The Santa Barbara News Press ran a ghoulish story about a chef's choice for a "last meal." The reporter, Karna Hughes,gave me a call to get my take on the morbid subject. Oddly enough, I have thought about this as it is a popular question. Remember the death row coverage that included what the criminal had for a lat meal? Read on.
By KARNA HUGHES, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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STEVE TONNESEN / NEWS-PRESS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
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Mollie Ahlstrand, chef and owner of Trattoria Mollie, has a forkful of her "to-die-for" white chocolate cake.
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NIK BLASKOVICH / NEWS-PRESS
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Chef
Leonard Schwartz of Lucky's would order his "usual drill," tacos at
Taqueria El Bajio, if he was to choose a last meal in Santa Barbara. "I
come here twice a week . . . the food is always fresh, hot and
consistent," he said.
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CARMEN SMYTH / NEWS-PRESS
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October 22, 2009 6:08 AM
What would you eat if you knew it was your last meal?
It's a question many chefs have pondered since
time immemorial, whether while toiling with their crews over hot stoves
or sharing a round of drinks after hours.
Without accusing anyone of culinary crimes, the
News-Press asked local chefs what their imagined Death Row feasts would
be, no holds barred.
We won't dwell on the morbid, but perhaps their
responses, ranging from simple dishes to four-course meals, will send a
delicious shiver down your spine just before Halloween arrives.
"Oh! The old Death Row meal question!" said
Justin West, chef and co-owner of Julienne, when we reached him. "We
can all thank Anthony Bourdain (former New York chef and "No
Reservations" TV host) for this topic."
"My verdict right now is a medium-rare New York
steak with caramelized onions and blue cheese," said the 27-year-old,
who's often mulled over the subject with kitchen staff and foodie
friends.
"The last couple of times I've eaten that, it's
hit the spot better than anything else in the recent past." A glass of
red wine ("nothing in particular") would wash it down.
As for the 53-year-old "bad boy of cuisine,"
Mr. Bourdain, in a News-Press interview in February, said for his last
meal, he'd go for a simple dish, like a bowl of pho, roasted bone
marrow with sea salt on a little toast, or "maybe a single piece of
really good uni, sea urchin roe."
(After popularizing the "last meal" question in
his early writings, Mr. Bourdain went on to appear in the buff, with a
butchered bone artfully placed, in 2007's "My Last Supper: 50 Great
Chefs and Their Final Meals" by photographer Melanie Dunea, published
by Bloomsbury USA.)
For bouchon's executive chef, Brandon Hughes, 27, the choice would be braised short ribs and Hudson Valley foie gras.
"Foie, I think, is just the greatest thing on
earth," he said. "It's something I don't get to eat often and I always
enjoy having it. Short ribs are a homey . . . kind of comfort food.
Done right, I don't think there's anything better."
"Actually, we had this conversation in the kitchen maybe four weeks ago."
After a pause, he added, "All of the guys definitely agree: anything braised."
Chef
and owner of Roy, 52-year-old Roy Gandy said that he'd go for something
simple: "It'd be lobster. Grilled lobster with lots of drawn butter and
lemon and — lobster. That's all I'd eat. Just lobster."
And he'd probably pair it with a '07 Rusack sauvignon blanc and prepare the shellfish himself or have his wife do it.
"If it's my last meal, I don't want some knucklehead to overcook it."
Another lobster fan is Drake Harper, chef de cuisine for The Hungry Cat.
"It's going to be grilled, local spiny lobster with drawn butter," the 25-year-old said of his last meal.
"I like the taste of the meat. I think it's a
rich and elegant meal. It's soothing and comforting, relaxing and it's
delicious. The season just opened Oct. 7, so they're really good right
now. They're really fresh."
To accompany the dish, he'd have a slaw made
with cabbage, braised Tuscan kale, toasted pumpkin seeds, red peppers,
red onions, watercress, arugula and a remoulade.
And since it would be his last meal, he thought
he might as well tack on a shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey and a pint of
California Ale from Telegraph Brewing Co.
When posed the question, the first words out of veteran chef John Downey's mouth were "Oh gee willikers!"
After reflecting for a minute, the soft-spoken Brit and co-owner of Downey's said, "A big fish stew."
"What would be in it? Mussels and clams and
lobster and maybe some cod and maybe a little curry spice in it,
scallops and all these good things . . . Nothing very glamorous, no
caviar."
And after serving a lifetime in the kitchen, he'd have someone else make it for him.
"The least I can do is have somebody do it for my last meal," said the 60-year-old. "But I'm not planning on checking out soon."
Guillermo Rosales, head chef for Pane e Vino in
Montecito, said he'd like homemade fettuccine with a bit of cream
sauce, topped with fresh white truffles from Alba, Italy, and truffle
oil.
"That one is mmm . . . so good and rich," said
the 41-year-old, after considering his options. "Yeah, that's the one.
And a glass of wine, of course. Red wine, a merlot or Chianti. Merlot,
maybe from Tuscana, from Tuscany, or maybe locally is good, too."
A few chefs paid the ultimate compliment to their colleagues by selecting them to prepare their imaginary last meals.
Frank Ostini, chef and owner of The Hitching
Post II in Buellton, said, "My last meal I think I'd want to have
cooked by my friend at The Ballard Inn," chef Budi Kazali.
