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The Secrets of the Tomahawk Steak

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If you like bone-in steaks such as T-bone or Porterhouse, you’ll love the “Tomahawk Steak”. But what makes the tomahawk steak the giant of all steaks? Let’s cut into this epic beef dish, and uncover some of the mysteries behind the tomahawk steak. All about the Bone Although the named after the ax-like weapon because of it’s shape, the tomahawk steak is technically a regular ribeye steak that still has the bone. The long rib bone attached is what makes the handle of the Tomahawk steak. It is marbled, moist, and has an intense flavor thanks to its intact rib bone. The bone in a Tomahawk steak is a great source of flavor and helps tempers the meat while cooking, allowing it to cook slower, and trims the danger of drying out the meat. The bone in a tomahawk steak can also provides a richer and deeper flavor with the added bonus of the juices from the bone marrow during cooking. A Steak of Many Names The legend of the tomahawk steak can be traced to the cowboys of Texas who often added Mexican spices to their meals. The flayed rib bone gives this steak the appearance of a hatchet or an Indigenous American tomahawk, which is where the name originates from. “Tomahawk” is just one of the steak’s many nicknames. Also known as a similar version like “cowboy steak,” a “côte de boeuf,” or a “Delmonico steak,” tomahawk is often seen as more hefty portion, but still has the buttery soft texture of a ribeye with the butter flavoring of bone marrow. Size Another distinguishing factor between a regular ribeye and a Tomahawk steak is size. Tomahawk steaks are generally at least 5 centermeters thick, measure 20 to 30 centermeters in length(with bone), and can weigh over a kilo. The thickness of the tomahawk cut often depends on the thickness of the bone, but it is so big that it can usually feed at least two people. French Cut The signature bone look that makes the handle of the tomahawk is created using a technique called frenching. The neat and tidy look is accomplished through a classic food preparation technique known as “frenching.” Frenching is a culinary cleaning technique where all fat, meat, or other tissue is scraped and removed from the naked bone, but leaves a good portion of meat. This technique also allows you to pick up a Tomahawk steak easily if you want to bit into the juicy steak like a cave man. According to legend, cowboys used to eat their steak while holding the bone like a handle. The Tender Bits Tomahawk steaks are cut from the the longissimus dorsi muscles which are rarely used which are located outside of the cow’s ribcage. This marvelous tender, highly marbleized cut of beef is from the back muscle, which is also the main muscle on the T-bone and Porterhouse. This muscle group is located along the posterior area of a cow, following along the rib cage of a cow’s upper back. The muscles that are used to make tomahawk steaks lie underneath the ribs and are barely used. This creates a marbling of fat and its rich flavorful taste. The Golden Cut Tomahawk steaks are usually the most expensive cuts of steak on the menu. An entire Tomahawk steak can end up costing several hundred dollars in some places, even fetching up to $1,000 for one encased in a rhinestone briefcase. If you are searching of one in Cambodia, you are in luck! The restaurant Topaz, which just made it to the top 100 restaurants in Asia list, has a Tajima Tomahawk steak that can be a meal for 4 people. The Tajima Wagyu has the beautiful marbling and the juicy flavors that will melt in your mouth. Served with grilled vegetables and a selection of sauces, you don’t want to miss out! Written by: Sotheavy Nou

