Grant Achatz and Michael Ruhlman @ Steppenwolf - March 4

I heard a rumor that an upcoming "Traffic Jam 2007" in March will host a discussion with Grant Achatz and Michael Ruhlman. Preseumably the website will be updated with this information and specific dates when it is confirmed: Steppenwolf Traffic Jam 2007

It's updated....

Mar 4, 2007 3:00 PM, Downstairs

Grant Achatz, Chef and owner of Alinea, will be joined on stage by best-selling author and New York Times food writer Michael Ruhlman to discuss the place of the "celebrity" chef in America, the Hypermodern food movement, and what defines excellence in an industry increasingly defined by media hype and image-making.

Thanks!

I'll be there.

Anybody else going to this? It might make an interesting gathering.

Hi,

I am planning to attend. I just haven't done the next essential step: reserve!

Regards,

I'm planning to be there.

=R=

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I am planning to attend. I just haven't done the next essential step: reserve!

Regards,

I just got on the site and reserved my seat. I'd recommend doing so as soon as possible, as it seems there are a relatively small number left.

I'm going too! Where can we meet to eat and drink?

Louisa Chu wrote:I'm going too! Where can we meet to eat and drink?

Two possibilities, variations on a Yucatecan theme: Nieto's somewhat struggling new Xel-Ha on Wells or the fabulous Xni-Pec in Cicero.

Unless, of course, Chef Achatz does an Andy Kaufman and invites us all across the street for milk and cookies...

I and the 'spouse will be there - sporting (if I can talk him into it) our brand-new LTH sweatshirts! I'd like to do dinner after, but it depends on how long our babysitter will last, so we'll see...

Though I suppose it might not be appropriate attire for Alinea

Louisa Chu wrote:I'm going too! Where can we meet to eat and drink?

I'll be there as well.

Hi,

I am planning to be there. I think a post talk meal sounds like a great idea!

Jyoti

I'm getting excited for Sunday. I haven't seen it mentioned here, but Chicagoist interviewed both Ruhlman and Achatz this week:

Ruhlman interview
Achatz interview

C: What food-related websites or media do you keep an eye on, for ideas and feedback?

GA: I do it a lot less now, but I used to be really into all the blogs, like eGullet, LTHForum, all of those. I don’t read them so much anymore, I don’t know why. I feel that some of it is that they’re losing some credibility. There’s a lot of good, honest material there, then there’s a lot of … bullshit. You know, where, at the beginning (of these sites), there was a lot of useful information, honest information. Now, somehow, I feel that maybe it’s a lot of people using it as a microphone to hear themselves. Then it becomes less credible.

Ouch!....

I think we found a new quote!

ronnie_suburban wrote:I'm planning to be there.

=R=

RS,

Just got around to reading the remarkable Alinea Project post you started on eGullet some years ago; wow: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=49694&st=0

So, yesterday, a video producer buddy of mine called. He wants to use my house as a location for a one-day shoot; said there was a "site fee" in it for me; I said okay, and was immediately on the line with Alinea to redploy funds for a dinner in May. Very eager to hear Chef Achatz on Sunday...and to eat at his place in a few months.

I too will be there. I'm very much looking forward to it!

David Hammond wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I'm planning to be there.

=R=

RS,

Just got around to reading the remarkable Alinea Project post you started on eGullet some years ago; wow: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=49694&st=0

So, yesterday, a video producer buddy of mine called. He wants to use my house as a location for a one-day shoot; said there was a "site fee" in it for me; I said okay, and was immediately on the line with Alinea to redploy funds for a dinner in May. Very eager to hear Chef Achatz on Sunday...and to eat at his place in a few months.

Thanks, David. Obviously that project was done when Chef Achatz was feeling a bit more enthusiastic about on-line venues. I was very lucky to have full access, as well as tremendous cooperation from Chef Achatz, Nick Kokonas and the entire crew at Alinea. Also, I had Anthony Marty (aka LTH member yellow truffle) on-board and his skills were invaluable.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Obviously that project was done when Chef Achatz was feeling a bit more enthusiastic about on-line venues.

FWIW, I think his statement was actually fairly measured, and it's not like we haven't all seen cases where internet discussions do turn into a kind of echo chamber.

germuska wrote:FWIW, I think his statement was actually fairly measured, and it's not like we haven't all seen cases where internet discussions do turn into a kind of echo chamber.

I didn't see or hear the interview, but from the quote I assumed the context was looking for ideas or feedback on how he runs his business. I don't think this forum is nearly as valuable for that as, say, finding Yucatecan food in Cicero.

