Star Chefs ICC 2011 Day Two – A Personal Summary

 

Massimo Bottura, the chef whose restaurant Osteria Francescana was ranked number 4 in the ever controversial 2011 World’s Fifty Best Restaurantslist, opened the morning explaining his approach to Avant-Garde Italian food. He loves to tell stories and elicit emotion in his dishes.

Corton‘s Paul Liebrandt simultaneously displayed his unique interpretation of contemporary cooking providing plenty of tastes of his unique ingredients and tastes to the attendees. Here, he is searing a scallop.

Richard Blais was working with Spanish olive oil to highlight how to use the Jade plancha.

Gilles Vérot, the nman behind Daniel Boulud’s burgeoning charcuterie program as well as his own in Paris, worked with attendees to make their own charcuterie, once again affording plenty of tastes in the process.

Chef Tony Maws of Craigie on Main demonstrated the incredible versatility of the Arcobalena pasta machine by making some incredible pasta combinations and shapes. This machine is on my wish list for sure.

Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz, ranked number three on the World’s Fifty Best List dazzled with some of the techniques that earned him his place there. One of his secrets is using food grade silicone molds to make things like this edible egg shell and a wonderful faux walnut.

I took a few moments to step into the prep kitchen and found Chef Sang-hoon Degeimbre of L’Air du Temps setting up for his upcoming main stage demo.

In his main stage presentation, French pastry legend focused on blurring the boundaries between cakes and plated desserts.

Sang-hoon Degeimbre prepared and served lunch to two members of the audience, including my friend, Linda Anctil (facing my camera). His food was incredibly beautiful, aromatic and evocative. Chef Degeimbre was one of a few chefs not previously known to me that really caught my attention. Now, I have to figure out a way to get to Belgium!

With a break for lunch I stopped at Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog’s Gastropod and bought this wickedly delicious arepa with a poached egg, slaw and a chipotle crema. The day before I had their Benton’s fried rice, which was equally delicious.

The Somm Slam competition pairing wines with challenging food courses continued in full tilt. This was the second of three days of competition. One of these Starchefs, I will have to sit, eat and drink through an entire competition.

Alchemy Consulting’s Toby Maloney, Troy Sidle and Joaquin Simó displayed their virtuosity taking the attendees of their workshop on a an emotional ride through time using flavors as metaphors and crafting some very tasty beverages in the process.

Paul Liebrandt’s main stage presentation, “Expressions and Gestures” expanded on the techniques and ideas behind what make his food so beautiful and delicious. Here, he is working with a foie gras “cherry”, coating it and using liquid nitrogen to set it.

The sea is running out of top of the food chain fish, but Chef Angel Leon of Spain’s Aponiente is using plankton from the bottom of the chain in his Michelin starred dishes.

Rodolfo Guzman of Borago in Santiago, Chile showed why he was there as he wowed the audience with his beautiful creations using Modernist techniques to reflect the produce and landscape of his country. Chalk up another country on my to-visit list.

Speaking of Modernist techniques, Chef Chris Young, co-author of the blockbuster Modernist Cuisine demonstrated some of the techniques and recipes from the book including a killer pastrami.

Johnny Iuzzini, sitting in the front row,  was handed a bag of  of beef essence straight from Chris Young’s rotovap to examine.

Chef David Thompson, of the Michelin starred Thai restaurant Nahm in London, with the help of Claire Handleman, used traditional Thai cooking techniques to create a red curry beef dish that the audience got to devour at the end of the presentation.

The Monday evening cocktail party following the demonstrations has been a highlight of every Starchefs ICC and why not? With legendary mixologists like Audrey Saunders, Junior Merino and Toby Maloney amongst others, it is an opportunity to mingle and taste cocktails designed and made by the very best. This Monday’s party was no exception!