Truffle Hog

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“Whosoever says truffle, utters a grand word, which awakens erotic and gastronomic ideas” Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), preface to ‘The Physiology of Taste’ (1825) Truffles, those incredible little culinary luxuries that almost defy description, one should never pass up an opportunity to smell, taste and commune with the plump little balls of ectomycorrhizal fungi found in the rhizosphere of oak and hazelnut trees. The merest sliver of a shaving of the hypogeous sporocarp, (fruiting body) of the truffle can transform even the blandest dish into something, exceptional, complex and completely irresistible. It is almost as if truffles are infused by magical properties and indeed, Ancient Europeans believed that truffles were created by the gods when lightning struck the ground. The Roman philosopher Cicero, (106 BC – 43 BC) called them children of the earth and the Greek essayist Plutarch (AD46-AD120) wrote “Since, during storms, flames leap from the humid vapors and dark clouds emit deafening noises, is it surprising the lightning, when it strikes the ground, gives rise to truffles…” In ‘Close to Colette’ (1955) the author Maurice Goudeket suggested “Truffles – anyone who does not declare himself ready to leave Paradise or Hell for such a treat is not worthy to be born again.” Whilst his wife, French author nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, (1948) Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, (1873 – 1954) is quoted herself as saying, “If I can’t have too many truffles, I’ll do without truffles.” The two godfathers of French fine dining criticism are Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, (1755-1826) and Alexandre-(Balthazard)-Laurent Grimod de La Reynière, (1758-1837). Brillat-Savarin’s most famous work, ‘Physiologie du goût (The Physiology of Taste), was published in December 1825, just two months before his death and it has never been out of print since. An interesting and complex character he studied law, chemistry and medicine in Dijon, there was a price on his head during the French Revolution and he fled to Switzerland before moving to Holland and then the brand-new country called the United States of America. In the U.S. he earned a living giving violin lesson and was for a time ‘first violin’ for the Park Theatre in New York. He returned to France in 1797 and served for the remainder of his life as a judge for the Court de Cassation, one of France’s ‘Courts of Last Resort’. Brillat-Savin called truffles the ‘diamonds of the kitchen’ and he wrote a great many words on truffles, including: “Whoever says truffle, pronounces a great word, which awakens erotic and gourmand ideas both in the sex dressed in petticoats and in the bearded portion of humanity. This honorable duplication results from the fact that the tubercle is not only delicious to the taste, but that it excites a power the exercise of which is accompanied by the most delicious pleasures. The origin of the truffle is unknown; they are found, but none know how they vegetate. The most learned men have sought to ascertain the secret, and fancied they discovered the seed. Their promises, however, were vain, and no planting was ever followed by a harvest. This perhaps is all right, for as one of the great values of truffles is their dearness, perhaps they would be less highly esteemed if they were cheaper. The Romans were well acquainted with the truffle, but I do not think they were acquainted with the French variety. Those which were their delight were obtained from Greece and Africa, and especially from Libya. The substance was pale, tinged with rose, and the Libyan truffles were sought for as being far the most delicate and highly perfumed. From the Romans to our own time, there was a long interregnum, and the resurrection of truffles is an event of recent occurrence. I have read many old books, in which there is no allusion to them. The generation for which I write may almost be said to witness its resurrection. About 1780 truffles were very rare in Paris, and they were to be had only in small quantities at the Hotel des Americans, and at the Hotel de Province. A dindon truffee was a luxury only seen at the tables of great nobles and of kept women. We owe their abundance to dealers in comestibles, the number of whom has greatly increased, and who, seeing that their merchandise was popular, had it sought for throughout the kingdom. Sending for it by either the mail or by couriers, they made its search more general. As truffles cannot be planted, careful search alone can obtain it. At the time I, (Brillat-Savin) write (1825), the glory of the truffle is at its apogee. Let no one ever confess that he dined where truffles were not. However good any entree may be, it seems bad unless enriched by truffles. Who has not felt his mouth water when any allusion was made to truffles a la provincale? A sauté of truffles is a dish the honors of which the mistress of the house reserves to herself; in fine, the truffle is the diamond of the kitchen. I sought the reason of this preference; it seemed to me that many other substances had an equal right to the honor, and I became satisfied that the cause was that the truffle was supposed to excite the genesiac sense. This I am sure is the chief quality of its perfection, and the predilection and preference evinced for it, so powerful is our servitude to this tyrannical and capricious sense. This discovery led me to seek to ascertain if the effect were real or imaginary…. I made ulterior researches, collected my ideas, and consulted the men who were most likely to know, with all of whom I was intimate. I united them into a tribunal, a senate, a sanhedrim, an areopagus, and we gave the following decision to be commented upon by the litterateures of the twenty-eighth century. The truffle is a positive aphrodisiac, and under certain circumstances makes women kinder, and men more amiable. In Piedmont white truffles are … Read more

Gastronomy & “50 Best” list: What are the best restaurants and chefs in Asia?

