"The greatest Indian cook in Britain"Jay Rayner "The Observer"
"Cook with love. Love your cooking" Gita Mistry

Sunday 7 December 2014

Gita goes to Geartner


I spent the last weekend of November in the kitchen of Philippe Gaertner, the chef proprietor of Aux Armes de France at Ammerschwihr near Colmar in Alsace in Eastern France.


I first heard of that restaurant from a friend who showed me the websites of the great restaurants of Alsace.  My friend mentioned my interest to her friend who practises law in Colmar.  They passed it on to Philippe when they dined in his restaurant. After a couple of years of toing and froing which included my cooking at the avocat's home and his dining at mine. I was introduced to the great man on the last Thursday of November at a special Thanksgiving meal in his restaurant.

I mention Thanksgiving because Philippe (unlike many other famous chefs) is open to all sorts of gastronomic influences.  Although I was keen to learn what I could about Alsatian cuisine it was not a one way learning experience. I had picked up skills and knowledge over the years that appealed to him and during my stay I cooked several dishes for him and his team that they devoured with relish.  A local journalist  Philippe Marchegay of the Dernieres Nouvelles D'Alsace put it well when he wrote: "Gita, a star in  England, has arrived in Ammerschwihr with an appetite to learn and a suitcase full of spices."

Alsace is one of the great gastronomic regions of France. It differs from the others in that it has many German influences. Place names such as Ammerschwihr, Kayserberg, Turckheim, Wintzenheim and Zimmerbach are Germanic. Alsatian, which is closely related to German, is still heard from time to time. The region's most famous dishes; choucroute, tarte flambée and kouglof are enjoyed on both sides of the Rhine. The grape varieties of Alsace - Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Sylvaner - from which the great wines are made are also grown in Germany. Bordered by the Vosges mountains to the West and by the Rhine to the East the region produces plenty of game. Wild boar and venison are often on the Armes de France's menu. Smallholdings in the Munster valley in the Vosges produce the region's most famous cheese, to my delight served with a good sprinkling of roasted cumin seeds.

As those who read French can see from the history page of its website Aux Armes de France traces its history back to 1920. Philippe's father, Pierre, who had trained under some of the greatest chefs in France built up the restaurant's reputation after the Second World War. His most popular dishes were le Foie Gras, les Filets de Soles aux Nouilles, la Salade de Homard Fernand Point (a dish that bears the name of the chef who taught him how to make it), la Volaille au Vinaigre and les Crêpes Flambées Framboise. Philipe entered the business in 1980 and gradually took over its management from his father. Together with his wife Simone, the daughter of another well known restaurateur, Philippe has consolidated and extended his restaurant's fame.  Somewhat controversially, Philippe and his family handed back the restaurant's star to the publisher of the Michelin Guide in 2005 as they found the conditions for inclusion increasingly irksome. They now serve great Alsatian food that combines tradition with modernity.

The kitchen of Aux Armes de France is divided into sections specializing in meat, fish, sauces and patisserie and I worked on all of them. I spent some time with Eric the sommelier which was a first for me because I had hardly touched wine before this visit. I learned how to make sauces, including a port and veal sauce that took eight hours to prepare, how to work under pressure when the restaurant was at its busiest and how to make the most delicious desserts with Anna, the artisiere. Everything was good but if I had to pick a highlight of my visit it was my time with Anna. For my part I introduced my hosts to samosas, Kochori ( pea  peanut and coconut parcels and a good old Yorkshire apple crumble with almonds and cinnamon   - all of which they loved.

One of the differences between Aux Armes de France and just about every other catering establishment that I had ever visited before was the camaraderie.  It is, of course, a commercial enterprise but it is also like a family. The staff are there out of choice and not because they have to be.  Everyone in the kitchen from Philippe downwards had his or her place and was liked and respected for what he or she could do.  It was gruelling work but we had fun. Hugging each other after delivering a particularly heavy order.  Even though I have no more than schoolgirl French I felt very much at home. I was very sad to leave when the time came to say "au revoir."

And I hope it is "au revoir" and not "Adieu".  Philippe and I developed a real rapport. I made my samosas deliberately mild because I did not know how he would take to Indian food . "Not hot enough spice" he said. "I thought it would be too spicy for you" I replied.  "I like it spicy" he replied so I bunged in some more chilli's to complement some other spices. Another time I prepared a special starter that is one of his signature- frois grais because he wasn't available when the the order came through.  He appeared just before they were due to be served.  "Oh you can't do that!" he exclaimed. "It takes 20 years to learn how to prepare those dishes". with a big smile. But he gave the dishes to the waiter and as far as I am aware they never come back from the customers.

I have so much to say about my four days in France but that will have to be the subject of other posts.


Sunday 16 November 2014

DanceFood - A Dessert for Isaac Lee-Baker

Yesterday I saw Northern Ballet perform The Great Gatsby at the Bradford Alhambra. I had been invited by my friend Terpsichore who is ballet mad - though not as mad as some so I am told. Even though I was not feeling 100% she persuaded me to come and I am jolly glad I did for the show was excellent.

The Northern fielded some of its best dancers: Toby Batley. Martha Leebolt, Kenneth Tindall, Jessica Morgan, Giuliano Contadini, Hannah Bateman to name a few. All danced brilliantly and they richly deserved the thunderous applause that they received at the end. But for me the man of the match (if there is such a thing in ballet) was Isaac Lee-Baker.

