Eat. Drink. Memory. talks to chefs

Melt executive chef Patrik Landberg creates serious food without attitude

Sixteen hour shifts and six day work weeks are the province of the young, upwardly mobile chef.  There seems little time to balance work with life outside of the restaurant.

Remarkably Melt (440 Bergen Street, Brooklyn NY 718.230.5925) executive chef Patrik Landberg manages both. On a sunny spring afternoon, the kind that promises heat but delivers a breezy chill instead, Landberg met with me at the stylish neighborhood restaurant with big ambition, owned by Muguette (pronounced “Mu-Get”) Siem A Sjoe.

Landberg is amazingly fresh for a new father who works the long hard hours required of the executive chef of a small promising neighborhood restaurant. He is easy-going, open and pleasant.  The word authentic seems an apt adjective to describe Landberg.

A native of Sweden, he went to culinary school at age 15, studied his craft for two years, learning French technique.  The cuisine at Melt is best described as eclectic modern America, infused with hints of his own Swedish heritage.

Originally, Melt was a bar and the kitchen later was added to reinvent the space.  The small restaurant, about 60 seats, has an even smaller kitchen. Landberg and the two chefs on his team work in a row and in synchronized, economical movements, a must in a kitchen where an open dishwasher blocks passage. It boggles the mind to see the amount and quality of food that is turned out of this tiny space.

The focus at Melt is seasonal, inventive and fresh daily. Landberg is often at the local produce markets in the morning before coming to work in his kitchen. 

"It's very important to follow the seasons. The vegetable is going to taste so much better in season," he said, noting the challenges of balancing a menu that supports sustainability and yet also offers customers the items they desire.  "You have to do what you have to do for business. Brunch requires berries."

Melt's menu contains mainstays like Aged Boucheron Goat Cheese Salad, Yellowfin Tuna Tartar, and Kobe Beef Burger, but Landberg likes to rotate items off the menu as the seasons change. Weather affects the palate and is one of the things the executive chef follows when thinking about what to create for his menu.

"Weather can change everything.  In the spring, it's tricky," he said.

Melt is gaining a bit of a reputation for its tasting menu as well.  The five-course tasting menu is $25 (and additional $20 for paired wine tastings) and is served the first Tuesday of each month.  Landberg and his team of chefs create a menu based on the best of the market for that day.

A recent tasting menu featured a lobster theme with a Lobster Broth and Buckwheat Noodle consomme reminiscent of Thai lemongrass fragrant Tom Yum Goong, but not as pungent; Boston Bib Lettuce Wrap, a lobster tail, pickled carrot and cilantro wrapped in Bibb lettuce leaves; Surf and Turf Kobe Beef Slider served with Chipotle sauce and crispy fries; and Lobster Ravioli with a Sweet Onion Fondue and Buerre Blanc.

Executive chef at Melt since 2007, he arrived in the US in 2000 with the intention of staying only a summer and has been here since. Landberg has cooked at  the now closed Meet in the Meatpacking District, Ulrika's (also shuttered) and The Roger Smith Hotel, where he followed Ulrika Bengtsson, who took over as Food & Beverage Manager after closing her eponymous Scandanavian restaurant. 

Landberg understands the balance between satisfying his own creative impulses and imagination and satisfying the customer.  He is not a slave to his ego.  He wants to make the customer happy.

"We're in the service industry," said Landsberg, noting reasonable requests are always honored. "This is what I created. I'm here to please you. Why shouldn't I make you happy?

Chanterelle pastry chef Kate Zuckerman lives 'Sweet Life'

Named in 2005, one of the 10 best pastry chefs in America by Pastry Art & Design and Chocolatier magazines, Kate Zuckerman takes seasonal, simple and pure ingredients and creates sensational desserts.

Zuckerman is a master of beautifully executed design, nuanced flavors and textural contrasts.  She has been pastry chef since 1999 at Chanterelle, the beloved. award-winning NYC restaurant, and has been baking since the age of nine.  

Her desserts have been described by The New York Times as a “life-changing experience,”  and have been praised lavishly by every major food critic in NYC.

She is the former pastry chef at Picholine in New York and Firefly in San Francisco and began her culinary apprenticeship in Boston under Lydia Shire at Biba and Rick Katz at The Bentonwood Bakery.

