You know what I think the difference is between a good cook and a chef? Philosophy. I came to this conclusion recently when I spent the day with Mad Batter Chef Jon Davies. Make no mistake about it, I know good cooks. I’m a good cook. I can make a mean Sloppy Joe Sandwich. Let me also begin by saying that I thought I was spending the day with him. It ended up being more like a half day because when I got there it was already 1:45 and he’d been there since 9:30. And when I left, bedraggled and bewildered at 7:30, he was still standing by the kitchen door making sure everything was ok.
“I tell people I only work half days – twelve hours a day.”
Now, in all fairness, I could have gotten there earlier, but, please, a girl can’t just spend the day with the chef – or trail the chef – as we in the restaurant business say – without the proper clothes.
First, the sandals definitely had to go and were replaced with proper sneak so I didn’t go slip sliding away across the kitchen floor. Secondly, I needed to replace the sleeveless tank top with a white tee shirt, I got at the Food & Wine Festival last month. But best of all, a get to don a chef’s hat which I purchased from Love the Cook. I’m ready!
Chef Jon chose September 29th as a good day for me to trail him because the Mad Batter was hosting a special fund raising dinner to aid the Hurricane Katrina victims. All proceeds from the dinner and silent auction were going to the American Red Cross. The theme of the dinner was of course, New Orleans cuisine.
“I’ve always had a special fondness for New Orleans-style food,” said Chef Jon as he stirred an incredibly huge pot of Gumbo. “My parents took me to New Orleans when I was 12-years-old and I’ve never forgotten it. New Orleans dishes are layers of flavors that melt into one unique taste. They talk about New York style cuisine being a melting pot but New York cuisine is divided into Chinatown, Little Italy, different ethnic groups.” The flavors, he said, remain true to the particular culture. New Orleans food changes from what was originally French into something unique in taste and texture.
Gosh, I’m thinkin’ he learned all of that at 12?
We move into a little mini kitchen, which is totally cute and away from the fray of the large kitchen. There are a number of pots brewing on the small gas stove. Creole music is playing back here and the windows paint a nice scene of flowers and trees from the house next door.
“This is Red Beans & Rice,” he says stirring through the reddish brown mixture. He explains that in New Orleans, Monday was always laundry day. So the women would put a big pot of red beans on in the morning and by late afternoon, when they finished the laundry, dinner was ready. And to this day, restaurants traditionally serve Red Beans & Rice on Mondays. I notice it’s not just red beans and rice in the pot.
“Yes, we add ham hocks and andouille sausage for flavor.”
He walks over to the work area by the window and shows me a large bowl. I came in this morning and the first thing I did was make a roux. We needed three different kinds of roux for the dishes we’re making and it needed to simmer for 3 ½ hours.”
I’m looking at this beautiful mahogany brown mixture which was used as the flavored base for the Gumbo, and also used, I imagine, for the Red Beans & Rice and the Tomato Jam which will accompany the Belgnets (fritters to rest of us) and I’m thinkin’ THREE HOURS? Dang!
So Jon has things pretty much under control as he consults….can I be mistaken? I think he’s using the same Joy of Cooking that I use at home – well not the exact same one, but you know what I mean. Should I ask him? You know how touchy those chefs are. But Jon’ s different – he’s actually a nice chef. So, I decide to give it a try.
“Is that a cookbook you’re using?”
“Yes. The Joy of Cooking. It’s the best cookbook ever written.”
“I know. I feel the same way.” See? We’re bonding. I bet I’d make a good chef. Of course, there’d have to be some shortcuts taken. Let’s see, none of these 12-hour days. I’m thinkin’ six hours should be long enough and can’t we buy this roux stuff at the grocery store? No? Don’t give up me day job, you say. Well ok.
Jon’s looking at a recipe for fritter batter but I keenly notice the quantities are small – 1½ cups flour.
“Now I know you used more then 1½ cups of flour? How much flour did you use?”
