Master Chef

Section Four - Your Profile

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 21:16:24 -0800

This section is all about my personality!
No wise cracks from the peanut gallery!

The first question is “How would you describe yourself in one word?” CREATIVE

How would someone who knows you describe your Best qualities? - So I asked around! I’m not shy. Here are some of the words people used to describe my best qualities. Collaborative, Amazing, eccentric, loyal, driven, cool under pressure, generous and giving. I would say that you can’t ask for better than that!

How would someone who knows you describe your worst qualities? Again I asked around! Critical, driven, perfectionist, control freak. I would have to say that the only one that I feel has any negative energy for me is critical (the others I would take as compliments!) Critical? Only as critical as I am self critical!

What is something that we would not know by looking at you? Hmm. I am tempted to say that I have no belly button! I want to get a button tattoo to replace the one that I lost in the last surgery. But maybe I should say that I used to sing Opera and Musical Theatre!

What is your greatest accomplishment? - My children! No question. The quest we went on so that they could find us was an AMAZING accomplishment. After that? I am an ongoing creation and my life is my greatest accomplishment.

Are you fluent in any languages other than English? If immersed I am conversational in French. I had 11 years in school so it comes back fairly quickly. I can speak Restaurant Italian pretty well and I can read Renaissance Tuscan.

What personality traits are you annoyed by in others? Inaction, no motivation, lack of a mission!

List a few hobbies, interest, activities or sports you enjoy: Reading, cooking, translating historical cooking texts, spinning and weaving, gardening, no sports activities but I do like running on the treadmill and playing Wii bowling.

Do you consider yourself a competitive person? Why or why not? Yes. I work at Microsoft. If I have to say more you have never worked at Microsoft.

Describe your style of work and how you perform under pressure: Commitment and mission driven, Collaborative. I see the best in everyone and I see their potential clearly and can lead them to that potential. I work well under pressure and tight deadlines and can clearly see the few things that will get us where we have to go fast and with quality.

Explain the most life-changing event you have been through: Leaving my ex-wife and coming out.

Describe your most embarrassing moment or experience: I don’t embarrass easily and share most, if not all parts of my life with my friends and family. I have to say I don’t really think I have a most embarrassing moment. Perhaps a situation where I don’t learn something or can’t learn something is discouraging but not embarrassing.

What was the last unusual, exiting or spontaneous thing you instigated? We had 60 minutes between meetings last time I was in DC and a colleague and I RAN to see the DaVinci at the National Gallery and Julia’s kitchen at the Smithsonian. Our New Year’s party is pretty exciting (and unusual) and I am the lead instigator on that!

What are you like in a room full of strangers? What type of people intimidate you? Very comfortable with strangers. I am constantly meeting new people in my job and a room of 10 or 1000 doesn’t intimidate me. Having worked in the Film Industry I with some very high powered producers and directors not many people intimidate me. I would have to say that people who are two faced anger me but not intimidate me.

Describe a major issue that affected your life. Do you still face this issue? Coming to terms with being Gay. It no longer affects my life.

And that is the end of the section four.

Section five is all about medical issues, websites, sharing details of your life, etc. and if I am on the show I will probably end up sharing some of this but I am not going to NOW! They also ask you to list three close male friends and three close female friends that they can contact! You know who you are!

Section six is the release.

That is the end of the application! YEAH!!

Any comments?

DAVID

On to section three!

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 21:57:52 -0800

Section three is titled Employment History.

Most of these questions are easy answers and I will not elaborate on most of them here.
They ask things like . . .

Current Employer:  Current Job Title:
Current Job description:

All three of which I will attach my resume and say (see attached resume!)

They also want to know if I have or currently work for a restaurant?
If yes please list any and all positions you have held working for restaurants to date:

So I haven’t worked in a restaurant since the 1980’s! Do they really want to know this?
I guess I will have to think about it and put it down.

Let’s see if I can remember back that far!

