Docsconz- The Blog

The Best Chef of the Year 2011

According to the prestigious International Academy of Gastronomy the Best Chef of the Year for 2011 is Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy. Chef Bottura learned of his selection during the second day of the recent Identitá Golose in Milan. It has yet to be formally announced though.

I happened to have dinner at the Osteria Francescana the night following his notification of the award.  I am thrilled for Chef Bottura, a desrving soul, if ever their was one. His work is truly amazing and he couldn't be a nicer person. Congratulations to an outstanding chef and artist! Watch for my report on this outstanding dinner. For those in the United States who wish to get a sense of what Chef Bottura is all about, he will be presenting at the next Starchefs International Chefs Congress in NYC in October.

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.

 

Rick Moonen's Views on Art vs. Craft in Cooking

The ever energetic Rick Moonen of RM Seafood in Las Vegas is a supremely talented chef, a bright personality and a truly great guy. Aside from being a whiz at the stove as evidenced by his second place finish on rthe 2010 Top Chef Masters, the outgoing and personable Chef Moonen is probably best known as an advocate for sustainable seafood. Here, at the lates Starchefs International Chefs Congress, he provides an opinion on the Art vs. Craft in cooking discussion. Fortunately for me, this interview did not suffer from any significant technical problems.

 

Alex Talbot's Ideas on Food: Art vs. Craft

While my technical difficulties with video at this past Starchefs International Chefs Congress continued, Alex Talbot of Ideas in Food shares his ever fascinating thoughts on Art vs. Craft when it comes to cooking. The video is short, but I think sweet. 

 

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.

  

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.

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.

Starchefs ICC 2010 Day Three Photos

Starchefs ICC 2010 Day Two Photos

Starchefs ICC 2010 Day One Photos

Starchefs 2009 - Sean Brock Shows His Kind of American Cuisine

Sean Brock and benne - precursor to today's sesame.

I apologize for having been remiss in not finishing my detailed individual profiles of the presentations at the 2009 Starchefs ICC, having only made it partially into Day 2 of the 3 day Congress. I don't know if I will be able to get to all of the rest of them in detail before the next Starchefs ICC comes up in September (It's not too late to sign up for what looks to be another outstanding Congress), but I will do my best to at least get up more photos and as much detail as I can recall from my notes. Given my current focus on Sean Brock and McCrady's, I thought it only fitting to resume (out of order), with some photos and a brief description of Sean's hands-on workshop and his demo highlighting his take on traditional Carolina Low Country Cooking.

In his hands-on workshop on the morning of Day 2, Brock focused on "Bringing Back American Heirloom Ingredients" and demonstrated his "Shrimp & Grits" in the process with the audience separating into small groups to use liquid nitrogen to grind and then combine an heirloom corn variety, Jimmy Red Corn" with South Carolina Shrimp. Once the ground shrimp and corn combination was plated, it was overlaid with a shrimp stock gel, various herbs and flowers and a piece of dried shrimp toast. I was fortunate enough to get a taste of this insanely delicious dish. I had been wanting to visit Sean Brock at McCrady's for some time anyway, but upon tasting this, I made it a priority.

Shrimp & Grits

For his big stage demo, Sean repeated the shrimp & grits, but followed it with two more spectacularly beautiful dishes utilizing heirloom ingredients grown on McCrady's S.C. Farm, Thorn Hill Farm. The first, called simply, "The Garden" utilized pristine root and other vegetables to form a colorful and quite beautiful tableaux. The second was a contemporary interpretation of an old Low Country dish with slave days origins, a rice and beans dish called "Reezy Peezy" or "Hoppin' John," the name it is more generally well known by. Hoppin john is generally a very rustic dish, one traditionally served on New Year's Day. Brock's version, utilizing an heirloom pea called "Sea Island Red" also utilized a variety of techniques that while making it visually unrecognizable compared to the original, still remained true to its ingredients and presumably (since I didn't get to taste it) to its flavor.

The Garden

"Hoppin' John"

Once again, the thrust of Brock's discussion focused on the value and importance of saving heirloom and heritage varieties of the foods that have contributed to the development of an American culinary tradition. His particular area of concern is the South, especially the Carolina Low Country, but his message is to do the same for all the Regional Traditions. Is it any wonder I had to visit McCrady's and that I hope to do so again and again (Husk too!)?

Starchefs 2009 Day Two: Jose Andres: American Cuisine Through a Spanish Lens

Nobody is more American than Jose Andres. Then again, nobody is more Spanish than Jose Andres. Though he was born in Spain and still frequents that country to the extent that he is a major media star there, Andres has embraced the United States and seems to love nothing more than to share the culture of his native Spain with his adopted home.

Andres and his ThinkFoodGroup control a number of disparate restaurants in and around Washington D.C. as well Bazaar in Los Angeles. A friend and disciple of Ferran Adria, Andres and his team are some of the most accomplished practitioners in the United States of the style of cooking forged by Adria. This style is most evidenced in the appropriately named six seat restaurant-within-a-restaurant minibar and now the larger Bazaar. With most of his restaurants featuring more traditionally prepared cuisines, Andres opened minibar with the idea to showcase the modern techniques coming out of Spain and elsewhere, while also adding original work from himself, Katsuya Fukushima, Ruben Garcia and others. One of the principle elements of the cuisine is that it should be fun as well as delicious and beautiful. I can personally attest that at minibar, the cooking achieves all three goals.

Starchefs 2009 Day Two: Dessert Threeplay with Iuzzini, Mason and Stupak

The morning of the second day of Starchefs 2009 was spent in small workshops featuring the Spanish pastry master, Paco Torreblanca and southern farm-meets-avant-garde chef Sean Brock, both of whom later did full-scale presentations on the main stage. I will cover their workshops when I get to their demos. The first demonstration of the day on the main stage featured three of New York City's, the countries and yes, the world's most top creative pastry chefs, Johnny Iuzzini, Sam Mason and Alex Stupak.

The original format  of the pastry demonstration was to be "Three Chefs and a Dessert" - an onstage collaboration between all three in the production of a single dessert, but as Johnny Iuzzini said, "when you have three chiefs and no Indians, things don't always work out." As a result, they decided that it would be better if they did three separate desserts built around a theme. Since the theme of the Congress was "What is American Food", they determined to create their own takes on American classics. Iuzzini created his version of "Dirt Cake," Stupak did "Apple Pie" and Mason, "Jello Shots."

Starchefs 2009 Day Two: Faces in the Crowd

If you were at the 2009 Starchefs International Chefs Congress you may very well see yourself in some of these photos. If not, you will undoubtedly see photos of people you recognize or know.