cuisine, culture and community - Les Dames d'Escoffier International

By
Emily Teel
If I had gone to Vancouver,
British Columbia, as a tourist
I could have done plenty
of the things that I did as
a Les Dames d’Escoffier
Legacy Award winner. I could
have bought scones and coronation
grapes at the Trout Lake Farmer’s
Market. I might have enjoyed a cup of chai on a chilly morning
at Rhizome Café. No doubt, I would have wandered the stalls of
the Granville Island Market, admiring the pyramids of cherries
and apples from the Okanagan.
What distinguished my visit to Vancouver as a Legacy Award
winner from the experience of the average culinary tourist was
that I found myself suddenly an insider. My wonderful host,
Chef Margaret Chisholm of Culinary Capers Catering, dropped
me into a week of adventures with other BC Dames and friends.
My packed schedule included a tasting of local cheeses with
Allison Spurrell at Les Amis du Fromage, a flour-to-fougasse
tour of Terra Breads, and a conversation about creating a space
for social justice and community organizing with the owners of
Rhizome Cafe. Nancy Wong led me on a tour of Chinatown
and shared with me her recommendation for the flaky apple
tarts at New Town Bakery, tucked in alongside a butcher selling
pressed ducks. I rode to Richmond with Karen Dar Woon to see
the Terra Nova Sharing Farm, an amazing multi-use agricultural
space that grows fresh produce for the Richmond Food Bank
Society. At the Granville Island market I saw fresh turmeric
and kalamansi limes for the first time. I learned of the efforts by
the Downtown Eastside Community Kitchens project to build
individual wellness by cooperatively preparing meals with the
occupants of residential hotels in one of Vancouver’s most economically
depressed neighborhoods.
Across town I spent several mornings in chef’s whites at
Culinary Capers. Despite being by far the weakest link in the
kitchen, I did my best to wrestle eggplants into one-centimeter
cubes. The rigorous specification of the professional kitchen
eluded me, and it was with considerable relief that I slid into a
banquette at Chef Alana Peckham’s restaurant, Cru, and left
that important work to the experts.
During this week I got a comprehensive view of Vancouver: I
ate at elegant restaurants, plated fancy hors d’oeuvres, ran my
hands over kale seedlings, and chopped a bushel of misshapen
apples for a community meal at the Gilmore Park United
Church. The gift of my Legacy Award, the sum of these individual
experiences, is a sense of perspective on a specific food community.
Siloed in our spheres of expertise, it can be difficult to
perceive this web of interconnectedness in our own communities.
As both outsider and insider in Vancouver my Legacy Award illuminated
for me the city’s foodways and the remarkable women
working within them. I can only hope that as I grow in my food
career, I can retain this sense of perspective and hopefully draw
the threads of this interconnectedness among the restaurants,
farms, markets and food pantries even closer together.
By
Keri Levens
As a wine director and wine buyer for
a large restaurant in New York City, I
often hear wine reps use terms such as
organic, biodynamic and/or sustainable
when referring to or pitching their
wines. After a while, you can get a little
skeptical wondering if these terms are used
legitimately, or as a marketing ploy.
Embarking on this scholarship, I was curious as to what sustainable
meant to Wente Vineyards. From the moment I arrived, the clear theme
of sustainability was apparent in all aspects of the Wente family business
and that it's been a business practice even before it was a coined term.
Up early, I made the daily rounds with Karl, a 5th generation
Wente wine maker. We drove through the extensive vineyard holdings
in Livermore, overseeing hand harvesting, machine harvesting
and checking on the general well being of the whole operation. We
stopped periodically to taste grapes off the vine. Karl explained that
ultimately, he is “farming for flavor.” Walking up and down each row,
between tasting and spitting grapes, I had the opportunity to ask a
myriad of questions about wine making, grape growing and what
sustainability meant at Wente.
Karl’s explanation was simple and complete. In the most basic
terms, he explained that sustainability was just making good decisions
and in his mind, doing the right thing. As harvesting continued
before us, Karl explained how the stems and skins, referred to as
“mark” are returned to the vineyards after they are pressed at the winery,
ultimately putting back into the land all of which was taken out.
During the week I spent with the Wente’s I had the opportunity to ask
each member of the family the same question and what I found out was
that sustainability has been a constant from the earliest days to the present.
Phil Wente explained how the long established Chardonnay grape at
Wente Vineyards, thriving even through prohibition, supplied much
of California's vineyards with the Wente Clone helping to sustain a
then-fledgling industry.
Erik Wente explained how the family brought irrigation to the Livermore
Valley not long ago, helping to sustain their vineyards and many
others throughout the whole AVA.
Carolyn Wente told me about an exciting new project ahead with the
Food Network called Entwine and how the Entwine project aims to expose
the ever-growing population of Foodies to the art of the enjoyment
of wine at the table, creating a new sustainable consumer base.
But the stories I loved hearing most were of the "extended" Wente
family members that I had the good fortune to spend time with. I
spent most afternoons with Claude, head wine maker of the small lots.
As we tasted, blended and processes grapes I learned that he started
out in construction at Wente. I also met Jorge, head sommelier of the
Wente Restaurant. We explored the restaurant’s cellars, which house a
deep and important collection of American wine. I learned that Jorge
began his career in the Wente kitchens as a prep cook. And I also met
Diane. As the master gardener, she maintains an acre of organic vegetables
that go directly on the restaurant menu. Diane began her career
as a server at the Wente Restaurant. I found it inspiring that each of
these incredible individuals, now contributing to the Wente legacy at a
high level, all started with humble beginnings.
SPRING Quarterly 2012 15