 |
 Opening
Reception & Day 1
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Premier pastry chefs from across the country arrived at the historic Greystone
campus of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Napa Valley for the First
Annual Worlds of Flavor Baking & Pastry Arts Invitational Retreat entitled “The
Mediterranean: Sweet Inspiration.” For some, the journey started in the
frosty and snow-covered east, for others a quick jaunt from San Francisco,
and for some of the presenters, a long plane ride from the Mediterranean itself.
Wherever the starting point, the final leg was a drive through the breathtaking,
and balmy, beauty of the Napa Valley. Ah, the perfect place for a relaxing
vacation. But the pastry chefs attending this retreat were not here to visit
wineries (though they did some of that). Nor were they here to sample the valley’s
top-rated restaurants (though they did plenty of that, as well). Instead, they
traded their chef whites and professional kitchens for a classroom and the
teaching kitchen at the CIA in 4 days of intensive study, tasting, and brainstorming
with the flavors and ingredients of the Mediterranean. Ultimately, they each
did what they do best - they used this knowledge and inspiration to create
a unique dessert to share with their peers on the final day.
Wednesday Night, Opening Reception
The pastry chefs, presenters, and participating faculty and staff of the CIA
met as a group for the first time. There were cries of hello, hugs and laughter
as friends from across the country met in person. The group took seats in the
DeBaun Theater feeling equal parts nervous anticipation of the conference and
impatience to explore the valley’s restaurants on their first night in
Napa.
Mark Erickson, Director of Continuing
Education, welcomed everyone to the Greystone facility and
spoke of the thriving pastry program on campus there. Greg
Drescher, Director of Education and International Studies,
discussed the campus’ commitment to a multi-cultural
curriculum, it’s history with the annual fall Worlds
of Flavor conference with it’s primary focus on savory
dishes, and his decision to create a parallel conference
to educate and inspire executive pastry chefs. Such events
can only happen with the support of sponsors, and representatives
attending the retreat were introduced and acknowledged for
their important role: Almond Board of California, Peet’s
Coffee and Tea, Sunkist Growers Inc., Barry Callebaut, California
Date Commission, Dolce/Far Niente, E. Guittard, and Sun-Maid.
A reception followed upstairs in the teaching
kitchen with an array of Mediterranean hors d’oeuvres
and desserts prepared by both sponsors and faculty members,
including Moroccan Chicken Almond Bastilla, Grape Leaves
Stuffed with Raisins, Lamb and Rice, Tibercio Neri’s
Date Mousse Parfait, Andrew Schotts’ Chocolate Raspberry
Cake with Nougatine and Gold Leaf, Stephen Durfee’s
Meringue Filled with Tea Gelee and Dice of Citrus Supremes,
an array of Mediterranean-flavored chocolates prepared by
Jean Pierre Wybauw, and glasses of the ambrosial Dolce dessert
wine from Far Niente winery. Participants caught up with
old friends, networked, and of course, talked about the business
of baking. As the evening waned, groups headed off for dinner
in the valley, while others retired to their rooms, content
to sleep.
Thursday Morning, March 27
After a breakfast buffet including almond and quince croissants, and churros
with hot chocolate, the pastry chefs assembled in the Ecolab Theater to hear
Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Mediterranean scholar and author of The Complete
Mediterranean, give an overview of the history and dessert style of the
region. The occupation of Mediterranean countries by the Romans, Arabs, Turks
and the Ottoman Empire has had a unifying effect on the cuisine within the
region and she discussed some of the pervasive dessert ingredients from these
influences, such as the almond paste and sugar sweets distributed by the Arabs.
She reminded the group that sweets are usually reserved for Sundays or festive
meals, with most pastries having a connection to a specific celebration or
religious holiday, whether it is Christian, Jewish or Muslim. She also emphasized
the clear distinction between the complex pastries made by professionals -
usually men - and the very simple desserts made at home by women. This distinction
is evident even in sweeteners, for traditionally, the elaborate and more expensive
professional desserts used sugar, whereas home and monastery desserts were
sweetened with the inexpensive and readily available local honey.
