David Waltuck — Director of Culinary Affairs

Why 'Simple French Food' is a Must-Read for Chefs

suzanne.zuppello — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 14:29:22 +0000

Why 'Simple French Food' is a Must-Read for Chefs suzanne.zuppello Thu, 04/12/2018 - 10:29 Chef David Waltuck Explains April 10, 2018

By David Waltuck — Director of Culinary Affairs

Richard Olney’s book “Simple French Food” is one of my favorites. This exploration of “simple” food has a 40-page introduction explaining in detail what the author means by simple — clearly, simplicity can be complicated. The idea of the book — focusing on preparing simple foods very, very well — was made clear to me during a trip to France, years before I opened my restaurant Chanterelle.

Like many young, aspiring chefs of the time, I was inspired by La Pyramide, the mythic three-Michelin-star restaurant in Vienne, France, and of its formidable chef Fernand Point, who mentored a whole generation of great chefs and is considered the father of nouvelle cuisine. Point had died long before I made my pilgrimage to La Pyramide in the mid 70s. (He died in 1955, the year of my birth. Coincidence?) But the restaurant, still run by his widow, remained a shrine to his legacy. The style and service at La Pyramide would stay with me throughout my career and influence the way I eventually conceived my own restaurant.

First and foremost, La Pyramide demonstrated the importance of simplicity — with a caveat. Point famously reinvented haute cuisine by focusing on regional dishes, reworking and refining them, and ultimately achieving a seemingly simple perfection: one that was only attainable through much effort. As it turns out, the trick of simplicity is to never let the effort show.

Though considered the height of haute cuisine, La Pyramide was unpretentious in terms of service and style, something I noted in other great restaurants in France. The humility of the restaurant and staff made all of the difference in the experience for the client. This starkly contrasted with many French restaurants in New York in the 70s and 80s, where snobbishness and condescension were a matter of course. Like La Pyramide, my restaurant, Chanterelle, was noted as a place that was welcoming and unpretentious, though quite serious about food and service. This once surprising combination has since become the norm.

Finally, La Pyramide hammered home the value of the kind of expertise that only comes with time. At La Pyramide, everyone from the sommelier to the servers to the chef had been a part of the team for years, so their craft had become second nature. I discovered a profound lesson here: To be really good at anything, you must master technique to the point where you can relax within it. Like an athlete or a dancer, you must become so familiar with the movements of your craft that you’re completely at ease even at moments of great effort. This ease comes with practice and repetition, and in my opinion, relies on simplicity and lack of pretension. When you are confident and comfortable with what you do, there’s less temptation to indulge in showiness or condescension. Your clients will sense that they are in good hands and will want to go with you wherever you take them.

I like to think that the success of Chanterelle was in large part because I embraced the above lessons — humility, expertise through repetition, and the appearance of simplicity. I am sure that some chefs still practice this approach nowadays — though restaurants are going in a million directions, from perfected comfort food to elaborate, modern creations, I’m still a firm believer in stripping away. If something is on a plate, you should be able to give me a reason why. Though substantial efforts may go into each component of a dish, the result should feel simple. Diners can then enjoy the food on its own terms, and though they are on some level aware of the work that went into preparing it, they are not ostentatiously reminded of it.

Ready to get started on your culinary education? Click here to learn about ICE’s Culinary Arts program.

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Meet The Founder of EDWINS

ohoadmin — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 12:45:45 +0000

Meet The Founder of EDWINS ohoadmin Wed, 01/31/2018 - 07:45 This Cleveland Restaurant That Employs Formerly Incarcerated Individuals and Subject of 2018 Oscar-Nominated Documentary January 31, 2018

By David Waltuck — Director of Culinary Affairs

Brandon Chrostowski is the founder and CEO of EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, a restaurant and school that provides culinary training and job placement assistance to formerly incarcerated men and women. Everyone who works there, from the kitchen to the dining room, is a former inmate.

Brandon in the Kitchen at ICE

I met Brandon when he worked at my restaurant, Chanterelle, from late 2005 to 2008, starting as a server, and ultimately becoming an assistant general manager. He originally applied and interviewed with my wife, Karen, for a front of the house job. Though he had no dining room experience, he had been cooking for years in a number of excellent restaurants in the U.S. and France. He explained that he wanted to work with us to learn how the front of the house functions.

