Dinner In The Dark IV

I've really begun looking forward to the monthly Dinner In The Dark series. The first two months, the chefs took us on amazing gastronomic journeys. Sadly, I had to miss the dinner in December due to the atrocious conditions of the roads. I'll drive far for good food, but not when I risk getting into an accident. Fortunately, when it came time for the January dinner on the 17th, the roads were clear, our stomachs were empty and our palates eager for stimulation.

This time around, the event was to take place at Jeff Jarrett's new restaurant, Palate Restaurant and Lounge in Strongsville. Joining Chef Jarrett this time around were some familiar faces as well as some new blood. My companion and I arrived about fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of the event and found our way to our as of yet unoccupied table for eight. As we waited for the others to arrive, I took a snapshot of tonight's menu:


As always, the Dinner In The Dark events benefit a local charity. In tonight's case, it was an organization close to the Jarretts' hearts, the Cleveland Sight Center. The CSC was the location of a fundraiser called Cleveland Chefs Cook For Jewel, a gathering to help raise the funds required to bring one of the Jarrett's newest sight-impaired daughters back from a Chinese orphanage. The CSC is doing absolutely fantastic work in delivering services to Cleveland's sight-impaired folks as well as educating those of us without sight problems as to the needs of those who do.

On the opposite side of this page was the somewhat cryptic menu:


As opposed to the first dinner, courses had been described by simple pictures. Some were easy to decipher, others, not so much. I guess we would just have be adventurous and try whatever was put in front of us!

While we waited for the rest to arrive, Joe DeLuca from Apothecary served us up a tasty pre-dinner cocktail called "A rose by any other name...":


Consisting of Four Roses single barrel bourbon, a pinot noir syrup, rose water, and just a touch of bitters, this was a delicious way to whet our appetites for what was to come. It was expertly mixed and blended and each flavor component was present without dominating the others.

Chef Adam Bostwick from Melange, no stranger to these dinners, presented us with our amuse bouche, a Caramelized Onion and Fig Tartlet with Crispy Sweetbreads and Blue Cheese Ice Cream:


It was a mouthful to say and an even better mouthful to eat! The shortbread crust was incredibly tender and simply melted in my mouth. The play of salty, sweet, crispy and soft all worked so well together. The flavors were definitely strong and while I don't think I'd want to eat a large portion of this, as a one bite starter, it worked incredibly well.

The first course, a Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding with Herb Smoked Onions and Truffle Oil, was presented by Palate's own Chef Jarrett. It was accompanied by a Boffa Dolcetto D'Alba from Piedmont:


As this was being placed in front of me, the heady aroma from the truffle oil filled my nostrils with anticipation. As Jeff has done in the past, he played with textures and flavors that both competed with and complemented each other. The fresh sorrel on top gave the finished dish a herbaceous note to match the already earthy one from the mushrooms. This was a mushroom masterpiece and if the fungus appeals to you in general, you would have loved this. I know I certainly did. Fortunately for all of you gentle readers out there, this dish also appears on Palate's current menu, so you can try it out for yourself.

For our second course, Chef Matt Mathlage from Light Bistro decided that instead of pairing a wine with his course, he picked beer instead:


This was a Menabrea Bionda Biera from Piedmont and paired remarkably well with the dish it accompanied, a Mini Reuben with 14 Day Cured Apple Kimchee:


Of course, it wouldn't be Dinner In The Dark if there wasn't some playful twist on the classic Reuben. Tonight's version had been made with calf tongue and had I not known what the cut was, I would've assumed it was corned beef. The sauerkraut had been cured for seven days using Napa cabbage and the kimchee cured for fourteen days and made with a ninety day vinegar. The results were stunning. The Reuben, for all intents and purposes, ate like a really great sandwich. The kimchee acted all the part of a great side with notes of acidity, spice, salt, and sweet.

