A Tasting meal at Catit Restaurant Tel-Aviv (Part 2)

tement sauv I was so busy with the exquisite meal at hand and the wonderful champagne was such a suitable company, that ICatit forgot all about our second white wine the Sauvignon Blanc (Morillon) – Zieregg – Manfred Tement Austria Manfred is considered to be amongst the best Sauvignon producers in the world. It is a powerful Sauvignon Blanc, a bit too muscular for my taste especially for the delicate meal we are enjoying , it has a strong yellow color, very long lasting on the palate, fully ripened now (a bit on the oxidized side). Haidu says Zieregg is the “baby” of the tireless Manfred Tement, who is never quite pleased with his wine and constantly in search for new challenges and better achievements in his vineyard and winery, on the hills above Berghausen (in the south east of Austria a few miles from the border with Slovenia).

we continue with our meal https://wine4soul.com/2012/11/24/a-meal-at-catit-restaurant/ ,  and now open the GRUAUD LAROSE 1970 (St. Julien Bordeaux) with a sense of enigmatic Gruaud L70anticipation the wine is Just above shoulder in the bottle, a fairly low level that might have allowed extra oxidation to affect the wine. In the meantime as the Sauvignon Blanc (Morillon) – Zieregg is being consumed I stick with the lovely champagne.

hatalmi05We are sitting in Catit Tel-Aviv (since 2006), The restaurant resides in a beautiful period building built by the Jerusalemski family in 1911 and was known as The “Jerusalem’s House” Later it became the first Hotel in Tel-Aviv “The American Hotel” till the early 1950’s. It was restored to its glory to house the present restaurant, the exterior of the building complements the content of the indoors

In the Hebrew Midrash, (which is the interpretation of biblical stories beyond their semantic meaning). Catit is the first and second temples that stood = CAT in Hebrew Gematria= ‘כת’ years=  420, the 2nd temple, and IT =years ית= 410, the first temple, the exact number of years each of the 2 temples stood before their final destruction, Catit is also the Hebrew word for extra Virgin Oil which is a “crushing” of olives to produce oil Just as the Temples were Crushed… This culinary Temple is standing proud producing products of excellent   quality like CATIT oil.

Our next dish was:

                     IMG_5575             IMG_5571

Smoked & Pickled Veal Tongue

Black smoked cream fresh, Bonito flakes, Lightly pickled Shimaji mushrooms, pickled mustard seeds and mustard stems, Asian aioli and crispy Buckwheat, reddish, beetroot vinaigrette and Quail’s egg yolk.

pollock dish  pollockThis dish is as beautiful upon serving as the dish remains upon clearing the black cream fresh and purple beet the yellow cream left artistic smears of colours reminiscent of a good and tasty abstract painting a Jackson Pollock on a dish…unintentionally the guest becomes an artist as well by the mere action of consuming this dish.

The tongue is light and tender and nicely supported by the pickles and steamed carrots. Bonito, the dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), is used as an Umami taste enhancer, and indeed increases the presence of the “umami”  taste of the dish: from Japanese: umai (うまい) “delicious”, mi (味) “taste”, the meaty taste of beef broth which is complementary to this dish. The carrots and mushrooms are reminiscent of the “Pot au Feu” method of traditional Jewish Ashkenazi preparation of boiled tongue, as well as the Buckwheat, a traditional grain accompanying boiled meats in eastern European Jewish cookery.

Gruaud 70                                                 in the glass

Our GRUAUD LAROSE 1970, is in a great shape (a great sigh of relief) and is showing all its tertiary aromas and flavours of coffee, dried figs, bouquet of spice box and dried tobacco with ripe red currant jam touch and notes of green peppercorn. The soft tannins are fully integrated, with enough fruit and acidity to hold the wine throughout the rest of the meal.

sofrito 1                           sofrito    

Calf’s brain Sofrito

Cream of garlic, puffed crunchu Kinoa with herb seeds, grilled onions, lamb pancetta, onion cream, sugared onions, crispy Ratta potatoes, red wine and Juniper sauce

This is a real successful take off on a traditional Sephardic Jewish dish, with brain as the main ingredient as customary in Moroccan Jewish cuisine. (other recipes use Lamb, beef or chicken). It has all the Sofrito fragrant sauce, from my mother in law’s kitchen (she makes excellent Sofrito, and is a direct descendent of the Great Sepharadi Kabalist Rabi Abraham Ben Samuel Abulafia from Zaragoza, Spain, (1240-1291). Basicly Sofrito is a water based pot roast of meat onions, potatoes and carrots, which is exactly what we got, dissected to its separate ingredients, with each and every one of the products keeping the essence of its role and aroma of the original dish (very clever idea of culinary deconstruction). Deconstruction in cooking, also known as “destructured” cooking, was introduced to cooking in the early nineties by the Spanish chef Ferran Adrià, who produced his restaurant El Bulli dishes that were physically unlike the originals but with all their combined flavors preserved, and that’s exactly what we got here, I love and know real traditional Sofrito BRAVO!

lobster                  IMG_5584

Roasted Mediterranean Slipper Lobster

Tarragon butter, young Autumn Vegetables, morilles- mushrooms, black truffles, white butter sauce, pea cream tortellini and poppy seeds patissière.

800px-Scyllarides_latusLocal slipper Lobsters called Seegals by local fisherman along the warm eastern Mediterranean shores. Slipper Lobster is an “ugly little fellla” with the best tasting meat of all known Lobsters in my mind. Despite being “called” lobsters, they are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to the clawless decapods: spiny lobsters and furry lobsters; they have NO front large claws like lobsters, (just ten legs).

The crunchy fresh vegetables, and the cream of green peas tortellini swimming in the butter sauce, pull the dish to the delicate, sweet side which goes very well with the morilles. I take the opportunity to sip on the last drops of the champagne, a perfect match for this dish.

We brought in along in case the 1970 Gruaud will be faulty, but on our 4th hour around the table and with our final “main” dish we could not resist opening the St. Joseph at hand. We opt to open our 100% Syrah (extra, spare bottle of red wine):

IMG_5590La Dame Brune 2001 Domaine George Vernay Saint Joseph. It turned to be an impressively intense, clean and pure wine with lots of intense raspberries aroma, a touch of pepper and a hint of tar and creosote finished by exotic candied violet touch. It was fresh and crisp and luckily did not lean towards the usual “sweet” finish, reminding more it’s neighboring Crozes Hermitage and Cote Rotie wines. The St. Joseph region gained its AOC only in 1956. It was a small appellation covering less than 100 hectares, nowadays the potential size of the appellation is around 3000 hectares.

IMG_5596IMG_5592IMG_5593

Sirloin of Lamb

Dusted in onions ash, green Fava beans, crispy leaves of Malva, crispy crushed wheat, roulade of roast potato with Gruyère patissière thyme and sage, red wine sauce.

Malva leaves or Marsh mellow, from the Okra family are edible leaves used extensively by Bedouins and in Egyptian dishes. The meat is tender and juicy going well with our “dark haired lady” (La Dame Brune), the crispy leaves kept their shape to perfection following the dehydration and light frying process (reminded me of what the London Soho Chinese restaurant call “fried seaweed”) their light touch on the palate while crunching is appealing and the other ingredients (apart from the slightly heavy roulade) complement the main ingredient of the dish nicely.

To break down the intense flavours of the meat dish we are served a mouth cleanser with a twist:

IMG_5597Lavender Panna cotta

Lime Sorbet, brioche croutons, rice crisps, frozen light yoghurt and lemon marshmallow.

 A frozen dish that only when melted in your mouth reassembles to become a Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) with the croutons resembling crunchy light Biscotti, the lime sorbet and frozen yoghurt adds a much needed refreshing touch on the palate a perfect mouth cleanser.

Our two deserts arrived at the table together

choctate       desert 1

Valrona Chocolate pastry,

 Financier of wild AMARENA Cherries, mouse of nougat and hazelnuts, crumble of pumpkin and nuts, almond crisp tuile biscuits, caramel ice cream.

      IMG_5600puff

Carrot Puff

Crispy buckwheat, plain yoghurt mouse, fresh herbs, honey and sage ice-cream, pumpkin marmalade and sugared carrots.

Both where exquisite to look at and very light with each ingredient (there are lots!) rightly balanced and measured (even the chocolate mangery was melting into the mouth without the overpowering heaviness that can be associated with fondant style deserts)

The carrot puff was a pleasant surprise, (I do not like carrot based cakes usually) but the light feel and delicate touch of the carrot was impressive. Two great deserts to sum up a meal that equals and even surpasses some great meals I had at times in great restaurants around the world, the easy pace and wonderful service, the inside each dish and within the whole menu was impressive.

AdoniI was DARED, Meir Adoni won the dare! This was a meal to remember, of excellent quality and most importantly GREAT FUN.

We sipped the last drops of wine with the restaurant stuff  sampling all the wines we brought, our Joy was complete as we parted the restaurant almost five hours after we started, the pace of the dinner and the “touch of culinary genius” (YES), that came out of the kitchen onto our plates was heartwarming and most importantly perfectly measured (we were not stuffed to our necks).

Thanks to all at CATIT,  we shall meet again soon.

Catit Restaurant : 4 Heichal Ha- Talmud St, Tel Aviv Phone 03 510-7001

Your WINEGUIDE

A Meal at Catit Restaurant Tel-Aviv Israel (Part 1)

A story of a DARE
It is not often that a GREAT chef DARES me to sample his new menu at his Restaurant. Well… one of the most talented chefs in Israel Meir Adoni of CATIT Restaurant in Tel-Aviv, did just that! He dared me to put his “cooking creations” to “contest” against any other meals I had with renowned chefs around the world. (2-3 Michelin star restaurants) and he knows the restaurants I visited lately.
For me it was a win win situation. The deal was give me 5 hours of your time and Just 60% of the cost of a GREAT meal abroad, (wines not included) for me and one or two other experienced diners of my choice. We bring the wines, (we’re good at that…), and come with open minds, allow ourselves to immerse unconditionally into his world. Between us I could not have been Happier
Now, I know this young, talented guy, Meir ADONI, (almost since he first opened his first restaurant outside Tel-Aviv in Kfar Ruth and later in the astonishing Allenby Farm House at Kibbutz Netzer Sireni, what a great venue! (unfortunately for him not at the center of things). That day I dined at his place with amazement he was an eager youngling, with lots of ideas circling in his culinary mind, at times overdoing content and dish size, but the talent and sparkle was there from day one, we all mature to excellence, the hard way…
The man who cooked at the house where the british headquarters and personal residence of General Edmund Henry Allenby, the British General and administrator, Alenby, who led the Egyptian Expeditionary Force during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the British conquest of Palestine and Syria in 1917 and 1918, during the First World War, The man who “freed” Jerusalem from 400 years of Ottoman rule, a great friend and commander of T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia” one of my favorite characters). As Lawrence wrote in his book seven pillars of wisdom, an autobiographical account of his experiences of British soldier:
I loved you, so I drew these tides of men into my hands
And wrote my will across the sky and stars
To earn you freedom, the seven pillared worthy house,
That your eyes might be shining for me when I came
So does Meir Adoni who started cooking at General Alenby’s headquarters, preparing his tour de (culinary) force, his very own seven pillars of culinary wisdom, for me personally I must say I was flattered.
To sum it up we did get a virtuoso culinary experience on the day the first Palestinian Rockets fell on Tel-Aviv (9/11/12), a meal that allowed us to forget all the worldly follies of human deeds such as war, death and destruction and allowed us 5 hours of calm bliss with a rare combination of our 5 senses, mainly smell and taste, in balanced aroma’s, visually exquisite artistic presentation to touch the realm of all our senses in each and every dish from start to finish. It certainly was an impressive expression of Chef Adoni’s passion, to food and culinary excellence.
The wines we brought :
Pierre Gimonnet, Fleuron 1996 1er Cru Champagne
Sauvignon Blanc (Morillon) – Zieregg – Manfred Tement Austria
GRUAUD LAROSE St. Julien Bordeaux1970
La Dame Brune 2001 Domaine George Vernay Saint Joseph

The Meal:
The champagne Pierre Gimonnet, Fleuron 1996, was opened all dressed in a lovely straw yellow colour, leaning towards gold with nice stream of elegant delicate bubbles, this maturing excellent wine is full of notes of a mature champagne aromas of compote of apricots and golden apples, with a touch of roasted almonds and a nice tone of yeast bouquet (the alluring side of a great champagne), still refreshing with a good balance between fruit and acidity, it turned out to be a most suitable wine for the meal that lies ahead…


1. Gillardeau oyster.
Grean Apples, celery, cuecumbers, Tapioca pearles Jus of parsly and Youzo
One fresh oyster laid gently in a jus of parsley and Youzo with small cubes of green crunchy vegetables and fruit, the scent of greens balance by the acidity of the Youzo compliment the fresh oyster (with its juices) and a decoration of Tapioca pearls, a dish fit as a start to a regal meal.
Gillardeau oysters are a brand of edible oysters that are produced by the Gillardeau family founded in 1898 in Bourcefranc-le-Chapus near La Rochelle and the Île d’Oléron in western France
Tapioca is a starch extracted from cassava. This species is native to Brazil. The term “tapioca” is used to represent the root of the cassava plant, rather than the starch
The pearls must be soaked well before cooking, to rehydrate them; they will easily absorb water equal to twice their volume, becoming leathery and swollen.

