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Online
News June 29, 2007
Table of Contents
Events
 Tasting with Cookstown Greens of their seasonal produce
Sunday Afternoon July 15th at
at The Cookbook Store
Cookstown Greens is the supplier of organic edible flowers, baby greens, heirloom and rare vegetables to award wining, acclaimed restaurants and green grocers in Toronto and Southern Ontario. Established in 1988 by David Cohlmeyer, they have become synonymous with high quality organic produce here in the province. Join us as we recapture the pleasure of ripe tomatoes in a unique tasting of their heirloom varieties, as well as other seasonal delights. http://www.cookstowngreens.com/
Cooking Classes for Kids
What to do with the kids until Labour Day?
Try the Kids Cooking Camp at Nella Cucina's Culinary School. For ages 8-15 this is great opportunity for kids to learn a life skill. (And for the boys they can really impress future dates with their culinary prowess!) The wonderful surroundings and dedicated teachers at Nella's will make budding new chefs of your children. To find out more information contact Nella Cucina at 416-922-9055 or http://www.nellacucina.ca.
New Books, Imports, etc.
 Angela Hartnett’s Cucina
Angela Hartnett
Angela Hartnett’s first book is a testament to the simplicity instilled by her culinary mentors. Her grandmother and mother tutored her in the rustic pleasures of the Italian family kitchen. With her mentor Gordon Ramsay, she added refinement to simplicity. Recipes range from biga (a fermented bread starter) to roast pigeon with sausage and date stuffing. Colour photos. Import, hardcover, 272 pp. $65.00.
 Becasse
Justin North
Using a blend of slow food techniques and of-the-moment presentation, new Zealander Justin North has garnered acclaim for his Sydney-based restaurant, Becasse. Mentored by Raymond Blanc, North has utmost respect for his raw ingredients part of the book is devoted to showcasing his sources. Slow-poached filet of pork, tournedos of lamb, and carmelised blood orange tart are among his exquisite dishes. Colour photos highlight the European-influenced refinement of his plating. Import, hardcover, 289 pp. $75.00.
 Le Calandre
Massimiliano e Raffaele Alajmo
All ye who aspire to the list of the world’s top restaurants remember this phrase: Cuisine has its own musicality. It is apparently a phrase which has inspired the Alajmo brothers of Le Calandre which came in at #16 on a recent best restaurants in the world list. Their philosophy and the recipes that sprang from it: pasta butter and smoked pasta, whipped salt cod with smoked gelatin, Oestra caviar and crunchy potato, liquid chocolate bigne with saffron cream sauce… Be sure to read the tale of their visit to Bocuse’s restaurant. All of it comes in an artfully designed package with stunning colour and black and white photos and drawings. Import, in English, hardcover, 433 pp.
 Danks Street Depot
Jared Ingersoll
Jared Ingersoll’s Dank Street Depot is one of the best restaurants in New South Wales. Here he serves up a selection of his restaurant dishes and favourites from his home kitchen. Spaghetti with cauliflower strascicata, lamb shoulder and cardamom curry, and toasted reuben sandwich are some of the variations on his haute-home cooking. Some recipes offer quantities for two while others are for party-size occasions. Colour photos. Hardcover, 159 pp. $34.95.
Dinner Party Disasters
Annaliese Soros with Abigail Stokes
There is nothing that can make you feel better about your entertaining disasters faster than reading about someone else’sespecially if the host or hostess is rich and famous. Throughout the author has sprinkled tips for averting disasters, or turning them into triumphs when they cannot be avoided. Whimsical drawings. Hardcover, 95 pp. $17.95.
 Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food
Gordon Ramsay with Mark Sargeant and Emily Quah
Gordon Ramsay brings the same intensity and high standards to home cooking that he applies to his Michelin-starred restaurants. Each of the 15 sections (topics soups, salads, fast fish & chips, Indian spice…) features a five recipe menu with game plan. The squinty-eyed among us will appreciated the bright graphics and large type. Colour photos. Import, hardcover, 255 pp. $55.00.
 Modern French Cooking
Andreas Antona
This is modern French cooking as interpreted via a British-born Greek Cypriot trained by the Swiss-born Anton Mossiman amongst others. Note that the title says “modern” rather than “contemporary” for the dishes are more representative of the French cuisine that came into vogue in the late 1970s and 1980s. Thus you will find pave of salmon with potato “scales” and caviar sauce and a classic lemon tart with almond pastry and brulee surface. Colour photos. Import, hardcover, 190 pp. $59.95.
 Raising the Salad Bar
Catherine Walther
Local and season are the keys to recreating Catherine Walthier’s vision of salad. With beans, whole grains, chicken and pasta et al these are salads which can be a gorgeous appetizer or main course: golden fried tomato with lobster salad and avocado puree; lemony asparagus and artichoke pasta salad; lentil salad with maple-balsamic vinaigrette. Each section includes a good dollop of how-to tips. The crowning glory is a collection of over 70 dressings. Colour photos. Softcover, 272 pp. $24.95.
