Docsconz- The Blog

Albert Adria Gets The Last Word on Art vs Craft in Cooking

If Albert Adria or his brother Ferran are not culinary artists than no one is. Here, in Spanish, he says that the question is ultimately up to the diner to answer.

 

I had filmed several other interviews, but alas, audio problems from trying to use some new equipment made them unusable. I hope that you have found this series as interesting to watch and listen to as I did asking the questions and filming. The video quality certainly could have and should have been much better, but I don't think that lessens what these individual culinarians had to say.

Daniel Patterson Discourses on the Craft vs. Art Debate

Few chefs are more eloquent and cerebral than Daniel Patterson of San Francisco's Coi and Il Cane Rosso and Oakland's Plum. Few chefs also make more beautiful, thoughtful and delicious food. He is also not afraid to say it as he sees it. Here are his thoughts about the place of Art in cooking.

 

Coming soon: Albert Adria gets la ultima palabra.

Mattias Hagglund Pours His Thoughts on Food as Art

Matthias Hagglund of Elements Restaurant in Princeton, NJ, happens to be one of the craftiest and most creative mixologists I have yet had the pleasure of meeting. His beverages are products of great thought and consideration. The net results comprise a synergy of ingredients and magical cocktails. Here, he expresses his thoughts on whether food can be art. The question unasked, but equally pertinent, how about cocktails?

 

Nils Noren Weighs in on Craft and Art in Cooking.

The other half of the creative team behind the wildly creative Cooking Issues (though Nastassia Lopez should be included there as well to make it a creative trio) along with Dave Arnold, who's response I have already posted, Nils Noren is the former Executive chef of Aquavit in NYC and current Vice President of Culinary Arts of The French Culinary Institute in NYC. He has serious chops in both the craft aspects of cooking and the creative realm. Once again, I apologize for the suboptimal focus of the video, but I think Nils' views are worth putting up with it for a brief period.

 

More Art vs. Craft in Cooking: Scott Boswell Opines

I know few chefs who plate more beautifully than Scott Boswell of Stella!and Stanley in New Orleans. Of course, in the world of food that means nothing if the pleasure of eating a dish does not at least match the beauty of a gorgeously plated dish. Boswell has that down too. In this short video he gives his opinion on whether or not food can be considered art as well as naming a chef who he considers "one of the greatest food artists of all time."

  

Art or Craft in Studio Kitchen? Shola Speaks

i don't know too many chefs who cook more artistically or better than Shola Olunloyo of the soon to open Speck and Studio Kitchen in Philadelphia. In this short video shot at the latest Starchefs International Chefs Congress in NYC, the wonderfully opinionated Chef Shola Olunloyo shares his views on whether cooking is solely a craft or whether it can aspire to art.

 

Dave Arnold Talks About Food as Art

Last fall at the Starchefs International Chefs Congress in New York City, I asked a few people from the culinary world the question that reflected the theme of the Congress, Is cooking just a craft, or can it be art? Unfortunately, I ran into some technical difficulties with my video equipment, but I did manage to record a few responses that I can share. While the quality of the video image is a tad unfocused, the perspective of Dave Arnold, the wunderkind gastroscientist of the French Culinary Institute in New York City and one of the folks behind the incredible foodblog, Cooking Issues, is just too good to not share.

  

My Top 25 Restaurant Meals of 2010

This is, of course, a subjective ranking. While great food is the single most important factor, the ranking is a reflection of the overall experience and the significance of that meal to me on a number of levels. The bottom line is that this was an exceptional year of dining for me with a number of meals that would have been top ten in many other years unable to be ranked so high this year. For my number one meal - noma - I am counting both the dinner and the lunch as one extended meal. I decided to not include special, guest chef or one-off dinners on this list, since they are special one-time events, not truly reflective of a specific restaurant or chef doing what he or she typically does. That is not to say, that they wouldn't have been on this list. Special mention goes to these special dinners: noma at Corton; The Alchemy of Taste & Smell Dinner; Aldea with Sam Mason, and Aldea with Pastry Chefs, each of which was simply sensational.

1. noma
2. Town House
3. Stella!
4. Restaurant AOC
5. The Oval Room
6. Providence
7. Roberta's
8. McCrady''s
9. Kiin Kiin
10. Elements
11. Blue Hill at Stone Barns
12. Wolves' Den
13. Coi
14. Urasawa
15. Ubuntu
16. Mathias Dahlgren Matsalen
17. Oaxen Krog
18. minibar
19. Herman
20. Hawk's
21. The Red Hen
22. Sorella
23. Recette
24. Jean-Georges
25. Pizzeria Mozza

The lack of reports on some of these restaurants is an indication of how backed up I am. I will post them as I can. 

