Thursday Afternoon, March 27

Lunch was a welcome respite that hit a much-needed savory note, featuring Moroccan baked fish, fennel with preserved lemons, and an orange and olive salad, followed by a refreshing pomegranate sorbet. The chefs then gathered around a stove in the teaching kitchen to watch renowned Mediterranean expert Paula Wolfert demonstrate how to make the moist, fluffy, and traditional sweet couscous of North Africa. She showed the chefs how simple it is to make their own couscous using a combination of fine and coarse semolina, gradually blended with water to create the tiny couscous “beads”, that are then shaken or lightly pressed through a 12-mesh strainer to standardize their size.

She instructed the chefs on proper steaming technique, showing them how to steam, rake and fluff the couscous several times to keep the grains separate. The final steaming was uncovered, to watch for the lightening of color that signals the couscous is fully cooked. It was then tossed with butter, sugar, cinnamon and broth. Gently fluffed once more, piled in a mound and decorated with fresh or dried fruits, this carefully - and quickly - made masterpiece of Moroccan cuisine was suddenly both simple and approachable. Paula emphasized the importance of patience, a tight seal between the two pieces of the steamer, and the hands as invaluable tools. None present will think of couscous in quite the same way again.

The chefs then returned to the Ecolab Theater for an exploration of the sweets of Turkey and Middle East with Cindy Mushet, teacher and author of Desserts: Mediterranean Flavors, California Style. She described the culinary history of the region, its agriculture, the categories of Eastern desserts, and their cultural significance. Her extensive slide show gave the chefs a visual foundation in these little-known pastries, and included examples of traditional puddings, shapes and styles of baklava and filo desserts, and an array of cookies and pastries.

Cindy then led the chefs through a tasting of some of the more unusual spices and flavorings from the eastern Mediterranean and gave tips on how to incorporate them into American menus. The tasting included several types of molasses (pomegranate, date, grape and carob), spices (mastic, mahleb, omani, saffron and cardamom), rose and orange blossom water, dried barberries, and tahini. She also discussed the manufacturing of sheet and shredded filo, and encouraged the purchase and use of fresh filo for its ease of use and long shelf life (up to 2 months). Several traditional pastries were sampled as well. The chefs were surprised at the intensity of flavor in traditional pastries, and worried their customers would not accept such a strong presence, especially where the flower waters or mastic were concerned. Cindy pointed out that while it was important to taste a classic pastry, only a hint of exotic flavoring was necessary when creating desserts for the American palate.

After a break, Priscilla Martel, pastry chef, writer and almond expert began her presentation on almonds by stating that the almond is the original global food, and is as important to the Mediterranean as olive oil. She gave an overview of how the spread of almond trees throughout the Mediterranean could be traced to political empires and was a tangible remnant of the area’s history. She went on to outline the nuts’ growing season in California (which produces 70% of the world’s supply), and the five traditional ways to use almonds (green almonds, fresh whole nuts, chopped and lightly toasted, a dried paste, and a moist almond paste). She explained that bitter almonds, popular in Europe, can be grown in this country, but may legally be sold only for further processing, for it is the application of heat that destroys hydrocyanic acid, a deadly poison present in the nut. That’s good news for dessert-lovers, for it means that bitter almonds can be simmered in creams for puddings and added to biscotti without a problem. Knowing that many pastry chefs turn to the pits of related fruit for a bitter almond flavor, Priscilla reminded them that the kernel inside the pits of apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums all contain amygdalin, but can also be used if heated.

Priscilla’s guided tasting included five varieties of almonds - Nonpareils, Butte or Caramel, Mission, blanched Nonpareil Supremes and tiny green almonds (the first of the season) - as well as a flowery almond milk she had prepared the day before, made with a mixture of ground almonds and water which is then squeezed through cheesecloth. She prefers using the older varieties of almonds (such as Mission, Ne Plus or Jordanolo) when making almond milk, as they have more flavor when used raw. She ended her talk with a demonstration and tasting of North African Wedding Cookies, enchantingly sandy little cones make of toasted, blanched almonds, sesame seeds, and fennel seeds bound with toasted flour and melted butter.