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The suspense is over for the culinary competition – Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants – to determine the top 50 best dining establishments located in Asia. Hopefuls and Winners Although the official name of the competition is “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants”, the list was expanded last year from 51 to 100 places to reflect a greater diversity of tastes and regions. The publication of the shortlist naturally generated a wave of enthusiasm and high hopes among the candidates, all of whom were probably dreaming of making it into the top 10, or even of achieving the ultimate accolade of reaching the podium. The winners of this tenth edition were revealed last Tuesday and celebrated with a series of live events in Bangkok, Macau and Tokyo. The suspense was intense during the ceremony when the countdown reached the top five. The Chairman (China), last year’s No. 1, took fifth place; Le Du in Bangkok came in at No. 4, giving Chef Ton two spots in the top 10, an absolutely unique achievement. Florilege restaurant in Tokyo took the third place. Finally, Sorn, the best restaurant in Thailand, came in second. Then came the announcement of the coveted first place and it was Den (Tokyo) – already ranked as the best restaurant in Japan since 2018, coming in second or third overall in the previous four editions. Award-winning chef Zaiyu Hasegawa began cooking at the age of 18 in the kitchen of a ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant) in the Kagurazaka district of Tokyo. Eleven years later, he opened Den. According to the chef, who is visibly moved, but not really surprised to be in the top 10, his success can be explained by an ongoing curiosity: “Rather than sticking to the elegant but often impersonal traditions of high-end kaiseki cuisine, I offer a deeply personal version of Japanese cuisine drawing on a variety of influences, whether from home or gleaned from travels abroad, but always using prime ingredients from the ocean, pastures and forest,” he explains on the Den website. Concept Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants was created in 2013 by the Academy of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, an influential group reuniting more than 300 food critics in Asia, each selected for their expert opinion in the industry. The competition includes six voting regions – India and Subcontinent; Southeast Asia – South; Southeast Asia – North; Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau; Mainland China and Korea; and Japan. This initiative, supported by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, was launched at a time when gastronomic tourism was booming. The objective of the promoters of this initiative was “to publicize promising chefs and culinary trends and to highlight the subtlety and complexity of the various cuisines of the region – and of course, those worth discovering” “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” list is published by William Reed, which also manages “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” launched in 2002, and “Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants,” launched in 2013. In May 2020, “50 Best” – the organization behind the lists – launched the “50 Best for Recovery” program in support of restaurants around the world that are emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic and are looking for concrete advice and support. There are also a multitude of categories in this 50 Best organization ranging from best bars to discoveries to MENA’s (Middle East & North Africa’s). In 2021, still in the spirit of supporting a struggling industry Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants – in association with S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna – has announced “Essence of Asia”, addressing a category of restaurants representing the spirit of Asian gastronomy. Reference The Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants award has become a benchmark in gastronomy. Since 2013, the list has well-positioned restaurants rated by as many as 350 chefs, professionals and food experts as the best. For William Reed, which operates in a field – review site and competition – that is more than crowded, the “50 Best” reference is a genuine compass for gourmets and lovers of fine cuisine and an exceptional opportunity for restaurateurs to significantly gain visibility and notoriety. Due to restrictions, the annual culinary gathering, usually a mix of festivities and gourmet meals, has not been held in preference since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 editions were online so not very tasty… This year, however, the organizers of 50 Best offered a novel format: they unveiled the list in a simulcast to the public and to the winners in Macau, Tokyo and Bangkok. In Cambodia Wat Damnak In 2015, Wat Damnak restaurant in Siem Reap entered this prestigious list of the 50 best restaurants in Asia at number 50. This was a first for a restaurant in the Kingdom. Chef-owner Joannès Rivière had then flown to Singapore to attend a gala evening at the Capella Resort, in the presence of several of the world’s most famous chefs. “I am honored, it is really a great success, it definitely puts Siem Reap on the international culinary map. It’s good for Siem Reap, but also for Cambodia,” said the French chef at the time, adding: “The country is really worth visiting when it comes to food. We have the products. We have the culinary culture. We have everything people could want. I just don’t think we are the best at promoting ourselves here in Cambodia, especially in Siem Reap.” On this occasion, the chef also took the opportunity to say: “I would like to see this award as a message to Cambodian chefs, it proves that it is possible to run a world-class restaurant with a menu based on local products. Young Cambodian chefs should pay attention to their grandmother’s cooking and the products around them. Back on the map In 2019, Joannès Rivière’s restaurant was again included in the “50 Best” list in the “Disovery” category, a second consecration for the talented chef who has since opened a restaurant in Phnom Penh. As a matter of fact, Joannès Rivière’s restaurant in Siem Reap was so successful that it was necessary to make reservations several weeks in advance, thus becoming one of the … Read more