Zuckerman has worked in the kitchens of top restaurants in San Francisco, Paris and New York.

Her book, The Sweet Life, chronicles the fabled desserts which she created for Chanterelle.

She is gracious, thoughtful and possesses an unerring sense of what makes dessert a sublime experience.

Recently, Zuckerman shared with Eat. Drink. Memory. her experiences with the "sweet life."

My earliest memory of dessert is...

Black Bottom Pie from Maida Heater's classic, "Great Desserts." My mother used to make this pie for our family on special occasions.

I am the youngest with two older brothers and they were the big fans and begged for this pie all the time. At first I copied their cries. Now I just remember the crunchy chocolate crust, the whipped cream, custard and strawberries.

What prompted you to choose the life of a pastry chef?

I baked for my family from age 9 on. I also loved to cook and initially worked as a line cook after finishing college. My memories of picking fruit in season with my family and baking for my brothers eventually drew me over to pastry.

As a line cook in the 90's I was overwhelmed by all the ethnic trends in cooking: I was working in Boston and San Francisco and the restaurant vibe was dishes that dabbled with Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Southwestern flavors.

And I wanted more focus which I felt that pastry would provide. Though I use some flavors and spices that come from non-western cuisine in my pastry kitchen, at heart I make desserts that are firmly embedded in French technique with an American sensibility that looks more broadly across Europe for inspiration.

Where do you find inspiration for the desserts the NY Times has called "life-changing?"

What William Grimes was referring to specifically was a Napoleon of caramel mousse and thin, delicate, salty peanut brittle which was one component of a tasting of caramel desserts. The inspiration comes from playing with one flavor and developing it as many ways as possible.

This is why seasonal fruit is so important to a pastry chef. In the height of a fruit's season, a chef is bound to explore the infinite possibilities and combinations offered by the flavors and textures of the fruit.

Another way of saying this is that a great deal of my inspiration comes through repetition -- each month brings back recipes from past years which I build on, refine, tweak and eventually wholly reinvent. My best analogy is that a painter creates a beautiful blue in a painting by using and exploring as many blues as possible.

What's the one dessert you couldn't do without?

It's a little bit like choosing a favorite among my children, but if I have to pick, I would say ice cream.

Dessert gets a bad rap. When were little we weren't allowed dessert unless we cleaned our plates. Should dessert be a part of very meal?

I have three kids and they want ice cream every night. So I alternate ice cream nights with seasonal fruit nights, which of course makes my son skip dessert every other night because he really only likes chocolate and chocolate ice cream in particular.

But it has been great for my daughter. She loves fruit and she looks forward to asking what we have on fruit nights. And my baby will definitely follow in her footsteps.

To answer your question specifically, I do feel like some kind of meal ending sweet is a good thing. It satisfies a very primal craving.

Some people would argue it's not dessert if it isn't chocolate. Is chocolate the best dessert ingredient?

I adore really good chocolate. And my son obviously agrees! But I am a huge fan of fruit desserts.

What's the one kitchen tool you can't live without?

 A plastic bowl scraper which is in my breast pocket at work at all times. And at home I have one in every drawer.

Frugal but 'oh, so French' with Chef Jean-Stephane Poinard

The French have a reputation for creating gastronomic delights from the simplest ingredients.  

Think pot au feu, a hearty beef stew whose literal name means pot on fire, or cassoulet, a slow-cooked white bean stew with various meat from sausage to duck or mutton.  

The traditional French kitchen always has been stocked with the freshest ingredients, locally grown and produced.  But, while most of us associate a typical French kitchen with savory and sweet delicacies, we usually don't recognize it for the place of economy and thrift that it is.

Generally, we think of luxury and expensive ingredients when we think of French cuisine. However, eating well shouldn't be a luxury and the French kitchen is the perfect place to learn this lesson.

In a recent conversation with Bistro de Leon restaurateur Jean-Stephane Poinard, the Paul Bocuse-mentored chef generously shared secrets of his kitchen - many learned in the kitchens of his Maman and Grand-mère, masters of French comfort food or la cuisine de nos mères.  

Chef Poinard is a native of Lyon and a member of the elite Les Toques Blanches Lyonnaise.  He currently is collaborating on a book about absinthe (including 18 of his recipes). He and wife, Valerie, bring French flavor and savoir-faire to St. Augustine.