2. Triptych of seafood
An eggshell filled with Blue Crab flesh, spinach, white almonds, quails yolk and shrimp butter, “Cromesquis” of Langoustine Bisque, Toasted brioche with shrimp butter.
This is a triptych of delightful bites of seafood first the content of the eggshell delicate comes to life upon crunching on a bleached Almond every once in a while the combi of quails yolk and spinach is precisely balanced with the freshly steamed crab flesh, the Kormosky is a crunchy ball / truffle filled with creamy langoustine bisque that bursts through the “shell” as you bite on it, very clever and perfectly performed langouste doughnut, the toasted brioche (slightly scented with truffle oil) can be eaten on its own or used to dip into the eggshell to wipe off the remains of the dish excellent!

              
3. Sashimi of Amberjack
Amberjack (Intias) dusted in Nori seaweed, Ginger cream, Youzo aioli, a Jelly of honey and horseradish, yoghurt parfait, Horseradish Granita, and herbal vinaigrette.
The combination of the fresh sashimi and the perfect horseradish granite, is just right the other bits and bobs add to the presentation and the wider scope of flavours but is not essential.
Granita is a semi-frozen Sicilian rough sorbet of sorts, it is coarse, and has crystalline texture. It is made from water and fresh horseradish juice and grated flakes and maybe an added secret dairy ingredient, I guess…)
Amberjacks are voracious predators, which feed on squid, fish, and crustaceans in the mediterainian the smaller, lesser Amberjack (up to 5 Kg are more common than the Atlantic Greater Amberjack, one of the best fish for Sashimi in our waters.

                 
4. Steak Tartar
Tartar of “skirt”/Onglet, Cognac, shallots radishes lightly cured Mediterranean anchovy Dashi cream and smoked egg yolk.
A delicate version of steak tartar from the diaphragm of the steer Though rough in texture, adding a nice sense of touch on the palate, it is smooth and precisely spiced with a nice balance between the elements (meat and fish), served with the smoked yolk in the “traditional tartar manner” with the Dashi opening the Umami touch on the tongue’s taste buds (nice touch).
Dashi is a simple broth or fish stock, shaved Katsuobushi and dried kelp – kombu – it forms the basis of many soups (such as miso) in Japanese cuisine. The element of umami, considered one of the five basic tastes is introduced into dashi from the use of katsuobushi, due to it’s especially high in sodium inosinate (MSG) content, the source of umami taste.

                               

5. “Caprese sea”
Carpaccio of scallops, sliced “Tamar” Tomatoes, Basil leaves, on a bed of white eggplant cream, Kalamata Olive Tapenade, grilled crystal mediterainian shrimp, basil oil and fresh oregano
Caprese (salad in the style of the island of Capri) is a simple salad from the Italian region of Campania, made of sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil.
Here the mozzarella is substituted very ingeniously with slices / Carpaccio of tender, sweet scallops, sandwiched between the traditional slices of fresh tomatoes and a basil leaf in a light green sauce reminding the parsley jus but without the Youzo , basil oil and fresh oregano add the Italian touch to the dish which is light and delicious in every bite, the eggplant cream is so delicate it adds mainly to the touch and dissolves in the final spicing which works well enough on its own. (Another thumbs up!)

           

6. “Sea and Citrus”
Lobster, Calamari, scallops and mussels steamed in olive oil, Fennel cream, on a bed of organic rice (risotto) in youso, Liquorish coulis, confit of mandarins, orange slices mandarin and saffron vinaigrette
All seafood ingredients are prepared to perfection, with meticulous cooking time, a real whiff of citrus smell is combined into the flavour of the dish that brings out the best of both ingredients with an admirable balance between the seafood and the citrus, there is no overpowering of any product over the other. The clear orangy colour of the mandarins oranges and saffron sauce is so alluring and the light touch of the prep and presentation is compelling (envy me! You should!)
The next 7 dishes offered to us on this occasion in the next post very soon, why not extend the joy we had a little longer…
This is becoming a wonderful experience to be added to the list of the best of the rest (Thank god I have more than a few).
Until next week with humble thanks to Yonathan Dannon and the entire Catit team.

Catit Restaurant : 4 Heichal Ha- Talmud St, Tel Aviv Phone 03 510-7001

Your WINEGUIDE

Shaul Evron 1944-2012, Sweet Dreams my friend

                             

The story of the man who did not try to cheat the Angel of Death and finally succeeded

My very dear friend Shaul Evron, the undisputed center pillar of Israeli wine and culinary scene, died an untimely and unnecessary death last week  following an accident 15 days ago, what a waste!

Vintners and winemakers of Bourgogne from Chablis in the north, all the way south to the Rhone, be ware, there will be a sharp fall in demand for your products. A great Bourgogne wine consumer, wine lover and expert have deceased.

We take our close friends for granted and when they go, a great void opens within us. Shaul is just gone and I already miss him. But memories are such a great consolation, they give us comfort at times of need and in times of grief and this is just one of these occasions.

For everyone in the small community of wine and food professionals in Israel He was the Grand Priest, a legend…  the man, Shaul Evron, was a great culinary and wine sage,  For me, he was a good friend, from whom I have learned and whose company I enjoyed since the early 1990’s.

His taste was so sharp that even the slightest of hint of sweetness in a wine was thumbs down for him, he shied when people used to commend his accuracy in tasting mainly because he knew his likes and dislikes, he could dislike a “great wine” just because it was not within his taste scope: “It’s a good wine but I do not like it”. He did not give a damn to label or pedigree beyond the cork. When his sharp taste detects a hint of corkiness, in a great bottle just opened he would rarely try to “taste it beyond the fault” and get to the bottom of what is “on paper” a great wine. At times after half an hour of breathing as the wine fault evaporated he would taste the wine again, a rare occasion!

He used to call me at times saying: “we just got this amazing Calf, if you pass by Yoezer we’ll have some stuff prepared for us from the best cuts plus some inner organs (brain, sweetbreads, liver, kidneys)” sometimes I would and at time I would regret missing the expression of joy from a good cut of meat in his eyes, if I could not make it. What a unique and enviable expressiopn.

Maybe the fact that he used to rinse his mouth (at the dentist’s – me), not with water god forbid, but with Perrier can shed a light on his peculiar but thoughtful actions . He used to bring a bottle with him, to the practice, each time he would come for an appointment. This may sharpen your understanding of his ways, which basically were Shaul’s way! S. Pellegrinno or Plain Water will JUST NOT DO!!!!!!!!

Being the owner of one of THE best restaurants “around”, Yoezer (my favorite Bistro in Israel https://wine4soul.com/2012/08/30/meat-of-lust-eating-in-yoezer-wine-bar ), he followed a dream to have his very own Bistro in 1995, (it is a cave in Old Jaffa) arranged to his very own taste, along the way and from day one his old friend from primary school days, Zipora decided to get on with him on a personal rollercoaster car, the most unlikely partnerships that worked for 17 years.

Yoezer Wine Bar offers a wide variety of wines, all chosen personally by Shaul and Shlomit (Sommelier, Maitre D. and personal care taker), with an emphasis on the wines of Bourgogne, Shauls Favorites.

Yes he was a conservative Pinot Noir / Chardonnay kind of guy; he loved wine-dungeons and bars, a lonely guy with hundreds of “friends”, he had no family but they were “all his sons”, a lone wolf at the head of a wine guzzling pack.

He loved French cheeses I think his favorite was Époisses de Bourgogne, from the village Époisses, in Côte-d’Or. Commonly referred to as Époisses, it is a pungent unpasteurized cows-milk cheese, washed daily in marc de Bourgogne until ripened.

He used to say that I am a “wine necrophiliac”, I like wine corps (too old) and I say he was a wine pedophile (He loves them young), I think he just could not resist his urge to taste a wine even when it is too young to enjoy (for me). But through the years we’ve managed to prove each other wrong on many occasions.

He liked to feel the harsh kick of wine, the storm of fresh tannins and took them in as if they were all rounded and smooth.

He was an excellent journalist and excelled in food writing, this short tale describes it all, in his very own words: “When I got to Paris once, I tried a 1983 Echezeaux at La tour D’argent it was harsh (trop dur as the French say) but beautiful, exactly the way I like them, so when I got a table for lunch at L’Ambroisie, the “grande dame” of Haute Cuisine, “discreetly situated” on the Place des Vosges (9 Place des Vosges, 75004 Paris, Phone: 01 42 78 51 45), which was then freshly awarded its third Michelin star, I have ordered the 83 Echezeaux  The house sommelier said as expected: “trop dur” (too harsh) I told him: “no I don’t care”. He said that he could give me the 1984 Grand Echezeaux, which is ready for drinking, for the same price or something like that. I said to him: “Don’t like 84” he said to me: “Try it, what do you care, if you won’t like it, we will replace the wine, he opened a bottle for me, I tasted, I didn’t like it, I gave it back, I took the-83 “, it was ‘hash’ but again, sublime. A Japanese couple sitting at the next table pointed at my bottle when they were asked to choose a wine he tried his “Trop dur” exercise on them as well to no avail “. Shaul always knew what he wanted, his choice was hard to sway (I am sure he enjoyed that bottle more than the Japanese couple…)

At Yoezer, the Bar and kitchen stuff hold his culinary and wine views and understanding  in such reverence and respect, that it feels they cook to please him personally with each dish that comes out of the kitchen, and we the diners are benefited by getting almost always the best according to Shaul, what more can one expect from a meal?

                                           

Our memorable wines together are numerous, they all started in my garden whilst photographing a BBQ article I was co writing for the food Magazine CHEF (April 1994) with the late Cheni Farber (a food writer and talented chef) we prepared a FEAST for the article photo shoot, a huge meal just for the magazine photographer, but there was tons of great food and I invited a friend to help with the consumption of the fare, who brought a friend with him, SHAUL. We spent a lovely spring afternoon on the lawn eating and drinking, drinking and eating, having a wine cellar at home was a novelty those days but I was fairly fresh from 10 years in London and the cellar was full of gems and surprises rarely seen in Israel, but the bottle that opened the door to his heart and started our friendship was a perfect Champagne 1978 Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Rose. With almost perfect score of 19.5 from my wine mentor and teacher, Jancis Robinson. Never mind the score that wine which would “melt” anyone’s heart, initiated a friendship that lasted 18 years (aren’t we getting old?), that was my first intimate meeting with Shaul and “the beginning of a beautiful friendship”

Other Champagnes that come to my mind:

 1989 Heidsieck Monopole Diamant Bleu, with its roasted hazelnut and wet mushrooms aroma and a perfect balance between acidity & fruit.

1995 Bollinger Grande Annee , so open, expressive, and forceful in character that these qualities carry through onto the palate where there are notes of honey, brazil nuts and dried mushrooms, even hints of truffles and caramelized dried orange peel.

