Convivial: Late Latin convivialis, from Latin convivium banquet, from com- + vivere to live. circa 1668:

• relating to, occupied with, or fond of feasting, drinking, and good company.
• con·viv·i·al·i·ty /-"vi-vE-'a-l&-tE/ noun
• con·viv·ial·ly /-'viv-y&-lE, -'vi-vE-&-lE/ adverb

Conviviality is not a complex or obscure concept; it has been practiced for millennia in the richest and most humble of homes. Its spirit can be hard to come by in modern times as few of us experience much of it first hand and may mistake it for stuffy, expensive occasions where conviviality will most definitely wilt. I have known hospitality and conviviality, but I do not necessarily expect it or hope to find it on any ordinary day.

Happily, I recently experienced conviviality embodied and was quite moved by it. I was welcomed into the relaxed, much practiced art form of the feast – excellent food, excellent wine, and much good company during a dinner given by Les Dames d’Escoffier of Boston at Sandrine’s in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in honor of Michel and Marc Escoffier, the great and great-great grandsons of Auguste Escoffier. I was invited by the gracious Dame Laura Sapienza-Grabski of Dole & Bailey. I can not thank her or Dame Nancy Matheson-Burns, CEO of Dole and Bailey, enough for this amazing experience.

There is a rich history behind Les Dames and the Escoffiers, and there are so many delicious details from the dinner that this post has been long in the writing.

Auguste Escoffier

If you are not familiar with Auguste Escoffier, allow me to make a small listing of information about him and his accomplishments:

• He was a popular French chef, restaurateur, food writer, entrepreneur, and innovator who lived from 1846 to 1935.
• He is considered the father of modern French Cuisine in both form and function. He simplified the Grande Cuisine of Marie-Antoine Carême, who was known for the extravagance and complexity of both his food and presentation and also as the premier opinion leader in the French food world of the early 1800s and beyond.
• He was an army chef during the Franco-Prussian War (1870) and came back a changed man. He learned the critical importance of food preservation via canning and was the first chef of considerable renown to study these processes in the preservation of meats, vegetables, and sauces.
• In response to the chaos that typified commercial and estate kitchens (where there were several autonomous kitchens preparing different types of foods without inter-coordination, resulting in great inefficiencies), he took his military training and experience and applied it to the kitchen, organizing them by the brigade system or chef de parties.
• He changed the popular serving style of service à la française (the royal style of serving the meal all at once – meant for maximum visual impact but negatively impacted the quality of the food) to the service à la russe style where courses were brought out separately.
• He invented the dessert Peche Nellie Melba (1890) in honor of the Australian opera diva Dame Nellie Melba. It is said that he first served this dessert, composed of lovingly sauteed peaches, ice cream, and raspberry sauce, in a bowl placed between the wings of a swan ice sculpture. It seems Miss Melba was a veritable foodie muse as Melba Toast and Melba Sauce (pureed raspberries, red currant jelly, corn starch, and sugar) were named in her honor by Escoffier, a great lover of the theater.
• Amongst other illustrious professional positions, he and Cesar Ritz opened the Hotel Ritz in Paris (1898), the most modern hotel of the day, including electricity and elaborate in-suite bathrooms. These two later opened the Charleton Hotel in London (1899), where Escoffier reigned for some 20 years.

His writings include:

• 1886 – Le Traite sur L’art de Travailler les Fleurs en Cire
• 1903 – Le Guide Culinaire
• 1910 – Les Fleurs en Cire (a new edition)
• 1911 – Le Carnet d’Epicure (A Gourmet’s Notebook)
• 1912 – Le Livre des Menus (Recipe Book)
• 1919 – L’Aide-memoire Culinaire
• 1927 – Le Riz (rice)
• 1929 – La Morue (cod)
• 1934 – Ma Cuisine

Les Dames d’Escoffier

The history of Les Dames d’Escoffier is one of strong professional women of the culinary world banding together to encourage one another and to help the next generation. The origins lay in the Les Dames des Amis d’Escoffier, the female-centric branch of the prestigious Les Amis d’Escoffier. Les Dames des Amis d’Escoffier was founded by Grand Dame Eda Saccone and Charles L. Banino (Executive Chef and Managing Director of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Boston, and Chairman of Les Amis D’Escoffier, Boston, at the time and the last student of Auguste Escoffier) in 1959. Populated by both female culinary professionals and chef’s wives, Les Dames des Amis d’Escoffier was primarily devoted to convivial feasts in the Escoffier tradition as well as fundraisers for aspiring culinarians, but it was not a group specifically for female culinary professionals. A group geared toward the support of women in the food industry was championed first by the same Grand Dame Eda Saccone in the early 1960’s.