 Season to Taste
Liam Tomlin
A master of contemporary simplicity, South African-based food editor Liam Tomlin founded the Sydney restaurant Banc. He is also on British Airways’ Culinary Council with Jancis Robinson et al. Both his Irish roots and his more international experience are visible in dishes that encompass bacon and eggs with colcannon, freshly shucked oysters with Vietnamese dressing, and carpaccio and tartare of venison with truffle dressing. A stunning photo of the plated dish accompanies each recipe. There is also an extensive selection of basic recipes and techniques from vinaigrettes to flavoured oils to candied peel to how to shuck an oyster. Import, hardcover, 224 pp. $59.95.
 The Sweet Spot
Pichet Ong
A veteran of both Chez Panisse and Jean-Georges, Pichet Ong, now chef/owner of New York’s P*Ong, is a master of desserts with an Asian twist. Some dishes offer an Asian riff on American classics: coconut cream pie with toasted jasmine rice crust and banana cream pie with a hit of ginger. Lest you think it is all fusion all the time, behold the sentimental classics like Chinese almond cookies, fortune cookies, and “pocky” sticks. Colour photos. Hardcover, 292 pp. $37.95.
Butler Shortage
We know this sounds ridiculous but on the other hand........
A fascinating situation has now arisen where there is a worldwide shortage of butlers.This would have been inconceivable a few decades/centuries ago. A butler shortage. The Butler name derives from the old French word bouteillier, meaning the cup-bearer or the one in charge of the bottles.
As Robert Verkaik of the London Independent wrote in an article published May 30th 2007, "during the Edwardian heyday of the gentleman's servant, the number of butlers never exceeded the number of masters. But a nouveau riche assault on Britain's once rigid class structure has led to something of a crisis in the supply and demand of household man-servants. The Guild of Professional Butlers is now reporting an explosion in the numbers of super-rich households who want to be waited on hand and foot. He continues on.......
In the 1970s and early 1980s, "butling" was an antiquated and dying profession, but today there simply are not enough butlers to go round, said Charles MacPherson, (based in Toronto), the vice-chairman of the International Guild of Professional Butlers. "If we doubled the number of butlers, they wouldn't be without work," he added. “Most of you know that the world currently has more millionaires and billionaires on the Forbes list than ever before. As these millionaires and billionaires acquire multiple homes, yachts and private aircraft they are being confronted with the reality that they need help taking care of these expensive possessions. Increasingly they are turning to trained butlers to help them. The trouble is that prospective employers are discovering that there is a shortage of butlers within the labor market. This is good news for our profession; within the gap between supply and demand, lays opportunity.”
Jane Urqhart, the principal of the Greycoat Academy which trains butlers, said that demand for "good butlers" was soaring.
"What's happened is that there has been a growth among those people with a lot of money who want to emulate the old traditions, such as having a butler. So they buy the manor house but they also want to hire someone from the days when the house was staffed by a butler. After all, when the door is opened and there is someone standing there to take your coat and serve you a drink from a silver tray you know that you have arrived."
She adds: "Today a butler doesn't just serve the food, he will also cook the food, organise your personal wardrobe, drive you around, take care of your diary and of course be a soul discretion."
Ivor Spencer, 81, a butler with service in 14 of the grandest houses in England, runs a butler-training school and agency. He says that one can still expect certain standards from a butler and as if to prove it has devoted a page of his website to the simple declaration: "I am delighted to say that I did not train Paul Burrell" - referring to the former butler of Diana, Princess of Wales and his controversial memoirs.
Running a sizeable house can command a salary starting at £40,000, and rising to £100,000. "It's a challenging career," says Mr Spencer. "Sometimes you control a budget bigger than a small business's. One of our butlers is running a palace in Bahrain with 135 staff." But Mr Spencer warns: "You must never do it just for the money. You must put the family before your own family."
So if you are in need of assistance with your household(s), and no we aren't kidding, here is a link to Toronto's own Charles MacPherson, vice-chairman of the International Guild of Professional Butlers and owner of Residential Management Systems. MacPherson's organizational skills would put Martha to shame!! http://www.rmstour.com/
Recipe
From Cooking with Verjuice
by Maggie Beer ($18.50)
Long used for cooking since the Middle Ages it is now being "rediscovered" in western cooking. Literally green grape juice, however, not as acidic as vinegar or lemon juice. Used in salad dressings, marinades, a wonderful flavouring for summer cooking. Makes a great host/hostess gift.
Although there are vastly more expensive imports from France, we sell the verjus from Crown Bench Winery in Niagara, $10.95 (750ml).
Warm Seafood Dressing
125ml verjuice
juice of 1 lemon
1 shallot, finely sliced
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
120ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp freshly plucked chervil
Reduce the verjuice, lemon juice and shallot over heat until 4 tablespoons liquid remain.
Remove the pan form the heat, then season with salt and pepper and add the olive oil.
Swirl in the chervil and use immediately.
Canada Day Weekend Store Hours
We will be open Saturday June 30th, 10 - 6pm.
Sunday July 1st and Monday July 2nd we will be closed.
Store Hours
Monday to Wednesday 9:30 am to 7 pm
Thursday to Friday 9:30 am to 8 pm
Saturday 10 am to 6 pm
Sunday noon to 5 pm
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| February 15, 2007 |
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