Many 1990 Bollinger Grande Annee  (one of my Favorite years) with its mature aromas, of roasted almonds, toffee, even creamed coffee with burnt caramel or honey, than wet mushrooms (it’s the alluring “rotting” mushrooms aroma which is so compeling to both of us)

Many Bourgogne whites, he did not like Meursault and preferred Montrachet especially Chassagne-Montrachet, 1996 and 1990’s

Bourgogne reds – Aloxe Corton and Corton these Grand crus have to mature at least 10 years he would drink and enjoy them young (Trop dur), 1983 Echezeaux a year you could hardly get your hands on…Vougeot and Vougeot Premier Cru, The wine around Vosne Romanée with its grands crus such as Grands-Echezeaux and Richebourg which make of Vosne Romanée terroirs the best of Burgundy red wines. (he had an expensive taste, and was generous sharing with others.

Red Bordeaux – He did not like bordeaux’s as a general rule still I can recall several moments of success (a great challenge when you open a bottle of good Bordeaux for Shaul) not only it has to be excellent it must NOT have any traces of “sweetness” hint (even oaky vanilla touch would make a great wine too “sweet” for him), but a bottle Chateau La Mission Haut Brion (Graves) 1976 melted us both after opening 5 bottles of other great bordeaux’s one night between the two of us until I was successful in getting the satisfaction glitter in his eyes and the certain verbal expression concerning the wine to put me at ease regarding my guests satisfaction.

Without a doubt the most memorable and the very last bottle of the case was the near perfect 1982 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses Domaine G. Roumier. A reference 1982 great by any standard. I’m so happy we had that last bottle together just between the two of us, we squeezed the very last drop from that bottle with unsurpassed JOY.

Shaul had an enormous heart and even greater stomach capacity he could eat a bull for lunch and have a full dinner a few hours later, he would drink alcoholic drinks from spirits to his favorite wines from dawn to dawn (not dusk) without ever becoming obnoxious or behave as if under the influence, as a matter of fact he quit resented people around him who did…

He was an Olympiad of wine and food with no match (that I know of, and I know some serious drinkers), I guess he believed his body could take any such sort of abuse forever, he never had regrets or remorse regarding the accumulating effect of such abuse to his health and went on as if there is no tomorrow. But tomorrow came yesterday and left him defenseless, but I guess he “greeted” the angel of death as an old friend and equal not with fear or regrets.  We had a “sort of” WAKE in his memory at Yoezer, after the funeral. A wake is a ceremony that takes place in the house of the deceased (and Yoezer was his home), it is often a social rite which highlights the idea that the loss is one of a group: friends or family and affects that group as a whole. All the chefs and restaurateurs of the land came to pay respect each with his own memories of Shaul, we all raised a glass maybe in his memory but mainly to console ourselves. We humans are such a selfish breed…I guess Shaul would have done the same. Farewell dear friend and thanks for the memories, they last forever.

Naama Abramovitz, Shaul’s ex wife and best friend to the very last day (she knew him best I think) said that everyone talks about Shaul in relation to wine and food but: “his greatness were words, (his expression ability to write or converse or convey), we all learned to write and speak in Shaul’s language which was extremely personal, most of us eat drink and speak in Shaul’s tongue”. I guess she’s right, what an excellent teacher we had!

Maoz Alonim owner of the BASTA (Bisrto in tel-Aviv main Fuit & Veg. market – Shuk HaCarmel said:  “Shaul, in your way, you taught us to aspire for the better things, Thanks”

                                            

Shaul is gone the legacy goes on, Yoezer is open for business as usual with enough good people, Zipora, Shlomit and Ben to carry on his aspirations and vision. The bar is certainly orphaned without Shaul in his usual left corner spot but his spirit is there and will continue for the foreseeable future and beyond.

Yo’ezer Wine Bar / Bistro  ( Yo’ezer Ish Habira 2 Jaffa) Tel:   03-683-9115

Sweet dreams my friend, missing you, Amir

The WINEGUIDE

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Vision, anatomy and physiology of wine tasting – Part 1

 Symphony of senses – Sight – sense 1 in wine tasting

Symphony of the senses (as started in the “cranial nerves and wine” post)

https://wine4soul.com/2012/05/11/symphony-of-senses  continues. This time not by order of the cranial nerves (from 1-12), but rather by the way we approach wine.

Appearance is in the eyes of the wine beholder.

The first thing we see when we approach wine, is a bottle it has a shape and color which already holds a few general clues, down the puzzle road of solving a wine’s origin before sniffing or even tasting the content.

                                                                                                     

 Once we open the bottle and pour wine into a glass, the fun part begins!

The amazing connection within our brain between outer sense receptors, sense organs, nerves leading to and from our brain. Either by direct stimuli: sound, sight, smell, taste and touch, or by pure brain interpretation, imagination and a game of associations, meaning that we do not really see everything that our brain says we “see” but rather interpret parts of vision to a picture which is an accumulation of actual vision on one hand and our “experience” or memory of objects, on the other.

The visual cortex in our brain is organized into primary and secondary regions, in each occipital lobe (at the very lower back of the skull). Direct visual signals are directed into the primary cortex, which is located in that (occipital) region. The fovea part of the eye, (the region of the retina with the highest visual components), sends signals directly into the primary cortex, where general concept of vision is initiated.

The secondary visual cortex receives later signals, they are transmitted to these areas for analysis with respect to, shape, depth of field and motion.. Different regions of the secondary cortex are responsible for different types of classification and analysis; and depending on the “conclusion” of the brain, vision is personally perceived.

Yes each one of us has a slightly different perception of the same object in shape, color, depth and clarity and different ways of expressing them in term of describing what we see to a third party.Sensory interpretation and verbal description of sensation is extremely personal. In fact, almost all higher order features of vision are influenced by expectations based on past experience and memory. This characteristic extends to color and form perception, leading to recognition of objects. Our brain awareness facilitates the ability to see or respond to what we see almost instantly.

The Game of looking at wine

Hold the wine glass by the stem or base and not the neck or the bowl. Start by holding the glass toward a light source or a white background and tilt it around at an angle.

When looking at wine, we look for three main characteristics: color, depth and clarity

In wine we will see different shades and hues of Reds Yellows or Pinks, (in red white or rose’ wines), these may appear either diluted or deep, they may appear radiant or dull, even cloudy or hazy, all of these are indicative of the wine age and quality and will be discussed later in details.

For now, in general, when we look at red wines for instance, a brilliant red color usually indicates a wine in its prime, a purplish hue may indicate a very young wine and a brown hue may indicate that a wine is slightly oxidized or been lying down for quite a while, or even past its prime.

Isaac Newton, in his theory of color, observed that color is not inherent inside objects, but rather, the surface of an object reflects some colors and absorbs all the others. We perceive only the reflected colors. So, red is not “inside” the liquid of red wine. It is the surface of the wine that reflects the wavelengths we see as red and absorbing all the rest. (An object appears white when it reflects all wavelengths and black when it absorbs them all.)

Cranial Nerves associated with wine tasting

Our first encounter with wine is through the sense of sight.

Cranial Nerve II – The Optic nerve is a pure sensory nerve which supplies the photoreceptor cell of the retina at the back of the eye ball, basically it allows us to see shapes, colors, hues, clarity and depth, all perceived through the eyes (as far as the wine in the glass goes). You will also be able to see the bottle, shape and color, the label with all the information regarding the wine, region, even sub region, pedigree, wine maker, vintage year etc. You can “scan” your company and the surrounding of your wine experience. Sight gives us only certain clues regarding the wine before us they are mainly initial clues regarding the wine’s condition, age, freshness (according to the grape variety), some of these “clues” will have to be reassessed in combination with the other senses smell, taste and touch.

In order to see sideways, up or down, you need to “use” another 3 of the cranial nerves which are pure Motor nerves they initiate voluntary movement of the eye and lids. Cranial nerves III, IV and VI, which together, control the six muscles of the eye, the eyeball and eye lid movement.

Together these 4 (out of 12 Cranial nerves) facilitate vision.

 Seeing is believing, the neurophysiology of Vision

Cranial nerve II: Optic nerve

The optic nerve is composed of axons of the ganglion cells in the eye. It carries visual information to the brain. This is a pure sensory nerve fiber. This nerve travels from the back of the eye ball, entering the brain through the orbit at a small “hole” (the optic canal) in the skull bone. The 2 Optic nerves one for each eye, meet & cross each other to form the optic chiasm. (Right eye vision is partially perceived on the left side of the brain and vice versa.  The brain does not receive signals from each eye unilaterally. Half of each optical field is directed to the opposite part of the brain. This occurs when the bundled fibers of the optic nerves meet and cross at the optic chiasm (cross road), located just a few centimeters inside the brain. It runs to the vision center of the brain – the Visual Cortex, here, information is interpreted and true vision is formed.

The eye is the sense organ with all its part Cornea Lens Iris Retina and behind them specialty receptors sending chemical and electrical signals to the brain for interpretation through a pipe called the Optic nerve.

Cranial nerve III: Oculomotor nerve

The Oculomotor nerve is composed of motor axons. This is a pure motor nerve. It provides somatic motor innervations to four of the eye muscles which allow movement of the eyeball. It also innervates the muscles of the upper eyelid and the inner eye muscles that control the amount of light that enters through the pupil. (The pupillary eye muscles)

Cranial nerve IV: Trochlear nerve

The Trochlear nerve provides somatic motor innervations to one of the upper eye muscles it controls the downwards and sideways movement of eyeball, helps you see where your wine glass before you pick it up or alas spill the above wines (and many others) on the white table cloth!!. It is also a pure motor nerve fiber.

Cranial nerve VI: Abducens nerve

The Abducens nerve carries somatic motor innervations to one of the outer eye muscles, it controls the eyes side movement, careful who’s sitting next to you, who sneaks a hand towards you glass during conversation with the person next to you!!! It is another pure motor nerve fiber.

 The anatomy of the eye

                                           

The Cornea: The cornea is a round, transparent dome that acts as the outer window of the eye. It is the structure that focuses the light that enters the eye. It comprises five parts. All the parts work together to protect the eye and help in the proper working of the cornea as a whole.

The Lens: The lens is that part of the human eye that is located immediately behind the iris. It is transparent, elastic and crystalline. Its role is to focus the light and move towards the retina.

The Iris: The colored part of the eye is known as iris. It is present in the eye in the form of a thin diaphragm. The iris lies between the cornea and the crystalline lens. The color is due to the presence of a pigment. It is the iris that gives your eyes a particular color. The basic iris colors are blue, green and brown. Majority of humans have varying shades of these colors. It is composed of connective tissues and smooth muscle fibers. The composition of the iris enables it to dilate or contract the pupil, which in turn controls the amount of light that falls on the retina.

The Pupil: The hole in the center of the eye through which the light passes, is called the pupil. The pupil gets bigger and smaller depending on the amount of light falling on the eye.

The Sclera: The sclera is the whitish, opaque part of the eye, which is connected to the cornea. Its role is to provide protection and meet the purpose of attachment for the muscles that enables eye to move.

The Vitreous Humor: It is the jelly like substance that is present within the interior chamber behind the lens. It is that part of the human eye whose role is to provide pressure inside the eye and keep it inflated

The Retina: The retina is the innermost layer of the eye. It consists of nerve tissue that senses the light entering the eye. Its function is to send impulses through the optic nerve back to the brain, where it gets translated into the images that we see. There are four types of light-sensitive receptors present in the retina.. The retina is considered to be part of the brain itself, it is covered by millions of light-sensitive cells, some shaped like rods and some like cones. These receptors process the light into nerve impulses and pass them along to the cortex of the brain via the optic nerve.

The Fovea: The Fovea is a part of the eye, located in the center of the macula region of the retina. The fovea is responsible for sharp vision which is necessary when visual details are most important.

The Optic Nerve: The continuation of the axons of the ganglion cells in the retina is known as the optic nerve. It connects the eye with the brain. The optic nerve emerges from the back of the eye, travels through the skull and stops inside the skull bone, and ends up at the back of the brain. This part of the brain is known as visual cortex. It is responsible for receiving information from the eyes and interpreting it.

Now we can see, next post I’ll try to figure out how we can actually see, what we see and why????????????

