day two: San Sebastián Gastronomika 2011

Gastronomika today was....Mexico, a pretty disappointing use of 3-D technology, the local STARS of the worldwide food scene (Arbelaitz, Arzak, Berasategui, and Subijana), award to Spain’s best sommelier, gin and tonic in the press room...

But for me, the highlight was a tiny tertulia with chef Alex Atala.

In case you don’t know him, he’s the guy right behind Grant Achatz on the world’s 50 Best Restaurant list. He’s a 43-year-old Brazilian chef and runs the restaurant D.O.M. in Sao Paolo. And today, me and about a dozen other young people were in a room with him for an hour, with free reign to ask him whatever we liked.

I don't know about you, but in my experience its hard enough to get a chef to stop and sit for five minutes, much less have immediate access to him for an hour.

He had all kinds of insight into Brazilian cuisine, as well as chef life in general. "It's half dream, half nightmare," he said. "The higher you get, the hotter they give it to you."  The way he framed it, his rise to fame was rapid and unasked for. To hear him tell the story of the night of the Top 50 Awards was amazing. He was waiting with baited breath to be awarded 20, and had virtually given up when they called him for number SEVEN.

I asked him if he thought he had changed after the awards: yes, for better and for worse.

I also asked him how daily life was in his kitchen. He explained that he also has a bakery (!), and went on to describe a kitchen that sounds just about heavenly. Everybody happy, quiet, etc. But that, he revealed, is about fifteen years after previously shoving people's faces into the trash bin. So, maybe that one's a change for the better.

He's obsessed with Andoni (Mugaritz, what can I say, me too) and quoted him: "Truths are not absolute-they change with time. That's what makes them truth."

To wrap up the tertulia, he confessed to us that he thinks Brazil has a long way to go, but that they have a rich promise that lies in their raw product, as well as their culture.

These invaluable tertulias take place every day at Gastronomika. In fact tomorrow's is Achatz and Blumenthal. No way they'll let me into those.

interview with athena thickstun, winner of basquestage

Today I had the opportunity to talk to the other chef-in-training recently awarded the stage in Basque Country in the kitchen of Martin Berasategui.

Athena Thickstun, 27

Culinary Student, Las Vegas, NV

Favorite pintxo: This will be my first time in the Basque region, so I’ll have to get back to you on that one…

Current ingredient obsession: Pumpkin. Around this time of year, it’s one of my favorite flavors.

Cookbooks du jour: I always seem to pick up Alain Ducasse’s Grand Livre de Cuisine for inspiration. The pictures are beautiful, and I discover something new about it each time I pick it up.

Breakfast de aujourd'hui:A Danish and some coffee.

What was your immediate reaction upon hearing the news?

I didn’t believe it at first. I heard chef Berasategui say my name, and just kind of stared at the screen, then he said it again. I double-checked on Twitter really quickly, and it was indeed my name. I was so happy I actually cried. My parents had been watching back in Ohio as well, and my dad immediately called to congratulate me.

When did you first become interested in food?

 I’ve always liked food, and cooking. When I was young I would help my mother in the kitchen, baking pies, cookies, and bread for family gatherings. My father, brother and I would go camping, and make simple food by the campfire. When I moved out on my own, I cooked for myself and friends, trying recipes out of books and magazines, always adding my own little touches to them. I worked as a server, then a bartender for quite a while. At one of the restaurants I worked at, a fellow server and I started getting meeting up after work and cooking together, We were really experimental and did new things each night. 

What was your first kitchen job?

My very first kitchen job was at a Dairy Queen restaurant near my high school.

And what did you do?

I had a job decorating the ice cream cakes when I was 15. I learned how to make icing flowers and borders, and to use the airbrushing gun and melted chocolate to make different designs. I was an artist at heart, and they let me work whatever hours I wanted, because the cakes were so different and sold really well. 

Who do you count among your inspirations, chef or non-chef? Why?

I’m really inspired by Joel Robuchon, his food is impeccable. Also Thomas Keller, I love the French Laundry cookbook. And Martin Berasatagui, of course. 

What are you most looking forward to about Basque Stage?

It’s going to be an incredible learning experience, I’m very excited just to soak it all in. I’m also looking forward to trying some incredible Spanish food, especially the seafood!

interview with tracy chang, winner of basquestage

I recently had the chance to talk with a chef-in-training who is, as of Monday, in posession of an envious spot: a (well) paid stage in Basque Country in the kitchen of Martin Berasategui.

Tracy Chang, 23

Culinary Student from Boston, MA

Favorite pintxo: The sea urchin roe and anchovy pintxo (huevos de erizo con anchoa) at Txepetxa

Current ingredient obsession: Konbu. I've always loved seaweed. I've been using it for curing fish, making stock and eating afterwards. I'm forever obsessed with the sea and seafood.

Cookbooks du jour: Too many to count. Here's a few: A Day at El Bulli, Dessert Fourplay, Momofuku, Shunju, The Perfect Scoop...