Herald St. Cafe 1982 - Busboy
Pagliacci’s 1983 - Busboy
Great Northern Fish Company 1983 - Waiter
Mario’s - See Theatrical Resume
Hay Loft Dinner Theater - (See Theatrical Resume)

List your last three jobs - See attached Resume (or you can go to the resume link at the top of this page)

Do you enjoy your current job? Describe why or why not:
YES! I get to work with really smart people on a program that makes a difference for thousands of people all over the world. I get to travel and meet really interesting people who are also making a difference and it is CHALLENGING!

What is the best job you have ever had and why?
My current job.

What is the worst job you have ever had and why?
I washed dishes at Herald St. Cafe for a short time before becoming a bus boy. I HATE TO WASH DISHES!

And that is the end of section three! The shortest and easiest section of the application.

Leave me a comment!

DAVID

The final part of section two, I hope!

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:28:32 -0800

Continuing on with the major portion of the application is the next is “Do you have a favorite chef? If so, list whom and why:”

OK so maybe this question isn’t quite like choosing between my children, but it is like choosing between friends! They do not specify if the chef has to be alive or dead. Do I choose someone obvious and modern like Mario Batali or Rachel Ray? By the way my 7 year old is in love with Rachel Ray! He will not flip past her on the TV EVER! Or do I choose a classic like Julia Child? Alice Waters is right up there but I have only eaten at Chez Panisse only once. Thomas Keller’s Chicken at Bouchon is possibly the best chicken I have ever had in my whole life so he makes the list. I could be sentimental and say my mother. Or I could go historic and say Martino or Scappi. A local chef is probably the best choice. Someone who inspires me ever time I eat at their restaurant. Someone who is creative and thinks outside the box. Someone who uses the fresh products in unusual ways and never, ever ceases to amaze me. That chef is Jason Wilson of Crush here in Seattle. Sorry Bruce (of Le Gourmand you came a close second, but we have not made it into the wilds of Ballard lately).

“Who is your greatest influence on your cooking and why?” My friends and family because I cook for them. I cook to surprise them. I cook to please them. I cook to comfort them. They influence what I cook depending on what they need. They influence me because they support me in my CRAZY ideas and tell me when I need to back down a bit. They influence me because they inspire me.

“Describe your feelings about Chef Gordon Ramsay:” I have seen Kitchen Nightmares a few times and he seems like he truly wants to help the people on the show succeed in their quest to turn around their restaurants. I have never seen any of his other shows (or only a few seconds here and there) but have heard a lot about his bad behavior on Hell’s Kitchen. Or more precisely his obscene language. The language would probably bother me. I think an intelligent person can always make their point without obscenity. I would hope that he would be more helpful and supportive (as he is on Kitchen Nightmares) and not as obnoxious as he is on Hell’s Kitchen. I will hold my judgement until I actually meet the man and not the persona.

The next section of the application is “THE CHALLENGE” part.

“Pretend for a moment you are a contestant on the show. Tell us the dish you would create for each of the two challenges listed below. Describe the ingredients you would use as well as the presentation.”

Create a summer seafood dish.

Fresh is the word! It must be the best and the freshest. Luckily we live in a great part of the world for Seafood. The two things that say summer and seafood to me here in the Pacific Northwest is Salmon and Dungeness Crab. So I would prepare a Wild Pacific Northwest Salmon Oscar. The salmon would be grilled on an alder plank. This adds a slightly smokey flavor to the fish while not overpowering the other flavors. FRESH Dungeness crab will top the salmon and both will be topped with a freshly made Hollandaise sauce. To garnish the Salmon Oscar a sprig of fresh lemon thyme and a tiny sliver of salted lemon (homemade of course). On the side you will find Pea pods that have been lightly sautéed with pancetta from Salumi and then tossed with a splash of mulberry syrup and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and then garnished with fresh Pacific Northwest blackberries.

If you could put a gourmet twist on your favorite comfort food what would it be and how would you prepare it?

