Re: Sushi
On Feb 15, 2007, at 12:58 PM, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
As to the cuisine - is there such a thing as the American cuisine =
as opposed to “ethnic” cuisines available here?
http://web.naplesnews.com/ceandw/012007/great_plates.html
In 2004 Aqua Grill hired him as executive chef. He built a following =
and a reputation for nouvelle American cuisine there. His definition: =
=93American cuisine is the realm of everything. You have French, you =
have Italian, you have German, you have any kind of European flair. =
Everyone lives here. So I just bring it all together.=94
http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/features/nouvellecuisine.html
First, a dinner was an opportunity to satisfy all our senses, =
beginning with sight. Food had to be presented in an artistic manner =
playing with colors and forms, and the plate had to be arranged as a =
work of art similar to a sculpture or a painting. New instruments =
were available such as food processors and state-of-the-art ovens and =
there was no reason not to use them for elaborate new preparations. =
But mostly, these chefs emphasized the quality of the products and =
their freshness and proclaimed that it was not necessary to overload =
them with heavy sauces based on flour and butter or to overcook them, =
especially fish. This simplification would reveal the true taste of =
the food and would constitute a healthier fare to boot.
Gu=E9rard was probably the most instrumental in this healthy =
orientation. Today he runs a spa in Eug=E9nie-les-Bains, where you can =
enjoy superb food and shed weight by the same token. But I remember =
the little bistro where he started. Le “Pot au feu” was located in a =
suburb of Paris, in a small street of Asni=E8res. The white collars of =
the Phillips electronic company nearby formed the core of the =
delighted clientele, indulging at lunch in wonderful chaud et froid =
de volaille. Outhier, who had worked at L’Oriental in Bangkok, was =
the one who introduced the Asian accent with spices and herbs. He =
knew how to use them: in minute quantities with subtle touches only. =
His best pupil was Jean-Georges Von Gerichten. Bocuse was the =
authority, the leader.
There was also a consensus on the “load factor”. All agreed that we =
did not need as many calories as in the past. Banquets in the 19th =
century were often composed of six or seven meat, poultry, or game =
dishes, not counting several appetizers and desserts. In these days =
elevators did not exist, driving had not replaced walking, houses =
were barely heated. Calories were necessary to survive in this =
environment. This was no longer the case, hence the trend to diminish =
the size of the portions which, of course, generated some =
exaggerations in the size of the reduction.
As we traveled across France, we discovered more and more restaurants =
and bistros where young chefs were paving the way of the new =
gastronomy in France. We acted then as the federators of these =
trends, introducing the pioneers to one another and publicizing their =
concepts and compiling our discoveries. The process culminated in =
writing the code of the new gastronomy in a famous article of our =
magazine in 1972, for which Henri Gault (who died in 2000) forged the =
name “Nouvelle Cuisine.” The “Nouvelle Cuisine” was live and well.
“Those chefs forged nothing less than a revolution,” writesour =
colleague David Rosengarten in his book It’s All American Food, =
showing the world that French technique and new, modern culinary =
ideas were not incompatible.” The revolution was well on its way and =
nothing could stop it. It swept the entire world, beginning with the =
U.S. America was particularly receptive, because it is always open to =
innovation and also because gastronomy was then a barren land. =
American chefs jumped on the concept and “Nouvelle Cuisine”-oriented =
restaurants started to flourish in New York. Among the first were “An =
American Place” and the “Sign of the Dove”.