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StarChefs.com’s International Chefs Congress A KITCHEN WITHOUT BOUNDARIES September 19 & 2 0 , 2 0 0 6 On September 19 and 20, some of the world’s foremost chefs descended on New Connect with York for the inaugural StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress. A crowd of over 700 chefs, hoteliers, caterers, culinary students and press hailing from 37 states, 16 the Culinary countries, and all walks of culinary life attended the presentations and workshops at our first Congress. The theme, “Flavor and the American Spirit,” also manifested itself Industry’s Most in an appropriately vast scope of subjects, from a panel with Eric Ripert (le Bernardin, New York) and Daniel Boulud (Daniel, New York) on the makings of a 4-star restau- Influential Chefs rant, to a presentation with Ken Oringer (Clio, Boston) revealing how to source and prepare shark’s fin. It seems impossible to condense the intense two days of culinary education and chef-style partying but the highlights follow. DAY 1: Editor-in-Chief Antoinette Bruno set the tone for the event with her dynamic welcoming speech that brought up key trends and movements of 2006 with statis- tics taken from the 2006 StarChefs Culinary Trends Survey in which 60% identified themselves as Executive Chefs or Executive Sous Chefs in fine dining, upscale casual, or hotel operations, and over 50% as chef owners. Anthony Bourdain (Les Halles) took the stage for his Team Building and Crisis Management keynote address. In his signature dark, funny and no-frills style, Bourdain called the restaurant “the last meri- tocracy,” took a few friendly jabs at chefs famous for their lacking sense of humor, and offered up tips on how to make your team work as a strong unit: consistently reward and punish successes and failures, and be a tough, but fair boss—which is to say getting your whites dirty with the rest of the team. José Andrés (Café Atlantico, Washington DC) seemed to thoroughly enjoy his role Michael Harlan Turkell as Albert Adrià’s comical translator (el Bulli, Spain). Adria presented the recipes and techniques for two complex, stunning desserts: The Hummingbird and The Rock. A simple and whimsical garnish involved Adria piping chocolate directly into a bowl of cocoa in the shape of tree branches. Once the chocolate set, he gently removed them from the cocoa for a chocolate branch with the look and texture of wood. As a film made especially for the event played on the large screen, Adria explained how the desserts’ textures, flavors, and visual composition were inspired by nature. While techniques like the one used to make the praline-filled caramel-head of The Hummingbird may be complicated, Adria made it clear that taste is of the utmost importance and that techniques are just another way of reaching a new level of texture and flavor. The Guts and Glory offal panel brought together three stars in the revival of offal eating. Anthony Bourdain moderated as Fergus Henderson (St John’s, England) and Chris Cosentino (Incanto, San Francisco) mused, joked and waxed poetic on the glories of the pig and the underappreciated inner organs that make many uninitiated diners feel squeamish. While the taste of these delicious parts is supremely important to chefs, Henderson and Cosentino also explained why the virtue of “nose-to-tail eating” makes sense from a business and philosophy standpoint. Using a whole animal is David Vogel an example of true sustainability. It is an economical practice, not to mention an exciting and traditional challenge faced by cooks for centuries. After lunch, Pascal Barbot (L’Astrance, France) began his foie gras presentation with a focus on flavor harmony and precise simplicity. Barbot discussed his passion for com- binations that make sense and his utmost respect for the ingredient’s natural texture and taste. Rather than cook the foie gras in his first galette, Barbot marinaded it in a herbaceous and astringent verjus. The result was the sort of dish that epitomizes the Astrance philosophy: a balanced dish with attention on no more than three flavors, in this case, mushroom, foie gras, and citrus. 71% of our chefs surveyed said they are currently using more familiar, classic flavors and ingredients in their dishes and Barbot’s beautiful galette reminded us all why! Barbot was another chef at the Congress inspired by nature, expressing this by preserving the natural state of each ingredient. Who better to discuss the history of fusion than Norman Van Aken (Norman’s, Mi- ami), who coined the term in 1987? Aken’s food philosophy is based in the intertwin- ing of historical migrations with the great culinary revolutions we’ve seen in the past few centuries. Aken traced the ingredients of his dish, Poulet a la Creole, back to their David Vogel original arrival in America. In another historically and culturally focused presentation, Patricia Quintana (Izote, Mexico) explained the difference between chili