Nancy was especially intrigued by the
sweets of Sicily, an island set in the geographical center
in the Mediterranean that has been trading in all directions
for millennia, creating a crossroads cuisine that is both
complex and fascinating. Some of the finest olive oil is
made in Sicily, and it is a good example of an ingredient
that defines the Mediterranean. Some of the most popular
sweets throughout the region are deep-fried, and Nancy encouraged
the chefs to use extra-virgin olive oil for both an authentic
flavor and the crispy outer layer with the unmistakable fragrance
of olive oil (just be sure to keep the oil at 360 F.). She
then led the chefs through a tasting of pastries made with
olive oil, including a Tunisian Orange and Almond cake made
with whole blood oranges, Melomacarona (honey-dipped cookies
from Greece), a surprising and velvety Lemon and Olive Oil
Sorbet, as well as a comparative tasting of biscotti made
with butter or olive oil. She then introduced the most famous
of Sicilian pastry chefs, Maria Grammatico, from Pasticceria
Maria Grammatico in Erice, Sicily, also the author of Bitter
Almonds.
Maria demonstrated her expertise in sculpting
the life-like marzipan fruits for which she is famous. She
discussed, through an interpreter, the proportions of the
almond paste she makes in her shop, and her preference for
using only Sicilian almonds. When asked if she could make
the paste with pistachios, she looked surprised and replied
that she had never tried it. “They’ve been making
it this way for 400 years and I do it the same.” She
painted all the fruit yellow first, then applied final colors
on top, stating that the yellow shines through the other
layers, giving the fruit a more realistic sheen. She answered
questions while creating a small garden of fruit and vegetables,
as well as a beautiful rose-topped heart filled with citron
preserves. When asked how long it would take to learn this
art, she replied “If you have the will, it will be
easy. If you don’t have the will, don’t even
bother. You have to have passion.”
After a short break, Emily Luchetti, pastry
chef of Farallon in San Francisco and author of several books
on pastry, discussed citrus, the most popular family of fruits
in the Mediterranean. She talked about the varieties and
seasonal availability of these fruits, and urged the chefs
to explore the wide range of citrus now available, from Oroblanco
grapefruit (a sweet cross between a Marsh grapefruit and
a pummelo) to Cara Cara oranges (with a sweet, pink-colored
interior and very few seeds). She then demonstrated two plated
desserts featuring some of the citrus still in season. A
Pistachio Semifreddo was presented in Cardamom Kataifi Nests,
accompanied by Sunkist Cara Cara Marmalade, followed by a
rustic and appealing Sunkist Lemon Cake, made using whole
ground lemons and yogurt, served with a Citrus Rum Compote.
 Greece
was the retreat’s next destination, and Diane Kochilas,
resident of Athens and author of several books on Greek food,
including The Glorious Foods of Greece, spoke of
the sweet traditions in her country. She emphasized that
sweets are closely tied to traditional rituals, and that
many of these sweets are almost identical to those described
in ancient Greek texts. Honey is an integral ingredient in
Greece’s sweets, as are raisins, sesame seeds, and
nuts like almonds, walnuts, and pine nuts. Pastelli, a very
old sweet made with honey and sesame seeds cooked to a chewy
consistency is the wedding confection on some of the Greek
Islands. And from Corfu comes another time-honored confection
made of dried figs that are chopped, kneaded with ouzo, wrapped
in chestnut leaves, and then dried once more. Raisins, the
most popular dried fruit, can be found in many cakes and
filo desserts, as well as in a wide selection of both sweet
and savory breads.
Diane pointed out the prevalence of cheesecakes
in Greece, usually made with fresh sheep’s milk cheeses,
and the wide variety of cheese-filled pastries that are baked
or fried, including many local, home-style sweets made with
filo. While many of these pastries are substantial, she reminded
the chefs that these sweets are traditionally eaten as a
snack, rather than after a full meal. Of particular interest
was the tradition of sweet breads, enriched with eggs and
tied to local holidays and rituals. These decorative breads,
in a myriad of sensuous shapes, are sheathed in white with
a covering of sesame seeds or blanched almonds, as a symbol
of purity and good luck. To conclude her talk, Diane introduced
Selena Rubio, pastry chef of Kokkari in San Francisco, who
demonstrated one of Diane’s recipes - a Sesame Seed
Cheesecake - served drizzled with a Greek Thyme Honey and
Black Pepper syrup.
[Thursday Morning] [Friday
Morning] [Saturday Morning]
[Thursday Afternoon] [Friday
Afternoon] [Saturday Afternoon]
|