Aaron Deacon wrote:I didn't see or hear the interview, but from the quote I assumed the context was looking for ideas or feedback on how he runs his business. I don't think this forum is nearly as valuable for that as, say, finding Yucatecan food in Cicero.

Or where to find oysters in Point Reyes or tamales on North Clark, make Cinnamon buns in Sweden or find beet, monkfish and raccoon on Fulton Street..........hell, any number of interesting places, eats, ideas.

Though I can see, if Chef Achatz mainly wants to read about his restaurant and things related to him, conversation might start to echo after a while.

Enjoy,
Gary

The fiance is apparently unable to attend due to a term paper. If anyone would like my extra ticket please send a PM. The cost is $15.

Just wanted to post quickly that it was wonderful meeting so many LTHers; I had a wonderful time, especially hanging out after the event. Nothing like talking about food with a group of people that really care about it...

It wa a pretty cool event - very well attended.

I thought Ruhlman and Grant did a really good job - Ruhlman is a fantastic host and Interviewer.

I especially liked the anecdote about the lunch/dinner at el Bulli with Thomas Keller!

I too thought this was a great event. I have enjoyed all of Michael Ruhlman's books and I was glad to see that his wit and humor were evident in the interview process. Ruhlman's background and past involvement with Grant allowed him to probe and get Grant to offer more details than he may otherwise have shared.

An inspiring evening which was enhanced by meeting other LTHers for post talk drinks.

Yup, quite an interesting afternoon. I loved the way Ruhlman kept gently poking at Achatz to both get fully-formed answers to his questions, and to tease him just a little. I liked that Ruhlman thanked us for laughing - heck, how could we not? A lot of it was hilarious!

So, I wonder when Achatz will be appearing on Iron Chef? And his doing a TV show of his own intrigues me - I'm thinking it's not going to be of the mere stand-and-stir variety. He's a fascinating and very focused youngster (and though 32, he did look to be about, what, 17?).

sundevilpeg wrote:So, I wonder when Achatz will be appearing on Iron Chef?

I wouldn't hold my breath:

Not really. I've been asked to do "Iron Chef." I turned it down. It just seems too much like WWF to me. I know that Homaru and Graham have done it, and that's them. That isn't me.

from Chicagoist: Chicagoist Grills: Alinea Chef/Owner Grant Achatz

A not-so-brief and somewhat haphazardly-constructed recap of Sunday's event, for anyone who's interested . . .

As was noted by chef Achatz during the event, the very fact that nearly 400 people would pay $15 each to listen to a chef and a writer chat for an hour is signficant in and of itself. Of course, it says a lot about these 2 men who are at the top of their respective fields, but it says even more about Chicago and how we who live here feel about our local culinary traditions as well as our emerging status in the 'serious' culinary world. When hundreds of us turn out to hear a chef speak -- and pay for the privilege -- it's abundantly clear that our local food scene has become a point of civic pride. Sure, plenty of us in attendance were mere fans and/or hyper-interested observers but this was still a very diverse group of people in attendance, which included a large contingent of industry professionals; both BOH and FOH.

A couple of weeks ago, chef Achatz told me that he was intentionally not discussing anything specific with Michael in advance of the event because he felt that it would result in a more spontaneous dynamic. I think that came across somewhat, but clearly these 2 are so familiar with each other, that the likelihood of anything monumentally surprising happening between them on stage was fairly remote. That's not to say that new ground wasn't covered because it definitely was.

The event began with Mr. Ruhlman taking the stage and recounting a few details from his meal at Alinea the night before. He then provided some brief, biographical information about chef Achatz and brought him out on stage. After some lengthy applause, the 2 men sat down on comfortable-looking, leather chairs. Mr. Ruhlman poured off 2 tumblers of ice water from a glass pitcher, chef Achatz popped open a diet coke and the conversation began.

I really enjoyed listening to Grant recount his experience in Spain, his stage' at Ferran Adria's legendary El Bulli and the meal that changed everything for him. He described a lengthy, seminal lunch at El Bulli, which he shared with his mentor Thomas Keller, of the famed French Laundry in Yountville, CA. For chef Achatz the meal would become a life-changing moment but it was clear to him during the meal that it was not having nearly the same impact on chef Keller. Chef Achatz admitted that he actually felt like he was betraying Keller with his unbridled enthusiasm for the lunch Adria served them. It wasn't long after they returned to Yountville that both Achatz and Keller recognized that it was time for chef Achatz to move on.