Top 5 Dishes of 2010

I already posted my Top Pasta Dishes of the Year here. At this point, I'm pretty much done dining out for the year, so I think it is reasonable to post this now, even though the year is not quite over yet. I ate extremely well in 2010 with a number of exceptional dishes. Here are the most memorable. I did not select more than one dish from any particular meal.

1. Mackerel Pickled in Hay with Green Tomatoes - Restaurant AOC - Copenhagen, DK - this dish was simply stunning on every level. Mackerel is not my favorite fish, in general, but this was made with perfect specimens and treated in such a way that it achieved perfect balance, deep rich and wonderful flavor. In addition, the plating was spectacular, using a limited but pure color spectrum and subtle, but supremely beautiful plating.
2. Chilled Vegetable Minestrone - Town House - Chilhowie, Virginia: Another extraordinarily beautiful dish, Chef John Shields provided deep and total flavor, coaxing every last bit of wonderfulness from these gorgeous, multicolored vegetables. I wrote, "Consisting of 19 different vegetables sliced into thin ribbons, rolled into cylinders and stood on end in a bowl with a vegetable consommé poured around it table side, the dish was equally impressive on the palate combining a myriad of flavors playing off each other. This was a home run on the first pitch, one of the more spectacular courses I've had anywhere."
3. Beet Salad - The Oval Room - Washington, D.C.: How can a beet salad make my top 5 dishes of the year? When it is this beautiful, colorful, original and absolutely delicious it can. I wrote, Chef Tony "Conte's salad, 'roasted organic baby beets, passion fruit gelee, horseradish, Minus 8 (vinegar) shallot dressing & micro arugula,' blended brilliant color with brilliant flavor. The passion fruit and minus 8 provided a nice acid kick, while the horseradish added a bit of spice."
4. Walnut and Blackberries, Cream and Powder - noma/Corton- Copenhagen, DK/NY, NY: I had a slew of wonderful dishes at noma, but this one stood out the most for me, taking ingredients that I could normally not care less about and turning them into one of the most delicious desserts that I have ever had. I wrote, "I'm not sure that I have ever tasted a better dessert than Walnut and Blackberries, Cream and Powder, despite the fact that I am generally not terribly enthusiastic about either walnuts or blackberries. Walnut is incorporated into an ice cream and a powder. The powder is made using walnut oil and maltodextrin. The dish includes frozen cream and dried blackberry. Minimalist in appearance, the flavors are anything but, achieving great depth and perfect balance. I loved this when I had it in NY at the Corton dinner and I loved it no less here."
5. Roasted Parsnip - Blue Hill at Stone Barns - Pocantico Hills, N.Y. Sometimes, apparent simplicity can be deceptive. This dish was simply delicious, but all the more mind-boggling to come from an ordinarily non-descript parsnip. I wrote, "We were presented with an item that appeared to be some sort of meat or ham, though it was unlike any meat or ham I had ever seen before. Flattened and slightly elongated, clearly roasted with beautiful exterior browning, we were told that it was a parsnip, a very, very large parsnip that had just been harvested after having been planted the previous March. Almost one year in the ground, this massive parsnip was left in the cold ground to encourage the root to convert its natural starches into sugar to help prevent freezing. To assist even further development of the root's sugars and their caramelization, Barber roasted the parsnips under the weight of bricks. Once presented to us, the roasted parsnips were returned to the kitchen to emerge just a short time later fully transformed. Furthering their pork-like impression, the parsnips re-emerged in a form that, to me, resembled a strip of suckling pig meat under a rich porcine gravy. Served alongside the parsnip was a red cabbage ketchup. As sweet as the parsnip was, the dish, thanks largely to the "gravy" was very much a savory dish. Unfortunately, I never did get what the "gravy" was comprised of. It tasted of pork or even turkey, rich and meaty with plenty of umami, but could this dish really have been served with anything but vegetable components? To me, this dish was a sterling example of a trompe l'oiel style of cooking. It was a veritable faux pork dish. This parsnip was superlative in every way - delicious, beautiful and down right mind-boggling and fun. It was Barber at his absolute best, taking an ordinarily mundane ingredient and without any overt tricks transforming it into something truly remarkable. I could not imagine a parsnip being presented as a parsnip being any more enjoyable than this was." 

Next week, I'll be coming out with a listing of my Top 25 Restaurant Meals of 2010.

