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FOUR YOUNG GUNS TURN UP THE HEAT • A FOOD SYNDROME HITS STOCKHOLM • PASTA PERFECTION, FROM FIELD TO PRODUCT • FRANK BRUNI OPENS UP
magazine
Food, Culture, and Conversation
plus: SETTING THE STANDARD FOR MORNING-FRESH PRODUCE HOT NEW PRODUCTS
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Welcome to Primizie Magazine!
Inside
This is no ordinary company magazine, and Primizie is no ordinary food company. For the past four years, our goal at Primizie has been to provide the greatest-tasting ingredients to the most passionate chefs in the United States.
5. Frank Bruni Opens Up Life after The Grey Lady—catching up with Frank Bruni about new projects and all about food he likes and dislikes.
So sit back, relax, and join us on a culinary adventure that takes us from visits as near as New York’s Union Square Greenmarket all the way to the Arctic Circle in extreme northern Sweden. As this is our first issue, we’d love to hear your comments and suggestions, so please feel free to drop me a line anytime at jmagazino@primiziefinefoods.com. Enjoy the ride! John Magazino
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10. Young Guns Profiles of and interviews with four rock-star chefs who are taking the New York culinary scene by storm. 13. Nordic Adventure Chef Mathias Dahlgren is captivating the food world with his natural cuisine based on local ingredients. 17. Greenmarket Profile Franca Tantillo unearths ruby red potatoes, cultivates Tristar strawberry jewels, and forages for hidden fiddlehead and ramp gems—all for her royal and loyal chefs and customers. 18. Quick-Fire Featured chefs answer a series of quick-fire questions to reveal some of their favorite things.
Cover: Photographed by Kaysh Shinn. Special thanks to Hot Bird in Brooklyn (546 Clinton Avenue), the location of the photo shoot.
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In our cover story, you’ll be introduced to four young chefs on the rise who we think are creating some great food here in New York City. And from further abroad, I want to turn you on to one of the world’s greatest chefs, Mathias Dahlgren, who hails from Sweden and is still relatively unknown outside of his own country. Hopefully you, like me, love pasta and passionate people—then you’ll have to check out the story of Massimo Mancini. And for fun, our candid interview with Frank Bruni responds to many of those questions you’ve always wanted him to answer, but were afraid to ask. Lastly, on the business side, we’ve included some new products that we think kick butt, profiling one of our favorite local farmers, Franca Tantillo, whose Tristar strawberries are just so damned good!
9. Last Man Standing Massimo Mancini does it all, from field to finish—grows his own wheat, mills it, and turns it into the world’s best dry pasta.
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The past, present, and exciting future of Primizie stems from the fact that we are intent on the continued discovery of profound products from family-owned farmers and dedicated producers across the globe. We want the personality and love of these producers to be brought to your kitchen and captured on your plates. This first issue of Primizie Magazine will highlight this idea as it entertains and maybe even inspires you in some small way.
6. Hot New Products John Magazino scours the world to taste, smell, admire, select, and collect unbelievably excellent fine food products.
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Whether you’re a home cook making a special dinner for a small group of friends or a Michelin-starred chef in New York City doing 200 covers tonight, our job at Primizie is to get you the products that will make your recipes shine— and put smiles on the faces of the people eating your food. It is essential that our products have incredible flavor and are made by artisans—those who embrace traditional production methods as well as our passion for quality and sustainability. They must have this quest for tradition and excellence and apply one philosophy to their products: the food must taste great and be produced in a manner driven by a respect for our planet’s delicate balance.
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Frank Bruni OPens up We were honored to sit down with Frank Bruni, former head food critic for the New York Times. In addition to his years at the Times, Frank has written several books, including the best seller Ambling Into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush and his most recent best seller, Born Round: A Story of Family, Food, and a Ferocious Appetite. His newest book, Born Round, is now available in paperback online.
This magazine is read by a lot of young chefs and cooks. What advice would you offer to them if they found out an important food critic was in the dining room reviewing their place? DO NOT FREAK OUT. You do your best work when you’re taking things in a comfortable stride. Definitely pay careful attention to the critic’s Is food still an important part of your life? Hugely. I love table, but don’t make a slavish spectacle of yourself. food, I love thinking about food, I love trying to describe If you could break bread with any four people, living or why certain food does or doesn’t appeal to me. It’s a pas- deceased, who’d be sitting at that table? My grandsion and hobby that will always be with me, I think. mother and my mother, who are deceased. My father, Do you still go out to eat? Yes. Not every night, but at least three times a week, and sometimes as often as five times. I love restaurants: the service, the theater, the privilege of having a talented chef feed me. If three nights go by without a meal out, I get the itch—and it’s strong. Four nights in a row without a restaurant meal almost never happens.
Where do you find yourself eating out these days? Restaurants I’ve visited more than once in the last four months include the Breslin, Locanda Verde, Fatty Crab, Market Table, Marea, Peasant, Vinegar Hill House, Dell’Anima, Hill Country, Bedouin Tent, and, out in Westchester, Tarry Lodge. I eat at Szechuan Gourmet, on West 39th Street, at least once every two weeks, and at Pam’s Real Thai at least once a month. What’s the funniest or oddest thing you experienced while dining out during a review? I think having the owner of a restaurant come up to me at the end of the meal to beg, essentially, for a good review was certainly among the most awkward things. It was uncomfortable in the extreme, in large part because I really felt for him—for the position he was in—even if he was manifesting his panic in an inappropriate way.
who’s not, because he’d be even more moved to see my mother again than I would be, and that’s saying a lot. And then the one remaining chair would have go to one of my three siblings—so one of them, too, could enjoy the reunion. But I’m not picking between them. It’s coinflip time.
