The Importance of Nature as experienced thru the windows of a VDUB

I felt the need to detour away from the food world for a minute and post some pictures I have taken over the last few years... It's really hard to explain to someone an experience so close at heart if they've never experienced it. How do you describe the joy of walking with Spring for six months or what a mother feels when she has a baby? I love nature..I love experiencing it thru the windows of our VDUB Kaya. These are the things that are truly important... Throw your TV set out the window... go experience the magic of life.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not Man the less, but Nature more, From these our interviews, in which I steal From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel, What I can never express, yet cannot all conceal.

For true love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have.

And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead, the more water you draw,

the more abundant is its flow.

Antoine de Saint Exupery

I heard a thousand blended notes,While in a grove I sat reclined,In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughtsBring sad thoughts to the mind. To her fair works did nature link The human soul that through me ran; And much it grieved my heart to think What man has made of man Through primrose tuffs, in that sweet bower, The periwinkle tailed its wreaths' And tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes. The birds around me hopped and played Their thoughts I cannot measureBut the least motion which they made, It seemed a thrill of pleasure. The budding twigs spread out their fan, To catch the breezy air: And I must think, do all I can,That there was pleasure there. From heaven if this belief be sent, If such be nature's holy plan Have I not reason to lament What man has made of man?

- Woodsworth

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy. We know the sap that courses through the trees as we know the blood that runs through our veins. We are part of the earth and the earth is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle; these are our brothers. the rocky crests, the berries in the meadow, the body heat of the pony and the people, all belong to the same family. The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. Each shimmering reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father. The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and give drink to our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother or sister. The air is precious to us. The air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. The earth is our mother. What befalls the earth befalls all the children of the earth. All things are connected like the blood that connects us all. We did not weave the web of life; we are mearly strands in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. This we know: that our god is also your god. The earth is precious to God and to harm the earth is to heap contempt upon its creator. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many people and the view of the ripe hills is blotted by talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is it to say good-bye to the swift pony and the hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival. We love the earth as a newborn loves its mother’s heartbeat. Preserve the land for all children and love it, as God loves us all. We Indians are part of this land. You too are part of this land. The earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you. None of us can be apart. We are all brothers and sisters, together woven in to this sacred earth.

~ Chief Seattle

"Nature is the great emptiness, the source out of which our culture and all its flowering comes, and in order not to lose sight of this, not to become orphans lost in the minutiae of our daily lives and, like the rich man’s son starving outside his father’s gate, to forget who we are, it is vital that wildness be preserved for its own sake, which is to say, for our sake."

–Dan Gerber

“I heard them talking to one another in murmurs and whispers. They talked about illness, money, shabby domestic cares. Their talk painted the walls of a dismal prison in which men had locked themselves up. And suddenly I had a vision of the face of destiny.”

- Antoine Saint Exupery

Each flower is a soul opening out to nature.

– Gérard de Nerval

“Even as an old peasant woman recognizes her god in a painted image, in a childish medal, in a chaplet, so life would speak to us in it’s humblest language in order we understand. The joy of living, I say, was summed up for me in the remembered sensation of that burning and aromatic swallow, that mixture of milk and coffee and bread by which men hold communion with tranquil pastures, exotic plantations, and golden harvests, communion with earth.”

Antoine Saint Exupery

“There is another call, the one that arrives the day when what once worked no longer does. Sometimes people need a shock; sometimes a tocsin call. It’s time for a wake up call. A man fired from a job; a child runs away from home; ulcers overtake a body. The ancients called this “soul loss”. Today, the equivalent is the loss of meaning or purpose in our lives. There is a void where there should be what Gerard Manley Hopkins calls “juice and joy.” The heart grows cold, life loses it’s vitality. Our accomplishments seem meaningless.”