When the great ballerina Anna Pavlova toured the world she touched the hearts of millions of people. One of those was Frederick Ashton. Another was Terpsichore's mum who saw her at The Grand when she was a little girl (see  In Leeds of all Places - Pavlova, Ashton and Magic. 18 Sep 2013 Terpsichore). Yet another was a chef in Wellington who created a dessert named after the great ballerina which has become the national dish of New Zealand and is tremendously popular in this country, Australia and the rest of the English speaking world too.

It was with this story in mind that I decided to create a variation of the Pavlova in honour of Isaac Lee-Baker. Cooking is an art form rather like ballet so here is the recipe in three acts:

Cast in order of appearance
Egg whites
Castor sugar
Cornflower
White wine vinegar
Double cream
Vanilla extract
Raspberries
Strawberries
Sweet Martini
Icing sugar

Act I - Preparation
Whisk the egg whites infused with lavender until soft peaks form (light and fluffy like a swan's tutu)
Whisk in the sugar until silky and smooth like the young Daisy
Mix in the cornflower and white wine vinegar to get the party going,

Act II - Baking the Meringue
Bake on parchment paper for 40 minutes
Leave to cool in the oven for a further 40
Divertissements: fouetté (whip up) the double cream with a drop of vanilla extract (you need Kenny Tindall for that)
Whiz up raspberries and strawberries with a sprinkle of icing sugar and a slash of sweet Martini to lift the sweetness in the fruit as elegantly as Toby Batley lifts Martha Leebolt
Sieve the coulis mixture and stir

Act III - Pièce de Résistance
Pas de deux  Lift the meringue our of the oven onto the cake stand
Layer the meringue with the vanilla cream
Gently place the fruit on the cream and drizzle the Martini coulis over the fruit
Dust with icing sugar

Curtains and Reverence



I hope this isn't the last time I am inspired to design a dish for a dancer. I'd love to hear what all you dancers like to eat. :-)

Sunday 12 October 2014

Global Festivals and Holy days

This Autumn celebrates festivals & holy days that takes us round the globe.

We start with the holy day of Yom Kippur, the the holiest day of the Jewish calendar where Jews believe on this day you will be forgiven, purified and cleansed  from all your sins before God. Which followed on from the Jewish New Year in September Rosh Hashananh . 


Honey cake is eaten for the new year alongside apples and honey symbolising a sweet new year. Honey cake can be made with a variety of spices, though autumnal spices like clove, cinemon and all spice are especially popular, which went down well in my home with friends. If you are not up for baking then try this London Baker Rinkoffs where you will find a lot more than honey cake on offer. 


We then had the second Eid festival of year an Islamic celebration Eid al- Adha on 4th October.  For Muslims this marks the conclusion of the pilgrimage to MeccaEid al-Adha is the latter of the two Eid holidays or known as "salty eid", the former being Eid al-Fitr. It is said to be "sweet eid" to mark the end of Ramadam. Food is often shared amongst the needy and a sacrifice is made of a lamb or cow.
Try this little quick recipe for:
Tala Hua Gosht.   
In a large frying pan add oil ginger/garlic paste, salt and brown it well.
Add the water and allow the beef to cook over a slow flame. Once the beef is tender and half of the water has evaporated add the crushed red peppers, black pepper, cumin and cook it well. Just as its about to come off the heat add the green chilies, coriander, lemon syrup and serve .  


1lb beef cut in to mouth pieces
2 tbs of oil
1/2 tsp white cumin powder
1/2 tbs crushed red peppers 
1/4 bunch of fresh coriander chopped 
Salt to taste 
1//2 tbs of ginger garlic paste
1 chopped green chili 
Juice of a a small lemon and pinch of sugar

Moving on we were then hit with the festival Ok Phansa on the 8th October to mark the end of Buddhist lent. Boats are sailed and filled with offerings such as khao tom (glutinous rice sweets wrapped in banana leaves) and decorated on the outside with flowers, candles and lamps.  Food offerings are given to the monks. The giving and receiving of alms creates a spiritual connection between the monastic  and lay communities dating back to the days when monks had no possessions apart from the robe that they wore.  On my travels to Bangkok I discovered some of the foods that are shared.  The laypeople have a responsibility to support the monks physically and the monks have a responsibility to support the community spiritually. 

Which finally brings me to the Hindu festival of Diwali  which will take place on the 23 th October. A row of lights is its exact translation.




 The  festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. Last year I made Barfi , Sanghar puras and Chokoris . This year, I started yesterday with my first batch of sweet sesame seed pastries  and this evening I am going to finish off the filling for my gugras- a pastry parcel filled with cardamom , roasted nuts and roasted semolina with sugar.These are two very traditional foods for this festival. Followed by preparing the for Jelliby. Deep fried batter which has rested for four days; this is then dunked into luscious syrup.I will cook this with friends who are now arriving to help with the preparations. As this dish is a celebration not only in the eating and sharing but in the making too. 




So all that it leaves me to say is light a lamp of love and I wish you a very happy Diwali and New Year and I hope you enjoy the rest of the festive season that this Autumn has brought for us.