One of my favorite comfort foods is Pork and Beans! From a can. Warmed. No toast, no weenies. We never had the weenies when I was a kid and we didn’t serve toast with them. I have put a gourmet twist on this recipe by making handmade Herb de Provence sausages (see picture below), homemade lavender and juniper seasoned duck confit and red wine braised wild boar belly. I used imported Haricort Tarbais a meaty bean which soaks up the flavors of the pork and the duck. Fresh bread crumbs seasoned with thyme and parsley top the dish and make a crust that adds a texture to the dish that contrasts the soft tooth and unctuous mouth feel of the beans. This dish is a hard one on presentation so it is served in a beautiful red enameled petite casserole for two.

And that is the end of section two, FINALLY!

Comments?
Clarifications?
Thoughts and possibilities?

DAVID

And yet more of section two!

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 10:30:08 -0800

All I have to say at this point is that this is a VERY LONG application form! And so it continues.

Next question!

“What cooking utensil can you not live without?” A good sharp knife is the obvious answer and probably the one that I would want with me if I was stranded in the wilderness, but besides that an excellent set of tongs and a good wooden spoon is what I reach for after the knife. Tongs extend my reach and keep my fingers from getting burnt and a good wooden spoon is totally useful. I am not into “famous chefware” except when it comes to Mario Batali’s spoons! They are the best. Very well designed. Beautiful in the hand and in the pot. The perfect utensil!

“What is your favorite cookbook?” That question is like choosing which is my favorite CHILD! As I have stated previously I have a lot of cookbooks. I am rather cookbook obsessed. I have limited my cookbook buying in the last few years to ones that round out my collection rather than anything I find interesting because I am running out of space! Right now I am enjoying “A Day at elBulli” and “The Fat Duck Cookbook” tomorrow? More Ferran Adria, perhaps some Thomas Keller? Who knows? Libre de Arte Coquinaria is my favorite historical cookbook. This work (from the 1460’s by Martino de Como) is constantly surprising me in the flavor combinations and ingenuity of cooking and presentation methods. It is so modern yet so Medieval. A true Renaissance cookbook. BUT if I was stranded with only one cookbook it would the The Joy of Cooking. I can always go to Irma for the proportions of a sauce. For the method of trussing a chicken. For the lemon pudding recipe that I am craving right now. Perhaps she is a bit mundane, but reliable.

This next question is a stumper! “What are your 3 signature dishes and give a brief explanation on how you prepare each dish:” I need help with this one. The definition of signature dish that I am working with is from Wikipedia and I think it is a good one.

A signature dish is a recipe that identifies an individual chef. Ideally it
should be unique and allow an informed gastronome to name the chef
in a blind tasting. It can be thought of as the culinary equivalent of an
artist finding their own style, or an author finding their own voice. In
practice a chef’s signature dish often changes with time or they may
claim several signature dishes.

In a weaker sense, a signature dish may become associated with an
individual restaurant, particularly if the chef who created it has since
moved or died. It can also be used to refer to a culinary region, in which
case its meaning may be the equivalent of “national dish”.

At its weakest, the term can simply mean “chef’s specials” which are
in no way unique or even particularly unusual.

My friend Eden has suggested Novole (Little Clouds).This recipe came from a restaurant outside of Florence (between Falcani and San Casiano) called Ristoranti Il Mullinaccio. Carlo and Luiga's have always welcomed me into their kitchen and I have fond memories of learning how to cook a perfect pasta Strega (Witches Pasta) a fresh tomato sauce with hot red peppers served over penne and Tagatelli a Fungi (Tagatelli with Mushrooms) a rich fresh mushroom sauce over wide flat noodles. Carlo did not teach me how to make novole and I have never been able to find a recipe for it in any of my Italian cookbooks or on the web. The dish haunted me for weeks and weeks after returning so I had to reconstruct it for myself. I have served it at New Years. I have served it at dinner parties. I have served it to my family just because I am craving it. At Il Mullinaccio it was served as part of the pasta course. I think it would make an excellent vegetarian main course (as long as they were not vegan). Basically it is Pate Choux stuffed with spinach and ricotta floating in a parmagiana cream sauce called. But I do not make this enough for it to be called my signature dish.

Several people have suggested my grilled steaks. I love to grill and think that a good rib eye is close to heaven on a plate, but I struggle with this being anything more than a “chef’s special”. And the real secret to my steaks is the Montreal Steak Seasoning and I don’t make that I buy it! So this is not a signature dish.