From the time Brandon began at Chanterelle, his goal was already to open a restaurant and school to help former inmates with re-entry and to teach them the skills needed to find work in the restaurant industry. I have remained a friend and supporter of Brandon and his project, so I was very happy to have been able to facilitate the dinner prepared by EDWINS at the James Beard House on January 17, 2018, which ICE generously allowed Brandon and his team to prep for in our kitchen classrooms. Brandon and EDWINS are also the subject of Thomas Lennon’s documentary “Knife Skills,” which was screened for students at ICE on January 18^th and just received an Academy Award nomination for Documentary Short Subject.

Brandon took a moment from his busy visit to New York to chat with me about EDWINS and some other projects in the pipeline.

David Waltuck: How did you get your start in restaurants and cooking?

Brandon Chrostowski: I got involved after being arrested and then put on probation. I needed to find something that would keep me busy.

Did you have a mentor?

Yes. Chef George Kalergis, a Greek chef from Detroit. He taught me the fundamental techniques of classic restaurant cuisine and that it’s not practice that makes perfect but perfect practice that makes perfect.

The EDWINS Team at ICE

When did you first conceive the idea that became EDWINS?

There were a series of events between 2002-2004 that led to the idea. I kept getting phone calls about people I knew who were killed or re-incarcerated. Also, the contrast of working in fine restaurants and living in poor areas always felt odd to me. I finally wrote a business plan in 2004.

Do you think the restaurant world is particularly accepting of people from varied backgrounds including incarceration? Why?

Yes. Because this industry accepts those who work hard and hard work has no language, and knows no boundaries when it comes to race, gender or ethnicity.

What is the success rate of your students? Do you have any favorite success stories?

Success is subjective. Each student has a life plan and if they make progress towards their goal then that is success — it’s not defined by what society deems success. As far as employment goes, after graduation our students find a job 95% of the time.

Recidivism, or rate of return [to prison], for EDWINS students is 1% — nationally, it is over 40%. As an organization, we’re seeing success in these areas for sure. We've seen students go on to incredible jobs, from three-star Michelin restaurants to restaurants in Normandy, France. Those are some fun stories to listen to!

What are your plans for the future in terms of EDWINS? Do you have any other projects in the pipeline?

We take it day by day. The first goal is to make sure we assist our students in accomplishing their goals. Next, it’s keeping the restaurant alive and sustainable. Running a school is expensive and unlike other schools, we pay students a stipend. It’s important to have a leaner, more profitable enterprise, in order to offset that cost. I’m also working on a butcher shop close to our campus.

The goal is to provide a place that focuses on butchery, charcuterie and preparation of meats. It’s also located in a neighborhood that has been forgotten and deserves a quality place to eat. And we can sell meats wholesale to the restaurant. Little by little we are trying to build the best culinary school in the states. Watch out ICE!

Want to study culinary arts with Chef David? Click here for information on ICE’s career programs.

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Lessons Learned: This Chef's Experience With (Seemingly) Simple French Cuisine

ohoadmin — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 12:00:37 +0000

Lessons Learned: This Chef's Experience With (Seemingly) Simple French Cuisine ohoadmin Wed, 04/26/2017 - 08:00 April 26, 2017

By David Waltuck — Director of Culinary Affairs

This ease comes with practice and repetition, and in my opinion, relies on simplicity and lack of pretension. When you are confident and comfortable with what you do, there’s less temptation to indulge in showiness or condescension. Your clients will sense that they are in good hands and will want to go with you wherever you take them.

Though substantial efforts may go into each component of a dish, the result should feel simple. Diners can then enjoy the food on its own terms, and though they are on some level aware of the work that went into preparing it, they are not ostentatiously reminded of it.

Ready to get started on your culinary education? Click here to learn about ICE's Culinary Arts program.