Topaz makes Asia top-100 eatery list

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The pandemic has not been kind to the restaurant industry as a whole. Thousands of good eateries have been forced to close over the past couple of years, many of which would no doubt have otherwise been thriving businesses today and Cambodia has suffered its share of culinary losses during the downturn. Despite the challenges in recent years, one of Cambodia’s long-time fine dining establishments has managed to not only survive but do so with award-winning distinction having made the “Asia’s Best Restaurants” list, which was announced on March 23. Although the official name of the awards is “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants”, their rankings actually extend out to the 100 best restaurants in Asia and Phnom Penh’s own Topaz was listed at 90 – the first time any Cambodian restaurant has cracked the Asia top 100 list. Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants was launched in 2013 to celebrate gastronomy across the region and to provide local insight and culinary recommendations. There is no candidate list or online poll, rather the restaurants are nominated by a panel of more than 300 culinary experts through a structured and audited voting procedure. This year Topaz debuted on the list at 90 amongst such prestigious restaurants as The Chairman in Hong Kong, Gaggan Annam in Thailand, Odette in Singapore and Den in Tokyo. It is the first time in the celebrated list’s history that a Cambodian restaurant has been voted in. Pov Sopheak, Topaz’s executive chef who has been with the restaurant since 2002, was overjoyed at the news. “Honestly, my heart is bursting with joy. This is my second time in my over 20 year career as a chef that I’ve won an award like this. The first time was in 2011 when I placed 4th at the MLA Black Box culinary challenge in Australia. “I’m so proud of the work that my teammates and I did in order to make this list. I can’t thank them enough – each and every person who works at Topaz – because I know that this could only have happened with everyone’s efforts,” Sopheak tells The Post. Lina Hak, who joined Topaz in 2005 as a part time secretary and then became the general manager and director of operations a few years later, was also thrilled to have earned international recognition. “We are extremely honoured and I believe it’s a testament to Cambodia and what we can do. We see ourselves as ambassadors for Cambodian tourism. This award serves as a foundation for our pursuit of excellence through constant improvement,” says Hak. Hak continues, noting that the hospitality industry continues to deal with huge challenges wrought by the pandemic. The ban on dining out and the lockdown regulations impacted them greatly just like they did the entire restaurant sector and it was tough to stay positive at times with very few customers and no real idea about when it was all going to go back to normal. One thing they were not willing to compromise, Hak says – despite the added challenges – was the standard of quality of their food and dining experience and she sees a lesson for others in their commitment to high standards paying off for them in the end. “What I think is very exciting is that the younger crop of Cambodian chefs and restaurateurs can look at what we have accomplished and know it is possible – with the right commitment, with the right vision, with the right people on board,” Hak says. Hak says she thinks the biggest contributing factor for Topaz to making the list is the mentality and drive for excellence from every staff member when everyone has the same goal and puts in 110 per cent to try to achieve it and they are always trying to improve on every aspect of the dining experience. “Nothing is ever perfect. We can always do better. Even when we are riding high in the reviews and ratings, there is never settling for good enough. The belief here at Topaz is that things can always be improved upon. “Everyone who works here has the same mentality, which is to make the restaurant as good as it can possibly be. I am incredibly proud of the team for their unwavering dedication to Topaz and what we offer our guests,” the 37-year-old general manager says. Topaz first opened its doors in 1997, so making this list now in 2022 has been a nice 25th anniversary present for them and a recognition of their status as the top destination for French fine dining in the heart of Phnom Penh. Topaz aims to offer a genuine French fine-dining experience with authentic tastes and combinations of fresh ingredients sourced from the Marché Rungis in Paris or from carefully selected suppliers in France and Cambodia. However, though Topaz has a strong focus on French cuisine, Sopheak says he often adapts dishes to customers’ tastes and they do have some Asian dishes on their menu because. “We aren’t strictly just a French restaurant so much as we are really a French-Cambodian restaurant and we take pride in the work we do building up the skills of the next generation of young chefs, managers and other hospitality workers who learn how to do things the right way by working with us,” Sopheak says. Sopheak recounts how he made his own debut at Topaz at the bottom rung of the career ladder as a kitchen boy in October, 2002. He says he applied himself and gradually climbed the ladder in the restaurant’s kitchen until he was finally offered the position of chef de cuisine in 2010. “I first studied cooking with the NGO Friends International, which is known in particular for its restaurants Friends and Romdeng in Phnom Penh and Marum in Siem Reap. But then at Topaz my training was taken to the next level. Sopheak’s climb wasn’t easy because Alain Darc – the master chef who he trained under – is someone whose demands for quality … Read more

