Chefs Collaborative

Blog post by Tammi Truax, freelance writer and Barn Dinner guest.  Thanks to all the volunteers, chefs, farmers, guests, and community members who made the 2010 Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner such a success!

Last night I had one of the most memorable meals I have ever had the pleasure of partaking in. I was one of the lucky souls seated at the table seen above for the second annual Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner at Berry Hill Farm in  quintessentially scenic Stratham, New Hampshire. The dinner was the inspired dream of chef and restaurateur Evan Mallet of the Black Trumpet, who shoulders a deep personal and professional commitment to the noble idea of renewing America’s food traditions. He is very active in RAFT New England Grow-Out, the Slow Food movement, and Chefs Collaborative. He is in the center of his team in the barn’s prep area in the picture below.

This year the grow-out vegetables, which are all heirloom (meaning they are both indigenous and endangered) were an interesting variety of eleven fruits, vegetables, and beans most of which have never graced the lips of this life-long veggie lovin’ native. We were reminded that there was a time not long ago when the people of this region ate only what was fresh, local and organic. Most of the groceries came from the yard. And we were reminded in dish after creative dish, that they ate well. It is sad to realize, but I am thankful for the lesson, that these heirloom foods, and many others, will be lost to all of us forever, if we don’t start growing, eating, and ordering them with some serious frequency. Chef Evan shared this year’s featured heirlooms with a team of gifted cooks to create a menu fit for a kingdom.

Upon arrival we had drinks (all relatively local) and hors d’oeuvres on the lawn. There were three kinds of treats being passed by pretty people; truffled Maine lobster and red fife wheat tabbouleh, slow-roasted pork and Forellenschuss (an heirloom lettuce) galantine with heirloom Marfax Beans and Red Cranberry Beans and Oka Melon pico de gallo, and duck confit on RAFT rosti of Gilfeather Turnips and Boston Marrow Squash with Wethersfield Onion marmalade. The last one, I must confess, was my runaway favorite. Rosti, the national dish of Switzerland, is pan fried grated potato. With the delightful duck confit and slightly sweet marmalade on top, it melted in my mouth like a classic comfort food cloud. I had two!

The first course was my least favorite, but only because I am not a fan of ceviche. It was sea scallop ceviche with Jimmy Nardello Sweet Italian Pepper“Caviar”, Trophy Tomato – lemon verbana whip and an Oka Muskmelon and nasturtium salad. Ceviche is a raw dish of ancient origin using primarily citrus marinades to prepare the fish. One must enjoy the texture and temperature. I didn’t, but all of my neighboring diners did. Side dishes, as shown, are used to complement. The clever “caviar” was actually created from the heirloom sweet Italian frying pepper, and played tasty tricks on the eye and tongue. The muskmelon, originally bred by Quebecian monks, was sweet and satisfying, my highlight. This dish was paired with a micro-brewed pale ale, and as you can see was plated in the most pleasing way.

The second course was simply superb, both in taste and in presentation. We were served lobster two ways; claw en brioche with roasted Jimmy Nardello pepper aioli,  and ginger and scallion tail with spiced long pie pumpkin puree, with an heirloom Boston marrow squash, Gilfeather turnip, and bean hash between them. Both were so satisfying but the claw, which tasted like a little lobster BLT, was outstanding to me. The tail went surprisingly well with pumpkin puree, and it all paired perfectly with a smooth sauvignon blanc.

The third course was prepared by top-gun Chef Evan, and consisted of a generous portion of Moroccan-spiced braised lamb (two different cuts) ingrilled long pie pumpkin rings with Gilfeather turnip greens, with curried trophy tomato chutney and adried bean cracker bread. The meat was lovingly prepared, so moist and tender no knife was needed. The veggies were intriguing, but the chutney was a show stealer. I kept dipping my cracker bread into it. All went well with my favorite beverage; (excepting the robust porter I had sampled earlier) a light zinfandel.

