Caroline no Kitchen
Friday, October 5...
Last Saturday, September 29 ZenKitchen launched its first gourmet dinner for the fall season, celebrating the late summer-early fall local harvest and the farmers that bring the fruit, and the vegetables, of their hard work to market. I was overwhelmed and intoxicated by the variety and quality of produce before me to use. I have a general idea of the meal I'm going to make but the exact dishes depend on what is available from local farms and this can change day by day, moment by moment. That's the tough part about growing produce in our climate and cooking from this bounty. One day you have tomatoes and there is a sudden frost, like the night before the Feast of Fields event, and many had delicate crops like tomatoes wiped out and the farmers were buzzing about this. The other thing that is a challenge is that different farms specialize in different produce or differing amounts and I might call a farm to find out about ordering something and they will say, "Oh, I had that last week but it's all gone now for the season", or "A big resturant just took everything yesterday". Cooking this way really makes you understand the hard life of the farmer and appreciate the harvest from seed to the form that is nutured and cared for until it is harvested, with weather and pests and other challenges along the way. In the end, I think I dealt with about 20 various farms and producers to bring together the different elements of the dinner... mushrooms from my favourite mushroom supplier Le Coprin of Rupert of course, my regular supplier... lovely Jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes from a farmer north of Buckingham... tangy cranberries from a local producer... fresh apples from an apple farm in Brockville... Acorn Creek and its wonderful various produce... Waratah Downs and its great organic produce from plump ripe heirloom tomatoes to cherry sungold and yellow delicious tomatoes to onions, which they said may be expensive at first but if people only realized how much love and care each onion takes and that she is on her hands and knees tending these without the use of any chemicals or other artificial support then they would realize it's all worth it... Bryson Farms and its lovely fresh organic greens, heirloom tomatoes, beets, and heirloom baby carrots in a variety of colours (which I almost wasn't going to get but did because they had to pick a huge order for a high-profile National Arts Centre event and decided to add my small order along the way... another challenge being a small buyer among a large fish bowl of big influential buyers in the city)... Herbs Daniels and its unique variety of herbs and microherbs, and numerous other suppliers. The nice part was most of the suppliers were able to deliver to me or I was able to pick up produce at the Sunday Farmers Market so it make it a bit less hectic. All this you say for one gourmet dinner? It's certainly a labour of love all around and that's why it's a challenge for local restaurants to buy local and they need to do so from a philosophy that this extra work is good for the customers with freshier, healthier and tastier produce, beneficial for the local economy, environment, and the future of the planet, and in turn the restaurant benefits through happy customers and being a good citizen. It's nice to see that more and more restaurants are jumping on the band wagon and taking the extra time and effort to do so. Actually, it's been hard for the local farmers to keep up to the demanding pace of the local chefs that require a constant supply of high quality produce at reasonable prices, delivered on time every week. So, it's a constant push and pull between the two, the supply and demand, especially in dealing with the unpredictable forces of nature and other challenges the farmers have to face to keep up their commitments to their customers. Anyway, to the dinner... I tried to create a beautiful menu, canvas, with all that was before me in the fields and tried to highlight it in the best way I could. I feel like it's a big responsibility to do so and don't ever take it lightly - a responsibility to the farmers to do justice to their harvest and to the customers who come to my dinners to experience a menu that they don't know but know that a lot of thought, love and passion will go in to. This trust in my food is both exhilarating and scary at the same time, and I try to keep the dinner guest in mind with each dish that I create. It's hard to please the palates of some 40 people in one room at one time but I feel that if I try to delight my own palate and senses, and then think of what they might like to surprise and satisfy them, then it just might work. It's like being the Santa Claus of gastronomy and giving each person the gift of the dinner each time, and hoping that they will enjoy and delight in the meal that is unraveling before them. Again, it's no easy task and I don't take it lightly, and I think that's the important thing about this all, that I really care, from the bottom of my heart, about pleasing others with this feast for the senses and they can feel that. So, on to my next dinner, already on Saturday, October 27 - where does the time go? This dinner will be a special dinner paired with organic and local beers. I can't believe it's already here. I thought about this as an interesting idea in the spring and there seemed to be a lot of interest and momentum to make this happen, and la voila here it is! Dave and Marc, our sommelier from the June wine pairing dinner, had the tough job of tasting and selecting beers from a wide selection of brewers. Of course I partook in the testing as well, but they were the ones that were really the leading forces behind the beers that were selected, discussing with me along the way what foods I would be creating and what certain types of foods would be good with certain types of beers. Another fun challenge and shortly the lucky dinner guests partaking in the beer option at the October 27 dinner will be able to experience the results of our efforts.
Sunday, October 21...