Chapter 265

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A list of the requirements to live a happy life: Freedom Self Sufficiency Friendship Thought Wine Bread & Cheese -Epicurus, (#Note: Epicurus was an avowed teetotal, the author here has substituted water with wine) Epicurus The famous Greek philosopher Epicurus reminds us that we replace emotional needs with commercial wants. “Why then, if expensive things cannot bring us remarkable joy, are we so powerfully drawn to them? Because of an error similar to that of a migraine sufferer who drills a whole in the side of their skull: because expensive objects can feel like plausible solutions to needs that we don’t fully understand. Objects mimic in a material dimension what we require in a psychological one. We need to rearrange our minds but are lured to new shelves. We buy a cashmere cardigan as a substitute for the counsel of friends. We are not solely to blame for our confusions. Our weak understanding of our needs is aggravated by what Epicurus termed the ‘idle opinions’ of those around us, which do not reflect the natural hierarchy of our needs, emphasizing luxury and riches, seldom friendship, freedom and thought. The prevalence of idle opinion is no coincidence. It is in the interests of commercial enterprises to skew the hierarchy of our needs, to promote a material vision of the good and downplay an unsaleable one. And the way we are enticed is through the sly association of superfluous objects with our own forgotten needs. It may be a ‘Jeep’ we end up buying but it was –for Epicurus- freedom we were looking for. It may be the aperitif we purchase but it was –for Epicurus- friendship we were after. It may be the new bathing salts and oils we acquire but it was –for Epicurus- thought that would have brought us calm.” Alain de Botton –The Consolations of Philosophy Commensality For most of us in the developed world, eating is no longer a question of survival it is something that has transcended mere sustenance. Food is traditional, cultural, emotional, it is part of who we are, where we come from, and how we wish to live. As the French critic, epicurean and gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, (1755-826) once said: “Tell me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are”. What people eat can inform us about where they come from geographically, socio-economically, religiously, or even philosophically. We come together over food, and often it is the very act of sharing food itself that brings us together; eating is communal and community, we commune with family and with friends at meal time, we talk about our lives, we foment ideas, participate in society; we come to appreciate and at times celebrate the food, the wine and the company in front of us. Breaking bread, eating with someone is intimate, it is sharing that which sustains us, it is caring about the person you are with, it is a moment to be cherished and to take into your heart. We choose what we eat, how much we eat, and who we eat it with, and this, in turn, creates who we are in both a physical, (health) and a spiritual, (psychological and emotional) sense. Australia Post War Australia saw a nation rattled by the prospects of invasion, a once introspective country -now it was ready and willing to be more heuristic and open-minded. Although a federation since 1901, Australia’s non-indigenous population was almost exclusively British and for all intents and purposes the young nation considered itself to be merely no more than to be part of the ‘Empire’, an extension of the mother country. Two world wars in only 25 years and an all-conquering invader on its doorstep, one that had bombed a city on Australian soil and sent submarines into the largest harbor of its most populist city, soon changed its approach to nationhood. Immigration was seen as vital to the future defense of the country and was radically opened up for the very first time, ‘Populate or Perish’ was the political catchphrase. At the beginning of the second world war, the official Australian population stood at just seven million people and just 7.4 million six years later at the end of the war, by the end of the 1960s that figure had reached over 12.6 million, and by 1976 the population had double from post-war figures. This brought a dramatic change in the population mix, in its thinking, its culture, habits, and, along with a booming economy, a dramatic change in the national diet. Australian Culinaria was about to embark on a journey of great discovery and transformation, that began with southern European migration in the 50s and 60s, followed by Asian migration in the 70s and 80s, and evolved into a sophisticated, cosmopolitan, and wholly adventurous outlook on food by the turn of the century. Today, Australia has a population of just under 26 million people. Lunches at the Imperial In the early 1950s, a few members of the South Australian wine industry would gather regularly on a Friday for lunch. It soon became custom to bring a bottle of wine ‘masked’ in a paper bag and served ‘blind’ to get some honest feedback from one’s industry peers. Of course, this was not meant to be too rigorous an examination and for decades many recalled with great mirth the time Tom Hardy put on the same wine, masked as ‘Red Number 1’ and ‘Red Number 2’ and then listened straight-faced glee as his colleagues expended a great deal of oxygen and vocabulary pointing out the many differences in the two wines! Ray Drew was chief accountant at Hardy’s winery at the time, and one of the original members of the informal ‘lunch group’. In an ‘oral history’ interview donated to the State Library of South Australia, Drew recalled the camaraderie and conviviality of the time: “I would say that nearly everybody at Hardys—the management team—would go out and have their bottle of table wine for lunch. … Read more