It would be a pan-seared duck with portobello mushrooms. And Mr. Ostini would want it paired with "an old French Burgundy wine."
"For me, the wine's probably more important than
the food," said the 57-year-old. "If you're going, you might as well
drink your old Burgundies."
Admitting he'd never given the question much
thought, he added with a chuckle, "I think I'm going to take my wife to
dinner now. We all wait too long to do these things. You can't
appreciate them when you're dead."
Leonard Schwartz, executive chef and general manager for Lucky's in Montecito, gave a couple versions.
"Assuming that my last meal was in Santa Barbara, I would probably want it from (Taqueria) El Bajio, the taco place on Milpas."
He'd have at least one each of the taco de
lengua (tongue taco), carnitas and carne asada tacos, topped with El
Bajio's different homemade salsas, and with a Coca-Cola from Mexico.
"I realize this is probably not as exciting as you were looking for, but that for me would be the perfect way out."
But while pondering it a bit more, the
61-year-old said, "If I were going to have a meal anywhere in the
world, well, then that?s a different story. I?d want to be transported
to a small bistro in Paris called Chez l?Ami Louis."
At the exclusive, pricey, nearly century-old
eatery, he'd order a terrine de foie gras with pain de campagne
(country bread), poulet roti (roast chicken) and béarnaise potatoes.
"They do a roast chicken like you've never had ever," he said.
"That's pretty much it. And some great old Bordeaux wine. And I'd be ready to go to the guillotine."
Mollie Ahlstrand, executive chef and owner of
Trattoria Mollie in Montecito, said she'd want one of the traditional
Italian multi-course meals she's known for.
"I would love to eat, sit down, relax, having antipasto first and then a first dish, like a pasta with lobster," she said.
That antipasto would include a bruschetta al
Pomodoro, crostini al funghi (mushroom crostini), caprese with buffalo
mozzarella, medaglioni di melanzane (eggplant medallions) and pizza
margherita.
Next would be the lobster linguine with extra
virgin olive oil, garlic and cherry tomatoes, followed by a rombo alla
griglia con caponata (grilled halibut with a caponata of bell peppers,
garlic, zucchini and eggplant).
"Then after that I would have my to-die-for
white chocolate cake and cheesecake," she said, with no pun intended.
"And then I would have my espresso."
Bradley Ogden, chef of Root 246 in Solvang, said his last meal would have to be first and foremost a gathering of good friends.
He envisions, "in no particular order," a meal
of beluga caviar with blue-corn blinis, spit-roasted chicken, steamed
fresh Maine lobster with butter, an heirloom tomato salad, fresh corn
on the cob and "definitely" angel food cake with strawberry compote and
whipped cream.
"You gotta have Cristal rosé," he added.
"If it's your last meal, you've got to have your
good friends there and have the barbecue going and be outside and just
rejoice."
And how about our other celeb chef, Cat Cora?
When asked the question in a May interview with
the News-Press, the Iron Chef, who lives in Santa Barbara, said, "Oh,
God, I'd have a whole feast of things. I'd have a little of everything.
"I'd definitely have some lamb there and great
cheeses, great wines. You definitely got to have some good fruits there
. . . I don't think I could narrow it down to, like, one meal.
"I think usually if it's your last meal, you
can order what you want and as much as you want. I would just say,
'Keep it coming.' "
e-mail: khughes@newspress.com
One chef's final exit
Michael Hutchings of Michael's Catering in Santa
Barbara not only has two versions of his last meal vividly thought out,
he's also got his funeral planned.
"It would open with a funeral Mass. I would
have my Mozart's Requiem," mused the 60-year-old. "Then Bruckner's 9th
Symphony, and everyone would exit with Sousa's ?Stars and Stripes
Forever.? It's as simple as that."
Why two versions of the Death Row last supper?
"It depends on how much of a hurry the guy's
in," quipped Mr. Hutchings. "I like rustic food but I like the grand
cuisine as well."
Rattling off the courses in rapid French, he
said in his first imagining, he'd have a rustic meal, with soupe
&aagrave; l'oignon gratinée (onion soup), a poulet de Bresse roti
au jus (Bresse chicken), gratin dauphinois (potato gratin), tiny
haricots verts (green beans) and a tarte tatin (apple tart) with
cr&eagrave;me fraîche.
The second is "decidedly a little more
luxurious," he said. It would start with beluga caviar with blinis and
"the usual garnishes" (such as chopped hard-boiled egg, diced red
onion, capers, cr&eagrave;me fraîche, lemon, chives); terrine de
foie gras "with a natural gelée and brioche toast"; and a late-harvest
Château d'Yquem.
For the main course: canard &aagrave; la presse (pressed duck), "like they do at the Tour d'Argent in Paris."
"That would be delicious with braised red
cabbage with chestnuts and wild rice," said Mr. Hutchings, who worked
at Le Gavroche, the two-star Michelin restaurant, in London for several
years and spent about a year in Paris, Lyons and Monaco.
To end, a course of unpasteurized, regional
French cheeses; a Grand Marnier soufflé; chocolate truffles;
mignardises, a selection of cookies; homemade candies; and a
French-pressed coffee. And, finally, "a cognac, not less than a hundred
years old."
He envisions the first version being prepared
by his friend, chef James Sly of Sly's in Carpinteria ("he dotes on
that style of cuisine").
And for the second, if he had any choice at all?
"Give me Escoffier."
— Karna Hughes