Do you have a favorite cuisine? No one favorite, no. A few favorites—Italian, Thai, Szechuan, and Japanese come quickly to mind. But I really do love almost all of it. There are times I crave Mexican cooking. I’ve had Portuguese meals I adored. I’ve had some German, Austrian, and Eastern European cooking that, in its gut-busting heartiness, made me insanely content. And then there’s Spanish and French. Oh, and Middle Eastern! O.K., O.K., I can’t decide. What would be your final-meal request on death row? The world’s best prime charred porterhouse or rib eye, cooked on the rare side of medium rare, at least 24 ounces of it, all for me, with crispy-skinned duck on the side and a really dry, really cold gin martini with ice shavings floating on top, like floes in the Arctic.
Is there a restaurant you really want to go to, but just haven’t made it there yet? Many. I’ve never been to Arzak, Mugaritz, or the Fat Duck. I’d like to try each of them. In New York, as of this writing, I haven’t made it to Má Pêche or Colicchio & Sons. I’m excited to try those.
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When’s the last time you ate at McDonald’s? I think it was three years ago, or even four, when I did a fast-food tour of the country that I wrote about. I eat a lot of junky stuff, but I don’t eat much fast food per se. I find the grotesque quantities of salt and the oiliness of so much of it to be real turnoffs. Are there any fast-food chains you consider good? I’ve enjoyed Chipotle at times, if that qualifies; and I’ve enjoyed Baja Fresh, if that qualifies. There’s a chain called Culver’s, in the Midwest and Texas, that I like. InN-Out Burger, of course, is good. Is Shake Shack enough of a chain? If so, I’m a fan of it, especially if you get a double burger, which makes up for the thinness of the otherwise hugely flavorful patties. Thanks, Frank. You’re a good sport and have been very patient with us. One last question: where are you going to dinner tonight? I’m staying in! My plan is to just make myself some brown rice and maybe some chicken-and-broccoli stir-fry. That’s the healthful hope. But there are many delivery menus in a kitchen drawer, so anything could happen.
Born Round: A Story of Family, Food, and a Ferocious Appetite Published by Penguin “Born Round is like the Italian dinners Bruni loves—served up noisy, fun, heaping and delicious.” New York Times, Sunday Book Review
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During your reviewing days, did you ever have to send a dish back to the kitchen because it was simply inedible? No. At least, I don’t think so. I noted in my head that it was inedible, and I maybe said that in the review that came out, but I didn’t want—in the event that the restaurant knew I was there—to make a scene or do something that seemed overtly snotty, or that might send everyone into a panic. I do believe guests of mine, on rare occasion, sent dishes back. But never with my encouragement.
No dessert? I’d load up on the savory. I’m more savory than sweet—and when I go sweet, I like it somewhat salty. The dark-chocolate-covered pretzel, for example, is a beautiful thing.
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In your wonderful book, Born Round, you talk about your struggles with weight gain and eating disorders. Tell us, how did you manage to eat at so many amazing restaurants during your review days and not become overweight? Well, I’m not thin, and would love to be about 10 to 15 pounds under where I am. But I’ve never reverted to the 70 extra pounds I carried around a decade ago, and that’s because I often didn’t clean my plate, I didn’t eat huge meals outside of the ones that were related to restaurant criticism, and I exercised regularly and even intensely. I’d work out five out of every seven days, and sometimes for 90 minutes.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever eaten in your life? A tie: my mother’s lasagna, and my grandmother’s orecchiette—because both were made with such extraordinary amounts of love, and because I’ll never, to my enormous regret, taste them again.
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So, Frank, thanks for joining us. What are you up to these days? I still work full-time for the New York Times, but as a staff writer for the Sunday magazine who also roves frequently into other sections of the newspaper, including the Dining section. I’ve been fortunate, too, in that I’ve been asked to make—and have made—a few food-related television appearances that have been fun to do, especially after so many years of (attempted) physical anonymity.
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Pistachio Paste from Sicily
Casa Olearia di Taggiasca Apple Vinegar
Country Choice Organic Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats
Tenuta Margherita is a family-run farm in Italy’s renowned Vercelli plain that has been producing rice since the 15th century. Naturally a deep blackish red, black venus, or venere nero, is a cross between the ancient Chinese forbidden rice and an Italian variety. Due to its regal pedigree—the Chinese rice was forbidden because of its aphrodisiac properties, and was reserved almost exclusively for the emperors—Italians designated the nutrient-rich morsel the “nobleman’s rice.” Adding to the allure of black venus is its release midway through cooking of an aroma between sandlewood and freshly baked bread. The grain maintains its compactness after cooking, making it easy to separate. Especially suited for seafood, rice salads, or all by itself, the robust and tasty rice needs only a pat of butter and a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano to reach its full flavor potential.
For generations, the Manisci family has grown olives and pressed them into exceptional oil. Combining the intense citrus of the Mediterranean, they crush fruit and olives together, which elevates the pure flavor of each infused oil. These precious gourmet nectars enhance the personality of salads, fish, and vegetable dishes. Varieties include Clementine, the flavor of ripe clementines expressed in a uniquely light, sweet, yet refined taste; Bergamot, with one of the rarest citrus fruits in Italy, the tiny green bergamot, grown in Calabria, that delivers a flowery, balanced citrus flavor; and Lemon, bright and sweet with a lemon fragrance that shines when combined with the organic extra-virgin olive oil.
