Speak pipe

28.6.12

Polands rising star chef aims to transform national cuisine


By Dean Irvine, CNN
May 21, 2012 -- Updated 0305 GMT (1105 HKT)
Nouveau Polish: A creation from the kitchen of chef Wojciech Amaro.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Restaurant in Warsaw first in Poland to gain Michelin Rising Star
  • Chef and owner Wojciech Amaro trained with Ferran Adria
  • Emphasis in on the best ingredients from Poland
  • Amaro wants Polish cuisine to have better international profile
(CNN) -- To create the future of Polish cuisine, chef Wojciech Amaro looked to the 16th century for inspiration.
During a year-long odyssey to discover the origins of Poland's classic dishes, the 40-year old chef tracked down food historians and visited auction houses across the country to bid on dusty, leather-bound tomes that held the secrets of traditional recipes and long-forgotten ingredients.
"I wanted to find the roots of recipes and what the original idea was behind them," he says. "I realized I could talk for hours about Polish products, but I couldn't think of any (Polish dishes) that would stand at the same level."
Old school perceptions that its all potatoes and cabbage are being revised, but there are still suspicions.
Jan Woroneicki, restauranteur
The spark for Amaro's desire to improve and update Polish cuisine was a month spent working in the kitchen of El Bulli with Ferran Adria, the culinary wizard who is often called the world's greatest chef.
Chef Wojciech Amarao
"He changed my way of thinking," says Amaro, who first began his own epicurean education after dropping out of university to work in the kitchens of London restaurants.
From Bialystok in the east to Katowice in the south, Amaro racked up 60,000 kilometers on his journey that also led him to the country's best farmers and food producers, many of whom are now suppliers for Amaro's award-winning restaurant in Warsaw.
"Many of them weren't aware of how great their products were. I took their enthusiasm and passion and added it to my cooking. Some of them struggled to keep up the standard that I needed, but they're growing with me," he says.
Top 5 classic ingredients
Bison grass

Saffron milk cup mushrooms

Polish goose

Venison

Wild honey
As chosen by Wojciech Amaro
Atelier Amaro has been open for less than a year but became the first Polish restaurant to gain a "Michelin Rising Star", indicating that Amaro is on the right track in his quest to elevate Polish cuisine to a new international standard.
Amaro puts an emphasis on ingredients and reconstructing dishes from their essential elements, putting him in a similar mold as celebrated "food scientists" like Adria, Britain's Heston Blumenthal or Rene Redzepi of the Danish restaurant Noma that was recently voted the world's best restaurant for the third straight year.
At Atelier Amaro, classic recipes like hare in cream are reimagined -- "we cook it for 72 hours at 65 degrees, so its more like fois gras or butter and is eaten with a spoon" -- while the kitchen is also a lab in which to experiment with Polish ingredients hardly used anymore like chokeberries, wild herbs and edible flowers.
Top 5 Polish soups & stews
Flaki Warsawa - a peppery beef and tripe soup

Barszcz - with fermented beetroot

Zurek - with fermented rye

Botwinka - early summer soup with baby beetroot and their leaves

Kwasnica - with sauerkraut and pork
As chosen by Jan Woroniecki
As Poles becomes more interested in their culinary culture, Amaro believes the time is now right for Poland to takes it place at the table of internationally respected cuisine.
"We've spent 20 years (since communism) catching up in every department of life -- getting good jobs, starting companies, getting mortgages. Now it's a new country and people are starting to say, 'What about Polish products and our traditions?'
"We can't be amazed anymore by pizza or some French dishes. We are ready to search for our products and be proud of them."
Outside of the country attitudes to Polish food have been slowly improving, says restaurateur Jan Woroneicki, the British owner of London's Baltic restaurant and bar.
"Old school perceptions that its all potatoes and cabbage are being revised, but there are still suspicions," he says.
"In soups and stews Polish cooking is equal to or greater than other cuisines, and generally quality is improving, but for restaurants it can still be a bit tricky finding quality produce like charcuterie and supply lines are not great."
Even if Polish gastronomy doesn't challenge cuisine like Thai food as an international phenomenon, Amaro hopes his restaurant can do for Polish food what Noma has done for Nordic cuisine.
"Compared to Denmark, Poland is much more diverse, so if we are wise and careful about promoting Polish cuisine... we can be one of the most influential and really big cuisines like French, Italian and Spanish. There's lots of work to be done, but I think its going to happen."
was recently voted the world's best restaurant for the third straight year.
At Atelier Amaro, classic recipes like hare in cream are reimagined -- "we cook it for 72 hours at 65 degrees, so its more like fois gras or butter and is eaten with a spoon" -- while the kitchen is also a lab in which to experiment with Polish ingredients hardly used anymore like chokeberries, wild herbs and edible flowers.
Top 5 Polish soups & stews
Flaki Warsawa - a peppery beef and tripe soup

