Cooking Lessons

The master at work

We spent yesterday afternoon with Maeda-san in the kitchen at Amoroso learning some of his cooking techniques. We racked up a lot of procedural knowledge in a few short hours and I jotted down five recipes as we went. By 6 pm we were pretty well impressed with what we’d learned and we got out of chef’s way so he could finish up before guests arrived.

At 7 pm, we returned to enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of our labor: oven baked fish that we’d gutted and filleted ourselves; lamb chops we trimmed and bathed in boiling oil and for which we’d prepared a balsamico sauce base; red pepper mousse that started with thoroughly charring the peppers; chicken smoked on the stove top under a crusty well-carbonised bowl; bolognese sauce completely scratch-made…we cooked lots that afternoon.

But watching Maeda-san behind the counter finishing, plating, refilling glasses, washing dishes, and chatting with customers, I realised that despite all we’d contributed to the evening’s repast, it was only a fraction of what went into our meals. Everything we’d cooked, he completed.

The bolognese was heated with a lump of butter, some shredded gobo and a handful of Parmesan (and Maeda-san’s own hand made pasta tubes). The fish came out of the oven to be drizzled with oil, sprinkled with pepper and plated with a lemon. Our lamb was reheated, carved into parts and plated with creamy potatoes and spears of grilled asparagus before being topped with the balsamico sauce that chef brought to perfect consistency with a bit of butter.

He also served to us (and nine other guests) a magnificent fish soup, ravioli with vongole and vegetables, oxtail stew, and a luscious ice cream and fresh chocolate dessert. We waddled away from the table.

I have great respect for this man and look forward to another afternoon in his kitchen in the coming months.

Posted by kuri at December 27, 2006 09:26 AM