Chiarello Blog

The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs – Primal: Heat and Meat – S04E01 – Part 3

Most of the people who know me well have asked me, “Why on earth would you choose to compete on Next Iron Chef?”

What makes someone with a thirty-year career and a busy restaurant decide to toss his toque into this ring?

The short answer is my competitive streak got the best of me. While the masterminds at Top Chef Masters sometimes asked us to do things that didn’t mesh with how I see my profession (make a meal from a vending machine?), Next Iron Chef has always been about skill. When I was asked to be on Next Iron Chef, part of me wanted to see if I had the chops, and a bigger part wanted to be included in a group for which I have enormous respect.

That’s the same reason I appeared on Top Chef Masters. I was interested in appearing on a popular show but I held out until there was a “mature” chef version. Then the thought of not cooking with that first season’s group – which included Rick and Hubert, Anita and Cindy – bothered me almost as much as not being in my restaurant for six weeks. (Oh, yeah, and worrying that I’d come off looking like an ass by the end of the show – there was always that concern.)

I thought about it for a long time before choosing to compete. Even while shows like Top Chef Masters and Next Iron Chef have possibly elevated the profession, there’s a kind of circus aspect to it that’s hard to ignore. On the one hand, my being on television does help fill the seats at Bottega. On the other hand, I’ve cooked in restaurant kitchens for thirty years – why do I want to take the risk, when it sometimes feels like I’m trying out for high school football all over again?

That, right there, might be the main reason why I decided to compete: I wanted to prove to myself – and the people watching – that my skills haven’t been put out to pasture.

I have a question for all you Next Iron Chef watchers: does an appearance on a television show change your opinion about a chef whose work you follow? If you were me, would you have chosen to compete on Next Iron Chef?

-Michael

One thing to keep in mind about Thanksgiving – and why it is my favorite holiday of the year – it’s a tradition that is fluid and always evolving just a bit, which keeps it interesting for me. A few years ago, due to family logistics, we moved our big Thanksgiving feast to Friday instead of Thanksgiving Day, and I’ll tell you it was so enjoyable we’ve almost never gone back! That gave us a lovely, family focused day on Thursday to hike, mushroom hunt, and cook at our leisure without the pressures of having to pull off the unthinkable meal in just half a day! Remember to give yourselves a break as you are cooking Thanksgiving, it is likely a meal that took the pilgrims a month to prepare!

When you’re cooking on Thursday you have the whole day to enjoy making the meal and spending this time with your family. By the time Friday hits, it’s just about presenting the dishes and hanging out in the kitchen. And our guests always seem much more relaxed having gotten through their epic Thanksgiving cooking challenge at their house, they come to ours for great stories and lots of good wine!

My Thanksgiving cooking tips for you are to keep the sides to a manageable minimum, and don’t be afraid to ask people to bring a dish as well, especially those family favorites like Aunt Marge’s green bean and mushroom soup casserole. My favorite side dishes, that add pizzazz to a well-dressed turkey, are: Panettone Stuffing, Cranberry Citrus Cressing, and for a more Italian twist, Pumpkin Pastina Risotto, served right in a pumpkin. All my Thanksgiving recipes can be found here.

The other great thing about cooking a small number of side dishes is that you can really devote yourself to the turkey. If there’s one piece of advice I could give year after year, it’s that brining matters! Take the time to brine your bird. If you’ve never brined a bird, or could use a few more pointers check out the video I did for Chow.

Just remember, Thanksgiving is a day for family and loved ones. Do yourself a favor – cut back on the side dishes, cut back on the over-the-top gigantic turkey, and spend your day with the people you care about, not your stove top.

And if you’re looking for something different to do with all those left overs, check my leftovers recipes, Thanksgiving Leftovers, great for Football Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

- Michael.

Last week, a young chef and I were talking about a technique. The chef went to a computer, watched a YouTube video, then modified that technique later that day. This has me thinking about how a chef’s learning process has changed in the past two decades. When I was a young chef and I wanted to learn a new technique, I had to find somebody who knew how to do what I wanted to learn. I had to track them down, give them a call, and establish a relationship before I could ask them to teach me a method. This took a lot more time than an internet search, but I ended up with much more than just a technique.

The time I got to spend with Lidia Bastianich, learning her techniques for prosciutto, is a perfect example of how the old-school ways have some great fringe benefits. At 24 years old, I was opening Tra Vigne and I wanted to learn more than the one or two methods for meat-curing that I had picked up from my grandmother. My friend and mentor, Daryl Corti, suggested I contact Lidia, whose restaurant Felidia in New York City was known for house-cured meats. I reached out to Lidia and she talked me through the process, first over the phone, and later face to face when I visited Felidia. Lidia shared with me a mimeograph of her prosciutto method and she continued to make herself available to me for all of my questions as I learned to master her techniques.

Through my friendship with Lidia, Tra Vigne became known for its house-cured prosciutto and salumi. Lidia and her family have become lifelong friends; the techniques she taught me have enriched my entire career.

Hundreds of prosciutto later, I’ve shared what I’ve learned with dozens of young chefs who, I hope, will mention me as they teach the young chefs they’ll mentor down the road. Lidia’s generosity to one young chef has been passed along through three generations. Can watching a YouTube video offer the same rewards?

The internet is an amazing place for any chef to expand their knowledge but I’m not convinced that it’s the best way to learn a new technique. When I talk to young chefs about the difference between taste and flavor, I think of Lidia, and how her care and friendship flavor the prosciutto I make, even twenty years later.