YOUR WINEGUIDE

some images from http://www.positscience.com/brain-resources/image-gallery/vision-images

Wine Cellars, Part 2 – The Big Boys

After my intro with two modest private wine cellars from the previous post, a visit with the big guns.  My three top wine cellars around the world. One from Paris France, the other in London, England and the last one representing The Americas a wine cellar in the Bahamas with close ties to Italy (the owner’s Homeland)

 E’videmment we start with Good old PARIS

La Tour D’argent cellar

The wine cellar at La Tour D’argent, is one of the most extensive wine cellars in the world. The wine cellar lies beneath La Tour d’Argent Restaurant and has a special lift leading to it from the restaurant’s ground floor where you will meet “the gate keeper” he has got the keys that allows the lucky few to travel and enter the most historic and celebrated wine cellar in Paris, with treasures of unsurpassed quality and variety. It stores around 450,000 bottles of wines and spirits dating back more than two centuries. According to stories, most of the bottles were saved by Claude Terrail (the present owner’s father, whose family still owns the restaurant) from the German occupation during World War 2. Legend has it that on the night of June 14, 1940  the day the Germans entered Paris, he personally walled off (brick and plaster) part of the cellars keeping the lesser wines in sight for all to see, and most of the better wines hidden behind the newly built walls and the wine loaded on the rearranged shelves. I believe this is a true story since those greedy guzzling thieving Nazis would have surely consumed or confiscated/stolen the treasures of this legendary cellar.

The restaurant’s wine list is a heavy thick endlessly long book that lists thousands of the best wines of France each grouped perfectly by their origin / wine region and vintage year. The collection also includes Historic gems like a cognac from 1788, the year before the French Revolution, vertical collection of the Best Sauternes, Red Bordeaux’s the Best of Bourgogne both reds and whites all from estates that make wine “Properly”. The “name” of the estate is immaterial, it’s wines, made in a meticulous winemaking process, that is the pride of our cellar, says David Ridgway, the restaurant’s chief sommelier. Amongst the dusty bottles he continues are some distinctive wines which are well past their best, this is unfortunate since wines are meant to be DRUNK!

                    

You cannot select a wine from such a comprehensive list just by a quick glance at the list. Careful reading would literally take HOURS! It details a wine selection from the 18th and 19th centuries to date and is the best wine list I have had the chance to lay my eyes upon in France, or anywhere else in the world. If you look carefully you can also find inexpensive gems such as the 2 wines we chose for our Lunch (before visiting the cellar), but we had the chance and time to select the wines well in advance at Yair’s flat which lies one floor beneath the restaurant, how convenient! They were 1986 Domaine Francois Raveneau Butteaux, Chablis Premier Cru, a 25 year old Chablis with all the fruit and acidity to keep the wine afresh yet with complexity that has developed within the wine, to equal white wines from grand cru lots around Bourgogne in the south.

                        

The Red was:  1990 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Clos des Réas: Medium bodied brownish red, brick color, with notes of sweet red and black fruits, some sweet dried plums and figs and a wonderful earthy smell of wet mushrooms, still retaining nice acidity, vigor and a long finish. We were told it was the very last bottle of its kind in the cellar, mixed feelings from the sommelier of happiness for us a “sad” moment for a 21 year old chapter closed as the bottle was opened… Incidently I had The Quenelles de brochet “Andre’ Terrail” (Pike dumplings) baked (gratine’) in sauce Mornay, and grated cheese, fluffy light sublime. and the legendary Roasted Duckling for main course, The two Flag dishes of the restaurant.

The Clos des Réas is classified as a Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, and is a monopole of the Gros family, since the mid 90’s vinified and marketed by Domaine Michel Gros. The vineyard was acquired by one Alphonse Gros in 1860 and has stayed within the family ever since. Above it, up the slope is the Vosne-Romanée 1er Chaumes which itself touches on the even more ‘upslope’ 1er Cru vineyard of Malconsorts and Grand Cru La Tâche.

After our perfect Lunch with my good friend Yair Haidu (who lives one floor under the restaurant) arranges a tour for us in the cellar, and the photos speak for themselves.

                      

  La tour d’argent : 

Address: 15 Quai de la Tournelle, 75005 Paris, France
Phone: 01 43 54 23 31

Berry Bros. & Rudd Wine cellar

BBR are the oldest wine and spirit merchant in England, having traded from the same shop for over 300 years. The business was officially established in 1698 by the Widow Bourne at 3 St James’s Street in London, opposite St James’s Palace. At first the company was selling mainly overseas provisions: exotic spices, tea and coffee, around 1760 after entering the business of fines wines and quality Scotch whisky, Berrys are appointed ast suppliers of wine to the British Royal Family during the reign of King George III (1760-1820) and has continued to do so to the present day. The first Royal Warrant (seal) was awarded in 1903 by King Edward 7th and today they hold two Royal Warrants for H.M. The Queen and H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.

                                  

In addition to the Finest Reserves Room, hidden beneath Berry Bros. & Rudd’s historic wine shop are the Georgian vaulted cellars which date back over 300 years, and hold around 20,000 bottles of wine, Simon Berry believes there’s a passage, (now blocked by wine racks and plastered brick work), that leads from this room to St James’ Palace (southbound across the Mall).

The company holds in their wine cellars rare wines for sale and export.  Red Bordeaux wines, dating back to 1860, Tokaji Essencia dating from 1870 and later, fine wines and port and spirits dating back to the turn of the 19th century 1820 to date including all the “Important” Vintages of the 20th century of all existing wine, all tucked in behind iron gates to all the underground nooks and crannies.

Back in 1998, when I asked the Simon Berry direct descendent to the founders of the store, what are the special bottles he would select from the vast collection in the company cellars, he found it hard to answer, but gave me  two stories he believes would give a fitting image to his special and wise approach to his fine wine collection : ” I believe that in most cases, it is not the wine itself but rather the event and company for which a certain wine is opened. To celebrate our 300 Jubilee we invited for lunch eighty Chateaux Owners, with whom BBR had working relations relations for centuries, here at No. 3 St. James’s we served:

Chateau Langoa Barton Saint Julien 1982, Chateau Cos d’Estournel Saint Estephe  1970, Chateau Haut Brion Pessac Leognan  1961, and Porto Quinta do Noval Nacional.1954 (“the last 2 receiving prolonged applauses from the all attending”).

The second story Yesterday we invited for lunch one of our most veteran of Berry customer (since 1935) enabling us to give him the first wine ordeal from us In 1935, the Chateau Margaux 1926 we have it now only in half bottles, and  although the wine is already old and tired, it was still a great way to celebrate our long-lasting relations .

The building of the palace laid the foundations for the development of the entire area and by 1662 Henry Jermyn had begun his ambitious building programme, starting with St James’s Square. A small row of houses had been built along the eastern side of what is now St James’s Street and it was in number three that a lady we know as ‘the Widow Bourne’ lived. (from BBR site)

In 1698 the Widow Bourne she set up business at number three, buying the famous coffee scales and the mill – that are still in the shop today. There’s a leather bound book complete with records of customers’ weights spanning three centuries.

Someone once said that if you’re not included in the Scales book at BBR will not be included in the “Who’s Who”  list of the London society., Around 1760 William Pickering Jr. & John Clark’s (George Berry grandfather) offer their customers the “sublime experience ” Know Your weight,  the names and weight of each person is entered in a Registry which reveals  the names of visitors through the history of the century 18, 19, and the 20″ registered here kings and nobles from around Europe, the sons of King GEORGE The 3rd,  all relatives of Queen Victoria, Lord Byron, The architect, John NASH (who designed the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and Buckingham Palace & most of Regent Street), Lord Melbourne Prime Minister and personal friend of Queen Victoria, Lord Balfour, Anthony Eden, George Cruikshank the illustrator of Charles Dickens books, Louis Philippe, King of France after the revolution, Prince Louis Napoleon, theater and film stars such as Lawrence Olivier , Vivian Leigh, Michael Redgrave, Gertrude Lawrence and others.

 Berry Bros & Rudd: ADDRESS: 3 St James’s Street, St James’s, London SW1A 1EG. TELEPHONE: 0870 900 4300

Graycliff Hotel, Restaurant

Graycliff’s Wine Cellar is world renowned. The wine list has won the Wine Spectator’s best wine list, Grand Award since 1988. The wine cellar has an inventory of over 250,000 bottles of fine wine from 15 different countries.

    

The cellar is a fulfillment of Enrico Garzaroli (the owner) passion for wine and Cuban Cigars: “Over the years, my passion for fine wine has grown, and today, Graycliff’s cellar stores around 250,000 bottles, with 3,000 different wines from over 400 vintners and 15 countries”. the inventory ranges from such wines as an 1865 Château Lafite, to the oldest and a prize bottle of 1727 Rudesheimer Apostelwein from Bremen Ratskeller in the “Rheinghau” Region, to today’s most significant wines and vintages.

Graycliff’s wine list and cellar receives The Grand Award Restaurant Wine List since1988. This award is given to restaurants that show an uncompromising, passionate devotion to the quality of their wine list and inventory.

As we descend one flight of wooden stairs leading down to the basement, Enrico pulls out the key to the cellar, it is stuffed with wine cases from all over, from anywhere in the world Old and New, Europe Australia and the America’s. It is a 6,000 square foot labyrinth has of small rooms branching off the hallways piled high with unopened cases and shelves of wines from top to bottom.

There is a Vertical collection of most of Chateau D’Yquem wines from the 1875 vintage on to the present days. (A somehow “must” for a cellar of this caliber)

It was New Years Eve of 1996 as we sat down we were served a champagne cocktail made from 1976 Dom Perignon champagne and 50 years old cognac. On New year’s eve they stop at nothing to make this occasion / Bahamas Junkanoo a feast to remember. We take the 80 page wine list (it’s 125 pages long now) and sit by the pool to choose our wines. With list like that this is not an ordinary matter.

There are Chateau Latour 1911, Haut Brion 1924 50 vintages of Lafite, 1858 Chateau Gruaud Larose and others all at thousands of $ a bottle. We opted for white we chose the Francois Raveneau Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru 1976 which was so delicious and fresh at 20 years of age. The color is golden yellow, without its greenish hints of youth Refined nose with flavours of ripe peach and apricots, preserved lemon or orange peel and honey, with floral touch of lily and freesia  On the day, a wine of incomparable quality and finess. A great wine, perhaps the one most able to express what the terroir of Chablis really is.

The Foie gras came with a glass of Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 1975 which was a divine, Nectar of Botrytized honey and iced orange peel.

For red we took the affordable Chateau Talbot 1975 which had Light-medium garnet color with some tinges of brown. Nose of red and blackcurrants, and dried cherry aromas with hints of mushroom, earthy notes . ripe plum flavors on the palate with some earthy tones a hint of coffee and tobacco, the tannins rounded and well blended in the overall balance with enough acidity to express the fruits. (went extremely well with the saddle of Lamb)

To wrap it all up we celebrated the countdown to the new year with a glass of 1976 Dom Perignon champagne.

We did not go out for the Jankanoo (Local fancy dress Carnival) it came in to us and with it each and every guest was rolled on site his very own cigar different cigars and flavours for different guests, this certainly called for our very last lavish move we ordered Armagnac’s from 4 different Vintages 1896,1918,1928 1934 what a joy of smoothness and subtlety.

Thanks Enrico, the Garzaroli Family, Husdon Clarke, Willie Armstrong, and all at Graycliff.

Graycliff Hotel, Restaurant & Cigar Company  8-12 West Hill Street Nassau Bahamas  West Hill St, Nassau N 10246, Bahamas (242) 302-9150

The Wineguide

My Favorite Wine Cellars, Part 1 – Private Homes

A wine cellar is a storage room for bottled or barreled wine, in which some important factors for wine keeping such as temperature and humidity are maintained either naturally (underground) or by a climate control system.

Wine cellars protect wine bottles from potentially harmful external influences such as light, heat,dryness. Since wine is a beverage that can ultimately spoil, proper storage of wines, protects their quality and with certain wines will even improve their maturing stage adding tertiary aromas, flavors, and complexity as they continuously mature in the bottle.

Most wine bottles are tinted green because direct sunlight can react with the phenolic compounds (polyphenols) in wine and create “wine faults” mainly to color stability and in lowering their anti-oxidizing qualities.

