Picking on chefs

[gordonzola]

As I've said before, chefs and restauranteurs know a great deal more about cheesemongers about most food things. But my trip to Seattle reminded me that many are still not very good about cheese.

At a restaurant in Seattle I shared a cheese plate. The cheese selection wasn't bad, but the poor waiter had no idea which cheese was which. He ID'd the blue cheese as Istara and the Istara as Chevre D'or. I provided pictures in those links so you could see that they are not similar looking cheeses.

I wish I could say I was surprised, but the same place had a similar problem the last time I was in Seattle. The menu claimed Valencay as one of the options. Next to it, it claimed the Valencay was pasteurized. There is no such thing. There is the "Tradition Du Berry" which is a pasteurized version of the Valencay but Valencay's name-control prevents it from being pasteurized and selling it under that name.*

I asked our waitress then if she could see if it was Valencay or Tradition du Berry. She went back to the kitchen, "checked with the chef" and said the label said "pasteurized Valencay". I didn't bother to confront her, it wasn't her fault if she was told to lie to me. She might have even just been lying because it was the real, superior, illegal one and she didn't know if I was an FDA agent. Fair enough. But I doubt it. Her eyes told me I had just caught her making shit up and that she knew I knew it. I still ordered it. Even the pasteurized version is awesome.

I took Virgin to and from Seattle and got completely hooked on "Top Chef" which I had never seen before. They were replaying last years series and, just as we landed at SFO, one of the Chefs was justifying his choice of bllue cheese for his Elk steak. Watching the show renewed my awe at what good chefs can do and how much they know. It also renewed my feelings that most still know nothing about cheese as the Top Chef wannabee said, "I chose a mild California Roquefort..."**

Sigh.



*All that is potentially changing but this happened about 3-4 years ago and I know who their supplier is/was.
**Roquefort is name-controlled and, among other things, must be made from French sheep milk and aged in particular caves. There is no "California" Roquefort and Roquefort is never mild.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_asphodel_/]

I recognize that blue...fourme d'ambert- lovely stuff.
Question- do you have a preference for Roqueforts?

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

Carles and Coulet are my faves with Papillon being right up there too. Societe B is my least favorite but beats the heck out of almost any other blue if you like drippy, salty. and strong.

[orchid-and-wasp.livejournal.com]

One vote for Le Vieux Bergers too!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

yep that one too. anything but Societe B really.

[ailleurs.livejournal.com]

I'm cracking up at the 'mild Californian Roquefort.' That said, 'pasteurized' is a word that ought never be used in tandem with 'cheese'.

[sophistimicated.livejournal.com]

The phrase that always comes to mind when I eat out here in Seattle is "More money than sense".

[serazin.livejournal.com]

You should have a reality TV show where you go to restaurants and order the cheese plate and then bust them for their inaccurate labeling. It would serve to raise public awareness about fancy cheese.

I was buying feta the other day and I couldn’t figure out which to choose and then I remembered how you mentioned one kind that comes filled with pubic hair*. Apparently, I chose well because mine was hair-free. What are your favorite fetas?

*hyperbole alert!

[epilady.livejournal.com]

I saw that episode on Virgin America too, and even I knew that was a bullshit call on the cheese ID. But the elk did look mighty toothsome.

[hematopoetic.livejournal.com]

I don't even know anything about cheese and I found those situations painful.

[orchid-and-wasp.livejournal.com]

Dude, I'm so curious as to what restaurant this happened at. Dude... was it on 12th avenue?

[queen-beeanna.livejournal.com]

Second the curiosity...

[sarahshevett.livejournal.com]

Mmmm..Top Chef...
It beats the hell out of Hell's Kitchen for food reality shows. But I love both.

[artnoose.livejournal.com]

Once on a long JetBlue flight, my companion teased me mercilessly on the way east because I watched an entire season of Top Chef back to back. Of course, on the way home, he got sucked into Project Runway, and I never let him live it down.

[foodpoisoningsf.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised no one on Top Chef called him out for his California Roquefort.

Keep in mind that chefs are not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. There's a lot going on in the kitchen. And worse, the commis probably confused the waiter.

The cheese plate is a new moneymaker, like bottled water instead of tap, so managers are throwing cheese plates at customers both for the margins and the extra glass of wine that usually gets ordered.

Putting first-rate Roquefort on a steak seems like such a waste of money. We use Blue Castello for our burgers. Although I appreciate one of your cheesemongresses for introducing me to Black Castello.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

he definitely got called out for his choice of cheese and was told it was strong, not mild.

and I love the chefs, don't get me wrong!

Beware!

[anarqueso.livejournal.com]

You know, when we start going on like this, we're treading awfully close to those people who pick out typos about which character was on which Star Trek episode, or what songs got played at which Dead Show?

But yeah, if there are only three cheeses on a plate, it shouldn't be too tough for the staff to figure out which is which, dammit.

Re: Beware!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

clearly it's a training issue. but c'mon, would you buy sushi where they Id'd the toro as unagi?

Re: Beware!

[lapsed.livejournal.com]

Cheeseheads is already taken, would that make you Cheesies (or Cheesers for the pedantic)?