When Columbus brought chili peppers to Europe from the Caribbean after his second voyage in 1493, they were first grown in monastery gardens in Spain and Portugal. Soon the word got out that the pungent pods were a reasonable and cheap substitute for black pepper, which was so expensive that it had been used as currency in some countries. Made famous by the Basque region of France, the sun-dried Espelette peppers are ground into a now famous spice, piment d’Espelette. The heat level is similar to paprika, but the flavor is much darker and smokier. This Espelette gelée, produced by the Accoceberry family right in the town of Espelette, is the perfect blend of strength and finesse. Simply composed of Espelette peppers, vinegar, and sugar, it’s an addictive combination of sweet waves of warmth, followed by smooth heat. It marries perfectly with sheep cheese, yogurt, and even foie gras. Use it to deglaze pan juices, or simply spread it on the side of your plate as a condiment for roast meats.
Pistachio, an exceptionally historic fruit that’s been valued since ancient times and is even mentioned in the book of Genesis, is one of the primary products of the gastronomic patrimony of the Mediterranean basin. Brought to Italy by ninthcentury Arabs, pistachios are mainly grown in Bronte, west of Sicily’s Mount Etna. In fact, Sicily is the only Italian region in which the pistachio can be cultivated and produced. The Azienda Agricola Cartillone, located in Bronte, has been farming pistachios for well over a century. Their know-how and experience, handed down for generations, allow them to grow a product of the highest quality. With simplicity and purity as their hallmark, the Cartillone family uses the pistacchi di Bronte—the prized purpleskinned, vibrantly green, and fullflavored pistachios—to create an exquisite, rich, silky paste with an incomparable taste. Use in cakes, pastries, puddings, ice creams, or as a spread on bread.
Vinegar can be made from any fruit, grain, or honey, and the Romans made theirs out of figs, grapes, and apples. Vinegar brewing was a secretive profession, and today many vinegar producers still keep their methods secret. Devotion, patience, and, above all, love of simple and good things are necessary to obtain any superior product. This is the real secret of the excellence of Casa Olearia di Taggiasca’s apple vinegar. Their vinegars are made like fine wine—pure, all-natural fruit juice is pressed from the finest apples and brought to alcoholic fermentation. Then the vinegar is stored in glass carboys with short, narrow necks until it is ready to be slowly matured in small oak barrels, where the sediment is removed several times over a five-year period. This meticulous artisan production results in the highestquality vinegars. Pale gold in color, this vinegar has an apple and mineral smell and a tart, clean taste—the perfect go-to vinegar for dressings, marinades, sauces, or reductions.
Country Choice was founded with the idea that it should be easy to eat organic. Their products are made with simple ingredients and maintain strict USDA organic standards, including their newest: quick-cook steel-cut oats. To make steel-cut oats, oat groats are cut into small pieces rather than rolled. This allows these whole grains to retain the bran and the germ, resulting in a chewier, coarser texture than rolled oats. When it comes to Country Choice’s quick-cooking oatmeal, we’re not talking about those little packets of overly sweetened, artificially flavored, runny oatmeal you might be used to. Country Choice’s oats are firm, chewy, and exceptionally full of flavor. They have a great buttery, nutty oat taste, and creamy yet toothsome mouthfeel. With a five-minute cook time, hot oatmeal fans can put steel-cut oats on their daily breakfast menu.
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Accoceberry Gelée de Piment d’Espelette
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Manisci Citrus Oils
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Tenuta Margherita Black Venus Rice
m o c . s d o o f e n i f e i z i m i r p . www
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Last Man Standing
The climate of Le Marche is ideal for wheat production. At Mancini’s farm, Levante, San Carlo, and
While his pasta is manufactured in an old-world style, resulting in its delicious flavor, Mancini’s packaging is far from traditional. The products are packed in boxes with a contemporary style—clean white lines and clear windows show off the impeccable quality of the pastas. They really are edible works of art. And like Massimo Mancini the person, his pasta is the real deal. This is pasta worth seeking out.
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The way Mancini produces pasta is how it used to be done in most of Italy, but crafting pasta this way takes passion and drive. Massimo Mancini is as passionate as they come—young, handsome, and seemingly always with a smile on his face, he is always eager to talk about the traditional methods of his pasta production that have been passed down from his grandfather. And to back it up, he possesses a master’s degree in wheat cultivation. Massimo shuns mega-agriculture and industrial production processes in favor of the artisanal techniques and methods that create natural pasta, where you can actually taste the quality of the raw ingredients.
Ariosto wheat varieties are grown, harvested, stoneground, and then combined to create a most flavorful durum flour. To that flour, only pure spring water and salt are added. The pasta dough is then extruded through brass dies, which impart a rough, porous texture to the surface of the pasta—a surface perfect for sauces to cling to. Unlike industrial pasta makers, who use high heat to more quickly dry pasta, Mancini’s pasta dries over much lower temperatures for more than 45 hours. This attention to detail and respect for tradition ensures the highest quality and consistency that Mancini insists upon.
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Massimo Mancini is the only pasta maker left in Italy who does it all from start to finish. On his family’s land, he grows and harvests 100 percent of the wheat varieties used in the production of his pasta. His wheat is milled to his exact specifications, enabling Mancini and his master pasta maker to create a line of the world’s most superb durum wheat dry pasta.