- Phil Cousineau



“I have a vision of the Songlines stretching across the continents and the ages; that wherever men have trodden they have left a trail of song (of which we may, now and then, catch an echo); and that these trails must reach back, in time and space, to an isolated pocket in the African Savannah, where the First Man opening his mouth in defiance of the terrors that surrounded him, shouted the opening stanza of the World Song “I AM!”

~ Bruce Chatwin




“Gold & rose color of a dream I had,not too long ago Misty blue and lilac, too. There you were sleeping under a tree of songsleeping so peacefully. In your hand a flower played and you smiled my name...”

- Jimi Hendrix



Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

– John Muir

"These city walls, are like a prison. We got keep on living with our backs against the wall. We are creatures of love; victims of hate...Start living on a higher vibration. Perfection of divinity is everyone's duty. Don't waste your time, living for the vanities. We are creatures of faith; victims of destiny...which we created. Now we are living on a higher vibration."

- Ziggy Marley

"whispering voices,whispering choices...some always lose their soul for silver and gold. Silver and gold have I none. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth Rise up and walk, Rise up and walk. Reaping time and creeping time...You reap what you sowreaping time, creeping time..."

- Lee Scratch Perry

Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life.

– John Muir

"Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth the cost in things natural, wild and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important tahn television, and the chance to find a pasque flower is a right as inalienable as free speech."
- Aldo Leopold

"In all my future lives May I never fall underthe influence of evil companions; May I never harmeven a single hair of any living being; May I never be deprived of the sublime light of Dharma"

This is one little episode in the funeral of the native flora, which in turn is one episode in the floras of the world. Mechanized man, oblivious of floras, is proud of his progress in cleaning up the landscape on which willy nilly he must live out his days. It might be wise to prohibit at once all teachings of real botany and real history, lest some future citizen suffer qualms about the floristic price of his good life.

- Aldo Leopold

I wonder whether the process ordinarily referred to as 'growing up' is not actually growing down; whether experience, so much touted among adults as the thing children lack, is not actually a progressive dilution of the essentials by the trivialities of living.

- Aldo Leopold

We spoke harshly of the Spaniards who, in their zeal for gold and converts, had needlessly extinguished the native indians. It did not occur to us that we, too, were the captains of an invasion too sure of it's own righteousness.

~ Aldo Leopold

Relegating grizzlies to ALASKA is about like relegating happiness to heaven;
one may never get there.

- Aldo Leopold

For seven years I dwelt in the loose palace of exile. Playing strange games with the girls of the Island. Now I have come again to the land of the fair and the strong and the wise. Brothers and Sisters of the pale forest. Children of the night. Who among you will run with the hunt? Now, night arrives with her purple legions. Retire now to your tents and to your dreams. Tomorrow we enter the town of my birth. I want to be ready.

- Jim Morrison

"I hate this age. When the war is over, nothing but emptiness will be left. For centuries, humanity has been descending an immense staircase whose top is hidden in the clouds and whose lowest steps are lost in a dark abyss. We could have ascended the staircase; instead we chose to descend it. Spiritual decay is terrible."


- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"if my words did glow, with the gold of sunshine.And my tunes were played on the heart unstrung. Would you hear my voicecome through the music? Would you hold it near as it were your own?"

- Grateful Dead

"The oldest religion discovered (it) long ago. It is the basis of all religious thought. It is the supreme "trick", which has been somewhat forgotten since the advent of material progress. That "trick" is sacrifice. And by sacrifice I mean neither renunciation of all good things of life, nor despair in repentance. By sacrifice, I mean a free gift, a gift that demands nothing in return. It is not what you receive that magnifies you, but what you give."

~ St. Exupery

"The opening of the Trunk Moment of Inner FreedomWhen the Mind is opened and the Infinite Universe revealed and the Soul is left to wander Dazed and Confused searching here and there for Teachers and Friends."

- Jim Morrison

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

~ Thoreau

"it was a childish ignorance, but now 'tis little joy to know I'm farther off from heaven than when I was a boy."

