Coastal Cooking with Chef Michael Hutchings

Hasselback Potatoes and Sage

Hasselback Style Potato

I was just reading about the history of the Incas. Odd? Not really, I have been looking at the origin histories of the Western Hemisphere cultures. Keeps the brain gears turning.

In looking at the Inca history, the matter of indigenous foods came up and I was reminded that the potato is a "New world" discovery and one of the main staples of that civilisation.

The Incas grew over 200 varieties of potato, a food unknown outside South America until the arrival of the Spanish. The Incas freeze-dried potatoes to make a long-lasting food known as chuño. They simply left sliced potatoes out in the cold and dry Andean mountain air and rehydrated them as needed.

Initially the Spaniards were very cautious about eating the potato as it was determined to be in the nightshade family. Some varieties of nightshades contain an alkaloid poison (not potatoes)!

One of my favorite potato preparation is the Hasselback potato. Hasselback Potatoes are not a type of potato, but a Swedish potato preparation which got its name from the restaurant, Hasselbacken in Stockholm where they were first served in the 1940s.  They are also known as Accordion Potato because of the way they are cut which resemble a fan or accordion with the bottom still attached when roasted.  Once roasted, the potatoes crisp up on the outside but are tender and creamy on the inside.

I like to place blades of sage between the slices. Here is a detailed blog all about sage from Happy DYI Home. (Click here) Some 23 varieties of sage are detailed.

 

RECIPE:

Yukon Gold or Washington Long White Potatoes       6     each. peeled about 6 ounces

Butter, unsalted                                                                   4     ounces, melted

Salt, flakey type                                                                    1    To taste

Black pepper, freshly ground                                            1    To taste

Sage leaves, fresh                                                                 1    Bunch

Select uniformly shaped potatoes. I like to use Yukon Gold or Washington Long Whites potato varieties.

Preheat oven to 400°. Peel potatoes, then use peeler to shave off some flesh as needed to give potatoes a smooth, rounded egg shape.

Cut potatoes crosswise into thin slices, stopping ¼” before cutting all the way through. Placing chopsticks on either side of the potatoes helps to guide the slicing. Also, you can use a special tool designed to guide in cutting the potatoes.

Cutting Guide

Place potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and gently press down on them to fan slices in one direction.Brush potatoes all over with melted butter. Tuck 2 sage leaves into each potato; season with salt. Roast potatoes, brushing occasionally with more butter, until fork-tender, golden brown, and crisp, 25–30 minutes.

This potato dish goes great with many dishes such as Grilled NY steak, BBQ Spiced Salmon, or Braised Short Ribs.

 

 

Dinner Remembering Julia Child

Shortly after relocating from Santa Barbara, CA to Charleston, SC, I was requested to prepare a dinner at the Briar's Creek Golf Club. I collaborated with Chef Mike Latta of Fig Restaurant in Charleston. The theme of the dinner was celebrating Julia Child.

My Julia Child Memorabilia

I had a long relationship with Julia Child as she retired to Santa Barbara in the early 1980s. We met while I was the chef at the Olive Mill Restaurant owned by Paul Vercammen. You make know the name as his son Paul Vercammen Jr. is a journalist on CNN news channel.

Julia lived just down the street from the restaurant in a condo by the sea. One evening she came to dinner at the Olive Mill Bistro along with her husband Paul and winemaker Robert Mondavi and his wife. They enjoyed a local squab prepared with liver dumplings and a local lobster with a lobster scented Bearnaise sauce. I was asked to visit them in the dining room. It was with some caution that I went out, after all, she is Julia Child! My angst was unfounded. They were all warm, enthusiastic and curious about my background. We quickly became culinary buddies and got involved in the American Institute of Wine and Food, cooked at her home, cook for her and James Beard, Julia's Junk garage sale, appeared on her TV show Dinner at Julia's. By the way, here is a link to the Julia Child Foundation.

One one occasion I help prepare a celebratory dinner for Julia's 40th anniversary on PBS. Her first show was all about Boeuf Bourguignon. I worked with the local culinary school at Santa Barbara City College preparing the dish. They had skimped on the wine but the dish was pretty good. When I went into the dining room to say hello, Julia's comment, "It needs more wine." Her palate was spot on.

Back to dinner in Charleston at the Briar's Creek Golf Club. Here is the menu and Julia's recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon.

Bon Appétit

 

Menu

Gruyere Cheese Soufflé on Cocktail Spoons

Abalone "Comme Chez Nous"

Beef Burgundy Style

Caramelized Apple Tart Tatin

Mini Cheese Soufflé

Abalone "Chez Nous"

Burgundy Style Beef

Moi Making Puff Pastry

Tart Tatin

Chef's Night Out

A nice luxury for a chef is to have someone else cook for you and know you will enjoy the offerings. We, that is my wife Christine and I, are new to the Charleston, SC area having moved here jus a year ago. Dining options have been limited due to the pandemic. We have discovered though, that oysters are a culinary touchstone in these parts. I had never been a huge fan of oysters on the halfshell. I think that dates back to my early career at Disneyland's Club 33. It's a private club for members and VIP guests. This was circa 1974 and I was worker under guidance from Chef Rudy Stoy. He as old school European and at this point in his career, taking shortcuts. On occasion we did oysters on the halfshell. We used oyster pre shucked in a bucket on recycled shells. 

Advance to Charleston 2021. We went out to dine at a restaurant called The Darling Oyster Bar. There were six oyster selections on the days menu from up and down the Eastern seaboard. We had hit the jackpot when we found out is was happy hour and oyster were $1.00 each! We ordered two of everything. What is remarkable are the subtle nuances of texture, flavor and brine intensity. I enjoyed the "Low Tides" so much I ordered another ½ dozen. By the way, the regular menu items are well thought out and prepared. We enjoyed Creole Shrimp, Crab Cakes, and Avocado Toast.

I recall an oyster dish we used to prepare at Le Gavroche, London, circa 1978. I was sous chef working under the late Chef Albert Roux. We had a dish on the menu called Huîtres Françine. Oysters were shucked, a ring of lobster mousseline piped onto the shell and baked, oysters poached in champagne and set on the cooked lobster mousse, a cream sauce made from the cooking liquids and glazed over the oyster, a fine julienne of cucumber and a final flourish of Beluga caviar on top. What luxury!

By the way, we used to get the Russian Beluga from a shadowy source that would show up at the back door. They would open the 1 kilo tins for sampling and having made our choice, would get paid in cash. I later found out that they were smuggling the caviar into the country in the diplomatic pouch and selling it black market.

Bravo to Darling Oyster Bar for a job well done.

 

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Life-An Ever Changing Gift

Michael Hutchings and Christine Dahl

Hello, I have been off the blog for a number of months. My life has changed, I have retired, along with my wife Christine Dahl. Last February, we closed our catering and pastry businesses, sold our condo in Santa Barbara and moved to our new home in Charleston, South Carolina. We were attracted to the lifestyle, food scene and six grandkids in close proximity. Saint Lorenzo, patron saint of chefs, and Saint Honoré, patron saint of pastry chefs, favored us with blessings as we retired just before the pandemic decimated the hospitality business.

Saint Honoré
Saint Lawrence

We are just now beginning to experience the food scene in Charleston and environs. We recently went to our first "Oyster Roast" were the bivalves are lightly cooked in boiling water and served on a wooden table with a large 12" hole in the middle to dump the self-shucked oyster into. We now have our favorite Souther style BBQ restaurant, Lewis BBQ where meat is king. Dinner is by the pound. A few days ago, we had Southern Eggs "Benedict" served on fried green tomatoes with crab cakes,     poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce.

Lewis BBQ

Southern Eggs Benedict

One discovery and am partial to is the abundance of the wild mushroom called chanterelle. They seem to have a six month season in these parts largely due to the 48+inches of annual rainfall. We have our "secret" spots where we can harvest 10 pounds in 30 minutes! We have harvested so many that we cook and freeze them in vacuum packs.

While we are no longer professionally cooking, I must say that we eat well. Christine is a master menu planning and I do the finishing touches. Great team.

Next week, November 3, we are guest cheffing at the Briar's Creek Country Club. We have partners with local chef-owner of Fig Restaurant, Mike Late. We are honoring the late-great Julia Child. The menu is inspired by her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Thanks for dropping by. I will be more attentive to the blog in the future, cooking up something delicious.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings, Retired

 

Menu Honoring Julia Child

Tray Passed Canapés

Mini Cheese Soufflé, Sweetbreads in Puff Pastry

Chicken Liver Pate, Perigord Truffle

Steak Tartare, Horseradish, Maxim Potatoes

Soupe à l'Oignon Gratinée

Classic French Onion Soup

Abalone “Comme Chez Nous”

California Farmed Red Abalone

Beurre Blanc, Dill, Enoki Daki Mushrooms

Burgundian Style Beef Short Ribs

Dutch Fork Pumpkin Polenta

Root Vegetables

Dessert

La Tarte de Demoiselles Tatin

Inverted Apple Tart, Sauce Caramel

Mignardise

Chocolate Espresso Truffle, Orange Aiguillettes

Raspberry Tartlet, Hazelnut “Feuilles”, Gingerbread Acorns

Chef Mike Lata

Chef Michael Hutchings

Pastry Chef Christine Dahl

Master Chef of Master Chefs - Auguste Escoffier

Chef Escoffier

Every craft has its masters. The great masters pass down their craft through understudies or apprentices. To say that your lineage as an architect hailed to Frank Lloyd Wright or as an artist to say Rembrandt confers a certain status. As a chef, the same aura applies. Even today the master chef Auguste Escoffier has a large influence on the French style of cooking. In the hands of a well-trained chef, his Guide Culinaire is a treasury of recipes that bridge the span of 19th-century chefs such as Câreme and Dubois up to the mid-20th-century masters such a Chef F. Point.

I have been reading Chef Escoffier's cookbook and marvel at the luxury of some of the recipes. Here is a recipe for Poularde à la Grammont, Pullet Grammont. In the master's words:

"Poach the Pullet (young chicken) and let it half-cool. Now remove the suprémes (breasts) and bones of the breast.; fill up the cavity in the bird with a stuffing consisting of lark's brests, sautéd just before serving; grooved button mushroom caps; cocks' combs and kidneys; combined the whole by means of Béchamel sauce, finished with truffle essence.

Slice the suprémes, and return them to their place. setting a slice of truffle between each (slice). Coat the pullet with a stiff Allemande sauce. sprinkle with grated parmesan and melted butter; glaze quickly and serve at once."

Simple? The chicken would have been poached in a rich chicken broth. Of course, the poaching liquid would be reserved for other uses, such as the sauces. The mushrooms would have been decoratively "fluted" with flared grooves around the cap and either sautéd in butter or poached in the chicken stock. The cock's comb and kidney would have been cooked beforehand, again by simmering in a chicken broth. In the kitchen in Escoffier's time, they used the brigade system, much like a military hierarchy. One section would have done the base sauce preparations and another the actual cooking of the pullet.

