Meet Our Gardener

Yes, we finally have someone that knows what they’re doing.  Rachel Kohn Obut has joined the Componere team as our official gardener and brings with her several years of organic farming experience, including time spent working at the Cromwell Valley CSA, Free Bird Farm, and Common Ground Farm. 

In addition to managing our garden at Kunde Estate Winery, Rachel is now also growing produce for us on an acre in Southern Sonoma.  We’re very excited about some of the fantastic seeds she’s been finding!

Before discoving her passion for farming Rachel graduated with a degree in Neuroscience from Oberlin College.

THE INTERNATIONAL CHEFS CONGRESS

 

On a return flight from New York recently I felt like a foie gras duck. Componere sous chef Matt Hegel and I had just attended the Star Chef’s International Chefs Congress.  Lunch at the conference each day was from the likes of Le Bernadin and Gordon Ramsey, and each night we dined at a different restaurant for dinner.

Every restaurant we went to featured a different style of cuisine. Eleven Madison Park had four star French influenced cuisine, Scarpetta was authentic Italian, Momofuko Saam Bar was trendy Euro-Asian and Nextamle in Queens was Mexican.

The conference included three packed days of demos, panel discussions and workshops by top chefs showcasing their new techniques and dishes. They came from around the world and included Yoshihiro Murata, Morimoto, Jose Andres, Peirre Gagnaire, Daniel Boulud, Charlie Trotter, Grant Achatz, April Bloomfield and many others.

Topics and techniques ranged from the traditional to cutting edge. A few of our favorites:

Zach Allen, the charcuterie guru of Mario Batali’s restaurants and the executive chef of Mario’s Las Vegas restaurants, taught an informative hands-on workshop entitled The Charcuterie Equation. We’ve been considering an in-house charcuterie program and the exceptional charcuterie I’d eaten earlier this year at B&B Ristorante in Las Vegas (which Zach is in charge of) also piqued my interest.

Sean Brock’s presentation on Bringing Back American Heirloom Ingredients also caught our eye. We’re always looking for interesting things to grow in the Componere garden. At McCrady’s in South Carolina he has a 2.5 acre farm featuring many pre-Civil War heirloom ingredients.

Famed Japanese kaiseki master Yoshihiro Murata of Kikunoi started off his demonstration with a short video introduction to “food of the four seasons.” Murata explained the importance of dashi in his cooking overall and especially as a vehicle for umami.

Masaharu Morimoto graced the Main Stage and took the crowd through a flurry of advanced fish butchery that covered eel, aji, hamo, yellowtail, and a live fluke. His knife skills were incredible.

In his workshop “the Father of Sous Vide” Dr. Bruno Goussault covered the basics of safe sous vide cooking. The low-temp cooking expert emphasized the importance of food safety throughout his workshop, explaining that the current trend of cooking at below 56° Farenheit doesn’t kill off dangerous bacteria.

Between dining out and the conference our trip to New York was well worth it.  We’re looking forward to attending (and eating!) next year.

HOW TO START COMPOSTING

Compost is often referred to as “black gold” by gardeners for good reason.  Since putting in the Componere organic garden ealier this year we haven’t fertilized once other than compost and we’ve had fantastic results. 

Up to one-third of the materials that wind up in landfills could be composted. Waste in landfills breaks down anaerobic manner (without air), which produces methane gas which in turn is harmful environment. Other chemicals made in landfills can leach down into the groundwater and cause greater pollution. Composting is a great way to limit these possibilities and is a natural recycling process. Starting to compost not only conserves resources, it creates healthy soil that greatly benefits plants if you have a garden.

Our catering company is developing a composting program and recycling the trim from produce back into our garden.

It is easy and cheap to start a compost pile and if you follow these steps you will reap the benefits of “black gold” very quickly. Compost is a product of the decomposition of organic matter. Grass clippings, leaves, kitchen scraps, manure, and most other things that were once living are all organic material that too often winds up in the trash. Bacteria and microorganisms break down organic matter into a dark, earthy crumbly material. As with cooking, composting is easy as long as you have the right recipe. In order to get the quickest results, you will need the perfect ratio of ingredients to create an environment with the right moisture, air, and heat.

