I recently was invited by talented Executive Chef Chris Mills and his team to judge the finals of their top rising star apprentice chef regional winners from all the outlets of the casual chain Joey Restaurants. Twelve chefs competed from many cities including Seattle, Vancouver, Burnaby, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto. It was an event with a large enthusiastic young crowd attending in Vancouver with big video screens and continuous social media action. The apprentices showed first some innovative one bite often spicy dishes including these:

Purple Poutine: hollowed-out deep fried purple potatoes, chicken & beef gravy, melted cheese curds, tobacco onions and maple bacon

Crispy taste of Tuscany:  Olive tapenade on a prosciutto crisp garnished with fried parsley

The Southern Comfort: Salt crust braised pork belly on a cornbread cookie with apple brie cream & pickled vegetables

Tuna Nacho: Sesame-crusted chip sweet soy glaze, fresh avocado, tuna tartare, orange garlic & ginger dressing with tequila watermelon salsa and raw jalapeno

Beef Tataki Bites: Soy sauce, tenderloin, shimeji mushrooms, chard, ginger, wonton crisps, smoked aioli

Caribbean Crab Cakes: Burnt lime and chipotle airline, mango, papaya, & jalapeno salsa, tobiko, and daikon sprouts

Mushroom Maize: Wild mushroom ragout on crispy polenta with Asiago

The main menu entrée was prepared from identical glass box ingredients featuring pheasant. Here we could really judge their presentations for visual appeal, portion size and temperature; originality; and the interesting varied tastes from the same protein. There were no old style well-hung wild pheasants here. No Julia Child inspired Bonne Femme recipes either with ham or bacon with butter & onions and perhaps potatoes & mushrooms all very slowly cooked and basted. We all know how difficult it can be to cook pheasant perfectly so it is still remains moist. Still it was compelling to see what they thought would work best to show off this prime ingredient. Some innovative daring new upscale cuisine with an emphasis especially for the younger demographics I thought you might be interested in learning more about:

Smoky duo of pheasant spicy kale and leeks, sweet potato with carrots and fennel, wild berry gastrique, celery and apple salad

Thanksgiving dinner of fried pheasant breast served with a mushroom bread pudding, cranberry compote and pan gravy, sweet potato pie topped with sage and rosemary marshmallow

Pheasant peas prosciutto parsnips pistachios pears crumbles soy honey

Pan seared oven roasted pheasant carrot puree garlic butter dill potatoes bacon and apple chutney

The Lumber Jack with cinnamon mashed potatoes, pickled red cabbage & bacon, honey mint squash, vibrant pea puree, pan gravy

Delicious pheasant coq au vin with soft butternut squash polenta and pan seared Brussell sprouts

Bacon wrapped Roulade of pheasant with berry jus, mushroom duxelle, celeriac and apple puree, Yorkshire pudding, roasted root vegetables. This was the classy dish prepared by the overall winner Sourabh Rajwade from Joey in Toronto.

How would you prepare a dish using fresh pheasant?

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By Joseph Temple

“Did you ever see the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy stomps on the grapes?”

It’s been nearly sixty years since the episode first aired on CBS, and still to this day, people are laughing about it.  The hysterical scene where Lucy does battle against a seasoned Italian grape stomper inside a vat has become so memorable that whenever you discuss the winemaking process, somebody eventually makes reference to it. But even more fascinating is the fact that this iconic television moment wasn’t the result of any brilliant script writing or carefully planned out choreography. What took place that day was instead a delightful blend of impromptu method acting mixed with the comedic genius of Lucille Ball.

Airing on the night of April 16, 1956, “Lucy’s Italian Movie” was part of a string of fifth-season episodes where the Ricardo’s and the Mertz’s trek across Europe from London to Paris to Monte Carlo.  It was a formula that proved popular in the ratings with many middle-class viewers who were experiencing an unprecedented wave of post-war prosperity which allowed them to travel abroad for the first time in their lives.

Following their stay in Florence, the two couples head south to Rome where Lucy is discovered by an Italian movie producer who wants to cast her as an American tourist in his next motion picture titled Bitter Grapes.  Mistakenly thinking her role is that of a grape stomper, she decides to learn the ropes by rolling up her pant legs at a vineyard in Turo.  But while in the vat with another stomper, a back and forth brawl ensues causing the audience to laugh uncontrollably throughout the entire ordeal.

