How the Experts Eat
by Wendy Paris May 2007
The people who make and sell gourmet foods share connoisseur' secrets of consumption.
The modern obsession with fine food has led to an abundance of detailed advice on how to appreciate it. Sushi should be eaten fish-side down. Chocolate shouldn’t be corrupted with fillings or flavorings. Wine is to be served in varietal-specific glasses.
Are these latest prescriptions trendy or timeless? We turned to the experts to find out. Does a renowned fromager still assemble carefully balanced cheese plates after hours? Do whiskey makers toss it back or sip slowly? Here, seven culinary legends share how they enjoy some of the finest food and drink on the planet.
Foie Gras
Whether to eat the fatted liver of a goose or duck is up to you (unless you live in Chicago). How you eat it is another story. “Because it is rich and delicate, it needs to be balanced with something sweet yet acidic,” says Ariane Daguin, founder of D’Artagnan, the largest purveyor of foie gras in the U.S. “I always cringe when I see recipes that don’t respect the foie gras, that cover it in spices or something purely sweet.”Daguin mixes balsamic vinegar with an equal amount of wine, reduces the mixture, and spoons it over a pan-seared slab of foie gras. Or she’ll create a sauce from ripe fruit, balanced with vinegar or vermouth. “For Christmas, my daughter came back from the market with a pineapple,” she says. “I did a sautéed, pan-seared foie gras with a sauce of pineapple cooked in vermouth. Be creative. See what’s ripe.”
Single Malt Whiskey
Sip slooowly at room temperature, says Jim McEwan, managing director of the Bruichladdich distillery in Islay, Scotland. “It took 25 years to get it into that glass, and you’re going to drink it in one second? Take 25 minutes,” he says. “If it’s 15 years old, take 15 minutes.” He’s just as precise about which whiskey should be served when. “The older the hour, the older the whiskey,” he says. “I love a 12-year-old, unpeated version from an American oak cask in the early evening. After dinner, it’s always quite interesting to serve some older, peated whiskey from Islay with cheese.”When drinking single malts, use a stemmed sherry glass to channel aromas to your nose and prevent fingerprints from clouding your view of the whiskey. And add water—in proportion to the age of the spirit, of course. “For a 10-year-old, add 25 percent water; for a 15-year-old, 15 percent water,” McEwan says. “For 18 years, a couple of teardrops. Those are teardrops of joy that you’ve found such a wonderful product.”
Truffles
Truffles enhance some of the most sophisticated culinary creations. They’re also great on eggs, says Luca Bertozzi, president of gourmet importer Bertozzi and marketing director for Urbani Truffles in the U.S. “You fry up the eggs in butter, sunny-side up,” he says. “You serve them with white truffles shaved on top. The idea is to have a bit of fried egg and truffle in every bite.”Olga Urbani, owner of Urbani Truffles, prefers white truffles stirred into risotto cooked in meat broth. “But turn off the heat first!” she cautions. “Never cook the truffles or they lose their flavor and aroma.” She also recommends this classic sauce: Brown a clove of garlic in oil, remove the clove, and let the oil cool until it’s just warm. Add grated black truffles, salt, and pepper. “It goes great on fish, meat, pasta, or bread. Truffles are so mysterious and also delicate, so you shouldn’t put too many ingredients in a recipe.”
Chocolate
Others may gnaw it or nibble it. John Scharffenberger, co-founder of Bay Area-based chocolate maker Scharffen Berger, drinks it.“Melting it releases the flavor,” he says. “All of the yummy parts are right there.”Scharffenberger breaks up three ounces of 62 percent dark chocolate, covers it with a little low-fat milk, and melts it over very low heat, stirring constantly. Then he adds 12 ounces of 2 percent milk. The resulting mixture is enough for three servings. “That’s my every-morning thing,” he says. “I’ll also have it as dessert in demi cups, with sliced pears and dried fruit and nuts. It’s a really thick hot chocolate, like the espresso of chocolate. That’s the way the Spanish still consume their chocolate, the traditional way.”
Cheese
Max McCalman, maître fromager at New York’s Artisanal Restaurant Group and author of two books on cheese, spends some of his evenings helping patrons select ideal pairings. But at home, he enjoys aged mountain cheese or pressed sheep’s milk cheese (among others) with scant accompaniment or fuss. “I’m somewhat of a purist about it,” he says. “I don’t care so much about making a composed cheese plate.”Neither does he care about utensils after hours, though for guests he lifts pieces with a pair of forks. “I usually just use my fingers. At home, a fork is somewhat superfluous.”McCalman admits to preferring the interior “paste” to the rind, but he does use the rind to flavor soups. “The lovely butterfats are released, and this elevates the flavor.”
Caviar
When indulging in caviar, the right utensil is essential, says Armen Petrossian, owner of Petrossian, a U.S. importer of caviar. Silver causes a chemical reaction with the egg, he says, so “gold or mother-of-pearl is best.” Horn and stainless steel also work. With delicately flavored types of caviar such as Ossetra, Beluga, and Transmontanus, Petrossian skips accompaniments like toast or blini. “You’re losing some of the taste,” he says. He eats half a teaspoon of caviar at a time, letting the eggs crush against his palate and taking plenty of time between bites. “Caviar is the sexiest food,” he says. “I always have some in my fridge. Late evening, coming back from an event or the theater, you want to eat something little with some champagne. You have all the pleasure before going to sleep—or not to sleep.”
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I thought this was a fun read!
Aaron
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