The first step in composting is finding a bin that will hold at least a cubic yard. Consider getting one with a lid that will prevent animals from scavenging through your pile and will also help speed up the process by maintaining constant moisture and temperature. Keep your bin in a semi-shaded area.

Next you will need the right balance of nitrogen and carbon. Components high in nitrogen are most of your “green waste” of fruit and vegetable scraps, grass trimmings, tea bags, coffee grounds, and plants. Materials that are high in carbon are called your “brown waste” and can consist of sawdust, cardboard, dead and dried out plants, or hay. Other essential ingredients are oxygen, water, and soil. Keep in mind that the smaller your materials are, the faster they will compost. A trick to breaking down your leaves and kitchen scraps is to run a lawn mower over your materials before you add them to the bin.

Now it’s time to layer your materials in the bin. It’s best to start with a layer of leaves on the bottom because it will keep air at the bottom of the pile. Next layer the rest of your waste using equal parts brown to green. Add some water and extra soil on each layer. You want the pile to be moist (but not wet). The layers should be about 6 inches deep. Continue your pile until it is 3 feet tall.

Turn your pile every week by removing the contents from the bin with a pitchfork and then moving the material back in. You can also use this opportunity to add new waste to your pile. This will help to encourage air movement and the growth of essential bacteria and microorganisms that will keep your compost from smelling. Worms can also be added to the pile to make it break down quicker. When done correctly, your compost should be hot and smell sweet and earthy. Be patient, your first batch of compost will take a few months.

Use the compost as soon as it’s ready if you want the full benefits of its nutrients. Your finished compost can be mixed with your soil before planting or added to the top layer as mulch. Your plants will thank you by remaining healthy and beautiful throughout the seasons.

HOT LINKS (THE NON-EDIBLE KIND)

I try to read a wide variety of articles on food every week.  Below are links to some of the recent highlights:

Gourmet magazine spotlights great ice cream shops in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Wall Street Journal writes about Tokyo’s melt in your mouth deep fried pork cutlets called Tonkatsu.

The Boston Globe has a tasting panel try local products vs. conventional in a blind tasting.

Frank Bruni bids farewell as the New York Times restaurant critic and offers farewell tips for dining out.

Time magazine writes about the high price of cheap food and sustainable farming practices that are gaining steam.

My friend (and sometimes Componere event chef) Tim Hammack was featured on NPR for his work teaching recovering addicts how to cook at the Bay Area Rescue Mission.

The New York Times looks at how farmer’s markets encourage social interaction.

A TALE OF TWO LAS VEGAS MEALS, PART 1

We recently dined at Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas, the only Michelin three star on the west coast other than the French Laundry. We had high expectations. Our second night in Las Vegas we dined at B & B Ristorante, Mario Batali’s restaurant in the Venetian. We were expecting a decent, casual meal. At both restaurants we ordered the six course tasting menu with wine pairings. One experience far exceeded our expectations and the other fell short.

Upon making the Robuchon reservation we were told we’d be picked up in a gold limousine at 8pm in front of our hotel. A gold limo sounded a bit gauche at first, almost tacky, but it’s a clever marketing ploy to stand out in over-the-top Las Vegas. Not only does everyone in front of the hotel see it but it’s something people may mention to their friends.

The limo whisked us through the iron gates of the Mansion at MGM Grand, a separate secluded area of the casino. After spending several minutes in a library waiting area, and being gently scolded for wandering into a private “high roller courtyard,” we were led down a series of hallways and through the casino to the restaurant Joel Robuchon.

We were seated in the center of the room surrounded by solemn looking people speaking in hushed voices. The servers that greeted us spoke just above a whisper. After a couple minutes we requested a table on the garden terrace area, which turned out to be a great move. The terrace immediately had a less stuffy feel.

