10.25.2009
The Beast in Action...

It seems like a distant memory. A long forgotten occurrence of the ritualistic experience spent cooking before the flame. A moment lost in time. Where does it go? Can we ever get it back? Maybe when we are laid to rest, but that remains to be seen. For now, I offer you a glimpse of the hours savored in front of the fire as we cooked the multitude of ingredients over the roaring beast of one of natures primal elements. It was yet another great experience in this wonderful career. One that does not come around every day or any place mind you. I am only too fortunate to have at my disposal and arsenal, a fireplace that one could park a SUV in. A vessel to serve as a breeding ground for severe and intense heat in which to singe the flesh of the beast that lay before us. Simple...Pure...Raw. Shit, let me just get on with it already! I apologize for the lack of professional photography and the less-than-adequate photos as we only had a cell phone at hand. My bad. At least one can get the gist of what took place. As one reader wrote...Take Hold of the Flame!
wrestling with the beast...
lobster a'la broche...
fire roasted baby clams...
clam, potato, chorizo, chili amuse...
staging of the meal...
pork belly cooked in the embers...
scallops a'la plancha...
spit roasted monkfish...
scallops and pork belly...
fire roasted foie gras and peaches...
monkfish, lentils, lamb tongue...
plating of the veal rack...
chocolate pave, slow roasted apples, praline ice cream...
9.27.2009
The Burning Beast...

sorry, pictures are forthcoming....
9.10.2009
Missing in Action...
8.22.2009
Top Chef in the House...






8.09.2009
A Vintimate Affair...
.jpg)
Our ultimate "som" and wine guy; Chris came up with this cool concept to run a series of wine and food soires in the dining room a few weeks ago to feature some very unique tastes and pairings of food and grape. It is an opportunity for him and I to showcase what we do best and to provide for a more intimate setting of about 10-12 guests all revolving around this great marriage...enter Vintimate. The first was labeled as Beef & Bordeaux, second was Salmon & Pinot and this last one was Muscovy & Merlot. The worst is that I did not have my camera during the first two dinners. For the record, they all rocked! The guests loved the setting...small, intimate, informative, exciting, excellent tasting and creative on many fronts. Large format wine dinners can be fun, and usually are, but sometimes, something special gets lost when doing large numbers. For me, the food rarely tends to suffer, as I learned long ago from a quote from Daniel Boulud...whether the meal is for 10 or 10,000, just plan accordingly, have the tools and team to do it and make it awesome. That's my focus and I'm stickin' to it. But, in the end, mainly for the guests, it is just not as sexy as a small table of close friends or family to savor over an excellently crafted work of art and fine bottles of vino. The idea is that during the dinner, he will sit with the group and talk about the wine itself, the pairings, the food and why the two pair up really well in a great marriage of taste and texture. It allows the guests to learn more about food and wine pairings without the formality of a large format dinner or the sterility of a class room-style gathering. The creation of the menu begins as simply the heading and I run with it. I am sure that at times it drives him crazy(in a good way) cause my food is not always the easiest to pair wines to. Hopefully he and his team enjoy the challenge. Here is the menu and photos below for your own enjoyment.
organic baby carrot sorbet, mango, toasted coconut, carrot oil(amuse)
seared diver scallop "martini"peas, corn, house cured bacon, heirloom garlic-thyme emulsion,
spice crusted Muscovy duck breast, gingerbread pancake, chanterelles
caramelized fennel "sous vide", compressed cherries, oregano blossoms
"claudio corallo" sauce
tuma trifulera "brulee", pluots, hazelnuts, shiitake chips, truffled kettle corn
truffle-late harvest zinfandel vinaigrette
slow roasted heirloom tomatoes, basted in their own caramel & vanilla
lavender ice cream, olive oil sponge, raspberries, bacon praline, basil seeds, lav tuile
tomatoes being slow roasted and basted
with vanilla, bay, black pepper, brown sugar, honey and tomato water
8.07.2009
Chef's Table Shots...
from tonight...wild striped bass "chop", fingerling potatoes sous vide, spanish chorizo
charred baby octopus, green olive vierge
from monday...grilled block island swordfish, farmer's squash, chorizo, tomato sofrito
marjoram blossoms, crispy shallots, jus de poisson







spicy buttermilk dipped portuguese sardines
fennel-orange salad, chili aioli, fennel pollen, blood orange dressing

honey bunches of oats crusted foie gras, diver scallop, sauteed pluot
late harvest zinfandel vinegar gastric

spice crusted muscovy duck, gingerbread pancake, chanterelles, carrots
caramelized fennel, elderflower compressed cherries, oregano blossoms
"claudio corallo" sauce
7.19.2009
A Tribute to the Master...


In honor of "le Maitre de la Cuisine Francaise" himself...Georges Auguste Escoffier, we had the extremely unique opportunity to cook for his great grandson; Michel Escoffier, who himself runs the Escoffier Foundation and oversees the Escoffier Culinary Museum in the south of France on the Cotes d'Azur. Michel had agreed to come and spend an evening with us in Seattle, dubbed as a "conversation with" along with a dinner and exploration of his life as the great grandson of the late, great Auguste E., known mainly as "Escoffier". To most professional chef's and cooks, and even some serious food enthusiasts, Escoffier was the master. The God. The Shit! He defined, redefined, documented and formalized the entirety of classic French cooking and it's foundation of recipes as we know it today. He revolutionized the brigade system in a kitchen and developed the "ala carte" format we see today in almost any and every eatery the world over. Although today my dishes do not take on his style of classical recipe and ingredient usage, many techniques, fundamentals and skills are rooted from his teachings. I was taught in the art of Escoffier during each professional school I attended...South Seattle Community College, The California Culinary Academy and the Culinary Institute of America, and so much of his classic French structure is ingrained inside of me still, even though the food today is so much more evolved. I believe it is this classic structure that Auguste had documented and so cleverly orchestrated throughout his career and life that has provided me with the fabric in which my disciplined cooking is such a part of. When charged with the fortunateness of Michel's presence, hell, the closest living thing to the master, I wanted to pay homage and a tribute to him as well as show him who I was...aka "facon du chef". I think he(A.Escoffier) would have been proud, or at the very least...I hope.


Asperge "Polonaise", Celeriac et Endives, Vinaigrette "Dieppoise"
Selle d'Agneau a' la "Forestiere" Soubise d'Oignon, Fenouil "Sous Vide", Petit Navet "Glace"et "Garniture Moderne"
loin of lamb(cooked sous vide), caramelized fennel sous vide, baby turnips glace
creamed cepes, chanterelles, morels, bacon, potatoes
~
"Peche Melba"peaches, raspberries, anise hyssop ice cream
in various forms and fashions...
~

