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
Este é o meu novo Blog e serve a minha presente actividade. Visite-o e contacte-me para mais informações.
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...
Yes ! She is one of our Entremetier Cooks and her birthday is today !
Happy birthday , Horny Potatoe, or Lili as we call her !
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 !
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...
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.
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.
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...
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
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 !
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.
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...
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.
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 !
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...
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 !
Et Voilá !
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 !