        

Most underground European Wine Cellars keep temperature of between  7–14 °C with variations developing gradually during the hotter months.  Lower Temperature will slow down the evolving / aging process of the wine, it keeps wines fresher and fruitier for a longer time.  French wine caves and English wine cellars naturally maintain 60-70% relative humidity. Low humidity can be a problem because it may cause organic corks to dry prematurely causing either seepage from the bottle through the cork or oxidation due to lack of tight seal.

So if you are about to build yourself a wine cellar it must be DARK, COLD & HUMID (basically a dungeon).

If you follow these rules most wine cellars will look the same. Some wine cellars are more impressive than others, the kind that get stuck in your mind for a very long time, for ever!

Caves or winery cellars Like the Ruinart famous deep chalk cellars (called the crayeres) which were excavated by the Romans around 50BC, (considered a French archeological monument), or some of the old “Grandes Maisons de Champagne” with kilometers upon kilometers of chalk cave/cellars at a constant 11º C, serve their purpose by providing the best conditions for wine making and winery storage during production and maturation, these are not the wine cellars our post is concerned with (yet a virtual tour of the Ruinart cellars is on their internet site is a “must visit: http://www.ruinart.com, check it out (there’s also a wonderful free, I pad app version).

My three most impressive wine cellars contain wines from many different makers and wine regions, they are in fact Grand Libraries of the great wines of the world (some more than others).

My choice of wine cellars, of those I have personally visited or was guided through with the owner or Chef de cave are:

                   

La Tour D’argent cellar at the basement of the restaurant in 15 Quai de la Tournelle Paris, France, the Berry Bros. cellar, in 3 St. James’s street London and across the Ocean in the “Americas” The Graycliff Hotel, & Restaurant wine cellar in Nassau, Bahamas. These belong to large or well established groups or companies. All of these on the next “Post”, For now I prefer to start with two, more private cellars:

My own cellar, between us, I have a wine room (it used to be our bomb shelter which is obligatory to every house in Israel) but by definition because it is A. Underground and B. has more than 500 bottles it satisfies the wine cellar “definition”.

          

It had, has and will have GEMS of it’s own I know you like names so I will tell you what I do not have. You will not find a Petrus or any DRC’s, but you will find Great Bordeaux’s from amazing Vintage years 1970,79,82,83,85,86,88,90, and on… some single bottles cause I drink my wines, some full or half cases, Lovely Sauterns, spanning over almost 45 years (Yes I have D’yquem’s), but mainly Rieussec, and Suduiraut from the 70’s onwards, Excellent Vintage Ports from 1937 onwards (mainly super Vintages), some great Vouvrey, Vintage Champagnes from 1979 onwards, White and Red Bourgognes etc.  It is a live cellar wines flow in and out and it is always a great pleasure to open a great wine with a good company for a meal. Lets say my Cellar Book is much larger then the wines I have at any given moment, I have no regrets ONLY great memories!

The private cellar at the Galton House, just across the wall from Hampton Court Palace. The Palace of the Tudor Kings and queens, Built to House and feed the kings of England from around 1529-1760 including the Court of King Henry the 8th, with kitchens expected to provide meals for up to 600 people twice a day.

I had the privilege to visit my friend Lisa Galton at her dad’s house, her dad is by the way the legendry Ray Galton, scriptwriter and author (in collaboration with Alan Simpson) of Radio and TV shows such as Hancock’s Half Hour, (without a doubt amongst the finest examples of British comedy). But never mind that, for quite some time I have heard this guy, Ray, is into wine and has some fine collection of wines in his cellar. So when I finally got to visit them (with a very modest “offering” of the best available Israeli dessert wine).

        

I asked to see the wine cellar if possible, “be my guest, which cellar would you like to see?”  D’you have more than one? Yes one for whites and one for reds! Well I said: Both I guess… “Choose any bottle you like and let’s drink it…” I was lead down the stairs to a cellar quite large with 2 doors. One for the whites and then the Reds as you might have guessed, there was a musty smell in the air, the shelves around the walls were not full and in the center of the room a large heap of some wooden but mainly cardboard wine cases, partially rotting, hence the smell. Wines kept “pouring” in on a  yearly basis, from the merchants but there was no one to keep the order and spread them around in their rightful place, and so they were heaped in the center of the room. The lucky bottles on top were drunk occasionally, which left the older vintages right at the bottom. In the “white room” although most wines were from Bourgogne Premier and Grand Cru lots some have gone over their prime like the 1975 Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet JJ Vincent, I have chosen out of curiosity although I knew it was going to be problematic, from a mediocre vintage but a Grand Cru lot which usually transcends the general quality of the Vintage Year.

The Batard-Montrachet portion of the wine’s name is a reference to the illegitimate (bastard) son of a local lord Chevalier-Montrachet the lot’s owner. Bienvenue means ‘welcome’ as the site is a direct entry point to the Grand Cru vineyards from Puligny village The wine has mineral qualities, With the limestone reflecting heat and light back up to the vine the grapes reach optimal phenolic ripeness, making it the white wine with Red wine qualities making for slightly heavier, richer wines. It is lacking the more elegant fine qualities of wines from the Great Le Montrachet.  It was slightly over oxidized still with firm traces of minerality and black truffle aromas it was a perfect example to a wine that was great in it’s times and was fading away lacking the fruit and acidity leaving all the secondary and tertiary aromas locked in the bottle..

The Red room was at a better state since most wines came in wooden cases There you had some of the best of the rest from Bordeaux , the likes of Petrus Pavie etc. and some lesser known premier Crus reds from Bourgogne, all of which I yearned to taste but did not dare!

Now 10 years after I am told by Lisa: “We nearly finished all the whites, some good reds left..” I guess it’s time for a revisit…

You will be posted re: Galton House revisited in due course Till than

CHEERS

Your WINEGUIDE

World dumplings from Momos and Buuz, to Kreplach.

Dumplings from Genghis Khan to Ashkenaz…

Dumplings are made all over the world across borders, cultures, races religions and cuisines. As always when they are made properly they are a great delicacy, always with slight variations, mainly shape, spicing and filling products depending on availability and cost, meat or vegetables according to taste and belief. They are prepared either by steaming, cooking in broth or fried.

       

Dishes similar to the Momos of Nepal Tibet Bhutan and the Jewish Kreplach are the Buuz of Mongolia, Khinkali from Georgia and Azerbaijan, Bukharin dumplings Dush Pera , Korean Mandu, the German Maultasche, The Pelmeni & Pierogi in Russia, Italian  Ravioli, Tortellini, and  the Chinese Jiaozi, bāozi, Wontons or Mantı. Dumplings also come in a fried version: the Chinese Guotie, Japanese Gyoza, Kalduny and many others.

                 

It is Jewish new Year these days, and one of the traditional dishes for the new year is Kreplach (from Yiddish: קרעפּלעך kreplekh, krepl ) these are dumplings filled usually with ground meat, or mashed potatoes boiled and served in chicken soup. And as we said they are similar to all other dumplings. In many Jewish Ashkenazi homes, kreplach are served on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreplach (as defined in Wikipedia), Sephardic Jews prepare Kalsoness (cooked cheese dumplings for the festivities of Feast of Weeks, the word is derived from the Italian dish Calzone also prepared by Italian Sephardic Jews for the “Feast of weeks” (Shavuot) meal.

Dumplings from around the eastern hemisphere:

 The art of dumplings spans from from Japan (longitude 135.8337° E ) to Belgium (06.2273° E )

Dumplings originate in China as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) where eating dumplings, became a custom in the capital city of Chang’an (present-day Xi’an in Shaanxi Province). Jiaozi introduced by doctor Zhang Ji of East Han dynasty (2nd century) often regarded as the sage of Chinese medicine.. When he retired and witnessed the poor people fighting hard against the frizzing cold weather. He concocted a wrapped minced lamb meat, and pepper inside a small dough discs into a small ear shape dumpling, boiled them in water and distributed to people to keep them warm in winter till end of Chinese new year, the rest is history, people started to cook those dumplings throughout the year,and eating dumpling became a tradition during the Chinese new year. Later in Tang dynasty(10th century) and Song dynasty(12th century) also had similar dumpling in minced meat in moon shape.

Jiaozi (Chinese dumpling) is a traditional Chinese food—one of the most widely loved dishes in northern China. In ancient times, Jiaozi, whose shape looks like a horn, was called ‘Tiao” (meaning “horn”). It was also called “bianshi” (literally “flat food”) due to its flat shape The name “Jiaozi” derives from the ancient counting method in China.  The Chinese eat dumplings stuffed with meat or vegetables at the junction of the end of the old year and the beginning of the New Year; it is right between eleven pm and one am. Since this period is called Jiaozi (交子) in Chinese, the dumplings people eat during this time are named after it. Later it became Jiaozi (饺子), to indicate it is a kind of food.

The most elaborate piece of cookery in Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal is Momo. Momo’s are “Tibetan steamed dumplings” native to Tibet, Bhutan, and the Nepali part of the Himalayas with slight variations between them. (The Tibetan word momo is derived from the Chinese mómo.)

Momos are made with plain flour and water (unleavened dough) much like European dumplings, , in fact from every corner along the Silk Road from China through Uzbekistan, Russia, Caspian sea region, Black sea region, Georgia all the way to Germany in the north and Italy along the Mediterranean, in fact, countries all along the Mongols route of conquest, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mongol_Empire_map.gif) all have their own variation of Momo’s or plain dough dumplings. Did they all start with Marco Polo? Well, the Great Khan, Genghis Khan went almost all the way to Italy 50 years earlier…The Mongols, also have momos they call them Buuz and they are mainly filled with meat.

photo by Andrea NGUYEN

Usually dumplings fillings may be one of the several mixtures:

Meat: Different kinds of meat fillings are popular in different regions of Bhutan,  chicken, goat meat, buffalo meat, beef, and yak meat. Minced meat is combined with any or all of the following: Onions, Garlic, Chili, Ginger and Coriander.

Vegetables: Finely chopped cabbage, potato or Chayote (iskush) are used as fillings. (chayotes are widely planted for their shoots, known as lóng xü cài, literally “dragon-whisker vegetable”). Along with the young leaves, the shoot is a commonly consumed vegetable in the region.

Cheese: Usually fresh cheese or the traditional Churpi is used. The hard variety of  this  stone hard sour milk cheese, is common in upper Nepal, and Bhutan, chewed for hours very much like Betel nut (without the red stains on the teeth)!!!

Seafood: In china and Japan shredded shrimps and crab meat are also used as dumpling fillings

I have encountered momos in different parts of southeast Asia from china through Tibet and the north of India in Nepal and Bhutan and they are all the same in principle yet completely different in taste and filling varieties, and the serving method.

In Xian (China) the eastern gate to the the Silk Road, it is served steamed with a soup / broth on the side,  It is believed that eating dumplings on New Year’s Eve brings good luck and happiness. Furthermore, since the shape of dumplings is similar to that of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots, they are also believed to bring wealth if you have them that eve. Later, when people got married or gave birth to a child, they usually treated their guests with Chinese dumplings, which gradually become an essential ritual food for special occasions or during holidays in northern China. The Chinese dumpling consists of a wrapper and its fillings. There are two main kinds of dumplings: those with vegetable and those with meat filling. The latter include chicken, pork, beef and mutton, etc; whereas the former are Chinese cabbage, celery, Chinese leek, carrot and cucumber, etc. Seafood such as crab, shrimp and fish can also be used as fillings.

 When placing the raw dumplings in preparation for cooking, it is desirable to arrange them in a circle, symbolizing family reunion. When making dumplings for New Year’s Eve, people may hide a coin in one of the dumplings. The person who finds the coin at dinner will likely have good fortune in the New Year, (or just break a tooth).

When dumplings are boiled in water, cooks try their best not to break the skins or wrappers. If some are broken, it is best not to say so because it is not auspicious to say “broken” during the New Year season Chinese dumplings can be cooked in various ways boiled in water, and eaten together with mixed flavorings such as vinegar, garlic, sesames oil and light soy sauce or steamed in a steamer or flied or baked in a pan. In Henan and Shaanxi, people usually boil dumplings and noodles together, thus this food is also called “Ingots stringed with golden threads”, while in some provinces in northeastern China and Inner Mongolia, some people boil dumplings with pork and pickled vegetables in a pot, adding a special flavor to the dumplings.

           

Best dumplings  in China, for me were at Jiasan Guantang Baozi , in Xian.