With some upheaval, recounted through some great stories I had the fortune to hear from Eda herself at the Les Dames dinner, and the approval of Les Amis founder Joseph Donan, Saccone secured a charter for the nascent Les Dames – Boston in 1966, establishing the first ever all-female chapter in the world. Since then, chapters have opened across the globe, known as the Les Dames d’Escoffier International, providing a nurturing stronghold of women for the newer generation of female culinarians. Les Dames – Boston retains it’s unique founder heritage and raises funds for the yearly awarded Charles Banino scholarship, in memory of his dedication to culinary scholarship, a dedication he shared with Escoffier himself.

About that dinner at Sandrine’s

This remarkable feast was held at Sandrine’s in Cambridge, MA, in view of the Harvard campus. Chef Raymond Ost and his business partner co-owner and general manager Dame Gwen Trost run this french bistro, named after Chef Ost’s daughter. Ost is of Alsatian origin and his kitchen prepares a very delicious yet accessible Alsatian cuisine. I had the fortune of getting behind-the-scenes access where I shadowed the sous chefs during their preparation for both that night’s dinner party and the usual Thursday evening crowd.

When Chef Ost came in, closer to the time of service, the pace changed from the quick and quiet focus of prep to smiles and completion of some of the dishes. Chef Ost’s friendliness is frank and easily given. He and his staff are clearly enjoying themselves and the general atmosphere is one of a well practiced performance. To reveal my naivete, my commercial food preparation experience, as a teen, is of the extremely high pressure microcosm at Wendy’s sandwich line. I knew only crotchety managers, customers, and grill masters as well as the sensation of always smelling like mustard.

Chef Ost’s world is a polar opposite, no surprise and not at all fair to compare what they do at any real restaurant to Wendy’s. It is with this experiential background that I watched Chef Osts’s kitchen with contentment as it seemed that they really enjoyed what they did. I also was fascinated by how the specials of the day were formulated. Each sous chef knew what was on hand (say, a few tender pieces of venison tenderloin or some plump sea scallops) and they stood before the servers and, apropos of nothing beyond the Alsatian context, concocted delightful sounding dishes (try avocado stuffed with lobster).

Then service began and all manner of dishes flew across the pass.

Foie gras terrine

Delicate salads

Venison Tenderloin

And other delights I only saw but did not catch the names of.

Chef Ost started the evening’s dinner party with a symphony of hors d’oeuvre that each shared a common theme of new potatoes.

Some were wrapped in bacon, some stuffed with tuna tartar (topped with an olive tapenade), some with foie gras.

Chef Ost prepared little cloth napkin swans to adorn the hors d’oeuvre plates. He called them Escoffier swans, likely relating to his having used the swan ice sculpture for the first Peche Melba.

Next, with the tables set and hors d’oeuvre completed, it was time for the main courses.

Our menu was as follows:

Warm Bay Scallop Terrine

Salpicone of Foie Gras, Maine Lobster, Truffle, and wild mushroom

Pinot Gris reduction

Pinot Gris, Trimbach, Reserve, 2003

~

Roasted Venison Tenderloin

Caramelized Celeriac

Brandy Morel sauce

Bordeaux Blend, Chateau Haut Deausejour

St. Estephe, 2003

~

Peach Melba

—

The scallop terrine was a resplendent manifestation of the sea. The scallops held a firm but creamy body and were enveloped by the velvet composition of the terrine. The Pinot Gris reduction formed a well-balanced base against which the terrine shone that much more. The roasted venison tenderloin was a revelation in the the potential that well prepared game has for being a melting and tender experience. It had a complex savory flavor that drew you further into the dish. I felt that I could probably eat many more of these delicious tenderloins. At our table, we paused in our conversation as we enjoyed the delicate venison, the sweet caramelized celeraic, all bathed in the multi-layered brandy morel sauce. I had watched that sauce simmer on the stove top earlier in the the day (with a sneak preview taste) and my palate had been keyed to it’s earthy brandy laced goodness.

