If you want to play in Texas...

There is something magical about cooking at home. It offers many things that restaurants are not able to yet it is so closely related to them. For starters, cooking at home doesn't require getting your ear screamed off by a perfectionist chef about your dice not being a perfect 1/4". You aren't hounded by countless projects that must be done for the 5:30 service. (Even though these things are extremely rewarding). 

There is a huge sense of freedom in how you can cook at home. You can listen to music, you don't have to wear shoes, the sky is the limit with your creativity and you can even drink a beer whilst cooking. Home cooking brightens people's day, brings friends together and creates long lasting memories. There is nothing better than to be a part of the meal rather than just cooking for a dining room full of strangers. 

I must thank Jack, Kate, Cory and Tanya for allowing me to cook with them on my wonderful excursion in Houston, Texas. They brought me to museums, brewery's, bars and great restaurants. And to top the cake with the cherry, we got to go drunk bowling. That brings back memories from CIA. Being reunited with my schoolmates was a fantastic time and being with their lovely and beautiful wives made it even better. For all you who want to travel to Houston, I would definitely put in a good word. 

A transitional era...

When I look for new ideas for a dish, I don't just look at Old recipes or cookbooks, I search the content of where I am living. What colors surround me and how do they make me feel. To go even further, what does that feeling trigger in my brain? Is it a memory from childhood or is it somewhere I haven't been yet? These are the things that really have a heavy pull in where the new dish will begin. 

Recently within the past 2 days, I have come to realize that the more I look into something, whether it interests me or excites me, the more answers I get. With that newer and deeper knowledge, I can bring to life the picture that is in my head. My goal now is to sharpen the eye that finds this information. Hone my skills of searching harder and digging deeper. With this, I will be able to truly great the dish that I see in my imagination. 

How do you know...

When do you know to move on to the next level of education? This does not have to be strictly pertaining to primary or secondary school. It can include a hobbie, passion, secret pleasure or your every day career. I believe that you should study what you are working on until you can do it backwards and in your sleep. Once you can do that, it is important to study even further into it. It is similar to the way the Japanese live their entire lives. The pursuit of perfection is an on going and lifelong endeavor. You are well on your way when able to teach that single skill to someone else successfully. 

What do you think? How do you know?

A Day in the life... Alinea

What do you think of when you read about the top rated restaurants in the world? Do you see menus that have words and phrases you don't understand? Are there servers walking around with serviettes draping over their crisp black jackets? These impressions or presumptions of fine dining are based on your knowledge of what the classical restaurant heroes were portraying. To be honest, that is what i imagine when I hear about two or three star Michelin rated restaurants. News flash, its not true at all. Not anymore at least.

When I think of the world's greatest, I think of spotless kitchens, Beautifully organized walk-in coolers with everything lined up perfectly having labels and dates stuck perfectly to them. Even the tape of the label is cut at a precise 90 degree angle. These signs, this attention to detail is what elevates a restaurant from good to great. Having a staff that cares about even the smallest of details will create an environment that is constantly urging each other to be better.

On June 19, 2015, I got to experience a day in the kitchen run by one of the most creative minds of our generation; Alinea. And might I add, what an incredible experience. To work in a kitchen again that has standards above and beyond what the norm requires was such an honor. (even if it was for a day). To really experience the kitchen of Alinea, I had the privelage of working side by side with Chef Achatz' right hand man, Chef Mike Bagale.

The entire kitchen looks like one central highway with two service roads on either side. Each side of the service road is where all the cooks prep and execute service. The center highway is where the sous chefs, the runners and Chef walk up and down keeping a vigilant eye on the quality of each dish. From 10:30 am until 1 am, the kitchen is eerily quiet. You must close the door by hand every single time to eliminate any sound. When placing a pot on the french stove top, it must be as gentle as laying a baby in a crib. Every motion, every step is meticulously calculated to be precise and quiet, It requires the utmost discipline to do this every single day, all day, 6 days a week.

During my stage, I was allowed to help plate a new dish throughout service. It was a simple, small dish that had 9 perfectly placed garnishes. To make 80 throughout the entire night was tedious yet exhilarating. As service progressed, I was able to perfect the plate and recreate each and every time the original plate design. That is the whole purpose of having so many people in such a prominent kitchen. There is the man power to have one or two dishes completely fabricated from start to finish from one person. It truly was quite an experience that I will never forget,

A Day in the Life...