Barszcz - with fermented beetroot

Zurek - with fermented rye

Botwinka - early summer soup with baby beetroot and their leaves

Kwasnica - with sauerkraut and pork
As chosen by Jan Woroniecki
As Poles becomes more interested in their culinary culture, Amaro believes the time is now right for Poland to takes it place at the table of internationally respected cuisine.
"We've spent 20 years (since communism) catching up in every department of life -- getting good jobs, starting companies, getting mortgages. Now it's a new country and people are starting to say, 'What about Polish products and our traditions?'
"We can't be amazed anymore by pizza or some French dishes. We are ready to search for our products and be proud of them."
Outside of the country attitudes to Polish food have been slowly improving, says restaurateur Jan Woroneicki, the British owner of London's Baltic restaurant and bar.
"Old school perceptions that its all potatoes and cabbage are being revised, but there are still suspicions," he says.
"In soups and stews Polish cooking is equal to or greater than other cuisines, and generally quality is improving, but for restaurants it can still be a bit tricky finding quality produce like charcuterie and supply lines are not great."
Even if Polish gastronomy doesn't challenge cuisine like Thai food as an international phenomenon, Amaro hopes his restaurant can do for Polish food what Noma has done for Nordic cuisine.
"Compared to Denmark, Poland is much more diverse, so if we are wise and careful about promoting Polish cuisine... we can be one of the most influential and really big cuisines like French, Italian and Spanish. There's lots of work to be done, but I think its going to happen."