Though I was pretty full by the fouth course and generally don’t indulge in dessert, there was no way I was passing on the final course; long pie pumpkin panna cotta with maple bourbon creme anglaise, topped with a brown sugar shortbread and spicedpumpkin seeds. Panna cotta, which means cooked cream in Italian, seemed to me, the perfect way to use a pumpkin, and a perfectly heavenly way to end such a paradisiacal  meal.

This post comes from the blog of Tammi Truax, “Teach a Man to Fish.” Original post here: http://t2fish.blogspot.com/2010/09/heirloom-harvest-barn-dinner.html

Photo courtesy of Nick Hall

By signing onto this national chef letter, you can help us send a strong message to the EPA and the White House that wild salmon is a food choice you want to continue to have and that you want to see Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery protected from nonrenewable resource development. In some places, the risks are too high and you just have to say No. Bristol Bay is one of those places and is an opportunity for us to protect our nation’s largest wild fishery while we still can.

Photo courtesy of Ben Knight

Given the seismically active zone in which Pebble would be built and the dynamic hydrology of the Bristol Bay watershed, scientists have many reasons to believe that the Pebble Mine could become an environmental disaster, destroying both Bristol Bay’s salmon fisheries and the Native communities who rely on the annual return of Bristol Bay’s salmon.  Read more at www.pebblescience.org. For more information visit: www.savebristolbay.org.

Chefs Collaborative recently caught up with new member, Brady Lowe, the man behind Cochon555, PRIMAL and Protein University, three platforms on which chefs are advocating for sustainable meat and a return to the art of butchery.  Read on to find out more about Brady’s background and his current and upcoming projects.

Chefs Collaborative: Could you tell us about yourself and a little about your culinary background?
Brady Lowe: I have a background in fine wine and artisan cheese.  My mission is to execute great culinary experiences in the luxury market and beyond.  I work closely with a clientele that includes everyone from dignitaries and executives to small family-owned businesses. I am passionate about increasing the livelihood of others, such as farmers and non-profit organizations, and I feel fortunate to share my passion through my company.

Most recently, I expanded my reach to bring one-of-a kind culinary experiences to the general public. In early 2009, Taste Network began COCHON 555, a ten city culinary tour where renowned chefs prepare heritage pigs in a head to toe competition. The event showcases 5 chefs, 5 pigs and 5 winemakers in a friendly competition for the cause of promoting breed diversity and whole animal utilization. In 2010, COCHON 555 teamed up with Food + Wine Magazine for the Grand Finale showcase during the Classic in Aspen. The tour, now in its third year, brings together top chefs, winemakers, farmers, thought-leaders, foodies, media and responsible consumers to celebrate artisan producers. In November 2009, the company launched, Protein University and PRIMAL, a foundation event series in the world of butchers and chefs promoting whole animal utilization and family farms. The successful events feature theatre cooking, multi-animal breakdown demonstrations, niche products and a focus for keeping the culinary arts of butchery alive.

I was born and raised in Des Moines and received my bachelors from the University of Iowa. I currently live in Atlanta, Georgia, but spend most of my time on the road… tasting my way across the country while promoting the whole animals, grape clusters and the niche farm movement. In 2010-2011, Taste Network events will provide more than 15,000 guest experiences while the websites will be visited around 500,000 times online.

C.C.: What past experiences shaped your attitude towards food?
B.L.: When in college, I learned the importance of the good cigar. From the draw to the finish, the story of each smoke taught me the foundations of niche marketing since that is how I paid the bills. Soon after college I found myself in fine-dining learning about wine and great cheeses which was an exact parallel to the cigar and those background stories I romanticized about. From there I found myself in a very unique position one night that shaped my life forever. I perfectly paired a wine and cheese for a guest and from that moment forward, I knew sharing new experiences through first-class education would be my future. In 2002, I started Taste Network “wine & cheese pairings through education” and since then, I have been gaining momentum, and weight

C.C.: Have you always been a sustainable foodie or did you have a revelation at some point?
B.L.: I found myself sharing the same platform and clients as catering companies. We would go back and forth on UNDERSTANDING my added value contracts. My clients could not distinguish my price point from banquets. I was losing money matching someone else’s price point in order to survive. I wanted to educate my clients and one evening one of my chefs showed up with a grocery bag of junk food to get us by at our event. That was my revelation, no more junk food – my clients needed to where their food was coming from no matter the cost. They paid high dollars to understand the background on the wines so why was food so unimportant? I saw the parallel once again I saw with wine and cheese education, this time with the responsible sourcing of food. Farms were going to be the next star, people were hungry for the basics on where their food was coming from. I was going to give it to them.