Cooking is more than just a hobby or an activity. Like many other professions, passions and careers, it is a chosen lifestyle. People always ask what its like to be on the other side of the restaurant wall. How do you live with the crazy hours and the no holidays and the insane stress? It is a tough place to be, I must admit, but there is no place that is more reliant on trust and teamwork aside from the armed forces. The kitchen is one place where you can talk so much smack to your teammates and still have the bond of brothers.

To be on the line, with the world swarming around you and heat burning at your back, brings on an adrenaline rush like no other. Think of it as a war movie. Every night, all the cooks go into battle under the chefs strategical plans to dominate the oncoming fury of the dining room. The constant flow of tickets that swim out of the printer, the bark of orders from the chef and the interaction between the cooks all decide how the night will proceed. And as in all movies and real life, you win some and you lose some.

From the lost battles, lessons are taken away that provide lifelong teachings about how to react to different situations. For example, what do you do if there is a misfired ticket or a cook misses a call? Do you stop everything and wait for chef or a more experienced cook to tell you what to do? Absolutely not. You figure out what you are missing as quickly as possible and you move forward with the progression of fires. That's it. Now don't get me wrong, this sounds easy in writing but in fact it is extremely difficult with all the stress that is weighing on your shoulders. The one thing you strive for as a cook, aside from perfection, is to not get the banana from the chef. That is one of the worst feelings, when you feel as if you let your commander down. You just don't do it.

Chicago's dish is deep

This post is dedicated to Felicia and Jason and the entire Momotaro family:

The Windy City should not be the nick name solely for the bizarre weather patterns. It is a whirlwind of youthfulness, new ideas and an incredible amount of potential. I must put it out there though, I would not have had such a wonderful first time experience had it not been for two wonderful friends who I will unconditionally call family. It may even qualify for the Guinness world record for best first pin on the wall map. 

As you already know, Part chi-town picked up huge momentum from the first night with the Stanley cup victory of the black hawks. I can't even begin to describe the power of that game. It didn't matter that I or anyone else was from a different state. At the trophy room and I'm sure at many, many other bars, there was a deep electric current connecting all of the people in Chicago. It was so powerful, the hair on your neck would stand up and the surges of energy would make your skin pop up like brail. The entire crowd tensed at any attempt on the home goal and whooped and hollered with total excitement when the Hawks returned the favor. The whole bar was shaking from the synced pounding on the bars and tables. Your ears were deafened by a roar so loud when we scored that you couldn't help but let yourself go in the moment and have the waves carry you with everyone else. 

And to think that was the most exciting part of the evening, noooope. Imagine the famous riots after sports teams win championships. The United feeling when all people come together to celebrate a glorious victory. There is nothing like it in the world. Picture people climbing high onto the street lights to flip off the cops while chugging beers and ripping off street signs. Listen to the diehard fans singing and chanting "woorld staaaarrs!!". All of that plus a majestic formation of police on horseback trying to calmly disperse the crowd. It was an incredible event in the city, and I was there to share it with all of them. Wow. 

But that's not what I loved most about this open and clean city. The food is what inspired me the most. Seeing all these different restaurants that range from Japanese to Spanish to French to European.  It was all an effort to find something new in a large stack of old and outdated. From slurping fresh oysters to eating amazing nigiri. From eating a Thai papaya salad to chicken liver mousse with peas and onions. Such a vast difference but a similar goal. Even the great successes of Alinea inspired me. 

However there was one restaurant that truly stood above all in my books, Momotaro. This is as close to Japanese fare that you can get in Chicago. As you make your way to the entrance of the restaurant, you are greeted with an oak paneled wall with three silver Japanese characters. Then you enter the fishbowl airlock only to have your olfactory attacked with the smoky sent of Dashi and the burning charcoal of the robota grill. As you enter the reataurant, your eyes are immediately grabbed by the large sushi bar in the heart. The lights and warm walls give you the sense that you walked into that glowing window on a cold snowy night. In all, it is just a welcoming and comfortable place to be.  

From A-5 wagyu wrapped around uni to silky smooth Chawanmushi that was paired with salmon, asparagus, mushroom and ankake. Even bowls of cold sesame noodles with chicken and scallions, Gyu don, agedashi and much more. Chef Mark really comes close to a true Japanese cuisine. Granted it is hard and expensive to get all the ingredients. What a treat. 

But that also is not all. Venture down stairs to a cozy, dimly lit izakaya for a Japanese inspired bar. With mixed cocktails, sake and whiskey, Chef Jason really takes the bull by the horn to grow the entity as a whole. Serving a special industry night on Sunday's to the ever changing noodles and Kara-age. Plus you can't forget the royale with cheese. Incredibley simple yet bursting with flavor and heart. 

