Michael S. Smith Designs for Michelle Obama, the Oscar Green Room and Some Very Special Hotels

Did you watch the 2011 Oscar Award Ceremony? If you did, you were sure to see Krista Smith, Senior West Coast Editor of Vanity Fair Magazine in the stunning Architectural Digest Green Room created by Michael S. Smith, designer to the White House and some of the world’s most beautiful hotels.

Whether Michael is designing an interior in a beach house, town house, high rise or grand hotel, his clients include such greats as Michele Obama, Steven Spielberg, Lady Linda Rothschild, The Lowell of New York City and Shutters on the Beach in California. 

So it’s a natural that the insightful editors of Architectural Digest chose Michael as their designer extraordinaire for their Oscar sponsored Green Room.  One has only to look at the hotel interiors he has designed to see why. 

At the great Lowell in Manhattan, Michael took the Penthouse and created a calming world of elegant style that balanced the modern with the classic as only he can in signature style that has become his hallmark.  No one has a more perfect background to achieve that blend of unique and diverse elements than Michael, now a star designer.

Born in California, Michael studied first at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles before continuing his studies at London’s famed Victoria and Albert Museum. After leaving England he worked for the legendary American antique dealer Gep Durenberger and the noted designer John Saladino.

Step by step, Michael studied and learned, like a great chef, how to bring many different elements together into a complete experience that was simply stunning and totally unforgettable. In his acclaimed book Elements of Style he detailed how the magic is done.

Michael begins each project by gathering resource material from a variety of inspiring sources ranging from old magazine pictures to a single seashell. After discarding the excessive items through a focused editing process, he pairs the simple with the grand in a manner that both delights and endears.

One has only to visit Shutters on the Beach to see the final result. Once with only a rustic (and somewhat dated) lodge-y brown interior, Michael brought the breeziness of relaxing sea air indoors while maintaining an elegance that guests such as Hollywood’s A-listers treasure.

Today the property offers its guest simply the best in design without pretension or push – like a great dinner from a master chef, who understands the true nature of style - clarity without artificiality, trustfulness with wonder.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011

Moet and Chandon Is the Perfect Oscar Party Champagne

Ah Hollywood - the glamour and the glitter. With Oscar night just a few days away, it's the perfect time to celebrate the style and elegance that is the stock and trade of the world's beloved Tinsel Town. And nothing says class like a glass of champagne - but not just any bubbly, please.

You see, it must be just the very best in order to match the fabulous designer gowns and legendary jewels that are the hallmarks of the red carpet. For over one hundred years, there has been one champagne that stars and producers have used to celebrate their successes and equally to drown their failures - Moet & Chandon, the favorite champagne of Hollywood (and the world).

But the fame of Moet & Chandon Champagne did not begin merely because it was favored by the movie moguls of California. The history of this great sparkling wine began centuries before in the court of the French kings who understood the power of luxury long before there was a Hollywood.   

In 1750 the initial firm of Moet et Cie was called upon to supply champagne to Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. As an arbiter of fashion and style, whatever firm Pompadour favored soon became the darling supplier of the nobility.  

Because the French court defined the elegance that all Europe sought, soon Moet et Cie were expanding their vineyards and their offices throughout Europe to serve the other international noble families. But change was in the air and few of those nobles noticed that the hot winds of revolution was blowing outside the windows of their candle lit dining rooms.

For quite some time many major economic problems had been ignored by France's rulers. High taxes, scoring food prices, unequal laws and costly foreign wars brought the final collapse of the centuries old reign. After a bloody period of adjustment, a new government, led by the young General Napoleon, restablished order and once again it was time to celebrate and enjoy champagne.

Napoleon himself was invited to Epernay, the chateau home of Moet et Cie, to enjoy with his staff the best sparkling wines available. He loved them all and, as during the rule of the former French Kings, soon the rich and famous of Europe (and America) were eager to drink whatever Napoleon was drinking. Ah fame!

It should come as no surprise that Napoleon's expanding influence and power soon led him to view himself as a great imperial monarch, not merely as the people's general serving the cause of freedom. Not long afterward he crowned himself emperor.

Well as they say, pride comes before the fall and soon he too was swept from power at the bloody Battle of Waterloo. The heads of the European states now needed to meet and reorder the confused map of broken nations leftover after Napoleon's many military campaigns. Vienna was chosen as the conference site and, of course, there had to be champagne, lots of champagne to drink.