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Massimo Mancini is the last of a dying breed, and his family’s pastificio, located in the heart of Italy’s glorious Le Marche region, is turning out what many top chefs are now calling the world’s best dry pasta.
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young guns Four Chefs making noise in the kitchen and in the dining room
Walker Stern
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Tattooed from head to toe and sporting a cool confidence that seems a bit at odds with his punk appearance, Walker Stern embodies the tension between rusticity and refinement that has come to define the best Brooklyn restaurants. The Vanderbilt feels as if could’ve given birth to him, but his background is in classic French cuisine à la haute cuisine. He began working in restaurants at the age of 14, and by 17 he’d landed himself a job at Roland Passot’s brasserie Left Bank in Los Angeles, then moved to La Folie in San Francisco, where he spent one year before sealing his fate at the Culinary Institute of America. After culinary school, he spent several years cooking in top kitchens in San Francisco (La Folie, The Ritz-Carlton), Vegas (Ducasse’s Mix), and New York (Essex House, Eighty One), before meeting Saul Bolton—one of the pioneers of progressive Brooklyn dining— and signing on as his chef de cuisine at the instantly beloved Vanderbilt.
Emma Hearst
Emma Hearst was born and raised in Albany, New York, where she got her first taste of restaurant life as a dishwasher at the age of 13. Being from a not-so-kitchen-inclined family, this early stint blossomed into a hell-bent quest to pursue a life behind the stove. After graduating from high school, Hearst attended the Culinary Institute of America and went on to open one of the Lower East Side’s most beloved restaurants at 21 years old, having never cooked at a restaurant (aside from a brief stint at USQ Café during culinary school). Sorella is truly a product of Hearst’s confidence in the inspiration she’s gained from her travels through Italy, her own culinary creativity and method, a dash of audaciousness, and a whole hell of a lot of heart.
Profiles and Interviews Adapted by Talia Baiocchi
Emily Iguchi
Emily Iguchi’s interest in food was motivated by a coincidental love affair with the original Iron Chef while living in Japan. Not long after this lifechanging tryst, she set off to attend culinary school in Hawaii, a locale that certainly helped hone her laid-back-surfer-chick-but-I’ll-still-kick-your-ass-ifyou-look-at-me-cross-eyed mentality. After a few years of cooking in Honolulu, Iguchi decided she was ready to rub elbows with the big boys in New York. She quickly snagged her first spot on the line in Andrew Carmellini’s merciless (and very male) kitchen at Café Boulud, where she put her own brand of hard-nosed hang loose to work. It was there that she sharpened her skills, eventually becoming sous-chef before moving on to hold the same position under Carmellini at A Voce. Tempted by the opportunity to try her hand at artisanal American cuisine, Emily signed on as sous-chef at Brooklyn’s Char No. 4 under the guidance of her former Boulud and A Voce colleague, Chef Matt Greco. Her next venture will be helping to helm the kitchen at Andrew Carmellini’s new SoHo restaurant, The Dutch.
James Kent
Growing up in Manhattan, James Kent fell rearend first into restaurants at the age of 13. And while most of his peers were locked in their rooms listening to the Smashing Pumpkins, Kent was scurrying around the kitchen at Bouley, where he did his first stage at the ripe old age of 15. From there he spent time at Le Cordon Bleu in both Paris and London, worked as the tourant at Babbo and the saucier at Jean Georges, and finally landed at Eleven Madison Park, where he has worked his way up to head sous-chef under the James Beard Foundation Award–winning chef Daniel Humm. In short, Kent is on his way to becoming one of the country’s great chefs. Just ask one of the 11 teams he and his Eleven Madison colleague beat out to represent the United States at the 2010 Bocuse d’Or.
Walker Stern
Tell us about your process for coming up with a new dish. Seasonality. My team and I eat out a lot, and we talk about the meals that we’ve had and ingredients that we like. We also taste every single dish that leaves the kitchen, so my menu changes all the time simply because we get sick of tasting the same things over and over. What do you do in your spare time? I try to sleep as much as possible. I work out and do Pilates, and I go drinking with my friends. Describe your personality in the kitchen and out. I am pretty even tempered in the kitchen, but I have ADD and I am all over the place. I don’t yell, I curse like a sailor, but I feel that if my cooks are calm and even then that translates into the food. I really believe the customer can taste any emotion that goes into the food. So if you are screaming your head off, it will not get you anywhere. Happy cooks make happy food.
Biggest kitchen mistake, and biggest success? I signed a lease on Sorella when I was 21. I knew at that moment that I was signing away my 20s. Everything happened so fast, it was great, but opening a restaurant was hard to adjust to. Working 16 or 17 hours a day is hard, and a lot of times I felt like I missed out on something—I just wanted to be my age. But recently I’ve come around.
Emma Hearst Tell us about the restaurant. Sorella (which means “sister” in Italian) opened in December 2008. We really wanted to bring that feeling of family and love of the food and energy to New York City. In Italy, I never went anywhere where they didn’t just live and breathe hospitality, and we wanted to translate that as well. The recipes at Sorella are old school—I was inspired by Piemonte, and I look to old recipes and the little old Italian ladies. It is our homage to Piemonte. Give us three must-haves on the menu for a first visit to your restaurant. Tajarin with lamb ragù, pistachios, mint, and a black pepper ricotta; deep-fried Brussels sprouts with bacon, apple, and a Dijon dressing; and our gelatos are off the hook. We are going to put Ben & Jerry’s out of business one day. What music is playing in the kitchen? What kind of music isn’t playing in the kitchen? My iPod is all over the place. We play tons of classic rock, reggae, rap, Beastie Boys, and opera—you name it, we play it. How does culture, art, and music inspire you in the kitchen? I am a very artsy person. I grew up dancing, and it is certainly fun for me on the line. I look at working the line as a performance, as a dance. I am probably one of the only chefs in New York who works the line every night. I get totally lost in it.