Others have recommended categories of food. My soups are always a great success and IMHO quite creative and complex in taste. The roasted squash soup with pumpkin oil is still a favorite as is the Lobster bisque from this year’s New Year’s menu. Sorbets are another category of food where I excel. I have made my Lavender Sorbet for many an occasion including Whitney and Jim’s wedding and the Rose Hip Sorbet and the Lychee Sorbet from past New Year’s menus pretty much ROCKED. But these are categories of food not a signature dish.

I am tempted to include a sweet or dessert to round out the three dishes and I tend to resort to a Pot a Creme, a custard or a mousse, but really that would just be a construct because desserts are not my forte.

Here are the three I have decided on -

Signature Recipe #1
Renaissance Stuffed Pork Loin - This is the dish that I get asked to make the most and is associated with me when others make it. Sometimes it is even called David’s Stuffed which is totally not appropriate because it is Maestro Martino de Como’s stuffed pork. Maestro Martino, former cook to the Most Reverend Monsignor the Chamberlain and Patriarch of Aquileia. The cookbook has a long history, which is to complicated to get into here, but it influenced Italian cuisine for over a hundred years. Including the first printed cookbook De Honesta Voluptate (Of Honest Indulgence) written by the philosopher Platina and the English edition of the Epulario which was “translated out of Italian into English” in 1598

Martino worked in the kitchen of Ludovico Trevisan, Papal Chamberlain to five Popes who was renowned for his lavish spending on food. In this kitchen Martino tested and refined the 261 recipes in his cookbook. These recipes range from the simple, (fritatas, sausages, and pasta), to the exotic, (“To dresse a Peacocke with all his feathers”).

The recipe from the 1598 English Epulario reads -

To roast a Pig.
First let him be scalded white and clean, then cut him in the belly and take out the guts and entrails, and wash it clean, then shred Garlick very small with lard, grated
Cheese, Eggs, Pepper, and a little Saffron, mix them together and put them into the Pig, then sow it up and spit it, but let him roast soakingly, & let him be well roasted both outwardly and inwardly, then make a little liquor with vinegar, Saffron, and two branches of Rosemary or Sage, and baste the Pig therewith.

A whole suckling pig is a little ambitious, but my version, substitutes a pork loin and uses the pan drippings for a sauce of sorts. It is ideal for an elegant dinner party or, done in a pork shoulder and roasted over the fire, a down home outdoor feast. Asiago cheese is the perfect complement to the pork. If Asiago is not available you can substitute Parmesan or Romano.

Renaissance Stuffed Pork Loin
1 lb. pork tenderloin 2 tablespoons rosemary
5 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon saffron
2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups asiago cheese, grated 1/2 cup red wine
1 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup beef broth
2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon saffron

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Create a hollow inside the pork loin by inserting a knife length-wise down the center. Enlarge the hole by inserting a wooden spoon handle and rotating it until there is a sizable hole. Alternately the loin can be flattened, stuffed and tied.

Combine the garlic, butter, cheese, pepper, eggs and saffron. Stuff this mixture into the loin. Use skewers to close each end of the loin. In a very hot frying pan sear all sides of the loin.

Mix vinegar, rosemary and saffron. Baste the meat with 1/3 of this marinade. Cook the stuffed loin for 20 minutes basting twice with the remaining liquid.

Remove meat from the baking dish. Place the dish over medium heat and de-glaze with red wine. Mix broth and arrowroot together until smooth and add to the baking dish. Heat until thick. Slice the pork into rounds. Serve hot, floating in the sauce. Serves four.

Signature Recipe #2
Roast lamb has always been a favorite of mine. Mum used to make it when I was a child and we always loved it, especially with brussel sprouts! What can I say we were odd children. Mum prepared it in the traditional way (just like Great Nana did for Sunday dinner) with Mint Jelly and Mint sauce. I take a bit of a twist on the tried and true and prepare it “slightly’ differently”. I have never worked up an actual recipe for this so you will have to rely on a detailed description rather than a formula.