- Thomas Hood

"I remember the games of my childhood-the dark and golden park we peopled with gods; the limitless Kingdomwe made of this square mile never thoroughly explored, never thoroughly charted. We created a secret civilization where footfalls had meaning and things a savor known in no other world.And when we grow to be men and live under other laws, what remains of that park filled with the shadows of childhood, magical, freezing, burning? What do we learn when we return to it and stroll with a sort of dispair...marvelling that within a space so small we should have founded a Kingdom that had seemed to us infinite-what do we learn except that in this infinity we shall never again set foot, and that it is into the game and not the park that we have lost the power to enter?"

"you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."

"it is only with the heart that one can see rightly;

What is essential is invisible to the eye"

"Don't you understand that somewhere along the way we have gone astray? The human anthill is richer than ever before. We have more wealth and more leisure, and yet we lack something essential, which we find difficult to describe. We feel less human; somewhere we have lost our mysterious prerogatives."

When I have Sacrificed My Angel Soul

I died a mineral, and became a plantI died a plant and rose an animal.I died an animal and I was a man.Why should I fear? When was I less by dying Yet once more I shall die as man, to soar With the blessed angels; but even from angelhood I must pass on. All except God perishes.When I have sacrificed my angel soul,I shall become that which no mind ever conceived.O, let me not exist for non-Existence proclaims,"To Him, we shall return."

- Jalal-Vddin Rumi

A Little French Food History

“Gourmandise is an enormous book, always open to whoever knows how to read it, and whose pages offer a series of moving tableaux, whose horizon spreads as far as the eye can see.”

~ Grimod de la Reynière

I have enjoyed the debate on the supposed influence of Catherine de Médicis on French cuisine. People have suggested that French cuisine was unsophisticated prior to Catherine de Médicis. I suggest that there was a sophisticated national cuisine prior to Catherine that kept with the palate of the times and that while the Italian Renaissance did effect French cooking, it started with Platine in 1505, twenty-eight years prior to Catherine’s arrival in France. Catherine may have brought something with her but everything mentioned thus far in this friendly exchange has appeared in writing prior to her existence.

After I got back from a weekend of camping and decided to look through relevant books before embarking on another week of restaurant opening madness. I came across a book, which I rather enjoy, but somehow had forgotten. It is entitled “The Grand Masters of French Cuisine – from 1373 to 1873” written by Céline Vence and Robert Courtine, another excellent book that I forgot to mention in my list of important books on the subject.

The Grand Masters of French Cuisine starts with the oldest French cookbook written in 1290 entitled Traité où l’on enseigne à faire et appereiller tous boires commes vin, clairet, mouré et autres, ainsi qu’a appareiller et assaisoner toutes viands selon divers usages de divers pays or “Treatise where one is taught to make and dress all drinks such as wine, claret, Mouré and others, as well as how to dress and season all meats according to the diverse countries”. Although other books were probably written, the second oldest French book comes 100 years later, in 1380 entitled Le Grand Cuisinier de toute cuisine, “The Great Cookbook of All Kinds of Cooking”. This book has come to be known as Viandier written by Guillaume Tirel whose nickname was Taillevent. In this cookbook, Taillevent gives us wonderful recipes such as Civé de Veel (an early version of Blanquette de Veau), Poached Mullets with sauce Cameline (a sort of relish), Grilled Mullets, Hochepot de Poullaille (Chicken Casserole), Sutil Brouet d’Engleterre (Chestnut Purée from England), Oeufs rôtis à la broche (spit roast eggs), Pâté d’anguilles (eel pate), and Cretonnée de Pois Nouveaux (Green Pea Puree with Chicken) among others.

