Come Clean

In the wake of the first annual Chicago gourmet, many people- friends, sworn enemies, and even people I don't know, have approached me and asked the question, "Why did you go to a food and wine festival with over 120 wineries present and not have a single glass?"

After all, wine is tasty, it makes people happy, and is full of antioxidants.  I don't hate wine, but it doesn't really excite me either.  I have a fine food palate and can deconstruct dishes I eat, but drink is a completely different mistress.  Like other, more promiscuous women, I can't tell the difference in quality after $20. 

I need someone else to tell me what to drink.  Fortunately, my favorite sommelier, James Crooker, who worked wonders at Le Titi De Paris, was at the festival (he left them awhile ago but they're slow at updating).  He knows I don't know wine.  He knows I know food.  We help each other out.  I will never be able to do what he does and I am very open about it.  I won't misrepresent my knowledge to him like all the wine-wannabe aficionados out there.  I met kids in their early 20's who claimed to have heard of at least 90% of the wineries present.  Do they really know all those wineries?  Knowing their name is not the same as really knowing them, what they do, what they're about, and what makes them great.  On accident, I dropped some of the wine glasses on cement ground.  They didn't break.  The same kids would converse about how much they loved the glasses and wanted to take them home.  The lesson is: Don't pretend to be knowledgeable about things you're not- renting Sideways does not make you a wine expert.  You will be found out. 

Don't believe me?  Here's an excerpt from the Sideways' link:

Throughout the film, Miles speaks fondly of the red wine varietal Pinot Noir.  Following the film's U.S. release in October 2004, Merlot sales dropped 2% while Pinot Noir sales increased 16% in the Western United States.  A similar trend occurred in British wine outlets.  Sales of Merlot dropped after the film's release possibly due to Miles' disparaging remarks about the varietal in the film.

Merlot is a perfectly acceptable wine.  Did you know that the 1961 Château Cheval Blanc, Miles' prized possession, comes from the same varietal?  The movie is a comedy, not documentary, for a reason.  If you like Merlot, buy it.  My grandma drinks it and she has fine taste.  The only other thing I can say is that if you're one of the aforementioned people, come clean.  I don't want you to ruin your life over something so petty. 

Chicago Gourmet Day 2

Sleeping in past 4:30- this has potential to be a much better day.  Don't have to be on site until 10 today- which after a successful Saturday night can still be a struggle.  The good thing about this shift is that I already know all the event operations- the new crew doesn't.  I'm immediately pointed out to the newbies as a 'go-to person' in the event of hydration crisis.  Life is good.

Thankfully, unlike the day before, there is cloud cover and the temperature is much cooler, meaning lower demand for ice and other fine dihydrogen monoxide products.  In this scenario I'm able to hang out behind the tents and make friends with the chefs preparing tastings for their winery clients.  This gave me access to a huge supply of some fine canapes- the best being a toast point with goat cheese, toasted prosciutto chip and fig compote.  The chef's also turned their heads the other way when some prosciutto went missing from their miz.  Here's some advice on making friends- don't ever call them caterers.  It turns out that is one of the most insulting things to be said, because in this case, they were actually chefs hired from the 'very tall building' room.  

Shift ended and first thing I had to do was secure Klaus' signature for a gift.  He told me I was a great 'family member' for doing so.  I grabbed some Millennium Soda [again] and crab salad tasting from Custom House on my way to the demo stage.  I caught the second half of Gale Gand (Cenitare/Tru) and Art Smith (Table Fifty-Two) showing their New Takes on American Cuisine.  Then like fools, the audience cleared out for Kendal Duque (Sepia) and Arun Sampanthavivat (Arun's Thai Restaurant).  These are chef's of two very fine restaurants in Chicago and they were going to go over salad- one of the most difficult and thought-provoking dishes out there.  Arun prepared an excellent [scratch] won ton salad with chili dressing while Kendal made a watermelon fennel salad with yogurt-goat cheese dressing.  There are only a few weeks left in the year to eat good watermelon so we better enjoy it. 

I took a quick break from demos before returning for Stephanie and [season 3] Dale from Bravo's Top Chef cook-off.  It was at this time I had the most kick-in-the-nuts tasting of the weekend, courtesy of Peninsula Hotel Chicago- chocolate ice cream with [insanely] hot peppered bacon.  I love spicy food.  It's like a bad woman- even though you're in pain you keep going back for more.  I've completed many wing challenges, chili challenges, and always ensure my food is painfully spicy at Thai restaurants.  This bacon put me in tears.  My knees buckled and I lost balance- the world spun around me.  Then the sweet cold chocolate rushed through my palate- performing the much needed first aid.  Then I opened my eyes- it was over.  Thankfully raspberry mojitos were also provided at the tent to help put out any remaining fires.

