pounds of fish wasted.
3. Habitat - shrimp trawlers often drag nets across the ocean floor, uprooting and killing aquatic plants, corals and other seafloor life.
4. Aquaculture - is thought to be the future of seafood as we have depleted so much of the wild supply. Good aquaculture exists but often gets lumped together with those that pollute, cause disease, destroy delicate mangroves or other environments.
5. Illegal, Unregulated, Underreported - buying fish from pirates, or buying species that are technically legal but widely acknowledged to be unregulated - these practices have consequences.

Dirk Fucik, (Dirk’s Seafood), Mary Smith (Plitt Seafood), and Carl Galvan (Supreme Lobster) shared valuable perspectives on how people can expand their sustainable seafood options. Even the topic of working with “red list” seafood suppliers was touched on.

Chef Radhika Desai's Spice Crusted Barramundi

 

Team Chicago, L to R: Judy Bell, F&P; me; Dirk Fucik, Dirk's Seafood; Kassia Perpich, Shedd Aquarium; Mary Smith, Plitt Seafood; Carl Galvan, Supreme Lobster; Radhika Desai.

Special thanks to sponsors: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Fishchoice.com, Australis Barramundi.

 

 

 

 

BLOG COMMENTS

Where can Chicago-area culinary professionals go to spend a couple of hours over lunch with colleagues interested in sourcing sustainable seafood?

Please join us at the beautiful Fisher & Paykel Appliances/ DCS Appliances showroom in Elk Grove Village for a workshop on sustainable seafood:

• Almost 90% of diners say they want restaurants to serve only sustainable seafood, but nearly 75% are unaware which fish are close to extinction.
• Teach a Chef to Fish Roundtable on Monday October 19, 2009 from 1130 - 130 PM will help you meet this demand.

It's a roll up your sleeves and learn session. Attendees will hear brief introductions to the new resources including a brand new sourcing service, and a self-study course perfect for anyone who wants to learn more. October is National Seafood month, come get inspired and create a new menu item celebrating sustainable seafood.

• Top Chef Season 5 Contestant Radhika Desai will talk about her connection to the issue of sustainable seafood while we chat with her about the dish she'll demo on state of the art equipment.
• Kassia Perpich will share highlights of Shedd Aquarium's Right Bite program.
• Dirk's Seafood - Dirk Fucik, owner of Chicago’s premier retail fish shop will be on hand to share inside info on how to source sustainable seafood
• Plitt Company’s Mary Smith and Supreme Lobster’s Carl Galvan will represent the wholesale distributors’ take on sustainable procurement and how it is passed on to local chefs.
• We’ll hear about the sustainable aquaculture Australis Barramundi, The Better Fish. . Learn what makes some aquaculture sustainable from this leader.
• We’ll introduce new tools like the Blue Ocean Institute and the Chefs Collaborative program, Green Chefs, Blue Ocean. We’ll review their seven part online tutorial.
• We’ll walk through the new, free sourcing service,FishChoice.com which gives culinary professionals real-time information to source sustainable seafood from a large database of purveyors, many of them already familiar names.
  
  

Join colleagues who share your interest in sustainable seafood. We'll have sponsors information, barramundi to take home, and materials in a USB flash drive to take away. Take the first steps toward a more sustainable menu, or deepen your commitment using self-study and sourcing tools.

Join colleagues who share your interest in sustainable seafood. We'll have sponsor materials, Chefs Collaborative Seafood Solutions report, and more in a USB flash drive to take away. Seating is limited. Please contact me by Friday end of business to register so we have a headcount for lunch LDGourmet. If you would like to make a donation on the day of the event, the proceeds will go to the Shedd Aquarium.

We had a wonderful inaugural event in Boston and are preparing to take Chicago by storm - come join us!

* This event is not a sales pitch, just a lunch and learn designed to broaden the discussion of sustainable seafood. I thank the sponsors who have helped cover costs: Fisher & Paykel Appliances, FishChoice.com, Australis Barramundi, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

 

BLOG COMMENTS

 

To be asked "when the next workshop would be taking place" and "could it be after the holidays, please?" was simply music to my ears. 

Monday the 28th of September, I gathered two dozen chefs at the gorgeous Fairmont Battery Wharf in my first live event on the topic of sustainable seafood. Among the participants were Executive Chefs and Line Cooks, single proprietors and employees of large properties. Veteran sustainability advocates and folks taking their first steps on the path to more sustainable menus. Most everyone indicated they'd learned something new.

This was due to the excellent panel of presenters who generously donated their time delivering up-to-the-minute information and cutting-edge resources designed specifically to meet the needs of culinary professionals.

Executive Chef Brendon Bashford, Fairmont Battery Wharf: Shared what the Fairmont Battery Wharf has been willing to do, such as eliminating endangered species like bluefin tuna and Chilean Sea Bass from the menu. For those starting out on the path to sustainability, it was good to hear the encouragement. And for those already engaged in sourcing sustainable seafood, reinforcing that "small steps toward sustainability" as both necessary and possible, was an equally welcome message.

Lydia Bergen, Assoc. Dir. for Strategy and Outreach Sustainable Fisheries Initiative, New England Aquarium: Described the work of the New England Aquarium from penguins and public awareness to research, advocacy and conservation. She highlighted the steps that chefs could take to move toward more sustainable menus and invited active participation in the work of the Aquarium. At least two in the audience (Andy Husbands and Jose Duart) are already doing so with the celebrate seafood dinner series.

Carol Devine of Australis Barramundi, The Better Fish: Reviewed both the problems and the promise of aquaculture, taking us through the features of sustainable aquaculture as practiced by The Better Fish. As the Boston Globe noted Monday morning the world's appetite for fish will cease to be met by wild caught fish. The question becomes how will aquaculture be managed. 