Roast Lamb served on Almond Baklava with an Orange Muscat Sauce
I ate something similar to this in a Restaurant in Tallin, Estonia. I am very blessed and get to travel the world for my job and Tallin is a great food city. I can’t remember the name of this specific restaurant, but the lamb was roasted perfectly and the Baklava was fascinating. I took the idea home and started playing with it.

First I marinate a boned leg of lamb in olive oil, garlic, rosemary, dijon mustard, salt and pepper in the fridge over night. The baklava is prepared in a traditional way with filo pastry, lots of butter, nuts and sweet spices (the powder douce spice mixture at World Spice in Seattle is excellent). For the nuts I use almonds only. No walnuts or pistachios. I have several friends with allergies to walnuts so I swapped out the the traditional ones. I also think that the creamy taste of the almonds goes well with the lamb. Walnuts stand out to much and un-salted pistachios are hard to find. I typically made a traditional honey syrup to sweeten the baklava (unless Laura is coming for dinner and then I use a plain sugar syrup as she is allergic to honey) and pour it over the baklava. This should be made the previous day (while you are marinating the lamb) as it is best if it sits and soaks up the syrup.

Once the lamb has marinated roast it on the rotisserie or in the oven until medium rare (or to your liking). Make sure you let the lamb rest so the juices will return to where they belong (in the depth of the leg!) While the lamb is roasting make a simple sauce of reduced chicken broth, butter, a small amount of flour to thicken and some Essensia Orange Muscat. Add any of the lamb juice that might have escaped when you carve the lamb into slices to the sauce and reduce. Place a slice or two of lamb over the piece of baklava and a spoonful or two of the sauce over all the dish. Serve this with roasted asparagus or fresh green beans.

Signature Recipe #3
I have made these eggs for special breakfasts and brunches for at least two decades. I think this was the first recipe that I adapted from one I had eaten in a restaurant. Pagliacci’s is one of our favorite restaurants. Jeff and I have been going there since we were in high school. Their bottomless bowl of soup and bread with a cappuccino was an inexpensive lunch that filled us up and introduced us to Restaurant culture. The “Broadway Style” cheesecake was an occasional treat we would split between several of us. The fight was usually over the plain, the marble or the chocolate. After high school I took a year off to save money for college and I worked as a busboy at Pag’s. Eggs similar to these used to be on the menu. I just checked the website and they are not there any more. HOWIE if you are reading this bring back the eggs!

Again I have no recipe for this. I have made them so many times I just do it. the thing that takes the most time with this recipe is caramelizing the onions. You have to prepare them slowly so as not to burn them. Who wants to do this when you are starving for eggs on a Sunday morning. It helps to do up a HUGE batch of caramelized onions and freeze them in smaller batches to use them as you need.

Pagliacci’s Eggs - Scrambled Eggs with Caramelized Onions and Cream Cheese
Take one onion and cut it into long, thin slices. In several tablespoons of butter SLOWLY caramelize the onions over medium low heat. When the onions are golden and soft beat together a dozen eggs. Turn the heat up to medium, but no higher, being careful not to scorch the eggs. Cut 4 ounces of soften cream cheese into small pieces and add them to the eggs. Stir gently so as to not break them into curds. Serve with buttered wheat toast for a breakfast for four to six.

“What are your strengths in the kitchen?” Translating interesting restaurant and historical food into dishes that can cooked in the home kitchen by the everyday cook. I think it is similar to what I am able to do in my day job. Where my mission is to help people make the connection between technology, learning and life. Helping people make the connection and learn is critical to my sense of being.

“What are your weaknesses in the kitchen?” Knife skills. I need more training and work on this. Also baking. I am just not a baker. It doesn’t seem to be in my DNA. I would much prefer to play with savory sauces and roast meats than make a cake or knead a loaf of bread.

Now I am off to the grocery store for some supplies to make Chicken Salad for a light dinner. Only a few more questions in section two which I will finish tonight!

Remember to leave your comments and suggestions below.