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Keep Warm With This Recipe for Aunt Gertie’s Hot Beef Borscht

ohoadmin — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 14:00:16 +0000

Keep Warm With This Recipe for Aunt Gertie’s Hot Beef Borscht ohoadmin Sat, 01/14/2017 - 09:00 January 14, 2017

By David Waltuck — Director of Culinary Affairs

As the cold and dreary days of late January and February approach, the thought of a bowl of hearty and warming soup becomes especially appealing. When I was a kid, my Aunt Gertie, who loved to cook, would often talk about hot beef borscht with garlic — a dish that she remembered from her childhood. Although her taste memory of it was vivid, she was never able to make a version that matched the one she remembered.

What follows is my attempt at a borscht that matches the one that Aunt Gertie so fondly remembered. During colder months, we used to serve this as a staff meal at Chanterelle. Though I’m quite happy with the recipe, I always wish I could have tasted original.

Aunt Gertie’s Hot Beef Borscht

Serves 6-8 as a main course

Ingredients:

3 pounds beef brisket
5 cups veal stock
3 tablespoons chicken or duck fat
1 large onion, sliced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
3 quarts chicken stock
5 cups peeled and shredded raw beets (5-6 large beets)
1/3 cup lemon juice
6 cups shredded cabbage, preferably savoy
7 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional)
Sour cream for garnish (not optional)

Preparation:

Place beef in a large saucepot and add the veal stock. Add water if needed to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beef is tender, about two hours. Let the beef cool in the broth. Drain the meat — reserving the broth — and cut into half-inch dice.
Heat the fat in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Add the broth from the beef and the chicken stock, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add beets and lemon juice. Simmer, uncovered, until the beets are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add beef and cabbage, bring back to a simmer and cook until cabbage is soft and beef is heated through, about 10 minutes. Season with the sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper and caraway seeds (if desired). Simmer for a few more minutes to let the flavors blend, then taste and adjust seasoning as desired — the borscht should be sweet, sour and peppery. Serve topped with sour cream.

Want to study culinary arts with Chef David? Click here for information on ICE’s career programs.

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Recipes Step 1 - Place beef in a large saucepot and add the veal stock. Add water if needed to cover the meat; Step 2 - Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beef is tender, about two hours; Step 3 - Let the beef cool in the broth. Drain the meat — reserving the broth — and cut into half-inch dice; Step 4 - Heat the fat in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until lightly browned, about 10 minutes; Step 5 - Add the broth from the beef and the chicken stock, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add beets and lemon juice; Step 6 - Step 1 - Simmer, uncovered, until the beets are tender, about 30 minutes; Step 7 - Add beef and cabbage, bring back to a simmer and cook until cabbage is soft and beef is heated through, about 10 minutes. Season with the sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper and caraway seeds (if desired); Step 8 - Simmer for a few more minutes to let the flavors blend, then taste and adjust seasoning as desired — the borscht should be sweet, sour and peppery; Step 9 - Serve topped with sour cream;

‘Generation Chef’: Stirring up a Chef’s Nostalgia

ohoadmin — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 13:00:28 +0000

‘Generation Chef’: Stirring up a Chef’s Nostalgia ohoadmin Mon, 10/17/2016 - 09:00 October 17, 2016

By David Waltuck — Director of Culinary Affairs

“Generation Chef: Risking It All for a New American Dream,” a new book by journalist Karen Stabiner, is an insider’s look at the first year of operation of Huertas, Jonah Miller’s Spanish restaurant in the East Village. Karen was granted open access to Huertas – the kitchen, management meetings, applying for licenses, and other trials and tribulations of the first year of restaurant ownership.

The author dedicates a small portion of the book to my experience with élan, the second restaurant of which I was owner and chef. Reading this book was in many ways an emotional experience for me. Not to say that it isn’t a good book — in fact it is excellent — nor to imply that the story isn’t accurately reported and well written. My own story, however, is interwoven with Jonah’s, and the book caused me to reflect on my career and on the enormous changes in the world of restaurants over the past several decades.

Jonah’s first experience in a professional kitchen was at Chanterelle, the SoHo restaurant that my wife and I owned and operated for nearly three decades. When Jonah was thirteen years old, his best friend received a gift certificate for dinner at Chanterelle.

After that dinner, both boys asked if they could work in the restaurant kitchen for free during their summer vacation. I agreed and they spent two summers working in my kitchen. They were motivated, serious kids, and great to have around — standing on milk crates to prep squid for hours with no complaints.