What do you think? Has the internet and the ease of finding recipes and techniques online in some ways made it more difficult for young chefs?

-Michael

While I’m running a restaurant or filming Next Iron Chef, my wife Eileen takes on other interesting work in our community. She’s done a lot for Connolly Ranch, which teaches kids about farming, food, and sustainability. She’s also a board member for the new Napa Valley Film Festival, which premieres November 9 -13, 2011 with over 100 films and fabulous wine and food events. If you love film, the art of storytelling, and the Napa Valley, this festival was created for you.

What makes me most proud of this year’s festival is how well it connects to Napa’s history and culture, and how it will create interesting dialogue on very timely topics. Documentary filmmaker Paul Saltzman is screening his film Prom Night in Mississippi, and hosting student discussions about racial segregation at Napa Valley schools. My vintner-friend Oscar Renteria had a vision for a Latin film track; thanks to the Napa Valley Mexican American Vintners Association his vision becomes a reality with some wonderful films, including Forgotten Eagles, about a group of volunteer Mexican pilots who flew with the U.S. Air Force during WWII. This film is part of a free program on 11.11.11, Veteran’s Day, at the Lincoln Theater at the Yountville Veterans Home. It begins with a “toast to peace” at 11:11am, and includes two other documentary programs. Other powerful programs continue on Saturday with international organization Roots of Peace, where they will screen three films and host a panel discussion, also at the Lincoln Theater. Click here for more.

A special point of pride to me is the film La Estancia, a powerful documentary about five migrant farm-working families, because the filmmaking team is part of my family here at Bottega Restaurant. I am grateful to all the artists who create meaningful and entertaining films, and to the very hard-working team who made this Inaugural Napa Valley Film festival happen! Now sit back in an old Barrel Room, grab some parmesan-truffle popcorn and a glass of Old Vine Zin, and enjoy the show. — Michael

More details on the Napa Valley Film Festival.

Saturday’s Film Festival Tributes, which begin at 6 p.m. in Yountville’s Lincoln Theater, honors Jeffrey Wright (Emmy and Golden Globe winner for “Angels in America”) with a humanitarian award for his work to help rebuild a war-torn Sierra Leon during an evening hosted by my friend Billy Bush of “Access Hollywood.” That evening also spotlights actress Judy Greer (“The Descendants”); as well as a talk with “Rising Star” Felicity Jones, who can be seen in the festival film “Like Crazy.” Adrian Grenier (“Entourage”) will be speaking in the social media hub of the Buick Tweet House in Napa at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11. Actor/comedian Dane Cook will host a Q&A at 4 p.m. Saturday, following the screening of his movie “Answers to Nothing,” and Greer, Grenier and Eliza Dushku (“Bottle Shock”) will particpate in Actors in Conversation panel at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Screenings will be in St. Helena, Napa, Calistoga, and Yountville. Sneak peeks of major releases including Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, Clooney’s The Descendants, and Jennifer Garner’s Butter.

Purchasing a Festival Pass or Pass Plus makes it easy to get in to the films you most want to see. Go to http://www.napavalleyfilmfest.org and use discount code FESTPASS or PASSPLUS or use them at the Napa Valley Film Festival ticket center for significant savings just for Napa Valley partners and their fans.

Last week, there was a couple in Bottega for dinner, and every time I walked past them I had to kind of grit my teeth. She looked great: sundress and sandals, casual but put together. The guy, on the other hand, wore a torn red T-shirt, shorts that were rumpled and stained, and a pair of beat-up flip-flops. Every time I spotted those flip-flops, I had to resist the temptation to move the couple to a table in the back.

The more virtuous side of my brain says, “They’re paying for the meal; they have the right to wear what they like.” My brain’s snarky side (which seems to expand on hot days) says, “He is embarrassing every table that chose to dress appropriately for dinner.”
Having lived and worked in the Napa Valley for the last 25 years, I’ve gotten used to lunches being ultra-casual but at dinner I can’t help feeling that our living décor (our customers, mostly men), has gotten a little too relaxed. For years, whenever I’ve been invited to a private event at a friend’s home, the invite has usually stated, “Napa casual,” which means nice jeans and a stylish shirt. To give this kind of notice makes sense to me; I like knowing a dress code in advance as there’s nothing worse than being over- or underdressed for an occasion.

What do you think? Have we overcasualized our dress codes? I think food tastes different when you’re in your shorts in the backyard eating some BBQ versus when you dress up a little for a good restaurant. Your attire is part of the experience. I sense that many restaurant patrons – at least in the Napa Valley – are more comfortable under-dressing than over-dressing for dinner. Is that good or bad?

Contrast the Napa Valley with how people dress in Rome. When I was in Rome last year, I went into a very simple osteria. As soon as I heard “osteria,” I thought I’d feel comfortable in jeans and a nice shirt. I was wrong. The rest of Rome was impeccably attired and even in this small place, men wore ties and Brioni suits. I didn’t enjoy my meal because I felt uncomfortable with how I was dressed. I felt my jeans didn’t show enough respect to the people cooking my food and the other diners in the restaurant with me. Granted, Napa isn’t Rome, but still….

Does it affect your experience when someone in a restaurant is dressed too casually? Do you even notice? Should a restaurant put dress code suggestions on their web site and let each reservation know in advance that people who are seriously underdressed will not be seated? Or is it best to just ignore the beat-up flip-flops? Is the tyranny of a dress code a thing of the past? Please don’t snark me out on this one. I’m casting the net for answers in deciding this difficult question. I’d appreciate knowing how you feel about this.

-Michael