What would be your occupation if you weren’t a chef: I’d be a makeup artist or a dancer.
Describe your personality in the kitchen and out. I am easygoing, trustworthy, dependable, and will greet you with a big smile. Too good to be true? Describe the vibe in the kitchen. Energetic. Lots of action for a small kitchen. What music is playing in the kitchen? Depends on who is in charge of the music, but it’s gone from Pantera to Bob Marley to the sweet sounds of Stevie Wonder. What’s the most-used expression in your kitchen? “Oui”—I know, we’re very far from French! We are so far from French, that our French toast for brunch is called out as “freedom” toast. Is there a generational change in the way things are done in the kitchen now versus what your mentors or the chefs before them were doing? Yes. I definitely see a change in the way kitchens were seven years
ago as opposed to what is happening now. I believe a lot has to do with the food channels exposing cooking and kitchen life as something very glamorous and easily attainable. So more people are enrolling in culinary school with an idea they can be chefs when they graduate. The reality is, it’s not that easy; it’s long hours and not a lot of pay. What ingredients and techniques do you want to see more of? Ingredients: in San Francisco I had something called a finger lime. It looks like an oval citrus with caviar-like flesh, with bursts of lime flavor when you pop each citrus capsule. Technique: using less fat in cooking, but still maintaining richness in flavor. Biggest kitchen mistake, and biggest success? Biggest mistake: making a huge batch of Hungarian goulash at Café Boulud and using hot paprika or cayenne (it looked the
same), instead of sweet paprika. The soup was so hot, it was inedible. How does culture, art, and music inspire you in the kitchen? Living in and traveling through Japan has inspired me to take a clean, humble, and aesthetic approach to cooking and plating. Tell us about your process for coming up with a new dish. I usually start with what I like to eat, then I decide which protein to use, if any, to star on the plate. Using whatever is available in season helps determine the finished dish— then I just try to make it nice. What do you do in your spare time? Make videos and surf. What would be your occupation if you weren’t a chef? Physical therapist.
What’s the most-used expression in your kitchen? “Make it nice”—which means, make it perfect. There is a sign on the wall that says: Make It Nice. In Spanish, “atras.” In French, “oui.” What are the most overused ingredients and techniques in New York’s kitchens? Using certain chemicals and foam. It was innovative years back, and we do use some of those things on a low level, but when it becomes 50 percent of your menu, I think it is overdone. What ingredients do you want to see more of? Fresh Japanese or Mediterranean fish pulled from the water and served the same day. How does culture, art, and music inspire you in the kitchen? Chefs get inspiration from many different things. Growing up in New York, I feel I get a lot of ideas from the different cultures that inhabit Manhattan. Also, the architecture is something that really gives me inspiration.
Biggest kitchen mistake, and biggest success? My biggest mistake: I was the meat roast at Jean Georges. Part of my daily mise en place was to render whole ducks for three minutes and then chill them in the freezer to stop the cooking (we then roast them à la minute). One Friday, I forgot my timer and had 20 ducks roasted to a perfect medium. We had a great family meal that day. My biggest success: winning the Bocuse d’Or USA. Next stop, Lyon, to win on the world stage! What do you do in your spare time? Chill with my son and wife. What would be your occupation if you weren’t a chef? A performer. I would be runner-up on season 5 of American Idol, I’d get a record deal, and I would be famous. When I was young, I was an actor. I went to the Fame high school [LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts]. I was into dance and drama.
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James Kent Tell us about your current position, the restaurant, the food, and what you’re trying to accomplish there. I am the sous-chef and purchasing director at Eleven Madison Park restaurant. I run the morning production and service, and have worked in every aspect of the restaurant (private dining, dinner service, etc.). Our food is modern food based in classic techniques and flavor profiles. Our goal as a restaurant is to be the groundbreaking four-star restaurant that defines our times. Tell us about the family meal, and what are the best things you’ve had? Our family meal is the best I’ve ever eaten in New York, hands down. We have themes, competitions, and every cook contributes. Eating our family meal is like going to a threestar restaurant. It’s never just thrown together. Best thing I’ve had: our fried chicken is out of this world. Give us three must-haves on the menu for a first visit to your restaurant. Everything is a must-have, but if you haven’t tried the duck . . .
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Kogi in Manhattan, and checking out new places. What would be your occupation if you weren’t a chef? It is possible that I would be a florist. I was really into that. I have an eye for making arrangements on tables and stuff. What are the most overused ingredients and techniques in New York’s kitchens? Something that bothers me is when people make a big deal out of something that has been done for a long time and they just didn’t know about it, like sous vide. Chefs were using sous vide years ago. Now you see it on the menu—“cooked for 60 hours” or whatever. That’s ridiculous.