After a short break, the chefs returned to hear some of their colleagues discuss the roll of chocolate in the Mediterranean in a panel moderated by Cindy Mushet. Panelists Patrick Coston (ILO, N.Y.), Andrew Shotts (Guittard Chocolate Co., and Garrison Confections, N.Y.) and Jean-Pierre Wybauw (Barry Callebaut, Belgium) shared their ideas on incorporating chocolate into Mediterranean-style menus for the American restaurant. When asked why, traditionally, there is so little chocolate throughout the region, the panelists agreed that it was probably due to the warm temperatures in the Mediterranean. Andrew pointed out that even today, in many areas, refrigeration is at a premium, if it is available at all. Working with chocolate and keeping the finished product in top condition would require much cooler average temperatures than one finds in the region, especially in the eastern Mediterranean. Pastry chefs in the audience offered their opinions on the question, as well, suggesting that the incompatibility of chocolate with some of the eastern regions ingredients, like sesame seeds, dates, yogurt, rose water and spices such as mastic dampened its appeal there.

Jean-Pierre moved the discussion from tradition to innovation, pointing out that Greece is currently one of the largest buyers of chocolate in the Mediterranean. Certainly chocolate can be found today throughout the region, and the group then discussed flavors from the area that pair well with chocolate, such as orange blossom water, nuts, port, lavender, anise, cardamom, coffee and citrus (particularly orange and tangerine). This session began the brainstorming that would reach its peak during the ideation sessions the following day.

Another short break and the participants returned just in time for happy hour to a liqueur tasting organized and hosted by Traci Dutton, Greystone sommelier. Traci began the tasting with maraschino, a potent cherry brandy from Italy with a lovely perfume, perfect for the upcoming summer fruit season. She then offered two examples of anise liqueurs. Interestingly, every country in the Mediterranean seems to make its own version of anise liqueur, and yet the flavors vary greatly. The pastry chefs tasted this firsthand with an ouzo from Greece (distilled with spices, herbs, berries and nuts) and an arak from Lebanon, with a cleaner, pure anise flavor. The tasting moved on to fruit and nut-based liqueurs. Limoncello, the lemon liqueur from Sorrento lit up everyone’s palates, while the nocello, an Italian green walnut liqueur, warmed the mouth with a nuttiness that was also slightly spicy. Traci then led the group through three “secret ingredient” liqueurs from Italy including Tuaca (with hints of citrus and vanilla), Galiano (flavored with herbs, flowers, spices and vanilla) and Strega (yellow from saffron and distilled with 70 herbs and spices, with a distinctly peppery flavor).

The chefs finished their liqueurs with some classic Mediterranean pastries made with dried fruit, a mainstay of sweets in the region. The selection included Ma’amul from the Middle East, decoratively etched mounds of orange blossom dough surrounding a soft date filling, Italian Apricotina, petite balls of dried apricots and pistachios, Quirshalli, Lebanese biscotti flavored with anise and raisins, and Amavov Katah, an example of a classic Armenian date and walnut pastry.

To conclude the day, the chefs participated in a panel discussion on the spices, aromatics and dried fruits of the region moderated by Cindy Mushet and featuring Nancy Jenkins, Diane Kochilas, Priscilla Martel, Lincoln Carson (pastry chef, Olives, NY), and Robert Jorin (baking instructor, Greystone, CA). An animated discussion ensued, helped, no doubt, by the flowing liqueurs, on the strong flavors of the eastern Mediterranean, and the difficulty of serving them to an American clientele. Lincoln started the exchange when he stated that he couldn’t imagine using orange blossom water in his desserts, as the flavor was too overwhelming. This led to a lively debate on how to incorporate unfamiliar ingredients into American dessert menus. Paige Retus (pastry chef, Olives, MA) said she enjoyed the earthy, bitter-caramel flavor of the carob molasses, and was already thinking of ways to incorporate it into desserts. Stephen Durfee added, “Using something like carob molasses, I’d start with a component that already uses molasses and try to build flavor through repetition. This is a good way to try some new ingredients.” Cindy Mushet pointed out that the easiest way to introduce new flavors is to incorporate them as an accent flavor into well-loved desserts. As the debate continued, the door to creativity was opened as both new and familiar ingredients were viewed in novel ways. The first day was over and the pastry chefs left filled to the brim... full of pastries, information and ideas, and full of anticipation for the savory dinner that lay ahead in one of the valley’s restaurants.