I ventured back to the demo stage, picking up another half pound of prosciutto from a buffet style tasting, to see Steph and Dale's cook-off.  The day before they bought a grocery bag of mystery ingredients to give the other chef- all of which had to be used in a single cohesive dish prepared in '25' minutes.  They claim to be friends but gifting a bag full of chocolate, shrimp, bacon, and mushrooms and another full of candied ginger, pork chops, and root veggies are not acts of kindness.  They both made [presumably] good tasting dishes and declared the challenge a tie.  Kudos on the system D, especially Steph who in the last minute of battle butterflied her pork chop so it'd be fully cooked- something she'd never do in a restaurant.

I still have tons more notes on the weekend.  If there's enough interest I'll throw together a third entry.

Chicago Gourmet Day 1

The first annual Chicago Gourmet was held this past weekend in Millennium Park.  In short, it beats out the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen as well as the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami.  I give this opinion in the most objective way possible.

In the continuing effort to put Chicago on the culinary map, 30 restaurants, 38 chefs, and over 120 wineries showcased their talent over a two day period.  This impressive feat required much set up the days prior and many of us to arrive at the park at 6am Saturday.  The grueling work was well worth it as tickets to such an event does not come cheaply.  I'm proud to say I was responsible for setting up 320 gallons of water (remember 1 gallon of water = 8 lbs) across the four corners of the park.

The morning dew had soaked through my shoes and through my socks.  I was at high risk for trench foot, but the gates had opened.  No time for saving feet.  The gates had opened and to my surprise- nobody was there.  This allowed for the single best 45 minutes of the weekend- line-less entry into the Chaise Lounge, Peninsula Hotel Chicago, and Aria tents.  I couldn't help but chuckle later in the day as people would wait 50 deep under the blistering sun in agony- suckers.

There was great food but then to have such great wine on top of it was an amazing experience I missed out on.  I skipped all the wine.  I washed my food down with Millennium Soda, compliments of the mixologists, then headed for the cooking demos- where the real heart of the festival was.

Chef Paul Bartolotta, Takashi Yagihashi, and Rick Moonen led the first demo I attended- Great Seafood!  This would have been a great seminar if I cared more about cooking seafood.  I love seafood- but I don't have great access to quality product.  Everyone always says- "You'll be fine just get to know your fish monger."  In my neck of the woods there is no fish monger to get to know.  Given the chance I'll work some magic, but I've learned not to get my hopes up.  The lesson learned from the demo was courtesy of Takashi- if you mess something up cooking, just add soy sauce.

Next up Rick Bayless and Jose Garces featuring the Best of Spain and Mexico.  The most immediate difference in demos?  Within the first minute I could smell what these chefs were doing.  There wasn't a protein in Rick's pan yet but I already wanted his food.  As expected, he gave a great demo.  Jose however, a new chef to me, impressed me.  Ancient Spanish secret for the bold home cooks out there- put wine corks in your poaching liquid [for octopus in this case], it will help to tenderize.  He did an excellent job on demonstrating avant-garde techniques such as making lemon powder or olive oil air for us rookies.  These techniques aren't fluff, when used correctly can make significant contributions to classic dishes.

I ended my day talking to Chef Garces as he made himself available for book signing.  He's a really nice guy and one of the more approachable chefs I've met- Ming Tsai being the most intimidating of the bunch.  Everything was great until he asked me my most dreaded question- "Are you in the business?"  Immediately I flashbacked to my confrontation with Rick Tramonto at the 2008 NRA show where he too, spoke those words.  A piece of me dies inside everytime I hear it- but is it so wrong to want to have a better living?  At this point I realized, that pursuing a better living is a perfectly acceptable answer.  If I didn't, this meeting would never have taken place to begin with.  Meeting these great chefs, creating and tasting the food I do, affirms my decision to stay out of the professional kitchen.  After all, there's still a whole other day of the festival left.

Update on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 5:23PM by Stash

Millennium Soda

• 1oz Cruzan Vanilla Rum
• 1 oz Cruzan Black Cherry Rum
• 1/2 oz shrub syrup*
• 1.5 oz fresh sour
• Windy City Soda Root Beer

Shake all ingredients except root beer.  Strain into tall ice filled glass.  Top with Windy City Root Beer.  Garnish with a silver flake coated caramel bean (where was mine?).

*Shrub Syrup

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup super fine sugar
• 1 pint fresh raspberries

Bring to a boil stirring occassionally.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Strain and let cool

Update on Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 2:37AM by Stash

Milennium Park before the chaos (taken with my phone!)