Besides this, where has the time gone? Since the last entry, I have had two classes at the Urban Element: "East Meets West", a blending of Asian ingreidents and techniques with local, seasonal ingredients, and "For the Love of Mushrooms", a class where Christophe from Le Coprin was on hand for the introductory discussion with participants on eveyrthing they wanted to know and ask about mushrooms. Then the participants in the class had the opportunity to use the beautiful, delicious mushrooms of Le Coprin in a variety of dishes for the evening.
I went on air again with the cable TV program called "Contact Japan" and will now have a regular monthly segment on their show (it's a monthly show in English and Japanese) called "Caroline in the Kitchen" or "Caroline no kitchen" in Japanese, with the direct translation meaning Caroline's kitchen and "no" being the possesive part of the phrase in the Japanese language. Dave thought that the "Caroline no kitchen" was a more appropriate title in English as I don't really have a kitchen but a studio front and act as if I'm in a real kitchen. Well, there are some things like a stove top but there is no running water and the basics of a real kitchen. I'll have a regular monthly segment where I'll talk about food, have guests and do my lovely demos. So, this time, I decided to demo vegan chocolate truffles as it seemed like a good uncomplicated thing to do in five minutes or less. Also, I thought I could highlight that it could be a healthful small indulgence that we are all craving for as the nice warm weather disappears and the colder, darker days are before us. In addition, I could mention that the truffles could easily be made more Asian by the addition of green tea, wasabi or sesame seeds on top. So, I was all set this time for my brief five minute segment but when I arrived a few guests and fillers had cancelled, and it looked like they had time to fill on the show and wanted to know if we could stretch out my segment. I didn't know but Melisa, the host, and I went into the studio and started the demo and kept this in mind as we rattled on about this and that as part of the demo. Next thing we knew, we already had 15 minutes, which I believe, and hope, they will edit down. How much can two women talk about chocolate? Well, 15 minutes I guess is the answer. And, it's been interesting since that show aired last Sunday morning. Who watches local cable TV on Sunday morning you may ask? Well, I'm finding out that a lot of people do as I've been getting emails from people that were surfing the channels and saw my show and want to come to my dinners, want more information about the ingredients I'm using, want to sign up for cooking classes, want to find about my chefing services, etc. etc. Who knew?
Last night, we - Dave and I - worked together on a fun cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception for over 40 people for Modmop, a hip stylish hair studio in the Byward Market celebrating its second anniversary. It's actually my wonderful hair stylist Alyssa and her business partner who wanted to hold this for their clients to celebrate their second anniversary and as a client appreciation evening. It was quite the event and I felt like I was in NYC again with most people dressed in black, hip music playing, and Dave and I in the back area creating hors d'oevures in our small but efficient station that we had set up to serve a variety of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres... pear and gorgonzola chilled shooters, Thai wraps with spicy almond cream, crostini with applewood-smoked cheddar and calvados-soaked apples, wholewheat phyllo triangles with root vegetables and horseradish cream dressing, tortellini with wild mushrooms and bay scallops in a bourbon-cream sauce, crostini with red pepper paste and Zaatar herbed goat cheese, and the big hit, next to the tortellini, were the handrolled spiced truffles with ginger, which people kept on coming to our station to ask for. It it was certainly not a vegan menu but the client had been to my dinners and just wanted great food that was vegetarian-based and fun, and she was also very keen to promote me. So, we had fun creating the dishes and then serving them up in a beautiful manner, like creating a painting each time, and doing this with loud hip music in the background I was moving to. I felt like I was a DJ but creating food instead of tunes. It was actually quite relaxing and fun, and many people came to see us to compliment us on the food, which was really nice to hear. When possible, I think it's nice for people to see the chefs working and they enjoy this, and for the chefs to have contact with the people to see their reactions and receive immediate feedback, which is often hard to get when you're in the kitchen behind closed doors.
Besides this, I have been working shifts at the Chelsea Club and preparing for a number of events this week, including cooking dinner for the DiVino Wine Studio (www.divinowinestudio.com)class on Tuesday, which is part of a series of wine appreciation classes that talk about the pairing of food and wine as part of the course with a talented and enthusiastic sommelier and wine educator called Antonio. I'll be cooking for another class in November. And, I'm working with Just Food on a trial workshop with parents and children of a downtown school on healthy school lunches on Wednesday. I've also started cooking weekly dinners for some clients that have been referred to me by doctors and have special dietary restrictions, and it's been interesting to have people come to you because they are interested in your food and to receive immediate feedback on it. And, that's not all. I've been getting numerous requests along the way, for cooking demos and dinners in homes, people wanting to intern and volunteer with me, the constant sign up requests for dinners and classes, and much more... I can't believe the kind and range of requests I get each week. I know busy times!
So, I know I've been long overdue for a account of my life but now you understand why I've been delayed and know that there are more good stories that will be served up in the future with Caroline no kitchen...
