My colleague Roger Fillion has been telling us about the recent conference he attended at the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus in California. It focused on street foods and comfort foods of the world. Here’s another of Roger’s reports about his trip.

I was on my way to a Greek cooking demonstration when I bumped into former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl.

I introduced myself to her, saying how sorry I was Gourmet had shut down.  Reichl told me a story about a psychiatrist she knows in Manhattan. On the day of the news, a number of his patients told him how troubled they were about Gourmet’s closure. The news clearly had a deep impact on a lot of people.

I headed back to the conference and was transported to Greece. Several Greek chefs prepared a variety of excellent dishes, including Christoforos Peskias, chef at the former 48, The Restaurant in Athens.

The noted Greek chef, who’s opening a new restaurant in Athens, made an intriguing meal featuring matchstick potatoes fried in extra virgin olive oil. The chef uses a spray bottle to spritz the piping hot potatoes with a mixture of egg yolks and truffle juice that have been heated in a double boiler.

It’s a riff on a dish his mother made for him as a boy. “I now make it for my 6-year-old daughter. She likes it very much, which makes me very happy,” he explained while preparing the meal. “Eggs and potatoes scrambled together is comfort food.”

Chef Peskias uses a mandolin to cut the potatoes into long slices. He then cuts the slices into spaghetti-like strips. The julienned potatoes are fried in extra virgin olive oil until golden.

The fried potatoes are topped with slivers of fried Greek country sausage or pancetta. Chef Peskias completes the dish with sliced truffles – though he says the truffles are strictly “optional.”

Stay tuned for more of Roger’s occasional reports.

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

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