Ingredients are all important in this dish. By today's standards, they are a bit exotic. The chicken would have come from the Bresse chicken. This dish would have been presented tableside on a service cart (gueridon) and portioned out the head waiter. It would have served two to four guests depending on their appetite.

Here is more on Chef Escoffier from the museum's web site. The museum is a worthwhile side trip the next time you are in Nice, France.

"The Escoffier Museum of Culinary Art is housed in the birthplace of Auguste Escoffier, a 300 m² authentic Provencal-style home from the 18th century, nestled in the heart of the village of Villeneuve-Loubet, between Nice and Cannes.
 
Created in 1966 on the initiative of Joseph Donon, one of his loyal disciples, this private Museum, managed by the Auguste Escoffier Foundation (a recognized public utility) and the only Museum of Culinary Art in France, allows you to discover the world of gastronomy.
​
Recently awarded the “Maisons des Illustres” label (the French equivalent of the British “Blue Plaques”), the Museum bears witness to the life and work of this great culinary master, thus contributing to continuing his memory.

Recognized as the father of modern cuisine, Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935), the “Chef of Kings and King of Chefs”, is still considered as one of the greatest of French gastronomic chefs.
​
A generous, inventive, and visionary man, this humanist and philosopher made a profound impact on his profession by way of an exceptional career.
​
With César Ritz, Director of one of the largest hotels of the 19th century, he created the basis for the luxury hotel and catering trade, still going strong today.
 
His major work, the Guide Culinaire, a veritable chef’s bible, remains a famous competition reference for the Meilleur Ouvrier de France."

​

 

Cookin' Up Miracles

 

 

 

 

During my restaurant days at Michael’s Waterside, we were often asked to contribute recipes for charitable causes. In 1991 we were approached by an organization called Cookin’ Up Miracles. The parent organization called Children’s Miracle Network produces a telethon to raise funds to support children’s medical needs. They made a cookbook from recipes collected from restaurants all over the country. We were in good company with restaurants such as Michel Richard’s Citrus, the 21 Club in New York,w and celebrities such as Bob Hope.

 

I has happy to provide a recipe for Pork Escalope. The recipe would work well for chicken breast, veal escalope, and thinly sliced salmon. Just be sure to use thinly cut portions for a quick cook. I use a meat tenderizer to flatten and tenderize the pork or veal. Chicken need only be lightly pounded until about ¼ inch thick. The salmon need only be sliced then pond lightly to even out the thickness.

 

Serve with a bottle of nice chardonnay wine.

 

Tastefully

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

 

 

 

Artichokes!

 

 

Photo Wikipedia

Artichokes are a delicious appetizer and are really easy to prepare. One of the most flavorful preparations is to braise them in a court bouillon, a vegetable flavored broth. I like to split them in half to speed up the cooking time. When the petite artichokes are at the market, they are equally excellent when prepared in this manner. Simple trim the up slightly and cook them whole until they are tender. A great way to serve them is to lightly char them over an oak-fired BBQ. Serve a homemade sauce mayonnaise on the side.

If you are ever on the coast of California near Watsonville, you will see miles of artichokes growing in the fields. In August, Watsonville hosts an artichoke festival. From the Artichoke web page: "In 1959, the Central Coast community of Castroville, CA gathered to celebrate the harvest of our state vegetable and the region that became known as the “Artichoke Center of the World.” Join us in celebration of all things artichokes at The Artichoke Festival, now rescheduled for August 8-9, 2020, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds & Event Center in Monterey."

Artichokes are also versatile in other preparations. At Le Gavroche restaurant in London, chef Albert Roux had an appetizer on the men call "Oeufs Froide Carême," which was cold poached eggs set on an artichoke bottom filled with a smoked salmon salad, top with the poached egg and caped with a round of smoked salmon and a slice of black truffle. An old Escoffier cookbook that was formerly my friend James Sly's lists some 21 preparations using artichokes. A sampling includes bottoms filled with fresh-creamed peas and a soup of artichoke with hazelnut butter. Another old saw is poached artichokes with hollandaise sauce. Enjoy this versatile thistle!

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

Osso Bucco - Italian Comfort Food

 

Osso Bucco Milan Style

Osso Bucco is one of my most favorite entrees to both cook and enjoy. I first learned of this dish from my friend James Sly when we were cooking at a restaurant called La Serre in the LA area, circa 1977. Reduced to its simplest description, it is a veal stew barley on a bone. Veal shanks are cut into about 3-inch sections, center-cut being the choicest. My son-in-law Clint manages a country club in the Charleston area and has access to commercial-grade prime meats. Clint was kind enough to get me a case of the best veal shanks I have ever seen, They were uniform in size, perfect center cuts, and a light color indicating that they were truly from a young calf. After all, good cooking is about 70% using great ingredients. He also brought over veal bones as I needed to make a demi-glace that I used to cook the veal. That is another story. It is a two-day process to make that.

The process of preparing the veal is to tie it with kitchen twine, season with salt and pepper, brown in vegetable oil, cover with demi-glace, add cut up oranges, cover with a parchment paper then a lid, slow cook for 3-4 hours until tender, remove the veal, cover with plastic, strain the sauce and reduce until it is a coating consistency, rehat vel in the sauce and serve. That was easy! I serve it with saffron risotto and mixed vegetables. I added mashed potatoes as well since my grandkids, Clint and daughter came over to enjoy the dinner.

No veal at the store? Try making it with chicken thighs. Just reduce cooking times. I also do a fun version with salmon and make a "bone" out of a carved potato with scallops mimicking the bone marrow.

Tastefully,

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

Ready to Braise in Orange-Scented Demi-Glace

Master of Nouvelle Cuisine Chef Freddy Girardet

Some might say that cooking is easy, just buy great ingredients and keep it simple. One of the greatest dishes I ever saw prepared was a "simple" Dover Sole Meuniere prepared at Restaurant Girardet in 1981. Some might say, how pedestrian a dish. In the hands of a master, it was a revelation.

Sole Muniere - Photo James Sly

First, the sole was prepared for cooking by removing the skin, cutting off the fins and head, and removing the intestines. A special Dover sole pan was heated and filmed with clarified butter. The sole was bathed in milk, seasoned, dredged in all-purpose flour and placed into the pan. Fresh butter was added as needed, skimmed of foam as it cooked and basted with the cooking butter. After cooking both sides about 3-4 minutes each, the pan was degreased, fresh butter added, freshly chopped parsley sprinkled on the fish and fresh lemon juices to finish the dish. A waiter was standing by to take the fish out, still steaming, for a tableside procedure to fillet the fish and present it to the guests. Simple, precise and perfect.

My dear friend chef James Sly was a master of this simple dish. Here is a blog he wrote some time back. He has a great story of how he introduced Santa Barbara to the famed Dover sole preparation at the request of Julia Child. Sadly James left us in August of 2019.

Tastefully

Chef Michael Hutchings

Frédy Girardet (born 17 November 1936) is a Swiss chef who cooks in the French tradition. Often considered one of the greatest chefs of the 20th Century, his self-named restaurant in Crissier, Switzerland (near Lausanne, Switzerland) earned three Michelin stars and before Girardet's retirement in 1996 was often called the greatest restaurant in the world.

 

A Berry Crumble Dessert

 

Seasonal Berry Crumble-Photo Will Conlin

I have always favored desserts with fresh berries or other fruits as a component. Apple Tart Tatin, Sable of Fresh Berries, Fresh Fruit Tart on Frangipane to name a few. It may be because growing up with five other siblings, berries were not often on the table due to economics. This recipe is a wonderful dessert for berries and works also with summer fruits, especially peaches and apricots. This dessert is featured on one of my cooking shows, The Santa Barbara Chef,  now viewable on Vimeo and soon on Amazon Prime.

I have produced over 145 cooking videos over the last few years. The theme throughout has been my take on modern and classic California-French approach to cooking. Local ingredients play a large role in the dishes I offer. Filmed in the original silent picture studio, Flying A Studios, Santa Barbara is the backdrop for the show. Now, my cooking show is available worldwide on Vimeo. Here is a link to Vimeo, The Santa Barbara Chef on Vimeo.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

So Much Going On

Greetings from Charleston, South Carolina, our new hometown. Yes, I have moved from the idyllic Santa Barbara, home for most of the years from 1981 to 2020. Spock-like logic fueled the decision to locate in a more affordable town with grandkids nearby. We now have a beautiful home on James Island situated adjacent to a small pond full of wildlife.

Charleston is a lifestyle town somewhat like Santa Barbara. Music, the arts and an active food scene are activities we are looking forward to enjoying. We have two "favorite" restaurants already. Lewis is a Texas-style BBQ with the best prime brisket I have ever had. Order the slice from the fat side! Oh yes, great sides of slaw, beans and potato salad. Walk up to the carving station, get your meat cut to order and grab a beverage. The kitchen showcases a line of imposing BBQ Smokers. They look like propane tanks repurposed as smokers. Come hungry.

Our other find is an oyster bar-restaurant on King Street called The Darling Oyster Bar. Impeccably fresh oysters are popped open as you wait. They do a very decent clam chowder with fresh clams, chunks of potatoes and a not-too-thick cream base.

As we get settled and the world moves to a new normal, we will be exploring the culinary points of interest and sharing them on my blog.

Tastefully, Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Master Class with Chef Albert Roux

 

First, a little history lesson. In 1984, with the backing and support of the Roux Brothers, Albert and Michel, I founded a restaurant called Michael's Waterside Inn. It took the name from their Michelin starred restaurant the Waterside Inn, located in Brea on Thames. I had worked at the flagship restaurant Le Gavroche for three years from 1978 to 1981.

Chef Albert would periodically fly out from London to review operations at Michael's Waterside and do promotional events. The above menu was from a master class that Chef Albert conducted assisted by myself. The recipes were from their book, New Classic Cuisine. While I was working as a sous chef of Le Gavroche, we helped write the book. Chef Albert would ask for one of the menu recipes to be formalized.

All of these recipes play well even today. They are classics.

Tastefully, Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

Passing of a Culinary Icon, Chef Michel Roux

Photo Wikipedia

It is with a heavy heart that I read of the passing of Chef Michel Roux of the famous Roux Brothers restaurant empire. Chef Michel was 78. I met Michel and spent time in his Waterside Inn kitchen in 1978-1981 while I was training at Le Gavroche in London with his brother, chef Albert Roux. He was a chef's chef, a great businessman and a culinary icon that help revolutionize fine dining in Great Britain. His skill as a pastry chef was legendary. His collection of cookbooks that he authored is a gift to any serious culinarian.

At one point in 1981, I met up with Chef Michel at the Pierre Hotel in New York. We were meeting with the Four Seasons Hotel group with the idea of opening a fine dining restaurant in the Hotel Pierre. We had the grand tour of all the best vendors in the city and made a trip to Montreal, Canada to meet with Mr. Sharp, head of the Four Seasons Hotels. We designed the kitchen in a matter of hours and Michel negotiated the terms of the business deal. Unfortunately, the project did not move forward due to a recession the occurred at that time.

