Very Important Message !

These events are folowing other events that have already began, specially those of 8 of August 2008 in Portugal, Spain and all over the world.

Please, keep an open mind, just trust yourself.

The Message

Blossom's most recent book “The Bridge” documents the messages channelled to her by the Cosmic Beings known as The Federation of Light. In her most recent encounters with them they have announced that one of their craft will appear in our skies on October 14th 2008 for a period of three days in such a way as to prove to us the existence of other life forms in the Universe. The Federation of Light stress that they come in LOVE to help us and our planet move to a new Higher Vibration of Love. They have asked Blossom to get this message out to as many people as possible.

TO LEADERS, GOVERNERS, POLITICIANS AND
ALL PEOPLE OF EARTH ….

We wish it to be understood that on the 14th day of your month of October in the year 2008 a craft of great size shall be visible within your skies. It shall be in the south of your hemisphere and it shall scan over many of your states.

We give to you the name of Alabama.

It has been decided that we shall remain within your atmosphere for the minimum of three of your twenty four hour periods.

During this time there will be much commotion upon your earth plane. Your highest authorities will be intruding into ‘our’ atmospherics that surround our ship. This ‘security field’ is necessary for us, as there shall take place a ‘farce’ from those in your world who shall try to deny that we come in LOVE.

KNOW OF THIS

WE COME TO ASSIST YOUR WORLD.

WE DO NOT COME TO TAKE OVER.

WE DO NOT COME TO DESTRUCT.

WE COME TO GIVE YOU HOPE.

We are beings from other planets, who for many eons of your time have been preparing for these days ahead.

We ask each soul that reads of these words to accept in their heart the Truth that lies within. For in that place there is the knowing that this is to take place.

There shall be many who deny. There shall be many who dismiss.

There shall be those who KNOW of this TRUTH.

Which ever you may be … let this be understood.

IT SHALL TAKE PLACE.

We give you the opportunity to capture on screen this particular ship. There shall be no contact in the form that those of your planet would like. For this initial presentation, we shall simply be presenting our ship to you.

We say to you … That shall certainly be enough to comprehend initially.

All kinds of methods shall be carried out in order to try and penetrate through our security barrier, but they shall be to no avail.

Until we can PROVE to you that we come in LOVE, we will not allow the fullness of our visits to be uncovered.

KNOW OF THIS …

THIS IS THE BEGINNING … NOT THE END

Your governments and your media will try to disguise us. This will fail. All avenues have been covered by us.

Your media will have no choice but to portray the TRUTH for it shall be there for all to see.

Friends of earth. Do not be afraid. We beseech you to TRUST that we come to bring the downfall of those who have misintentions for the well being of your planet.

If we do not intervene now … as has been planned for eons of your earth time … then we fear it would be too late.

WE ASK YOU TO ACCEPT US IN LOVE.

FOR THAT IS WHY WE COME.

The sayings that your world have been aware of via your movie screens etc were not merely make believe. We have been planting and watering seeds of Truth on your planet in preparation for these days.

FOR INDEED

WE COME IN PEACE.

Fill your souls with TRUST in that knowledge.

We are your brothers and sisters from other places.

Our technology is far advanced. There are those in high places of ruling that KNOW full well of this. Therefore they know that there would be little point trying to ‘pretend’ that they need weapons to destroy us.

On this day that we appear, we ask you to listen only to your hearts and NOT to the words of those who shall be in great fear of losing their power.

For too long your world has lived under a cloud that most of you have been unaware of. If you were to KNOW the Truths of what has been hidden from you, you would be appalled and in great disbelief.

It is time for your souls to be allowed to be who they are.

The veil is to be removed.

BE OF JOY.

IT IS A TIME FOR THAT.

YOU SHALL KNOW OF THIS AS YOUR HEART ACCEPTS THE TRUE REASON FOR OUR VISIT.

TO BRING YOU AN UNDERSTANDING OF LOVE. KNOW THIS.

We choose to leave it at that.

Be vigilant. Keep your eyes to the skies.

Keep LOVE in your heart.

WE … THE FEDERATION OF LIGHT … SIGN OFF, GIVING YOU ENCOURAGEMENT AND HOPE AS WE BEGIN THE ASCENSION INTO THE NEW WORLD.

Each one of you has chosen to be here for this ascension. Choose now whether your human form will …

Accept it through LOVE Or Reject it through FEAR.

May the Highest aspect of your soul fill you with Light as you move bravely forward.

Gratitude to each one as they assist us in the cause

within your heart find the truth

Do not believe anything because

it is said by an authority, or if it

is said to come from angels,

or from Gods, or from an

inspired source.

Believe it only if you have

explored it in your own heart

and mind and body and found

it to be true. Work out your own

path, through diligence.

Guatama Buddha

We are ready to change the world petition

Dear Friends,

I have just read and signed the online petition:

"We Are Ready to Change the World"

hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/readynow/

I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

Best wishes,

José Manuel Cortes Amaral

8 of August 2008

Mestre Viktor faz das suas !

Aqui envio uma mensagem do meu mestre de Reiki e grande amigo de sempre Viktor, a partir do seu blog Astro-Reiki, desejando-lhe o melhor de todo o Universo neste seu caminho, aqui vai o convite :

Curso de Iniciação - Reiki Nível I

Caros leitores, amigos, internautas, Senhoras e Senhores,

No dia 12 de Outubro, realizar-se-á um Curso de iniciação ao Reiki Nível I ou 1º Grau, em Albufeira, num ambiente harmonizado onde poderá usufruir da calma necessária ao evento. O referido curso será ministrado por dois Mestres e será limitado a 10 inscrições, para que assim se consiga atingir e manter um bom nível formativo e participativo. Mais informações e esclarecimentos serão fornecidos por e-mail ou telemóvel. Serão afixados cartazes alusivos ao evento em diversos locais.

Não percam esta oportunidade…

Saudações Reikianas.

NAMASTÉ

Adeus

Meu querido pai Victor saíu deste mundo fez um ano completo no dia 1 de Setembro de 2008.
No entanto, mantemo-nos juntos desde então. Deixo-lhe este poema escrito, psicografado, pelo Chico Xavier:

O sino plange em terna suavidade,

No ambiente balsâmico da Igreja;

Entre as nuvens, no altar, em tudo adeja

O perfume dos goivos da saudade.

Geme a viuvez, lamenta-se a orfandade;

E a alma que regressa do exílio beija

A luz que resplandece, que viceja,

Na catedral azul da imensidade...

"Adeus, Terra das minhas desventuras...

Adeus, amados meus..." - diz nas alturas...

A alma liberta, o azul do céu singrando...

- Adeus... - choram as rosas desfolhadas.

- Adeus... - clamam as vozes desoladas

De quem ficou no exílio soluçando...

AUTA DE SOUZA

Chef Zé Cortes

Este é o meu novo Blog e serve a minha presente actividade. Visite-o e contacte-me para mais informações.

Main Courses 2008

Well, I was fortunate enough to cook for a wonderful Portuguese family this August and the menus consisted on these Main Courses:

Main Courses
*******

Oven Roasted Whole Sea Bass with small roasted potatoes, onions and bell peppers with sautéed vegetables and green salads
*
Filo Tiger Prawns with Med Salads and Thai Dip
*
Tornedó with Root Celery mash and Savory Chocolate Sauce
*
Roasted Cod Fillet under Pata Negra and Corn Bread crust with punched Potatoes and 4 roasted Onions
*
Prawn Curry with side specials and Basmati Rice
*
Monk Fish Curry with side specials and Basmati rice
*
Red Mullet Fillets sautéed with crunchy vegetables and roasted small potatoes, red bell peppers, onions and Crème Fraiche
*
Bacon wrapped Scallops with mashed Potatoes topped with Almond crumble
*
Tornedó, perfumed white wine Sabayon sauce, sautéed Cepe mushroom and Jacked Potatoes with sour crème, butter and parsley sauce
*
Tender Loin Steak in Chef’s Special sauce with French Fries and 2 Salads
*
Red Beans and Lombardian cabbage Pot, with Chouriço, Farinheira, Morcela, Panccetta Affumicatta and Orelha on the side, “Transmotana” style with Basmati rice
*
Filo wrapped Alheiras with crunchy vegetables, Bok Choi and Oven Rice
*
Cod ‘au gratin’ with Rosti, Water Cress Salad
*
Oven Roasted Pork Fillet Mignon with roasted Small Potatoes
*



___________________
José Cortes, Agosto 2008

Pratos Principais

Pois é, a vida dá cada volta...

Passei este princípio de mês como cozinheiro particular de uma família portuguesa que me ficou no coração. Durante estes dias cozinhei e preparei algumas das minhas criações, algumas são versões dos originais, como por exemplo a feijoada à Transmontana, mas devo dizer que todos estes pratos principais me ficaram na memória pelo carinho com que os preparei e pelo ainda maior carinho com que foram recebidos por esta maravilhosa família que tive a felicidade de conhecer, afinal ainda há esperança para Portugal...

Assim, aqui vai a lista:

Pratos Principais
*******

Robalo inteiro assado no forno com Batatinhas Primor, Cebola e Pimentos morrones assados, Vegetais Salteados e Saladas Verdes
*
Camarão Tigre envolto em Massa Filo Crocante com Saladas Mediterrânicas e Dip Thai
*
Tornedó com molho de Chocolate e Puré de Aipo com Saladas Verdes.
*
Lombo de Bacalhau assado no forno com Pata Negra e Capa de Broa de Milho com Batata a Murro e 4 Cebolas assadas
*
Caril de Gambas com acompanhamentos e Arroz de Forno
*
Caril de Tamboril com acompanhamentos e Arroz de Forno
*
Filetes de Salmonete Salteados com Vegetais Crocantes e Batatinhas Primor assadas com Pimentos Cebola e Creme Fraiche
*
Espetadas de Vieiras embrulhadas em Bacon com Puré de Batata e Crumble de Amêndoa
*
Tornedó com Sabayon de vinho branco perfumado, Cepe Salteado e Batata em Capote com recheio de molho de Salsa
*
Bifes, com molho especial do Chef com Batatas Fritas e Saladas Variadas
*
Feijoada à Transmontana com Lombarda e arroz de forno
*
Alheiras Artesanais Embrulhadas em Massa Filo Crocante e Vegetais Crocantes e Bok Choi
*
Bacalhau com Natas Azedas e Creme Fraiche Gratinado e Rosti
*
Lombinhos de Porco com Bacon e Batatinhas Assadas no Forno
*



_______________________
José Cortes, Agosto 2008

the human body energy 3 of 3

the human body energy 2 of 3

Human body energy 1 of 3

Engraçado...

É mesmo, curioso como a vida tem destas coisas. Só quando temos pouco, damos valor ao que realmente interessa, todo o supérfluo quase que desaparece como por magia: Amizade, amor, afecto, tempo, cores da vida, do sol, do mar, da natureza, dos olhos dos nossos filhos, da nossa mulher que amamos, tudo realça em contraste com os dias de abundancia de dinheiro, onde o consumo se torna imperioso e escape para quase todas as questões, a TV absorve-nos, aquela coisa da loja chupa-nos para ela, o livro que saíu agorinha mesmo requisita-nos, o DVD do último filme atrai-nos, a roupinha ou o sapatinho que nos pisca os olhinhos, a guloseima que nos acode à ansiedade, aquela brasa que nos põe doentes, a conta que não engorda nunca o suficiente, os pagamentos que cascatam, os imprevistos que descambam o orçamento, o fim do mês... Ufa !...
Como a Vida deveria ser tão mais fácil, tão mais simples. Porque não é? Culpa nossa, digo eu. E que fazer? pergunto eu, também, como um imbecil que não sabe mesmo a resposta, - Não sei.