Last Saturday, September 29 ZenKitchen launched its first gourmet dinner for the fall season, celebrating the late summer-early fall local harvest and the farmers that bring the fruit, and the vegetables, of their hard work to market. I was overwhelmed and intoxicated by the variety and quality of produce before me to use. I have a general idea of the meal I'm going to make but the exact dishes depend on what is available from local farms and this can change day by day, moment by moment. That's the tough part about growing produce in our climate and cooking from this bounty. One day you have tomatoes and there is a sudden frost, like the night before the Feast of Fields event, and many had delicate crops like tomatoes wiped out and the farmers were buzzing about this. The other thing that is a challenge is that different farms specialize in different produce or differing amounts and I might call a farm to find out about ordering something and they will say, "Oh, I had that last week but it's all gone now for the season", or "A big resturant just took everything yesterday". Cooking this way really makes you understand the hard life of the farmer and appreciate the harvest from seed to the form that is nutured and cared for until it is harvested, with weather and pests and other challenges along the way. In the end, I think I dealt with about 20 various farms and producers to bring together the different elements of the dinner... mushrooms from my favourite mushroom supplier Le Coprin of Rupert of course, my regular supplier... lovely Jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes from a farmer north of Buckingham... tangy cranberries from a local producer... fresh apples from an apple farm in Brockville... Acorn Creek and its wonderful various produce... Waratah Downs and its great organic produce from plump ripe heirloom tomatoes to cherry sungold and yellow delicious tomatoes to onions, which they said may be expensive at first but if people only realized how much love and care each onion takes and that she is on her hands and knees tending these without the use of any chemicals or other artificial support then they would realize it's all worth it... Bryson Farms and its lovely fresh organic greens, heirloom tomatoes, beets, and heirloom baby carrots in a variety of colours (which I almost wasn't going to get but did because they had to pick a huge order for a high-profile National Arts Centre event and decided to add my small order along the way... another challenge being a small buyer among a large fish bowl of big influential buyers in the city)... Herbs Daniels and its unique variety of herbs and microherbs, and numerous other suppliers. The nice part was most of the suppliers were able to deliver to me or I was able to pick up produce at the Sunday Farmers Market so it make it a bit less hectic. All this you say for one gourmet dinner? It's certainly a labour of love all around and that's why it's a challenge for local restaurants to buy local and they need to do so from a philosophy that this extra work is good for the customers with freshier, healthier and tastier produce, beneficial for the local economy, environment, and the future of the planet, and in turn the restaurant benefits through happy customers and being a good citizen. It's nice to see that more and more restaurants are jumping on the band wagon and taking the extra time and effort to do so. Actually, it's been hard for the local farmers to keep up to the demanding pace of the local chefs that require a constant supply of high quality produce at reasonable prices, delivered on time every week. So, it's a constant push and pull between the two, the supply and demand, especially in dealing with the unpredictable forces of nature and other challenges the farmers have to face to keep up their commitments to their customers. Anyway, to the dinner... I tried to create a beautiful menu, canvas, with all that was before me in the fields and tried to highlight it in the best way I could. I feel like it's a big responsibility to do so and don't ever take it lightly - a responsibility to the farmers to do justice to their harvest and to the customers who come to my dinners to experience a menu that they don't know but know that a lot of thought, love and passion will go in to. This trust in my food is both exhilarating and scary at the same time, and I try to keep the dinner guest in mind with each dish that I create. It's hard to please the palates of some 40 people in one room at one time but I feel that if I try to delight my own palate and senses, and then think of what they might like to surprise and satisfy them, then it just might work. It's like being the Santa Claus of gastronomy and giving each person the gift of the dinner each time, and hoping that they will enjoy and delight in the meal that is unraveling before them. Again, it's no easy task and I don't take it lightly, and I think that's the important thing about this all, that I really care, from the bottom of my heart, about pleasing others with this feast for the senses and they can feel that. So, on to my next dinner, already on Saturday, October 27 - where does the time go? This dinner will be a special dinner paired with organic and local beers. I can't believe it's already here. I thought about this as an interesting idea in the spring and there seemed to be a lot of interest and momentum to make this happen, and la voila here it is! Dave and Marc, our sommelier from the June wine pairing dinner, had the tough job of tasting and selecting beers from a wide selection of brewers. Of course I partook in the testing as well, but they were the ones that were really the leading forces behind the beers that were selected, discussing with me along the way what foods I would be creating and what certain types of foods would be good with certain types of beers. Another fun challenge and shortly the lucky dinner guests partaking in the beer option at the October 27 dinner will be able to experience the results of our efforts.
Sunday, October 21...