Our taste buds fully awake and firing now, Chef Steve Schimoler from Crop Bistro decided to give us a Roasted Beet Salad with Pistachio Crusted Blue and Goat Cheese Crotin, Blood Orange Vinaigrette, and Blood Orange Gelee. He paired this with a Joe Dobbs Jovino Pinot Noir from Oregon:


Made from local Ohio red and yellow beets that had been perfectly roasted to bring out their sweetness, the blood orange vinaigrette and gelee added a bright acidity to help cut through that very sweetness to balance the flavor out. The saltiness from the Blue/Goat cheese combination added just the right amount of "tang" to give the salad another dimension of flavor. As a final touch of flavor and color, Chef Schimoler added an herb-infused oil to dress the plate. Even with the heaviness from the cheese, there was something very refreshing and light about the flavor of this salad.

The fourth course, a Brown Butter Poached Arctic Char with Crisp Aromatic Salad, Smoked Corn and Truffle Risotto, and Basil Sauce, was courtesy of Matt Mytro from StoveMonkeys. This was paired with a Demetria Chardonnay from Santa Barbara:


Words can hardly do this picture justice. The arctic char was cooked perfectly, seared crispy on the outside while the interior flesh was moist and tender. The smoke on the corn added such a unique flavor to the risotto and while it might not have passed recent Top Chef critiquing, it was certainly a delicious version to this taster. The salad that dressed the fish consisted of thinly sliced red onion and fennel mixed with a bit of arugula, which gave it a spicy, anise-flavored kick. Of course, what plate of food wouldn't be complete with a great sauce? The basil sauce delivered its herbaceous kick with serious aplomb. I was worried that the basil flavor might overpower the rest of the dish, but it complemented the other flavors nicely.

It was at this point in our meal that the palate cleansing intermezzo made its appearance. Delivered to us from Ray Garman from Melange, it consisted of a rock hard frozen kiwi slice that had been topped off with an orange granita and a sliver of basil:


When I say that the kiwi was rock hard, I really mean it. Several at my table tried to cut it without success. In the end, the only way to eat it was to simply pick up the entire slice and quickly pop it into your mouth. The flavors were great, but for those of us susceptible to "brain freeze," this was a bit of a nightmare. In the end, this "in the middle" course did its job and we were primed to receive the last two courses.

Our final savory course, a Spicy Espresso Rubbed Petite Veal Striploin Steak with Jalapeno Risotto Croquettes and Haricot Vert, was served by US Foodservice veteran Chris Quinn:


This dish was accompanied by a glass of Sineann Red Table Wine from Oregon. The croquettes very much reminded me of arancini and the spice from the jalapeños was present, but definitely not overwhelming. While the steak had been spice rubbed before grilling, it had also been dressed with an almost mole-like sauce and had hints of dark chocolate or cocoa. In a surprising twist, the chef informed us upon delivering the dish that the plated sauce was a Dr. Pepper and veal demi-glace reduction. It was interesting to see how Chris had incorporated these well-known tastes into a more refined rendition. I should also mention that the steak was melt-in-your-mouth tender while the haricot vert were nicely crispy-tender.

With the savory portion of the evening finished, we finally arrived at our final course of the evening, Caramelized Local Apples, Lucky Penny Goat Cheese, and Black Walnut Granola. This had been paired with a Monmousseau Vonvray from Loire Valley in France:


Delivered by Chef Matt Anderson from Umami (not to be confused with the food truck Umami Moto), he had also incorporated five spice powder and sorghum to create this sweet, but not too sweet finish to our meal tonight. A tiny bit of caramel sauce had also been drizzled on top of the combination to add a touch of cooked sugar savoriness to the dish. Having just eaten an amuse bouche, five courses, and an intermezzo, this was a light way to finish. The apples were tender but also retained a bit of crunch and the granola contrasted well to the softness and delicateness of the Lucky Penny chevre.

Tonight's dinner, with tip and tax, had essentially come out to $80 per person. While I will agree that this is a bit expensive, considering that this was a wine-paired dinner, proceeds were benefiting a local charity, AND an amazing meal cooked by some of the leading Cleveland chefs, I think it was definitely worth the price of admission. The next Dinner In The Dark is being held at Melange restaurant in Beachwood on Monday, February 21st at 7 p.m. Reservations are required as is an adventurous nature when it comes to eating a menu over which you have no control. But then again, that is part of the fun when it comes to participating in these dinners. I plan to be there and I hope to see you there, too!