It was extremely interesting seeing other kitchens while in Chicago. My day at bohemian house really changed my perspective on how a successful kitchen can be run. Quality product can definitely come out of an upbeat kitchen with a great bond between the cooks and chefs. As long as there are priorities and a vision, success will follow. Yet there is another side to the spectrum. Talk about night and day, black and white, Pinto and Cadillac, Honda and Harley. From rustic European to super fine modernist cuisine, Alinea really upped the anti. That was honestly the quietest kitchen I had ever been in. It was too quiet being it did not sound like a kitchen. But it was extremely wonderful to be in that type of environment where everyone in the kitchen is united towards one goal.... One expectation... One state of mind.... Excellence.

And of course, you can't go to Chicago without tasting the in-famous deep dish pizza of pequads and the all powerful Chicago wiener. Let's begin with the pizza.. First off, NYC pizza is better. The ratio of crust to topping to cheese is much more accurate. Yet the deep dish deliciousness has a secret weapon. That weapon being a plethora of grated Parmesan over the crust to form this delicious cheesy crunchy saucy crust. Banging. Then to the hawt dawg. I must say the Chicago wiener is the best I have had. With the poppyseed bun, the neon green relish, the tomato, the sport pepper, the dill pickle, the yellow mustard, the celery salt and the onion. It is literally an explosion of flavor. 

I ezaghaza do declare Chicago.... Approved. 

Wait... Did Chicago win??

I honestly don't think I could have had 

 better first day on this adventure. If there was any day to make history in the world, that would be yesterday. Not only did I get to see the city of Chicago for the first time, with all its wind and rain and people, the black hawks took it all the way to the Stanley cup and brought it home!! What an incredible atmosphere to be in. It felt as if all of our heartbeats were synced together. With the rush of excitement running through us like lightning from finger to toe. I have never felt so involved in any sporting event in my life and it was beyond incredible. this experience would not have been possible if not for my great friends Jason and Felicia, many many thanks to you two. 

But wait there's more...

After the game, we went too Wriggley field where the streets were flooded with humans and cars and police horse lines. To me at the heart of this grand achievement was insane. People were scrambling up traffic light posts to rip down street signs and rouse the crowd. (Which worked every time) Photographers were posted on top of the buildings, documenting the ruckus and debauchery unfolding below. What an incredible sight. A simply unforgettable night on the town in Chicago. 

Let the Travels Commence...

I want you to imagine something. Picture yourself in the front row of a roller coaster. I'm not talking about the slow, jolting journey up the tracks or the first upside-down loop you encounter. Focus on that first drop you are about to dive face first into. Your car slowly inches over the top of the curve, revealing little by little the unknown territory that lays before you for the next 90 seconds. The air around you has faint sounds of children laughing and coin machines jingling. You can hear your heart pounding at 110 beats per minute and feel your stomach rearing into your esophagus. It is the moment when you feel the most alive yet uncontrollably vulnerable simultaneously. That is what it feels like to go to sleep on the night before setting off on a year .5 long international feast... alone.

In The Beginning...

Growing up, my grandparents were avid travelers. My sisters, cousins and I would receive postcards from all around the world with as many history lessons inscribed onto them as my grandmother could fit. It was an incredible journey to live through words of what my grandparents were experiencing in real time. Not only would they write to us about their travels and adventures, they would bring home souvenirs and mementos to solidify their learning's and to expand our imaginations. I would get robes from China, red coated soldiers from London, statues from Italy and much more. Everything had its own story to tell and they were there to tell us in detail.

These memories of my grandparents' travels instilled in me a sense of wonder. It urged me to pursue questions about what the world has to offer from the land to the water, and from the plants to the people. Everything in this world has a story to tell and it is up to humans to interpret and translate those words, ideas and emotions to the people who are listening to those same callings. Everything in this world is pressing us to move forward, to adapt to what tomorrow has in store for us. Yet it simultaneously reminds us to remember where we came from and what road we traveled to be standing in this spot in life.

My travels are to bring back a sense of home and a sense of comfort to myself and to those who have stepped away from what they know. They are reminders to all of us who love what they do, who want to expand on their knowledge, but still pine for that small piece of familiarity we left somewhere safe.
I will be cooking with your grandparents and parents trying to find the food we ate when we were sick or injured or the food we ate when we were joyous and festive. But the catch..... the catch is that it will be worldwide. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Yours in Food,
ezagha