I receive many invitations for events and press conferences and a few weeks ago I received one that intrigued me. The invitation was for a press conference for the Club des Chefs des Chefs, an organization of the top chefs in the world. The press conference was for a selected group of international chefs who were making a week-long visit to France, and after the conference there was going to be a cocktail buffet after. Bingo! This invite had my name written all over it.
Club des Chefs des Chefs is one of the most exclusive culinary organizations and the strict criteria to become a member includes being a current personal chef of a head of state. Given that ultra high bar, there was an impressive list of chefs at the event. It was held at the Plaza Athenee in one of the private salons, and at the front, there was a dais with the president of Club des Chefs des Chefs, Gilles Bragard, who founded the organization in 1977, plus a few guest speakers. The celebrated chefs were sitting on two sides of the dais, decked out in their white uniforms and chef’s hats.
After the members on the dais spoke, they turned it over to the journalists who were attending, to ask questions. I asked the chefs if they were sourcing their ingredients locally what problems that poses when they can’t. The White House chef, Cristeta Pasia Comerford, diligently answered my question in saying that she strives for locally sourced products but has to sometimes import ingredients from other places in the U.S. Other questions asked were, how do they deal with safety issues, the growing vegan population, and issues with allergies.
The conference lasted about an hour, just in time for lunch. Yippee!
We were escorted into another beautifully decorated room with an extravagant and decadent buffet and food presentation. There were stalls for every important food group (at least in my book) including caviar, smoked salmon, foie gras, cheese, and raw seafood with clams, oysters, and shrimp. Each stand was more extravagantly decorated than the next, with the seafood presented on three elevated tiers with pink hydrangeas, tall birds of paradise, and fauna in the background. Another stand was for a dairy company Elle & Vire from Normandy which makes superior dairy products such as milk, cream, and butter. They served small savory dishes topped with unsweetened whipped cream and later served yummy desserts including an almond, lemon and thyme tart, and tiny, delicate strawberries with cream . Elle & Vire also produces an American style cream cheese and used it in some unique recipes such as a mid-east roasted eggplant dish, moutabal, and a unique version of beef tartare, made with grapefruit and kumquat.
The most unusual stand and one of my favorites was the Algolesko, a algae company based in southern Brittany. They served seaweed in such clever ways, using a layer of it in bread, a tartar type sauce served alongside a bun made of seaweed, and concoction of seaweed mixed with bits of fruit preserves and a crispy, savory wafer, all presented in a glass.
Last but not least, the alcohol cherry on top was they served Champagne and Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine.
I swear I paced myself, trying not to stuff myself silly, but it was extremely difficult. I practically rolled out of there at 2pm, and headed straight to a café for an espresso for my quick approaching food hangover.
On the way out, I received a gift bag with a coffee table book entitled A La Table des Présidentes by Guillaume Gomez. Inside are menus and invitations plus photos from historic presidential dinners and lunches from France including President Rene Coty receiving Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip in 1957, President Charles de Gaulle receiving President Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy in 1961, President Francois Miterrand hosting Valclav Havel in 1990, and President Bill Clinton in 1994, and President Emmanuel Macron hosting lunch for President Barack Obama in 20017.
The invited chefs had a killer schedule before and after the press conference including a visit to Reims and Epernay for a tour of the vineyards and cellars of Champagne Gosset, a 4am tour of the Rungis Market, an invitation to view the Bastille Day parade, and a trip to Bordeaux to visit Château Lafite Rothschild and Maison Lafitte.
http://www.chefs-des-chefs.com/
Seaweed
SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, July 22- Making Tarte Tatin Live Facebook Event
I am reposting yesterday's blog post because I made an error on the date for the event below.
Please join me for a very special event in the Loire Valley, on Thursday July 22, where I will be live, filming how Tarte Tartin is made, at the original house of the Tatin sisters, who invented the recipe. We are going to discover this new hotel on the site and give you a demonstration of how to make the authentic (and delicious!)Tarte Tatin at home!
Warning: Do not watch the video with an empty stomach!
I will also be exploring the surrounding area of the hotel and the Loire.
Date: Thursday, July 22
Time: 10am EST (east coast time), 9am Midwest time, 7am, West coast time, and 4pm Paris time
CLICK HERE to join the tour