My Top Five Restaurant Pasta Dishes of 2010

It's in my blood that I love pasta. To me, pasta is one of the most satisfying dishes that I can have. I cook it a lot and I eat it a lot in restaurants. I had plenty of outstanding pasta in restaurants this year, traditional and creative. The three most memorable and most sensationally delicious pasta dishes I had in 2010 were:

1. Trofie, Squab & White Truffle - Roberta's - Brooklyn, N.Y. Pure decadence. Forget the freshly shaved white truffles for just a moment. This dish would have been killer without them. Carlo Mirarchi takes squab that he ages himself and minces the meat and the organs using the whole squab and then makes a Bolognese type sauce, which he uses to flavor immaculately cooked, perfectly al dente trofie to create an umami rich, textural tour de force of pasta. Now add an intoxicating, freshly shaved snow of white Alba truffle and the transport to heaven is complete. (No post yet).
2. Roasted Potato and Parmesan Gnocchi with Iberico Bellota Ham, Morel Mushrooms, Fava Beans and Local Scallions - Stella! - New Orleans, LA.  More decadence. Perfect, light and fluffy gnocchi, some of the finest ham in the world, fresh favas, Parmiggiano and incredible morels all executed without a flaw by Scott Boswell and his crack kitchen team - this dish simply rocked.(see here for the whole dinner)
3. Baby Goat Agnolotti, sweet carrot and spicy paprika - Brooks Headley (Del Posto) - Pastry Chefs at Aldea Dinner - NY, NY. If the pastry chef at Del Posto is making pasta this wonderful, what must the Chef Mark Ladner be doing? I must find out! (see here for the whole dinner)
4. Whole Wheat Pici, Shaved Matsutakes, Toasted Hazelnut & Rosemary - The Oval Room - Washington, D.C. Tony Conte's perfectly cooked and seasoned pasta supported the terrific, savory sweetness of the shaved mushrooms leaving the rosemary and hazelnut to play accent notes. (see here for the whole dinner)
5. Miso & Yuzu Kosho Casarecce with Crab - Alex Talbot & Aki Kamozawa (Ideas in Food) - The Alchemy of Taste and Smell Dinner at The Astor Center - N.Y., N.Y. Served with chopsticks that had been twice sprayed with a scent of coffee, black pepper and nutmeg, the combination of the perfectly ala-minute-cooked, bright tasting pasta, the lusciously rich crab and the pepper-rich scent made for an impeccably balanced, deeply delicious and soulfully satisfying dish. (see here for the whole dinner)

Oakland - A Bit of Brooklyn Out West

James Syhabout's newish restaurant, Commis, already has a Michelin star. It is a small, minimalist space with a central open kitchen, reasonable prices and intense, creative cooking. With the loss of Chez Panisse's star, Commis currently boasts the only Michelin star in the entire East Bay Area. That, however, doesn't mean that there isn't plenty of good cooking going on there.

With a noon arrival at the Oakland airport I was met by my host, one of my very best friends who goes all the way back to Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. and who was also the best man at my wedding. Now an Oakland resident for over twenty years, he is well versed in all aspects of that city. After loading my bags in his car, we made a beeline for Pho 84, located in downtown Oakland and named for the year it opened. I started with the Goi Cuon or shrimp rolls - shrimp with iceberg lettuce, bean sprouts and cilantro rolled in rice paper and served with peanut sauce, a refreshing and tasty welcome back to the Bay Area. With a name like Pho 84, the pho better be good and what I had was quite good and quite satisfying. The Pho 84 House Special was replete with rare done steak, well done flank, tendons and meatballs in a rich beef broth topped with cilantro and onions. My visit was off to a great start.

Romanesco

A Golden Dinner - The Alchemy of Taste and Smell

 

Alchemy - Definition from  Dictionary.com

1. a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced inthe Middle Ages and the Renaissance

 and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and 

 with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life.

2. any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a 

 substance of great value.

The Dinner at The Alchemy of Taste and Smell event at The Astor Center clearly did not live up to the first definition above. Try as many have, those goals remain elusive. Definition 2, however, is another story. Though the substances used to prepare the dishes assembled for the lucky 45 diners assembled were not of particularly little value in and of themselves, they were transformed by the magical powers of the chefs, mixologists and natural perfumer, Mandy Aftel, into a dinner of value well beyond the sum of its parts. It was a very special evening of food, drink, wine and extraordinary culinary camaraderie that was the culmination of two days programs examining and exploring  the art of combining elements of taste and smell by some of the very best in the business.

Cipollini

Photo taken at The Union Square Green Market, Saturday, Nov. 13th, 2010.