On first look the food appears to be ancient compared to what we eat now. As a student of gastronomy I can tell you that Blanquette de Veau is still being prepared, as are grilled Mullet, Chicken Casserole, Chestnut Puree, Eel Pate and pureed Green Peas. One could say that the generous uses of what I term medieval spices are no longer in use today. I agree, but that was the fashion of the time. Spices had a great value and only wealthy people could afford them. Spices did not have the luxury of modern vacuum packing and transportation. Therefore spices lost much of their potency through inefficient packing and lengthy travel times from point of origin to the kitchen in France and Italy. I will admit I am not a scholar on early Italian works; some could even argue I am not a scholar on early French works. Perhaps Riccardo, Rogov, or someone else could help us with what the Italians cooked in the mid to late 1300’s. I am certain the cuisine would be similar.

The next book of note to appear on the scene is Le Ménagier de Paris (The Goodman of Paris), written between June of 1392 and September of 1394. Among the recipes, suckling pig stuffed with egg yolks, sausage, chestnuts, cheese, saffron and ginger; Chicken liver and gizzard stew, and eel stew stand out. The middle-aged author wrote the book for the benefit of his 15 year old bride, whom he felt could only give him “petit et ignorant service” without it. Apparently she had begged him to forgive her for her youth and the slight and imperfect service she could render. He wrote the book to quickly educate her on domestic science. The recipes, for the large part, are borrowed from Viandier, but a few new ones did appear.

In 1420, Chiquart Amiczo a book entitled Du Fait de Cuisine (On the Matter of Cookery). He was the Chef to the Duke of Savoy. His book dealt with food preparation as well as planning and arranging enormous feasts that lasted for several days. To quote Early French Cookery, “…staggering logistics involved in preparing for such a feast, even only two days’ duration. In order to allow for something like 57 dishes to be served, the cook must ensure the availability of 100 heads of cattle- to be slaughtered on the spot – along with 130 sheep, 120 pigs, 200 piglets, 200 lambs, 100 calves, 2,000 hens and 12,000 eggs to say nothing of the incredible quantities of wild game and fish, spices, herbs, fruit, sugar, wines, candles, firewood, filter cloth and so forth.” Du Fait de Cuisine gives us valuable information on the royal cuisine of the time.

Maestro Martino whose recipes appeared in the mid 1400’s in “De honesta voluptate et valetudine” (Of Honest Indulgence and Good Health) by Baptiste Platine de Crémone, did have dishes that appear to be more familiar with what we would label as Italian cooking today. In his book he lists dishes like Riso con brood di carne (a forerunner to Risotto Milanese), Ravioli in tempo di carne (ravioli for meat days), and Zucche Fritte (zucchini salad). But upon inspection, I see that medieval spices such as saffron, cinnamon and ginger figure prominently in these preparations. It is interesting to note that Riso con brood di carne is of Arabic origins. But, unlike Risotto Milanese, this dish uses eggs instead of grated cheese. The use of rice is also mentioned in Taillevent’s book. Platine, as the work was commonly known as, first appeared in print in France in 1505 under the name Platine en françois très utile et necessaire pour le corps humain, que traicte de honest volupté et de toutes viands et choses que l’ome mange, quelles vertus ont, et en quoy nuysent ou proffitent au corps humain, et comment se doyvent apprester ou appreiller, et de fair à chascune dicelles viands soit chair ou poysson sa proper saulce et des propriétés et vertus que ont les dites viands. Et du lieu et place convenable à l’ome pour abiter et de plusieurs gentillesses par quoy l’ome se peut maintenir en prospérité et santé sans avoir grant indigence d’avoir aultre médecin sil est homme de rayson or Platine in French, Very useful and necessary for the human body, which treats of honest pleasures and of all meats and things that men eat, what their virtues are, and how they hurt or help the human body, and how they should be prepared and dressed, and how to make for each one of these meats, either flesh or fish, its own sauce, and the properties and virtues that which he can maintain his prosperity and health, with no need to have any doctor, if he be a man of reason. One hell of a title to retype! Platine became very popular in France was published repeatedly for 100 years. The book details all the things eaten in the sixteenth century. He mentions 15 different salad plants. He describes how whale blubber was the fat used by poor people; that porpoise was a noble fish and that one should let it age. That it is better roasted than boiled. And if you are to boil it, it is better in wine than water. He also describes Catalan cookery.