Parece-me que rondamos sempre a resposta, que ela está sempre perto de nós, ali como se fosse suficiente virar a cara e ela nos morder o nariz. A simplicidade é simples, depois de retirado todo o demais, fica o essencial. Não chega? Pois. Não tenho solução. Só perguntas sem resposta, para já.
Estou como sempre, optimista, despreocupado, feliz. Sempre estive.

O que é meu à minha mão virá dar. E se eu já tiver tudo o que quero? E não saiba...

Kundalini

Neste momento em que vagueio

Desde Junho que não exerço a minha profissão como tal. Com uma dura lição de permeio, persigo na minha descoberta.
A minha iniciação em Reiki neste mês, com os Mestres Viktor e Joaquim, foram parte desta minha caminhada de busca pelo meu lugar no Mundo.
Irei continuar a desenvolver e a aprender com humildade a minha profissão e fá-lo-ei com esmero e dedicação, cada vez com mais empenho.
Não sei, ainda, onde irei trabalhar, mas creio que esse dia está próximo.
Se o que comemos se torna parte de nós, tenho, então, uma grande responsabilidade: a de tornar melhores as pessoas que comem o que faço. O que é feito com muito amor e carinho, leva esses sentimentos para dentro de quem os consome, assim espero que aconteça.
Até já...

Nem eu sei

Nem eu sei,
quantas vezes cá estive,
quantas vezes me levantei.

Quantos partos passei
num e noutro papel,
onde a Luz era lei.

Minhas mães e pais,
depois filhos e avós,
continuamente brilhais

Fraca tenho a voz
de tanto a usar
prazer e dor atroz.

Marés de sorte
tsunamis de azar
boa e má morte.

Vidas que vivi
sonhos que sonhei
minha luz abri

Bing bang... estive lá
mas aqui agora estou
da luz também sou.

Antes e depois
humana engenharia.
Agora: sois

Presentes encadeados,
impermanência subtil,
pensamentos descuidados.

De tudo senti
de tudo já vi.
Venha mais por aqui !

Que alma minha é
neste corpo decadente
onde milénios de fé

esperaram pelo momento
em que a Luz Grande
tenha o seu final alento.

E depois?
Venha outro tanto,
por quem sois!

(Zé Cortes, 21/7/2008)

Jupiter Trine Uranus !... just a reminder, folks

This was on my birth date and hour, according to my chart. I am just posting it so that I can access the text wherever I may be, nothing to it, just my thing.

(I do want that, within the near future, I will start posting more interesting things about cooking and as well about my life experiences as a cook and as a human being, but for now, I take a break.)

Jupiter Trine Uranus

Being receptive to future possibilities is the most important way in which your true future will manifest. Ideas and concepts abound in your mind, and these must be acted on, in order for them to become real. Of course, you don't always have to bring your concepts into manifestation, but you are possessed of talents in the realm of future vision which are unusual and need to be used. Taking your abilities for granted is one way that you avoid having to push yourself into higher development. Whether you are able to make anything out of your ideas will depend on your level of motivation. If you are lazy and like things the way they are, then you are more likely to use your mental constructions as ways of moving through the day without having to confront reality. But if you really see the wisdom of your mental wandering, you will realize that you must make them into some tangible expression, probably creatively, in order for them to live in the way that they were meant to. Your talents are meant to be used creatively. The flow of ideas is the creative muse in action. To waste what is divinely given is not only unethical, it is allowing the mundane to overpower the spiritual in a way which your own conscience tells you is not right. Use your power and enliven the world in which you live.

There are no coincidences, only hard facts

True... who have imagined, when I created this blog's name, more than a year ago, that King Food would be what I would be doing now in my last Job?

That's right, my last boss was the King's Chef, in Belgium of course, Portugal is a Republic.

And more, much more, now I realize...

This is why I claim that there are no coincidences, just signs confirming your path. You just have to feel when you are going the right way. Sense and be true, to you and others. This is all you need to move forward. Let go and believe. Never be afraid.

Try it yourself... Let me know...

"La plume de ma tante est sur la table."

www.parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com

Why is it so difficult to make decisions...

Try to decide between 10 million Euros and 12 million Euros. Which one do you choose? Easy: None or the highest value. Right? Everything should be as easy, but it is not...

How do you choose between staying in your country and develop your own cuisine in your own restaurant, already opened, but not yours yet, or going to France, to a new restaurant, to be opened, working with two Great French Michelin Starred Chefs and in a place such as Dijon?
Tell me. How can I choose ? Both are huge leaps for me. Both are huge challenges. I love both choices, both ideas.

I think that I already know what to do, but I am still not 100% sure.
Leave me some comments on this, please: Help me decide...

P.S.

I forgot to mention that I am presently discussing with a major Portuguese t.v. Production Company, the possibility of having my own T.V. program about cooking.

Sachertorte...

Well, I was reading the original recipe (! almost) for Sachertorte and I have to try it. It's like a chocolate mousse made into a cake and filled with apricot jam and topped with a chocolate casing sauce.
It has to be fluffy. The chocolate and eggs have to be the best you can find, as for the apricot jam, homemade preferably and the rest is all up to you and your skills.
Have fun. It is a good cake for breakfast or tea.

Another day...

Here goes another day...

Diogo, as fotos seguem amanhã...

Açordinha de Fraca (Dinde) !

Açorda de fraca, com a sopinha e tudo, a caminho de Beja em Entradas. No Restaurante Celeiro !
De chorar por mais...

Chef Keisukematsushima ! et Chef Nicolas Isnard !

Et voilà, je a trouvée cette blog avec Chef Nicolas Isnard, (Tribute to Claudia 2008, Vila Joya, Portugal).

Intéressant ...

In Vézelay, almost one year ago

There I was in this wonderful town, almost one year ago, in France, working with Marc Meneau in L'Esperance. Time really flies.

O que gostaria mais?

Qual destas escolhas prefere?

1. Jantar num restaurante com uma carta onde pode escolher entre dezenas de pratos, embora saiba que é impossível serem todos elaborados com produtos frescos, gastando cerca de 40 euros com o jantar.
2. Jantar num restaurante com um menú de degustação, escrito numa ardósia, de 5 pratos com um preço de 25 euros por pessoa e onde tem a certeza de que todos os produtos são elaborados com esmero, apresentação e acima de tudo, são fresquinhos do dia e da estação ?

Por favor, responda 1 ou 2 nos comentários e no fim do mês teremos os resultados aqui no seu blog.
Obrigado.
Zé Cortes

The best Bodin Noir ever made. It is Portuguese

Made in Portugal. Douro Region.

Le vrai prix d'un plat, Marc Meneau...

Ce que payez avant de déguster:

-la TVA

-la taxe d'apprentissage

-la médecine du tavail

-la taxe professionnelle

-l'URSSAF

-les ASSEDIC

-la SACEM

-l'impôt sur les revenus

-la formation professionnelle

-la vignette sur les alcools

-les impôts fonciers

-la caisse de retraite des commencants

-la caisse maladie

-le droit de licence

-la taxe anti-pollution

-la CSG

-le fond d'aide au logement

-la taxe d'habitation

-la cotisation à la taxe d'apprentissage

-Le RDS

-la main d'oeuvre

-les fournisseurs

et la passion

Oui Vous...

J'espère que nous tous savons ce 2008 est une année très importante pour l'Humanité.

Tant de choses importantes arriveront :

Les parents aimeront leurs enfants
Les enfants aimeront leurs parents

Les gens seront nés
Les gens partiront

Les guerres continueront
Les règles régneront

Les pauvres gens seront plus pauvres
Les gens plus riches seront plus riches

L'herbe grandira
Les arbres brûleront

La bonne volonté arrive
Mal arrivera aussi

Ainsi quoi de neuf?

Tout changera, parce que...

Vous changerez...
Par vos actions, actes et mots, le Monde sera un meilleur endroit pour tous les gens et l'être.
Oui, Vous.
Je vous parle.
Je suis si sûr, que j'y ai parié ma vie et les vies de mes enfants.

Avancez, faites Votre chose, 2008 est cela!
2009 sera trop tard...

Joy...

Joy,

I miss you very much. Hope that you are ok. You know where to find me.
Zé.

My master Chef Marc Meneau in Vila Joya in 2007 !

Je suis le meilleur cuisinier dans mon village

Alinea Restaurant in Chicago, the best in the West?

I have came across this restaurant in Chicago and went through the images. I am impressed. This is in America. Who would say it would be possible...? Well, everything is possible, so they say in there.

It´s like El Bulli but in another dimension.
take a look.
The post title takes you to their site.
Enjoy.

Eggs Benedict and Cappuccino at Patisserie Valerie in Soho, by tmoertel in flickr

Synthesis, Ferrán Adriá, Blumenthal, etc... I would sign as well...

1. Cooking is a language through which all the following properties may be expressed: harmony, creativity, happiness, beauty, poetry, complexity, magic, humour, provocation and culture.

2. The use of top quality products and technical knowledge to prepare them properly are taken for granted.

3. All products have the same gastronomic value, regardless of their price.

4. Preference is given to vegetables and seafood, with a key role also being played by dairy products, nuts and other products that make up a light form of cooking. In recent years red meat and large cuts of poultry have been very sparingly used.

5. Although the characteristics of the products may be modified (temperature, texture, shape, etc.), the aim is always to preserve the purity of their original flavour, except for processes that call for long cooking or seek the nuances of particular reactions such as the Maillard reaction.

6. Cooking techniques, both classic and modern, are a heritage that the cook has to know how to exploit to the maximum.

7. As has occurred in most fields of human evolution down the ages, new technologies are a resource for the progress of cooking.

8. The family of stocks is being extended. Together with the classic ones, lighter stocks performing an identical function are now being used (waters, broths, consommés, clarified vegetable juices, nut milk, etc.).

9. The information given off by a dish is enjoyed through the senses; it is also enjoyed and interpreted by reflection.

10. Taste is not the only sense that can be stimulated: touch can also be played with (contrasts of temperatures and textures), as well as smell, sight (colours, shapes, trompe d’oeil, etc.), whereby the five senses become one of the main points of reference in the creative cooking process.

11. The technique-concept search is the apex of the creative pyramid.

12. Creation involves teamwork. In addition, research has become consolidated as a new feature of the culinary creative process.

13. The barriers between the sweet and savoury world are being broken down. Importance is being given to a new cold cuisine, particularly in the creation of the frozen savoury world.

14. The classical structure of dishes is being broken down: a veritable revolution is underway in first courses and desserts, closely bound up with the concept of symbiosis between the sweet and savoury world; in main dishes the "product-garnish-sauce" hierarchy is being broken down.

15. A new way of serving food is being promoted. The dishes are finished in the dining room by the serving staff. In other cases the diners themselves participate in this process.

16. Regional cuisine as a style is an expression of its own geographical and cultural context as well as its culinary traditions. Its bond with nature complements and enriches this relationship with its environment.

17. Products and preparations from other countries are subjected to one's particular style of cooking.

18. There are two main paths towards attaining harmony of products and flavours: through memory (connection with regional cooking traditions, adaptation, deconstruction, former modern recipes), or through new combinations.

19. A culinary language is being created which is becoming more and more ordered, that on some occasions establishes a relationship with the world and language of art.

20. Recipes are designed to ensure that harmony is to be found in small servings.

21. Decontextualisation, irony, spectacle, performance are completely legitimate, as long as they are not superficial but respond to, or are closely bound up with, a process of gastronomic reflection.

22. The menu de dégustation is the finest expression of avant-garde cooking. The structure is alive and subject to changes. Concepts such as snacks, tapas, pre-desserts, morphs, etc., are coming into their own.

23. Knowledge and/or collaboration with experts from different fields (gastronomic culture, history, industrial design, etc.,) is essential for progress in cooking. In particular collaboration with the food industry and the scientific world has brought about fundamental advances. Sharing this knowledge among cooking professionals has contributed to this evolution.

