Imagine a night that you can walk into an indoor marketplace somewhere in Japan. Full of food vendors, people walking around and traditional music surrounding the area as if it’s tying a ribbon around your experience. Now imagine this in a very old wine barrel room at a school; but not just any school—The Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California.
Looking down into the lobby.
Pre-event set-up
With hundreds of guests arriving over a three day period in this early November, I was fortunate enough to work with one of the sponsors, House Foods. House Foods is based in Orange County in Southern California and their products are of course, tofu of all types, and curry. They are the owners of Curry House Restaurant as well as makers and distributors of many well known products such as Java and Vermont Curry, along with the different textures of block tofu.
Chef Nori grilling up firm tofu
Someone about to try my chocolate tofu truffles!!!
By assisting House Foods, I helped create food items that featured some of their products. I worked on the pastry side of things, while Chef Noriyuki Sugie of Japan and San Francisco worked on the savory side. The first evening, the CIA opened their doors, Chef Nori made a beef bourguignon featuring firm tofu. On the sweet side, I made a tofu cream filled puff using silken tofu.
It was great to be back to visit the place that I once studied baking and pastry. I visited all my former chefs and caught up with some of them when I could. We took a tour of the facility, which has increased in size with added kitchens, demonstration rooms, and classes. They no longer have the program that I was studying <sad face>. In place of that is the Associates in Baking and Pastry Arts—a full two-year program, like they have at their Hyde Park campus in New York.
Chefs from all over Japan & the US
The main kitchen up on the top floor was abuzz with the Japanese language. Different chefs from all over Japan and the United States participated in the Worlds of Flavor: Japan event. Even Chef Morimoto of Iron Chef fame was there giving a demonstration, book signing and random picture taking. Unfortunately, I was too busy working to get a picture with him. Other well-known chefs that were on the list were David Chang of Momofuku in NY and Chef Noriyuki Kobayashi of Megu in Midtown Manhattan.
Dish by Chef Morimoto
Making the "modern-yaki"
Sushi making machine~the wave of the future!
Adding fish to the sushi rice
Tuna Tartare
Taiko drummers in action
Miso Display
Back at the Williams Center kitchen, under the direction of Chef Lars, several companies and restaurants took their small space in the kitchen and made wonderful food for each night and the last day’s lunch event. A symphony of sounds and senses: the steam of rice from a newly opened rice cooker; rice vinegar and soy sauce being carefully poured; knives swishing along a sharpening stone; the careful deboning of fresh fish; a sudden burst of fire and sizzle as kobe beef is being seared; and the smell of buttery pork belly as it is being braised. Intense movement and only sounds of kitchen work being done were enrobed in light chatter as some people shared their thoughts about the food they were making or sharing stories about their restaurants or background.
Once service time hit, everyone rushed to load up the van that would port us and our food items up the hill to the decorated barrel room. One by one, guests arrived. Food writers, editors, authors, chefs, artists, photographers, etc. were wandering around trying different foods from each stand. “Dozo!” (in this context, try!) the chefs would say as guests would wander up to their stands to try the different foods and reply with an “mmm…Oishi!” (yummy!)
Chef Nori & Yoko Difrancia representing House Foods..."Dozo!"
This event is awesome. They do this every year and so I’m hoping to make it back another time. It’s great just having fun cooking or baking and meeting people you wouldn’t otherwise get to meet unless you walked into their kitchens. All in all, everyone’s just the same—here for the food and excitement of making the best they can to share that great food experience with others
Chef Nori Sugie talking to Chef Nori Kobayashi