4.18.2011

Life After Death...


lobster-cucumber roll, kiaware, ugli, sturgeon caviar,
yuzu aioli & sabayon

seared foie gras, cocoa marshmallow, whipped rhubarb, kumquats
hazelnuts, chocolate soil, nibs


seared scallop, fava bean tapenade, beet gel, king trumpet nage
pea vines


grilled alaskan halibut, pea-bacon pancake, honshimejii, ramp coulis
baby white asparagus-poussin salad, sea beans, carrot oil


seared beef loin, semolina gnocchi, caramelized garlic, fava beans
portobello, beet-apple puree, black currant sauce


earl grey chocolates, bacon caramels, orange macaroon sandwiches



There really is such a thing I do believe! Today as I sat, enjoyed watching and relived the memory of a live special showing of MTV's Nirvana "Unplugged" show at EMP, recorded shortly before the untimely death of the brilliant and talented Kurt Cobain, it came to me what I had been trying to put into a post for the new Spring dishes I had recently cooked and been wanting to write about. I wanted to try and capture the moment of Spring and the new that it brings us in the kitchen and to our diners. The intense and deeply emotional, thought provoking video rustled up many personal thoughts and stirring occurrences of late. It made me think of how death and the life afterwards are so closely related and intertwined. How one leaves us behind as one is brought before us. Just as Kurt had taken his life, only to pave the way for new bands, ideas and generations of more great music, I thought of how the death of winter comes calling upon most all ingredients that are around and lays them to waste, only to give new birth in the Spring! As an ingredient dies in winter, a bright and tasty one is brought to life when things warm up...procreation at its best! Our Springtime foodstuffs is our life after death in the culinary world. Enter death~A handful of people that have entered my life in short, in long and some barely at all, all died over the last week and a half. So strange and yet so real...too damn real! Two suicides...a horrific motorcycle accident...and the one that has touched, affected and left me the most saddened, was that of one of my oldest friends of whom we grew up together since about the age of 10. A tragic homicide. I find myself feeling empty and sad...sad for him, sad for his life and sad for his mom who loved him very much, in spite of his greatly troubled past. But alas, this is where life begins. The life of bereavement and the life of memory. All that was good. The life in the future and the healing. This post of new life of spring in the kitchen is a tribute to my lost friend...gone, but not forgotten. The dishes and food that lie herein were creatively conceptualized and crafted with new life in mind after the slow death of winter which I hope you enjoy!...in Kurt's words~come as you are!

4 Comments:

Blogger Marc Frederic said...

Reality Check! Nice post, sometimes have to ask ourselves where are we heading?

3:26:00 AM  
Blogger cuisinier said...

Absolutely a reality check! We should never take our lives for granted. You just never know! Live this day like it is our last.

7:36:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That was one of the most beautiful and profound epitaphs I believe I have read in a long time.All so relevant and symbolic. We will miss our friends for certain, but with those friends who are as well versed as yourself they will remain in our hearts with grace and dignity. Thank You BG!!

6:26:00 AM  
Blogger cuisinier said...

thanks anon...I am touched that it has made an impact on you, in whatever small, humble way. Based on your closing thank you, you obviously know me from long ago. May your walk in life be a happy one and your journey have a good memory of those that we have lost...cheers

10:03:00 AM  

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