DAVID

Section Two - Continued

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 15:26:55 -0800

And the application continues! By the way this is only the top of page three!

“How would you describe your food philosophy or point of view?” I believe that food is a way to connect. Connect with yourself through your likes and dislikes. Connect with family and friends when you share a great meal. Connect with your traditions and culture when you make something from your family heritage. Connect with the past when you eat or study the food from history. Food tells us so much about who we are, what we are and what we want to be. It is also essential to our beings as substance not only for the body, but for the mind and the soul. Besides that I think that it should excite our senses (all of them) and be a taste sensation! A balance of flavors, textures, smells and visual spectacularity that makes you think about what you are eating.

“What is your favorite dish or type of food?” It depends on the occasion. There are certain foods that I must have at certain times. Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without my Gran’s Carrot Casserole. But my favorite food is one that I have spent time with. Thinking through, figuring out how to add more to it or change something out without distracting from the overall effect of the dish. I like food that is complex in process, but simple in the final product. Something that challenges me and makes me wonder what else is possible.

“What is the hardest cooking situation you have ever been in? Have you ever had a disaster in the kitchen?” Hard? By this do they mean difficult? Planning is the key to avoiding the difficult. I have had challenges, but I am not sure that hard is a word I use very often. Hard implies no fun to me. And I always have fun cooking even when I am challenged. If you use Seymour Papret’s example that when learning is the best it is “Hard Fun” then I ALWAYS have a hard time as I am constantly learning and thinking. I think the most challenging situation I cook in on a regular basis is New Year’s. TONS of FUN! TONS of PLANNING! TONS of CHALLENGES! Cooking a sit down dinner for 60 with a home kitchen (that only has one oven and one stove top) is a huge challenge. Keeping the menu fresh and exciting, not repeating yourself (after ten years) and making sure that all the food issues (no mushrooms, no blue cheese, no meat, no dairy, no seafood, etc.) are taken care of is a HUGE CHALLENGE, but one I look forward to every year.

The second part of that question “have you ever had a disaster in the kitchen?” really speaks to a persons outlook. And as most of my friends and colleagues will tell you I am the eternal optimist. The glass is not half full it is over flowing with possibilities. I can find the golden lining in almost any situation and turn it around to let it shine! I have never had a disaster that I could not recover from (except maybe the turkey loaf from 1987 that looked and tasted like a a kitchen sponge but that was really not my fault! Lori was behind creating the “sponge o’turkey I was just the kitchen help!). But I have had many little unplanned problems while cooking that I have had to find a solution. For instance this New Year’s Eve we had served the snails in puff pastry and I realized that half the puff pastries had not been put in the oven. Luckily the puff pastry boxes had been pre-cooked and stuffed with pesto butter and snails that had been cooked in wine and herbs so I popped them in a high heat oven to warm them trough and melt the butter. We served that round in two waves and only the people that heard me scream, when I found the extra tray of snails, knew that there was a problem!

This year’s New Year’s Eve menu was the best ever (insert song - All Things Just Keep Getting Better - Here) and I am sure next year will be even better! Especially with the theme of Masquerade. I have attached the menu below. Remember the theme is decadent before you pass judgement on the richness and over the top nature of the menu. I believe success was achieved in regards to the theme!

On to another post and more questions.

Do you have any comments? Leave them here.

DAVID

Menu
Decadent, the tenth year

Diamond Champagne Fizz Cocktail
♦ St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, Vodka and Garnished with Fresh Lemon Peel

Fois Gras, of Course
♦ Fois Gras with Lingonberry and Cassis Gastric Topped with Himalayan Pink Mountain Salt
♦ Armagnac Soaked Prunes Filled with Fois Gras Mousse

Escargot Three Ways
Served with a 2006 Haystack Needle – The Eye
♦ Escargot a la Bourguignon
♦ Escargot Pesto Italiano
♦ Escargot Served in a Mushroom with Herb Butter

Mushroom Trio
♦ Shitaki Marinated in Garlic and Olive Oil Served with a Vinaigrette Sorbet
♦ Chanterelle Mousseline Topped with Madeira Jelly and Sautéed Chanterelles
♦ Truffle Egg Custard dressed with Truffles and Enoki Mushrooms