The Peach Melba was a delightful ending to such a rich meal. A whole sauteed peach sat atop a creamy sauce, under that lay the raspberry Melba sauce and next to this all was the ice cream resting on a crispy tuille. As with the original dessert, a spiky cloud of spun sugar perched upon the peach. It was a nice contrast in textures and flavors.

The setting was romantic and the wine flowed invisibly and without the need to request more.

Grand Dame Eda Saccone

Michel Escoffier (left) talking with Grand Dame Eda Saccone.

Michel Escoffier and Dame Lucille Giovino

Michel Escoffier kissing Grand Dame Eda Saccone’s hand.

All evening, it seemed, Eda and Michel recounted stories from the long past of times that their two families shared. It felt very much like listening in on a family dinner.

I felt extremely welcomed by the many gracious members of Les Dame d’Escoffier. Our convivium lasted late into the evening, became quite loud at times (Gwen Trost assured me that most Les Dames dinners were like this, must be something about the wine), and I came to know some great new people, not the least of whom were the Grand Dame Eda, Michel and his son Marc, all of whom were very down to earth, friendly people.

My experience with Les Dames and the Escoffiers defined convivium for me, I will treasure that and hope that I too can convey some of that spirit in my own life.

Related Posts:

• iTasting: Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. – Creamy Goodness
• iTasting: Elevages Perigord – Duck Foie Gras
• Local Food: Northeast Family Farms
• Behind the Scenes: The prep kitchen at the Dole & Bailey Maine Roadshow

Technorati Tags: Convivial, convivialis, Latin, convivium, banquet, feasting, Conviviality, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Escoffier, Laura Sapienza-Grabski, Nancy Matheson-Burns, Dole and Bailey, Auguste Escoffier, chef, restaurateur, food writer, entrepreneur, innovator, French Cuisine, Grande Cuisine, Marie-Antoine Carême, extravagance, complexity, premier, opinion leader, Franco-Prussian War, food preservation, canning, service à la française, royal, service à la russe, course, Peche Nellie Melba, Dame Nellie Melba, swan, Melba Toast, Melba Sauce, raspberries, red currant, Cesar Ritz, Hotel Ritz, Paris, Charleton Hotel, London, Le Traite sur L’art de Travailler les Fleurs en Cire, Le Guide Culinaire, Les Fleurs en Cire, Le Carnet d’Epicure, Le Livre des Menus, L’Aide-memoire Culinaire, Le Riz, La Morue, Ma Cuisine, Les Dames d’Escoffier, Les Dames des Amis d’Escoffier, Grand Dame, Eda Saccone, Charles L. Banino, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Boston, Les Amis D’Escoffier, Grand Dame Eda Saccone, Joseph Donan, Les Dames d’Escoffier International, Charles Banino scholarship, Sandrine’s, Harvard, Chef Raymond Ost, Gwen Trost, french bistro, Alsatian, Alsatian cuisine, hors d’oeuvre, bacon, tuna tartar, olive tapenade, foie gras, Escoffier swans, Peche Melba, Bay Scallop Terrine, Salpicone, Maine Lobster, Truffle, wild mushroom, Pinot Gris, reduction, Trimbach, Roasted Venison Tenderloin, Caramelized Celeriac, Brandy Morel sauce, Chateau Haut Deausejour, St. Estephe, Peach Melba

(Image Source: Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. promotional materials. All the remaining photos are mine.)

This is the second installment of the iTasting series. You can find the first one here – iTasting: Elevages Perigord – Duck Foie Gras.

There were several cheese producers at the Dole & Bailey Northeast Family Farms Road Show, and I got to sample different types of cheese from each table. It is one of these producers which I will talk about today – The Vermont Butter & Cheese Company.

