Archive for December, 2009
Chef Nelson is a master ice carver and this is his method on creating a showpiece from conception to final product. First you need your design or drawing on a small piece of paper. You can then use an overhead projector to trace the small drawing on to another larger piece of parchment paper to place over your ice. If you dont have an overhead projector, just draw on the larger piece of paper freehand.
The original drawing on paper
This dolphin piece requires four 300 lb. blocks of ice, thats 1,200 lbs. of ice to transport, carry, lift, carve, and shave. The photo below shows the four blocks ready for carving.
Each block weighs in at 300 lbs.
You need to fuse the two blocks together immediately after they are touching. To do this Chef Nelson pours ice cold water in between the two pieces. The ice water should be the same temperature as the block of ice, or it will crack and pop, like when you pour a beverage into a glass of ice, thus ruining the piece.
Fusing the two pieces together with ice cold water
Next step would be to place your thin paper drawing over the ice. The paper will stick to the ice if you spray water on it. See the photos below.
Place your paper over the ice
Spray water on the paper to make the ice stick
Ice ready for carving
At this point, Chef Nelson is ready to start carving with the chainsaw. The chainsaw is used to get the majority of the ice off the sculpture. Its basically cutting around the drawing, not worrying too much about accuracy yet, since you will be hand shaving the piece later.
Use the chainsaw to cut large portions at a time
Cutting around the lines
Carving with the chainsaw on the back side
At the end of the first major cut with the chainsaw
Once Chef Nelson passed through the entire design with the chainsaw he is ready to use his shaving tools to carve a smoother and more detailed piece. The shaving tools come in a variety of sizes, some for use in corners, others for shaving away large slices at a time. He also uses a power drill for the delicate detailed work such as eyes and waves.
The ice pick used for lifting the 300 lb blocks
Various shaving tools and the power drill
Close up of the ice on the blade
Using the power drill
Using the power drill to create the eyes
Using the shaving tool to create a 3D sculpture, and smooth the ice
The photos below show the half completed sculpture, Chef Nelson will finish it the following day. The piece is carted back into the freezer until the actual day of the event. Then the  ice will be polished until its crystal clear and  ready for the guests to enjoy. Stay tuned for part two of this article. Thanks to Chef Nelson Millan for the technical advice.
Almost done: The right side of the piece
Almost done: The left side of the piece
36 pounds of dark chocolate
Every year Chef Jorge Caballero creates chocolate showpieces for the Christmas Day Brunch at the Lodge at Sea Island. This year he hand carved a 36 lb. block of dark chocolate into a magical Christmas village. He mentions that he used the same tools to carve fruit in this showpiece. Each year he melts the piece back down to be reworked the next year. This piece has chocolate in it from 2004. After 22 hours of carving, spraying, and hand painting the village was ready for brunch.
Approximately 3 feet wide
Chef Jorge is from Montevideo, Uruguay where he worked as a pastry chef at Emporio de los Sandwiches, a popular eatery among locals for over 80 years. He has been working at the Lodge at Sea Island for over 7 years as the pastry chef where they have earned AAA Five Diamond every year they have been open.
Merry Christmas!
Chef Roberto in the dining room of the newly opened Leoci's Trattoria in Savannah
Friends of mine, Chef Roberto Leoci and his wife Lacie just opened a new restaurant in Savannah, Leoci’s Trattoria. The restaurant features hand made pastas, brick oven pizzas, paninis, and fresh local ingredients. Leoci’s opened last week and I had the opportunity to help prepare most of the dishes and take some photos for the article. Roberto and I worked together at Cioppino, the signature Italian restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne. This time around I was kneeding dough for the brick oven pizza and reducing lobster broth for the risotto.
Rucola e prosciutto
Working a brick oven pizza is definitely an art form, there are hot spots, limited space, and nuances that play a major role in the success of your pizza. I spent a couple hours burning and damaging my pizzas until I got the hang of it. The photo above was one of my successful attempts and the arugala and prosciutto pizzas. We make a basic dough recipe with flour, water, and yeast, let it rise, portion it, and let it rise again.
Every 45 minutes or so, you should add another log to the fire
If you want a more thick crust pizza, we can roll the dough, top it, and place the raw dough in the oven. This is a more chewy crust, or if you like it thin we bake the dough without toppings and then top it and bake it again for a nice crunchy texture.
550 degrees of heat in the middle of the oven, can get up to 800 near the roof
The pizza at Leoci’s is delicious, I am sure the locals will discover this quickly and have a new favorite pizza and beer joint. But there is much more than just pizza to indulge on. Try the paninis, Roberto has several to choose from that are served on a fresh foccacia roll. The grilled chicken caesar panini is my favorite, it has house made caesar dressing, buffalo mozzarella, romaine, and sliced roma tomatoes. Another option is the fresh local seafood that Roberto uses in the pasta dishes and specials. The other night he used fresh local Georgia shrimp in his saffron risotto. One of the biggest hits at the bar was the brick oven roasted mussels, served with crostini and a lobster saffron based seafood sauce.
At the bar with fresh mussels roasted in the brick oven
Working as a photographer and chef/writer allows me access to behind the scenes that typical food writers might not have. At Leoci’s I not only did prep work, make pizzas, pastas, and dessert, but I also sat down as a guest and tried the food. Its a unique perspective from the view of all angles, and I must say that so far Roberto is off to a great start and if you are in the mood for some wine, pizza, and homemade tiramisu, then stop on by and have a slice or two.
Now for some photos. Cheers to Roberto and Lacie!
Tuscan wines at Leoci's
Lacie and Roberto on opening night
Fusilli Verde
Tiramisu, the most heavenly Italian dessert
Framed photos of Leoci's family and culinary travels can be found at the entrance to the dining room
Brick oven pizza with sausage and arugala
Caprese salad
Almost forgot, there is a Bocce ball court in the back of Leoci’s near the parking lot. There is a large deck overlooking the courts for al fresco dining in the spring and summer. Should be alot of fun.
Leoci’s Trattoria – 606 Abercorn Street – Savannah
I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, here are some delicious looking dessert photos I hand selected (and ate) for your viewing pleasure!
Dessert buffet
I can drink those for breakfast anyday
Handmade marshmallows, that's what the holidays are all about!
Where do you begin?
Pineapple upside down cake
Tart shells
Love the roulades
Chocolate biscotti
Nice display
Love the droplets of condensation on the chocolate
Close up
Thanks to Sea Island’s pastry team for the delicious dessert buffet.
If you are looking for some high quality culinary videos to watch over the holiday season, check out DV Cuisine’s website. They specialize in documentary style culinary related features, including Bocuse D’Or, World Pastry Cup, and much more.
“Our objective is to educate our guests about growing and cooking with local and seasonal food. For the past few years we have had visiting chefs from around the world using and cooking the produce from our garden. This goes from the kitchen to the dining room where everyone is treated to a sumptuous meal. We emphasize the importance of biological factors and taste, in other words “edu-tain” our visitors.”
DV Cuisine
DV Media Inc. / DV Cuisine
5149 Alexander Road
Duncan, BC Â V9L 6S8
Canada
Phone: 250-746-4510
Fax: 250-746-4513
Website: dvcuisine.com
Email:
nick@dvcuisine.com