Kitchen Challenge: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I've evolved into a cook that lets the ingredients dictate what I'm making for dinner rather than a recipe. Don't misunderstand, I still maintain a personal recipe list and I watch a ton of cooking shows on television in order to find inspiration. But other than baking (which is more science than art), I personally view recipes as the jumping off point when I am planning what to have for dinner. I didn't use to be like this and would cling with an almost religious fervor to every number and word on a recipe, as if the success of the dish wholly depended on whether I added every single ingredient in the proper order.

My grandmother is often amazed at what I come up for dinner when I cook for the two of us. She is constantly asking me where I got the recipes that I use and I have to be honest, I rarely cook from recipes. If it's something with a specific flavor like Chicken Marsala, of course there will be a kernel of truth, an acknowledgment to the original, in the final dish. But I tend to riff quite a bit given the ingredients, equipment, and time that I have available. I suppose cooking in this fashion takes a bit of fearlessness and a basic understanding of which flavors complement each other.

Today's kitchen challenge was inspired by a recent trip to the winter's farmer market being hosted by Countryside Conservancy and housed inside the Old Trail School on Ira Road. While the summer's farmer market is held at Howe Meadow on Riverview Road, the indoor market has had a surprising number of vendors still selling their wares. After stopping at my friend Diane's booth to pick up one of her locally sourced peach pies (and she now has a Facebook fan page ... check it out), I started wandering amongst the other vendors. When I spotted a vendor selling enormous butternut squash, the first thing that popped into my head was, "Soup!"

Everything else I purchased at the farmers market supported that thought: organic carrots, locally produced honey, and yellow onions. With my bounty in hand, I stopped at the Giant Eagle close to my grandmother's condo to pick up the remaining ingredients:


To my cart, I added a knob of fresh ginger, two 32 ounce boxes of low sodium chicken broth and a box of fresh chervil. I originally wanted tarragon, but seeing as Giant Eagle was fresh out, I substituted the chervil instead as they have a similar anise note to them.

So, before I start cooking, here was the official recipe I used today:

2 very large butternut squash
2 large yellow onions
1 pound carrots
2 32 ounce containers of low sodium chicken broth/stock
1 2 inch length of fresh ginger
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 pinch dried red pepper flakes
1 box fresh chervil (or tarragon)
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Before doing anything else, I turned the oven on to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, using a very sturdy and sharp knife, I cut the butternut squash in half and used a large metal spoon to remove the seeds and stringy bits at the base of the squash. After a rubdown with a bit of olive oil, I placed them cut side up on a baking sheet:


I placed this on the top rack of the oven and roasted them for thirty (30) minutes. During this time, I peeled and quartered the two yellow onions, placed them on a second baking sheet and rubbed them down with a bit of olive oil as well:


At the thirty minute mark, I placed the second baking sheet into the oven on the lower rack. I roasted the squash and onions for an additional forty-five (45) minutes. Your squash may require less time if they are smaller.

While waiting for the squash and onions to finish roasted, I turned my attention to the carrots. After peeling, trimming and chopping the carrots, I was left with this:


For the ginger, I used a metal spoon to peel the outer flesh away (you can also use a vegetable peeler, too) and chopped the ginger into a fine brunoise:


To do a brunoise, use your knife to slice the ginger into planks, then line the planks up and slice across them to form a julienne. Finally, gather the julienned ginger and give it a ninety-degree turn and chop across the matchstick-sized pieces to create small even cubes. Since the soup was pureed, I wasn't worried about someone getting a large piece of ginger, however, chopping the ginger this finely increases the amount of surface area and thus will infuse the soup with a more pronounced ginger flavor.