The start-up story for Vermont Butter & Cheese is compelling. It’s a story about Allison Hooper, one of the founders of this small company, following her heart and her bliss. As a college student studying in France in the 70s, she was ahead of her time when she sought out organic farms that might let her work on their farm, in exchange for room and board and the chance to learn about artisanal cheese making practices. Fast-forward a few years, and Allison is a dairy lab technician for the state of Vermont. When Bob Reese, a marketing director for the Vermont Department of Agriculture needed to source some chevre for a state dinner he was putting together, he turned to Allison. She whipped up a batch of creamy chevre and it was such a hit at the dinner that both Allison and Bob felt like this was the birth of a partnership, one to launch a company that would serve the unmet needs for cultured butter and cheeses based on the sustainable practices and ethics Alison was exposed to during her time making cheese in Europe.

The company grew from a small one-woman cheese making and one-man cheese selling enterprise in the late 80s to currently employing 29 people, sourcing high quality milk from 21 family farms, and moving into a recently constructed 4,000 sq. foot facility. They have achieved the dream of making delicious artisanal European style cultured butter and cheese while also providing critical support to the family farms in the region who may not have been profitable without this company. The difference they make is clear and extremely important in a time when even very large milk producers are on shaky ground.

Enough with the non-food chat! Lets talk about whats really important here: the butter and cheese.

If you live in the Northeast, you may have seen their products in the grocery store, especially their European cultured butter. We enjoy the cultured butter because it has a stronger flavor than your average American large-company-produced butter. If you want to break out of the usual butter mold (puns, gotta love them), give this product a try. Remember, its has a stronger flavor so if you do not like it right away, experiment with it and you will likely find yourself using it in many ways.

I have borrowed some of the specifics about this product from their site:

Note that they make it a point to use hormone free milk. This is a theme throughout their product line.

Some of the products they offer include the following.

From the Cow:

• Crème Fraîche
• Cultured butter
• Fromage Blanc
• Marscapone
• Quark (German for “curd”)

From the Goat:

• Chevre
• Creamy Goat Cheese
• Feta

“Signature” Aged Artisanal Cheeses:

• Bijou
• Bonne Bouche
• Coupole

Below are several different types of chevre on display that day.

This table was always crowded, people several deep, so it was hard to sidle up to the “bar” and snack out on all the cheeses. Instead, I did a surgical strike, going in after the Bonne Bouche, an interesting ash covered cheese.

The Vermont Butter & Cheese site says this:

“Bonne Bouche is the “flagship” of the signature line. This hand ladled, ash-ripened cheese was first introduced in 2001. “Bonne Bouche” literally means “good mouthful” and is a French term used to describe a tasty morsel. Bonne Bouche is simply that and won instant acclaim among chefs, retailers, and food writers. It won First Place for aged goat cheese at the American Cheese Society competition.

Bonne Bouche is made from pasteurized milk and set in tubs for lactic coagulation for 24 hours. The following day, the cheese curd is carefully hand ladled into moulds and drained overnight. The cheeses are then unmolded, ashed, and moved into the drying room and then into the aging room, where the controlled environment is cool and humid. The entire process takes seven to ten days before the cheeses are packaged in their individual micro-caves.

Bonne Bouche can be enjoyed fresh or aged up to 45 days. As a young cheese, the rind has a distinct geotrichium flavor. The texture is mild yet still acidic like a fresh chevre. As the cheese ages, it becomes softer and the rind becomes more dry and piquant. The “made date” is indicated on the package”.

As you can see in the photo below, it has a creamy “melting” interior.

The flavor was mild and delicious. As noted on their site, it’s flavor and aroma does remind one of flowers and hazelnuts. It is certainly not astringent or ammonia-like as a similarly ripened cow-milk Brie can be (although, I love that flavor too). This product comes in it’s own little “micro-cave,” so that you can age it past the level they ship it at (on average, 45 days), into characteristics that you choose. These are so good that this and a couple of other Vermont B&C Co. cheese have been raking in the prizes. See below for a listing of the most recent.

These products are not locked away in a cheesemonger’s back room, available only for the Fromage Illuminati. You should be able to find these at grocery stores, or will soon. I suggest that when you see them, try a few out, explore their fresh and bright flavors.

Recent Awards for Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. products:

2007 U.S. Cheese Championships (held every two years and dates back to the 1890s):

• The Best of Class Award for Soft Goats’ Milk Cheese: for its Vermont Fresh
  Crottin.
• The Best of Class Award for Semi-Soft Goats’ Milk Cheese: for its Bonne
  Bouche.