To Taste of the Sea

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“Oysters are the usual opening to a winter breakfast. Indeed, they are almost indispensable.” Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière, (1758 – 1837) Terroir The French term terroir is often used throughout the wine world to describe elements such as the climate, geology, topography and management practices and their impact on a wine’s aroma and taste and overall phenotype. It forms the basis of the French wine appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) system and is the model for the geographical regulation of wine grape cultivation and winemaking around the world. The foundation premise being that the habitat the wine grapes are grown in imparts specific qualities and characters unique to its exclusive site, others go further and include the producers themselves, so that a combination of farm and family create something truly unique and inimitable in the bottle. Merroir Oysters are natural filter feeders; they feed by pumping water through their gills, trapping particles of food, nutrients, suspended sediments and contaminants. In doing so, oysters help keep the waters around them clean and clear for other aquatic life. But, if you are what you eat, then just as the soils and the diet available to grapevines impact on the ultimate, character, quality and flavour of what the grapes taste like, so too does the maritime environment, diet and management of an oyster play a very big part in both its physical make up and its ultimate taste. It should be of little surprise the oysters taste like where they come from and what they eat, this not only gives them observable quality it also gives them truly regional characteristics. In French, the word mer means sea, and so the term merroir has been adopted to describe a sense of maratime terroir for oysters. “As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.” Ernest Hemingway, ‘A Moveable Feast’ The Big Oyster Oysters have been eaten since antiquity, there are oyster middens in Australia dating back 10,000 years BC and there is evidence of oyster cultivation in Japan as far back as 2,000 years BC. During the time of the Ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire they were being over-harvested and seen as a delicacy, only available to the wealthier, privileged classes. Then, for over 100 years, beginning in the early 1800s all that changed, and Oysters experienced something of a golden age, thriving as a ubiquitous and inexpensive source of protein for all. It has been recorded that in during the 1800s New Yorkers consumed over one million oysters every week! During this period the population of New York City went from 60,000 in 1800 to 3.8 million people at the turn of the century, to just over 10 million people by 1930. There is evidence of large scale oyster consumption in the area dating back to 6950 B.C. and Oysters thrived for thousands of years in the brackish waters around New York Harbor. As filter feeders, they kept the estuary clean and fed the native inhabitants. In the early 1600s the New York metro area is said to have contained nearly half of the world’s entire oyster population. Immigrants soon turned this resource into a major industry, and to such an extent that oyster shells were used in road paving and ground up to be mixed in with construction cement. As well as being available in restaurants and specific ‘oyster cellars’ all over New York city, oysters were being shipped all over the country. New Yorkers ate them anytime and almost anywhere, including from carts on the street. They ate Blue Points, Saddle Rocks, Rockaways, Lynnhavens, Cape Cods, Buzzard Bays, Cotuits, Shrewsburys—raw on the half shell. They ate them as fried oysters, oyster pie, oyster patties, oyster box stew, Oysters Pompadour, Oysters Algonquin, oysters a la Netherland, a la Newberg, a la Poulette, oysters roasted on toast, broiled in shell, served with cocktail sauce, stewed in milk or cream, fried with bacon, escalloped, fricasseed, and pickled. At the height of their fame New York oysters were considered the finest in the world at a time when New York was the busiest port in the world. In a comprehensive history of the oyster in New York, ‘The Big Oyster’, author Mark Kurlansky wrote, “the history of the New York oyster is a history of New York itself—its wealth, its strength, its excitement, its greed, its thoughtfulness, its destructiveness, its blindness, and—as any New Yorker will tell you—its filth.” It was pollution and over-harvesting that killed the oyster industry in New York, a surprising feat considering that the lower Hudson estuary once had 350 square miles of oyster beds.” While visiting New York in the 1790s, the Frenchman Moreau de St. Mery commented, “Americans have a passion for oysters, which they eat at all hours, even in the streets.” Oysters were regular fare at cheap eateries, and it was claimed that the very poorest New Yorkers “had no other subsistence than oysters and bread.” Fortunately, oysters are nutritious—rich in protein, phosphorus, iodine, calcium, iron, and vitamins A, B, and C.” One early problem for the New York oyster industry was the use of child labor, children as young as four years old would work from 3am to 5pm shucking oysters, much of this was documented and reported by former schoolteacher Lewis Wickes Hine who gave up the classroom to document the plight of these poor children and he reported it to National Child Labor Committee, of which he had become their chief photographer. His photographs exist as confrontational evidence to this day, and his work changed the laws governing child labor in America forever. Carmen Nigro, Managing Research Librarian, Milstein Division of … Read more