Besides this, where has the time gone? Since the last entry, I have had two classes at the Urban Element: "East Meets West", a blending of Asian ingreidents and techniques with local, seasonal ingredients, and "For the Love of Mushrooms", a class where Christophe from Le Coprin was on hand for the introductory discussion with participants on eveyrthing they wanted to know and ask about mushrooms. Then the participants in the class had the opportunity to use the beautiful, delicious mushrooms of Le Coprin in a variety of dishes for the evening.
I went on air again with the cable TV program called "Contact Japan" and will now have a regular monthly segment on their show (it's a monthly show in English and Japanese) called "Caroline in the Kitchen" or "Caroline no kitchen" in Japanese, with the direct translation meaning Caroline's kitchen and "no" being the possesive part of the phrase in the Japanese language. Dave thought that the "Caroline no kitchen" was a more appropriate title in English as I don't really have a kitchen but a studio front and act as if I'm in a real kitchen. Well, there are some things like a stove top but there is no running water and the basics of a real kitchen. I'll have a regular monthly segment where I'll talk about food, have guests and do my lovely demos. So, this time, I decided to demo vegan chocolate truffles as it seemed like a good uncomplicated thing to do in five minutes or less. Also, I thought I could highlight that it could be a healthful small indulgence that we are all craving for as the nice warm weather disappears and the colder, darker days are before us. In addition, I could mention that the truffles could easily be made more Asian by the addition of green tea, wasabi or sesame seeds on top. So, I was all set this time for my brief five minute segment but when I arrived a few guests and fillers had cancelled, and it looked like they had time to fill on the show and wanted to know if we could stretch out my segment. I didn't know but Melisa, the host, and I went into the studio and started the demo and kept this in mind as we rattled on about this and that as part of the demo. Next thing we knew, we already had 15 minutes, which I believe, and hope, they will edit down. How much can two women talk about chocolate? Well, 15 minutes I guess is the answer. And, it's been interesting since that show aired last Sunday morning. Who watches local cable TV on Sunday morning you may ask? Well, I'm finding out that a lot of people do as I've been getting emails from people that were surfing the channels and saw my show and want to come to my dinners, want more information about the ingredients I'm using, want to sign up for cooking classes, want to find about my chefing services, etc. etc. Who knew?
Last night, we - Dave and I - worked together on a fun cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception for over 40 people for Modmop, a hip stylish hair studio in the Byward Market celebrating its second anniversary. It's actually my wonderful hair stylist Alyssa and her business partner who wanted to hold this for their clients to celebrate their second anniversary and as a client appreciation evening. It was quite the event and I felt like I was in NYC again with most people dressed in black, hip music playing, and Dave and I in the back area creating hors d'oevures in our small but efficient station that we had set up to serve a variety of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres... pear and gorgonzola chilled shooters, Thai wraps with spicy almond cream, crostini with applewood-smoked cheddar and calvados-soaked apples, wholewheat phyllo triangles with root vegetables and horseradish cream dressing, tortellini with wild mushrooms and bay scallops in a bourbon-cream sauce, crostini with red pepper paste and Zaatar herbed goat cheese, and the big hit, next to the tortellini, were the handrolled spiced truffles with ginger, which people kept on coming to our station to ask for. It it was certainly not a vegan menu but the client had been to my dinners and just wanted great food that was vegetarian-based and fun, and she was also very keen to promote me. So, we had fun creating the dishes and then serving them up in a beautiful manner, like creating a painting each time, and doing this with loud hip music in the background I was moving to. I felt like I was a DJ but creating food instead of tunes. It was actually quite relaxing and fun, and many people came to see us to compliment us on the food, which was really nice to hear. When possible, I think it's nice for people to see the chefs working and they enjoy this, and for the chefs to have contact with the people to see their reactions and receive immediate feedback, which is often hard to get when you're in the kitchen behind closed doors.
Besides this, I have been working shifts at the Chelsea Club and preparing for a number of events this week, including cooking dinner for the DiVino Wine Studio (www.divinowinestudio.com)class on Tuesday, which is part of a series of wine appreciation classes that talk about the pairing of food and wine as part of the course with a talented and enthusiastic sommelier and wine educator called Antonio. I'll be cooking for another class in November. And, I'm working with Just Food on a trial workshop with parents and children of a downtown school on healthy school lunches on Wednesday. I've also started cooking weekly dinners for some clients that have been referred to me by doctors and have special dietary restrictions, and it's been interesting to have people come to you because they are interested in your food and to receive immediate feedback on it. And, that's not all. I've been getting numerous requests along the way, for cooking demos and dinners in homes, people wanting to intern and volunteer with me, the constant sign up requests for dinners and classes, and much more... I can't believe the kind and range of requests I get each week. I know busy times!
So, I know I've been long overdue for a account of my life but now you understand why I've been delayed and know that there are more good stories that will be served up in the future with Caroline no kitchen...
posted by Caroline at 8:49 PM
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