2007 World Cheese Awards (held in London at the International Food and Drink Exhibition. The Awards are open to products from all major cheese- producing nations, and over 130 experts from around the world evaluated the entries):

• The Gold Medal for Soft Goats’ Milk Cheese Plain – Fresh: for its Vermont
  Chevre

Resources:

• The Vermont Butter & Cheese Company (call for an appointment for a tour!)

Related Posts:

• iTasting: Elevages Perigord – Duck Foie Gras

Technorati Tags: iTasting, series, Dole & Bailey, Northeast Family Farms, Road Show, Vermont Butter & Cheese, Allison Hooper, France, organic, farm, artisanal, cheese, dairy, Vermont, Bob Reese, Agriculture, chevre, company, butter, Europe, cheese making, family farm, cultured butter, Northeast, hormone free, milk, Bonne Bouche, hazelnut, Brie, micro-cave, Vermont, cheesemonger, Fromage, Illuminati, U.S. Cheese Championships, World Cheese Awards, International Food and Drink Exhibition

Today, I am going to introduce you to a company called Élevages Périgord, located in St-Louis-de-Gonzague in Quebec, Canada, that raises their ducks from eggs and produces all sorts of delightful treats like foie gras lobes, foie gras pate, foie gras mousse with truffles, pate of duck (cured rilletes) and many other variations. I got to taste some of their product at the Dole & Bailey Northeast Family Farms Road Show up in Maine this last Monday.

If you are not a lover of offal or foie gras, this post may not be for you. I adore all things liver, from very strong flavors of fried beef liver to the pungency of liverwurst to the creamy and crunchy heaven of fried chicken livers to foie gras. During the Élevages Périgord foie gras cooking demonstration, which I will describe below, an onlooker admitted that he hated liver and that he would NOT try foie gras. I found myself teasing this poor fellow a bit, pointing out that this may be the only chance in a long time to just give it a try. He tried a piece after all and the poor thing, he turned a bit green and swore he WOULD swallow it. Now he can say with authority that he has tried it and knows its not for him. I quietly lamented the waste of good foie gras but it was good to see him at least give it a try.

The History

If you know your food, you might know that the raising of birds for the purpose of a fattened liver has been around a while. In fact, this practice has been documented to be over 4,500 years old, with the ancient Egyptians making foie gras as far back as 2,500 BC. This practice was documented on the walls of an ancient Egyptian tomb:

“In the necropolis of Saqqara, the tomb of Mereruka, an important royal official, contains a bas relief of a scene in which slaves grasp geese around the necks in order to push pellets down their throats. By their sides stand tables piled with more pellets, probably made from roast grain, and a flask for moistening the feed before giving it to the geese.” SOURCE

(Public domain image sourced from Wikipedia)

You can read much more on the history of foie gras at the “foie gras” entry at The AllExperts site where you will find specifically:

“However, it was not until the Roman period that foie gras was ever mentioned as a distinct food, to which Romans gave the name iecur ficatum. Iecur means liver and ficatum draws its root from ficus, meaning fig in Latin. Pliny the Elder credits the Roman gastronome Apicius, to whom the sole surviving Roman cookbook is attributed, with feeding dried figs to geese to enlarge their livers. Hence the term iecur ficatum, fig-stuffed liver. Ficatum was so closely associated with animal liver that it became the root for foie in French, hígado in Spanish, fígado in Portuguese, and fegato in Italian, all meaning liver in each respective language. The idea of feeding figs to enlarge goose liver may have been derived from Hellenistic Alexandria, since much of Roman luxury cuisine owes its inspirations to the Greeks.” SOURCE

If you read on at that link, and I recommend that you do, you will learn the fascinating tale of how foie gras is truly a profound manifestation of the complex ethnographic interplay between many different cultures over time.

In summary, the provenance seems to be, at the very least, something like this: Ancient Egyptians - Mediterranean cultures, including the Jews of Israel before the Diaspora - Greeks - Romans - Diaspora Jews who preserved this foodway during the dark ages - Gauls (French) and other European cultures into modern times.