 

Chef Michael will be greatly missed and it is a great loss to the food world.

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

From Wikipedia

Michel Roux, OBE ([mi.ʃɛl ʁu]; 19 April 1941 – 11 March 2020), also known as Michel Roux Snr., was a French chef and restaurateur working in Britain. Along with his brother Albert, he opened Le Gavroche, later to become the first three Michelin starred restaurant in Britain, and The Waterside Inn, which was the first restaurant outside France to hold three stars for 25 years.

Roux followed his brother into becoming a pastry chef, and again to England in order to open their first restaurant. Together they have been described as the "godfathers of modern restaurant cuisine in the UK", and Roux was inducted into several French orders and received two-lifetime achievement awards from different publications. He was decorated during a period of National Service for France during the 1960s.

He founded the Roux Brothers Scholarship along with Albert in 1984 and worked as a consultant for companies such as British Airways and Celebrity Cruises over the years. After he and his brother split the business in 1986, Roux took the Waterside Inn, which he handed over to his son, Alain, in 2002. He remained an active food writer and appeared on television shows such as Saturday Kitchen, MasterChef and the Roux family-centric series The Roux Legacy, and on the Woman's Hour program on BBC Radio 4.^[1]

The Rouxs, Alain, Michel, Albert and Michel Jr.

The Santa Barbara Chef Cooking Show Now on Amazon Prime and Vimeo

Now, Available on Amazon Prime and Vimeo

I have produced over 145 cooking videos over the last few years. The theme throughout has been my take on modern and classic California-French approach to cooking. Local ingredients play a large role in the dishes I offer. Filmed in the original silent picture studio, Flying A Studios, Santa Barbara is the backdrop for the show. Now, my cooking show is now available worldwide on Amazon Prime and Vimeo. Here is a link to The Santa Barbara Chef on Amazon Prime and Vimeo, The Santa Barbara Chef on Vimeo.  See my blog for more. 

You can stream Season 1 of The Santa Barbara Chef on Amazon Prime Video (free with Prime membership)! Enjoy recipes, cooking tips, and more from renowned Chef Michael Hutchings! We welcome you to the kitchen and hope you will consider giving us a 5-star review! #TheSantaBabaraChef

 

Following is the announcement for the original airing of the show on Santa Barbara's local cable, from our Facebook page.

"Tune in to see mouthwatering episodes of The Santa Barbara Chef! This delicious new show is hosted by the one and only Chef Michael Hutchings!

Chef Michael is a culinary legend who has served as Executive Chef of Club 33 at Disneyland, worked alongside Julia Child and brought prestige and accolades to his previous appearances on television. In 1984, he opened Michael's Waterside restaurant in partnership with Albert Roux of Le Gavroche in London.

Now, Chef Michael has partnered with William, Gary & Harlene Conlin of Hellcat Productions/YTS Films to truly up the game, creating a luxury cooking show with gourmet recipes that viewers can easily make at home."

Cooking on The American Riviera.

Tastefully, Chef Michael Hutchings

In Studio

 

 

 

Photos by Will Conlin of YTS Films and Hellcat Productions

Poulet au Vinaigre de Vin Troisgros Style

Back in 1981, I was fortunate to have spent a month sabbatical at Restaurant Troisgros in France. At the time, the two brothers Jean and Pierre Troisgros were at the stove. Their three-starred Michelin restaurant was at the forefront of a style of cooking called Nouvell Cuisine.

The kitchen itself was a wonder. The ceiling was lined with automobile type glass. All work surfaced could be cleaned with a bucket of water and a squeegee. It is a very open design and overlooks the garden of the B&B they operate next door.

In their cookbook, Cuisiniers a Roanne, they have a recipe for Poulet au Vinaigre de Vin. I have personalized my version of the recipe with the addition of mushrooms and the use of canned cherry tomatoes.

I prepared this dish to celebrate my wife Christine's and my twelfth wedding anniversary. We would have preferred to dine out in our new hometown, Charleston, SC, but the current Corona pandemic has muted all restaurants. It was delicious and the wine pairing of Don Thomas Vineyard 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon was a perfect foil for the dish.

Tastefully,

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

 

 

Pages from History - Almost

Pages from history? OK, not ancient history but my early culinary stirrings. When I started work at Le Gavroche, London, England, in September of 1978, I made it a priority project to hand copy all of the recipe portfolios in the kitchen. I did this because I was unsure that I would stay on the job. Initially, I was disappointed with the kitchen itself. It was small, cramped, had old equipment. The fridge iced up every night, it was in a basement, some 16 cooks worked in a space only big enough for half of that number. Some of my first tasks were peeling grapes, cleaning very dirty mussels, plucking beans and other tedious tasks. Later, I was promoted to sous chef and ended up three years as part of the brigade, but that is another story.

 

   Entrcôte Fines Herbs

Saute a seasoned  NY steak in rendered kidney fat. Remove from pan. Drain off fat, add chopped shallots, red wine, veal stock, cream. Reduce, Add mixes herbs (Fines herbs) and finish the sauce with a little butter. Pour over meat. Serve.

 

Rognon de Veau aux Trois Môutarde

Trim fat and sinew from kidneys, Cut into 1-inch pieces following the natural shape. Saute, leaving pink, Season after cooking has begun. Remove from pan. Add fresh butter, shallots, white wine, veal stock, cream. Fish by adding back the kidneys and a little mixed mustards (Dijon, Tarragon, Meaux grain mustard).

Caille Poché

Bone the quail from the back, leaving it in one piece. Make a jus with the bones, port, brandy, veal stock. Stuff the birds with a mousse of becasse (woodcock) and chicken with diced foie gras and truffles. Tie up. Sear the quail in oil, season. Finish by poaching in the quail stock. Reduce cooking juice to make a sauce, Finish with butter. Garnish with Pommes Annette (Darohin(, artichoke bottoms with grapes and hollandaise. Duchesse potatoes.

 

Clarification for Chicken Consommée

Prepare rich chicken stock. Combine very finely minced celery, leek, carrot, tarragon, lean been and chicken and egg white. Mix with the chicken stock. Bring to a slow simmer and allow to barely boil. Cook until the broth is clear. Carefully ladle off the broth and strain through a rinsed cheesecloth. Any fat can be removed with a paper napkin touch on the surface. Chill. 

 

Aspic

Prepare a rich broth using beef shin bones, knuckles, pigs' feet. Do as you would a white veal stock. Add celery, leeks, onions, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Clarify as you would a consummée.

Grouse

Feather and Gut the Grouse. Remove any visible buckshot. Tie, season and roast the bird with a few mirepoix vegetables, leaving on the medium-rare side. Serve with three sauces, soubise, polonaise and a port deglazed jus. Sides are roasted root vegetables and Duchesse potatoes.

 

Thank You All

Photo WIll Conlin

This blog is for all those who have worked with or for me over the last forty years in Santa Barbara.

I have had the pleasure of living and working in Santa Barbara since July of 1981. During that time I have managed kitchens at the Olive Mill Bistro (1981-1994), my restaurant Michael’s Waterside (1984-1993), The Santa Barbara Polo Club (1992-1995), the Burnham Wood Golf Club (2001-2003) and Michael’s Catering (2003-2020).

I cannot begin to calculate how many people I have cooked for, most likely in the hundreds of thousands. From countless restaurant meals to cocktail receptions, gala dinners, private cooking classes, charitable donations, the numbers are immense.

One important, that is, very important part of my success I have enjoyed in Santa Barbara, is the thousands of servers, buses, cashiers, hostesses, dishwashers, cooks, and chefs who have worked beside me over these forty-some years. Besides the millions in payroll, there remains a legacy of people imbued with the vision of quality cuisine and service.

I want to extend my deepest thanks to those who have labored with me serving the citizens in Santa Barbara. I am retiring now and moving to Charleston, South Carolina. No doubt I will still be cooking, learning and enjoying a profession that has been very engaging for some fifty years.

A heartfelt thanks to all those who have been part of the journey.

 

Merci, Chef Michael Hutchings

Cooking with The Santa Barbara Chef Venice, Italy

This past April, we made a trip to Venice, Italy. Christine, my pastry chef wife, had made the trip before. This was my first. I have worked in Venice, Venice, California, not the same vibe. The real Venice, Italy, is a whole world apart. Just about anywhere you looked was a Kodak moment. The art, architecture, food stalls, gondolas all evoke an era of a time past. This ancient city has little treasure wherever you walk, and you do walk. 

 

Naturally, we visited museums, cathedrals, the Dodge, and the like. For me, this fish market was the best. The fishes of the Adriatic were on display from monkfish to sardines to eel to shrimp to scallops...I always get inspired by great ingredients. The real surprise was to find a produce vendor selling raw artichoke bottoms trimmed and ready to cook. I have spent many an hour "turning" artichokes for the famous Chef Albert Roux's dish Oeufs Froide Carême, cold poached eggs set on an artichoke bottom filled with smoked salmon and a slice of smoked salmon on top.

The Italian phrase “fritto misto” roughly translates as “mixed fry.” In Venice, the term almost always applies to the city’s famous Frutti di Mare—fruits of the sea. Frying this array of fish and shellfish is a great way to showcase the varied catch of the Mediterranean. You can sample all manner of tiny fresh fish, miniature soft-shell crabs, shrimp, and many more. Here are some other suggestions: fresh sardines, anchovies, baby squid, baby cuttlefish, small crabs, shrimp and other assorted shellfish, tiny whiting, sole or whatever else you would like to include.

 

Rialto Bridge

Carpaccio is an Italian version of steak tartare. It is made of raw beef and dressed with lemony mayonnaise and was created in Harry's Bar in Venice, which, despite the name, is actually a first-class restaurant opened by an Italian named Giuseppe Cipriani in 1931.

The main dish is a simple version of grilled tuna with the ubiquitous garnish of polenta. The polenta was introduced in Venice after the discovery of America, but it soon became the main staple of the Republic, very often substituting bread on Venetian tables.

Fregolotta is a typical and ancient dessert that was born in Treviso and made part of the traditional products of Veneto. The roots of this dessert date back to the far ‘700, but the first written witness of its existence can be identified during the first years of the XX century. Giuseppe Maffoli, a famous expert, really keen on the Venetian cuisine, told that this recipe was prepared in 1924 by Zizzola bakery, founded by Angelo Zizzola and located in a small town in Castelfranco Veneto, in the province of Treviso.

Chef Michael Hutchings Cooking "Veneto" Style

 

 

The light and sound masters of Hellcat Productions, bring the magic to you. Will Conlin, Harlene Conlin, and Gary Conlin form the triumvirate that produces, directs, and edits The Santa Barbara Chef.

One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana Four

A Very Young Chef Michael Hutchings

In the mid 1980's there was a banana farm at a costal city call La Conchitas near Santa Barbara. Dough Richardson was growing as many as 60 varieties at the time. It was not easy farming an area prone to freezing, infested with  gophers and punctuated with mudslides. I used Dough's bananas in a variety of recipes including curries, salsas and desserts. It was a real education to tasting the varieties and develope recipes for them. See below for a few delicious dishes.

