32 Yolks by Eric Ripert

The more chef's memoirs that I read, the more it seems that in order to become wildly successful as a chef you need to come from a miserable family situation. Eric Ripert's father was a charismatic cad and his ambitious mother kicked him to the curb after the serial philandering became too much for her. He never had much contact with his father afterwards, and when his mother remarried to a sycophant who wanted to kick the child from her previous marriage to the curb, mom did not much resist, and in a lot of ways, maybe he was less damaged by being abused by non-family than being ignored by his mother. In any case, he had great grandparents who cooked well (as did his mother) and his love of food and creating food set him on a successful path early on. Which is not to imply that he didn't work hard--he very much did, and in the atmosphere where abuse was the norm and praise was hard, if not impossible, to come by. The one thing that I do not know is did he take his own experience and become a better boss because of it--he implies that happened, but that is the part of the story that is untold. This is well written and it is a well told story. I would definitely recommend it, but it will not leave you regretting that you did not choose a chef's path.

Tatsumi, Queenstown, New Zealand

This restaurant is a mostly Japanese style place, where we had a fixed price menu that probably would have knocked our socks off if we hadn't eaten at an even better (and somewhat more affordable) restaurant the night before. This sushi plate is an example of how good it could be--this tasted just as good as it looked! The setting is elegant, and the wait staff are dressed traditionally, adding to the atmosphere.

We had several dusion dishes, which married local ingredients, Japanese preparations, with European influences. This was my favorite dish of the night, with a piece of salmon, a grilled scallop (perfectly cooked, both of them, and flavorful to boot), with a mushroom ravioli and taro root puree, with crisped noodles on the side. Not everything worked perfectly together about this course (I would have preferred the dishes to be separate, and a bit more of the ravioli and the scallop, but that was not an option), but each component was delicious and overall the dinner was a success, and I would recommend it to others.

New Zealand Pies

Traveling has a significant relationship to food in my house. We get to know cities, spend time admiring art in museums, and log a significant number of steps per day when we are vacationing, to be sure, but if the food is not good, the scenery better be spectacular. We travel to get to know the culture of a place, and while the food isn't the sum of that, it is at least a part of it. That is how on our very first morning in New Zealand, when we were up before the sun rose, we went in search of the famous New Zealnad pies. These are hand pies, stuffed with meat and vegetables and sealed into a flaky crust, and are a self contained meal. The first day I turned down the sausage roll, based on the lower pastry to filling ration, but on day two I reconsidered, and it ended up being my favorite. More importantly, it is something that we might be able to do at home. My husband likes to make dough and I am not terrible at shaping it into something, and I think we could do a great filling with some practice. My goal would be to achieve the flakiness of these, but have a more flavorful filling and a smaller size so that they could be on the brunch buffet one day, or better yet, take them on a picnic, or have them in the car in anticipation of a long day's drive without much hope of a decent meal en route, where they would really hit the spot. Best of all, I think it is an achievable goal--unlike some of the amazing food we had on this trip, I think we could make our own and enjoy them, all the while remembering where we had them first, which is one of the prettiest spots I have ever been. I am not sure about the cut out shapes, but I do have a sizable collection of cookie cutters so I could decide that later.

No Reservation for Anthony Bourdain

I am amongst the last handful of people who had not seen an Anthony Bourdain episode before he died, who also believes themselves to be both a foodie and a traveler.  Bad on me.  I know people who have chosen vacation destinations based on a show that he did, so it is not like I had no exposure.  It wasn't until he took his own life that I decided it was time to see what he had on offer.
I watched two episodes of No Reservations and was not impressed.  The cinematography was terrible, and his sense of humor was off putting for me.  Then at the end of the episode in Sweden, he mock hung himself.  Not funny at the time, and certainly not in hindsight.  The episode that covered the US-Mexico border was strangely prescient of a future where the situation would devolve.  But not good enough to want me to watch more.
I then watched an episode of Parts Unknown, which was better produced, and smart mouthed.  He had a global sense that he wanted to impart was laudable.