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If I am doing the music, it’s punk. Nothing slow. Tell us about your process for coming up with a new dish. I’ll do variations of dishes I have done in the past, or something that resonates with me. Market availability is huge as well. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen happen in a kitchen? I saw a cook step in a five-gallon bucket full of boiling stock that just came off the stove. I’ve seen the Ansul system go off—which was crazy. What do you do in your spare time? Cycling. Eating out at other places, like Franny’s, Prime Meats,
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Tell us about the restaurant. I am the chef de cuisine at the Vanderbilt. I take care of all daily operations and come up with the menu through the owners. It’s a neighborhood restaurant that offers incredible food prepared by people who care about what they are doing and source responsibly. Describe your personality in the kitchen and out. I just get it done. Give us three must-haves on the menu for a first visit to your restaurant. Asparagus with morels; the mackerel tartar; and sweetbreads. What music is playing in the kitchen? The cooks do the music.
Emily Iguchi
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Scandinavia’s winters may be long and cold, but the dining scene in Stockholm is red hot, thanks in large part to Swedish superstar chef Mathias Dahlgren. Dahlgren’s Stockholm restaurants Matbaren and Matsalen hold three coveted Michelin stars between them. And this past April, Matsalen, Dahlgren’s fine-dining room, was moved up to number 25 on the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants. After a recent meal there, it’s likely this restaurant is headed for even higher ground. Dahlgren was born and raised near the town of Umeå in northern Sweden. This leading cultural and university town mushrooms, berries, and game—treasures of the woods that feature prominently in Dahlgren’s cooking. No rookie to the kitchen, Dahlgren became revered in Stockholm when he opened his first restaurant, Bon Lloc, in 1996, before taking the gold medal in the Bocuse d’Or cooking competition in Lyon, France, the following year. This coveted victory launched Grand Hôtel to open his own restaurant. Today, Mathias
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has two restaurants within this beautiful historic hotel.
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him into the spotlight and led to an offer from the luxurious
Matbaren, his nod to a casual tavern, serves lunch and dinner and recently earned one Michelin star. Next door, Matsalen, a refined and utterly comfortable fine-dining restaurant, is
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Destination Stockholm
N ordic A d v enture
is surrounded by miles of pristine forest teeming with wild
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turning out some of the best dishes in the country, which has
With every course, we were offered the chance to experience
earned it two Michelin stars. With what Dahlgren’s capable of
so many new flavors and ingredients we’d never tasted
in the kitchen, we suspect a third is not too far away.
before. There was a crisp, sweet sparkling wine called sav.
A 12-course tasting menu at Matsalen is indeed a wonderful thing, and perfect in every aspect. The detail to service was also impeccable. At one point, two of Dahlgren’s polished servers came to the table with steaming bowls, each filled with a small white hand towel and laden with pine branches. They placed an old-school glass bottle filled with milky liquid on the table alongside the food. We were then instructed to cleanse our hands with the steaming towels, the fragrant pine bouquet at once enwrapping us. The
Daniella Illerbrand, the beverage manager, explained it is derived from the sap of birch trees growing in Jämtland, a heavily forested province of northern Sweden. Havtorn, or sea buckthorn, are small super-tart orange berries from the coastal fjords, and you’ll find them here in a sorbet the chef combines with an herbal tea to create “forest iced tea.” Dahlgren also featured Swedish black truffles from Gotland Island, an intensely nutty rapeseed oil, and a heavenly ettica vinaigrette, among other delights.
bottle was uncorked, and a thick hardwood-scented smoke
By the time our second dessert and final course was served,
rushed out. The combination immediately transported us to
we were full but smiling, already busy making plans to come
the tranquility of the Swedish countryside. What a unique
back. If you make it to Stockholm, experience what Chef
and wonderful way to set the tone for a meal based on the
Dahlgren has to offer. You won’t be disappointed.
bounty of the Swedish heartland. Each dish was balanced and creative, every dish prepared with stunning quality ingredients. The first course took traditional Scandinavian fare—pickled herring and salmon gravlax—to another level. The Scandinavian sashimi dish offered fish fresh enough to stand up to the best you’d find in Tokyo, and the Swedish grass-fed beef rivaled Japanese primizie
Wagyu. Yet Chef Dahlgren confided to us that the majority of the products used in his cooking are sourced from within 100
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miles of his kitchen.
Mathias Dahgren Grand Hôtel Stockholm S. Blasieholmshamnen 8 Stockholm, Sweden 10327 Tel. +46.8.679.36 77 mdghs.com
Recipes by Mathias Dahlgren
Pulled-pork sandwich
Pumpkin & vanilla ice cream
10 Portions
The Meat
2 kg thick organic pork ribs
Poke small holes in the meat with a thin sharp knife. Season the meat carefully with rosemary, garlic, fennel seeds, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
25 grams rosemary, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 10 grams fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar salt ground fresh pepper olive oil 2 bay leaves For the Onion Confit 3 yellow onions olive oil salt For Sandwiches sourdough bread parchment paper
Rub the meat with the seasoning, and make sure the spices get into the little holes made with the knife. Place the meat in an ovenproof dish that is as deep as the meat is high, and fill so the meat is covered to 2/3 full. Throw in the bay leaves.
method
To Serve
For the Pumpkin Purée
Pumpkin purée
Pumpkin paper
Clean the meat free from the bone and other not-so-desirable parts. Chop up the meat and mix with the confit onions and some of the jus from the meat. Add salt and lots of freshly ground pepper, which is crucial to the taste.
1 butternut squash
Peel and split the pumpkin. Remove the seeds with a spoon and cut the meat into big pieces. Roast on a baking sheet at 150°C (300°F) for 1 hour. Mix the cooked pumpkin with crème fraîche or sour cream in a mixer until smooth. Salt to taste.