The French are renowned for their inventive cuisine and for very little waste in the kitchen. What are some smart ways for home cooks to make the most of their food budget?

People used to cook whatever they wanted.  They didn't worry much about its cost, where it came from or how it made them feel.  Now people are beginning to realize that if they eat crappy food, they feel bad. They are interested in the long term plan.

Feeding yourself is a pleasure. We can do small things that make food more flavorful and more interesting and we can save too.

A baguette, if it is made with good quality flour and yeast, you have to see all the little bubbles inside like Swiss cheese, can be frozen if you are not using it all right away.  Save half in the freezer and reheat it in the oven at 350º.

You recommend re-purposing day-old baguettes as well.

Don't throw away dry bread. There are many ways you can use bread.  A plain salad is not very fun - even for kids.  Make little croutons, add egg, a little lardon (thick bits of slab bacon).  It's a little appetizer with lots of tasty treats.

You can dry the bread all the way through and process in the food processor to make bread crumbs.  Mashed potatoes with cheese and bread crumbs make a nice gratin.

French toast is a good way to use the baguette.  When the bread soaks in the milk and egg, it's very rich, very filling.  

Just with the baguette, we can do a lot of stuff.  Goat cheese melted on a crispy baguette makes a nice appetizer or crouton for a salad.

There are so many ways we can economize and make healthy flavorful foods, reducing waste.

 

Chicken stock is very flavorful when its made from the carcass of a roasted chicken. Don't throw out the bones. Why buy chicken stock when you can make your own? It's very cheap.

Add the carcass, garlic, celery, onions, thyme and carrots to water in a stockpot. Boil for 15-20 minutes, then strain through cheesecloth.   Believe me, it will be delicious.

You can make a Bouillon aux petites pâtes to give people when they are sick and the kids like it.  You add alphabet pasta or little stars to the chicken stock to make it even healthier.

Freeze the stock as well or reduce it a lot to make a glaze or base to flavor a lot of dishes.

We all would love to eat fantastic flavorful meals every evening, but the reality is that busy days and long commutes can cut into our time for cooking. 

Cooking a big meal on Sunday, you have many ways to use the leftovers during the week.  This saves time and money by using seasonal ingredients.

What is your favorite, quick meal that is simple to prepare, nourishing and fabulous? 

Pot au Feu is a wonderful Sunday dinner.  It's flavorful and healthy.  Leeks, chard and celery are all very juicy vegetables. You make a little extra and you can make many nice meals during the week.  

You can take the leeks and use a vinaigrette.  Leeks are a great detox. The celery cleanses your liver. 

You can make a Pistou or Pesto soup with the leftover vegetables and meat. Pistou is so easy to make and very inexpensive.

What are some inexpensive cuts of meat that can be prepared elegantly and simply?

London Broil is the cheapest cut of meat. It's pretty tough, but we cook it in the pressure cooker to make it very tender with stock, potatoes, turnips and carrots. 

You can use the leftover meat for stuffed tomatoes or to make a dish like Shepherd's pie.  You grind the meat to stuff the tomatoes, to use in a gratin with mashed potatoes.  It's very nice.

Do you have a favorite recipe you would share? 

Pistou. Compare the price in the store. Basil in season costs nothing.  You make 4-5 times more for the same cost and you can store extra in the freezer.  

Pistou

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts 
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup good olive oil 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 fresh ground black pepper 

 
  Process until smooth in a food processor or blender.  Seal with a thin layer of olive oil.

Can you recommend some value wines and some menu items that pair well with them? 

Don't buy wine according to the label.  You pay for the label.  Sometimes you get a very nice tasting wine for a very good value.  In Lyon many people go to the domaine to buy the wine the winemakers declassify.  They can't sell more than a certain number of AOC or appellation d'origine contrôlée bottles so they sell it as vins de pays or table wine.  You get the same wine at a much lower price.

What are some wines you recommend?

I love Cote du Rhone.  You can buy a Ville Fleurie for $6-7 a bottle.  Another is the southwestern French Rosé, Costières de Nîmes. Viognier - this wine is amazing.  It's very tasty, very floral. 