With peace restored, soon everyone from the Russian Tsar Alexander II to Queen Victoria were enjoying Moet & Chandon again, now renamed to include the name of a new son-in-law, Pierre-Gabriel Chandon de Briailles, who had joined the firm.

Now the leading producer and exporter of French champagne, the employment practices implemented this great champagne house were far ahead of the times. Over 2,000 employees enjoyed free medical attention, housing assistance, retirement pensions, maternity benefits, paid sick leave and free legal aid when needed.  And this was all in 1872 at the height of the often indifferent industrial revolution then sweeping the world!

As you might imagine, Moet & Chandon's employees were very loyal so much so that by 1880 the firm was producing 2.5 million bottles of champagne, largely enjoyed by the upper classes. Yet soon all that would be shattered by the blast of endless cannon fire as World War I erupted not far from Moet & Chandon's priceless vineyards.

After the destruction of World War I, the manor at Moet & Chandon was rebuilt and a new champagne blend introduced: Dom Perignon. Named after the humble Benedictine monk who worked for decades at his monastery exploring the properties of the region's unique bubbling wine, it was soon the darling of the fast and wild flapper generation of the 1920's, who danced and drank to forget the horrors of the past war and rushed into all that was modern.

Once again the fortunes of Moet & Chandon soared but meanwhile a dark shadow of hate was slowly spreading out from Germany in the form of Nazi power and deceit. Once more war devoured Europe and the German soldiers who occupied France demanded bottles of the now world famous wine to celebrate their 'victory'.

Enraged restaurateurs in Paris and in France's other leading cities chose instead to hide their legendary champagne behind false plaster walls.  With smiles on their faces, the wine stewards poured the poorest champagne they dared as a substitute and then attached a Moet & Chandon price tag! It was a small victory, but one that kept hope alive.

After four long years of occupation, France was finally freed by the Joint Allied Forces. Joyous chefs and sommeliers broke down the protective walls and reclaimed their treasured bottles of Moet & Chandon as they celebrated a return of freedom and choice.   

With peace in 1950 Count Robert-Jean de Vogue became the director of Moet & Chandon and made the decision to transform the long family-owned business into a modern corporation or "Societe Anonyme" to use the French term. The resulting reorganization prompted the greatest expansion of sales the company had ever experienced.

The resulting funds soon enabled the firm to purchase their first out-of-winery investment: Parfums Christian Dior. Then in 1971 the firm merged with the legendary cognac firm Jas Hennessy. Two years later in 1973 they opened the esteemed Domaine Chandon winery in California.

One final merger with Louis Vuitton gave birth to the largest luxury marketing group in the world, one whose influence you will see up and down the red carpet during Oscar Week. One can only hope that with such a tale of courage, war, kings, queens, mistresses and monarchs, Hollywood will one day make a movie about this legendary wine and, of course, serve Moet & Chandon at the Oscar celebration!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011     

America's First Presidential Chef Was a Slave

His name was Hercules and he was the first chef to serve an American President and his guests. Visitors to the George Washington's table wrote about the unforgettable meals he created and fellow chefs stepped aside when he walked through the market. Yet he was slave.

Yes, a slave in the household of a general, who fought for freedom so gallantly, he was elected the first president of America, the world's daring and still evolving experiment in self-determination.  He was a slave in Philadelphia, the open city of brotherly love, founded on the Quakers' universal principles that all people should be free and equal.

Yes, Hercules was a slave but a slave who never surrender his identity or profession to enslavenment. Originally brought to George Washington's country estate of Mount Vernon as a child slave from Washington's wife Martha's home, he was initially viewed as too weak and small for field work and so was assigned to the household kitchens.

There he learned to prepare the dishes most enjoyed by the future president and his visiting neighbors. Because hotels as such did not yet exist in America, the landed gentry of Virginia entertained largely on their estates so twenty guests for dinner was not unusual. At Mount Vernon, Hercules learned how to handle it all and the resulting creativity enabled him to experience a growing sense of self identity that would later bloom for the talented young chef in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia, not Washington DC, was the first capital of the United States.  The District of Columbia was at this time a swamp slowing being drained for future construction. The soaring capital dome and the gleaming White House were then only drawings on an architect's desk.  So for the sake of order and stability, the first president of the nation resided in Philadelphia, waiting for the buildings (and the new govenment) to be established.