Test musztardy


Nawet faceci, czyli istoty nieodróżniające kolorów, wiedzą dość dobrze, jaki to kolor musztardowy. I ja tak myślałem, dopóki nie poszedłem na musztardowe zakupy i nie zabrałem się za smakowanie i testowanie.
Jeszcze niedawno wydawało mi się, że musztardowy to kolor musztardy (jasnobrązowy z odrobiną khaki). Tymczasem jak widać, musztardowy ma wiele odcieni: od rudawopomarańczowego, po... zielony. Wszystko zależy od tego, co producent dołoży.
Upiekłem kiełbasę, postawiłem przed sobą komplet małych słoiczków i próbuję. Solo, czyli z łyżeczki, i w duecie, czyli z rzeczoną kiełbasą. Zaczynam od wynalazków. Np. musztarda z czosnkiem Kamisa. Beznadziejna. Suszony czosnek tłumi musztardę, być może nawet dobrą, ale niewyczuwalną. Za dużo tego czosnku, za mocno pachnie, dominuje w smaku. Może to i niezłe do sałaty, ale na pewno nie w żadnej innej postaci.
Teraz chrzanowa Pudliszek. O dziwo ostrość chrzanu i musztardy miast się wzmacniać, nieco się znosi. Musztarda wcale nie jest ostra, za to wyrazista, całkiem niezła. Tyle że za gładko zmielona, zbyt papkowata.
Co dodano do jerozolimskiej Roleskiego, nie wiadomo, a lakoniczne stwierdzenie: ekstrakt z przypraw, niczego nie wyjaśnia. Ale nie dlatego mi nie smakuje, że nie wiem, co jem. Po prostu ten ekstrakt jest do bani.
Teraz musztarda z curry w pięknym małym słoiczku. Bez sensu. Dla kogo to i do czego? Do kuchni indyjskiej? Może do wołowiny?! Jeszcze gorzej zaprezentowała się musztarda prowansalska sławnej na całym świecie firmy Maille. Ma piękny (choć nie musztardowy kolor), wspaniały skład (m.in. papryczki, białe wino, czosnek), obiecujący zapach, ale smak rozczarowuje. Czy dlatego, że to świetny dodatek do ryb i owoców morza, a nie do kiełbasy? Czy po prostu nie tego smaku oczekuję?
Nie ma czasu na dywagacje, kiełbasa stygnie. Więc może musztarda zielona. Wygląda niezwykle, świetnie pachnie i doskonale smakuje. Zasługa to zapewne trzech ziół: bazylii, pietruszki i szczypiorku. Dzięki nim musztarda zyskuje zupełnie inny charakter i zachęca do eksperymentów. Na pewno jeden z faworytów tego przeglądu.
Ostatnia propozycja w tej grupie to musztarda słodka Develey. Niby że bawarska. Pamiętam dobrze smak oryginalnej bawarskiej musztardy podawanej do białych kiełbasek i ręczę głową, że nie była tak dramatycznie słodka. Ta nadaje się chyba wyłącznie do nieudanych deserów. Szkoda czasu i pieniędzy.
Czas na musztardy bez dodatków, czyli gorczyca w różnych odmianach i proporcjach: czarna, biała i sarepska. Francuska Kamisu to ulubiona musztarda mojej pani. Widać lubi, jak coś jej chrupie w zębach. Ja nie przepadam (za musztardą, nie panią), ale i nie potępiam (jw.). Wolę tej samej firmy sarepską klasyczną, nie za ostrą, nie za łagodną, taki dodatek do kiełbas i mięs w sam raz. Prymat zachęca do spróbowania musztardy rosyjskiej, bardzo ostrej. Fakt, jest ostra, ale nic poza tym: to, że piecze, nie znaczy, że smakuje. Bo smaku prawie nie ma. Rozczarowaniem, z tych samych powodów, jest diżońska musztarda Carrefour. Jest tak ostra, że kręci w nosie. Ale stanowczo za mocno, więc umykają inne cechy smakowe. A szkoda.
Więc na deser perełka: również z Dijon, ale tym razem firmowana przez Maille: ot musztarda doskonała. Z zapachem, z charakterem, dobrze na podniebieniu wyczuwalną ostrością. Świetna do rozmaitych potraw i sosów. Szkoda, że droga. Ale warto choć czasem.
1. Kamis, sarepska / 280 g - 3,19 zł
2. Prymat, rosyjska / 180 g - 2,69 zł
3. Kamis, z curry / 125 g - 4,49 zł
4. Maille, prowansalska / 200 ml - 12,29 zł
5. Carrefour, diżońska / 370 g - 5,05 zł
6. Pudliszki, chrzanowa / 205 g - 2,19 zł
7. Develey, słodka / 280 g - 5,89 zł
8. Mailly, ziołowa / 200 ml - 17,39 zł
9. Roleski, indiańska / 175 g - 2,39 zł
10. Maille, diżońska / 215 g - 12,79 zł
11. Kamis, francuska / 185 g - 2,69 zł
12. Kamis, czosnkowa / 185 g - 2,49 zł
13. Roleski, jerozolimska / 180 ml - 2,95 zł

The Worlds Largest Barbecue


The Worlds Largest Barbecue
Uruguayan Cooks Make Biggest Barbeque Ever Made – World’s Most Amazing Photos. People gather around Uruguayan cooks who barbecue meat in an attempt to break a record for the world’s largest barbecue in Montevideo. A meats association in Uruguay on Sunday hosted the world’s biggest barbeque on a single grill totalling 1,500 meters in length, media reported. As many as 1,252 volunteer cooks grilled 12 metric tonnes of beef and about 20,000 spectators cried with joy when a Guinness judge confirmed the barbecue record had been broken. “I’m very proud to be Uruguayan. We have the best beef and now we have the world’s biggest barbecue, said one of the cooks. The organizer said the gargantuan cookout is held to promote the country’s image as a major cattle producer.
For all barbecue lovers that follow the news I’m proud to announce that this Sunday the Mexican lost their Guinness record to the Uruguayan by just 4 tonnes of beef.
Uruguay just settled the world Guinness record for the biggest barbecue at 12 tonnes (26,400 lbs) of beef promoting the county’s succulent top export.
To barbecue all that meat the army put together nearly 1 mile of grills and the firefighters lit six tones of charcoal.
For the record to be broken they got some 1,250 people to grill the beef known by the population to be one of the best in the world. Besides all the “chefs” they also had 20,000 spectators to cheer the good news.
Uruguay that is a country of 3.2 million people stuck between two major cattle producers, Argentina and Brazil, and still managed to export $817 million last year.
The idea for this barbecue came from the National Meats Institute (INAC) that stated: “Uruguay is very small, it’s not known for other events so we have to use these kinds of gimmicks so people find out where Uruguay is and what it has to offer,”.
I think that this activity leaves us reasons to whoever didn’t tried Uruguayan meat to give it a go













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