Blumenthal is a self-made cook, like me... there's hope...

Molecular Gastronomy is dead. Indeed, if Heston Blumenthal had his way it would never have been born in the first place. He accepts that, early on, the term let punters know something curious was going on at his restaurant, the Fat Duck, in Bray; that it gave people trying to make sense of a menu of grain-mustard ice cream, white chocolate with caviar or palate cleansers cooked in 'liquid nitrogen' an easy label. But he still thinks the term creates artificial barriers. 'Molecular makes it sound complicated,' he says. 'And gastronomy makes it sound elitist.' Blumenthal isn't keen on either. Plus it doesn't mean anything. 'It was dreamt up in 1992 by a physicist called Nicholas Kurti who needed a fancy name for the science of cooking so he could get a research institute to pay attention to his work,' he explains. Kitchen science didn't hack it. Hence: Molecular Gastronomy.

---

Blumenthal slips two tightly printed sheets of paper across the table towards me. It is, he says coyly, something he has been working on for nearly four years now, with a few of his pals. His co-authors are Ferran Adrià, chef of the uber-modernist El Bulli in Spain, Thomas Keller of Per Se and the French Laundry in the US, and Harold McGee, the writer whose book On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen has provided these and so many other chefs with the technical understanding they needed to help them create their dishes. In short it's written by the very biggest names in the business. I ask Blumenthal if it's a manifesto. 'That sounds a bit grand and cocky doesn't it,' he says. 'Because we're definitely not trying to come up with a doctrine. It's just...' He hesitates. 'A statement.'

They want to emphasise what they have in common with other chefs, he says, not what separates them. They accept that a new approach to cooking has emerged recently but argue that parts of it have been 'overemphasized and sensationalised, while others ignored... Tradition is the base which all cooks who aspire to excellence must know and master. Our open approach builds upon the best that tradition has to offer.' As to the methods they use, it's all just cooking. 'We do not pursue novelty for its own sake,' it continues. 'We may use modern thickeners, sugar substitutes, enzymes, liquid nitrogen, sous vide, dehydration and other non-traditional means but these do not define our cooking. They are a few of the many tools that we are fortunate to have available as we strive to make delicious and stimulating dishes.'

It all seems a bit curious coming from Blumenthal, the man who has been on our TV screens this autumn in the BBC series In Search of Perfection, using pressure probes to detect the crunchiness of batter, blow-torching beef before cooking it at 50°C for 24 hours, and beating up ice cream in a bowl of liquid nitrogen. But, he says, look at the dishes he was doing those things for: fish and chips, steak and salad, treacle tart. You can't get more traditional than that. 'We can get too hung up on gadgetry. Once there was just the knife if you wanted to chop things. Then along came the food-processor. But that was still cooking. Now I use other tools - centrifuges, desiccators - which you might not associate with the kitchen. But that's cooking too.' To prove a point, we are talking in an upstairs room at the Hinds Head, his traditional dark-wood pub across the road from the Fat Duck, where the menu is all potted shrimps, oxtail-and-kidney pudding and Eton mess.

Still, there's no doubting that it's his interest in science, and his ability to popularise it, which has turned him into a star - and in a relatively short period of time. It is only just over a decade since the self-trained Blumenthal, who turned 40 this year, opened his own restaurant - the only one he has ever worked in, apart from a few stages in a handful of other establishments. Back then the Fat Duck was a simple bistro, serving classic French dishes. His more unusual creations came later, winning him his first Michelin star in 1998, his second in 2001 and the all-coveted third in 2004. That year the Fat Duck also came top of the annual 50 Best Restaurants in the World list, voted for by his peers.

Today he is getting used to a new-found celebrity, and the knowledge that his book of the series is a Christmas bestseller. 'I do get stopped in the street,' he admits. 'But I suppose if it's alright for a chef to write a book it's alright to do TV. To be honest I was very surprised by the positive response.' After all it's a TV cooking show which is actually about cooking. Viewers - particularly men, who are not big watchers of TV food shows - have been taken by his enthusiasm and his geeky attachment to experiments. 'The main thing for me was how much I learnt doing the series,' he says. There will almost certainly be another.

He has mixed feelings as to his wider influence on food in Britain. He accepts that, by pairing mustard ice creams with red-cabbage gazpacho, sprinkling cocoa powder over cauliflower risotto and making snail porridge, he has pushed back the boundaries on flavour combinations. 'It's the diners who have become most open. Six or seven years ago when I put a crab ice cream on my menu, it was regarded as the devil. Now if something like that was done for the first time I don't think anybody would bat an eyelid.'

As to his influence on young chefs he is less certain. Though he is too diplomatic to name anyone, he is clear that some terrible things are being done to food in the name of innovation. 'The danger is that technology overtakes the value of the dish.' So has he eaten dishes on the future-food agenda which have troubled him? 'Yes. There are people out there who are completely missing the point.' And then he adds. 'I'm really worried someone's going to do something really stupid and then everyone will point at me and say it's all your fault.' It's one of the reasons he and Adrià and the others came up with their declaration of intent. As it says, 'Our beliefs and commitments are sincere and do not follow the latest trend.' That said, they have acknowledged that they have a part to play in what they call 'the history of tomorrow'. Time, then, to ask the man who has shown us the future of food, what else is to come. 'Hydrocolloids will still play a big part,' he says. Hydro-what? 'They're the things which make foams and jellies set or hold.' He also thinks there will be a revolution in our understanding of how the tongue experiences tastes. 'We're quite close to throwing out the theory of five tastes,' he says. 'Researchers have found 21 receptors for bitterness on the tongue. There's a growing argument that fat is a taste.' All of this will change the way chefs flavour their dishes.

But the biggest development will be in what he calls 'sensory design'. No longer will eating out just be about putting stuff in our mouths and deciding whether it's nice. 'Eating is a multi-sensory experience. We're working with Sony to develop a directional speaker to push sound at diners in a particular way while they are eating.' They have also worked with a close-up magician to bring some of his stage craft into the dining room. So far the maître d' has learnt how to turn a rose petal into an egg at the table which can then be cracked into liquid nitrogen to be whisked up to smoky-bacon ice cream. (The egg is back-filled with the ice cream mixture in advance.)

But Blumenthal's real enthusiasm is reserved for what he calls his sweet shop. 'I wanted to find a way to extend the experience of coming to the Fat Duck so it's not just about sitting in the restaurant. I want people to have fun and to do that you have to get them excited. When I'm excited I'm like a kid in a sweet shop.' How then to use that simile to make the punters feel the same way? 'What will happen is that, when they book, they'll be sent a card with a website address and their own special code, plus atomiser.' The website is a virtual sweet shop, complete with tinkly entry bell, and in the atomiser is the smell of a real one. 'Spray the smell, go online, fill a virtual bag full of virtual Fat Duck sweets.' It's all about building anticipation. When they arrive at the restaurant the same smell of the sweetshop will be sprayed on the doorposts, and there will be the tinkle of the entry bell. 'We're may hang candy canes from the trees on the country roads into Bray.' And, as everyone leaves, at the end of their meal, they'll be given a bag of the sweets they chose on the site to go home with.

It will take a lot of work to get it up and running. It may even expand slightly the number of staff at the Fat Duck which remarkably has already topped 50, for a restaurant which can seat only 40 people at a time. But it also sounds like fun, which will come as no surprise to anyone who has been lucky enough to eat at the Fat Duck. Yes, a meal there is delicious and intriguing, but it's also very entertaining. In their statement, Blumenthal and his colleagues quote the 18th-century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin who wrote that 'the discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star'. Blumenthal may be using kit that would look more at home in the laboratory than the kitchen. He may be combining flavours in a way that will surprise and disorientate. But if it's not good eating, he's not interested, however futuristic it might be. And who could argue with that?

To order Heston Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection for £18 with free UK p&p (Bloomsbury, rrp £20), call 0870 836 0885, observer.co.uk/bookshop.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/futureoffood/story/0,,1969722,00.html

And what about some Smoked Bacon and Egg Ice Cream, Pain Perdu, and Tea Jelly ?

A burst of flavour

Boil it, fry it, braise it or roast it: you don't have to be a rocket scientist to recognize that how you prepare and cook any ingredient will affect just how much of its integral taste will remain in the finished dish

Heston Blumenthal
Saturday June 1, 2002

Guardian

Flavour encapsulation sounds like something in a sci-fi film, but it is, in fact, a vital element in both food manufacturing and my cooking. So what is it? The best way to explain it is with what I call my coffee bean theory. Make a cup of coffee with one ground coffee bean - it will taste horribly insipid. Now take the cup and fill it with hot water; just before you drink it, pop a coffee bean into your mouth, crunch it and then drink the water. This time, the coffee flavour will be far stronger and last in the mouth a lot longer. The experiment shows that a coffee bean delivers a far greater flavour eaten whole than when ground up in a cup of hot water. Effectively, the flavour is encapsulated in the whole bean but dispersed in the water.

This approach is used extensively in food manufacturing, in many cases probably unintentionally. Think about a bar of milk chocolate with nuts and raisins in it - their flavour is invariably encapsulated within the bar. If the nuts and raisins were puréed and mixed into the chocolate, they would not provide anywhere near the same flavour.

The same applies to marmalade - it wasn't so long ago that it was marketed as containing "real" orange pieces, as perfect an example of flavour encapsulation as you could wish for. I apply the approach extensively in the restaurant because it's an essential tool in the crusade against palate fatigue. (I'll talk more about palate fatigue in future articles, but in essence it's when you become bored with what you eat.)

Recipes serve four.

Bacon and egg ice cream

This forms part of a dessert served at the restaurant. It's a twist on breakfast: caramelized brioche in place of toast, tomato and red pepper compote for jam, chewy salted butter caramel with wild mushrooms, and this ice cream, all washed down with a small cup of jellied Earl Grey. The idea stemmed from thinking about why some ice cream tastes of egg. I came to the conclusion that it's because the custard is overcooked. When you cook custard, the heat makes the proteins in the egg coagulate, which thickens the mix. If you continue cooking the custard, it will scramble, with the proteins completely clumped together. Egg yolk sets at 72C. So, by cooking the custard to 82C or more, as advised in many traditional recipes, the proteins begin to coagulate. Although the custard may still look liquid, tiny clumps of protein will have formed. And so, according to the coffee bean theory, the custard will be full of little bursts of egg flavour.

All of which got me thinking about how to exploit this eggy flavour, and so this recipe was born. The other parts of the dessert (bar the caramel/mushroom dish) follow, because the ice cream needs them to deliver the full impact of the breakfast dessert. And yes, you do need this many egg yolks; use the whites to make the chocolate fondant from the March 9 issue. These quantities make around one liter.

300g sliced streaky smoked bacon
1 litre full fat milk
25g skimmed milk powder
24 egg yolks
50g liquid glucose
175g unrefined caster sugar

Roast the bacon in an oven at 180C until slightly browned. Place in cold milk and leave to marinate overnight. Tip the milk and bacon into a casserole, and add the milk powder. Put the egg yolks, glucose and sugar in a mixing bowl and, using an electric whisk, mix at high speed until white and increased in volume.

Heat the milk and bacon mix to simmering and, with the whisk still going, pour a little on to the yolks. Tip this back into the milk pan, and cook over a lowish heat until it hits 85C. Hold at this temperature for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat. Cool the mixture down by stirring it over ice, tip into a blender and liquidize until smooth. Pass through a sieve and churn.

Caramelised brioche

The breakfast toast in the dessert, but also delicious served with caramelized apples, bananas or chocolate sauce.