Mix pumpkin purée with egg white. Spread the mixture thinly on a silicone baking mat. Let dry in the oven at 75°C (about 165°F) for 2 to 3 hours. Lift up the thin “paper” flan from the mat before it is cool.
100 grams crème fraîche or sour cream salt For the Vanilla Ice Cream
Slice the bread into 20 1-cm-thick slices. Lay out 10 sheets of parchment paper and place a slice of bread on each sheet. Put a good amount of the meat on top of the Cook at 160°C (250°F) for 3 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes, slice, and top with another piece until you can pull the meat from the of bread. Roll the sandwich in the paper and fold in the ends to make bone with a fork. Let cool. a package.
1 vanilla pod
Repeat for all remaining sandwiches. Before serving, warm in Slice the onions and simmer in olive the oven on low heat. Then eat as oil on low heat for 4 hours, until the a burrito. onions are golden and tender. Salt to taste. Pour off the oil. To drink
150 grams pumpkin seeds
Confit onions
Slightly chilled, not-so-expensive light red wine.
Mathias does not like
1. Food that looks like cake 2. Vegetables cut brunoise style 3. Basil—it can kill anything 4. Tripe 5. Milk in coffee 6. Sundried tomatoes 7. Warm red wine 8. Buffet-style meals 9. Taste of nori 10. Shaving 11. Instruction books 12. Writing receipts
To Serve
750 grams milk
Vanilla ice cream
750 grams heavy cream
Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Boil the milk, heavy cream, and vanilla in a big pot. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, and pour over the warm milk and vanilla mixture. Mix and pour everything back into the pot. Let simmer until it reaches 84°C (about 180°F). Let cool and pour into an ice cream machine.
240 grams egg yolk 500 grams sugar For the Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 20 grams olive oil salt For the Pumpkin Paper 100 grams pumpkin purée 25 grams egg white
Mathias likes
Place the purée on a rounded plate with some of the pumpkin seeds, then put a scoop of ice cream on top. Put the pumpkin paper in the ice cream, and add more of seeds on top. Drizzle with pumpkin oil to finish.
Roasted pumpkin seeds Roast the pumpkin seeds in a hot pan with olive oil until the seeds puff up. Salt to taste, and chop until a gravel-like consistency.
1. Truffle 2. The combination of raw and aged 3. Dairy products with plenty of acid 4. Red grapefruit 5. Black coffee 6. Raw from the ocean, with good soy sauce 7. Sourdough bread 8. To eat late nights in the kitchen over a counter 9. Herring and snaps and beer 10. Charcoal grilled meat 11. Snus—the black tobacco that Mathias puts under his lips about 50 times in one day and cant live without! 12. Driving a snow scooter
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For the Pork
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Ingredients
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method
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Ingredients
10 Portions
Follow the Star, find the true Italian quality.
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Negroni, “the brand with a star”, was established in 1907 in a place called Cremona, in the heart of the Po valley. Many things have changed since then, but not the philosophy of the company: love and passion for quality, absolute respect for the genuine flavour and tradition for the products and also the lands where the tradition was born. PLEASE CONTACT: WWW.NEGRONI.COM - EMAIL: USA.NEGRONI@NEGRONI.COM
THE STAR OF ITALIAN DELICATESSEN MEATS SINCE 1907
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potatoes in the United States. “We introduced them
They grow a gamut of peas and beans: fava beans, sugar snap peas, English peas, and a variety of shelling beans—about 17 in all, including black-eyed peas, cannellini beans, and calypso beans, which are black and white in color (Tantillo affectionately calls them the “yin and yang” beans). They also yield a large volume of snap beans, and yellow and green haricots verts. But the strawberries are their biggest claim to fame—in particular, the Tristar strawberry. The Tristar variety is a cross between a wild berry that blooms in the Rocky Mountains in August and a regular strawberry. It is one of a new breed of perpetually bearing, day-neutral strawberries that continue their nonstop production
even in temperatures of up to 95 degrees. Also called “queens of three seasons,” they start blooming in June and last through November. The fruit is small, often the size of a pinkie, and so flavorful that many of Tantillo’s chef clients request them specifically. She remembers hearing that one of the Tristar creators hoped to produce a berry that would “bring people back to their childhoods,” and you’ll often hear people say that very thing at her Union Square Greenmarket stand. The strawberries’ fragrance fills the air. “We are at 17th Street, and I often have people tell me they can smell my berries two blocks away!” In the meantime, Tantillo is not lacking work. She and her crew are currently foraging watercress, stinging nettles, and “arugalion,” a green she recently discovered. She explains, “A few years ago, I planted arugula in the field and it crossed with dandelion.” Looks like her passion—like her produce—isn’t at risk of wilting anytime soon!
The New York Farmers Market Harvest Calendar is available for your smartphone. Now you’ll know when you need to get to the market by sunrise to get your hands on the very freshest and special items, like morels, ramps, fiddleheads, and strawberries.
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Take their potatoes, for example. In 1990, Berried Treasures Farm was the first grower of fingerling
to Martha Stewart, who did a big piece on us. David Bouley was also one of the first chefs to buy potatoes from us, especially the ‘La Ratte,’ which became the signature potato he served. Then Joël Robuchon came to us—with all the attention, the fingerling potatoes took off. That was the beginning.”
