Note: I originally wrote this blog last evening but I encountered "technical difficulties" in posting it... Now I know to write it in a word file and cut and paste to the blog... So, here it is again - to the best of my ability in reproducing it!
The grassy areas between the garden plots was cold and wet with dew. In good spirits, in spite of the overcast skies above, I ventured to the gardens at The French Laundry and toured the grounds on my own. There are 42, 30' X 30' gardens of product in various states of fallow or fullness. Brussels Sprouts, hearty Winter Greens, flourishes of herb bushes, etc. January chill is kept at bay by their saving grace - a 75' X 40' canopied hot house. Hot house may be the wrong word but when I entered I noticed the difference - perhaps the vegetation knows as well... Tree fruits, flowers, herbs, etc. all neatly arranged in rows waiting for the Head Gardner to pick and choose those products that he deems ready for harvest. Ready for harvest and ready for the cooks in the kitchen across Washington Street. Chef de Cuisine Corey Lee works in harmony with the ebb and seasonal flow of product. The Jacobsen Farm in Yountville grows produce exclusively for the TKRG properties in the town, as well. They even harvest their own organic snails (my ExpatArchitect nephew in Brussels says that "Organic is the only way to go..." - thanks for that culinary tip)!
I sat and pondered my own experiences with food. Not just the cooking I have produced but the food that has arrived at the back door and docks of a myriad of operations that I have engaged. From the uber-fresh and totally-chic Boulder Farmer's Market to pricey Whole Foods and their knock-offs to the cold and sterile 40# boxes of far-away grown "stuff" that ranges from un-ripe and tastless to old and unusable... I prefer the first. We all prefer the best quality product because that makes the cooks job easier. Yet, what about those that live in the inhospitable food netherlands of the far north - say, Fargo, N.D...? What's a cook to do, then, eh? If one must ship food then at least be responsible in this day of the carbon-footprint awareness. Write a menu that makes sense to the time, the season, the region and the reason your kitchen exists. Yes, The French Laundry does ship food (ain't Federal Exprees and DHL great for us...! especially Keith who supplies the lamb) to Yountville. The lamb, however, is on the cutting edge of holistic production and fabrication. They do a good thing, there. You have to weigh your reponsibilties.
All this heavy thinking brought me to Ban Barber and Blue Hill at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. Blue Hill, as a culinary entity, is a farm in western Massachusetts, a farm and culinary center in upstate New York (30 miles north of the city) and a boutique restaurant in Washington Park on Manhattan Island. The opportunity for cooks to put vegetables in the ground (from seed to soil) and then slaughter the animals that they have husbanded (farm to table) and then, finally after seasons or years, have the opportunity to respectfully cook dinner for guests... Consider that aspect of "The Need to Feed". There are oases of culinary and farming efforts across America and around the globe, yet we tend to think of this as cutting-edge stuff. My great-grandparents (and those before them) did that as subsistance and necessity. We do that as "craft" (or is that still "magic"...). At least someone is doing it.
First service at The French Laundry for me this evening... A fellow stagier ("J.B.") e-mailed me with these haunting tidbits - "There are a lot of rules and systems in place that we all need to memorize- I can see how it makes the place run smoothly but, yikes, trying to remember all of them makes me so inefficient in comparison!! Make sure you work super clean, keep track of your three issued towels, and for goodness sake move as fast as you can."
Oh yeah...."put me in coach, I'm ready to play". See y'all tonight or tomorrow morning, about 2:00 a.m. Peace.
~R
The grassy areas between the garden plots was cold and wet with dew. In good spirits, in spite of the overcast skies above, I ventured to the gardens at The French Laundry and toured the grounds on my own. There are 42, 30' X 30' gardens of product in various states of fallow or fullness. Brussels Sprouts, hearty Winter Greens, flourishes of herb bushes, etc. January chill is kept at bay by their saving grace - a 75' X 40' canopied hot house. Hot house may be the wrong word but when I entered I noticed the difference - perhaps the vegetation knows as well... Tree fruits, flowers, herbs, etc. all neatly arranged in rows waiting for the Head Gardner to pick and choose those products that he deems ready for harvest. Ready for harvest and ready for the cooks in the kitchen across Washington Street. Chef de Cuisine Corey Lee works in harmony with the ebb and seasonal flow of product. The Jacobsen Farm in Yountville grows produce exclusively for the TKRG properties in the town, as well. They even harvest their own organic snails (my ExpatArchitect nephew in Brussels says that "Organic is the only way to go..." - thanks for that culinary tip)!
I sat and pondered my own experiences with food. Not just the cooking I have produced but the food that has arrived at the back door and docks of a myriad of operations that I have engaged. From the uber-fresh and totally-chic Boulder Farmer's Market to pricey Whole Foods and their knock-offs to the cold and sterile 40# boxes of far-away grown "stuff" that ranges from un-ripe and tastless to old and unusable... I prefer the first. We all prefer the best quality product because that makes the cooks job easier. Yet, what about those that live in the inhospitable food netherlands of the far north - say, Fargo, N.D...? What's a cook to do, then, eh? If one must ship food then at least be responsible in this day of the carbon-footprint awareness. Write a menu that makes sense to the time, the season, the region and the reason your kitchen exists. Yes, The French Laundry does ship food (ain't Federal Exprees and DHL great for us...! especially Keith who supplies the lamb) to Yountville. The lamb, however, is on the cutting edge of holistic production and fabrication. They do a good thing, there. You have to weigh your reponsibilties.
All this heavy thinking brought me to Ban Barber and Blue Hill at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. Blue Hill, as a culinary entity, is a farm in western Massachusetts, a farm and culinary center in upstate New York (30 miles north of the city) and a boutique restaurant in Washington Park on Manhattan Island. The opportunity for cooks to put vegetables in the ground (from seed to soil) and then slaughter the animals that they have husbanded (farm to table) and then, finally after seasons or years, have the opportunity to respectfully cook dinner for guests... Consider that aspect of "The Need to Feed". There are oases of culinary and farming efforts across America and around the globe, yet we tend to think of this as cutting-edge stuff. My great-grandparents (and those before them) did that as subsistance and necessity. We do that as "craft" (or is that still "magic"...). At least someone is doing it.
First service at The French Laundry for me this evening... A fellow stagier ("J.B.") e-mailed me with these haunting tidbits - "There are a lot of rules and systems in place that we all need to memorize- I can see how it makes the place run smoothly but, yikes, trying to remember all of them makes me so inefficient in comparison!! Make sure you work super clean, keep track of your three issued towels, and for goodness sake move as fast as you can."
Oh yeah...."put me in coach, I'm ready to play". See y'all tonight or tomorrow morning, about 2:00 a.m. Peace.
~R