1 dssp unrefined caster sugar (plus 20g or so extra for dusting)
250ml whole milk
2 soupspoons white rum (optional)
3 eggs
75g unsalted butter
1 loaf brioche

Mix 1 dssp sugar, milk, rum and eggs in a bowl. Clarify the butter, heating it gently in a pan or microwave. When melted, leave to stand for 10 minutes. Carefully scrape off the white skin that forms on the surface and discard it. Pour the clarified butter through a fine sieve or tea strainer.

Heat the butter in a frying pan. Dip the brioche in the milk/sugar mix for a minute or so, then place in the hot pan. Cook, turning regularly, until lightly colored. Sprinkle with the extra sugar and caramelize lightly before serving.

Tomato and red pepper 'jam'

5 ripe tomatoes
1 red pepper
50g icing sugar
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
Splash of white-wine vinegar
10ml olive oil
2 coffee beans

Blanch, peel, deseed and dice the tomatoes. Peel, deseed and dice the pepper. Put everything in a pan and marinate for 24 hours. Cook very slowly on a low heat, until dry and jam-like.

Tea jelly

Of course, you do not need to use all of these different teas - amend as you wish.

250ml water
45g unrefined caster sugar
1 green tea bag
1 lemon verbena tea bag
2 Earl Grey tea bags
10-15ml lemon juice
2 gelatin leaves
5g citric acid (optional)

Bring the water and sugar to the boil, and remove from the heat. Add the tea bags, stir gently and leave to infuse for five minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and add the lemon juice. Meanwhile, soften the gelatin in cold water. When soft, gently squeeze out the water and add the gelatin to the warm tea (along with the citric acid, if using). Stir until the gelatin has dissolved, then pour into cups and refrigerate until set.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008

Take a look a' this ! Show Cooking...

more of tribute to Claudia 2008

The Bull is killed, the job is done, let 2009 begin...

cheese dish from Bau

Simple but so good, believe me. Smoked and roasted meat with other delights, from Bau...

Bau's sweet thing ...

In Action !
TV Reporter : Joana Latino ! She likes our food ! We like her !


Sabine ! Pâtissier...

Lili ! Entremettiez ...

Caviar and friends by Bau

Bau's foi gras


Lollipop , gourmet style



Délice Nicolas Isnar
œuf Nicolas !

Lobster by Hangar 7 team
Nicolas Isnar and Koschina

Hangar 7 Chefs with Koschina

Le couple !

Christian Bau, the youngest 3 star Chef in Germany !

During Tribute to Claudia 2008 in Vila Joya, I had the rare opportunity to work with this great Chef. He his the youngest Chef to get the 3 star from the Red Guide Michelin.
Very simple, but full of content, I loved his masterpieces and it was a honnor for me to have helped him, during this day.

That's a nice one for Breakfast... Laduree... hmmm!

ritual no Flickr – Compartilhamento de fotos!

beaualalouche blog: Macarons de Pierre Hermé

Recette de Pierre Hermé, Larousse du chocolat

J’ai obtenu 60 macarons de 4-4,5 cm de diamètre environ

1ère étape : faire la ganache au chocolat

300g de beurre mou
320g de chocolat noir
220 mL de lait

Écraser le beurre à la fourchette et le malaxer jusqu’à ce qu’il devienne mou et onctueux.
Hacher le chocolat, le mettre dans un saladier.
Porter le lait à ébullition, en verser un peu sur le chocolat, mélanger doucement et ajouter ainsi le reste du lait.
Quand le mélange a tiédi, ajouter petit à petit le beurre mou, mélanger doucement sans trop travailler la pâte pour garder une texture moelleuse.

Mettre un film sur le saladier et conserver la ganache au frais.

2ème étape : préparer les macarons

480g de sucre glace
280g de poudre d’amande
40g de cacao en poudre non sucré
7 blancs d’œufs

Tamiser le sucre glace avec le cacao.
Hermé préconise de tamiser aussi la poudre d’amande, pour moi ça ne marche pas, ce ne passe pas à travers le tamis alors en fait, je passe la poudre au mixer pour qu’elle soit encore plus fine.
Mélanger le tout.
Monter les blanc en neige, y incorporer délicatement le mélange cacao-sucre-amande.

Remplir la poche à douille de cette pâte et répartir des ronds de 4 cm de diamètre (ou plus ou moins selon le résultat attendu) sur une plaque de four tapissée de papier sulfurisé.
A noter : la première fois que j’ai fait des macarons, je n’avais pas de poche à douille, j’ai fais mes tas de pâte à la petite cuillère et ça avait vraiment très bien marché.

Laisser reposer 15 min à température ambiante et préchauffer pendant ce temps le four à 140°C (thermostat 4-5).

3ème étape: la cuisson

Enfourner et laisser cuire 15 min (ça c’est pour les macarons d’à peu près 4 cm de diamètre, ensuite il faut adapter) en maintenant la porte du four entrouverte grâce à une cuillère en bois (pour éviter que la surface des macarons craquelle).

Sortir du four, soulever un coin de papier sulfurisé et faire couler un filet d’eau froide sur la plaque. Cela permet de décoller facilement les macarons. Les laisser refroidir sur une grille.

Vu la quantité, il faut faire plusieurs fournées, je conseille de re-mélanger la pâte à chaque fois avant de remplir votre poche à douille.

4ème étape : assemblage

Garnir la base plate d’un macaron avec la ganache et poser un autre macaron dessus.
Disposer les macarons ainsi obtenus dans un plat, couvrir de papier film et essayer de les laisser deux jours au frigo avant de les croquer…

Mais moi je préfère de les manger tout suite

It's cold out there !

Certificate from Marc Meneau L'Esperance

Certificate from Vila Joya !

And that's it

After 2 years and 7 months, it is time for me to move on and continue my cooking adventure.
I am leaving Vila Joya within the next few months. I have signed in very many online job sites. I know that I have talent and charisma, I believe in myself. I will succeed !
I am looking forward to meet and work with great Chefs.

I kiss and hug all the Vila Joya staff, for all their love and care, some more than others, but all have my heart with them forever from now onwards.

I thank Chef Murat for all the support that he has given me during my wonderful stay in Vila Joya's kitchen. You are like a brother to me.

I thank Great Chef Koschina with all my heart, for all his recommendations and for letting me in his cooking world, where I learn so much.

I also thank Gebhard for trusting me all these years and helping me find a new place to work in.

Last but not least, Joy, I thank you for you to exist. You provided me with a time of bliss for almost 3 years. I can never pay you back. I hope that life goes where you want it to go to, and enjoy the ride. Please keep in touch.

I hope that I made a difference.

Bye...

Reportagem da Joana Latino !

News Interview of Chefs and me !

Happy birthday Horny Potatoe !

Yes ! She is one of our Entremetier Cooks and her birthday is today !

Happy birthday , Horny Potatoe, or Lili as we call her !

Once more into the breach !

Well, tonight I will continue to work in my working place at 6 PM. Thomas Dorfer will be the Chef in charge of the kitchen. I'll make photos and videos if I have time, and will show them to you here tomorrow.

See ya !

I was interviwed by National TV !

That's true !
RTP and SIC, two of our 4 national TV Stations, were in our Restaurant because of the Festival going on this week, and they have interviewed me for the daily news !
I am famous now ! Please talk with my agent ! It's the same as Ferran Adriá's !

Stars, here I go !

LOL !
I'm so full of __it...

And what you know... ?

And what you know, it happened...
I don't know if it was by talking and writing about it, (my last article) but tonight I had a dream so real that I thought that I was really there... having a meal with my parents... Thank you, who ever you are, I owe you one million euros.

Life's like that !

Hey !

How are you all? good? Hope so...
We are getting ready for this weeks event in Vila Joya and the stress level is peaking up.
What will I learn from these Chefs? Are they any good out of their kitchens? I'm sure that the answer is yes.
Believe me when I say that my best meals were taken at my grandmothers tables both in Lisbon and in Herdade da Pacheca. Even a piece of bread and a bowl of warm soup of those days would fill me and my soul better and more than any food prepared by Bocuse or Meneau, with all dew respect, off course.
That's why food is not only food, you know? Food is all that has to do with it. We are not filling up the tank with the best Gasoline available ! We are not machines, taste machines... We are humans with taste, eyes, feelings and memories and at the very end: stomachs !

I would save, or steal 1 million Euros, if I knew that I could buy another of those moments with my grannies or my mom. And the only stars would be on the corner of my eyes.

Know what I mean...?

So, call your mom or granny and ask her to cook something for you as soon as possible and live and remember those moments for ever.
Then tell me about it.

Good food is in your brain as well, as everything.

Always sharpen your knifes

Onion and Gatorade to power iPod ...

Cooking Breakfast 1930

Gordon Ramsey's Scrambled Eggs

Pulp Fiction Breakfast Scene !

ratatouille

Tributo a Cláudia 2008 no Vila Joya ! (Lusa)

Alta Cozinha: 12 dos maiores chefes do Mundo no Algarve para participar em festival gastronómico no Vila Joya

Faro, 06 Jan (Lusa) - Doze dos melhores chefes de alta cozinha do Mundo vão estar no Algarve para participar a partir do próximo domingo, dia 13, a 2ª edição do Festival gastronómico "Tribute to Cláudia", no hotel-restaurante Vila Joya, em Albufeira.

Além do chefe Dieter Koschina - que elevou aquele espaço situado junto à Praia da Galé, Albufeira, ao estatuto de único restaurante português com duas estrelas no Guia Michelin -, confeccionarão ementas outros 11 chefes, a maioria deles jovens com idades entre os 30 e os 36 anos, todos com menções no mesmo guia.

É o caso de Christian Bau, o mais jovem cozinheiro alemão a receber as três estrelas Michelin, e uma das grandes esperanças da cozinha mundial.

"Na edição do ano passado, que assinalou os 25 anos da Vila Joya, o êxito foi tão grande que decidimos institucionalizar o festival", explicou o director do empreendimento, Gebhard Schachermayer, durante a apresentação do certame à imprensa.

Por outro lado, trata-se de "um acontecimento único em Portugal, graças à reputação dos chefes internacionais presentes", assinalou o chefe austríaco Dieter Koschina.

Criado também como forma de homenagem à fundadora da Vila Joya, Cláudia Jung, o festival - que decorre de 13 a 19 de Janeiro - consta da apresentação diária de um menu de sete pratos, a cargo de cada um dos chefes presentes, a quem competirá também a selecção dos vinhos, de origem nacional.

O preço de cada jantar varia entre os 180 e 250 euros, de acordo com o estatuto dos chefes, mas este ano a direcção do Vila Joya decidiu doar 50 euros desse valor a uma instituição de solidariedade social do Algarve, ainda a designar.

Durante a apresentação do festival, foi lançado também o livro "The Book of Joy", com fotografias de Paulo Barata e Vasco Célio, tiradas durante a azáfama que se viveu no festival de 2007 na cozinha do Vila Joya.

Trata-se de duas perspectivas distintas sobre o ambiente, a tensão e o humor que se viveu em cada noite do certame, na óptica de dois fotógrafos profissionais com ligações ao Algarve.

No início do festival, a 13 Janeiro, o menu estará por conta de Thomas Dorfer, 2 estrelas Michelin, que trabalha como Chef principal no Landhaus Bachen, na aldeia de Matern, na província de Wachau, Áustria, a que se segue, dia 14, Mario Lohninger, 1 estrela Michelin, proprietário dos restaurantes Silk Bed e Micro, no CocoonClub, em Frankfurt, Alemanha.

Dia 15 Janeiro, terça-feira, será a vez de Christian Baú, 3 estrelas Michelin, que trabalha no restaurante Schloss Berg, num castelo renascentista no Sarre (Alemanha), junto à fronteira com França.