At one pint, Dough and I teamed up to do a story with CNN. The show was delayed airing due to the Gulf War. When it did air, I got a call from Chef Albert Roux (Le Gavroche, London). He said that before I spoke a word, "let me tell you what I saw on the tele in my room in Moscow. There you were cooking bananas at Michael's Waterside."

Seaside Banana Gardens—considered the first banana farm in the continental U.S.—once sold nearly 60 varieties of locally grown bananas through the 80s and 90s at markets and a roadside stand by the 101. But in 1995, owner Doug Richardson stopped selling at markets after mudslides flooded part of his farm. And in 1999, he vacated the property, six years before another slide wiped out more of the farm and killed 10 nearby residents.

Here is a link to another story in the L.A. Times.

Cooking with The Santa Barbara Chef

 

Welcome to another episode of The Santa Barbara Chef. I am Chef Michael Hutchings, the chef/host. Join me for some delicious cooking on the American Riviera. Set against the backdrop of Santa Barbara, we showcase the jewels of my culinary repertoire from some forty-five years at the stove. Look for the finest local ingredients, classic food styles and bushels of tips to prepare elegant, tasty meals.

The eclectic menu begins with an exotic mussel dish the originated at St. James in the Vineyard restaurant, Palm Springs. I was the chef de cuisine there in 1999-2000. James Offord was the chef/proprietor of this world cuisine restaurant. The menu reflected St. James' world travels especially to India and Asia.

Here is a short bio from his obituary:

"James A. Offord, known to all as St. James, or just Jimmy, passed away peacefully on March 3, 2014, at home with his life companion, Judith Chapman, at his side. He was a genial host, artist, chef, and restaurateur whose first eatery, Cafe St. James, successfully opened in 1984. This was followed by St. James at the Vineyard and The Vineyard Tuscan Grill. When asked if he would be opening a place "Down Valley" he would politely grin and say "No." When not holding court behind the bar at one of his restaurants, the adventurous St. James loved traveling the world, bringing exotic artifacts and new taste sensations home to Palm Springs. Friends of the restaurant were charmed by his tales of trekking the Himalayas and the outrageous costumes he grandly wore."

The main dish is an upscale breast of chicken sauced with a green peppercorn jus. In past decades it would be called the "Madagascar" style due to the sourcing of peppercorns from that island. The sauce is finished with a compound butter much like an escargot butter.

Dessert is a rich chocolate velvet cake (my pastry chef wife's recipe) sauced with fresh poached cherries. Port wine also comes in to play.

Join us watching the show on COX cable television, channel 4 at 11:00 Friday mornings (Areas Santa Barbara, Long Beach Orange County, San Diego, and Palm Springs). Check your local listing as well. We will be airing on Amazon Prime starting in January 2020.

Tastefully, 

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

The light and sound masters of Hellcat Productions, bring the magic to you. Will Conlin, Harlene Conlin, and Gary Conlin form the triumvirate that produces, directs, and edits The Santa Barbara Chef.

It's Fall, Time for Cooking Apples

Just pulled a rustic apple tart out of the oven. Mind you, I did not curate the apples, personally know the farmer, nor was cognizant of the genetic lineage (Johnny Appleseed?), performed any molecular gastronomy, or any other sleight of hand. 

I made a garden variety of pastry cream, grabbed some all-butter puff pastry and my standby apple, golden delicious. Top with cinnamon sugar and bake. Serve with creme fraiche, French vanilla ice cream and or caramel sauce.

Worthy of a journey.

Chef Michael Hutchings

(Just cooking some boring, old classic rustic apple tarts.)

Dinner for the Carpinteria Arts Center

A few months back, James Sly and I donated a dinner for ten at a fundraiser for the new  Carpenteria Arts Center.

We decided to do a prime rib dinner as the winning bidder is a card-carrying carnivore. I purchased a prime grade prime rib at about 16-18 pounds. It's a pricey roast (I needed a bank statement to order it) but well worth the expense. The guests were thrilled with the dinner of "tired old favorites" as my late friend James Sly would often pronounce.

George Fakinos of the Santa Barbara Winery was on hand to showcase the wines of Santa Barbara Winery. All the wins were graciously donated for the dinner. Winemaker Bruce McGuire suggested the pairings with our menu. Simple delicious!

In 1962, at the age of thirty-two, Pierre Lafond founded the first post-prohibition commercial winery in Santa Barbara County. Two years later, he located a winery facility on Anacapa Street, just two blocks from the Pacific Ocean.

Santa Barbara Winery has become an extremely visible and successful wine concern, winning many medals for an array of wines. Lafond is now in the midst of a significant expansion in order to meet the desires of the consuming public.

Lafond was originally a retailer, and his wine and cheese shop was a meeting place for many of Santa Barbara's wine aficionados. He decided to go into wine production for two reasons: he enjoyed fine wines, primarily French, and it would be a good business venture.

Tomato Soup-Pesto & Bay Shrimp Louis:

Santa Barbara Riesling, Lafond Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills

(and/or) Lafond Pinot Noir Rose`, Sta. Rita Hills

Seared Duck:

Lafond Pinot Noir, Lafond Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills

Grilled Artichoke:

Santa Barbara Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Ynez Valley 

(and/or) Santa Barbara Winery Reserve Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills Roasted Prime Rib of Beef

Lafond Syrah/Grenache blend, Sta. Rita Hills 

(and/or) Santa Barbara Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Happy Canyon

Fallen Chocolate Souffle:

Santa Barbara Winery Late Harvest Riesling, Lafond Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills

 

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

Michael's Catering

The Santa Barbara Chef

Here is the Carpinteria Arts center's introduction on the web page:

THE LYNDA FAIRLY CARPINTERIA ARTS CENTER

The Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center is a nonprofit organization in the heart of downtown Carpinteria. We offer art and arts programming to benefit the whole community, from the mountains to the sea: young and old, locals and visitors alike. 

OUR MISSION IS TO BE A PREMIER SMALL-TOWN COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER BY:

● FOSTERING DIVERSE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
● NURTURING THE CREATIVE PROCESS AND ITS APPRECIATION
● PROVIDING A VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
● SERVING AS THE VIBRANT HEARTBEAT OF THE CARPINTERIA COMMUNITY

 

George Fakinos-Santa Barbara Winery

 

To Cake or not to Cake? That is the Question!

Master pastry chef Christine Dahl just completed a marathon weekend of wedding cake bliss. Over 800 people had the pleasure of having a slice of heaven.

From her web page: "Welcome to the Wonderful World of Wedding Cakes! I think a wedding cake should be exquisite in taste as well as design. My flavors, fillings, and frosting provide for that. I use only the very best quality, fresh ingredients, beautiful fruits and berries, and creamy, delicious Belgian Chocolate."

Christine Dahl is the gifted pastry chef-owner of Christine Dahl Pastries. As a young girl growing up in Wisconsin, Christine’s mother baked every day for the family. Christine started baking at age 6 at her mother’s side. Her passion for baking led her to Santa Barbara to attend culinary school.

Shortly after leaving culinary school, Christine was the Sous Chef at Harbor Restaurant. A stint at Pierre Lafond was followed by an appointment as the pastry chef for Chef Norbert Schultz’s restaurants Norbert’s, Brigitte’s and Oysters.

Christine was the executive pastry chef at the Santa Barbara Biltmore for five years. It was there that she perfected her baking skills for large banquets and buffets. Wedding cakes were a large part of her repertoire at the Biltmore and her skill in cake artistry blossomed.

Seeing a need for quality pastries, Christine opened her business in 1995 and quickly became renowned for her delicious cakes and pastries. Christine’s creations have been featured in numerous national magazines including Martha Stewart and Grace Ormonde Wedding Style.

While she is best known for her wedding cakes, her classic pastries and special occasion cakes have graced many tables in the greater Santa Barbara area.

Christine is active in the community and is regularly requested to guest chef at charitable events.

 

 

 

The Santa Barbara Chef's Springtime Menu

 

Welcome to another episode of The Santa Barbara Chef. I am Chef Michael Hutchings, the chef/host. Join me for some delicious cooking on the American Riviera. Set against the backdrop of Santa Barbara, we showcase the jewels of my culinary repertoire from some forty-five years at the stove. Look for the finest local ingredients, classic food styles and bushels of tips to prepare elegant, tasty meals.

 

Chef Louis Diat

In this episode, I prepare a few classic for a springtime-early summer dinner. The first course is a chilled Pea Vichyssoise. I more or less replaced the potatoes with fresh peas. Vichyssoise is a classic French soup that had very humble origins. Chef Louis Diat invented the soup based on his mother's leek and potato soup. Chef Louis added cream and served it chilled. Here is the story as told from Wikipedia: "In 1917 seeking to 'invent some new and startling cold soup' for the menu at the Ritz-Carlton, he recalled his mother's soup. His experimenting soon led to a combination of 'leeks, onions, potatoes, butter, milk, cream, and other seasonings.' Chef Diat named it 'crème vichyssoise glacée' (chilled cream vichyssoise), after Vichy, a spa town near his birthplace in France that is famous for both its exceptional food and its springs. The new item enjoyed 'instant success'. Charles M. Schwab was the first to sample vichyssoise and requested another serving.

Preparing Vichyssoise-Gourmet's Basic French Cooking

Vichyssoise was served the rest of the summer and the following summers. During the colder seasons, he did not include it in the menu, but so many people asked for it, in 1923, Diat placed it on the menu full-time. Diat recalled that Sara Roosevelt had had Vichyssoise and "once called me up at five in the afternoon and asked me to send eight portions to her house". When Diat had no access to leeks in his cooking, his vexation prompted the produce stocker to find a Long Island farmer to cultivate a small yield.^"

^{The main course is a riff on the French Navarin d'Agneau. Legend has it that it was named after the battle of Navarino. The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–32), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied forces from Britain, France, and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces trying to suppress the Greeks, thereby making much more likely the independence of Greece.  (Wikipedia).}

^{Dessert is a creative collaboration between chef Christine Dahl (my wife) and myself for a multi-chef dinner at Hearst Castle. We called it Peaches on a Cloud in honor of the ethereal location of the Hearst Castle on the Enchanted Hill. At times, the clouds would roll over the hill at the feet of the guests. The Castle dinner was part of the Central Coast Wine Event that existed for over 30 years under the direction of the late Archie McLaren.}

^{Tastefully yours,}

^{Chef Michael Hutchings}

 

Neptune pool Hearst Castle

Join us watching the show on COX cable television, channel 4 at 11:00 Friday mornings (Areas Santa Barbara, Long Beach Orange County, San Diego, and Palm Springs). Check your local listing as well. We will be airing on Amazon Prime starting in January 2020.

Tastefully, 

Chef Michael Hutchings

The light and sound masters of Hellcat Productions, bring the magic to you. Will Conlin, Harlene Conlin, and Gary Conlin form the triumvirate that produces, directs, and edits The Santa Barbara Chef.