A Duet of Soups
♦ Lobster and Shrimp Bisque Garnished with
Fennel Fronds
♦Vichyssoise with Roasted Garlic Sour Cream and Deep Fried Garlic

Caviar, of Course
Served with an Ice Cold Shot of Garlic Infused Vodka
♦ Yellow Wild Whitefish Caviar on a Baby Roasted Potato with Preserved Lemon Crème Fraiche and Fresh Dill
♦ Black Lumpfish Caviar Served on a Buckwheat Blini with Sour Cream and Red Onion and a Sliver of Preserved Lemon

Cassoulet of Haricort Tarbais
Served with a 2003 Sandhill Redmountain Merlot
♦ Red Wine Braised Wild Boar Belly, Housemade Duck Confit and Handcrafted Herb de Provence Sausages Smoked Over Apple Wood

Classic Wedge Salad with Roquefort Dressing

A Sorbet to Cleanse Your Palate
♦ Champagne, Persevered Lemon and Persian Saffron

The Main Course
Served with a 2004 Sandhill Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
♦ Fillet Mignon enrobed with Sauce Diane
♦ Lobster Tail with a dollop of Hollandaise Sauce
♦ Green Bean Bundles Wrapped in Bacon
♦ Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Sharp Cheddar

Cheese Course
♦ Port Poached Seckel Pear with Gorgonzola Gelato, a Rosemary Digestive and a Shaving of Parmegiana Regianno

Dessert Duo
♦ Chocolate Decadence layered with Cheesecake dipped in Chocolate Ganache
♦ Bailey's Irish Creme Pot a crème

The Application - Section Two

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 13:07:42 -0800

The second section of the application is titled “In The Kitchen”. It is a fairly long section with much detail so I am likely to split it into several postings.

The first thing they ask is if I have attended a culinary school or any other cooking programs? Programs or schools - NO. If you answer no then they want to know - “What is your cooking background (cookbooks, self taught, internet, family recipes)?”

What is my cooking background? Self taught for sure. Cookbooks - how many do I have? Somewhere between 1000 and 2000. Should I go and count? Cookbooks have to be my biggest influence, followed closely by Food Network (and PBS because Napa Style, Julia and Jacque are on PBS). Restaurants have also been a big influence. I eat a great meal in a fabulous restaurant somewhere in the world (literally) and then I come home and figure out how to make the dish in my home kitchen. For instance when I was in Stockholm last time I ate at F 12 with my friend and colleague Austin and his wife Sun Young. We had a great meal and the mushroom with vinaigrette sorbet was the inspiration for part of the mushroom trio at New Year’s. I think I captured the dish well and of course added to it with some thyme in the vinaigrette sorbet and a stronger flavor profile in the marinated mushroom.

Here is a picture of the finished dish for New Year’s. I am thinking of serving this at the audition (more on that later). This dish made me cry (twice) on New Year’s eve. It turned out exactly as I had imagined. Here is the menu description.

Mushroom Trio
♦ Shitaki Marinated in Garlic and Olive Oil Served with a Vinaigrette Sorbet
♦ Chanterelle Mousseline Topped with Madeira Jelly and Sautéed Chanterelles
♦ Truffle Egg Custard dressed with Truffles and Enoki Mushrooms

On to the next question - “Have you taken any recreational cooking classes? If so please list: I have taken one class with my team at Microsoft. The Blue Ribbon Cooking School on Lake Union. We had a great time bonding and creating team! I have also taken some classes in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) on re-creating historical cuisines. I am not sure if I could document all of these. And of course I have taught many cooking classes in the SCA all over the US and at The Bayview Cooking School in Olympia, WA. There is no place on the application for classes you have taught so I guess I will put them in this section.

The last question on page 2 (but not the final one in this section is - “Rate your cooking skills from a scale of 1 - 10 (10 being the highest): I think my cooking skills are around a 7.5. I wish I had better knife technique. I think I am limited in my skills by some of the equipment that I have (cooking only on my home stove). Perhaps I am verging on an 8. Any suggestions here would really help. How do you rate your cooking skills? For a home cook I am probably a 10 for a restaurant chef I am at a 5 so split the difference?