Don't be afraid of the box. If you find a good value, you can buy three liters for about $19.  Black Box is nice, the sauvignon blanc and the Merlot, a little more forte or strong.

People are focused on the label. It's not the label. It's what's inside the bottle. You serve it in the carafe. People love the carafe and it's good for the wine. It's oxygenated.

What are some exciting food combinations that home cooks can use to liven up their meals?

Strawberries, basil and balsamic vinegar make a nice salad.  An avocado mousse with shrimp and cumin mayonnaise.

Martin Yan gives tips for the essential Chinese Kitchen

Respected master chef Martin Yan paved the way for millions of Americans to access the secrets of the Chinese kitchen when he debuted his pioneering television show, Yan Can Cook, in the 70s.

More than 3,000 tv shows and 30 cookbooks later, Yan is still as self-deprecatingly charismatic and timelessly valid as he continues to be a solid source for both beginning and more advanced cooks practicing the art of Chinese cuisine.

"Tsing Tao goes well with most Chinese foods," said Yan, during a brief chat at the NY Wine Expo last weekend. "It's good for cooking - marinating and adding to stews."

The multi-talented Yan offered me a glass of Tsing Tao - his secret  ingredient for taste-tempting beef ribs and savory stews - then invited Eat. Drink. Memory. to attend his seminar later that afternoon where he explained the basic ingredients necessary to the Chinese kitchen.

“There is no such thing as duck sauce,” explained the Guangzhou, China native and culinary expert.  Duck sauce, a blend of plum sauce, apricot preserves and apple sauce, was an invention created for Western palates, he added.

Yan detailed the uses and grades of the essential ingredients of the Chinese kitchen, giving seminar guests a mini-tasting as well. The core ingredients to daily Chinese cooking are: light and dark soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, Oyster flavor sauce, Hoisin sauce, plum sauce, and chili garlic sauce.

“Like a fine wine, you smell it,” said Yan of soy sauce. “Light soy sauce – not L – I – T – E, which is low sodium, is thinner, lighter in color, and doesn't stick to the bottle when you shake it.”

Essential Ingredients

Soy Sauce     This most basic of kitchen ingredients, soy sauce is fermented soybeans and flour and comes in light and dark forms. Like wine, soy sauce comes in varying complexities and grades. Light soy sauce is generally used for marinades, finishing flavor and dipping sauces. Dark soy sauce is thicker and sweeter since it is made with an additional ingredient, molasses, and is used for adding flavor to ribs, chops and beef in dry rubs before cooking or grilling.

Shaoxing Rice Wine    Used for both cooking and drinking, this  wine made from fermented rice ubiquitous in Chinese kitchens is named after the region of Shaoxing  in the Zhejiang province, and tastes a bit like sherry. Produced since dynastic times, the wine is most famously used in marinades for drunken dishes like Drunken Chicken or Shrimp.

Oyster Flavor Sauce    Essential to Cantonese cuisine, this slightly sweet and savory sauce, called ho yau in Cantonese, is made from extract of boiled oysters and seasonings and is used in fried rice and noodle dishes as well as in vegetable, beef, poultry and seafood entrees.  Not only does oyster flavor sauce give food a rich, slightly earthy taste, it gives the dish an attractive sheen.

Hoisin Sauce    This sweet, spicy and pungent sauce made from soybeans, garlic, chili and five spice powder is both a condiment and a staple cooking ingredient. Hoisin sauce is used as a dipping sauce for Peking Duck, a spread for the thin, crepe-like pancakes in Moo Shu dishes, and as a glaze or ingredient in barbecue dishes.

Plum Sauce     A tart-sweet dipping sauce made from salted preserved plums, brown sugar and vinegar, this sauce is especially good with fried appetizers like spring rolls and wontons as well as roast pork and spareribs.

Chili Garlic Sauces    From black bean to dried shrimp to anchovy, there are many versions of chili garlic sauce, the powerful and fiery condiment and cooking ingredient. Use sparingly and add at the end of cooking.  Offer a small dish with the meal so guests can adjust the temperature to their palate. 

The Red Cook dishes about The Private Kitchen

A software engineer by day and an amazing chef by night, Harlem resident KianLam Kho is charming, generous and talented. Always fascinated by the secrets of the kitchen, Kho began cooking as a university student in Boston. 