He looks up, as though amazed by the question. “I don’t know. I use ratios and what looks right. This is slightly more than 2½ times more than what the recipe called for.” He explains that a recipe is just a guide anyway. He always changes it to suit the situation. Ahha. There’s another difference – I change nothing. And definitely not giving up me day job because I am lost without a conversion table and a measuring cup.
He cuts up the brie and artichokes for the batter, then we move into the big kitchen “behind the line” where the deep fryers are. Jon puts a scoop of batter into the deep fryer. He immediately notices that the consistency isn’t right and cuts up more brie to throws into the batter.
“That’s better,” he says, putting plastic wrap on the huge stainless steel bowl and placing it in the refrigerator.
He begins assembling the ingredients for the Cajun Fettuccine Alfredo (many cartons of heavy cream and many eggs) and the Dirty Rice (clean rice with chicken livers).
Now, it’s time to make the Blackened Red Fish. Six cast iron skillets are going at once – ok maybe three, but it seemed like six and flames are shooting up everywhere.
“Why are the flames shooting out from the skillets like they’re on fire?”
The seasonings combined with the oil combust, Jon explains, when they reach a certain temperature. He calmly puts out the fire by placing one skillet inside the other. The Blacked Red Fish is placed on a tray to be placed in the oven 15 minutes or so before dinner, which is at 7, or as soon as everyone has finished the appetizers, which will be served in the main dining room. They will consist of the Belgnets and Oysters. The oysters will be served on the half-shell.
Now comes the fun part. Jon and I spend a good hour shucking oysters. Can I just say? TEDIOUS. However, while we’re doing this, we have time to talk about food, hurricanes and life.
There’s an easy pace to the kitchen. The rest of the staff are getting ready for regular diners who will be seated out on the front porch. Since has already made the Buffet selections – they are simmering on the stove and waiting to be reheated.
“I decided to have a plated course but wanted everyone to have a large variety for dinner so we’ll serve the entrees buffet-style. Also, Cajun food isn’t the prettiest food. I think it’ll look better on the buffet table.”
The plated courses, he explains, will consist of Crawfish Etoufee, a Shrimp Remoulade Salad and Corn Bread which is being made by Mike the Baker. Mike has switched off the Cajun music in favor of a more Brazilian mix and dances a samba while mixing the corn bread. He explains that there will be two kinds one plain and one with jalapeño pepper and cheddar. When he puts them into the oven to bake, the smell is heavenly.
The whole time I’m there – the smells from the kitchen are sumptuous and I just bet you don’t get those kinds of aromas from buying the stuff pre-made and in a can. Spices and flavors waft in your nostrils as you go from the large kitchen into the smaller one and sense of a timelessness strikes me about this cooking.
It is after 6 when I peek out into the dining room. The appetizers and plated courses are ready to go. The 60 or so guests are beginning to filter in. The Buffet course will consist of Gumbo, Blacked Chicken Quarters, Blackened Red Fish, Cajun Fettuccine Alfredo, Corn Maque Choux, Red Beans & Rice, Dirty Rice and steamed rice. The wait staff is lighting the warming device for the buffet dishes and I’m thinkin’ well, I thinkin’ that I’m exhausted the same way I am on Thanksgiving Day when it’s time to serve the dinner.
Jon is sitting outside for a minute, “This seems to take up so much of your time making a meal like this?”
“Yes, but it’s fun. We do a series called Evening with the Chef here at the Mad Batter and that’s a lot more work because I have to make the course – usually five or six of them, then run out and explain it to the 20 or so people attending. Then run back in make the next course. So, this is really a lot easier and, like I said, I love New Orleans cooking.”
For Chef Jon, Cajun food relates to a time when people took the time to cook and everything they cooked symbolized something.
One story Jon likes to tell is the one about the lobster. It seems the lobster were so distraught about the French Canadians being forced to leave their homeland after the British prevailed in the French-Indian War, that they followed the French to Louisiana. But by the time they got down to the Bayou they were so small – they had turned into Crawfish. See what I mean about philosophy?