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Berried Treasures Farm specializes in strawberries, various types of raspberries (golden, black, and red), and foraged wild blueberries. But depending on the season, you’ll find just about everything growing at her produce haven, where things really do grow better because of the soil. By virtue of its location, the farm has a specific microclimate that Tantillo enhances with mineralization. “We put tons and tons of mineral powders into the soil—phosphate, cocoa-bean shells, chicken manure, a mix of seaweed powders, and fish emulsion. That increases the flavor and the shelf life. Our product lasts longer and tastes better.” Add to that a lot of weeding and loving care: “I work the farm with a crew of 12 workers and a handful of foragers. We manicure the fields right down to taking out every bad berry.” The result keeps chefs clamoring every season for the pick of her crops.
Berried Treasures is a fitting name for Franca Tantillo’s 36-acre farm in Cooks Falls, New York, in the Catskills.
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Greenmarket Profile: The Treasures of Franca Tantillo
Stern can’t get by without a paring knife always on hand as he slices, peels, and dices.
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walker STERN
EMMA HEARST
Emily Iguchi
james kent
Favorite ingredient right now: Dolan vermouth (I make a fish sauce with it), wheat germ artisanal dried pasta Go-to dish: simple vegetable pasta Indispensable kitchen tool: paring knife Five things always in your pantry at home: salt, pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, and anchovies Person you would most like to cook for: any chef or anyone who would appreciate what I put in front of them with an open mind Top five playlist: anything punk— Radio Birdman, Turbonegro, White Flag, Bad Brains, Cro-Mags New York restaurant you would eat at once a week: Franny’s Undiscovered gem: If you can call it a gem, South Brooklyn Pizza—just as good as Lucali, less the hour wait; Red Hook ball fields Best late-night eats: corner deli Favorite bar: Boat Bar on Smith Street Beverage of choice: Fernet-Branca and beer Favorite food city in the world: New York Food you won’t eat: gross fast food
Favorite ingredient right now: peas, of any shape and kind Go-to dish: fresh pasta of any kind Indispensable kitchen tool: my hands—I do everything with these guys Five things always in your pantry at home: vodka, wine, sriracha, my French bulldog’s food, and coffee—Counter Culture Person you would most like to cook for: My dad’s older sister, my aunt. Right before my senior year of high school, she passed away. We used to make Thanksgiving dinners together. She was the one who inspired me at a young age to cook. If it were not for that holiday and her, I don’t think I would be doing what I do. New York restaurant you would eat at once a week: Gramercy Tavern Undiscovered gem: Kyo-Ya on Seventh Street in Manhattan Best late-night eats: Sorella, we serve our full menu until 2 a.m.! Favorite bar: Motor City, Black and White, or 169 Bar Beverage of choice: At Sorella, wine; I also have a weakness for fine Champagne. At a bar, vodka/ soda with a shot of Jameson Favorite food city in the world: Turino
Favorite ingredient right now: potatoes from Sheldon Farms Go-to dish: salad sandwich Indispensable kitchen tool: the Gangy, a crazy Japanese can opener Five things always in your pantry at home: salt, pepper, rice, nori, and some type of hot sauce Person you would most like to cook for: my mom Top five playlist: “Roots Rock Reggae,” “Hurricane,” “House at Pooh Corner,” “The Weight,” and “I’m Yours” New York restaurant you would eat at once a week: Ippudo NY Undiscovered gem: Northern Spy Food Co. Best late-night eats: an unnamed restaurant for a special burger Favorite bar: Pegu Club, with Kenta Goto behind the bar Beverage of choice: cortado at Abraço Favorite food city in the world: Tokyo Food you won’t eat: stuff that’s old
Favorite ingredient right now: English peas Indispensable kitchen tool: cake tester—I poke everything: cooks, meat, etc. Five things always in your pantry at home: sofrito, Nutella, truffle oil, peanut butter, fleur de sel Person you would most like to cook for: POTUS and Paul Bocuse, or my grandfather New York restaurant would you eat at once a week? Lupa Undiscovered gem: The Meatball Shop Best late-night eats: The Meatball Shop Favorite bar: The Redhead Beverage of choice: Grey Goose and ginger Favorite food city in the world: New York Food you won’t eat? cantaloupe and chicken feet
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The Vanderbilt 570 Vanderbilt Avenue Brooklyn, NY Tel. 718.623.0570 thevanderbiltnyc.com
Sorella 95 Allen Street New York, NY Tel. 212.274.9595 sorellanyc.com
Eleven Madison Park 11 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10010-3643 Tel. 212.889.0905 elevenmadisonpark.com
Iguchi’s Gangy opener works like an extension of her hand as she pries off lids with lightning speed.
Publisher Michael Goldman Editor-in-Chief Pamela Jouan Design Director Jana Potashnik BAIRDesign, Inc. Managing Editor Christian Kappner Assistant Editor Stephane Henrion Copy Editor kelly suzan waggoner Photography Young Guns: kaysh shinn Mathias Dalhgren: Matias Dalhgren Tcho: Mark Leet Products: Naheed Choudry Frank Bruni: Penguin Other photos provided Courtesy of Primizie Fine Foods Advertising advertising@hautelifepress.com HauteLife Press a division of C-BON MEDIA, LLC. 321 Dean Street Suite 1 Brooklyn, NY 11217 www.hautelifepress.com info@hautelifepress.com Subscription Inquiries 718.858.1187 subscriptions@hautelifepress.com or visit www.hautelifepress.com Printed and bound in the U.S.A. HauteLife Press makes every effort to ensure that the information it publishes is correct but cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. © 2010 All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.
Kent keeps a cake tester in his pocket at all times so he can probe anything and anyone.
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