After an hour and fifteen minutes, a paring knife easily inserted into the flesh of the squash. I pulled them from the oven and let them rest on the stovetop:


Notice the lovely brownish color on the exposed surface of the squash. Color equals caramelization equals lots of flavor!

Here was a shot of the roasted onions:


After forty-five minutes in the oven, the onions had softened considerably and the nice bits of deeply caramelized surface would add a wonderful depth to the soup's final flavor.

I left the squash and the onions to cool slightly while I turned my attention to starting the actual soup. First up was about a 1/4 cup of olive oil in a preheated pan to which I added the chopped carrots:


I sweated the carrots for about ten (10) minutes to soften them a touch. At this point I added the chopped ginger:


I continued to cook the carrot/ginger combination for about two (2) minutes longer, stirring every so often to make sure there was no sticking or burning.

At this point, the recipe turned into an "Everybody In The Pot" kind of moment:


I used a large metal spoon to scrape as much of the cooked squash flesh from the skin and added it. The onions went in, along with a pinch of red pepper flakes, two tablespoons of roughly torn chervil, and 1 1/2 boxes of chicken broth. I added an initial grinding of black pepper and a about a tablespoon of course sea salt. I knew that the carrots still had to soften a bit, so I brought the soup to an easy simmer and stirred it from time to time for about twenty (20) more minutes, or until the carrots were softened. I added another tablespoon or so of fresh chervil. When cooking with fresh herbs, it is often a good idea to add part of the herbs at the beginning of the cooking process to extract all of the flavor and part at the end to add an herbaceous freshness.

At this point, I pulled out my handy immersion blender (aka "stick" blender),


plugged it in, pulled the pot off of the active burner and began blending the soup to a smooth consistency. Granted, an immersion blender won't get your soup ultra-smooth like a Vita-Mix would, but for grandma and me, it was good enough. Once the soup was pureed to the correct consistency, I transferred the pot back to the active burner on the lowest setting available, added about a 3/4-1 cup more of the chicken stock to thin it to the correct consistency, honey, sherry vinegar and another dosing of salt and pepper to correct the seasoning:


The honey was used to heighten the natural sweetness from the squash, carrots, and onions. The vinegar was used to slightly brighten the flavor of the soup. You don't want so much vinegar that the soup tastes sour, but given the amount of soup I made today, a teaspoon was just about perfect. At this point, you could eat it as is (which is the healthiest option) or add a bit of heavy cream, sour cream, or yogurt if you wanted to change the texture or taste slightly.

Here was a shot of the finished bowl of roasted butternut squash soup:


On a cold winter day, this was just what I needed: hearty, flavorful, and deeply satisfying. To accompany the soup were turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread that my grandmother put together:


While soup and sandwiches may seem a bit simplistic for me, this was exactly what the doctor ordered. As a bonus, I was able to fill an additional nine (9) two cup plastic containers with leftover soup and stash them in my grandmother's freezer to be reheated for future lunches or dinners when she wants something fresh, healthy, and easy. With her penchant for buying the sodium ladened canned soups (I'm sure you can guess which label), I finished this meal feeling like I had done something positive not only tonight, but also for her near future.

I sincerely hope you give this soup a try as it is the kind of thing you could make on the weekend and then eat throughout the next week. To make an even quicker version of this soup, you could substitute out the butternut squash with cans of cooked pumpkin (not the pie filling, just regular pumpkin) and cut the onions smaller and cook them with the carrots instead of roasting them in the oven. Will the flavor be as deep and complex as if you had roasted the vegetables? No, but you could cut your prep time from several hours to perhaps thirty minutes. Happy eating!

Having A Nosh At Lolita

While I have eaten at all of the Michael Symon restaurants with the exception of Roast in Detroit, there has been one glaring omission from my reviews: Lolita Bistro. I have always been a big fan of the food at Lolita, but for some reason (and this might not necessarily be a bad thing) I just hadn't gotten around to reviewing the experience at Lolita until now. Lolita is like that friend that you haven't spoken to in six months and suddenly when the suggestion is made, everyone agrees that it is high time to catch up and see what is going on in each others' lives.

