Sports and Porn

Dear Blogosphere,

Yesterday, I found out that I was one of the final 30 contestants to win the Sammic Scholarship.  The winners  get to go in San Sebastian in Spain to stage in a Michelin Starred Restaurant.  The amount of work I have to put in within the next week to hit my deadlines would be a lot, but it will be worth it.  In the upcoming week, you should see the following things:

1. A one to two minute video of what makes me good for this program.

2. A very detailed food post.

3. An essay on why I want to do this program.

Get excited, because I am.  

Chef Dave Martin

In a span of three days, I managed to meet a lot of figures in the Culinary World.  Last time, it was the Pioneers of American Cuisine.  Today, the IACP (The International Association of Culinary Professionals) .

When I was in line, I met Judy (www.divinacucina.com), a culinary teacher who has been living in Italy for 28 years, going in New York the first time.  The other was Diana (www.myfoodyfuture.blogspot.com), who then told me that she had to shell out a grand of her money to attend this whole conference.  An astounding price, I said.  But in return, she told me that it was worth it as she met people such as Marcus Samuelsson and Maneet Chauhan (both Chopped judges).  By default, I’m already jealous.

The Culinary Expo reminded me of Costco on steroids - A lot of free samples were being flung around.  Funny how I have Marketing class tomorrow… I should save this spiel for that.

There were notable people in the Expo as I went around.  First, I saw James Oseland (it may or may not be him, but I was pretty sure it was him.), the Editor in Chief of Saveur Magazine and Top Chef Masters Judge.  For some reason, I let it slip because of uncertainty.

The other two I met were Dave Martin and Kelsey Nixon.  Chef Dave is known as one of the final Top 3 finalists in the inaugural season of Top Chef.  He only finished third for not finishing another course… Course-gate?  Or something like that.  The saga ended a long time ago on that one.  He was handing out free samples of chicken salad and cookies, asked him for a picture, he’s like BOOM!, and sent me on my merry way.  

Kelsey was one of the Top 4 finalists in The Next Food Network Star, Season 4.    She has come a long way from being the “Remember that one time from Culinary School” girl (Judges’s words, not mine) to hosting three shows in the Cooking Channel and doing conferences like these.  To me, that’s admirable.

Another person I saw was Richard Grausman who, a culinary figure in his own right, sending numerous kids in various culinary schools.  He sent me to the Culinary Institute of the America thanks to his C-CAP foundation.  If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here now blogging or cooking at all, so I thank him for that.  I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to take a picture with him because I wanted to do a “Then and Now” shot, just like I did with Chef Soileau, which would have been cool. 

If this can happen in a span of three days time, I hope that more opportunities like these present itself.  Except I need better business cards and a smaller camera.  

11/365

Caprese

Normally, tomatoes aren’t in season until the summer.  But the concept of the caprese is Mozzarella, Basil and Tomatoes. And balsamic vinegar (or in our case, a reduction).  I also decided to put some greens on top to make the salad heartier.

I was reading Michael Symon’s book in a Barnes and Noble and was captivated by a couple things

1. He won FnW’s Best New Chef with a check average of 30 dollars a person.  Here’s the kicker:  His expensive dish back then was Halibut at $19.95.  

2. He believes in a system called “two pans or less”.  He makes his sauces from fonds, and natural juices that come off the pan.  No reductions, nothing of that sort.  Which I found really cool.

There’s a lot more, so I kind of decided to buy Michael Ruhlman’s book called “Soul of A Chef” to read more about Michael Symon, pre-Iron Chef America.  I also guess it’s safe to say that he’s slowly becoming coming up as one of my culinary idols away from Eric Ripert.

If you haven’t yet, go to twitter and check out #kitchenpetpeeves.  Have a hearty laugh, relive some memories and maybe it might pursue you to get a twitter and share your own.

Sweet Potato Fries.

“Lumpiang Shanghai” - Grill 21

This is basically an adaptation from a traditional eggroll.

It’s definitely one of the most powerful and legitimate things I’ve seen out of Food Network I’ve seen in a while.  Overall, with food safety issues aside, no person should EVER go hungry.

These photos that are about to go up was my second to my last meal at the Culinary Institute of America at American Bounty Restaurant.