His experiments to alleviate his homesickness soon became a fulltime passion.  In July 2008, the chef started the Private Kitchen, dinner events which recreate the ambiance, the seasonal menus, and the intimacy of the Chinese home kitchen with a ten course meal and wine pairing.

Kho is a popular featured food blogger at Foodbuzz, where his Red Cook: Adventures from a Chinese home kitchen,was selected for the foodie community's elite January showcase of 24 meals,24 hours, 24 blogs.

Recently, I had the opportunity to ask the Red Cook chef about The Private Kitchen, what he refers to as his personal playground, as well as his enthusisam about food and wine and entertaining.

 

How did you begin the Private Kitchen experience? 

For many years I regularly hosted elaborate Chinese homestyle meals for my family and friends. My purpose was to recreate the family gatherings and celebrations I remember back home. After I started blogging about Chinese cooking at Red Cook, I broadened my circle of friends and began to invite foodies I met online. My dinner became more popular and I received many more requests to sample my cooking. That's when I decided to start offering special banquets and called them" events.

 

You started cooking as a homesick university student in Boston. How did that experience lead to the Private Kitchen?

Although I've been interested in food and cooking since my childhood, I was not given the opportunity to actually cook until my university years. Back in SIngapore, where I grew up, we lived in a very large extended family with twenty members under the same household. Servants and cooks were employed to provide our daily meals. I was discouraged from getting involved in the kitchen.

I started cooking while at the university when I lived on my own. At first I was making simple American dishes and experimenting with mostly European techniques. I studied "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child and learned most of my cooking techniques from it. I later discovered "The James Beard Cookbook" and Alice Waters' various cookbooks, which inspired me to start being creative with American cuisine.

As for Chinese cooking, I learned most of it from my Taiwanese schoolmates and their families. In fact, I still have one Chinese language dim sum cookbook that was a gift from one Taiwanese friend with his signature and dated 1976. I spent two years in Shanghai around 2005, where I befriended many local home cooks as well as restaurant chefs, from whom I learned more Chinese cooking techniques.

In 2003 I decided to apprentice under Chef Josh Capon at the then Canteen restaurant in Soho for about six months. That was where I first experienced professional cooking in a restaurant. It was a very valuable experience since I learned how a professional kitchen functions and how it is managed. When I decided to start presenting the "Private Chinese Kitchen" events I felt I was ready.

The Private Chinese Kitchen is a ten course Chinese banquet served as it would be in a traditional extended family setting in China. Each course is served family style and the menu is designed to be varied enough so guests will be able to enjoy most if not all of the dishes. I change the menu seasonally and try to use fresh ingredients. I am currently planning a spring menu. The entire dining experience normally lasts between three to four hours. In addition to open events I also cater special private banquets for groups.

 

 

From the website, it looks like a banquet where guests don't know one another ahead of time.  Is this the usual format?  

There are few private Chinese kitchens in the world and no standard formats. I decided to use the traditional banquet arrangement of tables for ten. Chinese guests with strong Asian roots can often fill a table with their family and friends. However many guests attend in smaller groups. It is not uncommon to seat smaller parties at the same table. With the shared love of good food and wine, diners who don’t know each other often find they have a lot in common and thoroughly enjoy the experience.

 

 

How would you describe the Private Kitchen experience?  

The private dining experience is reminiscent of an extended family’s sumptuous communal meal in Imperial China. The surroundings are elegant, the service relaxed and the food abundant. You’ll feel like you are dining in old China without ever leaving Manhattan.

I love it! How do you decide on the wine pairings?

The menu is designed in the Chinese tradition of including variety of seafood, meats and vegetables. It is customary to start with a set of cold dishes, then continue on with a series of seafood and meat dishes. A soup is served in the middle of the meal and a fish is served just before the starch course. The starch course, which always conclude the savory dishes, is normally rice based but for birthday celebrations noodles are served. Although dessert is not a customary course in a Chinese meal I do serve a sweet dish at the end.

For wine pairing I often call on my friends in the wine industry for advice. We've had some very successful pairings thanks to Nobu Otsu of The Winery in Harlem, and Emmanuel Dupuy d'Angeac of AOC Fine Wines in Greenwich, CT, among others.

 

To book an event with the Private Kitchen, contact the Chef at banquet@redcook.net.