Cooking with The Santa Barbara Chef Santa Barbara Style

 

Welcome to another episode of The Santa Barbara Chef. I am Chef Michael Hutchings, the chef/host. Join me for some delicious cooking on the American Riviera. Set against the backdrop of Santa Barbara, we showcase the jewels of my culinary repertoire from some forty-five years at the stove. Look for the finest local ingredients, classic food styles and bushels of tips to prepare elegant, tasty meals.

 

In this episode, I prepare my signature dish, Cultured Abalone Comme Chez Nous. The abalone is the red abalone and is farmed by The Cultured Abalone mariculture farm near Santa Barbara. I have been preparing farmed abalone since 1981. John McMullen of the AbLab company introduced me to them. John was raising them to help restore the depleted wild stocks. In later years, John said we helped his company survive. See my previous blog for more information about this terrific ingredient, Abalone Blog. If you do not have access to abalone, use sea scallops instead. Slice them into ½ inch sections and prepare in the same way. Click here for the video I did with the Cultured Abalone Farm.

 

The main course is a local squab farmed by Gary Carpenter at the Carpenter Squab Ranch. Founded in 1921, the ranch is located in the foothills between the towns of Carpinteria and Ojai, California, minutes from Santa Barbara. The squab is prepared with mushrooms and grapes and set on a Pomme Jete Promenade, a classic. We used to do this potato at the Club 33, a private club inside the Anaheim Disneyland Park. Club 33 was my gateway to becoming a chef. The Black Hat Chef, Rudy Stoy, was my first mentor. 

Dessert is one of my all-time favorites, the Tart Tatin. In fact, it is on the fantasy "last meal" menu of mine. The dish originates from the Hotel Tatin in France. Two sisters, the Damoisselle Tatin, invented the dish. The tarte Tatin was created accidentally at the Hôtel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, Loir-et-Cher, about 100 miles (160 km) south of Paris, in the 1880s. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. (Wikipedia). 

I know of several versions. In one, butter and sugar are placed in a tin-lined copper pan and apples are peeled, halved and packed inside. They are slowly cooked, adding more apples to fill the pan, until the apples are slightly browned and a rich caramel is formed. A lid of puff pastry is placed on top of the tart then baked until the pastry is crisp. This is the method demonstrated to me by Chef James Sly. It takes a couple of hours to prepare with this method.

At Le Gavroche in London, we cooked a Tart Tatin Minute. Apples, sugar, and butter were placed in a pan, cooked to a caramel, topped with puff pastry and then baked 12-15 minutes. Whipped cream on the side.

Segue to now, I use my pastry-chef wife's (Christine Dahl) Tatin method. Butter and sugar are cooked to a caramel stage, the caramel is placed in an individual 4-ounce mold then topped first with peeled, cored, sliced apples then a top of puff pastry. Baking takes about 12-15 minutes. This is great for ease of preparation and presentation. Pass the French-Vanilla Ice Cream, please!

Join is watching the show on COX cable television, channel 4 at 11:00 Friday mornings (Areas Santa Barbara, Long Beach Orange County, San Diego, and Palm Springs). Check your local listing as well. We will be airing on Amazon Prime starting in January 2020.

Tastefully, 

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

 

 

The light and sound masters of Hellcat Productions, bring the magic to you. Will Conlin, Harlene Conlin, and Gary Conlin form the triumvirate that produces, directs, and edits The Santa Barbara Chef.

 

 

 

Fettuccine Alta Mesa

What's for dinner? That question is posed nearly every night. In my case, I often have what we call '"billionaire leftovers." In this instance, they were left from a taping of my cooking show, The Santa Barbara Chef. That episode will air later this winter. 

Some of the "extra" ingredients went into this delicious pasta. No lobster? Use shrimp. No chanterelles? Use Shiitake. Serve the dish with a simple salad. I used arugula, treviso, tangerine segments, vine tomatoes, and walnut vinaigrette.

Tastefully,

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

Soufflé and More from The Santa Barbara Chef

 

The Santa Barbara Chef

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Santa Barbara Chef. I am Chef Michael Hutchings, the chef/host. Join me for some delicious cooking on the American Riviera. Set against the backdrop of Santa Barbara, we will showcase the jewels of my culinary repertoire from some forty-five years at the stove. Look for the finest local ingredients, classic food styles and bushels of tips to prepare elegant, tasty meals.

The light and sound masters of Hellcat Productions, bring the magic to you. Will Conlin, Harlene Conlin, and Gary Conlin form the triumvirate that produces, directs, and edits The Santa Barbara Chef. 

In this episode, we start with the iconic dish, Soufflé Suissesse, from Le Gavroche where I honed my culinary skill beside chef Albert Roux. This dish has been on Le Gavroche's menu since opening in 1967. Albert told me "it pays the rent." It also helped pay the rent at Michael's Waterside restaurant.

Albert Roux, OBE and Legion d'Honneur, is one of the world's best-known and best-loved chefs. In 1967 he opened Le Gavroche, Britain's first Michelin-starred restaurant, in London.

The main course is a Breast of Duckling Juliette, glazed with an orange-scented reduction and a wild rice croquette. Dessert is an hommage to Chef Albert's award-winning Sablé aux Fraise et Framboise from his competition for Meilleur Ouvrier de France, a prestigious competition for craftsmen of various trades.

Join is watching the show on COX cable television, channel 4 at 11:00 Friday mornings. Check your local listing as well. We will be airing on Amazon Prime starting in January 2020.

Join us cooking on the American Riviera.

 

Chef Michael Hutchings

Chef Michael Hutchings

Chef James Sly, Credit: Paul Wellman/file photo

This show is dedicated to Chef James Sly
1952-2019

Remembering My Friend James Sly

“What do you know for sure?”

Like...

“W h a t  d o  y o u  k n o w  f o r  s u r e?”

 

James and I met in 1974 when he appeared in the kitchen at the Chez Cary , a deluxe restaurant in Orange County. I was the “chef grillade,” which meant I grilled the various cuts of meat. James was a handsome, mustachioed young man and a whit even then. I trained him on my station as chef grillade. I recall him reaching under my knife and getting cut. Stitches with a scar to this day. A sort of blood brother by accident. I left the Chez a few months later but kept in touch. I had gone back to the Disneyland’s private Club 33.

We reconnected in about 1976 at a food competition in the Disney Hotel. I did a complicated design on a table made by Disney imagineers, a ceramic tile platform with a sea-like wavy rim. Two sharks in apposition, a fish mousse, poached salmon and the like. I got some sort of award. There I saw James a g a i n with the chefs from the Chez Carey. We chatted about his working apprentice trip to France at the Hotel de Paris and the Ritz in Paris. I was blown away with the knowledge he gained from the experience over a couple of years. He waxed on about foie gras, tiny French beans with the flowers still on them, the variety of seafood from the Mediterranean, wild mushrooms from the local forest… I felt like I knew nothing. I resolved to learn more and go to Europe.

At the Disney competition, I also saw the chef team from the South Coast Plaza Hotel. They had done some elaborate, classic cold dishes that impressed me. When the chef at the Club 33 retired, and I was refused the chef position due to lack of “European training,” I left and went to the South Coast Plaza Hotel. I was cooking prime rib for 1500, 800 Beef Stroganoff and other large events. Factory cooking. Some months into that hotel job, I got a call from James.

Chef de Cuisine James Sly, La Serre 1977

In 1977, James was hired as Chef de Cuisine at a French bistro called La Serre, in Studio City. He called me to see if I would like to work with him. La Serre was his first head chef job, and my first sous chef position. He was now teaching me new dishes that he had learned in France. We were doing modern twists on French food as the Nouvelle Cuisine revolution was going on at the time. Later I took over the chef position when James left for another post.

Working together again was a great experience. We use to have our meals sitting at a table in the parking lot in our chef whites.

In 1978, I took a position as rotating chef at L’Orangerie, a new deluxe restaurant in Beverly Hills. After some 4-5 months, I left the restaurant. I secured a job with Chef Albert Roux of Le Gavroche in London. Oddly, not long after I left, James took on the chef position at L’Orangerie.

 

A patterns began to emerge where our lives and careers are woven around the theme of a passion of fine cuisine.

In 1981, after three years at Le Gavroche and doing a work-visit to the best French restaurants, I returned to the States and took a job with Paul Vercammen at the Olive Mill Bistro. That is a whole other story of bringing modern California-French cuisine to this seaside town.

James and Annie Sly 2008

 

When james met Annie 2/19/1984

In February of 1984 I chaired an event for the AIWF, American Institute of Wine and Food, Julia Child’s and Robert Mondavi’s institute dedicated to fine wines and the culinary arts. I called my friend James Sly and asked him to cook at the truffle station.

At that event, James met Ann Pinkow after eyeing her all day. The rogue asked her out, snuck a kiss and two months later whisked her off to work a summer job in Nantucket. A year or so later they married on his lunch break, celebrating with hot dogs, then back to work to preside in the kitchen of a just-opening 1789 Restaurant. They were both perpetually grateful for that fateful encounter.

 

 

 

In September of that year, 1984, I opened Michael’s Waterside. James came up from LA for two weeks to help open up the restaurant. He slept on the office floor. What a friend!

Here we are again, weaving our careers together.

In the ensuing years, James was in Palm Desert at the Hyatt Grand Champions. Some years later, about 1987, James took the job as executive chef at the El Encanto hotel in town here. He held that position for a number of years. He would come down to my restaurant after dinner service at the El Encanto. He loved to have Annie join him and they almost always had my Tart Tatin apple dessert.

It seems that we kept following each other.

In 1989, James persuaded me to computerize the restaurant. All of a sudden, I had three MacIntosh computers and fell under his tutorial umbrella. We would sometimes see the sun come up after a night on the computers. It was fueled by armagnac. James was a great advocate for Apple computers and help many people learn the magic. Early in The Berry Man’s formative years, James was hired by owner Guy de Mangeon to write software to manage the complexities of a produce business. His wife Annie, did the books there.

Programming was another skill where James excelled. He help me to learn to write software to manage my business and later my catering company. If fact, he was Mr. James Apple Computer. He helped numerous people to navigate the complexities of the Mac.

During an interlude between the El Encanto and Lucky’s, James worked in the private catering business. On one occasion he borrowed my kitchen at the Santa  Barbara Polo Club, where I had the contract to do the food service.

Our culinary lives crossed again.

In 1995, I went to Charlotte, NC, to go back to work for Albert Roux. Chef Albert had an executive dining service and I was selected to manage the foodservice at the Bank of America’s head office. James bought a lot of my equipment before I left for his occasional catering jobs. Since I was not able to break away from my new position, I referred James to Archie McLaren, Director of The Central Coast Wine Event. This was an annual event at Hearst Castle. I had been coordinating the kitchen aspect for a number of years. James took it on and built on the success for the ensuing 20 some years

Again we were bobbing and weaving careers.

In 1999, he took on the position of chef/manager of the Lucky’s restaurant. His culinary and management skills created the reputation they enjoy to this day. The menu he devised remains largely in place.