This next question is one of the hardest in the application. “Please tell us about the moment you fell in love with food:” The moment? There have been so many moments. I am not sure it was a specific moment but more of a long love affair that has deepened over the years. I think the moment I realized that food could transport you was when I discovered The Epulario in the microfilm collection of Early English books at the University of Washington. This cookbook, from 1598, was the first historical cookbook that I explored in depth. It took me back to Elizabethan England and then quickly into it’s Italian Renaissance origins. It has inspired many meals and was the kernel of inspiration for my first paper at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery - Fish Food From the Waters “Pesce Cane: A Fish Recipe from the Martino Manuscript”. Before this I had always liked food. My Gran’s carrot dish, my Great Nana’s Pork Pot Pie on Christmas morning and my mother’s chicken and dumplings have always been foods that made me feel at home, but did they make me fall in love with food? No they comforted me and made me feel loved. Being able to combine my love of history, my love of writing, my love of cooking and my love of sharing experiences through historical cookbooks is what made me fall in love with food.

Not a simple one dish answer but closer to the truth than “when I ate my Nana’s Pork Pot Pie with Mustard Pickles on Christmas when I was five I fell in love with food.”

Next question - “What websites do you use to download recipes? What cookbooks do you use to look up recipes? I consistently use Epicurious as a go to source on the web. Any other time I am usually doing a general BING search to find several recipes for the same dish so I can see what the most commonly used ingredients and what the interesting adaptations might be so I can create something of my own. Regarding the cookbooks I use the most often I would have to say that Joy of Cooking is a great stand by for base recipes, conversions and alternates. From there it depends on the region the recipe comes from. For French it is any thing by Julia Child or Jacque Pepin and there is no better source than “La Rousse”. It is encyclopedic! “The Oxford Companion to Food History” by Alan Davidson is a general source that I often consult for information (if not recipes) and Harold McGee’s “On Food and Cooking: The science and lore of the kitchen” is always helpful. Then if I am doing historical cooking it is usually the original source I go to or a good transcription.

The rest of the questions will be in the next post.

Thoughts? Ideas? Added descriptions or anywhere I should expand?

Let me know by leaving your comments.

DAVID

The Application - Section One

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 12:17:18 -0800

11 pages of application! The first page is just general information about me. Name, address, height, weight (ick!) birth date, marital status, family info, etc.

The first real question is “How did you hear about casting for master Chef?”. Well how did I hear about it? My friend Pam (who helped soooooo much with New Year’s food prep.) sent me an e-mail. She saw the application on Craig’s List and thought of me immediately. A few other friends who I shared it with encouraged me to apply and here we are! Filling out the application.

Next they want to know if I have ever been a member of SAG/AFTRA. Never been a member. Had points towards an Equity membership a VERY LONG time ago, but no SAG/AFTRA.

Have I ever appeared in television program s, films, webisodes, radio, comercials, stage or advertisement of any kind? If so please provide details. This question can only be answered with my Theatre, Film and Television resume that I have not dug out of it’s file in ages. From the age of 10 to 26 I was a Music Theatre performer - Opera, Dinner Theatre, Ballet, Musical Theatre, etc. I even did a few episodes on a Canadian TV series and some extra spots in a few movies. I have to find a copy of the resume. I wonder if I should include my head shot from back then as well!

Next they want to know if I have ever tried out for any other reality TV show and if I am beinf considered for any other reality show. Really? I guess people make a hobby of doing this but I don’t think there is any other reality show that I would like to be on except this one. Perhaps, if there was a Renaissance Project Runway I would apply for that, but Master Chef is so me!

Onto one of the hardest questions. “Would you be available to leave your everyday commitments for up to five weeks starting in February 2010?” Obviously you have to answer YES to this question if you even want to be considered. I figure I will cross that bridge when I get to it!

That is the end of section one.

Any comments? Suggestions? Thoughts? Leave a comment.

DAVID