Love is in the air!

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While we acknowledge that cooking for your loved one can be a most romantic and wholesome event, we at Thalias also realise that there is a real appeal to leaving your cares behind and spending a Valentine’s Dinner catered to and pampered this February 14. Don’t worry about the overcooked steak or the wine pairing, we have that all covered for you! Discover below the delicious menus we have crafted to help you and your significant other celebrate your adoration. Spend an elegant evening with your beloved at Topaz. Intimately lit by candlelight, let our staff cater to your needs while you focus on letting the love flow. Our lavish seven-course set is made to delight your senses with delicate flavours from the land and sea. For a heightened sensory experience, the Topaz team has also spent time selecting a range of wines that we feel perfectly match the flavours of each course. Our Valentine’s Day menu will be available on the evening of Monday 14 February. Your chance to savour this refined 7-course menu is $240 net per couple or $160 net with wine pairing per person. See our full menu here and make sure to book your table now. Please call: 015 821 888, or book via https://topaz-restaurant.com/reservation Spoil your loved one this Valentine’s day with a romantic dinner for two at Khéma. With your hearts in mind, Khéma’s chefs have created a sensuous menu of smooth, rich, sweet, and creamy flavours that will leave you swooning this Valentine’s Day. Getting off to an electrifying start with a Lobster salad, the menu then lowers the volume with a Beef broth with foie gras Royale, followed by sweet, luscious Slow-Cooked Lamb Chops and rounded off with a magnificent Chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis centre. Discover our full menu and book your table now for Monday 14 February on https://www.khema-restaurant.com/reservations This Valentine’s Day, we’ve created a vibrant, luxurious menu full of colour and zest and featuring some of Cambodia’s most delicious flavours. If beautiful food is the key to gaining and holding a lover’s heart, then it’s time to book your enchanting Valentine’s Day dinner at Malis right now. Reservations strongly recommended https://malis-restaurant.com/reservation Details and menu here.