Looking back, it’s almost hard to believe that this riotous scene that has stayed in our collective memories for over five decades was never in the original script. According to writer and producer Jess Oppenheimer, “I can’t remember exactly when or how it was added.  It might have been that they called us down to the set because they felt it needed more … or they might have just improvised on their own.”

In preparation for this ad hoc moment, real grapes were brought in from a local California vineyard.  Remembering what it was like to be in the vat for the first time filled with fruit, Ball described it as “stepping on eyeballs.  We started stomping on the grapes, and I made a dance out of it, and then I slipped.”  And for the foil, Lucy’s husband/producer Desi Arnaz found an actual grape stomper when most wineries were mechanized.  Teresa Tirelli had never acted before and spoke very little English, requiring a translator to be on set to help guide her through the scene.  However, with much of the instructions being lost in translation, what transpired between the two women, unknown to viewers at the time was mostly a legitimate fight.

According to author Bart Andrews, Ball had wanted the scene to look as real as possible—and that’s exactly what she got:

“Since we hadn’t worked with the grapes in the vat during rehearsals, I had no idea what I was in store for.  Once the fight started, the lady was bent on drowning me.  At one point, she literally held my head under water, and I had to fight to get my breath back.  A lot of that was edited out of the final print.  Looking back, of course, I’m glad it happened that way because the scene was so good.”

When Ball accidentally hit Tirelli during one take, she responded back with full force as a method actor.  “Down I went, with Teresa on top of me … She just held me down, hitting me.  I thought she was trying to kill me.  I had grapes up my nose, up my ears.”

Airing a month after filming, the episode became so famous that many viewers who watched it thought that was how wine was made in the present despite the industry’s numerous technological advances by that time. “They [I Love Lucy] set back the vision of the Italian wine industry 100 years,” wrote author Thomas Pellechia in describing the impact of that one particular episode.  And in 2015, the fact that people still talk about it it is a testament to the comedic genius of Lucille Ball who risked her well-being that day in order to create some television magic.

Sources:

Adir, Karen. The Great Clowns of American Television. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1988.
Kanfer, Stefan. Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2007.
Oppenheimer, Jess and Oppenheimer, Gregg.  Laughs, Luck– and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996.
Pellechia, Thomas. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting and Running a Winery. New York: Penguin Group, 2008.
Scott, Michelle. Corked by Cabernet. New York: Penguin Group, 2009.

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Question: Travelling to London and the United Kingdom next month and would like your tip Sid on a local wine I should look for during my visit.

Answer: I would recommend looking for some of those Product of England much improved Sparkling wines. I have a soft spot for Nyetimber (www.nyetimber.com) as I know their winemakers Cherie Spriggs & Brad Greatrix  who studied at the Wine Research Centre  of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver before joining them in 2007. 100% Estate grown Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier from vineyards in Sussex & Hampshire result in complex fresh vintage bubbles as Classic Cuvee, Blanc de Blancs, Rose, Demi-Sec, and single vineyard Tillington – all worth trying! I admire their brave decision not to produce any English fizz at all in 2012 because they decided the quality of their fruit was not good enough. Information on other English wine producers to explore on your visit can be found on their website.

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Green asparagus is popular in North America but the milder more tender succulent white asparagus needs more love. More work to grow because the process requires mounding the earth around the stalk to deprive it of light which produces that green chlorophyll. Previously Germany had sent for a while their juicy Spargel to Canada but when the fresh quality of the shipments deteriorated the imports eventually stopped. Bigger size is better. Also tricky customs regulation hurdles to be able to bring in a product containing dirt from Europe. Nevertheless this didn’t worry the Dutch Consul General in Vancouver who rather than just celebrating the beautiful Spring tulips also held at his residence the First Dutch White Asparagus Festival in Vancouver in collaboration with Martens Asperges sponsor & the Confrerie de l’asperge Limbourgondie. Beautiful white thick impressive stalks imported for this event by Kuehne & Nagel and to be marketed in the future by www.ponderosa-mushrooms.com.  Chefs from the Hostellerie de Hamert in the Netherlands attended to prepare a wonderful 7 course lunch menu all matched well with a lively fresh 2014 Vivace Pinot Grigio by La Stella (www.lastella.ca) from the Okanagan Valley BC Canada. Thought you might appreciate knowing some of the diverse uses for this prized vegetable:

1. Cocktail Prince Willem-Alexander: Recipe created when King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was born  on April 27, 1967 making a white asparagus cocktail with chicken, fresh orange slices, and curry/ginger mayonnaise

2. Dutch Gin marinated wild salmon with a tagliatelle of white asparagus & herbs

3. Creamy veloute soup of white asparagus

4. Steamed white asparagus with scallops, wild mushrooms, and slow cooked pork belly “smoked bacon”

5. Stir fried white asparagus with garlic seasoned Canadian lamb

6. White asparagus “Comme il faut” (Proper – or the way it is supposed to be eaten) with Livar boiled ham, boiled egg, small potatoes & asparagus-butter sauce

7. Dessert Dutch “Haagse Bluf” (Hague Bluff  – joke that people from Hague are full of hot air) Iced coffee with caramelized white asparagus, currants, and egg foam

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By Joseph Temple

You might have noticed over the past couple of years that more and more people are drinking bubbly Prosecco!  Whether as an aperitif or part of a Bellini cocktail, this crisp, refreshing and cost-friendly sparkling wine has taken the world by storm, outselling Champagne for the first time in 2013 with 307 million bottles!  In fact, Americans imported approximately 2.3 million cases in one year alone–up dramatically from just 500 cases less than a few decades ago.

So for this week’s entry, let’s have a closer look at this delightful Italian wine:

By TUBS [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

1. DOC & DOCG Prosecco is produced in the northeastern regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia & Veneto.

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2. The two towns known for Prosecco – Valdobbiadene & Conegliano – are both sheltered by the Alps, making the area near and between them ideal for growing Prosecco grapes.

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By Jeff Kubina [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

3. Unlike Champagne’s secondary fermentation which takes place in the bottle, Prosecco is fermented in stainless steel tanks, which helps to make it more affordable.

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By James Cridland (Flickr: Champagne on ice) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

4. Prosecco comes in both lightly sparkling or frizzante & fully sparkling or spumante.

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By Jessica Spengler (Flickr: Prosecco with raspberries) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

5. Prosecco is known for its lower alcohol content (usually 11-12%) and its fruity aromas/flavors that can include apple, peach and apricot.

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By the_moment (Flickr: prosecco) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

 6. By 2008, nearly 60% of all Prosecco was produced outside its traditional regions in northeastern Italy.

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By paul Barker Hemings from seregno, 85 (P6130647) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

7. That’s because Prosecco was determined by the grape variety and not the place of origin, allowing other countries the right to use the name.

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By Sandstein (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

8. This worried Italian vintners, who were very concerned that the Prosecco brand was being exploited just as it was starting to take off internationally.

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By John W. Schulze from Tejas (Prosecco vineyards) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

9. So in 2009, the Italian government declared that in order for a wine to be labelled Prosecco, it would have to be produced in a designated region.  Because of this decision, the name of the grape was changed from Prosecco to Glera.

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By Agne27 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

10. When buying a bottle, check the label closely.  The absolute best Prosecco is made near the hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene and will be labelled DOCG (denominazione di origine garantita). Bottles with a DOC on the label mean that they were probably made on the surrounding flats.

Sources:

Cortese, Amy (2008, Dec 26). Italian Makers of Prosecco Seek Recognition. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Ewing-Mulligan, Mary and McCarthy, Ed. Italian Wine for Dummies. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing Inc., 2011.
Faulkner, Jane (2012, Oct 1). Why prosecco is charming the world. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au
Kapadia, Milanee (2014, Nov 24). Prosecco tops Champagne in bubbly sales. Yahoo Finance. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com
Kinssies, Richard (2002, Jul 9). On Wine: Proseccos sparkle on their own terms. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved from http://seattlepi.com
McCoy, Elin (2015, Feb 25). How to Find Prosecco That Isn’t Terrible. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com
Nowak, Barabara and Wichman, Beverly. The Everything Wine Book: From Chardonnay to Zinfandel, All You Need to Make the Perfect Choice. Avon: Adams Media, 2005.

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