Chef Residencies Continue to Shift the Lens – Fine Dining Lovers Intl

Ensuing chefs on the agenda are Shenarri Freeman and Preeti Mistry , who is also functioning as the consulting chef for the program, a role that Mistry describes as: “Key in determining the particular chefs we would feature plus being their liaison  throughout the project. From an operational side, I have been working closely with the culinary chefs on-site with regards to sourcing, whether that is specialty ingredients, or relationships I have built with local farmers, ranchers, etc . I’m also another chef in the kitchen when it comes to prep, execution, pairings, etc . ”

Mistry was also able to be firm and uphold the ideals of a chef residency as an exercise in cultural exchange, maintaining a foundation of education with the food prep. “Cultural appropriation is something that frustrates and angers me quite a bit. In cultural appropriation, ideas, recipes, and menus are taken and not compensated or credited. Oftentimes you hear this lament  from white people that they are being told what they ‘can’ plus ‘cannot’ cook. So , from that perspective,   I took this as an opportunity to make it clear: you can cook whatever you want. Just do it right and respectfully. Not just reading the recipe online and winging it but having a meaningful trade with a cook from a different background plus deepening your knowledge about the culture,   ingredients, and techniques you are using. Because of the time spent [together in the kitchen], chef Forest and the whole J Team are prepared to talk about the dishes, ingredients, and motivations intelligently to guests. ”

This series is unique in the current sea associated with chef residencies because it’s a conversation. As each residency draws to a close, J Winery ’s estate cook Forest Kellogg will serve a menu informed by the departing chief cook, a sort of responsorial psalm.   Both Mistry and Dorsey frequently sung Kellogg’s praises, noting how difficult an endeavour this particular residency series would have been if not for his competence.

Kellogg is originally through Sonoma County and is here, cooking on his home turf. He’s being stretched from the residencies. When they aren’t happening, his menus follow a similar structure. “I think what’s so interesting about Shifting the Lens is that every chef has a very unique voice plus distinct style. Our usual menu is much more indicative of the food that I cook. I really focus on seasonality and local products with an emphasis on sustainable proteins. With chef Jenny, she’s using a lot of components I’ve never seen before, that are being sourced through vendors in Southern California that I’m not as familiar with. It lets people to expand their own knowledge of food and wine pairings and what is possible, as well as their perceptions of what Chinese food is. And it will hopefully open our wine up to new markets. ”

Dorsey’s unique cuisine, marked by restraint and balance, Chinese-inflected and deeply personal. The terroir of Californian elements. The conversations about cooking without appropriating. The effervescent, minerally glass of Brut Rosé prior to me. Pinot noir poured from a yellow decanter that will resembles a blown cup French horn. To have all these elements come together in one a meal is spectacular. This is how we should be cooking, influenced by others and their particular ingredients by being taught directly by them, through sharing and conversation and really good wine pairings.