The Italian influence continued with Opera nuova intitolata Dificio de recette, printed in Venice in 1541. The book was translated into French the same year and appeared as Bastiment de recettes (Edifice of Recipes). In 1551, a Parisian bookseller published Manière de faire toutes confitures (Manner of Making all Sorts of Confectionery). There is dispute whether the author was French or an Italian living in Paris. In 1552, Nostradamus published a book, which is most likely the first French pastry book entitled Le Confiturier Français.

Olivier de Serres’s book “Théâtre de l’Agriculture et mesnage des Champs (Theater of Agriculture and Care of the Fields) was printed in 1600 and completely revolutionized agriculture in France. De Serres encouraged their use in cooking and experimented with varieties never grown in France before. He suggested planting rice in Camargue and was the first person to talk about the advantages of the potato as food. Yes, well before Antoine Augustin Parmentier promoted their use in the last quarter of the eighteenth century.

In 1604, Lancelot de Casteau’s Ouverture de cuisine appeared. Written in French outside of France by a non-Frenchman. It is one of the first books to an international collection of recipes for both savory and sweets. Lancelot de Casteau described himself as a native of Mons, near Liège. Lancelot describes the menu of a banquet in 1557 where he served turkey, multi colored gelatins, medieval favorites such as roast swan, peacock pies and bustards. Further in the book he describes Italian specialties: raviolis, Bologna sausage and Parmesan cheese.

The next major work was that of Joseph Du Chesne. Le Pourtraict de la Santé (Portrait of Good Health) was published in 1606. In it he advises that nothing will restore “beaten health” like a leg of lamb with fresh breadcrumbs and lemon juice. He continues by telling us that sardines are best fried in butter and served with lemon juice. My favorite advice has to be that after dinner “everyone should stay at the table, without moving, for a good half hour, chatting agreeably with each other.” AMEN.

In 1607, a book entitled “Thrésor de santé ou mesnage de la vie humaine” (Treasures of Good Health or the Care of Human Life) was published. It is the first book to discuss regional favorite such as Saucisson de Lyon and Andouillettes de Troyes.

And finally, this brings us to “Le Cuisinier François” written in 1651 by Pierre de la Varenne. La Varenne was the founder of classical French cuisine. Dishes like: pumpkin pie, Boeuf a la mode, Oeufs a la neige, omelettes, beignets appear. Dishes like stuffed mushrooms, Chicken casserole with green peas, eel pate en croute, asparagus in cream sauce, and Ragout of rabbit are also included. He went on to write a pastry book as well.

In conclusion, I would like to see specifically how Catherine de Médicis, herself, affected French cuisine. For every chronicle of her feasts I can provide chronicles of feasts with similar lavish presentations. There is no doubt of an Italian affect on French cuisine, but it started before her, in 1505. I haven’t been able to find a book with a reference to her exactly, other than ones written in very recent history. I haven’t seen a book written by her Chef. I have however, listed many notable books from the French and Italians alike who wrote the books that the influenced the cooks of the time. And no one has mentioned German or English books either.

“No rule exists for such compositions; they are at the mercy of the artist’s genius.”

Grimod de le Reynière

The Emperor's New Clothes... Why the Medicis had nothing to do with the development of French Food or Culture

The True History of French Cooking
or The Italian Myth of Catherine de Médicis Debunked