No dia seguinte, quarta-feira, 16 Janeiro, os sete pratos do menu serão da responsabilidade de Nicolas Isnard, 1 estrela Michelin, Chef executivo do restaurante La Cedraie, no Chateau de Curzay, um hotel Relais/Chateau no vale do Loire, entre Paris e Bordéus.

A 17 de Janeiro, será a vez de um autêntico festival "dentro do festival", designado Koschina & Friends , com Marc Meneau (3 estrelas Michelin), uma das personalidades mais famosas e influentes da cozinha francesa que recentemente colaborou com Sofia Coppola em "Marie Antoinette", que é proprietário do restaurante L`Esperance, em Saint-Père-Sous-Vézelay, na Borgonha, considerado uma referência na gastronomia internacional.

Na mesma noite, estarão ainda na cozinha Eric Chavot (2 estrelas Michelin), Chef executivo do The Capitol, em Londres, Peter Knogl (1 estrela Michelin), do restaurante Trianon, no Lago Kempinski, em Génova, Suíça, Jörg Wörther (18 pontos no Guia Gault Millau), do restaurante Carpe Diem, em Salzburgo, Áustria, Roland Trettl (1 estrela Michelin), chefe executivo do Ikarus, no Hangar7 da Red Bull, Áustria e Peter Schachermayer (15 pontos no Guia Gault Millau, proprietário do restaurante St. Peter, no Motel Dietrichsteinnermot, em Carinthia, Áustria.

Dia 18 Janeiro, estará no comando das operações gastronómicas Martin Klein (1 estrela Michelin) que é Chef no restaurante Ikarus, no Hangar7, da Red Bull, em Áustria, desde 2003, ao lado dos mediáticos Roland Trettle e de Eckart Wittzigmann.

No último dia de certame, sábado 19 de Janeiro, a equipa do Vila Joya promete uma surpresa aos que decidirem pagar 215 euros para provar o jantar final da edição de 2008 do festival.

JMP.

Lusa/Fim

Enjoy Beach summer 2006

Going South

To be humble and learn

Really,the more I know about cooking, the more humble I get .
To be a Chef takes a great deal of humbleness. Nose up will only make you dum and dummer, if you insist.
The learning process never ends, as in life...
When you have younger cooks and chefs working with you , you tend to feel watched by all. They judge you every second and you know that you have to make mistakes to learn and to get something done better. Shit happens, and the more skilfull you get, the less mistakes you tend to make, but, to make better things, you will make mistakes and YOU WILL LEARN FROM THEM ! THAT'S THE SECRET ! Only when you make shit and you don't learn, then you are in deep shit...

100 voices

Life and Death of Ice Cream

Happy new year 2008 to You

I hope that we all know that 2008 is a very important year for Mankind.

So many important things will happen:

Parents will love their children
Children will love their parents

People will be born
People will depart

Wars will continue
Rulers will rule

Poor people will be poorer
Richer people will be richer

Grass will grow
Trees will burn

Good will happen
Wrong will happen as well

So, what's new?

Everything will change, because...

You will change...
Through your actions, deeds and words, the World will be a better place for all people and beings.
Yes, You.
I am talking to You.
I am so sure, that I bet my life and my children's lives on it.

Come on, do Your thing, 2008 is it!
2009 will be too late...

Just playing, cooking isn't everything I can do.

just cooking

Tribute to Claudia 2008

Next January 2008, the Event will take place for the second time.
I am sure that it will be a success as the first one.
This time we will have Chefs from 2 and 3 stars Michelin Restaurants, and the last day will be reserved for Koschina and friends, but now there will be 7 great Chefs cooking each one his dish.
All the other days will be filled with gastronomic bliss, each day with a different Chef.
Reserve well in advance.

scrambled again

More Douro

Douro trip

Once more we went to River Douro to taste some of the best food and wine in Portugal.
Niepoort, Murganheira, Casa Amarela, to name a few brands of magnificent wine and Port wine.
From Chef Rui Paula in DOC Restaurante near Peso da Régua City

Grapevines for Port Wine in Douro.

Quark Omelet

300 g Quark, 100 g creme fraiche, 4 egg yolks, 4 egg whites, 50 g maizena flower, 40 g powder sugar, lemon and orange zest, clarified butter. pinch of salt.

Mix the quark, creme fraiche, zests and maizena flower. One by one, mix the egg yolks. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and one thrid of the sugar until creamy and fluffy, then add the rest of the sugar and beat more.
Mix one third of the creamy egg whites into the quark mix, incorporate. Then, incorporate the rest of the egg whites mix using a inox-steel spoon or a wooden spoon.
Have a non-adherent frying pan swabbed with some clarified butter. Heat it up and add some of the pate. When the bottom of the omelet is cooked and with a golden color, fold it and place the pan in the oven for a few seconds until it grows a little bit. Serve with powder sugar on top and some red fruits compote. By Eckart Witzigmann.

too much work, sorry, no time for posts

I apologize for not posting for a while, but I have been really busy with my life.
I have new great recipes coming.
Please stay tuned.

Epicur, Conselho de Chefs (3)

A terceira questão refere-se Aos tempos e às cozinhas...

3. Cozinha Ocidental, ora aí está um termo engraçado...mas também não é sobre isso que vou falar... Em primeiro lugar, as duas posições estremadas: Enquanto uma mantém as memórias culturais gastronómicas dum povo ou povos, a outra recria a partir dessas memórias ou não, as próximas memórias desses povos. Complicado? Não... As condições que levaram à criação da cozinha regional em determinados momentos da História Privada foram ao longo dos tempos se modificando e a perfeição veio com o tempo. O Tempo de hoje e de há uns poucos tempos a esta parte, é muito mais acelerado que o anterior, quer em termos de percepção humana, quer em termos de exigência social. Vivemos sem Tempo e o Tempo é que nos regula. Tempo é dinheiro, Tempo é de ouro, Tempo ... etc. Conclusivamente a ideia de progresso não é medida ao longo de várias gerações- impensável- é medida, isso sim, em termos de 'moda Primavera, Verão, Outouno e Inverno e para o ano há mais', pois a Loba consumista que é a nossa Sociedade não se permite estar insaciada por muito tempo. Vivemos nos Tempos em que vivemos e não há nada a fazer para já... A evolução da nossa espécie passa por isto, este exagero. Haverá uma altura em que também ele, o Tempo sem tempo, deixará de existir e a calma e a boa vida voltarão, aquela em que teremos Tempo uns para os outros, até que, possívelmente, cairemos novamente noutro exagero, pois a memória dos povos é curta, penso eu. Ciclos de calma seguidos de frenesim ou exagero, são um produto natural da sociedade humana. Na cozinha, visto ser esta uma actividade humana, passar-se-à o mesmo. Chamemos-lhe a ordem natural das coisas. Como disse alguém... "Enquanto o pau vai e vem, que não me doam as costas". As respostas são sempre importantes, mas acredito mais nas perguntas: Em que tempo vivemos? Já estamos fartos de tanta inovação? Queremos a cozinha da minha Avó Bia? A sermos verdadeiros, talvez respondamos: - também- às duas últimas e - não sei- à primeira, não? Deixo a questão em aberto. Falta-me tempo.

Epicur, Conselho de Chefs (2)

Continuando na minha resposta às questões que não me foram colocadas na edição 67 da Epicur...

2. Entendo que a alta cozinha é aquela que não é de todo, terminal, última e final mas a que reside na fronteira do conhecimento gastronómico, em todas as suas qualidades mais sublimes. Ao situá-la numa fronteira, digo que esta está constantemente em expansão. Em cada momento, cada escola vai deixando a sua marca indelével na História. Refiro que cada corrente de pensamento referente a cada momento de alta cozinha, poderá ser uma escola, se houver quem a siga ou a tome em conta. Isto deixa-nos com um naipe de "Altas Cozinhas" oriundas dos mais diversos locais e pessoas do nosso Planeta. Por mais que nos pareça completa, nunca o está. Descobrir novas vertentes, aparentemente desconhecidas, como as da cozinha molecular (relembro que os processos já eram utilizados pela indústria alimentar, não eram aplicados do mesmo modo na alta cozinha, mas aí foram 'beber' a informação) de tão inovadoras que aparentem ser, dão-nos a impressão de estarmos a viver o futuro agora. Esta sensação pode inclusivé dar-nos a imagem de que está tudo inventado, que não há mais praias para desembarcar, mais cumes para conquistar, mais sonhos para sonhar... Deixem-me rir !... Tenho a profunda convicção no mais profundo do meu ser que, mesmo que alguém conseguisse mapear e desenhar a linha de fronteira do Verdadeiro Universo, haveria alguém que, depois, descobrisse ainda mais para além. Somos humanos, não há nada a fazer. Deliciemo-nos com estas novas descobertas e utilizemo-las para, em conjunto com todas as outras, assentarmos 'marcos geodésicos' ainda mais alto e mais além no panorama gastronómico. Não me esqueço, porém, que o bom da viagem é o caminho.
Tenho fé, tenho mesmo, que a nossa Cozinha Regional Portuguesa possa ser sublimada e tornada conhecida globalmente. Creio ser a nossa cozinha regional no seu todo, no seu estado mais enraizado, uma excelente base de partida para dar novos sabores ao Mundo da Alta Cozinha. ( e esperar que o Mundo não as distorça, não é?)
O Herman José dizia num canal da tv por cabo, Biography Channel, que escreveria no seu epitáfio que ele era um humorista que teve a infelicidade de ter nascido num país pequenino. Um músico meu amigo, também afirmava que o Paulo de Carvalho, com a voz que tem, seria uma estrela mundial se tivesse nascido na América ou em Inglaterra. Não creio estarem a referir-se aos Km2 do Território, mas à pequenez da bitola por que se regem os valores deste povo, que não liga a artistas, nem a chefs de cozinha como devia. Lembro-me de ler sobre um dos Trois Gros, que abriu um restaurante no Brasil (país com muito mais Km2 que o nosso), creio que em São Paulo, e dizia que os primeiros anos tinham sido muito difíceis, chegando a ter de servir uma travessinha de arroz cozido a acompanhar os seus menús, mas insistiu e creio que vingou. O mal não é só nosso, aparentemente também teremos cura...
O Chef Gordon Ramsey afirma que já não há espaço para chefs gordos e que, para se fazer uma Cozinha sublime, é preciso 'work, work, work' (trabalhar, trabalhar, trabalhar) em primeiro lugar. 5 % de talento e 95% de suor. É verdade que, desde que sou cozinheiro na Vila Joya , já emagreci bastante. E a nossa cozinha é sublime, passo a publicidade.
Penso que a primeira vacina seria que os Chefs de cozinha tivessem uma maior aproximação ao cliente ( e possível cliente) e maior humildade, também, em reconhecer que juntos faremos tudo e que cada um no seu cantinho, só servirá aquele cantinho. O meu Chef Koschina fará o seu esforço, mas ele sozinho não é nada. Chef Vitor Sobral e todos os outros que marcam carimbos na nossa história gastronómica deveriam juntar-se e apoiar as lendas de amanhã, construir a nossa Alta Cozinha educando o palato e o bom gosto inato do povo português. Quem tem tão boas receitas regionais não pode ser tão pequenino como isso... Acordem !... (Acordemos)

Epicur e conselho de Chefs

Pois ainda hoje comprei a Epicur, uma revista de prazeres privados e virtudes públicas.
Alfredo Saramago é, e muito bem, seu director.
Este número a que me refiro é o nº 67.
Aqui, entre outros interessantes artigos, há uma série de respostas dadas por 4 chefs da nossa praça referentes a várias questões colocadas pela redacção da Epicur.