Starchefs ICC 2010: Art vs Craft - Jordan Kahn & Albert Adriá

For most of the rest of the Congress, the presentations did little to advance the concept of food as art rather than craft, although there was plenty of "artistic" food. There were two outstanding exceptions, however, and both happen to be known principally as pastry chefs - Jordan Kahn and Albert Adriá. Adriá presented a video based on his work and the book of the same name "Natura." The beauty and creativity behind his work is astounding. Even better is that his "art" happens to be delicious. Unfortunately, Adriá's visual presentation was in the form of a video. This was unfortunate only because, I do not have anything to show you from his presentation other than some pictures of Albert himself.

Adria's presentation closed the Congress. His video Natura showcased his incredible creative skills not only as a pastry chef, but also as a film-maker. He made the Natura film himself and was also the director on the incredible film A Day at elBulli. The latter film was shown only as a trailer, though I got to see the whole amazing thing a few weeks later during Ferran's visit to Bar Basque. It is absolutely worth the time viewing it, if the opportunity presents itself.

 

Jordan Kahn also showed a video of his making, demonstrating creative skills beyond his talents as a pastry chef as well as highlighting his pastry brilliance. His video played a soundtrack of music by Chopin interspersed with surrealist clips of Dali, Rothko and Kahn himself plating desserts. While this played on a large screen, Kahn plated the same desserts pictured in the video, live in front of the audience, all without uttering a word. The scene was absolutely mesmerizing and his on stage creations simply beautiful. After the fact, Kahn had to stop people from trying to taste his plates. Though based on real, delicious desserts (I had his desserts at Varietal in NYC), these were not made for actual eating. Given the need to transport some of his work from California, the elements of his on-stage creations were designed to mimic the look of his actual platings, but to also allow for stability and transportability. Regardless, the effect of his presentation certainly showed that food preparation can be art and no less an art than any other aesthetic discipline. As for any good artist, craftsmanship is a necessary ingredient. An artist must be able to convey a message,a statement or a feeling. Craft, whether it be drawing ability, the ability to handle an instrument, the knack of applying paint to canvas or a chisel to stone or creating a dish of food to achieve a specific effect, is something a good artist must have. Both Adriá and Kahn, as well as other presenters at the Starchefs ICC, have craft, which they are able to apply to create something on a plate that strikes a chord in the diner, both visually and through taste. Occasionally other sensory components come into play as well. The bottom line is that food as art must employ craft, but not all well-crafted food is art.

Quick Pics From The Alchemy of Taste Dinner - "Action" Shots

An all-star cast cooking together, this one of a kind dinner was simply incredible. The food, the drink, the scents, the people, the vibe - all combined to create a simply unforgettable evening after an already unforgettable program. I will get to discussing the meal and posting photos of the food soon as well as photos of Day 2 and discussion of both days' programs soon after that. 

The principal organizer of this incredible event was Chef Daniel Patterson of the San Francisco Bay area. He brought together such luminaries as natural perfumer and the inspiration for the program and dinner, Mandy Aftel; culinary scientist & writer extraordinaire, Harold McGee; master mixologists Dave Arnold (with Nastassia Lopez) & Audrey Saunders (with Kenta Goto); and sensational chefs David Chang, Bill Corbett, Wylie Dufresne, Johnny Iuzzini, George Mendes,Carlo Mirarchi, Nils Noren & Alex Talbot (& Aki Kamozawa). In addition, the staff of The Astor Center did a great job of making everything run smoothly in a perfect setting.

 

Quick Pics From The Alchemy of Taste Night One

 

The opening of The Alchemy of Taste and Smell at New York City's Astor Center held only two events, but they were both of very high quality. The evening started with a presentation by one of the major figures of the Mixology Renaissance, Audrey Saunders and the ever-informative and entertaining, Dave Arnold (if there is a more brilliant and entertaining person in all of cuisine, I have yet to meet that person) on Using Aroma in Cocktails. This was followed  by an opening party with creative cocktails by the two presenters and food by Daniel Patterson and Bill Corbett of Coi and Plum in the Bay Area, Alex & Aki of Ideas in Food, David Chang of the Momofuku Empire and Nils Noren of The French Culinary Institute. A more detailed report of Audrey's and Dave's demonstration will come.

Starchefs ICC 2010: Art vs Craft - Keller, Kinch & Barber Discuss

The main theme of the 5th Annual Starchefs International Chefs Congress this past September in NYC was Art vs. Craft. There is no question that cooking involves craft and good cooking involves plenty of it. The more controversial question is whether the craft of cooking can aspire to or ever be considered art. While my personal preconception is to say that some cooking is clearly "art," the question really isn't that simple a one to answer. The dilemma comes from trying to define what "art" actually is. The Free Dictionary offers at least one definition of the word that reads:

"the conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium."

