Most Memorable Meals

Have you ever thought about what makes a meal memorable? It certainly has something to do with the company, the food and the setting. Supper clubs are great forum to make those memories happen.

Looking back on my list of most memorable meals, an evening we had at the Le Cheval Blanc in La Croix-En-Touraine France is way up there on the list. It combined an amazing set of very interesting people, some very good food in a fantastic setting of France’s Loire valley. And, I should mention that there was alcohol involved with some very nice wines.

(From the left: Frank LeFevre, Ank Blijdenstein, Philippe Roulliard, Susan Kenny, Paul Kenny, Marie Cristine Roulliard, Bonnie Colonna and Ben Blijdenstein,. John Argiro and Chip Colonna were taking the picture)

The evening was hosted by my good friend Philippe Roulliard. Phiphi was one of these genuinely nice people and a marvelous host. It helped that Phiphi knew the chef/owner of the restaurant which was probably behind some of the amazing food. It was over 25 years ago and I can still remember the duck breast that I had. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare and had a crust that defined savory, complemented by a demi-glaze/sauce of red wine and dark berry. Desserts were enshrined in a dome of caramel (See cover photo) that we all still talk about today.

One important piece of the memory involved our friend Bonnie Colonna, my wife Susan and Ben Blijdenstein. Ben was a very serious man. A world renowned expert on mushrooms and true gourmand. His wife Ank summed Ben up perfectly by telling the story about being on a flight from Frankfurt to Singapore in first class. She said she knew she was in trouble when Ben sent the third bottle of wine back and telling him; “Ben we are on a plane, it is not like the flight attendant can go to the corner store to get you another bottle”. We used to jokingly call our friend “Bitching Ben Blijdenstein”. Well during the evening of the Cheval Blanc dinner there were no complaints, I just worried that Ben would suffer a heart attack. Bonnie and Susan had him laughing so hard that I was scared.

John Agiro’s fond memories of “Bitching Ben Blijdenstein” (a.k.a. B3)

Philippe did a wonderful imitation of how B3 used to check the wine with his thermometer and how his beak for a nose went deep into the wine glass. Once in awhile we could see his appendage come up from the glass with drops Pinot Noir on the tip of nose. Ank, would say to B3…Nay? Then we all waited for the verdict? The suspense caused many of us to drown in our water. Ben would say, after careful thought and deliberations; 1. Not quiet ready. 2. So-so for tonight OR 3. Send it back. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the U.S. constitution in less time than B3 could render his pronouncement of the wine.

Say what you want about the French, but there is no question that their food is fantastic and they know how to entertain. Check out this video designed to keep customers at a restaurant occupied while waiting for their meal.

There are lots of Supper Club lessons to be learned from the French.

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The Best Indian Food Is In London

Indian Food Is Better in London Than India

Indian food makes a great Supper Club menu. It even works great for the hosts that: “Don’t cook, but know where to buy”.

My love of Indian food goes back to my friend Sunil Gersappe. He was born and raised in India, but lived in London for over 30 years. He was a distributor of ours and we had a tradition of going out for Indian food whenever we were in London on business, which was quite often. The trouble that many Americans have is that they like Indian food; they just don’t know what to order. Sunil took care of the ordering and we learned to love everything he ordered.

(Sunil dressed for dinner at the Savoy circa 1997)

London has become famous for its Indian food. Many say Indian food is better in the U.K. than it is in India. In London, Indian food has the highest number of Michelin stars (six) after French cuisine (13) and double the number of Italian (three). The other big reason that Indian food is better in the U.K. Is that the quality of the ingredients is better. India is notorious for food poisoning.

For years John Argiro, our international Sales Manager tried to convince me to go to India. One time John and Sunil went to India and poor Sunil got sicker than a dog. Here is a guy that was born and raised there and he got sick. After hearing Sunil’s horror stories, India fell off of my travel list. I’ll stick to London as my favorite destination for Indian food.

While I occasionally try to make Indian food, when I do, I always think of Sunil. Again, here he was an Indian from India, but he hated it when his wife Kalyani cooked Indian at home. He claimed that the spices made the house stink for weeks.

Unfortunately, Sunil passed way to early, but because of him, I know what I like when it comes to Indian food. Give me:

Chicken tikka masala,
A couple different curry dishes
Basmati rice,
Tandoori Chicken
Naan

…and I am a happy man.

Come to think of it, combine that menu with a few bottles of wine and you can have a Supper Club menu that Sunil would love. And remember, Sunil certainly wouldn’t mind ordering “takeaway” from your local Indian restaurant to keep the house smelling fresh.

Great Inventions That Were Mistakes

Many of history’s greatest inventions were mistakes or at least afterthoughts. Supper club menus can also benefit from a mistake or afterthought.

Did you know that the invention of potato chip was the result of a chef’s rage over a customer’s complaint? This must be the only example in the history of the world where rage benefited the person involved.

In 1853, in a New York restaurant, when a customer complained that the fried potatoes were too soggy and thick, and repeatedly sent them back to the waiter, the chef- George Crum- got so fed up, that he took the request for a thinner potato quite literally- he cut the potatoes into very thin slices, fried them, and covered them in salt. And, Voila! The most favorite snack in the world was born!

I have a similar, but different story. Years ago we had my son Brian’s friends over for dinner. His buddy Rishi is a vegetarian and loves all forms of potatoes. I took advantage of having some left over Potato Mousseline. This is a French dish that combines potato, butter, cream and a little garlic. (You can’t go wrong with these ingredients.) The classic dish is basically a casserole of mashed potatoes served with a topping of cheese. In this case I formed the leftover potatoes into patties and fried them up with butter creating a nice crust. And, Voila!

Rishi raved about them, but as he is such an appreciative eater I didn’t think much of it. A few months later he started asking me to make the “potato pancakes” again. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about. It took me a while to connect the leftover potato Mousseline patties to Potato Pancakes. With a little practice I have been able to replicate Rishi’s Potato Pancakes that have become legendary, at least to Rishi.

Check out the recipes for Rishi’s Potato Pancakes and Potatoes Mousseline.

I have plans to dress up Rishi’s Potato Pancakes for a supper club menu. What I will do is use a 2 inch cylinder to shape the patties. I will refrigerate the shaped patties for at least an hour to help them set and then fry them to get a crust. These can be made in advance, transferred to a baking sheet and then warmed up 20 minutes before serving in a 300-degree oven.

Steph & Rishi’s wedding. (He isn’t thinking about potato pancakes)

(The three buddies at Rishi’s wedding: Brian Kenny, Eric Brown and Rishi Bhula)

(The fun crew at Steph & Rishi wedding. I had to promise potato pancakes to Rishi to get him to smile…Susan Kenny, Steph Bhula, Paul Kenny, Rishi Bhula, Lauren Kenny, Whitney Brown, Brian Kenny and Eric Brown the blur)

And Voila! A supper club menu benefits from my mistake of making too much Potato Mousseline and the afterthought to call them potato pancakes. While I doubt Rishi’s Potato Pancakes will become as famous as the potato chip, they make a great side dish.