Tomo a liberdade de responder também, embora ninguém , obviamente, mo tenha pedido, e faço-o como cozinheiro amador que sou, (independentemente de ganhar a minha vida a cozinhar) calculando que esteja a falar sozinho.
Que me desculpe o Alfredo Saramago, que respeito, por este atrevimento e aparente petulância, mas lá vai disto, mesmo que não me tenha sido dirigido o convite. Cada artigo responde a um ponto, num total de 9 artigos e este é o primeiro.

1. Horácio, meu ganda maluco !... Hoje ainda havias de te rir com as mesmas coisas. Dois mil anos em tempo humano não é assim tanto, pois aparentemente já por cá andamos há mais de 3 milhões de anos. Entretanto, a nossa busca pelo prazer continua, na mesma, com duas vertentes: aquela em que este nos usa e aquela em que nós nos servimos dele. Na primeira, aparecem normalmente as "bílis e os tumultos" e na segunda mantêm-se os "gostos agradáveis" e os tranquilos humores". A busca do extravagante perseguirá talvez os mais ousados e não duvido que se tivessem encontrado muito boas coisas a partir de algum exagero. Como não ousar, se aí reside a loucura que cria? Chamar-lhe-ia a destruição criativa. Mas, infelizmente, o corpo é que paga. Sempre haverá quem aprenda com os erros dos outros ou com os próprios. Poderemos rir dos disparates alheios ou dos nossos, se para tal inteligência não nos faltar mas, sem uma data de disparates, levaríamos sempre muito mais tempo a chegar seja lá onde fôsse. Espero não estar a dizer nenhum disparate... Imaginem um mundo onde não houvesse espaço para o exagero e o disparate. Que tédio... "- E que tal barriga de porco com caviar?" que disparate, dirão uns, que desperdício, dirão outros. Eu digo: - venha de lá esse acepipe, é bem bom, já provei e gostei, mesmo ! Agora, é preciso que seja feito como aquele que eu provei e aí é que a porca, perdão, o porco, torce o rabo. Entendo o que Horácio pretendia com aquela sátira, e também lhe digo, 2 mil anos depois, que nem tudo o que parece exagero, o seja... mas imagino que, para retirar uma pepita de ouro da terra, seja preciso limpar muita m...
   

Over one year of posts in this blog !

it's true !

It all started on October, 13th, in 2006.

Still going and lots of things have happened since then. Some good, some strange, some that I still don't know how to judge, but here I am, still blogging for you all and for myself I presume, after all, this is my passion, I hope yours too.

keep in touch...

American Breakfasts are great !

Try this:

Breakfast Steak Hash... from the book (buy it! great recipes inside !) of Paul Gayler:

Mashed potatoes pancake with strips of steak on top and a fried egg, topped with black bean salsa.

serves 4

to make the black bean Salsa get 2 tomatoes, blanched, seeded and diced; 1/2 red bell pepper cut into 5 mm dice; 100 g cooked black beans; 1 red onion, chopped; 1 small red chili, seeded and finely chopped ; 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander; 1/2 tbsp maple syrup; juice of 1 lime - mix them all in a bowl and let infuse for one hour in a cool place.

to make the hash potatoes mix 300 g of crushed cooked potatoes with 2 egg yolks and 1 tbsp flour. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Mold this into 4 small patties, chill for 1 hour. Get a non-sticky frying pan with 1 tbsp of sunflower oil and, when hot, cook until golden, 3-4 minutes in each side. Keep warm.

Heat another non-stick pan with 1 tbsp of oil and when very hot, season the beef, a 400 g mignon steak cut in thin strips, with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Fry them quickly until sealed and golden all over, then remove from the heat, add the half avocado, seeded and stoned to the pan together with 5o g Cheddar cheese and stir together until the beef is bound with the cheese.

Fry the 4 free range eggs in another pan .

On the plate, place a potato cake and top it with some beef mixture and a fried egg. Spoon some black bean salsa around and over. Serve at once.

Thanks Paul

eggs Florentine

Eggs Florentine are a classic.
Basically it is a poached egg served on top of a blanched bed of spinach leaves, all covered with Mornay Sauce - which is made on a Roux base, with Gruyère cheese added, serve with a sage leaf on top and a tiny bit of grounded nutmeg.

Try if you fancy this, its quite good.

Centro Virtual Camões - Página principal

Centro Virtual Camões - Página principal

Love is a burning fire without being seen, my translation

Love is a burning fire without being seen;
A happy unhappiness;
A aching wound that one doesn't feel;
A uncontentious contentment;
Pain that bothers without aching;

It is not wanting more than wanting well
A lonely walk amidst the crowd;
Never enough pleased for being happy;
Knowing that loss is gain;


It is to be willingly imprisoned;
To serve who wins, the winner,
To have loyalty to the one who kills us.

But how may its favors cause
Friendship in the human heart,
If exactly the opposite is really Love ?

                           Luís de Camões

Amor é fogo que arde sem se ver

Amor é fogo que arde sem se ver;
É ferida que dói e não se sente;
É um contentamento descontente;
É dor que desatina sem doer;

É um não querer mais que bem querer;
É solitário andar por entre a gente;
É nunca contentar-se de contente;
É cuidar que se ganha em se perder;

É querer estar preso por vontade;
É servir a quem vence, o vencedor;
É ter com quem nos mata lealdade.

Mas como causar pode seu favor
Nos corações humanos amizade,
Se tão contrário a si é o mesmo Amor?

                           Luís de Camões

Brakfast menú #1

Check this out:

Buffet
Fresh fruits and natural fruit juices

Available
Green tea
Coffee, Black and white
Expresso

Entrée
Smoked Salmon cubes with toast and Dill Sauce

Main Course
Eggs Benedict en Cocotte

Desert
Tiramisú

Sounds good for breakfast ?
Your opinions, please...

Sorry folks, I am back...

After a few weeks, I am back. Life is what happens while you are planing it, thats what happened, so mom and dad are not here any longer and, truly enough, life goes on.
I have the feeling that I will never be a Michelin star Chef with my own restaurant, but that doesn't mean that I won't try. Watch out inspectors, I will !

Meanwhile I didn't stop cooking, so I have new ideas and recipes that I want to post here and I have so many books now that I love that I decided to talk about them too. Great cooking authors are out there for you to discover. Cooking and others as well, of course...
And by the way, this picture was taken some time ago. Because I lost a lot of weight since then, I leave you with this fat memory of myself

Estamos juntos, Pai.

Pai, estamos juntos, sempre.
Foste no dia 1 de Setembro e deixaste-nos sem ti fisicamente, mas sabemos que estás sempre connosco.
Não é fácil e sabes que não é.
Mantém-te em contacto, eu nunca deixarei de tentar fazê-lo e de perceber os teus sinais.
Beijos muito grandes à mãmã e aos queridos avós, temos muitas saudades deles e de ti.
Amamos-te muito e, embora a vida seja aquilo que nos acontece enquanto estamos a planeá-la, eu estou muito feliz por ter um Pai como tu.
Beijos muito, muito grandes dos teus filhos Zé e Luis.

No news and lots of work

This August was awesome in working hours ! But thats life, 'cause later in the season it will be calmer and now it's time to boogie and make money.
I am just saying that I had not much time to write here so often and in September will write more and some new and crazy recipes with eggs and other stuff.

See ya all !

'Como uma força !' Our August needs a lot of 'Força' !

Some comments !

That's what I like:
(...) The breakfasts were superb, but the evening meals were outstanding. I believe a sign of a good restaurant is not having any salt or pepper condiments on the table, as there is no need because the food is already perfectly seasoned.(...)
A guest's comment posted on the internet.

Scramble eggs with something special

Try this:
As you start making the scrambled eggs, add a pinch of Fenugreek leaves. Towards the end, just before the eggs start to coagulate all together, add some finely chopped chive.
It will taste a bit like curry, because curry uses Fenugreek seeds, and the taste is similar, but not the same as the leaves.
You may use dried leaves.
Tell me if you liked it...

The Inspiration

Cooking for VIPs, post scriptum

Quite a success, everyone enjoyed Chef Murat's delights. He really knows how to make good food. I helped him on the spot with the cooking and Daniel with the service.
This day I started at 5 AM and finished at 2 AM next day. Wow... I must love this... I do.

Cooking for VIP Artists

Next Weekend I'll be cooking for VIP music stars, backstage in the VIP salon in a concert.
Is that cool or what?
Who knows? Maybe Madonna will drop by...

Palm's Hand reading

A good friend of mine read my hand today.
If you are curious about this subject go here
I am truly astonished with what he told me.

I still think that we are soles having a human experience.
Don't be afraid. Never.Follow your true instincts.

It is hot isn't it?

Summer is here. I love it!
Gimme heat and I'll be happy!!!

Devia haver um subsídio...

Pois é, o Luis sabe bem do que eu estou a falar...
Levantar-mo-nos tão cedo todos os dias, trabalhar como trabalhamos e ainda estarmos sujeitos a ter de conviver com aquelas duas todos os dias... é duro... literalmente...
Devia haver um subsidio que nos aliviasse esta tensão.
Até lá , tem paciencia, Luis, que eu também...
Há coisas piores...se há....

A Associação !

A Associação dos Cozinheiros Profissionais de Portugal
tem como seu Presidente o Chef Fausto Airoldi, o qual respeito muito, tendo eu inclusivé sido, há uns bons anos atrás,cerca de 13 , seu gerente numa sua cozinha central, na zona do Principe Real.
Como as coisas têm o seu tempo, naquela época eu nunca imaginei que algum dia me tornasse um profissional de cozinha, assim o meu contributo foi bastante pobre em termos de trabalho desenvolvido naquela empresa onde trabalhei e não muito bem, por minha culpa, durante 30 dias.

Ainda tinha de passar por mais coisas e tinha de rechear a minha bagagem de vida antes de efectivamente me tornar no que sou na Vila Joya, onde me acarinharam e me convidaram a ficar, já vão quase dois anos...

Penso que chegou a altura de me juntar aos meus colegas. Acho que conseguimos fazer melhor e apresentar melhor os nossos produtos e as nossas receitas. Mais boa divulgação entre os cozinheiros, um forum aberto quem sabe?

• Melhor marketing
  
• Inovação, mesmo em termos mundiais e não somente copiando as novas tendencias de fusão e moleculares.
• Insistência nos menús de degustação em redor de um tema, que nos tranporte e faça sonhar.
• Insistência nos nossos sabores, nas nossas misturas, sem igual em lado nenhum.
• Insistência no sabor e grafismo das nossas criações.
• Insistência no valor nutritivo, cultural e salutar da comida que ingerimos.

Já lhes mandei um e-mail, e já recebi a resposta!
Obrigado Estela !

Recomendo o Chef Rakesh !

Fui jantar com a família ao restaurante Royal, nas Areias de S. João, em Albufeira, a convite dum familiar.

Fomos muito bem servidos e o jantar ficará na memória.

O Chef Rakesh é o responsável por esta cozinha indiana.

Parabéns Chef !

E quem é o, ou a, Chef?

Tenho vindo a verificar cada vez mais que a malta vai a um restaurante e tá-se mais ou menos nas tintas para saber quem é o chef.
O que importa é que o sítio até é fixe e a comida nem é má, o pessoal é simpático... etc. Claro que isto é importante, mas foram lá fazer o quê? Comer? e quem faz a comida? O ou a chef e a malta que trabalha com ele ou ela ! E como é que ele ou ela se chama? Qué lá saber... não é? O restaurante chama-se 'O Whdvcçliugf' e prontos !
Fico chateado, claro que fico chateado !
Era como se comprassem um quadro a óleo e no quadro estava escrito 'Leroy Merlin' ! havia de ser lindo !
E se isto faz sentido para alguns de vocês, porque é que nunca querem saber o nome de quem fez aqueles pratos deliciosos, ou de fraca qualidade, que comeram nessa noite? Assim, na próxima podem saber se o ou a podem encontrar ou fugir dele ou dela !
Tou bem ou não? Se calhar tou enganado ...