The Philadelphian house selected for the new President (and where Hercules would live and work for seven long steam-filled years) had hosted the rich and famous before. Originally built in 1760 by the rich widow Mary Lawrence Mastersy, it had previously hosted Richard Penn - the grandson of Pennsylvania's founder, Commanding General Howe of the then occupying British forces, Major General Benedict Arnold while still an American patriot, the elegant first French Consul John Holker and finally the successful merchant Robert Morris in 1785.     

This was the house that Hercules entered when he was summoned from the kitchens of Mount Vernon to those of Philadelphia. And while Washington was asking that the house on Market Street be enlarged, Hercules found the kitchen there was smaller and the responsibilities larger - and far more historic then ever before.

Undetoured, Hercules soon set to work ordering the kitchen and his staff of eight. Like any great chef, he demanded order and absolute cleanliness in his kitchen. Every pot was shined and hung in its proper place. The produce was always purchased fresh every day and stored with care.

White aprons and clean hands were his order for the day, every day. Sloppiness and dirt were viewed as second only to the sin of indifference.

In short, though a slave, Hercules ran his kitchen as a professional because he was one.  The standards he set still continue to this day in the gleaming modern (but not much larger kitchens) of the White House in Washngton D.C.

Hercules' standards of professionalism extended beyond the kitchen.  When he walked in the markets or strolled on the shaded streets after dinner, he dressed in elegant black and wore shiny silver buckles on his shoes. He held his head high for both his race and his profession.  Those he passed commonly nodded their heads in his direction as a sign of respect for his legendary talents and his courage of presence though he was, as all knew, an unfreed slave.

In the teeming markets and shops of Philadelphia, Hercules met many freed slaves and he longed to join them in the liberties that the new Constitition had so boldly promised. Year after year he work and saved the side money he was allowed to earn through extra jobs.  

When told finally to return to Mount Vernon as Washington's presidency ended, he chose instead to melt into the supportive freedom-loving atmosphere of Philadelphia and claim his freedom. At last he was free. But at a cost.

As an escaped or "run away" slave, he was always subject to recapture. To be free he had to be invisible, something no chef can be to his staff or vendors. To survive he had to set aside the skills of a lifetime and faded into history.

Behind him he left a legacy of standards, hallmarks of quality and professionalism that every chef is free to claim as his own each time he puts his whites, turns to his staff and says, "Gentlemen, let us begin. Our guests are arriving." 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011  

Rene Verdon French Chef of the Kennedy White House Era Passes

Once there was a place called Camelot…..

Do you remember the grace and pride we all once felt when Washington sparkled with style?  It was a grand time, full of hope and youth.

This past week Chef Rene Verdon, who with the admired Jacqueline Kennedy crafted that re-birth of elegance, passed away at 86 in his San Francisco home.  Prior to his (and Jackie’s) arrival in White House kitchen, a vague array of chefs and caterers had created years of less than impressive presidential cuisine.  

But when the elegant Jacqueline Kennedy swept into the White House, all that changed. Beginning in 1961 (was it really that long along?), Chef Verdon instituted classic French discipline and techniques into the kitchen. And the results showed.  

State dinners were no longer dull gray diplomatic gatherings but became glittering social events with fine wines matched to gourmet selections.  Indeed in the years prior to the Kennedy era, White House dinners were so bad that foreign diplomats traditionally ate before coming to presidential dinners. 

And though some Americans were concerned about the “foreign influence”, Chef Verdon proudly stated that he was merely continuing the tradition of enjoying the best just as President Jefferson had done 200 plus years before.

Chef Verdon’s influence spread far and wide, creating a wave of interest and appreciation for the amazing but nearly forgotten world of French cuisine in America.  His success at the White House made it easier for diners to ‘think French’ when they made a reservation.  

Americans even began to visit France more frequently to see first hand the wonders of French cuisine.  And, of course, there was Julia Child making it all seem so easy and so much fun.

Sadly, for many of us, the ease and wonder of those days ended with the crack of a rifle bullet shattering the nation’s heart one dark day in Dallas. 

Jackie, dressed in a widow’s black dress, left the White House, but Chef Verdon stayed to help the nation continue.  But one president is not like another one.

 Chef Vernon found he could not accept the more casual culinary standards of the Johnsons and so he left, preferring the supportive atmosphere of San Francisco where he mentored generation after generation of American chefs in all things French.

And now he, too, has left us.  One can only imagine that Jackie and Jack will greet him on arrival in heaven with a deep smile and warm hug and tell him, “Well done, good friend – great chef.”

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011