Hong Kong Ferran Wine Auction a Great Success

Sotheby’s has just completed their Hong Kong auction of Ferran Adrià’s wine from the world famous elBulli Restaurant. When the evening’s sales were totaled, the coffers of Ferran’s future Barcelona culinary research center were US$1.82 million richer.

The most sought after wines were in three lots of Romanée Conti wines from various years.  The Romanée Conti 1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti lot fetched top dollar, commanding US$72,708 for just three bottles. 

The lot's final bid surpassed its original estimate auction value of US$33,547, certainly signaling many smiles from Sotheby’s wine staff. However, perhaps the most esteemed item auctioned off was an evening for four lucky guests with Chef Ferran Adrià himself in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. 

The bid packet consisted of a meeting with Chef Adrià at his culinary test kitchen El Bulli Taller, followed by dinner at his brother’s acclaimed tapas restaurant, Tickets La Vida Tapa.  The final winning bid for this evening of discovery and delight was an amazing US$28,451.

The funds generated by the auction will be well needed as the future elBulli Foundation is projected to cost US$7.7 million to build and another US$3.85 million annually to operate.

But Ferran need not fear. On April 26^th Sotheby’s will auction off the remaining elBulli 10,000 wines in New York City to what will surely be another recording breaking evening for wine lovers from around the world. Additionally, Spanish telecom and broadband provider Telefonica SA has signed on as a Foundation sponsor.

Ferran has also committed to prepare what are sure to be a legendary series of meals once a year for the 100 to 200 supporting Foundation members. 

The accumulated funds will result in a Foundation that, as Ferran recently told members of the press, will be "a mix of Cirque du Soleil, the Museo Dali and MIT’s media lab." Once completed, Ferran will most likely amazing the culinary world - yet once again.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013

Why the San Francisco 49ers Favorite Super Bowl Food Should Be Bourdin Sourdough Bread

There are certain culinary classics that have stood the test of time secure in a city that appreciates fine food. San Francisco is one such city and the legendary food they cherish is their very own and very unique sourdough bread.

This flavorful bread began in 1849 (the same 'golden' year the 49ers Football Team is named after) when Isidore Boudin, a hopeful immigrant arrived in San Francisco from Burgundy. He was drawn to California from his native France by the recent discovery of massive deposits of gold in the region's streams and mountains.

But Boudin had no desire to dig in the dirt. As a skilled baker, he intended to make his fortune baking bread for the hungry miners, yet he started with little beyond but his own knowledge of classic French baking techniques and a precious bag of flour.

Very quickly he noticed a unique tangy taste had developing in his bread. As a professional, he was able to dentify its source and knew that he had found his treasure - a natural occurring yeast. And not just an common yeast, but one unique to San Francisco. 

Scientists would later honor its rarity by naming this terrior bacterium "Lactobacillius Sanfrancisensis". Once incorporated within flour, it naturally causes the dough to raise. By always preserving a small starter portion of the dough, the bacterium will continually act as a levying ageny for future loaves. 

Boudin worked hard and soon his horse-drawn delivery wagons were delivering his signature loaves to elite Nob Hill homes and elegant downtown hotels. Sadly his long days (and perhaps one or two too many pastries) caught up with him and he died in 1887.

But he had not labored alone. His wife, Louise, and his beloved daughter, Lucie, knew the bakery as well as he and on his death continued producing the bread he loved. Year by year the bakery's client list (and its bank account) grew.

Then in 1906, disaster struck as a massive earthquake shattered San Francisco's calm. And although the earthquake was very bad, the resulting fire was worst. Soon huge sections of the City were on fire - including area where the Boudin Bakery was located.

Louise had lost her husband; she had no intension of loosing her bakery as well. Dodging falling bricks and flaming timbers she worked her way to the remains of her baking kitchen and found the original dough starter begun by her husband.

She scooped it into a bucket and carried it out to safety. Referred to thereafter as the "mother dough", it continued to raise dough (pardon the pun there) for the Boudin family at their rebuilt bakery from 1910 to the late 1930's.

Yet by the end of the 1930's the Great Depression had taken its toll. San Francisco's grand families no longer entertained lavishly and many of the major hotels had closed their namesake restaurants. Even the demand for a truly great bread had dropped dramatically as families and corporates watched every penny.

Enter Steve Giraudo, Boudin's Master Baker. An Italian by birth, he was as devoted to fine bread as Louise and Isidore Boudin had been. He bought both the bakery and the mother dough starter. Once again San Francisco had her beloved bread (and so did the many sailors and soliders passing through San Francisco during World War II).

