Paris, Day One

OK, so I'm no audio video genius.

We arrived today.... one day late (thanks Air France) for our trip to Paris and the Loire Valley. After a half hour ride from the airport to our hotel, we checked our bags(the room wasn't ready) and started roaming around our new neighborhood. I gotta tell you, we booked this hotel on a tip from a friend and it couldn't have been more perfect. We are around the block from Lenotre. Literally across the street from one of Paris' most renowned cheese shops. A 15 minute walk to the Champs Elysee. It's awesome. (Oh, yeah. I took a three hour nap in the afternoon. Jet lag's a bitch)

So, I took a TON of photos today....and....videos. No, not videos on my new Flip, but on our digital camera. Well, somewhere during the uploading the camera hung up and lost ALL MY FREAKIN' PHOTOS. Don't be alarmed. I'm gonna reshoot them tomorrow and friday, but I thought I'd give you a run down of what I saw.

First off, lets be VERY clear. The French as a culture take their food WAY more seriously then we Americans. WAY MORE SERIOUSLY. It's so awesome to be in a city where food is such a passion.( Well, it sure beats hurdling fat, limping folks trying to get a 'deal' on 69 cent rump roast at the Wal-Mart.) A simple trip to the corner fish monger(scallops quivering in their shells anyone? Whole turbot? ) or the bakery that is on every block would make that obvious.

Here's what I saw:
1. A 20 whole suckling pig confited in lard. WTF? You had me at 'lard' Paris.
2. An entire restaurant and store devoted to.....yep, you guessed it.....foie gras and truffles.
3. The most amazing fish market I've ever seen....and it's just around the corner from my hotel.
4. Pastry work at Lenotre that makes me want to quit baking because it was so perfect and I'll never get there.
5. The toilet of the Hotel George V is made by Villeroy and Boch. Seriously?
6. 15 McDonald's ads and one McDonald's. FYI, it's difficult to get 'food on the run' here. They not only take their food seriously, but they take the act of eating seriously. They take time. Are you listening America?
7. So many people that I lost count carrying their daily baguette home. That's no joke. They buy for the day.

Best thing I put in my mouth today: Tarte flambee from a pastry shop near the hotel. i took a pic of the front so I'd remember the name, but you already got the memo on my photos. Yippeee!!!!

I'll have more interesting photos and snippets to post tomorrow. Oh yeah. Tomorrow night is our dinner at Helene Darroze.

Here's one video that made it.....enjoy.

The Opposite of Sous Vide

I'm gonna get an immersion circulator and cryovac machine in 2009. I really am. However, for right now, let's consider what I did this weekend.

I had the opportunity to cater a Holiday open house this past sunday and one of the requested items was a whole roasted suckling pig. So, I called up my friend Doug Hillyard and asked to borrow his pig cooker. He said yes and nicely dropped the beast off at the site. I started the fire around 6:15am and by 6:45 I had our 40 pound pig in the cooker and smoking away.(The open house started at 4pm) Why am I telling you all of this and spending an entire blog post on it?

Here's the thing. I've been doing a lot of research about the advantages of sous vide and compression through cryovac. One thing that impresses me the most is the precision with which you can cook food. I think I'm a little spoiled. When we turn on the gas, it's there. The ovens are calibrated. The copper cookware provides consistent results every time. And with the addition of sous vide, we'll be able to really get specific. That's cool. However, when I threw the pig on the smoker, I had a minute to think over how cool this idea of how little control there was in the cooking process I was engaged in. It was basically, pig and fire....no immersion circulator cooking to tenths of a degree C. Of course, there were variables. It was windy as hell for one. WWWWIIIIIIINNNNNNDDDDYYYYY. Anyhow, it was a beautiful thing for me. Self-proclaimed control freak. Cooking over a wood fire with not much control. It was amazing. Oh yeah, it turned out to be the hit of the party.



FYI, the pig isn't on the cooker. I kept some wood going into the night because I really enjoyed standing outside, watching Dan smoke cigarettes and just really enjoy the evening.

The Tasting Menu, Part Three - Execution

OK, so this post will be primarily videos from our Chef's Table this past saturday. Obviously, I'm not Steven Spielberg, but you get the general idea of what dining at the Chef's Table is like.




Canapes: Roasted Swedish Peanut Potato with black truffle creme fraiche and bacon; cream of chestnut soup and a puree of Cope's Corn Soup; BLT-House smoked bacon, truffle mayonnaise, micro lettuces


First Course: Kobe beef tongue and brioche with horseradish sauce and cornichons
Fish Course: Gingersnap dusted tilefish


Poultry: Roasted Amish Goose
Meat: Chex Mix crusted Venision


Cheese: Prune and Argmanac Sticky Bun with warmed brie
Dessert: Peppermint doughnuts with warm dark and white hot chocolates


OK, there you have it. Happy watching.