More than sixty cooking demonstrations, wine and craft-brewed beer seminars, and cheese classes have been updated to the Epicurean Classic website in the past few weeks and registrations for the September 11, 12, and 13 event are coming in strong. Our most recent addition was Farmer’s Market Inspired Cooking, presented by Eric Patterson and Jennifer Blakeslee, chefs/co-owners of the superb Cook’s House in Traverse City. As we discussed the class description and content, Eric stressed that he and Jen wanted to shed insight on how chefs think when they shop, how they put things together.
Every year, I’m called on to write dozens and dozens of these demonstration and seminar descriptions. Of course, the idea is to make them sound compelling as hell, but they can be a pain if the topic lacks pizzazz. My chat with Eric was eye-opening because he nailed what seems to be the least appreciated traits of a professional chef: nimbleness, open-mindedness, creativity, and inspiration. Culinary education and kitchen experience assure most top flight chefs have the requisite backlog of recipes stored in the memory banks but real genius is revealed on the fly, ie, while walking through farmer’s markets and produce aisles playfully conceiving menu ideas for that night’s dinner service. The dreaded flip side is GOT FRESH, FABULOUS FOOD BUT NO IDEA WHAT TO COOK. I think most of us know how that feels, but I’m certain Eric and Jennifer find the bounty of late summer and early autumn their favorite time to be in the restaurant business because the creative juices are flowing like freshly cut honeydew melon.
-Matt Sutherland
Expressing my “soap box” feelings of excitement for the upcoming events, unfortunately leave no room for accurate description. I realized the grand opportunity I have to speak with industry professionals with years of experience; and, personally, it would be a shame to attend the Classic and forget to stretch the boundaries that would normally limit an aspiring chef such as myself. Knowing that I can learn more by simply dissecting the minds of so many influential people, is inspiration enough. Being so close, and possibly working with todays culinary extraordinaire, may allow a certain level of discretion that I will most certainly not pass up.
I think I was born 30 years too late. I would have LOVED to have become a chef, but at that time, they were not exactly welcoming women into the field with open arms.
How great for all you young people to find a career that elevates you in so many ways: you are doing something creative, something that will inspire and delight others, and you are getting paid for it!!!