Imaginam-se num estádio de futebol e alguém marca um golo ! e ouve-se : É gooooooooooollllllooo do Benficaaaaaaaa ! e prontos quem marcou foi o Benfica, nunca quereriam saber do nome do jogador, pois não interessa para o assunto, era fixe não era?

E podia continuar por aqui fora...

Hoje fui comer a um restaurante que está sempre cheio de gente, onde se come bem e em boa conta:- em Lagos na 'Adega da Marina', passo a publicidade.
Provavelmente até já lá comeram e gostaram.
Como é que se chama a Chef? Hein? Como?! Até o empregado de mesa teve de puxar um pouco pela cabeça para me dizer o nome !

É a Chef VICÊNCIA !!!!!! Benzádeus !

Não custa nada, perguntem sempre pelo nome do, ou da, Chef, vão ver que não dói nada e ficam a saber.
Habituem-se: "eh, pá comi um pitéu super, feito pelo Chef 'tal' no restaurante 'tiriri'".
Haaa, já agora... Nós somos cozinheiros e Chef quer dizer aquele, ou aquela, que lidera a 'brigada' de cozinheiros(as). Chef e não Chefe !
Sim, e estou a falar em português, porque isto é para nós mesmo ! Os outros, nã quero saber se aprendem ou não...

Sim Chef !

Jamie´s 'fifteen' Idea is a good one...

One day, I hope, if I can, I would like to run a restaurant where the cooks are young people with no resources. Specialy if I can make it in a place where they are set aside by the society in general.
If I could make this for my profession, maybe other professionals from other areas could do the same. We can't always wait for governaments to act in favour of their people, 'cause they usualy don't.
We are Humans, remember? Human kind? Nations and countries and territories is a Man's invention. Human kind exists no matter what. Rich? Poor? We, as humans, must act, not just be spectators. If you can, do something, not just talk about it. Just look around you.

Jamie, 'fifteen' you rock.

Iron Chef - Battle Egg (5 of 5)

tadaaaaammmmm !....

Iron Chef - Battle Egg (4 of 5)

and goes on...

Iron Chef - Battle Egg (3 of 5)

well?...

Iron Chef - Battle Egg (2 of 5)

Try these for breakfast

Robuchon a' Galera Macau

Poached egg perfect...

Try this:

Get some water boiling in a deep pan.
Place 2 eggs, whole, or as many as you wish, as long as they fit comfortably side to side, inside the bottom of the pan, for 15 to 25 seconds inside that water. This will make the egg white inside the shell to start to coagulate and it will be easier to do the next step.
In another pan, boil some water, but add some white wine balsamic vinegar, or other.
Take it away from the heat and open those eggs into the water, gently.
Wait 3 minutes.
Take them out using a ladle and place them in very cold, or icy, water, after you have trimmed the eggs, so that they look nice and oval. Be careful not to crack them open.

When you are ready to use the eggs, get some water boiling with salt and let them in for 30 to 45 seconds, this will be enough to heat them up again.

Get them on toast with bacon or anyother use that you want and enjoy your poached eggs.

Our breakfast eggs, a special ingredient...

Today, I had the pleasure of taking a guest by car to the hairdresser because she was already late and the time was running short, so, I took her on my family car, believe me its not de Luxe ...

Well, what matters is that she is a guest from Vila Joya, thus someone very important to us.
She revealed to me that she had never had such delicious scrambled eggs with ham and herbs, and these guests travel a great deal around the world, believe me.

I told her that we only use the best and freshest ingredients, in well balanced recipes. And that was the reason why the eggs tasted so excellent.

I must say now that I did not tell her the real truth.
All that we do, including the eggs, is made with love and care as if we were cooking for our own friends and family.
So the main ingredient is Love. The rest is merely a consequence...

Maria de Lourdes Modesto and our cooking ways...

Remember this:
If you ever would like to know how to make a traditional portuguese recipe, get the Portuguese Traditional Cook book by Maria de Lourdes Modesto.
She has the best recipes from all over Portugal.
Truly, truly portuguese culture and memory.
Portuguese traditional creations in food has practicaly none or little influence from modern french, italian, english or whatever cuisine.
Our recipes go back to Asian, African and Arabian cultures, Portugal was strongly occupied by muslims from south until Douro river, all remixed and adapted to our special tastes in each portuguese region.
Off course that we have some influence from some Iberian cooking culture.
The sweets and special deserts were developed mainly by the monks and nuns from the rich abbeys, seldomly using sugar, eggs and almonds toghether with cinnamon and other spices brought by the portuguese navigators.
Still to be discovered by most of the world of cooks, the Portuguese recipes lack in promotion and adaptation from most of the chefs in Portugal, except for some honorary ones.
To change this, there should be a wider and stronger support from our Ministry of Culture. Promoting our recipes, in lighter versions, presentable ones, according to the nowadays way, considering health and good nurishing habits.

Clams with pork meat, Goat cheese with wild crunchy plants on a broth, shark soup, 'Cataplana', clams and corn mash with fresh herbs, mutton 'ensopado' with mint, river eel cooked with rice using the fish blood and red wine, crusty and flaky pastry cup with a special custard-like filling topped with cinnamon dust that go so well with expresso coffee, to mention a few things that you have probably never heard of.

And our best wines? Considered some of the world's best already, check them out...

Get curious, find out more about it... read M.L.M. She knows...

Larousse Gastronomique's new edition: - a must have

Buy the new Larousse Gastronomic 4 new books (Hamlyn ed.), with Joel Robuchon as President of the Gastronomic committe.
If you are a serious cook or if you are just a 'foodie' you must have it.
It is divided in 4 books: vegetables, fish, meat and sweets.
Go and get it now, i just did.

What about omolette ?

Yes, what about omolette?
How do you like it? Plain or with something special? Well done or creammy inside? I make them everyday, and always try to have them creammy inside and my favorites have herbs and tomato and pancetta crunchy bits. I should video one, to show you how I do them.
At the moment, we are quite busy, to say the least, in Vila Joya, where I work, so I don't have much time to make photos or videos of what I am doing, but as soon as it calms down, and I do hope that it doesn't (right, Joy?) ;-) I will make the videos I promissed you, ok ?
Meanwhile, please comment on omoletts, send me recipes, do something! Please...

And are you all cooking your breakfasts? Come on, don't be lazy, get up and have a king's day start !
Be good !

Eggs bennedict en coccote !

Today I tried a new recipe created by me, Eggs Bennedict 'en coccote'. (in a glass)

Recipe, pics and maybe a video tomorrow.

Stay tuned

What a 'Petit Dejeuner' ! (Breakfast, you fools !)

I found out after a couple of days, that my kitchen brothers and sisters did not have a propper breakfast, usually only coffee and that's it, so my breakfast was always at 12 o'clock , they called it lunch, the same system as in Portugal, but I am not used to it anymore, I am a breakfast cook, remember?. So this is the story of one 'trés bon petit dejeuner', pardon my french...

One fine day, Marc Meneau invited me to have a meal in the main room, so, he told me to stop work, at 11 hrs and shower and change. So I did... Breakfast King Size, was awating...

Getting ready for a memorable lunch at L'Espérance of Marc Meneau. It,s 12 o'clock now of April 22, 2007.

Caviar on beetroot, egg white and créme and lemon zest, toghether with a Chablis grand au "Vaudésir" 2002 Domaine Brochard, a white wine from Vézelay ! What a start. I had this 'amuse bouche' at the gardens before I went to the main room. Delicious.

To work out my apetite (!) I had this special cumined Carrot stripe rolled around a foi gras farse. with delicious sauce.

Imagine the sea with all its secrets... and get it all on a presentation dish, Tadam.... ! this is It ! When I saw Adeline preparing the Urchins I had no idea that this woul be the final result... Inside a urchin shell, I had a mouth watering sabayon a little bit brulleé at the top and to contrast it, the urchins corals in cold sea water gellatine. To eat and dream away, weted by a "Chassagne Montrachet "Morgest" 2004 Domaine Borgeot"... I just have to close my eyes to remember... and...

After this, I had a Lobster with 'Liveche' (wild Cellery) sauce and 'Petit pois au lardons' green peas with microscopic pieces of bacon (I had cut some previously at the kitchen for mise-en-place). I was soaway from this world that I did not take a photo, so you will have to take my word for it.

And this is the tenderest, mouth watering, savouriest piece of lamb I have ever had, and with a special wine , of course... Sauvigny lés Beaune "Narbantons" 2004 Domaine Guillemot. Confectioned by Julien Boyet, I belive. So... Now I am starting to feel quite full but I have to find space, and so easily, for the next show... desert, starting with cheese !

A Comté millesimme 1999 cheese, with cellery and apple cumined salad ! To be remembered...

This desert starred at Sofia Coppola's Movie 'Marie Antoinnette' by the hand of Chef Marc Meneau who was the consultor for gastronomy. And now I was about to eat 'history'... Imagine strawberrys picked up that morning tocheter with a ginger foam, and other wonderfull things I can't reveal. The desert wine was Pinot Gris d'Alsace "Vendanges Tardives" 2000 Domaine Rolly-Gassman The perfect light desert for a perfect breakfast at the garden's of Éden that is L'Espèrance of Françoise and Marc Meneau. Coffee and petit fours were next...

Mainly, I was just looking at this tastefull dish, I was so complete that I just took a Lychee and had my expresso, calmly finishing my Pinot Gris d'Alsace... It is now 2:26 PM... And I start work again at 5, time for a walk or a siesta? You guess...

Thank you, Grand Chef and thank you Madam Françoise Meneau and all my dear friend cooks for this memorable Breakfast !

Mon premier 'Diploma' de Cuisine !

Et Voilá !

Attestation de Stage
Je, soussigné, Marc Meneau, Société des Domaines de L'Espérance et du Roncemay, certifie que:
Monsieur José Manuel Cortes Amaral
a effectué un stáge au sein de notre Brigade, en tant que "Auditeur Libre"
Du 11 Avril au 23 Avril 2007.
Il nous quitte ce jour, aprés nous avoir donné toute satisfaction, tant par ses compétences que par ses qualités professionnelles.

Fait à Saint Père, le 24 Avril 2007
(Signé)
Marc Meneau

Au revoir, mes amis

And Pierre Meneau said to me... "Merci José d'etre venu c'était un vrai plaisir pour nous, en espérant te revoir bientot."
Depending on me, it can be soon...

My french is still not good enough to write these words perfectly, so I will be doing it in English, this time...

This Stage in Marc Meneau's L'Espérance was beyhond my expectations, I have learned so much in such short time, but most of all I have learned that it is possible to produce great cuisine, with the maximum quality and to do it with such humanity and brotherhood as in L'Espérance with this wonderfull band of brother and sister Chefs that I have worked with.

It is now time for me to interiorize the lessons, time for me to remember all that I did not take pictures from and that I did not take notes from:- the love and caring humanity that surrounded this spectacular kitchen. All this reflects on the final product, no doubt about it. The miracle of this good food has angels behind it, belive my words...

From Koschina's kitchen I had the possibility of learning all that I know, for the past 2 years. Having the possibility of learning my profession from one great Chef is very good, even outstanding, but to get the chance to learn from two of the greatest European Chefs, beeing one the best Chef in Portugal and the other one of the best Chefs in France, this, my friends is beyhond all that I thought I could get in my life. I just wonder what is still waiting for me further down the road...

My thoughts go now to all the friends that I've left behind in St-Père-en-Vézelay: Marc, Françoise, Pierre, Aurelien, Laurent, Sebastien, Emanuel, Julien, Adeline, Thomas, Brice, Julien B,Takashi, Juliana, Carla, Émeric, Cecille, Daniel, Marylin, Lili, Tiffany, and all the others that are in my heart, and will be for a long, long time. May you all find what you are looking for in your lives and may one day we meet again.