­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Catherine de Médicis was born in 1519 to a French mother, Madeleine de la Tour d’Auvergne, and Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, in Florence, Italy. She was fourteen (1533) at the time she arrived in the French court of Francis I to marry Henry II, future King of France. Twelve ladies in waiting, also her age, numerous cooks, servants and the like accompanied her. The cooks and servants took care of the large group on the ship over to Marseilles and the overland trip to the Francis I court. As Esther B. Aresty states in her lovely book entitled The Exquisite Table – a History of French Cuisine, “But as far as installing cooks at the court of Francis I to serve her own needs – that would have been bringing coals to Newcastle, and unthinkable in any case with a monarch like Francis I. At that time his court was far more elegant than any court in Italy.” Historian Jean Heritier describes his court as “The foremost court in Europe.” There is no doubt that the Italian Renaissance had an effect on France. “… a French Renaissance had been in stride since the fifteenth century. True, the seeds had wafted over from Italy into France, as they had in other countries, but wherever the Renaissance took root, what matured from the semination emerged differently in each country – on canvases, in books, and in architecture.” Francis I brought great Italian artists like Da Vinci to work for him. “Francis adopted the pose of a chivalric King, the first gentleman of his kingdom, although his autocratic statecraft was imbued with a shrewd realism. His patronage of the arts was intended to augment the splendor of his court. He brought Leonardo da Vinci and other great Italian artists to France to design and ornament his châteaux. He employed Guillaume Budé in creating a royal library and in founding professorships of Greek, Latin and Hebrew, which formed the nucleus of the later Collège de France.” When Catherine arrived she was described as being unassuming and undemanding, even the Venetian ambassador labeled her as molto obediente.

From 1547 – 1559, Catherine reigned as Queen of France. To paraphrase “The Exquisite Table”, it is the misunderstanding of a quote attributed to Michel de Montaigne (1533-92), French essayist and philosopher, which has led some scholars astray. Montaigne was a prominent figure at the court late in Catherine’s reign as Queen. He is often quoted as praising Italian cooks at her court. “One encounter with such a cook, “late in the kitchen of Cardinal Caraffia,” and spoke of that cook’s “magisterial gravity” when discussing his art, “the weighty and important considerations… (in) lofty, magnificent words, the very same we use when we discourse upon the government of an Empire.” In fact he was joking and furthermore it didn’t take place at the court but actually when he was interviewing the cook as a perspective employee. To quote Mrs. Aresty “The conversation struck Montaigne as so hilarious that he was inspired to write an essay on “how to make little things appear big.” He called it On the Vanity of Words. In 1570, when Montaigne traveled to Italy he said, “Provisions are not half so plentiful… and not near so well (prepared).”

“French cuisine had been growing in its own national direction long before Catherine de Medici came to France, and was as fully formed by 1533 as cookery and dining then allowed. At best, all national cuisines were still medieval. Forks were not in general use. Spoon and finger foods were the rule: hashes, stews, potages and meats sliced thin enough to be speared on the point of a knife to be eaten by hand, or laid on a slice of bread and swallowed in a few gulps.” To understand the style of food in vogue in the Aristocratic courts one has to look back at how it came to be. For French references we need to look at the early works of Guillaume Tirel, a.k.a. Taillevent, master Chef to Charles V (1337 – 1380). The earliest known copies of Taillevent’s book date back to 1392. The recipes were organized by ingredients and methods. Le Viander is divided into sections on meat, entrements, fish, sauces, etc. His recipe for Civé de Veau could be considered a very early version of Blanquette de Veau. In the recipe he tells his audience to roast the veal on a spit or grill without overcooking. Then cut up the pieces and cook in fat with onions, mix with stale bread boiled in beef broth and wine, add the normal range of medieval spices that were infused in verjus. Also important to note are two other French books of the same period; Menagier de Paris written for the amateur cook and Chiquart’s masterwork, Du fait de Cuisine, which is considered by scholars as “Europe’s first true cookbook”. All three of these French books were written 100 years before Catherine’s birth. All three books had influences that directly led to the development of modern French cookery. Without trying to sound too corny I have always envisioned the progress of French cooking to be like a torch being passed from one kitchen to another, throughout the generations. Each Chef adding his or her particular spin and dimension to the culinary body. French food did not make gigantic leaps from Carême to Escoffier to Bocuse to today’s crop of great Chefs. There were many small steps in between that history has overlooked.