Address: Bei Yuan Men 93, Xian, Shanxi Province Phone 029/8725-7507

The restaurant is located, inside the food market north of Drum Tower. This is still the most popular of the Jia Brothers’ restaurants, you’ll know you’re there when you see the endless queue of people in front the a blue arch with glittering lights over the entrance. Inside the walls covered with photographs of Xi’an notables — Writers, Musicians, Sportsmen etc.. The specialty dish is guantang baozi, of beef, lamb, or “three flavors” — lamb, mushroom, and prawn dumplings. Each dumpling somehow already contains steaming-hot soup inside, (let them cool before taking a bite) and comes with a side broth.

                                  

Most people come just for their dumpling portion which is served in steaming  hot in bamboo trays/baskets hipped on top of each other. It is inexpensive, fresh and tasty.

In Tibet and Tibetan villages in Northern India it is served mainly as a dumpling inside the soup, in Nepal it is served with hot chili broth poured over the dumplings, and in Bhutan served on its own with thick chili sauce as a side spice, In fact, in Bhutan, it seems that chilies are usually the vegetable of Bhutanese cuisine and not just an added spice to the food. In Bhutan you get momos with Chillies, Yak cheese and Ferns, these ferns are picked young when still tender and they taste like Asparagus, served as a veggie side dish.

                

In the Himalayan region Momo is served either on its own with chilly sauce on the side, or in a chilly meat soup/broth.  At best Momo’s come with hot sauce made of broth of yak bones and chilies and the aroma in the air that is floating down the market street is enchanting and irresistible. Momos are served everywhere, at street stalls as “fast food” and at the best restaurants.

       

In this region, my favorite Momo’s of all, where the Nepalese momos. Of those the ones I had in small establishment in the market of the small town of Bhaktapur, (near the potters market). Bhaktapur is one of 3 Royal cities in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal and considered a cultural gem, rich with a fascinating history and enchanting Architecture. There was this small “hole in the wall” with a long line of patient people awaiting their turn to enter the humble “shop” with just 2 tables that seat 6 people each. There is an “order” of entry you eat and go and the seat is immediately reclaimed by the next in line. Here they serve ONLY Yak’s meat momos with a biting chilly broth soup to die for. In fact it is the smell of the broth that spreads through the market that allured me to this small “shop”, and what a delight it was! Almost every 5 minutes a fresh tray of momos is carried down from the floor above the sitting place, up there, a group of 3-4 ladies make the dumplings to be freshly served. There is a short wait of about 5 minutes after the change of tray on the steamer, the demand is so high.

Tibet in Exile – in Mcleod Ganj near Daramsalla India, Tibetan dumplings are served cooked in soup or fried on their own usually filled with vegetables.

Dumplings in various filling and dough casings are served in Dim Sum meals, mainly for Lunch in “China Town” restaurants over the world.

        

For me, Yauatcha (a dim sum Michelin star, London Soho restaurant on 15 Broadwick Street  London, W1F 0DL, Tel: 020 7494 8888), is worth mentioning, here they serve a great variety of delicious dumplings from all over China. With a slight diversion from the dough dumplings of northern china along the Silk Road I have to mention one of my favorites Cheung Fun, this is a rolled variety of steamed rice roll or rice noodle roll, Cheung Fun, is a Cantonese dish from southern China and Hong Kong, commonly served as a variety of dim sum. It is a thin roll made from a “wide strip” of shahe fen (rice noodles), filled with shrimp, pork, beef, vegetables, or other ingredients. Served with plain, sweet or hot soy sauce poured over the dish upon serving. The rice noodle is also known as chee cheong fun. These are not “true dumplings” they are made of glutinous rice flour and water, but resemble the idea and are so delicious especially the Three Style Mushroom type.

For others (My friend Judy Chang) the “perfect” dumpling from the Michelin star shanghainese dumpling from DIN TAI FENG in Taipei

The Italian  Ravioli and Tortellini deserve a separate post (in the near future)

For Rosh Hashana meal (in my family), the Lady of the house always prepares Kreplach the Jewish version of Dumplings:

      

 My Grandmother’s recipe prepared by my Mum – Savta Aviva:

For the dough:

3 glasses plain flour (about 500-600 grams),  1/2 teaspoon of salt

50 grams of Margarine (to keep it Kosher),  1 glass boiling water,  1 egg

The Filling:

1.5 Kg of stewing beef (shoulder), 6 large Onions, 3 Carrots

2 cloves of Garlic, Salt, Pepper

Prep:

The dough:

Kneed 1 glass of flour and softened margarine, add the boiling water and mix thoroughly and set aside to cool, add the remaining flour and egg kneed well to get a smooth dough (add water or flour to get a nice “pasta dough” consistency not too sticky not too hard). Divide into 4 “balls” cover with cling film and keep refrigerated.

 

The filling:

In a stewing pot, fry 3 of the onions until golden brown add the carrots (peeled and cut to 1inch pieces) add and seal the meat on all sides until brownish, add salt and freshly ground pepper, 2-3 whole cloves of garlic, add water to half the meat height and cook in a pressure cooker for about 90 minutes.

In a separate frying pan fry the other 3 onions till golden brown (adds sweetness to the filling) and optionally fry in the same pan half a Kg. of chicken livers (to enrich the filling)

Grind the meat livers and onions in a meat grinder Twice to get a smooth meat paste finish spicing with salt and pepper to taste.

Roll the dough thinly, cut to 9X9 cm squares put 1 tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of each, fold over to form a triangle, seal the edges with slight finger pressure, connect two of the triangle edges (ears) to form a ring.

Cook the Dumplings/Kreplach in chicken soup for 5-7 minutes (till the dough is ready and the dumplings float up)

Set aside serve hot or add cold to clear chicken soup.

All Jewish holidays start with wine blessing, The Grape is one of Seven Species,  (seven agricultural products),  that are listed in the Hebrew Bible (Deut 8:8) as being special products of the Land of Israel. Wheat, Barley Grape, Fig, Pomegranates, Olive, and Dates.

               

Wine is the Most important drink for men it nourishes and fills with happiness, therefore a special blessing was formulated especially for it: “Creator of the Vine fruit, Grape” “בורא פרי הגפן”. Since unlike other fruit juices (blessed as fruit of the tree) Wine transcends to a higher level from grape juice to wine, and the special blessing is thanking the Lord for this great gift of WINE (these are the words of Jewish sages not mine), but as you imagine I certainly do concur on this matter with all of them.

So, drink and be merry, with any wine of your preference, white and red go well with this dish

 Happy New Year – SHANA TOVA to all.

The Wineguide

Memoires Gastronomique 1 – Fredy Girardet

The phone does not stop ringing at the hotel de Ville. It must be the first Monday of the month. This is the only day you can book a table at Fredy Girardet’s Restaurant Girardet fg in Crissier, not for the coming month but rather 3 months in advance. Their phone is ringing constantly mine, well to be exact my friend’s Kobi‘s auto dialer is working overtime and the line is engaged all the time. Luckily autodialing prevails and Kobi books us a table for two at Fg, the 80’s are about to end in a year or two and we’re about to meet the chef of the century and his creations for the first time.

                                     
Great meals or dishes leave us with memories that linger on for a long time beyond the event. A good meal at a perfect restaurant is an event, a lifetime event. This is surely the aspiration of every chef, cooking a meal for his guests. A meal to remember, but alas very few manage to attain this goal.


Contrary to the notion that the perfect wine as a whole, is relying on the imperfection of its parts: (https://wine4soul.com/2012/05/02/perfect-wine-and-the-paradox-of-perfection-12/), A perfect meal must be perfect in all its aspects: The products, cooking technique, balance within the dish, balance between the dishes on the menu, the decor, ambiance, service, wine list, general atmosphere, even light or the ability to see the food or read the menu and many more. But above all, it is the chef’s declaration of his own taste and preferences as they are expressed in each and every dish. No “almosts”, no trying to aim slightly low, to a mediocre common denominator taste, but rather a declaration: Welcome to my restaurant here you will be served (with the outmost of courtesy) my dishes, spiced the way I like them, presented the way I see them and Bon Appétit !
A perfect meal is a memory for life. Some people even have to talent to be able to relive the memory / experience as a real sensation of lingering heavenly taste. I for one carry these good memorable memories and they last a very long time, forever? I can only hope so.
I must say I had quite a few of these memorable culinary moments, that enriched the “essence” of my life, or as defined in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), JING:: 精; it is the Chinese word for “essence”, it is considered one of the Three Treasures (Sanbao) 三寶. Ancient Chinese sages said we are born with a fixed amount of Jing, consume Jing continuously in life; by everyday activities and when jing is completely consumed… we die. Jing can rarely be replenished, mainly by forms of stimulation such as meditation, Chi Gong, sex practices etc. I guess that being a part of an event I describe as a perfect meal is without a doubt one of the few Jing replenishers. It is good for the mind, body and soul, the perfect medicine.
Reminiscences of great meals are a great joy and to start my Gastronomic diary, a meal at Fredy Girardet fg Restaurant is the most fitting prelude.

Fredy Girardet was born on 17th November 1936 in Lausanne Switzerland. At the end of September 1996, Fredy Girardet, chef of the Century and owner of restaurant fg in Crissier, Switzerland, announced that he will retire from the Restaurant business at midnight on 30.11.96 as he turned 60, and the world of gastronomy Cried.


After 40 years of work in kitchens, twenty year of them at his own restaurant (at the hotel de Ville at the center of the village), he deserved a break but what about us????
As a child all Fredy wanted, was to become a professional football player. During a wine-buying tour in Burgundy for his father’s restaurant, a vintner took him to La Maison Troisgros in Roanne. Girardet describes the meal, his first visit at a renowned restaurant, as an almost “spiritual experience”, that convinced him to become a chef. When his father died unexpectedly at age 56, he took over the bistro. He started cooking in classic French cuisine style, it did not take long before he began to experiment with lighter and more innovative styles, joining forces with his contemporaries to develop the emerging nouvelle cuisine movement, no one knew than that he had decided almost from the start to “hang his apron” at the age of 60

Freddy Girardet is not just chef, the Gault Millau guide awarded him the Gault-Millau Cle d’Or and selected him Chef of the century with 19.5 points out of 20 the title of honor received together with Paul Bocuse and his good friend Joel Robuchon.
In my view after dining several times at the restaurant for Dinners, through the years he was the personification of the genius of culinary art. A combination of rare stimuli of all five senses in one creation, A DINNER. There isn’t an artist in any one of the arts who can successfully stimulate all of the senses, Freddie, Ladies & gentlemen did it every day for a small group of happy 84 Diners, 42 around noon for Lunch and then again 42 lucky ones for a Dinner Event, 84 happy winners of the chance to dine in the Artist’s atelier: the Restaurant at the Hotel de Ville in Crissier.
It was he who provided me, whenever I visited the restaurant with everything and anything I always expected from a meal. The meal always combined all the wonderful elements that make a meal at a three-star Restaurant an exciting event, an unforgettable experience. Every detail was perfect, starting from respect for the food product and their origin, details of the finished dish, the pure balance between tastes color, even position on the plate. Of course the restaurant’s location, décor and service, the staff attitude towards their guests, all “thrown into one neat careful “packet”.
The Meal:
The photos were taken in an era of analogue cameras and film/prints documentation (late 1980’s) most are slightly out of focus due to the effort to take the pictures without flash not to disturb the other diners. I have decided to include them as is.

Royale de blanc de poulette aux truffes a la crème de celeri pistachee
Imagine a consommé of chicken frothed with truffled celery cream that is so smooth clean and delicate. got it? That’s it! And with the array of wonderful breads and first class butter, who can complain?
The meal is very laid back, there’s a “wait” of 20 minutes between dishes, after a while you get the hang of it and see the reason behind the pace, calm down this is not an eatery, enter the experience of a meal event…and it works well we’re sipping on the wines, now about the wines we did not have the knowledge to order the right wines and let the sommelier guide us through the huge wine list/book for the white he picked the ultimate white wine for this meal:

                

Domaine Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet Les Ruchottes 1986 At the time I thought what a wine, although this wine improved and reached its peak only at around 2000 -2003, it was crisp yet rich with exotic white & yellow fruit aromas, excellent concentration but the wood oakiness felt on the slightly strong side with little minerality and great fruit. powerful at its young age still delicate with a very long buttery finish. (I had this wine on many occasions later when the wood all blend in and it still kept it’s freshness and fruit)

                                         
Raie bouclee a l’agretto de Montevertine en verdure de poireaux
Reduction of sweet Italian vinegar (Agretto de vino santo) from Montevertine in Toscana with blanched young green leaks sauce. The touch is very delicate feels almost steamed done to perfection with a great balance between the fish and the leak complementing and flavoring each other, melting in your mouth on each bite…remember me…remember me! (We did).
A double fillets of thornback ray, this kite shape exquisite looking fish, is so delicate in the sea and on the plate.


