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 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?
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 !
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 !
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.
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.
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...
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...
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 !
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
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 !
I do not know if Dr. Jacob can understand what is writen underneath, but if you can, say something , man ! हैप्पी दय ऑफ़
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 !
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
(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 !
Easy, but do it with love and care. It is difficult to work with one hand and film with the other, please use both.
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
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?
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 !
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 !
nothing to do with breakfast but in a way, it can get you in a good morning mood... enjoy before breakfast...
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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.
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!
