Zany Chefs, Cookbooks and Foie Gras

What a wonderful weekend in cold snowy Paris!   I don’t think I have ever had so many variations of foie gras and fun as I did this past Saturday and Sunday.   I was lucky to receive an invitation from Gault Millau, the other and better French restaurant guide to The International Cookbook Fair, that took place in the Carrousel du Louvre.

The Carrousel du Louvre is an underground shopping mall/convention center underneath the Tuileries Garden that adjoin the Louvre museum.  Upon entering you see the fascinating and  well preserved walls of the Louvre fortress that comprised the moat that went all around the original palace of the Kings of France.

For those of  you who know me, you all ready know that I am a passionate about gastronomy, wines and the whole food scene that Paris affords on a daily basis.  Food is all about sharing love and happiness and this weekend was full of laughs and conviviality with like-minded folks from all over the world.

Lord knows I don’t have place for another cookbook, as I already have too many some would say, but as a collector, it was a hard call to resist buying all that I was interested in.  In the end I succumbed to only two, but one was for a good cause.  A fantastic Laotian cookbook produced by Friends International, which helps street kids primarily in Cambodia and Laos to have a chance at life by training them in the culinary arts.

Fortunately for me, a lot of the books were in languages , that I would have been really challenged to figure out even the ingredients, such as Greek and Russian. Almost all the presenters though spoke in either French or English, or had interpreters at hand.

We Anglophones are lucky that English apparently is the presiding language not only in scientific/medical circles but in publishing/marketing too.

The  driving force behind this wonderful event is Edouard Cointreau, from the famous Cointreau Liquor family.  His Gourmand Association, awards yearly recognition for best international cookbooks of the year in multiple categories.

In addition to a myriad of international cookbooks, there were conferences and video streams with celebrity chefs from all over the world.  The most popular event centered around the show kitchen, where the chefs paraded in all their glory dazzling us with their talents and personality.

The very stark difference in how non-French chefs demonstrate was never more in evidence that this weekend.  When a French chef is in the kitchen, it is like a general at the commands.  His presence harbors awe and fear in the faces of his young assistants who look on edge with tense anticipation ready to obey swiftly any command.

The French chefs were all sharply attired in their pristine white chef jackets with embroidered names.  Once introduced , it was down to serious business of cooking with precision and perfectly executed moves that defines the ultimate of French gastronomy.

No song and dance routines here! A few smiles here and there, but in general the mood was much more sedate and academic with the goals of teaching, rather than performing. Presentation of the finished plate becomes a beautiful canvas of colors and textures as seen in the photos.

Beside the artistry of Guy Savoy, Alain Dutournier, and Michel Roth, I enjoyed the lovely and very creative demonstration of Pascal Aussignac who hails from the foie gras region of Gascony.   He prepared foie gras served with slightly carmelised popcorn, sautéed baby corn, served with a pureed corn sauce, and sprinkled at the very end with popcorn “dust” made from finely ground popped popcorn.

Carmelo Chiaramonte was a very interesting chef from Sicily, who wrote a beautiful book about oranges and how they have been a backbone to Sicilian cookery for ages.  Fried battered orange peel was delicious as well as a unusual risotto made with purreed oranges and tied together with soy sauce.  With so many orange trees, he said orange branches are used to skewered kebabs for grilling and wood for smoking.  He also made a condiment salt made with the ground of leaves of orange.

In total complete contrast were some chefs from Greece, Argentina, Russia and especially from Malaysia.

One of my highlights was talking to  FT Bletsas, as seen in the photo, who has a handsome boyish face that exudes exuberance and friendliness.  He is warm and friendly, totally down to earth, and unaffected by his celebrity fame back home in Greece.

He is dynamic in his presentation combining singing and promoting food economy and nutrition in his television series, Mama’s Kitchen. He speaks excellent english due to earning a his under and graduate degrees in England.

Chakall, dressed in his black with brightly colored motifs jacket and with his characteristic colorful turban swathed around his head, he was by far the most colorful of the chefs. Originally from Argentina, he leans heavily on Portuguese and asian style cooking.

Coming on stage dancing to the loud beats of Argentinian and Africanized music, one got the impression he was more interested in performing than cooking. He presented a hip dog and pony show of music, dance and improvisation.  Saying he was using only the ingredients found left over in the show kitchen, he nevertheless confectioned a lovely and very unusual foie gras with asian overtones coconut sauce.

The Russian speaking chef, Stalic Khankishiev was full of enthusiasm and passion for the cuisine of his native country of Azerbaijan, which is  near the Caucasus mountains. He brought along two pretty musicians playing the region’s folk music to accompany him and entertain the crowd.

In addition to the generous offering of his beautiful traditional rice pilaf, and shish kabab, they also passed out traditional pastries, one of which was a type of baklava.

Even by the time they were tying on Chef Wan’s apron he was already eliciting laughs from the audience with his wild wisecracks.  Coming from Malaysia where he has a very popular food show, restaurant , and his latest award-winning book the Best of Chef Wan , he was by far the funniest of all of them.

His pigeon english was full of non stop wacky remarks that had us all in stitches of laughter. The audience took in good nature his potty mouth humor that breached all rules of etiquette.  His hilarious and casual approach to cooking nevertheless produced a wonderful spicy traditional chicken soup redolent and delicious.

There was also a sprinkling of wine producers and experts, such as Jancis Robinson who is a Master of Wine and famous wine critic and columnist.  I missed the presentation of Dr. Marc Lagrange, whose book, Wine and Medicine, is  stellar example of how wine has been used throughout the centuries as a healing agent.

By the time I came home Sunday evening, I had enjoyed over 4 different presentations of foie gras, and multiple other dishes too numerous to detail from all over the world. I would definitely return next year for more conviviality and good food.

Food and wine folks are for the most part bons vivants who love to think  about the next meal and wine they will enjoy.  I may not be able to control life with all its ups and downs and surprises, but I can and do control what I eat and drink.

At least I can be ascertained that when I sit down at night with my glowing candles, joy awaits with what I have prepared with love and generous heart.  So to all I wish you Bon Appetit!