In 1999. I returned to California, taking a job in Palm Springs, following James to his old dessert haunts. I bounced around there until 2001 when James called my about an opening at the Burnham Wood Golf Club. I was happy to come back to Santa Barbara.

Thank you James for pulling my back to your circle.

After I left the Burnham Wood, James advised and helped me to establish a catering business, Michael’s Catering. He would give me access at Lucky’s when I need a little more space to work from.

Another juncture in our careers.

Jame’s next culinary venture was a lifetime dream to have his own restaurant, Sly’s was the result. That was in 8/8/08. It was quite a start to a great 10 year run. He boasted that he made “Tired Old favorites.” The Slys sold the restaurant in August of 2018.

I was there to help with the opening night as a reciprocal gesture for his help in opening Michael’s Waterside.

Early culinary successes. He discovered that his mother's baking soda being too old was the cause of failed chocolate chip cookies. James was a Boy Scout and achieved the Eagle Scout rank. His early culinary success was a pineapple upside-down cake baked over a campfire.

James was a very giving, generous person. I think he would prefer to solve someone else challenges than his own. He lived in several worlds: as a car tech writer for “VW & Porsche” and “European Car” from the 1970s until shortly before his death, he had a large circle of “Gear heads” the met regularly for brunch at Sly’s to talk cars.

As a chef, he had a large circle of professional colleagues. Those who worked for him admired him and appreciate the superb training they received. When he sold Sly’s, there were numerous calls from people wanting to hire his crew.

James was a humble, unpretentious man who did not flaunt his wide knowledge and deep intellect, he shared it. As a language student in college, James was fluent in French and Spanish and conversant in German and Italian. This facilitated his and Annie's many trips to Europe.

In a final twist of our lives, he passed away at Serenity House, just minutes away from our condo and the Mortuary providing services was just behind our commercial catering kitchen.

The theme of of our lives has been the passion for food that ran through it and our deep abiding friendship. We have been joined at the w h i s k over four decades.

In his final days I asked him, “What do you know for sure? He managed to responded, “Not much.”

When I told him once that he was like a brother, his response was, “No I am not.       I am better.”

Ask me, “What do you know for sure?” My response, James was a great friend…

 

Thank you

 

James Brian Sly

Born Fullerton, CA, May 19, 1952

Died Santa Barbara, CA, August 23, 2019

Michael Hutchings-James Sly

 

Left to Right

Michael Hutchings, James Sly, John Downey, Norbert Schultz, Pastric Lasec, Tim Cunningham

Prelude to the Share Our Strength Event

 

 

Merci Julia from Reality Media, Inc on Vimeo.

Tribute to Julia Child 1993 on her 80th Birthday

James Sly, Kurt Grasing, Marvin Lee

At Patricia Lee Farms

Dietmar Deilbacher, James Sly, Michael Hutchings

Getting a little courage!

Michael's & Christine's Wedding 2008

James at Mushroom Event February 1984

Truffled Risotto & Scrambled Eggs with Truffles

 

A Special Thanks

Many thanks to the friends and colleagues who donated, time, food, and beverage for the celebration of James’ life.

The Food Liaison, (Narisha Rodgriguez) Carpinteria

Delgado’s, (Kristina) Carpinteria

D’Angelo Bakery, (The Eilbacher Family) Santa Barbara

C’est Cheese, (Michael and Kathryn Graham) Santa Barbara

Sushi Terri, (Laxman Perera) Carpinteria

Harbor Meat and Seafood, (Al and Crew)Santa Barbara

Newport Meat, (Robert Esser) Newport Beach

Jordano’s Foodservice, (Pete and Gerd Jordano)Santa Barbara

Hitching Post Restaurant (Frank Ostini), Buellton

The Berry Man Produce, (Guy deMangeon) Santa Barbara

The Tent Merchant, (John and Sharene Leenhouwser) Santa Barbara

Christine Dahl Pastries, (Christine Dahl) Santa Barbara

Valerie Powdrell & Volunteers

David Powdrell, Carpinteria Arts Center

Carpinteria Arts Center

Island Brewing Company, (Paul Wright) Carpinteria

Margerum Wines, (Doug Margerum) Santa Barbara

 

And Chef James' Kitchen Brigade

Fredy Orduna

Gilver Ramirez

Felipe Muñoz

Hugo Alvarado

Marino Carachure

Abraham Alvarado

Belisario Alfaro

Ensemble Theater Company's 40th Anniversary

Chiffon cake by Chef Christine Dahl

 

We have been delighted to be the caterer of record for the Ensemble Theater Company. Ensemble Theatre Company presents important new plays and innovative interpretations of classic works for a broad audience. ETC engages audiences with entertaining, compelling, and thought-provoking theatrical productions develop the community's knowledge and appreciation of live stage productions and offer a range of educational programs for young people.

Michael's Catering provided the savory menu, and Chef Christine Dahl Prepared a cake to mark the occasion. Richard Mineards of the Montecito Journal covered the event and kindly mentioned our participation. The Montecito Journal covers news and events in the Montecito-Santa Barbara area. It is always great to be acknowledged.
The cake was vanilla chiffon, lemon curd, white chocolate mousse, and fresh raspberries. Garnishes included fresh berries, raspberry coulis, and mint. The cake was presented on stage with four mini Roman candles blazing.

 

 

Early Artifact from the Archives

Going through some of the archives recently, I found this certificate from a cooking class on October 16, 1977. The famed three-starred Michelin chef, Jean Troisgros was teaching at the Mondavi Winery. A fellow named Michael James organized the session. At the time, I was a sous chef at a place called La Serre in Studio City, CA. I was working with my friend chef James Sly. My reason for going to the class was to meet Chef Troisgros and try and get a position in his kitchen in France. I had determined that a French experience was the next step in my career. James had led the way with his own French training at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco and The Ritz in Paris.

The only dish I remember chef Jean demonstrating was his Escalopes de veau à la Moutarde. I was asked to help bone the veal and his comment was "Le Professional." The chef had 'smuggled" his own veal stock from his kitchen in France. In any event, my request for a position in France as politely turned down. As fate would unfold, I did a brief apprenticeship at his restaurant in Roanne in 1981. Chef Albert Roux had arranged that after my three years with him at Le Gavroche. Incidentally, I learned his method for the veal stock when I was there. This is another story.

Here is my version of the Escalopes de veau à la Moutarde.

 

 

 

With Thanks from The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

 

We were delighted to contribute 250 cultured abalone and 1,500 Lobster Beignets to this wonderful wine event at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The event helps fund museum programs. We received a terrific thank you from the CEO Luke Swetland.

We used the event to make our announcement of my new cooking show, The Santa Barbara Chef. Coming to local COX channel four on August 30th. Tune in for some delicious television.

About:

Founded in 1916 as the Museum of Comparative Oology, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has evolved to include more than 3.5 million specimens covering every aspect of natural history—from mammals, birds, and marine life to geology, astronomy, paleontology, and anthropology. Newly renovated in 2018, the Museum boasts state-of-the-art interactive exhibits for all ages, paired with the Central Coast’s only planetarium, on 17 acres of oak woodland along Mission Creek. Guests learn about the Santa Barbara region’s unique and diverse natural history and then go outside to explore nature in the Museum Backyard. Museum education programs serve all ages to promote scientific literacy and instill a passion for nature and learning.

Out with the Inn, In with the New Cooking Show

Chef Michael Hutchings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 17, 2019

I want to thank the producer of The Inn Crowd cooking show for the opportunity to share my lifelong passion for cooking. During the 100 some shows produced, I had the pleasure of hosting numerous guests and cooked in some fantastic locations. Last March I resigned my hosting and cooking duties to pursue other opportunities. While The Inn Crowd show has still been in reruns, I am no longer associated with The Inn Crowd nor producing any new content. We wish the producer well in his new productions.

I am instead delighted to be working with Will, Gary and Harlene Conlin of Hellcat Productions on a new show highlighting dishes I have been offering in Santa Barbara since 1981 as well as a new interpretation of classic and modern dishes. Local products and the bounty of California will be highlighted on the show. The new format with tempt you, tease you and hopefully inspire you to cook. The Hellcat team are consummate professionals and the up-close videography will bring the dishes to life. The show is called The Santa Barbara Chef. Please see all the exciting details below.

 

‘THE SANTA BARBARA CHEF’ TO MAKE TELEVISION DEBUT AUGUST 30, 2019

SANTA BARBARA, CA —The Santa Barbara Chef, a brand new 30-minute television cooking show, starring world-famous Chef Michael Hutchings, will make its television debut on Cox Cable Friday, August 30, 2019, at 11:00 am. Featuring gourmet recipes from around the world, chef tips and wine pairings, all set against the beautiful American Riviera, The Santa Barbara Chef will bring the highest quality of cuisine to nearly 1,000,000 viewing households in the Southwest television market.

“I am looking forward to sharing this exciting new show with fellow food lovers all over,” said Chef Michael Hutchings whose storied career has included serving as Executive Chef at Disneyland’s fabled Club 33, sous chef Le Gavroche in London and as owner/Chef of Michael’s Waterside, a Santa Barbara staple and celebrity hangout for over 10 years. In recent years, Chef Hutchings has giving cooking instruction to culinary students as an adjunct professor and established himself as Santa Barbara’s top catering company with Michael’s Catering.

The Santa Barbara Chef will be produced by YTS Films/Hellcat Productions LLC. This marks the 11th television production from YTS/Hellcat. Earlier this year, YTS/Hellcat were the recipients of the 2019 Telly Award for Excellence in Television Production for their work on AnimalZone, also currently airing on Cox Cable.

Viewers can see The Santa Barbara Chef every Friday at 11:00 am starting August 30, 2019, in Santa Barbara and San Diego on Channel 4, in Orange County on Channel 3 and in Palm Springs, Desert Cities & Yuma, AZ on Channel 27.

For media inquiries or information about sponsoring/advertising opportunities, please contact Hellcat Productions LLC.

 

Dinner to Remember

Occasionally, we get to pull out all the stops and prepare and three-star dinner. The menu was driven by first quality ingredients, the secret of any great chef. We began with a classic caviar service presented in a Lalic crystal caviar service. I did both the traditional buckwheat blini and potato latkes. Guests could garnish the blini with an array of condiments.

For the Foie Gras, I used a dish I observed at the late Chef Alain Chapel's restaurant just outside of Lyon, France. I caramelized thinly-sliced turnips and glazed them with wine from Portugal and duck jus. The foie gras escalopes were flash fried at the last minute.

The bison is not your usual dish. Aged about 5 weeks, the bison ribeye was tender, moist and really superb. What wouldn't be with a nice slathering of fresh black truffles? All was followed by my classic riff on a Waldorf salad, well really not much to do with that old standard. Belgian endive, apples, and tender bibb lettuce hearts tossed in a walnut dressing and a warm goat cheese crostini comprised the dish. By the way, this was a winter menu, So, the Caramelized Apple Tart Tatin provided a fitting dessert for dinner.