By the time of the 1600’s, the difference in the cuisine of Italy and France was very pronounced as evident by the two major works of that period, Le Vrai Cuisinier François by François Pierre La Varenne (1615 – 1678) and Opera di M. Bartolomeo Scappi, cuoco secreto di papa Pio Quinto by Bartolomeo Scappi (1540 - 1570) published I believe in 1570 but was still considered the benchmark of Italian cuisine. La Varenne warned his audience “to cook just long enough” while Scappi advocated overcooking. “Scappi presented the noble Maccaronis of Italian cooking in great variety; there were no macaronis in Le Vrai Cuisinier Francois, though present in fifteenth century English cookbooks. The Italian influence was in fact felt more strongly in England, where macaroni (macrow to the English) and spicy forcemeats called “Balles of Italy” appear…” In La Varenne’s works, he classifies preparations considered basic to French cuisine, bouillons, liaisons, roux, farces, etc.

In conclusion, I think it would be foolish to argue which cuisine is better than the other; first and foremost it is a matter of opinion and secondly they both are wonderful, vibrant and different. It is equally foolish to believe that two countries so close didn’t have culinary influences on each other. Both were conquered and occupied by similar peoples. Lastly, I think it is also foolish to believe that one single event defined a countries palate. A palate is a work in progress. Both nations had an established cuisine well before Catherine arrived on the scene.

Good Books for more information:

Early French Cooking by Scully
The Exquisite Table by Aresty
Les Fastes de Bacchus et de Comus by Gérard Oberlé
Haute Cuisine by Trubek
Acquired Tastes by Peterson
Cuisine Medievale Pour Tables d’aujourd’hui by Mathilde Brunel
The Medieval Kitchen Recipes from France and Italy by Redon, Sabban and Serventi
The Pantropheon by Alexis Soyer (not necessarily on this subject but what a wild book)
Great Cooks and Their Recipes from Taillevent to Escoffier by Willan
And obviously all the original books referenced in this post

Opening Menus and Blues

WOW! Opening a restaurant is one crazy task! Most do not understand the insanity involved in the restaurant business. No other business resembles. Addictive as hell. It's the rush. The moment of opening. The feeling in your stomach somewhere between desperate anxiety and stifling nervousness. The one thousand checks on your list if you've done everything. So much to do so little time...

"Ninety miles an hour, girl, is the speed I drive

You tell me it's alright, you don't mind a little pain

You say you just want me to take you for a drive"

- Jimi Hendrix

I got a great crew in the kitchen to work with this summer... Andrew, Animal, Amanda, Andrea. Aswah and Duncan. Crap that's a lot of a's! Well, we are in Canada... oh you crazy Canadians and your ays. sorry about the poke! Without their help I would be in fetal position crying. It's fun getting to know everyone personalities. I am always amazed how it comes together and gels. Who hasn't opened a restaurant that knows that crazy and insane feeling you get at about 2:17 on the first day. The walls haven't been painted. tonight's special is stuck in Halifax, the lights don't work... A million unconcieved things happen... really.

Organizing a crew is a tricky thing to do. It's building the chemistry between five or so people that your only interaction is the frantic pace of the restaurant. From the time you enter the building you start prepping the days long mise en place list to when, after 250 dinners where you constantly crack on each other while plating up 18 ribs, 12 steak all different temperatures, three halibut and one codfish. Rushing to have people enjoy a leisurely paced dining experience. People never think past their plates. But then why should they? They are the ones paying for the experience.

I love Marco's saying that goes: "at the end of the day it's just food, just food." Orders need to be called in. The bad codfish has to be sent back. A million things zooming past in a hurried, organized way. Kitchen crews are the ninjas of the restaurant business. They are the ones who work in the dark, behind the walls, rarely getting credit for their efforts. Why do we do it? Sometimes I wonder about that... It is a love and hate relationship with food that I have. Impossible to have an in between. Somewhere behind the wall the kitchen crew lurks.