Leigh Belanger, Program Director for the Chefs Collaborative: Provided the Seafood Solutions report to all participants and presented the brand new on-line sustainable seafood educational tool called Green Chefs/Blue Ocean, developed in partnership with Blue Ocean Institute. Some of the participants are thinking of using it as a staff training tool which would be a fantastic outcome for the day.

Jason Clermont, also of the Conservation Department of the New England Aquarium: Walked us through the new sourcing service FishChoice.com. Several chefs were eager to give it a test drive and were able to do so on laptops in the room. I was delighted to have these new hands-on tools presented to chefs, many of whom were unaware of them prior to the day.

 After the presentations, participants got to use my Macbook to give FishChoice.com a test drive, others caught up with presenters, and many went home with fresh or frozen barramundi courtesy of the Australis Barramundi folks.
 

 

As we wrapped the afternoon, I tried to chat with as many of the participants as I could before they left. Several asked what our next topic would be. Noodling over Community Supported Fisheries which some chefs have been trying out. Other ideas?

 L to R: Jason Clermont, Carol Devine, Lydia Bergen, Brendon Bashford, me, Leigh Belanger, Elyse Antrim. Thanks to Suzanne Wenz, our able photographer!

 

Just in time for the workshop, I was able to get these nifty USB flashdrives created and loaded with materials from our sponsors and presenters. Included on the reusable flash drives were the following items:

• Chefs Collaborative Seafood Solutions report (also available here at their website)
• Alaska Seafood Spice Pantry Chart & Brochure (co produced with the CIA), Seafood Sustainability Brochure
• Blue Ocean Institute Overview of Green Chefs/Blue Ocean
• FishChoice.com Online Sourcing Guide and Screenshot
• MSC Foodservice Quick Guide
• Australis Barramundi presentation on aquaculture
• Overview of Teach a Man to Fish

 

 I'm so grateful for the support of our sponsors, our hosts, and our chefs for their enthusiasm. And now, Chicago - Lookout here we come!

•  Submit your sustainable seafood recipe to the blog event: Teach a Man to Fish - going on now!

BLOG COMMENTS

Knowing how I love the pig, and Craigie on Main, when Doc saw the Craigie on Main newsletter announcing the Whole Hog dinner - he immediately said "you've got to go!" Who am I to argue? After assuring me we had it in the budget for one of us to go, I graciously accepted. 

From the moment you enter Craigie, you feel well-cared for. My last visit my girlfriend and I were brought glasses of water before we even had a table. Artful, well-conceived classic and innovative cocktails are a real draw. Anticipation of what one might get to drink, taste, explore heightens the delight leading up to the dinner.

For me, good food, good drink, good service are only enhanced by the opportunity to learn something new each meal. Whether it's a fun new wine (Oltrepo Pavese from the Lombardy region in the North of Italy) or a new herb like calaminthe, or a new cocktail ingredient or combination, if you are introducing me to some new taste experience, you've got my attention. And a bit of my heart.  

Hors d'ouevres - "les Cochonailles" - Piglet's Delight

Pate de campagne, lardo, pork belly, crispy pig parts. Delicious with our libations from the bar. I could eat tons little salty pig nibbles. That reminds me of the suckling pig skin I have in the freezer. Chicharrones up soon.

 

First Course - Tortellini of Braised Pork Belly squash blossoms, squash jus, calaminthe. These delicate little tortellini were so light and the filling so luscious. I wanted to spoon every drop of the jus. Calaminte has been described as mint like or thyme-like. It was delicate to be sure. I had a glass of a nice dry, crisp Riesling.

 

Second Course - Crispy Fromage de Tête - that's head cheese, y'all. Earthy inside, crispy outside, egg to emulsify and, as David pointed out, all the components together really work well, together. 

(So fun to dine with a photographer! See me snapping this shot, check out David Dadekian's photo!)

Sunny-side up farm-fresh egg, potato-mustard puree, sauce charcutiere.

The Oltrepo Pavese was one I chose with some help from Richard Auffrey, the Passionate Foodie, a real connoisseur. We settled on this glass partly because I'd never had it before and because it was described as a light Burgundy or Pinot Noir -ish in style. The color was bright berry and the medium body worked fine with the tasty pig head.   

Third Course - Suckling Pig Head with Brains over pea greens, local black trumpet mushrooms, spiced puree of eggplant. David and I shared this entree for two. The skin was crispy and salty, the meat was tender like pork-brisket. The fat was creamy and sticky. I am hooked. The brains were served separately, and oohs, aahs and mm mms were peppered with the odd zombie jokes, natch. This was a double-first for me. Both head and brains are something I've never had. Wait. That doesn't sound right. I mean, I've never eaten a pig head nor its brains. I'd compare the brains to creamy sweetbreads. More delicate than foie but meltingly delicious. This course was truly a revelation. I wish I had another one. Right here. Right now. 

 

Dessert - Late Summer Macerated Fruits, sweet white peach soda, yogurt sorbet. When is a foam not passe and blah? When it's fizzy and fun. This was a surprisingly interesting dessert. Thin ribbons of perfect honeydew melon took me instantly to the memory of the first time I'd ever tasted the melon. 

 

Mignardises - sorry Doc, I couldn't save the pate de fruit for you. You would have loved this one. Blackberry so deeply flavored. Tea to finish the meal.

Rooibus, Rhubarb custards light and just perfectly tart and sweet these little treats came when we were certain we could eat no more. But eat them, we did.

 

Really a perfect evening all around. I'm still floating on a porcine dream. Thanks to Chef Maws, Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, my fun dinner companions, David and Richard and of course, Doc - mwah! - for making it all happen!

 

 

BLOG COMMENTS