varieties in Mexico, specifically the versatile dried chilies used in her cooking. In her graceful presentation, Quintana explained the step-by-step procedure of pickling, softening and filling ancho chilies with a classic guacamole. The auditorium filled with the intense smells of spices and fermented black beans as Susur Lee (Susur, Canada) explained the technique for Cantonese steaming while preparing two traditional sauces to accompany his steamed fish. Another technique driven presentation followed as Patricia Yeo (Sapa, New York) demonstrated how she uses the YieldKing in her kitchen at Sapa. “It’s my favorite toy” she laughed, using it to smoke chicken on-the-bone with tea leaves and spices. Yeo also demonstrated the technique she used before the equipment was brought in with a stove-top smoker or pot and a lot of ice cubes to achieve the same effect of gentle smoking that keeps the meat raw in the center and allows for searing without overcooking. A plate of rubbery, gelatinous shark fin was passed around the audience during Ken Oringer’s presentation on the use of unusual ingredients. Attendees poked and David Vogel examined the strange ingredients as Oringer described his adventures cooking and eating abroad, and his trial and error system of experimenting with rare and foreign products like barnacles and shark’s fin. The scent filled the auditorium as Oringer composed a thick, rich broth with dried scallops, nori, foie gras, chicken stock, pigs feet and chicken feet to garnish the shark’s fin – a delicacy that must be soaked for 2 weeks before cooking. Frederic Bau (L’Ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona, France) presented Valrhona’s new spicy Xocopili chocolate. While 65% of our surveyed chefs reported a significant integration of sweet and savory flavors in their dishes, Bau still managed to wow the audience with a little taste of Chocolate Chantilly flavored with Crab and Chorizo Fumet and paired with Dungeness Crab and Tomato Water Gelatin. The result was a delicious, savory chocolate dish that matched the sweetness of the crab and the sweet and acidic nature of the tomato. Upstairs on the 5th floor, David Meyers (Sona, Los Angeles) set up for the Art of Presentation with garnishes, sauces, vegetables and raw tuna for workshop goers to Michael Harlan Turkell experiment with and create their own dish. After a quick and fun lecture on the art of presentation, attendees concentrated on putting their newly acquired knowledge to use and began garnishing their own plates as Meyers and Matt Hoyle (Nobu 57, New York) assisted with comments and suggestions. Next door, Bart Vandaele (Belga Café, Washington DC) thrilled his room with Belgian beers and thoughtfully paired small plates, Joel Atunes (Joel, Atlanta) worked with Izzy Yanay to educate attendees on the industrial production and professional preparation of foie gras. To finish the day with a bang, José Andrés took the “Flavor of the American Spirit” theme to another level. His funny, animated and thought-provoking presentation began by deconstructing and the rebuilding American dishes like the Caesar Salad and the Philly Cheese Steak through the lens of progressive fine dining. Andres then took the audience step-by-step through the process of aspherification using sodium alginate and calcium chloride. The inventor of the technique, Albert Adria sat in the middle section, laughing at Andres’ jokes with the rest of the audience. As Day 1 came to a close, attendees began to gather next door at Cabana in the Mari- time Hotel, for a cocktail party on the roof terrace with beer, margaritas, and chilled wines. From here, the chef presenters went to Butter for dinner, where Paul Liebrandt gave them an exciting couture-cuisine experience. Other Congress attendees dined together at The Modern, Sapa, Cru and Riingo. After dinner, everyone got back together for the after-parties at AER and Hotel QT, where chefs and industry members partied Michael Harlan Turkell together by (and in!) the pool until all hours. DAY 2: The next day in the big city began with some bright lights as author Jay McInerny moderated the Making of a Four-Star Restaurant panel with New York star chefs Dan- iel Boulud and Eric Ripert. The first question hearkened back to Bourdain’s speech the day before and asked the chefs to talk about their famously tough leadership style as “screamers.” “I’ve changed my ways,” Ripert announced, “I used to put on a show every night, throwing plates and making a scene, but I don’t believe in that anymore.” With focus on the details that make a restaurant four-star, Ripert and Boulud talked back and forth regarding everything from sourcing their fish (which Ripert picks up at midnight before any other chefs can get their hands on the good stuff) and hiring stagiers, to where they come up with their ideas and how they balance their personal lives with the intense demands of running a kitchen.

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