Being in Cleveland for an early afternoon movie, I found myself informally getting together with fellow food blogger and friend, Nancy, her husband Bob, and gastronome extraordinaire, Edsel. After finding streetside parking on West 10th in Tremont, I worked my way to the front door of Lolita, located at 900 Literary Road, Cleveland, OH 44113. They can also be reached at 216-771-5652. While valet parking was available, I have personally never used it and always managed to find a spot on the street with no more than a five minute walk.

Here was a photograph of the outside of Lolita:


Once inside, I was escorted to the table where Nancy and Bob had already been sat. I picked up a copy of their current menu and took two photos of the single page, top and bottom:



One thing I have consistently appreciated at all of the Michael Symon restaurants was the commitment to keeping the menu length sane. I'd rather have a small list of well-executed dishes from which to pick rather than a tome of mediocre-at-best entrées. Chef Symon seemed to understand this concept well and tonight's menu reflected that philosophy. When Edsel finally arrived, we decided to make up our meal tonight of shared items from the menu.

While we were deciding which appetizers and pizzas we wanted to share, our server dropped off some fresh French bread and dipping oil:


And the olive oil with some freshly cracked black pepper:


Being the bread lover that I am, I was happy to see Lolita serving absolutely fantastic French bread. It was crusty on the outside and still fresh and chewy on the inside. Paired up with the fruitiness of the olive oil and the spiciness from the pepper, it was an absolutely terrific way to begin the meal.

For our wave of appetizers, we started out the trio with one of my all-time favorites, the Crispy Chicken Livers served over a Creamy Polenta:


Had you told me as a child that one day I would crave chicken livers, I would've thought you completely nuts. The livers were battered and fried just until they were medium rare and while there was the tell-tale taste of liver, it was very controlled and not in the least bit objectionable. Paired with the earthiness of cooked mushrooms and the saltiness and smokiness from the bacon, these little nuggets of organ meat were heavenly. In true Michael Symon brilliance, pairing them with a soft polenta meant that you not only got a range of flavors with each bite, but also a range of textures.

Our second appetizer was the Chickpea Dip (also known as Hummos):


While the chickpea dip was soft and creamy, it didn't have a particularly strong flavor to it. The flatbread, however, more than made up for that fact after it had been sprinkled with cumin and coriander. Long after the chickpea dip was gone, the four of us ate the remaining flatbread plain, right off of the plate. This brought up an additional point: the ratio of flatbread to chickpea dip was WAY off. We probably could've used another cup of the dip to match the amount of bread that came out of the kitchen. That being said, the flatbread truly was delicious all on its own.

To round out of trio of appetizers, we finished up with the La Quercia "Acorn Edition II" Prosciutto board:


In addition to the prosciutto, the board came with a pear mustardo, toasted baguette slices, and some pickled fennel (which was on the opposite side of the board). The prosciutto itself was salty and fatty and a pure pleasure for this admitted carnivore to eat. While someone at the table claimed that they could taste the acorns, having never eaten an acorn myself, I'm not sure I had a reference point with which to compare. That being said, it was delicious; paired with the sweetness from the mustardo and the tartness from the fennel it made a wonderfully balanced bite of food.

Here was a shot of all three of our appetizers on my plate:


A little from columns A, B, and C ... Yum!

Appetizer plates now cleared, we prepared for the first of two pizzas. I have written before about Lolita when I ate at Bar Cento with my old friend Mike. While I certainly love the midwestern pizza sensibility that I grew up with here in northeast Ohio, I can't tell you how much I love a well-executed thin crust Neopolitan style pie. Between Bar Cento and Lolita, I simply cannot pick my favorite; it would be like picking your favorite child. People often think that toppings are the key to a good pizza. No, I say to you, gentle reader, it's the crust! Both Lolita and Bar Cento have managed to perfect a crust that is at the same time slightly charred, crispy on the exterior, and still chewy in the crumb. It is the perfect foil for whatever delicious toppings end up topping it.

