Youth and Food

I enrolled in Food Writing at the Newberry this semester. Why not? I like to write. I like to eat. I walked in expecting the usual over the hill group that gravitates to the Newberry Seminars. One by one, my classmates arrived. Not one of them was as old as some of the shoes in my closet. “Oh no,” I thought. “Kids younger than mine. What have I gotten myself into?” As it turns out – I  had gotten myself into a wonderful class.

Our instructors are engaging and eager to share their considerable knowledge of the culinary arts and food writing. They are determined that we have fun. Day one we were treated to a crispy, crunchy, succulent, melt- in- your- mouth, double baked almond croissant from the pastry chef at Fox and Obel. My classmates wrote stories about the croissants that revealed their personalities and some of their life stories. " Hmmm,” I thought. “20 –somethings who are literate, passionate and not self absorbed? This is promising."

Class two was a field trip to Mercat a la Planxa, the Catalan restaurant in the Blackstone Hotel. Ethel and Stephen had prepared us with a review of the geography, cuisine and culture of Catalonia and some culinary terms we’d encounter. What they couldn’t have prepared us for was the bright vibes of the décor, the warmth of the staff, as youthful as my classmates, and the nervous but gracious service. Then there was the food.

They had me at Pimientos de Padron, flash fried peppers with a Salbixada sauce, a blend of almonds, garlic, tomatoes, parsley, oil, vinegar and bixto pepper.  Creamy, dreamy – hit me again. And again. And again. The cheese was served with bacon sherry caramel followed by bacon wrapped, Marcona almond stuffed dates. A double bacon treat.

Next were perfectly prepared and presented diver scallops, a spinach dish from heaven and chorizo brochettes that I could have lived without. We all , with a couple of exceptions, salivated over and devoured Croquettes de Xocolate for dessert.

 The star of the show, according to my taste buds, was Arroz a la Cazuela.  Accomplished Sous Chef, Cory Morris created this orgasmic combination of saffron broth, shrimp, chicken, chorizo, artichokes and short grained rice tableside. At 29 he fit in perfectly with the mostly youthful group around our table. No pretension, no formal training, and no delusions of grandeur – he spoke with pride in what he does and who he works for. Sure, he’d love to be a sous chef for Jose Garces on Iron Chef or compete himself. But yeah, he eats frozen pizza and drinks Pepsi when he ends his 18 hour day. He would love to run a small lodge in Montana and serve the fish he catches. He - and my classmates - seem to have their priorities straight.

 There is hope for the future. In this case, youth is not wasted on the young.

They get it.