I find the Jewish foodway particularly interesting. It is thought that it was their enduring food traditions that preserved foie gras during the Dark Ages, when any mention of foie gras disappears. What made foie gras such a tenacious practice? It was tied to kashrut law and, I suggest, a tendency to cook with good tasting fats. In Roman-Colonized Israel, the Jews learned the art of fattening poultry (for all we really know, they taught it to the Egyptians long before, I am not a culinary historian but I have a healthy respect for the obscurity that comes from lost ages and secretive cooks). Olive oil was the preferred oil in that context but when Jews had to leave the region and found themselves in places where olive oil was not available, they turned to the oils that are made in the fattened goose. Thus, a need for kosher non-dairy fats reinforced the foie gras practice. From there, many cultures that surrounded the Diaspora Jews (such as the Europeans) sourced their foie gras from the Jewish farmers producing this delicacy.

The Product

Élevages Périgord, as I mentioned above, raises their ducks from before hatching. They take great pride in having complete control over the entire process, from egg to meat and liver.

I find this to be extremely admirable because it demonstrates great pride in their work and great respect for the ingredient.

Some of the products they produce include:

• Duck foie gras and truffles marble
• Fully cooked whole duck foie gras with armagnac
  • terrine
  • roulade “torchon style” – 1 lb
  • glass jar
• Mousse of foie gras with portwine
• Mousse of foie gras with truffles
• Perigord pate with its medallion of whole duck foie gras
• Block of duck foie gras prestige 30% whole foie gras
  • terrine – 2.2 lbs
• Block of duck foie gras
  • terrine – 2.2 lbs
  • terrine 1.3 lbs
• Pate of duck (cured rillettes)
• Cured dried duck breast
• Cured dried duck breast with duck foie gras
• Duck confit
  • legs
  • wings
• Cassoulet – Toulouse recipe

I have tried to find a good source for all of this but the online pickings are sorta slim right now. I am working on some easy links. Until then, you can drop them an email at commandes@perigord.ca

The cooking demo and tasting, with photos

I had the opportunity to taste some of these products at the Dole & Bailey Northeast Family Farms Road Show this week up in Maine. Élevages Périgord set up their demo table at the back of the room so I had already worked my way through sausages, bacon, shrimp, Grade A plus 1 Tuna, endless cheese, and some chocolate; needless to say, I was sorta full when I found their table. The crowd of people was several people deep, but I snuck around back with the chef to “take pictures,” but really to get a good look and smell of the foie gras. The chef was very helpful with my many questions while he cooked foie gras and handed out samples.

There were several products on display, such as the rillettes (cooked duck and 5% foie gras), lobe foie gras, foie gras pate, and duck breast meat. I tasted each of these and loved them all. The pate was several orders of magnitude more flavorful than the lobe, which was quite delicate in it’s flavor.

The chef was also sauteing a slice of lobe in it’s own fat while he was offering the other samples. I found this preparation to be the most delicious. The exterior was carmelized and crunchy compared to the interior, which was dainty and smooth, almost fluffy (if that can be used as an imperfect description).

Luckily, I found enough space in the tummy to fit these samples in, but it was a close thing.

Foie Gras recipes on the web:

• Vive La Vie – more French-centric history and these recipes
  • POULARDE A LA SOUVAROFF
  • TOURNEDOS ROSSINI
  • BRIOCHE DE FOIE GRAS
  • FOIES DE VOLAILLES AUX RAISINS
• Foie Gras en Terrine
• Suprêmes de Volaille Strasbourgeoise
• Poulet Sauté, Sauce au Foie Gras
• Salade au foie gras de canard
• Foie Gras poêlé aux pêches

Books of Interest:

• Foie Gras: A Passion by Michael A. Ginor, Mitchell Davis, Andrew Coe, and Jane Ziegelman for $37.80 USD and £36.99 UK

Final note (which really should NOT have to be said at all)
As a scientist, I have seen and learned of the massive impact that misguided “animal activists” have had on the field of Science. I have absolutely NO respect for those who would break into labs, burn buildings, release lab animals, or rappel from university buildings to fly protest signs. I have an active disgust for those who would threaten the lives of researchers and food industry people who are in any way involved in the handling of animals. I respect that people feel very strongly and protectively towards animals. We have 5 cats and I have always adored animals. I am also an omnivore who is honest about the reality of being one. This post is not about any of this and I intend to maintain it that way.

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