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| Saturday, May 01, 2004 Smarty Pants
Yesterday was my first day working with Michael Schreck at Stonehouse Fine Wine and Cuisine. I have decided to help him out and pick up the Friday afternoon shifts. It’ll only be four hours a week, and the benefits will be huge, even though I won’t make very much money. First and foremost, I’ll be able to rebuild my wine collection at cost. Over the last year or so, my vinotemp’s contents have gradually withered to an almost shamefully low number of bottles. Ani purchased a bottle or two for every month of her pregnancy so that when she could drink again, she’d be all set up, but alas, I didn’t have her foresight, and even though she’ll happily share with me, I feel like I’ve dropped the ball.
Secondly,
I get to be around Michael’s food again. I think that he is one
of the most talented and mindful chefs that I have ever worked with,
and his short tenure at the already doomed Café Soleil produced
some beautiful food. I have missed being around that kind of gastronomical
goodness. Ani worked in the Kitchen with Anne Kearney at Peristyle
in New Orleans, and before her, the late Jon Neal at the Bistro at Maison
De Ville. I don’t mean to do the other Chefs that I have worked
with any disservice: I learned more from my experience with Horst Pfeifer
than at any other job, and Bella
Luna’s fare was always outstanding. Café Soleil also
had its moments, especially under Curtis Lincoln. However, John, Anne,
and Michael have (had in poor John's case) a subtlety with food that
I always hope for in a fine dining experience, but seldom find. Don’t
get me wrong, I love simple explosive flavors, and, as a rule, I use
very dramatically unsubtle strokes in my own cooking. I have a basic
understanding of how to counter intense richness with high acidity or
big spice with a little sweetness. I am always amazed, however, with
chefs who can create an intensity of flavor that is not necessarily
explosive, but more balanced and precise. The ability to understand
intuitively which flavors will go together and balance one another so
delicately and perfectly that seemingly nothing else could be added
or subtracted from a specific dish is very rare. These three chefs,
more than any others whose food I have had the pleasure of sampling,
somehow do this on a regular basis. |
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