Au revoir, mes Amis !

Sebastien Thierry

Déjeuner

comme nouveau !

Grand Chef Marc Meneau

Benjamin

Tiffany

Marilyn (Monroe)

Lili !

Takashi Shiba

Thomas Zannetti

Julien Violet

Adeline Violet

Julien Boyet

Emanuel, l'Alsacién !

Carla Mizher

Aurelien Gransagne

Laurent Large et Juliana Becker

Le noveau José...

J'arrive ....

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Every morning you greet me

Small and white, clean and bright

You look happy to meet me.

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow

Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Bless my homeland forever

Great song isn't it?

fui ao site do meu colega Luis o www.24anosdehotelaria.blogspot.com e vi lá esta foto. Um abraço ó Luis !

Visitem o site, apesar de ele ser um pouco exagerado quanto à importância do Sporting, o resto não está mal.... Está até muito bem , não fosse a nódoa verde...

Hindi, for Dr. Jacob

I do not know if Dr. Jacob can understand what is writen underneath, but if you can, say something , man ! हैप्पी दय ऑफ़

हिंदी फ़ॉर दर जैकब

ई दो नॉट क्नोव इफ थिस कैन बे उन्देर्स्तूद ब्य दर जैकब, बुत इफ इत कैन, प्लेस सय ठाट यू दो , मन !
हैप्पी दय ऑफ़ !

oil pastel, but not a Manet...

O Meu estágio com Grand Chef Marc Meneau !

Será já no próximo dia 10 de Abril e até 24 do mesmo mês que farei um espectacular estágio com um dos melhores Chefs dos nossos tempos- : Marc Meneau ! Espero elevar-me um degrau nesta subida de bem fazer !

"(...)Quem quiser conhecer a sua cozinha, encontra, nas entradas, galettes de batata e creme de avruga com sardinha marinada com limão e nabos confitados, ostras com geleia de água do mar e creme perfumado com camembert, foie gras disfarçado de "castanha", redução de vinagre e brioche ralado e gema de ovo em farófia de clara com trufa branca.

Nos peixes, pregado do Atlântico em massa de sal e manteiga de lavagante, linguado assado com ervas aromáticas e espinha grelhada, lavagante ao caril indiano e vieiras ao limão confitado. Nas carnes, supremo de frango e lavagante Brillat-Savarin com creme de estragão, pato assado com nabos confitados, alcatra de vitela lardeada, molho de caramelo e tatin de endívias e carré de borrego à Léonel.

Nas sobremesas, ananás assado ao piri-piri e vagens de baunilha com gelado de queijo fresco, manga com gosto de pimentas e picantes, café torrado com pétalas de rosas, tarte de chocolate-creme de café-gelado de café e morango Marie-Antoinette e Sofia Coppola, nome derivado de Meneau ter sido consultor do filme." In DN Online no Sapo

My stage at L'Espérance !

(photo taken from the blog of Marc Meneau)

Finally, next month, from the 11th until the 24th, I will be staging in one of the most European acclaimed Chef's places of our times: Marc Meneau's L'Espérance, near Dijon, in France

For this unique opportunity, I thank my Chef Koschina, Chef Murat and specially Joy Jung, my Boss !

scrambled eggs video

Easy, but do it with love and care. It is difficult to work with one hand and film with the other, please use both.

Omolette José

Beat two egg whites with some salt until it stiffens.
Fry some pancetta slices until crispy and let the grease drain on a piece of absorbent paper.
Sautée some wild asparagus, after blanching them. Cut in small pieces, but let the tips whole. Season with Cellery salt.
Have some Cerfeuil leafs chopped and ready on the side.
Have a egg yolk ready and intact on the side.

Using a omellette sautée, non-stick, please, heat it up and smudge some ghee (clarified butter) on it with a silicone brush. Add a bit of garlick for flavour if you wish.
Instead of the butter you can use Virgin 1º olive oil, from good portuguese quality , the best, I must say.

Add the crushed pancetta, chopped Cerfeuil and asparagus and gently incorporate them into the beaten egg white. Save a small spoon of beaten egg white to use later.

Add this mix to the now hot sautée, give it a omolette shape.
Keep rolling gently so that it cooks the outside, always keeping the omolette shape.
when you feel that the outside is resistant, lay the omolete on one side and cut a big enough hole to add the egg yolk, unarmed, inside this little hole.

Remember the egg white that you have saved earlier? Use it now to close the hole and gently roll the omolette so that it cooks that part of egg white that you added.

Now, just before you place the omolette on the serving dish, brush it gently with some ghee and add some black pepper fresh from the mill.

Decorate as you wish, and eat it starting on the middle side, where the egg yolk is hidden.

To eat and enjoy with a glass of fine portuguese wine. I still look for the best marriage.

Instead of the Wild asparagus, you may use Salicornia, but reduce the salt because it is already a bit salty by itself.

I realize that it may seem strange to eat, because it is so far away from what one is used to, but the result is very gratifying, believe me...

For breakfast, off course.

Bom Apetite

Cheese experiment, book Jean-Charles Karmann

Camembert, camelised Apple slices and grinded Wallnut with bred crumbs around it.

But... something is missing here...

I tried it and I have to make a few changes to adapt it to my taste, sorry Jean-Charles... nothing personal, I am just a begginer... your book is phantastic ! I try again and make sure I do it as you say exactly in your book, ok?

Dom Rodrigo, sweet thing, portuguese traditional.

These are egg yolks stringed and cooked inside a light sugar syrup.
We call these "fios de ovos".







And this is what it will fill the little nest of 15 grms "fios de ovos", it is made with finely grounded almond, sweet and bitter ones, then almost caramelized, egg yolks added after this and cooked until it all becomes a nice soft cream like this one.




that's how it looks when they are mixed in a little ball, but it's not ready yet...






Now, cook some sugar and a bit of water to make this nice syrup,


roll each delicacy in it, but just enough to cover the little delight as this helps it to continue moist inside, among other things.

Gently, place it on a square of waxed paper to rest.








sprinkle it with icing sugar and grounded cinnamon.

That's how it looks like when you eat it. The original, as this one, is quite sweet and strong flavored, should be taken with a stong expresso coffee without no sugar added, or as Paulo, our sommelier well suggested, with a bitter almond liquer with some lemmon drops inside and ice cubes, and the coffee after or before, as you wish.

Fold silver foil and make a nice package, the usual is in the form of a pyramid, well like a pyramid, almost. I like to make other forms and this time we tried this one.

(that's me, the fat cook, but not for long, i'm on a diet!)




Tadaaaaaammmmm !

I have to make them less sweeeeet and maintain all the flavours and textures to make it available to the common mortals, but that's another recipe....

Have fun with the DOM RODRIGOS ! A delicacy from the south of Portugal, here where we are, in the Algarve region ! Almond trees, lots of 1st class chicken eggs and the sugar and spice given to the monasteries as payment, made the monks or nuns create this marvel, some centuries ago.
No excuse now, you can enjoy it as well, in your own home.

to make 16: 240 g "fios de ovos"; 100 g sugar; 60 g grounded almond; 10 egg yolks; syrup; icing sugar and grounded cinnamon; waxed paper; foil; inspiration...

Let's cook !

Chef Eckart Witzigmann !

One of the legendary 20th Century Chefs, he received the rare award chef of the century from the Gault Millau guide. Only three other chefs have been awarded this title:Paul Bocuse, Joël Robuchon and Frédy Girardet., Witzigman was in Vila Joya inspiring us all with his art.

I am very proud to say that he really liked my mushroom crackers and the way I cook and present my square fried eggs.
There you go, I had to say it, sorry for bragging , but that's the way it is...

Thank you, Grand Chef !

Aquarela do Brasil

nothing to do with breakfast but in a way, it can get you in a good morning mood... enjoy before breakfast...

Notícias Sic Online, Tribute to Claudia

Publicação: 15-01-2007 18:03 | Última actualização: 15-01-2007 18:15 SIC Nigel Haworth Cozinha de luxo Festival gastronómico de chefes com estrelas “Michelin”

Durante uma semana, um pequeno hotel de luxo, em Albufeira, vai receber alguns dos melhores chefes europeus para uma semana gastronómica inédita em Portugal. Todos os dias, um cozinheiro diferente, com as prestigiadas estrelas “Michelin” no currículo, vai preparar o jantar. SIC Ao início da tarde, ainda não era visível na cozinha nenhum daqueles pratos de fazer crescer água na boca, mas já duas estrelas partilhavam as bancadas e a fama de serem chefes de lugares recomendados pelo prestigiado guia “Michelin”. Um é Dieter Koshina, o anfitrião, há 17 anos cozinheiro do Vila Joya; o outro, Nigel Haworth, dono de um dos mais famosos restaurantes do nordeste de Inglaterra. Nigel preparou um molho de camarões, que vai usar, esta noite, para fazer a ligação entre o marisco tão abundante no Algarve e a sua ementa, baseada em produtos da terra ou de zonas muito específicas de Inglaterra. Além de Nigel, por esta cozinha, com duas estrelas, a mais bem reputada em Portugal entre os “Gourmet Michelin”, vão passar nos próximos seis dias, seis outros chefes da haute cousine europeia. Entre eles os lendários Marc Meneu, da França, e Dieter Muller, da Alemanha, uma espécie de sumidades, cada um com o máximo da pontuação, três estrelas “Michelin”. Uma experiência única em Portugal, conseguida graças á perseverança do chefe da casa. Esta semana gastronómica de luxo marca o 25º aniversário do hotel, uma unidade com apenas 20 quartos, mas considerada um dos melhores resorts boutique do mundo. Durante o festival gourmet, os clientes não vão apenas provar, mas também ver a confecção dos pratos, através de câmaras espalhadas pela cozinha e ecrãs nas salas principais. Apesar dos preços rondarem os 120 a 170 euros por pessoa, sem bebidas incluídas, a sala já está praticamente esgotada para toda a semana. Link para video aqui em SapoXL

A Chef's Applause

The Chef's Creation !

Just Joking

Chef Dieter Müller on Tribute to Claudia,

The 19 of January surprise was the famous Chef Dieter Müller.
Amazing dishes and creations from him were seen and tasted by us all in Vila Joya on last Friday the 19th of January, when the Tribute to Claudia's festival o Chefs was held in Hotel Vila Joya.

Here I go again !

Starting again on the 12 th of this month, I finish these fabulous holidays of mine, when I took time to rest and to be with my family.

I am so ready to start again, that I can feel it in my bones already.
I know that it is tiring and long hours, but I love it, I truly do.
I hope that I learn more and more.
I am starting on a week where great Chefs from all Europe are coming to my work place and show us all good things.

So, here I come ... World of Breakfast and Cooking!

the place !

I wish...

Photo by Christopher Gilbert
I wish that 2007 makes us all know, around this planet, that we are all made with the same water and now in small ice cubes we stand. And after we all melt, the pond will be made from all of us, so I wish that we start behaving as we do know it for sure.
Wake up!

coffee !

Photo by Christopher Gilbert
Coffee is a must for us, Portuguese, on the expresso form, we need it to start our day.
Queues at cafes before they open is quite common, mainly in the big cities.
Our coffee mix is arabica and robusta, it has to be strong, not mild as the americans, the english or german versions ( ... dish washing water).
'Bica'; 'Abatanado'; 'Cortado'; 'Pingado'; 'Curto'; 'Italiana'; 'Garoto'; 'Cimbalino'; 'com cheirinho' just to name a few forms of asking for one expresso.
Delta cafés is one of our best ones.
Our 'Pastéis de nata' go so well with our coffee !

Merry Christmas

I have been very lazy about my writings here. The reason is that I am on holidays.