It is rewarding to be able to prepare dinner in the manner I trained for in the finest kitchens in Europe.

Chef Michael Hutchings

PS Tune in to my new weekly cooking show airing Fridays at 11:00 on COX cable starting August 30, 2019. The Santa Barbara Chef

 

Black Perigourd Truffles

 

 

 

 

Classic Caviar Service

 

 

Foie Gras 'au Porto"

 

 

Buffalo Ribeye and Truffles

Endive Salad and Warm Goat Cheese

Tart Tatin

 

 

Petite Fours

The Santa Barbara Chef Cooking on the American Riviera

 

I am delighted to announce the premiere of my new cooking show The Santa Barbara Chef. I have teamed up with the Conlin's production company Hellcat Productions. The details are in the press release that follows. The format is like a personal cooking lesson from myself with the spectacular background of Santa Barbara.

Many of the local food products are featured in the varied recipes from my repertoire. We film at my kitchen studio located in the historic Flying A movie studio. This makes us the first feature films produced at the old studios since 1917. The big differences are that we are in color and talk ;)

Join us for some delicious cooking with The Santa Barbara Chef.

 

Flying A Movie Studios Circa 1912

Caviar - Black Pearls of the Sea

Caviar! The very word conjures images of the high life with champagne, private jets, fancy restaurants and the like. For the connoisseur, the only true caviar comes from the sturgeon in the Caspian Sea. The combination of natural feed and water condition produce a high-quality product.

Here are a few bullet point facts about the sturgeon and caviar.

• Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) wrote that whole sturgeon were brought to the banquet table decorated with garlands of flowers, accompanied by musicians playing flutes and trumpets.
• Henry II of England (1133-89) placed sturgeon under royal protection.
• Edward II (1284-1327) passed an edict on "fishes royal". The monarch retains first right to the fish.
• Beluga sturgeon have been known to swallow whole salmon aquatic birds and baby seals.
• The French Monarchy decreed "le droit d'esturgeon" claiming ownership of all sturgeon in an area bordered by the Seine and Rhône rivers.
• Beluga sturgeon have been known to weigh 1,325 pounds and yield up to 505 of its weight in caviar.

At one point in America, it was so common as to be offered at a bar snack. Alas, the sturgeon were overfished and rivers polluted to the point of near extinction. I have a great book oddly called Caviar by Boechmann and Rebeiz-Nielsen that details the history of the sturgeon and its caviar.

This is a very ancient fish with fossil records dating back to the Jurassic period, about 180 million BC. It has been consumed by humans well before the first records from Egypt in 2400 BC. It has only been since the 1500s that the eggs or roe have been considered a delicacy. Western history is replete with references of sturgeon being enjoyed by the wealthy and noble classes in ancient Rome, Greece, and especially Russia.

My preferred method to enjoy caviar on a potato blini.

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

Elegant Caviar Service, Traditional Garnishes

 

Memorial Day

Throwing a last minute Memorial Day Party? We've got some tips for you!   MENU   Keep it. Simple! The classics always work. Use great ingredients and execute well. Your guests have been to plenty of BBQ parties, so make sure you have the three "B" Basics: Burgers, Buns, Beverages, and throw in condiments. Ambiance   Remember the word simple. It's MEMORIAL DAY - red, white, and blue! Flags, bunting, dyed carnations can all fit the theme. Remember Why it is "Memorial Day" Memorial Day (or less commonly called Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering and honoring people who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The holiday, which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May, was most recently held on May 28, 2018. Memorial Day was previously observed on May 30 from 1868 to 1970. (Wikipedia)

What's Cooking Chef?

Classic Caviar Service

 

There is always something cooking in the kitchen. I've been a little quiet on the social media front but new dishes are simmering away. My tenure at The Inn Crowd cooking show has ended with my resignation. It has been a wonderful era of my career and the producer Craig Case has been great to work with.

We filmed close to 100 episodes, did some 400 plus recipes and had a lot of wonderful guests such as Lady Ridley-Tree, Archie McLaren, Tab Hunter, Christopher Lloyd, and Steve Hearst. Also, we filmed episodes at some terrific locations like the Queen Mary, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the Hearst Ranch.

So, what's next? Frankly, I feel like I have just begun to cook even though it has been some 45 years in the kitchen. There are thousands of dishes I would like to make. I have hardly touched the 25 volumes of handwritten recipes I have collected while in Europe, plus my database of over 8,000 recipes and not to mention my 2,500 plus library of cookbooks.

New things are in the pipeline and the cloche will be lifted in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we are keeping busy catering. I will be at the US Open in June catering private events and back to Carmel in August at the Concours d'Elegance car show manning the Lamborghini hospitality estate.

I will be posting about our recent tour of Venice and Verona Italy and Austria in the coming weeks. We had some great meals on the trip and I will be sharing some of the dishes. Fritto Misto or Schnitzel anyone?

Chef Michael Hutchings

The Santa Barbara Chef

 

Venice, Italy

Austrian Alps

CAMA 100 Year Celebration

CAMA 100 Year Celebration

 

Join Chef Michael on Sunday, May 19th, 1-4 pm at the Sunken Gardens of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse for a free event celebrating the first 100 years of the Community Arts Music Association (CAMA).  Chef Michael will be offering Sirloin Sweet and Sour Meatballs on Truffle Mashed Potatoes and a vegetarian version of Honey Roasted Heirloom Carrots on Truffle Mashed Potatoes as one of the 10 chefs selected to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime event.

 

 

CAMA, Santa Barbara’s oldest arts organization, brings the finest classical musicians from around the globe to Santa Barbara. Since the 1920s, CAMA has presented such legendary artists as Pablo Casals, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz, Jascha Heifetz, Igor Stravinsky, Artur Schnabel, Isaac Stern and Marian Anderson, with yearly performances from the Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

 

CAMA’s Centennial Celebration Committee and Board of Directors invite you to this festive afternoon of collaboration with local cultural arts partners, including Opera Santa Barbara, Music Academy of the West’s Sing! Program, Faculty of Westmont College, Department of Music, UC Santa Barbara

and members of Santa Barbara Symphony. Join us for wonderful music, delicious food and wine, and our community to honor CAMA for this historic occasion!

 

While this event is free and open to the public, for planning purposes we ask that you RSVP with the number in your party on the CAMA website: https://camasb.org/camas-100th-birthday-bash/

From the Culinary Archives

I was rummaging through my archives the other day and pulled out a menu from an event for the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF). The event was at an earlier iteration of the El Encanto Hotel in Santa Barbara, CA. My dear friend chef James Sly planned and cooked the menu for the event. The theme was food and wines of Provence, France. Chef James cut his "mirepoix" on French cuisine and the menu is a perfect example of some of the regional specialties.

The standout dish is the Raviolis de Daube Peovençal. The recipe incorporates a slowly-braised beef stew that is used to fill a soft dough ravioli.

 

Great Chefs of France

Back in the late 70s, the Robert Mondavi Winery hosted some of the most notable chefs from France. The chefs prepared dinners, seminars and cooking classes as part of the program. Chefs such as Michel Guerard, Jean and Pierre Troigros, Alain Chapel, Paul Bocuse, and Gaston LeNotre were guest presenters. Mondavi's plan was to showcase California wines with the greatest French chefs with the aim of promoting those California wines.

At that time, I was working at a restaurant called La Serre, first as the sous chef to my friend James Sly and later as the chef de cuisine, my first such position. Oddly, it was also chef James first executive chef position as well. I had recently realized that doing a stint in France was a good career move and I was actively looking for a connection over there.

To that end, I went to one of the programs at the Great Chefs of France series with the expressed goal of getting a position with the Troisgros. Jean Troisgros was the guest chef in October of 1977. I naively thought that it would be a simple matter of asking the chef for a position. I recall a couple of points about the class. Chef Jean was gracious and a bon vivant. I was impressed that he had brought his own demi-glace from France. It was frozen and vacuum packed. The menu featured some of the Troisgros classics, Salmon Escallope with Sorrel and a Veal escalope with Mustard. I was asked to help butcher the veal loin and Chef Jean thereafter called me "Le Professionnel." My request for a position with the chef was not productive. As a matter of fate, in 1981, I did a stage at the Restaurant Troisgros courtesy of chef Albert Roux. I was poignant that I occasionally had the opportunity to sit down with them at the chef's table in the kitchen and enjoy a meal.

The certificate above was issued to all participants. I was signed by Gail Green, a food journalist, Michael James, the organizer and of course chef Jean Troisgros.

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

The Pleasures of Paella

Paella Valencia Style

Paella is a great dish to do for a crowd. Success is fostered by three key points, right ingredients, right equipment and timing. Firstly, having the correct rice is important. I use the bomba rice from Spain. It's a short grain rice that takes in about three times its volume in liquid.

"Bomba rice (Spanish: arroz bomba) is a short-grain variety of rice (Oryza sativa L.), primarily cultivated in the eastern parts of Spain. It is commonly used in paella and other dishes in Valencian cuisine, and is often referred to as Valencia rice. It has short grains due to the presence of amylopectin." Wikipedia

Next is all the great shellfish, chicken and sausage that goes into the dish. I used, for 60 guests, 55 pounds live Maine lobster, 15 pounds littleneck clams, 25 pounds mussels, 12 pounds shrimp, 15 pounds chicken thighs and 5 pounds of linguica sausage. Additionally there was artichokes, peppers, onions, peas and herbs. The real trick is how to get all these ingredient cooked at their best in one dish. 

Traditionally, the proteins are added in a logical order considering the time required to get cooked. In this case, I precooked all of the proteins to the almost done stage and added them to the nearly cooked rice, along with any cooking juices from the shellfish (for the flavor).

Lastly, having a genuine paella pan and a large gas burner makes it all come together. When done right it is a glorious dish.

We had a very happy client!

"Dear Michael:

We have had a lot of parties at our house but you and your team blew the socks off the standard!

And the left-overs tonight with our grand-daughter were not too shabby either.  She, 2.3 years old, consumed everything in site and actually said "more lobster please!" so I had to yield my precious last bit of that puppy.  Then she discovered the muscles and they were soon goners as well.  I hesitate to ever introduce her to your abalone.  There is not enough money in all of CA to feed that habit.  (And seriously I cannot say how many people enjoyed the abalone.)

Thank you again!"

 

P.S. The abalone was also a great hit, as always! See a previous blog about these super shellfish. We simply egg battered the abalone and sauteed in butter then finished with garlic butter!

The Menu

Cultured Abalone a l’Escargot

Goat Cheese, Arugula and Fig Crostini

NY Morsels, Mustard Demi Glace

Date and Bacon Rumaki

 

Local Bib Lettuce, Raspberry Vinaigrette, Hearts of Palm

Terrine Of Avocado, Sauce Vierge

Belgian Endive, Apple, Walnuts and Roquefort, Vinaigrette

Paella Valencia Style

Maine lobster, shrimp. mussels, clams, chicken and sausages

saffron rice, peppers, onions and peas

Non-Seafood Version of Paella

Caramelized Apple Tart Tatin

Lemon Meringue Pie

 

Wild Mushroom Season

Chanterelle

I have long been an advocate of hunting wild mushrooms. I was introduced to wild mushrooms by my grandma Shambo. We went looking in the cow pastures for the common agaricus bisporus, white field mushroom. Grandma new her mushrooms and they were delicious. My dad mentioned that her test for a poisonous mushroom was to expose it to a silver coin. While this method can detect sulphur-based poisons, it does exclude other toxic mushrooms.