One of the most interesting parts of the discussion centered on chef Achatz's food philosophy and his underlying goal of evoking emotional responses from diners. He threw off the term "moleculary gastronomy" as inaccurate in describing his cuisine because it fails to convey emotion. The dish Hot potato, cold potato was 'served up,' deconstructed and analyzed, as an example of how emotion factors in Alinea's food.

For chef Achatz, this dish seems to, in many ways, epitomize his culinary philosophy. While it's comprised of many distinctive elements, they are quite traditional yet presented in a truly original form. The dish has a fun, interactive element, as diners must pull a pin which releases a row of elegantly-skewered, cold elements -- a tiny slice of black truffle, a piece of parm reggiano, a cube of butter, chive and a small sphere of potato -- into a hot, creamy potato soup, which resides in a single-use paraffin bowl. Once released, the warm soup and the cold accoutrement are consumed in one large sip, allowing the diner to enjoy both hot and cold sensations simultaneously. A variety of textures and aromas are also in play. But as chef himself proudly admits, the final product is decidedly simple at its core. It's familiar, comfort food: potato soup.

For the first time I can remember, there was some historical context provided for chef Achatz's cuisine. He discussed his food at Trio -- and the specific desire to be whimsical with it -- in the aftermath of 9-11. With restaurants eerily empty across the country, the trend, said chef Achatz, was toward comfort food. Achatz certainly wanted to comfort diners but he also wanted to give them something more in the process of delivering that comfort: suprise, fun and delight.

As for what the future of dining holds, chef Achatz believes that the technical push we have seen blossom over the past 10 years is already losing some momentum. The new bag of tricks used in professional kitchens is well-known by diners now so, mastery over those techniques -- not their mere presence -- will be the distinguishing factor, going forward. Algaenate-assisted dishes served just a few years back would seem primative by current standards. In the end, it all comes down to continual refinement in the quest for perfection, a process -- a way of life -- which Achatz warmly recounted learning from the master himself, Thomas Keller.

As for Achatz's personal future, it's certainly bright and filled with seemingly endless possibilities. He'd love to do a book or a t.v. show but only if it would successfully educate. He's investigated numerous offers for all sorts of other ventures but hasn't found a good fit yet. He'd love to open additional restaurants -- both Alinea clones and new concepts -- but the time is not yet right. Grant's admission that he has, out of necessity, learned over the past few months to allocate his time with a more managerial approach, indicates that he's given serious thought to what the future may hold and is preparing daily to tackle it with typical aplomb.

The last portion of the event had Achatz taking questions from the audience. A few of the questions elicited interesting responses. Grant replied to a question about his favorite restaurants, listing French Laundry, Avenues, Moto, Schwa and Green Zebra to name a few. In response to another question about Chicago's current critical mass as a culinary hotspot (posed by LTH member jesteinf), Achatz reminded the audience that Chicago has, over the years, had a tradition of being a culinary leader and he cited the Jean Banchet's Le Francais of the late 1970's and Charlie Trotter's explosion onto the national dining scene a decade later, as prime examples. It was also revealed that Grant's audition for Trio owner Henry Adinaya was, initially, way too 'out there' for Henry. But as subsequent chefs came to cook for him, as solid as their food was, Henry found their work boring. Finally, he decided to take a leap of faith and he hired Grant. That decision, as it turned out, played a huge part in what eventually became Alinea.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:One of the most interesting parts of the discussion centered on chef Achatz's food philosophy and his underlying goal of evoking emotional responses from diners. He threw off the term "moleculary gastronomy" as inaccurate in describing his cuisine because it fails to convey emotion. The dish Hot potato, cold potato was 'served up,' deconstructed and analyzed, as an example of how emotion factors in Alinea's food.

The issue of "emotion" in the food of Alinea was very interesting to me, and as as you say, Achatz considers it a differentiator between his menu and that of, say, Cantu (though I'm sure Achatz would not make that invidious comparison).

After the talk, I mentioned to Lara, Alinea's photographer, that the three key emotions evoked by Achatz food seemed to be limited to delight, confusion and surprise (I'm not even sure the last two count as emotions). She felt that the use of the term "emotion" is also relevant in the sense that his food conjures memories (of childhood, burning leaves, warm soup on a winter day, etc.), and that these memories trigger emotions. That interpretation certainly seems valid, though I'm not sure, in that sense, how the food of Achatz differs, qualitatively, from the hamburgers of McDonald's or the hot dogs of Gene's and Jude's. That is not meant to demean his efforts in any sense; I'm just trying to get a fix on the "emotional" component which is apparently very important to Achatz.

It was a pleasure meeting you after the event,

Hammond

Thanks for the write up!