Greque de Langoustine safranée aux legumes croquants
A single large langoustine forming a bridge over a delicate saffron vegetable and langoustine stock, clear and light, yellow orangey in color with an arrey of crispy squares of spring vegetables, each done to perfection and precision in cooking time. This is what we came here for I have never had 3 consecutive dishes so precise in execution and each projecting the essence of all its products, BRAVO! This is the ultimate glimpse into the secrets of genuine Haute / Nouvelle cuisine. This is the base of what we all eat today in great restaurants, Thank you Fredy.

                         
Coquilles Saint-Jacques aux oignons nouveaux, jus beurré au thym citronné
A fresh Saint-Jacque steamed over onion infusion served in its shell with the Saint Jacque liquor reduction of butter lime & thyme frothed over.
Why do all these dishes fell as if they where steamed and not cooked in any other cooking method? I guess this is the secret, the touch that separates the premier league players, teams and managers from all the others, this guy scores goals (around his kitchen) every time he touches the ball (our meal products)
The white wine is all gone and it is time to choose our Red wine, unfortunately not knowing better at the time we opted for a Bordeaux and were proposed by our Maitre D’ the Château Sociando-Mallet 1987 ( he said “The 1986 is too powerful”) thankfully we opted for his advice and the wine which is according to Jancis Robinson in the list of this wine’s “Over-performing vintages” it was light, Smooth, Supple and approachable with cassis and light cedar notes. It gave us great pleasure throughout the next part of the meal. (nowadays I would opt for a Bourgogne wine but I was young than)
On the menu the next dish is the Cote de veau but our devoted Maitre D’ Louis Villeneuve saw that we came to sample as much as we could (who knows when we would be able to revisit this experience), so he kindly offered treat us with 2 separate meat dishes and allow us to share 2 different dishes off the menu which is extremely irregular for a menu degustation for two, it is the small gestures like that that enhance your dining experience at the palace of the KING. Almost a year later when we revisited the restaurant for another meal his utmost professionalism as a Maitre D’ (head waiter / “master of the establishment,” ), when while ordering our menu he pointed out: “You had this dish last year so I will change it for you to another dish off the menu” What a bliss, this guy saw us once, it is true we are full of enthusiasm and expectation allowing ourselves to be immersed in the meal experience, still he saw us once in his entire life and remembers minute details? Another piece in this puzzle of perfection. Thank you Louis Villeneuve the dedicated liaison between the kitchen and dining hall, who welcomed the guests, recommended wines, did the meat and poultry carving on a pedestal table, in front of the guest (an old custom he has reintroduced in Crissier), and was rightly awarded the “Welcome and Service Prize” by the International Academy of Gastronomy, the first time this prize was awarded to someone who is not a chef . I don’t know about you but I am impressed not surprised though. So, first we were offered (off our menu as I said):

Volaille de Bresse en cocotte aux morilles at asperges vertes.
The flesh of this chicken from Bresse is juicy full of delicate poultry flavors bursting in your mouth, mind you “chicken roast” is probably the most difficult dish to serve at a sophisticated restaurants but give Fredy a product and trust him to raise it to gastronomic heights after all this poultry posses a gamey depth of flavour, with fine, tender flesh and delicious clean-flowing fat together with the fresh morilles and asparagus which are in season this time of the year, the jus of the Bresse chicken is sublime.
The cocotte as you know is a shallow individual baking dish the rest of the secret lies with Fredy.

                        
Côte de veau en casserole à la fricassee de béatilles at aux asperges.
A casserole of milk veal with a fricassee of “tidbits” mixture of inner organs: liver, sweetbreads, kidneys etc. in a casing of Vol-Au-vent or puff pastry shell.with asparagus and casseroled new potatoes, carved and served by the table to the last drop of the light sauce, delightful.


Than came a large selection of cheeses from the trolley (a very large selection I might add, which surprised the young cheese waiter attending to us) cheeses from the various appellations of France and Switzerland to “die” for with the breads they were perfect, enhanced I might add with a glass of Port Porto Barros 1963 and a glass of 1985 Chateau Suduiraut, Sauternes,.

                                         
Just before the Chariot de desserts with at least 18 different desserts of fruits, tarts, cakes and other delicious sweets on a trolley, we politely asked if we can share before sampling (most) of the desserts the famous Passion fruit soufflé, which was served to us with great pleasure I guess (it was on the house, looking now at the bill which I found amongst the menu and photos all of these contributed to enhancing the memories of this meal) from the deserts pears in white wine and vanilla (had it on a different occasion as white peach in vanilla) .
Now the soufflé as you see in the picture is served in a Porcelain Ramekin puffed up and fluffy, a slightly warm lightly sweetened passion fruit juice is poured in the center and you get to eat a passion fruit cloud that dissolves in your mouth both passionate and calming (I think I’m gonna try and make it for tomorrow’s New Years dinner (Jewish New Year) the recipe is in the book Cuisine Spontanee – Fredy Girardet (Papermac UK edition 1986) .
We were also served 3 types of sorbets: Banana, Raspberries and red grapefruit but the ice creams chocolate and sublime Vanilla and the two spoon serving method I encountered for the first time are still in my mind. We ended the meal with pettit fours and coffee and a glass of Armagnac XO, not noticing that we are the last guests in the room, guests were sitted along the walls and the center of the room was left for the service crew to function. (at 42 diners each sitting this is possible.) Mr. Villeneuve with the utmost politeness told us he took the liberty to order us a taxi so we don’t get stuck in Lausanne before the last train to Genève takes off around 1.00am, and so we left after a short visit to the already clean and polished kitchen.

                                       
Fredy entered the room after the last diner was served his main dish.His apparent shyness, his modesty (felt when he would enter the dinning room at the end of each service) was not expressed in his style of cooking, that was exciting, creative, full of imagination and always accentuated the flavor of the main product of this dish be it a vegetable, fruit, meat, poultry, fish, or seafood, each in its short season. He called it cuisine spontanée, I call it HEAVEN!
The secret of the approach was that sophistication was born out of simplicity. The approach was: minimum cooking, maximum flavor, minimum vanity, maximum service, minimum talk, maximum action, Maximum occupancy, all tables are booked months ahead 48- 49 weeks a year for lunch and dinner day in and day out. Max points 19.5-scoring and no compromise in quality.
The restaurant lies in the neutral zone at the border between Italy and France, in a small town. There were significant touches of French and Italian influence, Italian truffle risotto and frogs legs. An amazing combination of exquisite and refined cuisine of both worlds and all the ingenious touch won slightly reminiscent of greatness in the ultimate meeting of the three basic cuisines: French Italian and Chinese cooking.
These elements brought out the artistry of cooking to produce a meal that left every guest who dine on a table thinking as if he was the only guest at a special one off occasion that was not like it before and who knows if there will ever be such an experience any time after. A feeling that repeated itself on each and every visit.

             
He was rightfully awarded the: Gault&Millau golden key, agricultural Knight of Merit, an entry in the Petit Larousse, honored for outstanding achievements in cooking, Golden Form Award given by the International Food & Wine Travel Writers Association, cook of the century at the same time as Paul Bocuse and Joël Robuchon, international grand prix in the Art of Cooking, awarded by the International Academy of Gastronomy, plus 19.5 points awarded by Gault&Millau, “Memory and Gratitude” grand Prix, awarded by the International Academy of Gastronomy, Knight of the Legion of Honor, 3 stars in the first edition of the Michelin guide for Switzerland. So although I use too many superlatives and adjectives of awe and amazement they are all justified.
Thank you Fredy for opening the gates to the world of true cooking for me, my perspective was changed completely after visiting Crissier. Thank you Kobi for being persistent on the phone, for being a good companion throughout the years, on all our food trips, for having such a good taste And Thanks for the memories…
YOUR WINEGUIDE

MEAT of LUST at YOEZER WINE BAR

      Yo’ezer Wine Bar / Bistro,  is without a doubt the Best wine bar / bistro in Israel.  This is a posh little place, wine and food wise, But lately on Mondays ONLY they have a weekly occasion at the restaurant, they call it: Bloody Monday, when they serve amongst other Monday specials, a YBurger;  Yoezer own version of the famous and infamous American Burger. It comes Yoezer style: chopped or roughly minced entrecote of beef with beef bone marrow (the marrow is scooped out of the bones, than frozen, cut into cubes and mixed in its frozen state, with the minced meat to make the basic Patties.

       

For those who like Great Burgers American style, this is as close as you can get to the best of the best (maybe better) no sauces BBQ or Worcestershire sauce are added to the meat mixture Just Meat, Marrow, salt and pepper (I think) and being a once a week novelty everyone is flocking to get a bite, so do I.

   Entering the “cave” I see Shaul Evron the owner sitting on the left side of the Bar (his usual place) beside him, Chef Rafi Cohen (one of the 5 best chefs in Israel & owner of “Rafael” Restaurant in Tel-Aviv)…:”Hey what are you doing here? I’ve come for a Burger… imagine, so did I and 10 minutes later, Chef Jonathan Roshfeld (yet another top chef from the same top 5 list) tapping on my shoulder to say hallo he’s here also for the Burger… in fact the place is packed with diners and culinary personalities all here for the YBurger. Now most of these people have dined in the last 20-25 years with the best chefs of France some of them worked in 3 star Michelin Restaurants and they saw it all from High to Haute cuisine still they flock for THE YBURGER (isn’t that something?). So why are they flocking? What is the alluring magic that pulls people in magic strings  to eat Hamburgers? I don’t know the answer there must be more than one… I’m sure you know how sometimes you just feel like a sandwich. Well not just A sandwich but one that has it all, and it tastes so delicious you start thinking, no wonder people around the globe of all different races like it so much (It comes in slightly different forms from place to place but basically it’s all the same). According to Author Linda Stradley who wrote: History and Legends of hamburgers, started ages ago during the times of – Temugin – Genghis Khan (1167-1227),  http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HamburgerHistory.htm check it out it is quite fascinating.

 Here at Yoezer you can have it Complete (egg bacon and cheese) or with whichever topping you prefer of course with great Dijon mustard and ketchup in separate dishes (spice it as you like) pickles and chips. The Y is a real Bliss, simply delightful!  We wash it down with Givry 1er Cru Clos de la Servoisine Rouge 2002 Domaine Joblot, which was the proper wine for a super burger not a grand Bourgogne but had all the qualities of freshness and fruit to accompany our Munch. We moved on to the more serious Gevrey Chambartin cuvee’ vielles vignes 1999 Domaine Esmonin Sylvie, this is a more serious wine which started with all the expected earthy aromas of a good Côte de Nuits, rich fruit flavors with rounded but present tannins well balanced with the fruit Perfect.

Being one of THE best restaurants “around” and my favorite Bistro, Yoezer was a one man’s dream that came true, the man is Shaul Evron. He is a culinary sage and is considered by many as the Hight Priest of Israeli culinaria.

When Shaul opened his first restaurant in Nave Tzedek on the border between Tel-Aviv and Jaffa (1970’s) very few even knew what is a good juicy steak is and how to prepare it shame on us 45 years ago!!! I guess the problem was availability of ingredients, treatment of cattle and meat, and ill effects of religious beliefs and practices:

“Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh”. The Book of Deuteronomy  Chapter 12, 20-23 and there goes your juicy “bloody” steak!

Between us this is quite a nice proposition if read on its own but in the next verse, Verse 21, reads : 21 “If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.”