This increased exposure broadened the fame of Boudin Sourdough French Bread so that in 1975, Steven's son, Lou Giraudo, opened their first public demonstration bakery and cafe on Fisherman's Wharf to the delight of thousands of visiting tourists. Today there are eight additional cafe locations in the San Francisco area and seven more throughout the State. 

Not bad for a firm that was started by a Frenchman with a bag of flour. So you can see why the 49ers Football Team should (and do) love this bread. Like them, it has survived hard times and 'risen' to the acclaim of all. And now they are on their way to New Orleans, a city with such a strong French heritage Boudin himself would have loved it. 

Maybe the fact that New Orleans's Super Dome looks a bit like a rounded load of sourdough bread will bring them great good luck! 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013

Wine Spectator App Now on iPhone and iPod

Finally! Wine Spectator has just released their WineRatings+ app for all of us who cannot live without our iPhones and iPods. 

The new app offers both a mixture of free and premium (yes you pay) but it's worth it content.

For you see, Spectator's helpful new app includes over 270,000 insightful reviews with famed ratings and expert tasting notes, supportive articles and videos as well as detailed vintage charts that all in all cover 55 of the world's leading wine regions and grape varieties. 

Such an array of information should definitely improve wine selection and encourage new discoveries for everyone from guests to sommelier. 

You can also easily mark your favorite wines and then share the info with your family and friends. Not a bad bargain for $2.99 USD.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012 

A New Wine Movie to Premiere at 2012 Napa Valley Film Festival

On November 7, 2012 the Napa Valley Film Festival will launch its second year as a must-attend event. That gotta-be-there feeling is especially true this year as the Festival will be screening a new wine film, SOMM. 

SOMM (slang for “sommelier”) follows four very talented young sommeliers as they get ready for the grueling, notoriously difficult Master Sommelier exam. 

The exam, which only 200 people in the world have ever passed, requires a stunning knowledge of everything to do with the pairing of wine and food on a global level.

The film is well worth seeing for it serve as a reminder that the life we desire always takes dedication and courage to achieve. In short, never drink alone or in ignorance!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012  

Discover Three Great New Food Films

International film festival directors now realize what movie lovers have known since the film Ratatouille made culinary fads of millions – thoughtfully made movies about the essence of cooking can deeply touch the hearts of viewers.

At this year’s Berlinale (Berlin) Film Festival an entire division was created to screen films solely about chefs, cuisine, ingredients and all matters culinary.

Though first shown from February 13th through the 18th, these remarkable films are now moving into distribution worldwide. Here are three of the films shown that are well worth seeing (and discussing) with staff:

  Jiro Dreams of Sushi

This stunning film documents the art of the legendary sushi master Jiro Ono. David Gelb follows this 85 year old culinary star of Tokyo to his famed Sukiyabashi Jiro Restaurant, located in humble subway station. But size (and sometimes even location), does not a restaurant make. Jiro’s esteemed restaurant seats only ten yet it holds three Michelin stars. That’s enough to make any culinary professional want to see this movie.

Further expanding the plot is the stress and struggle experienced by his son Yoshikazu as the younger chef ponders his ability to continue his father’s quest for absolute culinary perfection.  

El Camino del Vino

If you are weary of staged ‘reality’ shows culinary or otherwise, you cannot help but be moved by this true life story of Charlie Arturaola, the world famous sommelier. Filmed in a mock documentary style, director Nicolas Carreras traces Arturaola’s struggle to reclaim not only his fading sense of taste but also his personal heritage.

For all those who have dedicated their lives to the profession they love, the film poses the fearful question: “What if suddenly you could no longer do what you Love?” The film suggests one response. Each member of the viewing audience will have to decide if their answer would be the same or different – in short, it’s a film that makes one think and re-think the purpose and value of our professional efforts.

 Toast

Based on the autobiography of the same name by the English culinary writer Nigel Slater, this film is a coming-of-age story about a family in conflict where food becomes an expression of love and also a struggle for control. With a star rich cast that includes Helena Bonham Carter, Freddie Highmore and Ken Stott, the film counter balances the richness of food with a starvation of true affection often present in the homes of early 1960’s.

The script captures in heart-breaking clarity the struggle to be creative in an environment too narrow to reach a sense of authentic self. Anyone within the industry who has had to make the choice between the fate they were born to and the vocation that fascinates them, will understand this film and value its courage. 

Post Note, November 2, 2011: The first ever Napa Valley Film Festival will be held for five days starting November 9th, featuring 75 films including Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Food, wine AND films - what an event! Be there if you can. 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011