(Agaricus bisporus is an edible basidiomycete mushroom native to grasslands in Europe and North America. It has two color states while immature—white and brown—both of which have various names. When mature, it is known as portobello mushroom (also portabella or portobella).) Wikipedia

Common Mushroom

Wikipedia

Rain has come to the Santa Barbara area and not long after the mushrooms have started to appear. I am hoping for a flush of California Chanterelles in the next week or so. We found maybe 6 chanterelles last year due to the extended drought. They were small and in a micro climate area that concentrated what little rain we had.

There was a rather odd piece in the local paper today that warns of picking the more deadly variety of amanitas, the amanita phalloides (death cap) and amanita ocreata (destroying angel). These twins of death destroy liver function and are almost always deadly. If you pick and consume or or given wild mushrooms you must be an expert or consult with one! In Europe you can take your harvest to a pharmacy and have them identified. We have no such luck here. In our area I have found a number of great edibles, bears paw, oyster, chanterelle, puff balls, morels, bluets, fairy ring to name a few. 

Identifying mushrooms involves the obvious physical traits such as shape, color, and aroma. Also time of year, growing media, spore print. This is not a casual business. The old saying goes, "There are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters but no Old-Bold mushroom hunters."

Chef Michael Hutchings

BE CAREFUL

 

Santa Barbara News Press

Thanksgiving Dinner

 

Dish-Up Team

This Thanksgiving we volunteered to help prepare a traditional dinner for close to 200 members of the less fortunate in our community. We worked with Wade Volk who is with Showers of Blessings who provide a portable showers service for the homeless community. The Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara provided the venue and dozens of volunteers to set up and serve food.

Producing the dinner reminded me of my banquet chef days in a hotel. My pastry-chef wife Christine Dahl and I provided most of the sides and sauces for the meal. We prepared 75 lbs. yams, 16 pans of stuffing, 8 gallons of gravy, 12 pans of green beans with homemade mushroom soup. 150 gingerbread 'turkey" cookies,  and 12 pans of apple cobbler.

It was a great group effort by all involved. My produce supplier The Berry Man donated all of the produce we needed and D'Angelo Breads donated bread for the stuffing.  The Organic Soup Kitchen provided the mashed potatoes, Ethnic Bread in Goleta supplied slices of bread. See the link to a local news story from KEYT news.

 

Chefs Michael Hutchings and Christine Dahl

 

Yams Ready To Bake

 

Traditional Gravy

 

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

 

Apple Cobbler in the Works

 

A Rice by Any Other Name is Not Risotto

Here is my favorite Risotto recipe. It is pretty simple. Be sure and get arborio or carnaroli rice, real Italian parmesan ( parmeggiano reggiano), quality saffron and so forth.

It's great on its own or as a foil with light meats or fowl such as veal scallopini, chicken breast picatta or pork tenderloins. Use the kitchen trick and cook the rice 3/4 the way done, leaving it very al dente. Pour it onto a buttered flat tray and cool. Just before serving, ad more stock and finish the cooking. By the way, leave out the cheese until the rice has cooked to your liking.

Veni Vidi Vici or Veni Vidi Ego Cocta

Ceasar De re Coquinaria 

Veni Vidi Ego Cocta - I Came I saw I Cooked

At a recent event for the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History were asked to prepare a dish from the classic Roman-era cookbook by Apicius. The title of the book is:

APICII • LIBRI • X

QVI DICVNTVR DE OBSONIIS

ET CONDIMENTIS SLUE ARTE

COQVINARIA QVA EXTANT

Keep in mind that the recipes in this book have ingredients that might be impossible to find as well as imprecise measurements and instructions. I avoided anything with a wild goat, African game animals, peacock, swans, and other exotica. After pouring through a number of the recipes I settled on a pork recipe. It appeared to be a darned good sweet and sour pork stew with dried fruits. I mostly followed the recipes with a few adjustments to proportions and thickened the broth with a little cornstarch slurry. The results were good and the crowds loved it. 

 

From Wikipedia

Apicius is a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the 1st century AD and written in a language that is in many ways closer to Vulgar than to Classical Latin; later recipes using Vulgar Latin (such as ficatum, bullire) were added to earlier recipes using Classical Latin (such as iecur, fervere).

The name "Apicius" had long been associated with excessively refined love of food, from the habits of an early bearer of the name, Marcus Gavius Apicius, a Roman gourmet and lover of refined luxury, who lived sometime in the 1st century AD during the reign of Tiberius. He is sometimes erroneously asserted to be the author of the book that is pseudepigraphically attributed to him.

Apicius is a text to be used in the kitchen. In the earliest printed editions, it was usually called De re coquinaria (On the Subject of Cooking), and attributed to an otherwise unknown Caelius Apicius, an invention based on the fact that one of the two manuscripts is headed with the words "API CAE"^[1] or rather because there are a few recipes attributed to Apicius in the text: Patinam Apicianam sic facies (IV, 14) Ofellas Apicianas (VII, 2). It is also known as De re culinaria.

 

Apicius, De re culinaria (Lyon: Sebastianus Gryphium, 1541)

 

De opsoniis et condimentis (Amsterdam: J. Waesbergios), 1709. Frontispiece of the second edition of Martin Lister's privately printed version of Apicius

 

When Given Lots of Lemons Make Lemon Curd

Chef Christine Dahl "Curding"

Recently my friend Chef James Sly dropped off 50 pounds of lemons at our kitchen. It was a much-appreciated gift. My pastry chef, wife Christine Dahl makes a terrific lemon curd that she uses to fill cakes and fruit tarts. After a couple hours of zesting and juicing, we have the lemon component done and in the freezer awaiting transformation into curd.

I first learned to make lemon curd in 1977 when I was sous chef to James at a place called La Serre, the Greenhouse. The restaurant featured a lattice and plant decor the give it an indoor garden effect. It was the haunt for entertainment personalities working in the Burbank studios and environs. Pictured below is the table favored by Natalie Wood and it was known as Natalie's Nook.

Dining at the Paris Ritz

We used the curd at La Serre to fill a rolled cake called Roulade. It was simply a pliable sponge cake that was filled with lemon curd and rolled into a log, covered with powdered sugar and sliced for plating. After dusting the cake with powdered sugar, it was branded in a criss-cross pattern with a red-hot iron rod. The recipe below is the one Chef James used and I imagine he picked that up during his stint in France at the Ritz Hotel.

 History of the Ritz Hotel, from their web page.

It was back in the late 1800s that the Swiss hotelier, Cesar Ritz, purchased the former palace style mansion on the Place Vendome, which had originally been designed by Jules Hardouin Mansart, the royal architect for King Louis XIV and construction was started in 1705.

Having worked at The Savoy in London alongside the incredible French Chef, Auguste Escoffier, the hotel became an incredible success for wealthy clientele, yet Cesar Ritz had a vision to open the most luxurious hotel in the world fit for a prince, with his chosen destination being Paris.

So when the Ritz Hotel opened its doors in 1898 every room had its own bathroom, which was totally unheard of at that time, and decorated with top of the range fabrics, tapestries, gilding, etc, it was like an 18th-century gem attracting high society from the word go, (see this link for more).

 

Chef James Sly 1977 at La Serre

 

Natalie's Nook

 

The Moons of Jupiter

Up close it looks like an other-world encounter. The pitting mirrors the impact craters on some distant moon. The reality is much more delicious. This is the dough for a terrific and easy French style bread that my chef-friend James Sly developed. The key steps are getting great bread flour and allowing plenty of time for the fermentation to develop the flavors from the flour. I am happy to share the recipe. It's out of this world.

Chef Michael Hutchings

 

 

 

Master at Work

 

Pastry chef Christine Dahl of Christine Dahl Pastries is a master of her craft. Specializing in Wedding cakes, she produces some 150 unique designs every year. Here is a masterpiece she has done for a wedding this weekend. The pipping is done with buttercream on an overlay of fondant icing. The art of the art is that it is all done freehand without any pattern or template. The cake is a chiffon base with lemon curd and white chocolate mousse plus fresh raspberries.

What may not be as obvious is that the cakes are very symmetrical and the fondant topping smooth and wrinkle-free. That is the hallmark of a skilled artisan. It's no surprise that they also are delicious!

 

 

Book Review - 1928 Baking Book

Back in my early days as an apprentice chef, I worked at Disneyland's Club 33 with an old school chef, Rudy Stoy. Chef Rudy was all too kind to show me some of the old school cooking skills like preparing a Galantine of Chicken and how to bone out a leg of veal.

In his kitchen library, he kept a baking book that I remembered more for its title than its content. In passing, I mentioned this amusing tidbit to my friend chef James Sly. Shortly thereafter, he presented me with the baking book.

While the title is still amusing, the book is a real gem packed with great production recipes for professional bakeshops. Chef Dooven was a real master of the art and the recipes in the book are still viable today. They span the full spectrum from doughnuts to pulled sugar.

Here is an excerpt of a review.

If you are or know a baker, here is a wonderful book to add to your library titled... The Master Baker and His Work by K. Cammille Den Dooven. This hardcover book was originally published in 1928 and this copy of the 4th printing from 194o. (See all the pictures!)

Sprinkled with black and white photos showing cake decorations, samples of baked goods, sugar basket, table displays. 

Filled with techniques and recipes for the commercial baker covering French, Viennese, Danish pastries, cake decoration, pound, sponge, angel cakes, jelly rolls, pies and fillings, icings and toppings, sweet doughs, breads, and rolls. This edition starts off with a recipe for a Silver Anniversary cake weighing 2500 pounds: "First a table was built, 6 x 5 feet.mounted on ball-bearing anti-friction caster wheels.."

Farmers Market Bounty

Our Farmers Market in Santa Barbara always has a few hidden treasures. I found the smallest of young turnips, baby corn, long beans, carrots, bok choy, and scallions. The vegetables shouted "stir-fry." Married with a local organic chicken and a coconut rice, they made for a delicious dinner.

Chef Michael Hutchings

Taste of the Town 2018 Review

Photo Bonnie Carroll

 

The 2018 Taste of the Town is now in the history books. This year was the 37th year that the event has taken place and I have been involved since its inception. I have cooked a wide range of "tastes" over the years and this year I made two new items. I prepared a carrot vichyssoise style soup and a parfait of local smoked salmon.

It is always like an old home week as many of the guests have been coming for years and it's a rare chance to visit with fellow food professionals. I think that I am the longest participating chef at the event at this point. Great cause and always a pleasant afternoon.

Bonnie Carroll wrote a nice piece about the event. Have a look at the story Bonnie wrote for edhat.