This is where the debate on the idea of MEAT of LUST , starts: This is exactly the place and reason of the prohibition of the Torah. Nothing is totally forbidden in absolute terms, as there is nothing being allowed in absolute terms. The purpose of the prohibition is to keep us away from things in which we cannot “taste” the spiritual taste in our current state. Indeed when we ascend to a higher level of spirituality the Lord will allow us of the forbidden fruits. After all, there would no longer be any reason for the prohibition, and we praise the Lord for allowing the prohibitions.

It is possible that people that do not abide by the “laws” of religion are simply in a higher spiritual state???

 I do not look at Shaul as a priest or an oracle but rather as a friend, with a great taste, A great taste in food, in fact a lover of good food, one of the few who can find a woman’s voluptuousness in food, he loves for instance oysters, He’s a great lover of both rustic and fine French cuisine, Bourgogne cuisine and wines in particular. For all of these he opened 17 years ago his “baby”  Yoezer.

He’s a conservative Pinot Noir Chardonnay kind of guy, he loves wine dungeons and bars, he’s a lonely guy with thousands of friends, a lonely wolf at the head of a wine guzzling pack. He says that I am a wine necrophiliac and I say he, is a wine pedophile. He loves them young, or can’t resist his urge to taste a wine even when it is too young to enjoy (for me) and claims I like wine corps (too old). But through the years we’ve managed to prove each other wrong on many occasions…

The menu at Yoezer is Basically meat orientated, that’s the owner’s favorite food product it comes in all forms and excels in all:

Raw Meat:  as in the Steak Tartar or Américain, both on the menu. Américain is the  Belgium version of steak tartar served with fries. It is known as “filet américain” – American fillet with onions and more seasoning than a normal steak tartar. Trust me, it is much better here than anywhere in Belgium! I guess Shaul Likes it and the kitchen here cooks for him, his taste, his dreams… The kitchen stuff holds his culinary views and understanding  in such reverence and anxiety NOT FEAR, that they cook to please him personally with each dish that comes out of the kitchen, and we the diners are benefited by getting almost always the best according to Shaul, what more can one expect from a meal? Did I forget the Carpaccio??? The name of a typical dish from the Alba region in Piedmont “La carne all’albese” it is named carpaccio after the 15th-century Italian painter Vittore Carpaccio and first served under this name in 1950 at Harry’s Bar Venice. Yoezer make the carpaccio from entrecote heart (rib-eye)

  Smoked, Cured, Boiled and Stewed Meats: from smoked meats and poultry to the best Pastrami in town Corned Beef  and Weissbraten cooked in clarified butter and injected with butter occasionally, to the French style luscious confit de canard, or  Porchetta which is a fatty boneless pork roast (fat and skin rolled over) Italian Style. Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with herbs rosemary, garlic, thyme oregano etc. Smoked sausage with warm Sauerkraut “sour cabbage”, Jambon de Paris Comme il Faut!! And Bulls tail stew to name but a few on this section… They used to make here great homemade Boudin Noir (blood sausage) and Pied de Cochon these are off the menu due to lack in demand they are great but do not conform to the Israeli taste (unfortunately)…

Pasta and Pastry : the most distinguished dishes in this section are the “infamous” 40 egg yolks Homemade pasta cut in different styles as Fettuccine or pappardelle with a variety of meat based sauces or just truffles… and of course the double amazing truffle in puff pastry (yes one whole truffle), on the most delicious thickened almost toffee like beef stock with truffle’s oil Sublime!!!

Fried and Grilled meats:  You have your basic Steaks from the best cuts available from the local beef, made to perfection around rare to medium rear depending on the cut. A giant côte de boeuf always served with lightly fried crispy greens and potatoes.

Now beef in Israel is not the best in the world… compared with Italy’s Bistecca alla fiorentina from the Toscana’s Chianina breed of cattle, France, or England/Scotland with such as Aberdeen-Angus, bred in Scotland, and often called doddies, Galloway, from Scotland,  Shorthorn, an English breed of cattle. and Montana beef in the USA why Montana? I don’t know I just have this memory stuck in my mind as I exited the Billings, Montana airport heading toward  Yellowstone Park a Huge Road sign Welcome to Montana EAT BEEF! Greeted me and got stuck in my mind…This is cowboy country and I Love Wild West cowboy’s myths and legends, and the way they make use of beef meat in the open fire rolling on a spit.

          

            photo by Eliya Melinkov

From the present menu my favorite dish by far and in danger of extinction (again not enough people order it), is the Milk Calf’s Liver on a bed of fresh corn and dried Porcini mushrooms polenta topped with fried fresh porcinis (Ceps more likely) This dish is so well balanced with a slight sweetness that compliment the liver with the aroma of fresh porcini delicately flavoring the dish. PERFECT!!  and the butter fried calf’s brain or sweetbreads served with an egg-yolk and rounded Pretzel buns . My  Thanks to the young, innovative, shy and extremely talented chef BEN TIDHAR.

Yo’ezer Wine Bar / Bistro  ( Yo’ezer Ish Habira 2 Jaffa) Tel:   03-683-9115

The wines

Oh the wines we had through the years while dining at yoezer are special and plentiful. There were downs as well as ups but the ups are on the winning side for me, for I can enjoy a near perfect wine if all around is perfect: food, company, spirit and atmosphere, Shaul is different if the wine is not totally amazing a new bottle has to be opened immediately, lately he is mellowing down this attitude to a more sensible approach still it is an admirable quality.

We had so many mainly Bourgogne’s and Champagnes but also some great Bordeaux’s. But the occasion is always more important  than the list.

Our memorable wines together are numerous but some that come to mind are without a doubt from the “Necrophilia” to me the most memorable and the last bottle of the case is without a doubt the near perfect Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses Domaine G. Roumier 1982.

The other wine will be mentioned in the right context in the future

Your Wineguide

  

Cooking for Pescetarians

A post with Culinary Thoughts, Tips for cooks, not a cooking lesson.

Pescetarianism is the practice of diet that includes seafood and fish, but not the flesh of any other animal.

               

Apart from eating from the harvest of the sea, pescetarians eat from the harvest of the land and their diet is essentially vegetarian and includes fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, eggs, and dairy products.

Pescetarians in Action from the BBC

One of my special guests for the summer (my daughter Daphne, fresh from London on her summer break) is “pescetarian” and prior to her arrival she requested on a mobile message, to me: “…Crabs in herbs for me pls! XXX “. What a Joy! Who can reject such an opportunity to give Joy to a person you LOVE, through a skill you acquire through the years and people around you “grew” to appreciate and love. That is what food and cooking is all about, each time you present the people you like/love with a “present” they remember in color, presentation, smells and taste. These memories are long lasting in your heart and head although they are totally consumed (and gone) by the end of the Meal. It is the pride of any cook or chef when nothing is left on the plate, and a certain “smile” of contentment appears in the eyes not the lips of your guests.

          

Cookery is a “sad” kind of ART, for it is consumable and short lasting, still it involves all the 5 senses including touch smell and taste and thus is judged by a more scrupulous set of senses than any other of the arts.

At first I could not get the Mediterranean Blue Crabs I needed to fulfill her request but I went on a Journey (Quest) to find what was required and indeed found it at one of the fishmongers in Jaffa “fresh from the sea”.

                                    

                                            Blue Crab – Portunus pelagicus

This one was made into: Blue Crabs in corona beer and Lemon, Saffron & chilies butter, a delightful easy recipe taken from his cookbook Fish & seafood of my friend and one of the best chefs in Israel Jonathan Roshfeld, it is slightly hot and a good appetizer for the meal to come.

     

Corona beer Saffron and chillies                         The Chilly Butter                                  From Blue to  Orange

I cooked the remaining crabs separately in water vegetables and cooking fresh tomatoes taken out all the white and claws meat added several diced shrimps to it, and separated the Crustaceans meat from the liquids, to make the “filling” for the open ravioli and the liquids as a base for the sauce.

     

Through the years we had many “own” version on great chef’s recipes from Fredy Girardet (Cuisin Spotanée) – Lobster with Cream of Sweet Peppers,  Joel Robochon‘s Giant Shrimps wrapped in Zucchini and champagne Saffron sauce (instead of langoustine), Gordon Ramsey‘s Halibut with or without smoked Salmon and sauce Albert with its wonderful fresh horseradish touch, my own poor versions of Sashimi’s, Sushi’s  Carpaccio of AKAMI of Tuna with Takuan, Ginger, and wasabi sesame, Nori & Penko crusted Tuna, sashimi style soy and wasabi sauce, Black Cod (Nobu style, I wish…) with Pumpkin noodles, caramelized Pumpkins sauce. Sea food Pasta and risotto dishes and many more.

        

                                                       

The basic idea with cooking in general and fish/seafood cooking in particular is the freshness and quality of the products. After that you don’t really have to be a genius, you need though, good reference points (eat at the best restaurants and try to “analyze” the food), look at chefs working in their kitchens, read good cookbooks and pay attention to the “tips” and of course LOVE messing about in your kitchen / atelier. When eating at a good restaurant for those dishes you like try getting to the bottom of the different spices used in a dish, read between the lines of the description on the menu. You MUST learn well basic cooking techniques and principles of basic stocks and sauces, this is where you learn the basic principles of combinations of herbs, spices, and product be it Vegetables, fish, meat etc. You also have basic knowledge of Gastronomy: The study of the relationship between culture and food. The art of cooking (Culinary art), is only a small part of your Gastronomy studies. When culture, food, artistry, and good senses meet in one place you transcend to a different level of cooking achievements but… beware! There’s no going back from this route, it pulls you deeper and deeper into new heights of achievement you aspire to (that is what separates great chefs from just cooks, and I am by the way just a cook)

A few weeks ago a very polite French foodie and the owner of a well known Alsatian winery, Etienne, tried and succeeded in giving me a great compliment, which although not true was the most polite thing to say at that moment during a dinner in his honor cooked by me at my house (must be read in French accent): “Are you trying to give French CUISINE a bad name”? Hinting that my cooking is of great quality (of course I had my cock-up’s and falls- literally), he saw me sweating over the oven for each dish and maybe felt sorry for me when in fact that was my double Joy the actual act of cooking, for good friends and family, with the best available wine trying to make it original and interesting and I thought I succeeded reasonably well on all counts (including the fall…)

Cock-up is a British Slang noun meaning:  A blunder or a mess.

Cock-up’s in cooking are a daily occurrence for cooks, but for Chefs they are completely forbidden! Inexcusable!! A Disaster!!! The trick for cooks is not only to taste often but also to have some tricks under your hat for much needed corrections. As you know Taste comes in 6 traditional Forms : Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Umami and Piquance (The latter 2 added as the need was formed)

Piquance (hotness, spicyness, burning) was considered a sensation rather than a taste. Since piquance is sensed by taste buds and other nerve endings on the tongue and palate and is created by addition of certain spices, Piquance should be recognized as one of the basic tastes.

Your basic blunders in the kitchen are of the TOO kind: Too Sweet, too Sour, too Salty, too Bitter, and too Piquant too hot, the trick is how to bring you food back to the balance which has no TOO’s in it, dilute your sauce, add a dash of cream or even cream of coconut, a bit of wine, a dash of salt in a sweet dish or a dash of sugar in a salty dish. Make sure  the balance of pairing / combining your ingredients is right pairing is not just for taste it is also for color, arrangements etc. as time goes by you improve…

It also MUST look right IF IT DOES NOT LOOK RIGHT IT IS PROBABLY NOT RIGHT, BUT if it looks right it is not necessarily tasty and food MUST be tasty!

For Fish Seafood in detail including voluptuous recipes may I refer you to the Mul-Yam Seafoodpedia an amazing cookbook of the BEST seafood restaurant in Israel– Mul-Yam,, chef Yoram Nitzan. glimpses can be followed in http://dan-alexander-blog.com/tag/mul-yam/

Amazing photos by the legendary food photographer Clay McLachlan edited by Yair Yosefi

 

As for the WINES anything goes from beer to Champagne and anything in between pairing is not an impossible task I’m sure you can work it out. Need help? Just ask!

Thank you Daphne and Udi, for giving me the joy of cooking, for challenging and encouraging me at the same time and being such good invitees.

Miss you already but C U soon

Aba, The wineguide

 P.S Thanks Judy (Soledad Bleu Etoile) for the Fish market photos