Andrew Zimmern Culinary Supernova

The food world has many stars - namely chefs who became celebrities or became their own brands. Then there is Andrew Zimmern - the star of The Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods". He is a rock star , garnering fans as he goes on some wild foodie road trips. Yet he's as approachable as the guy next door.

Kin Severson,a regular contributor to The New York Times Food section interviewed along with followed this supernova of a true foodie and chef. For those who are not  familiar with him, Chef Zimmern has an interesting hour long food show "Bizarre Foods" on The Travel Channel. He is an affable guy, think of your neighbor or office buddy trotting around the world and eating the strangest and ickiest morsels. His everyman demeanor has made him beyond popular.He shouldn't be, according to Ms. Severson.He has tee shirts that say "Food woody "along with making a big deal about eating coconut grubs and raw pig testicles.! Social media has shredded him  along with getting battered and bruised with low ratings. Yet he persists. He is a confessor and a guide, according to his friend,Jordana Rothman, the restaurant editor at Food and Wine Magazine.Chef Zimmern has a measure of grace and honesty, apparent in his reporting that many don't have. He is a people's favorite, still covering the Minnesota state fair like the local reporter he once was.He's also opening a chain of Chinese restaurants Lucky Cricket, sort of like PF Chang's with restaurant scion, Michael McDermott whose father created Fuddruckers and Chi-Chi's

You would think he came from a Midwestern family of cooks, who shared recipes dishes but that's furthest from the truth. He is a New Yorker, educated at the tony Dalton School. His father was an ex-Navy man who traveled the world , eventually settling down to be an adman on Madison Ave. His mother struggled with the after effects of brain damage , the result from a botched surgery to remove an appendix scar. She slipped into a coma when he was away at camp and when he returned his father did not want to talk about her. Chef Zimmern started to drink heavily, despite his young age. He also became a drug dealer. Between arrests he wound up with alcohol poisoning.He took summer jobs cooking and discovered he was good at it. He worked in European restaurant kitchens during his college breaks. By the late Eighties he was working with such culinary luminaries as Anne Rosenzweig and Thomas Keller, founder of the famed French Laundry, Yet drugs and alcohol still fuled his life. Luckily he called a childhood friend who got him into a rehab center. It worked and he turned himself around. He now also lectures to inmates at San Quentin Prison, giving them hope and promise. He is the everyman who has hit bottom and rose up , helping others along the way.

There's a reason that Andrew Zimmern is the supernova he is. He is relatable in an industry where celebrity foodies and chefs aren't/ He is the everyman who loves strange foods and earthy conversations.

A Chef's Legacy

What will a cook leave the world? Phenomenal food? New recipes? Inventive techniques? That's what one chef, Thomas Keller of the famed French Laundry, is pondering. What is the next chapter of his life book of cookery.

Chef Keller proved to be an interesting topic of an article published in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Regular Food contributor , Kim Severson , interviewed him and talked to him about his future plans.French Laundry is one of the most famous restaurants in the world where dishes such as bread and butter are elevated to culinary heights. He also has created the famed Bouchon bakeries.He has also has designed pots and plates along with olive oil infused chocolates.Chef Keller also sells gluten free flour, Cup4Cup as well as silver clothespins at a store called Finesse.There is the problem of who will inherit all of this.He has no children or protegees.He has also created Per Se and Le Bernardin too, both famous and culinary trendsetters. He does sit on the board of the CIA - the Culinary Institute  of  America . He also started a mentoring program called Ment 'or to further culinary tradition of French cooking in America.It will also guarantee a win at the Bocuse 'd'Or, a competition  named for the famed chef, Paul Bocuse, and his mentor.

Some younger chefs find him  a throw back to the "Madmen" era of restaurants. Preeti Mistry, the owner and chef Juhu Beach Club in Oakland ,California feels that Chef Keller is stuck in another era and  views fine dining as disingenuous , built from a system rife with oppression and hierarchy where women, minorities and gays  - whether they be customers or cooks, are treated the same. He needs to address those issues and bring his restaurant and ideology into the Twenty-first Century. Chef Keller just shrugs this off. He did fight convention as a young chef but after realized that fighting and pushing is worthless.There's no value.Chef Keller believes that hard work and dedication will right all the wrongs. While his attitude may infuriate  a younger generation, Chef Keller will continue to push on. He is overseeing the rehaul of French Laundry where there will be a one million dollar renovation.It will have a soaring kitchen  ceiling that will resemble a large tablecloth floating down.One wall will have a large clock with his favorite saying underneath "Time is Urgency."

Chef Thomas Keller will be leaving a tremendous legacy. French Laundry,Per Se and le Bernardin will be talked about for generations and decades to come.His name will be up there with Escoffier and Child.

Per Se Five Star Goodness

It's rare that any restaurant these days achieves five stars these days. As a parting gift to his final column at the New York Times Dining section Sam Sifton does just this. He was lucky to have his "last meal" at this exquisite New York eatery. What a way to say adieu. Good food. Good wine. Excellent service

Per Se is one of Manhattan's best gems. It's a satellite of the famed Napa Valley French Laundry , that bespoke restaurant of wine country fame. The owner, Thomas Keller, opened the New York branch in 2004 and introduced the East Coast to the some of the restaurant's best loved dishes. One is called Oysters and Pearls a unique blend of sabayon of pearl tapioca with Island Creek oysters. Better yet they arrived with sturgeon in a Limoges dish. What more can you ask for. (although all of Per Se's dishes come elegantly plated and served)

It seems that Per Se seafood dishes shine the brightest. There is their version of clam chowder which has apple wood smoked Massachusetts cod in it along with little neck clams . Swimming with them are pickled garlic celery and parsley shoots. A lobster dish was butter poached and served with a melted leeks and a horseradish infused creme fraiche. Of course other meats were well represented there too. Per Se does an amazing pressed duck and Mr. Sifton raved about the charred eggplant plate as well.

If you;re in Manhattan for any of the upcoming holidays, treat yourself to a heavenly meal at this five star wonder.It's a gourmand's dream come true. Elegant service, elegant surroundings and best of all - elegant food!