Breakfast de aujourd'hui:A glass of orange juice before my 8:30am class. Then I had a croque madame between classes. Simple yet satisfying.

What was your immediate reaction upon hearing the news?

I didn't know whether to believe it or not because I found out via the Basque Stage Blog. I thought it was April fools until I was 'tweeted at' on Twitter and then I saw Chef Martin's speech on vimeo. That sealed the deal.

When did you first become interested in food?

 In elementary school, I spent a lot of time in my grandmother's Japanese restaurant admiring the sushi chefs at the bar. When I wasn't there, I was at my grandmother's house, helping her cook Sunday supper. My grandmother loved good food and consequently, so do I. It runs in the family. 

What was your first kitchen job?

My first real kitchen job was at O Ya, a contemporary Japanese restaurant in Boston.

And how did you get it?

The owners were looking to hire a hostess. I applied with no real intention of hostessing. Instead I created a picture portfolio of 23 dishes I enjoy making as well as a sample of my signature green tea cookies. They offered me an opportunity to stage twice a week. A few months later, they took me on full-time. My first day staging, I vowed not to cut myself. In fact, I thought I'd be washing dishes all day but no, I was asked to cut cucumber brunoise. I felt embarrassed having to ask how to spell 'brunoise.' I spent two hours cutting no more than a few ounces of brunoise which shortly after, were deemed 'useless.' I went home and practiced cutting cucumber brunoise that night. And the next day, too. 

Who do you count among your inspirations, chef or non-chef? Why?

Inspiration comes in many forms. Most recently, I was working at the CIA Worlds of Flavor convention in Napa, featuring various top chefs from Japan. I was astounded by the majority of Japanese chefs who chose to actually prepare their dishes themselves for demonstration and sampling. They were thoroughly preparing dishes from fish bone stock to hand-cut soba noodles. It was inspiring to see that chefs (most of which were at least twice my age) of such caliber chose to spend their time, energy and talent on the event when they could have easily just handed off tasks to volunteering students. To be more specific, I was most impressed with Chef Toshiro Konishii (and his ceviche) and Chef Shuichi Kotani (and his multiple demonstrations of hand-cut soba). Its chefs like these that inspire me to always cook with integrity, passion and precision. 

What are you most looking forward to about Basque Stage?

I'm excited to learn and cook in another country and in a foreign language. I think the chefs in Spain have a lot to teach me and I'm ready for the challenges to come.



donosti news: gastronomika y iñigo peña

TODAY in the paper:

*Iñigo Peña of temporarily-defunct Narru has been named as a top-ten best young chef in Europe. Wall Street Journal bestowed this honor upon him, and while it seems to have been reached via a somewhat incestuous route, I can't say I argue.

*There's no point in resisting a well-deserved pat on the back, and here in Donosti we don't even bother trying. An article today touts the amazing food, oddly high rate of successful chefs, and the fact that the new Michelin Guide will be debuting here this week.

Just another week in Donostia.

una charla with the world's greatest chefs

On Tuesday night I had the priviledge of attending a cozy little chat between the best chefs of my town.  If I were still in Alabama, this would mean I was hanging out with my boss and our friends. However, as a resident of Donostia-San Sebastián, this means I was listening to the best chefs in the world sit around and shoot the breeze.

Juan Mari Arzak, his daughter, Pedro Subijana (Akelarre), Martin Berasategui, Andoni Luis Aduriz (Mugaritz), Iñigo Cojo (A Fuego Negro), and Eneko Atxa (Azurmendi) gathered together Tuesday night for something uniquely European, a government sponsored chat on the important values of the region (in this case, culinary).  An institutionalized intellectual conversation? These are the reasons I love it here.

The premise? Basque cooking is something special.

The explanation? There is a spirit of sharing, a culinary compendium, that began with this eldest of generations (Arzak + Subijana) and has been passed down, resulting in a richer body of culinary achievement. And if it sounds like hocus pocus, I have to admit I'm on board: you can walk into the dinkiest, dirtiest bar here and eat GOOD. I mean, WELL (that's for all my english students).

Some highlights (translated by yours truly):

pedro subijana

• "Things don't fall into your lap from the sky, they fall into your lap from hard work." 
• "People are afraid to ask questions."
• "Dont waste your time on things that will make you bitter about life."

juan mari arzak

• "I'm never going to retire." 
• "Fight for your job to be your passion."

martin berasategui

• "First be a person, then a cook."
• "Being stubborn is very important."

andoni luis aduriz

• "Nothing is more powerful than enthusiasm."

And they really are friends...and people. It was so cool to see their respective personalities: Juan Mari and Pedro, the grandfather figures, equally humorous but Juan Mari a little bit more overt; Martin with his Emeril-like campesino character, rough around the edges; Elena, who for me was Pardis Stitt-like in her diplomacy; Andoni and his scholarly note-taking and serious considerations; and Eneko and Iñigo, the youngest, Iñigo slouching around and throwing out "hombre" just as anyone his age would.

*and might I add, with a bit of childish excitement, this happened two blocks from my house! squeeeee