L’Art sur la Table : part 1

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The Ancien Regime French cuisine has been regarded for its unique qualities and flavours since the earliest days of the Ancien Regime, with the written works of celebrated chefs as far back as Guillaume ‘Taillevent’ Tirel, (Le Viandier, 13th century) through to the 17th-century works of chefs such as François Pierre de la Varenne, (Le Cuisinier François, 1651) and François Massialot, (Le Cuisinier Roïal et Bourgeois, 1691). The latter being at a time when we start to see French cuisine really emerge, abandoning middle eastern spices and Italian sauces to define itself with local ingredients, fresh herbs, and new, lighter sauces that incorporate more local, regional, and decidedly more French ingredients, techniques, and flavours. Paris was the epicenter of culture and the economy and the most highly skilled craftsmen were to be found there, including those of the culinary trades. The very finest were regulated by the guild system, which themselves were regulated by the city government as well as the French crown. A guild restricted those in any given branch of the culinary industry to operate only within that area and to ‘stay in their lane’ as it were. There were two main groups of guilds: one that supplied the raw ingredients such as butchers, fishmongers, grain merchants, and gardeners; whilst the second group supplied prepared food: bakers, pastry cooks, sauce makers, poulterers, and caterers, etc. There were, however, also guilds that offered both raw materials and prepared food. Two such guilds were the charcutiers and rôtisseurs, who would supply cooked pies and other dishes, whilst also supplying raw meat and poultry; much to the annoyance of the butchers and poulterers. The guilds served as training grounds and the accredited titles of cook, chef, and master chef were conferred. Those who reached the level of a master chef were of considerable rank and often some degree of fame and were able to enjoy a high level of income. “Those who have not lived in the eighteenth century, before the Revolution, do not know the sweetness of living” Talleyrand Service en Confusion Writer and food historian Barbara Ketcham Wheaton, in her magnificent tome, ‘Savoring the past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789’, (first published in 1996) notes the following: In French medieval cuisine, banquets were common among the aristocracy. Multiple courses would be prepared and then served all at once, this was known as ‘service en confusion’. The sauces were highly seasoned, with thick, heavily flavored mustards used. Pies were the crust more as a container than a part of the dish itself. Ingredients were highly seasonal and preserved items were common, especially in winter. Meats were salted or smoked, whilst spices, salt (and brine) were used to preserve greens, whilst root vegetables were preserved in honey. Pigeon and squab were delicacies and game such as venison, boar, hare, rabbit, and fowl were considered luxuries. Kitchen gardens provided herbs, many of which are rarely seen and never used today. Vinegar and Verjus were used in preparing sauces as were sugars, (for the very rich) and honey. For the most aristocratic of banquets, presentation was very important and food colours would be extracted from natural ingredients and used to create bright and unusual displays whilst gold and silver leaf would be applied with egg whites. “One of the grandest showpieces of the time was roast swan or peacock sewn back into its skin with feathers intact, the feet and beak being gilded. Since both birds are stringy, and taste unpleasant, the skin and feathers could be kept and filled with the cooked, minced and seasoned flesh of tastier birds, like goose or chicken.” The most celebrated French chef of the Middle Ages was known as Taillevent, who began his career as a ‘kitchen boy’ in 1326. He rose to the position of chef to the Dauphin, son of John II and when the Dauphin became King Charles the V of France in 1364, Taillevent was his chief chef. Taillevent worked in numerous royal kitchens during the 14th century. His first position was as a kitchen boy in 1326. He was chef to Philip VI, then the Dauphin who was the son of John II. The Dauphin became King Charles V of France in 1364, with Taillevent as his chief cook. His career spanned sixty-six years, and his tombstone represents him holding a shield with three marmites, (cooking pots) on it. When Catherine de Medici came to France in the 1540s, many culinary influences from her native Italy became incorporated into French cuisine. During her reign as Queen and then Queen Mother of France (three of her sons became King of France), the dinners she hosted were legendary and helped move French cuisine forward in history. Fine tableware and glassware became important features of dining as did the use of color. The Age of Catherine de Medici, saw the incorporation of new produce into French culinaria, both from the Mediterranean and for the first time the New World. Louis XIV French food came into its own as a definable and desirable cuisine in the 17th century, in great part because of Louis XIV’s majestic charisma and the glamour and opulence of Versailles. Now the French were eating with forks as utensils and during this “siècle des Lumières” (the Enlightenment) cuisine became a subject of intellectual debate and informed writing within France: ‘food was now being described as an art form and discussed in terms of harmony, chemistry, and spirituality’. La Varenne François Pierre de la Varenne was a Burgundian and the foremost member of a group of French chefs who codified French cuisine in the age of King Louis XIV. The others were Nicolas Bonnefon, Le Jardinier François, and François Massialot. The seventeenth century saw a culinary transformation take place in France which carried its gastronomy into the modern era. The heavy use of imported and expensive spices was replaced in favour of natural flavours and locally foraged or farmed ingredients. Middle Eastern spices such as saffron, cinnamon, … Read more