SMALL PLATES


Raw Oysters
½ dozen: $15; dozen: $28
Colville Bay, Raspberry Point, Pickle Point, Sand Dunes, Carr’s Malpeque
Ginger ~ Wasabi mignonette and cocktail sauce

Mussels $10
Island Blues steamed in White Wine, Garlic and Herbs

Provençal Sunshine $12
Island Blue Mussels steamed in Pernod,
Leeks, fire roasted Sweet Peppers and Cream

Potato, Leek and Oyster Soup $9
pureed Potato and Leek soup
garnished with Crème Fraîche, fried Oysters and Herbs

Island Chowder $8
an ever changing Seafood chowder
featuring the beautiful marriage of land and sea

Smoked Salmon and Lobster Carpaccio $14
luminescent Smoked Salmon drizzled with creamy Dijon vinaigretteMesclun, Apple, Celeriac and smoked Lobster salad, toasted Brioche

Ceviché of Scallops, Papaya and Cucumbers
marinated Scallops, Papayas and Cucumbers
Bulls Blood Micro Greens and Wasabi Caviar

Crispy Crab and Lobster Cake $12

Asparagus, Lemon vinaigrette and Snow Crab salad

Dayboat Green Salad
local grown organic Greens tossed in Maple – Dijon Vinaigrette

Warm Goat Cheese Salad
toasted Goat Cheese, roast Beets, candied Walnuts, Micro Greens, Shallot Vinaigrette

Local Asparagus with Crunchy Farm Egg
Parmesan Fonduta, crispy Pancetta, Frisée Salad

Steak Tartar $12
Hand cut aged Beef mixed with Capers, Shallots and Cornichon

Micro Green salad and Brioche toast points

LARGE PLATES

Arctic Char

seared Scallops, crushed White Beans,
Tomato Confit, shaved Fennel salad, Basil vinaigrette

Olive Oil Poached Codfish
Provençal Mussels and soft shell Clams, grilled Potatoes, Saffron jus

Wild Halibut
tournedo of Prosciutto wrapped Halibut, roasted Vegetables, creamy Polenta
Lemon Caper and Sage Butter


Cioppino
Seafood stew with Lobster, Codfish, Halibut, Mussels & Clams
simmered in Red Wine, Vegetables and Tomato broth

Lobster Sybil

Butter poached Claws, grilled Tail and sautéed Knuckles
Seasonal Vegetables, Ray’s Fabula Potatoes

35 Day Wet Aged Atlantic Steak
smoked Olive Oil, Espelette Peppers
Red Onion Cipollata, mashed Potatoes, grilled Asparagus

Island Back Ribs
dry rubbed, slow cooked, grilled Baby Back Pork Ribs
Dayboat Coleslaw and hand cut Fries

Duckling
roasted Duck breast, caramelized Apples, Shiitake Mushrooms
Celery Root Puree, Apple Sauce

Lacquered Black Pork³

Pork Shoulder Confit, salt cured Pork Belly and Pork Mignonette
Red Peppers and Green Beans ~ Ginger glaze

Desserts

Caramelized Apple Tart

caramelized Apples on Shortbread topped with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Brown Sugar and Cider Sauce

Panna Cotta

a Menage a Trois of Italian Custards
Orange, Strawberry ~ Vanilla and Coffee ~ Caramel
served with a plate full of yummy little cookies

the Bombe

toasted Almond and bittersweet Chocolate mousse
toasted Almond Anglaise, Chocolate sauce

Chocolate Fondant

hot Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sauce
Caramel Ice Cream

Pistachio – Olive Oil Cake

roasted Strawberries, Rhubarb Compote

Chef François de Mélogue


Dayboat proudly features food farmed, fished and foraged

from Prince Edward Island’s small producers