Saturday Afternoon, March 29, 2003

Relieved, relaxed, and sugar-satiated, the chefs returned to the Ecolab Theater for one last panel discussion, moderated by Elizabeth Faulkner of Citizen Cake in San Francisco, on strategies for incorporating Mediterranean pastries and flavors onto American dessert menus. Panelists Bill Yosses (Citarella, NY), Dieter Schorner (CIA, NY), Paige Retus (Olives, MA), and Stephen Durfee (CIA, CA) were joined by chefs in the audience in addressing questions raised by Elizabeth. Here are some of the ideas, impressions and suggestions that transpired...

On a smaller portion size for desserts:

Paige - "I think you could introduce a smaller size in completely new items. The flavors pack such a whollop that I don't think the customer will feel gypped. It would be hard to cut the size of a current dessert, but I think it could be done with a new one."

Stephen - "Much of my restaurant experience is based on tasting menus - one of the advantages is packing a lot of flavor into a small portion that would whack someone over the head with a large portion."

Mark Furstenburg - "The economics work against it - we can't sell small desserts for the prices that we want to get in restaurants."

Elizabeth - "Why not try the tapas thing? Why not sell 5 or 6 plates of dessert to a table of 2 or 3 people?"

On serving a single piece of fruit for dessert (from Nancy Jenkins):

Bill - "We do that now." Nancy - "Does it sell?" Bill - "Yes."

Stephen - "I think we use a lot of fruits in our desserts. Remember, we're ambitious and creative and we don't want to limit ourselves."

Mark Furstenburg - "If you can sell a $12 dessert, you want to do that because it's profitable, and you can't do that with a piece of fruit.

Lincoln Carson - "I'm in this for myself. My job satisfaction comes from creating. If customers just want fruit, I'll look for another job. For the hours, work and pay we get, we must do it for ourselves."

About incorporating some of the more unusual ingredients:

Paige - "People are looking for cleaner flavors at the end of a meal. I think we can use ingredients like omani and mahlab to enhance flavors we currently use. I wouldn't have used many of these aromatics before this conference and I realize I just didn't know how to use them. Now I feel like I could incorporate them into the menu."

Dieter - "These ingredients can be explored, but to convince people is like watching grass grow. We are the pioneers, if we don't do it, who will? If it doesn't work the first time, don't give up, you must try again. If you put thought behind it, it will work. We must not be afraid to take a risk."

Bill - "Or present it in a form that people like. I think everyone would like Maria's jam tart or Salina's yogurt sorbet. If I'm going to try a new product, I would start on something that already used something like it. For instance, the mahlab, many of us have already used apricot or cherry pits in infusions, I was just never aware you could buy them in a bag. It's a good way of layering flavors.

Stephen - "We're not really talking about weird flavors. We're talking about ingredients that are used everyday in parts of the world."

Bill - "I think we're forgetting the missing link - we forget our partners in the dining room - that war that has gone on for 1,000 years. It's important to call the troops and the wait staff should know about it. It's hard to take the time to give them a taste, but once they've had it and know about it, then you're ten steps ahead of the game."

Thomas Gumpel - "This is all about relationships. It's like any relationship with your favorite restaurant...you trust them."

Bill - "The up side is that once you've introduced something new to someone and they like it, you have them forever."

Anne Legg - "The level of sophistication has grown in the last few years. The people who are coming to Central Markets (in Texas) are willing to try things now that they never would have 4 or 5 years ago. It's the evolution of the Food TV Network and some of the magazines that have helped to open people's minds to new tastes."

Stephen - "In a fine dining situation, you can give something away, and that's a way to introduce people to new flavors. Since they're not paying for it, they will try it. You can share some new ideas and not rely on someone opening a menu and choosing that new idea over the chocolate dessert."

Something to take away from the conference experience:

Condra Easley - "It's been interesting to have tasted some things that were overly sweet and some that were barely sweet. I feel like my sense of sweetness has been heightened."

Jean-Pierre Wybauw - "We've discovered new flavors - it is now a question of experimentation. Thanks to the CIA for doing this, for we saved a lot of time and research."

Elizabeth - "I really like halvah and you don't see that much out here (on the West Coast). I'd like to investigate that more."

Stanton Ho - "The spices were interesting. We do have some Middle Easterners who come to the hotel, and I could incorporate some of these flavors into desserts for them."

Dieter - "We can't use everything we've learned all at once. We must go step by step. America is very open to new ideas. A little at a time and we will be successful."

Bill - "The core lesson is that we have gotten past the willful teenager years where personal style ruled. Ingredients have come center stage and the customers like this. It is important to understand where they come from and how they are used. We can move forward from there."

Paige - "Let's face it, we all get stale. It was great to experiment and try new things, and that gets all of us juiced up. It was nice to get rejuvenated...that's not necessarily an ingredient on the menu, but it sure affects the menu."

At the conclusion of the panel discussion, everyone walked out to the main steps of the Greystone building and took their place for a group photo. "Just like camp", someone quipped. And just like the last day of camp, there was a certain sadness. Within a matter of hours, many would be back at work, or on a plane home. The all-encompassing and inspiring exchange with other passionate professionals was at an end, but the notebook full of ideas, recipes and information would serve as a resource for future creations. Many were eager to get back to their kitchens, to experiment and to create something new from what they'd experienced. For as CIA instructor Stephen Durfee, former pastry chef at the French Laundry, stated so simply, "We have spent a few days educating ourselves, and now we can go out and educate our customers." School never sounded so good.