In 2014, five years after Chanterelle closed its doors, Jonah opened his first restaurant, Huertas. Around the same time, I opened my “comeback” restaurant, élan. As the book recounts, we both had our difficulties, our ups and downs, but in the end, Huertas is still open, and élan is not.

Karen’s exploration of our parallel stories made me reflect on the restaurant industry today. We live in a very different world than that in which Chanterelle thrived. In 1979, when I opened my restaurant in SoHo — then a remote, fringe area — there was no Food Network, no internet, no Yelp or Eater and very little restaurant hype. Print reviews, from publications like The New York Times and New York magazine, were all-important. The Zagat restaurant guides came along a few years later.

Few chefs were also restaurateurs, and when you opened a restaurant, you weren’t already planning the next one and the next. My model was André Soltner, chef-owner of New York City's French restaurant Lutèce, who was famously in his kitchen every single day that it was open. As Karen notes, the models for young restaurant owners like Jonah and his business partner Nathan are restaurateurs like Major Food Group and David Chang —restaurant owners with multiple successful restaurants operating simultaneously. I had no grand scheme when I opened Chanterelle — not to change the world of restaurants in New York, nor to be famous or to start an empire.

Since then, the restaurant scene in New York has exploded with great restaurants and talented chefs like Jonah. Having multiple restaurants seems to be the only way to survive and prosper these days, and I certainly bear no ill will towards those who use that business model.

In fact, I find it remarkable that they can juggle so many restaurants and maintain consistent quality and experiences in all of them. Still, I’m not sure if it’s the hype, the fickleness of the “foodies”, or the cost of doing business, but I must admit to more than a twinge of nostalgia for the old days. The days when you could be a pioneer in New York, open a restaurant on a dream and a vision, and with luck, still be at it decades later.

Want to study culinary arts with Chef David? Click here to check out ICE's Culinary Arts program.

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Olympic Inspiration: Recipe for Loin of Lamb with Mini Moussaka

ohoadmin — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 13:00:35 +0000

Olympic Inspiration: Recipe for Loin of Lamb with Mini Moussaka ohoadmin Fri, 09/09/2016 - 09:00 September 9, 2016

By David Waltuck — Director of Culinary Affairs

In July of 2004, I was working on a new menu at my Tribeca restaurant, Chanterelle. The summer Olympics in Athens were about to begin, which naturally got me thinking about Greek food. I decided to tap into memories of traveling in Greece, and also of cheap meals in cafeteria-style restaurants in Hell’s Kitchen, where I lived in the 1970s.

It was while in Hell’s Kitchen that I came up with the following dish, in which a marinade suitable for shish kebab is applied to lamb loin, and the typically hearty casserole moussaka is reworked as a small and elegant dish. Fresh marjoram is substituted for the more aggressive oregano that is common in Greek cuisine. I’ll be serving this dish as one of several courses at A Night at Chanterelle, an exclusive dinner I’ll be cooking at ICE on September 23rd to showcase some of my favorite autumnal recipes. Hope to see you there!

Recipe: Loin of Lamb with Mini Moussaka and Marjoram

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups olive oil
1 tablespoon plus
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound ground lamb
¼ cup tomato purée
1 teaspoon plus a couple of pinches piment d’Espelette or Aleppo pepper
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup coarsely chopped marjoram leaves and stems, plus some for garnish
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ¼ pound lamb loin, with most of the fat trimmed off
2 medium onions, very coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, very coarsely chopped
3 heads of garlic, cut in half horizontally
1 lamb shank, cut through the bone into ¾ inch sections (or an equivalent amount of meaty lamb bones)
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups veal stock
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
2 medium Chinese eggplants, unpeeled, cut into ¼ inch rounds
1 whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk
⅔ cup plain whole milk Greek-style yogurt
¼ cup milk
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons canola oil

Instructions:

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add ½ teaspoon of the minced garlic and the chopped onion. Sweat the garlic and the onion, then add the ground lamb. Continue to cook, mixing and breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon until it loses its pink color. Add the tomato purée and heat through.
Transfer the lamb mixture to a colander and drain fat and liquid. Season with salt, a pinch of piment d’Espelette or Aleppo pepper, cumin, allspice and cinnamon. Cool and set aside.
Add 2 cups of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of piment d’Espelette or Aleppo pepper, ½ cup of the marjoram and the lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Place the lamb loin in the bowl and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy saucepot over high heat. When hot, add the chopped onion, carrots, garlic heads and lamb shank or trim, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add the wine and continue to cook, scraping the bottom of the saucepot to deglaze, until most of the wine evaporates. Add the stock, bay leaves and ½ cup marjoram. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour.
Using a colander, carefully strain the broth into a small saucepot. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to about 1 cup. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and a drop or so of lemon juice. Reserve for use when you’re ready to plate and serve.
To make the moussaka, preheat oven to 350°F. Toss the eggplant rounds with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
Place the eggplant slices on a sheet pan and bake until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.
In a bowl, make the custard by whisking together the egg, egg yolk, yogurt, milk, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of piment d’Espelette or Aleppo pepper.
Assemble the moussakas using four ring molds, each 2-inches in diameter and 2-inches tall. Line the bottom of each mold with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.
Divide the eggplant slices in the bottom of each mold and place about 3 tablespoons of the ground lamb mixture in each ring mold, packing the meat in well. Pour the custard over the lamb to nearly fill the molds. Bake until the custard is set, about 40 minutes.
When ready to serve, drain the lamb loin and pat dry. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan over high heat. When hot, add lamb loin. Brown well on all sides, then finish in the oven until lamb is rare. Allow to rest.
Spoon an equal amount of your reserved sauce onto each of 4 plates. Unmold the moussakas by removing the foil and pushing them out, custard side up, onto each plate. Slice the lamb and divide between the 4 plates. Garnish with marjoram leaves.

Click here to reserve your place at Chef David’s table for this exclusive ICE event!

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Recipes Step 1 - Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add ½ teaspoon of the minced garlic and the chopped onion. Sweat the garlic and the onion, then add the ground lamb; Step 2 - Continue to cook, mixing and breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon until it loses its pink color. Add the tomato purée and heat through; Step 3 - Transfer the lamb mixture to a colander and drain fat and liquid. Season with salt, a pinch of piment d Espelette or Aleppo pepper, cumin, allspice and cinnamon. Cool and set aside; Step 4 - Add 2 cups of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of piment d Espelette or Aleppo pepper, ½ cup of the marjoram and the lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Place the lamb loin in the bowl and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours; Step 5 - Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy saucepot over high heat. When hot, add the chopped onion, carrots, garlic heads and lamb shank or trim, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned; Step 6 - Add the wine and continue to cook, scraping the bottom of the saucepot to deglaze, until most of the wine evaporates. Add the stock, bay leaves and ½ cup marjoram. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour; Step 7 - 4. Using a colander, carefully strain the broth into a small saucepot. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to about 1 cup. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and a drop or so of lemon juice. Reserve for use when you’re ready to plate and serve; Step 8 - To make the moussaka, preheat oven to 350°F. Toss the eggplant rounds with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper; Step 9 - Place the eggplant slices on a sheet pan and bake until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes; Step 8 - In a bowl, make the custard by whisking together the egg, egg yolk, yogurt, milk, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of piment d Espelette or Aleppo pepper; Step 9 - Assemble the moussakas using four ring molds, each 2-inches in diameter and 2-inches tall. Line the bottom of each mold with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray; Step 10 - Divide the eggplant slices in the bottom of each mold and place about 3 tablespoons of the ground lamb mixture in each ring mold, packing the meat in well. Pour the custard over the lamb to nearly fill the molds. Bake until the custard is set, about 40 minutes; Step 11 - When ready to serve, drain the lamb loin and pat dry. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan over high heat. When hot, add lamb loin. Brown well on all sides, then finish in the oven until lamb is rare. Allow to rest; Step 12 - Spoon an equal amount of your reserved sauce onto each of 4 plates. Unmold the moussakas by removing the foil and pushing them out, custard side up, onto each plate. Slice the lamb and divide between the 4 plates. Garnish with marjoram leaves;