However, a discussion in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy suggests that it is actually quite difficult to come up with a universally acceptable definition of what constitutes "art" and that "Whether art can be defined has also been a matter of controversy." It is not clear (to me at least) from this discussion that there really is any clear and universal definition of what art is, even among its more traditional considered areas. Still, thanks to the rise of creativity and new forms and styles of cooking, the question of whether or not cooking can be considered art is a legitimate one.

The organizers of the International Chefs Congress sought to address that controversial question with a discussion of Craft vs. Art involving three of the most prominent chefs in the United States today, Thomas Keller, Dan Barber and David Kinch along with moderator Michael Ruhlman. A detailed account of the proceedings follows. Though much of what is written below are actually direct quotes from the discussants, they are offered as paraphrase rather than in quotes. Once again, I am indebted to my son and assistant, L.J. Sconzo, for his yeoman work in transcribing the discussion. Let's see what they had to say:

Starchefs ICC 2010: Dan Barber - Building Concepts

Note: The Starchefs ICC has grown over the years such that it is impossible for one or two people to cover everything in detail. As such, I will rummage through the notes and photos that I and my son, L.J. took during various presentations and present them as completely as possible, posting them in no particular order. I will do as many as I can over the next few months until I give up! The first one will be on Chef Dan Barber's Day Two presentation "A Recipe for the Recipe: Concept Building at Blue Hill." Though I will not be using quotes, the description below is a very close approximation of Chef Barber's words, thanks to the transcription skills of my son.

Ferran Adriá at Bar Basque

Ferran Adriá was in NYC over the past few days to kick of the newly published book, Ferran: The Inside Story of El Bulli and the Man Who Reinvented Food  written by Colman Andrews to paint a literary portrait of the man who has become the most influential and famous chef of his generation, if not ever. On Tuesday evening, he was at the International Culinary Center and on Wednesday night, he was at the brand new Bar Basque at The Eventi Hotel for a meet and greet along with a showing of the Adrias' video of A Day at elBulli and a cocktail party featuring culinary talent from Spain's Bay of Biscay.

Colman Andrews

The video presented a first of the morning through the last of the night view of a typical day, in this case August 22nd, 2008, at elBulli. The film was produced and directed by the multi-talented Albert Adriá. If anyone ever wanted to know what it must be like to work or dine at elBulli, this video is a must see. While I haven't worked there, I have dined there twice and the video really does give a great sense of the experience, minus, of course, actually tasting the food. As for working there, the day appears to be a long and rigorous, though ultimately satisfying one. Watching the video from a large television screen located outside across a courtyard, while we sat lined up sitting in rows of chairs inside, was something of a surreal experience in and of itself.

After the video and a few words from Ferran, who hadn't seen the video since it was made, and several folks from the Spanish National Tourist Board who sponsored the event, the crowd convened to a cocktail party featuring Spanish wines and Basque style pintxos made in the Bar Basque kitchen by visiting Basque chefs including Daniel (not Dani) Garcia. Some of the highlights included a rice dish with pork belly, wild mushroom croquetas, Champagne croquetas, jamon Iberico, foie gras and to finish the meal, Bar Basque's snazzy Gin & Tonic and Cuba Libre geleés. 

Strawberry Gazpacho with Lobster

The space of Bar Basque is unlike any restaurant that I have ever been in. Looking more like a movie set (it was designed by Syd Mead, who designed the sets for the futuristic movie classic, Blade Runner, amongst other imaginative pics) than a typical restaurant, the interior of the Jeffrey Chodorow bar space is enrobed in a deep red blanket of color. The principle dining environment is located outside of the swath of red in a light and airy terrace with inside-outside capabilities. On this autumn evening, we were definitely inside, although the sense of the outside space was quite strong. The kitchen is open and built around a unique (at least I've never seen one like this before), charcoal grill. The chef is Yuhi Fujinaga, who has spent time cooking in the Basque country and Galicia.

Chef Yuhi Fujinaga and the grill at Bar Basque

 

(l-r, top to bottom) Drew Nieporent & Ferran; Ferran, cooking prodigy & future Ferran protege(?) Greg Grossman and Jose Andres; Ferran and Lisa Mamounas of Cooking Insiders; Ferran, yours truly and Jose Andres.

For more photos from the evening, see the amazing Melissa Hom's work here and my good friend, Gerry Dawes' work here.