C.C.: What inspired Protein University, and how did it begin?
B.L.: Cochon555 inspired ProteinU. C555 is very focused on its cause and I felt like all the other proteins wanted to play but did not have the opportunity. We wanted to create something all encompassing. Primal was invented out of a couple selfish ideas of roasting whole animals and wood fired cooking techniques. Under further exploration, I was developing cooking arenas around fire pits and I wanted to step away all new concepts from culinary competitions. One night, at dinner with my friend Chris Cosentino, I explained my next event concept and he said ”have you seen the book Seven Fires?” and I said “NO” and he said, “Well you just explained the book to me.” – from the moment forward I wanted to bring fire-cooking and whole animal cooking of South America to our culture. I bought everyone I knew the Seven Fires book. Primal became a challenge.

Along with any challenges come financial obstacles and Primal was much heavier than Cochon555. I was looking for a business partner and found Anthony Renda. Since our first meeting, we shared the same philosophies, overlapped passions for food and really combined our resources to make Primal a large event in the upcoming years. We needed a business name to operate and did not want to just have a production company name and Taste Network was already a sole-proprietorship.   We wanted our entity to give something back to the culinary community while driving the art of butchery back into kitchens and cutrooms across America, from there Protein University was born. My background in brand development and ideation combined with Anthony’s passion in the film industry lead us into a concept that helps push today’s food movement in the right direction.

C.C.: What kind of response have you been seeing from chefs and butchers?  What are some of the challenges you see to promoting sustainable practices?
B.L.: The response has been overwhelming in the first two months. We have been fortunate to continue a conversation that stared before us. We want to shepherd the movement into a new direction, leading chefs and butchers to share experiences and to inspire each other.

Sustainable to me means, “making things work in a system” and there are challenges to promoting the practice of safe and responsible foods. Most important of these issues to me; paying the people who work hard in slaughterhouses a good wage while holding processors to higher standards. Want to know who the butcher is in today’s system? It’s your salesperson. The voice on the other end of the cell phone who makes sure you get it on time, its what you want, and its always right! We are system focused on the promoting the chef, the farm and the butcher. What if we romanticized the hard working boys and girls on the slaughterhouse floor? We know they exist, they are working hard and mark my words – they will fall out of love with the movement if we don’t appreciate what they are doing. They are a niche market waiting to be noticed. Everyone has heard the complaints by farmers and chefs about the processors. What if this is the new direction? What if we had some rock star abattoirs in the mix? What if the slaughterhouse folks got romantic with some investors? Would they start opening small family-run USDA facilities in regional locations around the country? Would a millionaire see the worth of opening 25 VALUE-ADDED processors around the country for the passionate food-based folks? 25 new cure rooms and cutfloors – hold on here – are we talking about whole animal utilization before industrial agriculture? Would that system work? Right now, we are a hard working class very passionate about raising some tasty food, but start the journey of the beast with people who do not care. It’s like dropping your child off at 7-Eleven for daycare. That to me, is not working.

C.C.: How was the response to your recent video competition?
B.L.: AMAZING! It was the best response to any posting I have made to date.

C.C.: You just recently announced your top 20 videos.  What differentiated them from the rest?
B.L.: The Top 20 were selected on merit of content, which of their multiple uploaded videos were the advisors favorites and length.

C.C.: What other projects do you have in the works?
B.L.: I have been working on a business plan for Taste Network for over 5 years, long before Cochon555, Primal and ProteinU. I have invested thousands of hours and dollars into something I feel will be the best wine education tool to reach the internet and it’s getting close to launching. I can’t wait for that to be born. On the food side, I am going to take a vow of silence on the next foodie-severe project, but I would say – my favorite food is going to get a well-needed make-over.