The experience started off well with a first course of crab and caviar. There wasn’t much else to it but with crab and caviar one doesn’t need much else. The lettuce soup that followed it was simple, perfectly seasoned and delicious. Unfortunately, as the courses progressed they became less and less enjoyable. The langoustine course was very overcooked and was followed by braised veal cheek in a green curry demi-glace that had become over reduced and congealed on the plate. It was cloyingly rich with an unbalanced spicy heat. At that point it had been three hours and we had yet to get the cheese course or dessert but we were ready to move on with the night.

Fortunately, our meal the next night was great.  I can still taste the Rabbit Porchetta with Fennel…more in Part 2.

THE ROOTS OF CREATIVE GENIUS

Creativity is indispensable in business, cooking, child rearing and many other facets of life and led me to start reading The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. One of the central points of her book is that one needs to work at creativity and must know how to prepare to be creative. There is a process that generates creativity. The details are different for every person but the basic process can be learned and become habitual.

Mozart, an innately gifted creative artist, still had to work extremely hard and was fiercely focused. His hands were deformed by the time he was twenty eight years old because of all the hours he had spent practicing, performing and gripping a quill pen to compose.

It takes skill to bring something you’ve imagined into the world and developing skill takes practice and discipline. The popular notion of being “struck with a lightning bolt of inspiration”is rarely accurate. Tharp makes the point that without the proper skills and preparation the lightning bolt will only leave you stunned.  In the culinary field, it is often the chefs that spent years training that can best implement their ideas. 

In a past post I wrote about how a change of context (and a little caffeine) can help me be creative and I’m always interested in hearing how other people get their creative juices flowing.

BACK ON THE BLOGGING TRAIN

After taking a couple months off from blogging to work on this new website (not to mention our busiest time of year) I’m looking forward to getting back into blogging regularly.  Stay tuned!

THE BEST PRODUCE MARKET IN THE BAY AREA

Saveur magazine said recently that if Berkeley Bowl Market doesn’t have the biggest produce selection in America they certainly have the best. Any doubt has been removed with the opening of the second Berkeley Bowl location at 920 Heinz Ave in Berkeley. The problems of congested aisles and clogged parking lots at the original location have been addressed with wider aisles; more check stands and an underground parking garage.

The produce selection is even larger and has a separate section of organic produce, much of it from local farms. The quality is typically better than Whole Foods at half the price. The meat counter offers a selection of grass fed, organic and conventional items. For fish, a better bet is still Monterey Fish or Hopkins.

Best of all for us, the new location is only three blocks from the Componere Fine Catering kitchen and continues the practice of letting chefs in half an hour before the store opens to the general public. They’re very adept at handling large orders and offer a 10% discount for case orders.

HUGE selection of artisan and micro brewed beer, local grass fed beef and the organic produce section.

The cheese section, conventional produce and sausages from the meat counter.

OAK BACKLASH

Tisa and I tired years ago of the over oaked, buttery Chardonnays that often come out of Napa. What made wine makers think that every Chardonnay needed to be aged in a new oak barrel? The trend now (thankfully) is towards crisp, fresh Chardonnay. Mineral instead of caramel, green apple instead of pineapple, stone instead of vanilla. Food and Wine has an article on it here.

PROGRESS ON THE NEW COMPONERE-KUNDE VEGETABLE GARDEN

We made major progress in the first phase of our new organic vegetable and herb garden last week. It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it to see a dream come true!

We’re finally going to be able to grow all kinds of unique heirloom vegetables for Componere Fine Catering and harvest them at the last minute, a long time dream of ours.

Kunde Estate Winery is providing the land and water and we’re developing the garden and managing it. Kunde is also providing half wine barrels for things like dwarf Meyer lemon trees, flagstone for the paths and cured logs to border the beds. It’s going to be beautiful when it’s finished. Planting in late May!