For our first pizza (which the restaurant helpfully cut into four slices), we chose the homemade pork sausage with peppers:


A mixture of crumbled sausage, three colors of peppers, red sauce and cheese, this pizza seemed to cover all of the bases: sweet, tart, salty, and spicy. The sausage had just the right amount of chili kick to make my taste buds stand up and take notice. At the same time, the spice didn't overwhelm the other flavors on the pizza. This pizza would definitely appeal to those less adventurous eaters out there.

In contrast, the Duck Prosciutto Pizza definitely appealed to the adventurous foodie inside me:


Essentially a "white" pizza with thinly sliced duck prosciutto, Parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, fresh rosemary and two freshly cracked and sunny side-up eggs, this pizza was all about the unctuousness of the fat from the duck and the egg yolks. That being said, the other flavors sang through beautifully and the prosciutto itself had a lovely clove spice to it that complimented the other flavors on the pizza. While having oozing egg yolks on a slice of pizza might seem strange to the uninitiated, I can assure you that it added a wonderful flavor and texture to an already outstanding pie.

To accompany our pizzas, we also decided to add two of Lolita's signature side dishes. First up was a dish I had yet to try, but about which had heard an awful lot of good press, the Fried Brussels Sprouts:


The Brussels sprouts had first been deep fried to give them their caramelized, crunchy exterior before being combined with capers, walnuts, and anchovies. Wait, wait, gentle reader! Before freaking out about the anchovies, know that no where in any of the multitudes of bites I took of this side dish did I detect a single fishy odor. The anchovy was used simply as a flavor enhancer, as a way to add depth to the finished dish. Even with the very strong salty and sour flavor from the dressing, the flavor of the Brussels sprouts never got lost. While I wouldn't say I was in love with this dish, I would definitely have this again given the chance.

My real infatuation would be with the Soft Creamy Polenta:


Made from ground local Ohio corn, this was a full serving of the flavor I had briefly flirted with in the crispy chicken livers earlier in our meal. With an intense combination of corn flavor and the creaminess that came from the loads of Mascarpone cheese used, this was unlike most polentas I've ever had in my life. While perhaps not-so-traditional in an Italian household, Lolita's version sent my eyes rolling back into my head and sent my mind reeling over how delicious it tasted.

We briefly flirted with the dessert menu, but in the end all of us decided that between our appetizers, pizzas, and sides, we were definitely fully sated. While my companions decided to try out a few of the specialty bottled beers that Lolita offered, I simply opted to go with water and as such, when we split the food portion of our check four ways, tonight's meal had only come to an incredibly reasonable $15 (minus tip and tax). Had we managed to each squeeze an entrée in as well tonight, that would've only been an addition $15 - $19. For the level of food we enjoyed tonight, I would definitely go out on a limb and say that Lolita offers excellent value for the dollar.

I began dining at Lolita roughly four years ago and I have always had excellent service; tonight was no exception. The food at its worst was good and at its best was outstanding. If you haven't been to this Tremont gem, I can't recommend them enough. If you haven't been back for a while like myself and my visit tonight, put a visit to this restaurant onto your list of things to do for the spring season; you won't be sorry you did.

Movie Review: Kings of Pastry

It has been a while since I did a movie review, but after seeing a mid-afternoon Sunday screening of Kings of Pastry, I felt like it was time to brush the dust off the movie critic "hat" and write up some of my thoughts on the experience. I wish I could say that I had been planning on seeing this film for some time, but I only discovered that it was showing two days ago when the Cleveland Museum of Art's Facebook page was updated with a link to the movie. With both a Friday evening and Sunday afternoon showing, I decided that the Sunday time would better fit into my schedule. Having gotten feedback from a friend about how packed the room was during the Friday screening, I decided to make an appearance about a half hour early to ensure I had a ticket.


Fortunately, while the theater was pretty full today, there were still about a quarter of the seats empty. The only information I knew going into today's screening was that the film was about the MOF, the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (which translates to best craftsmen in France), a title bestowed upon precious few pastry chefs who have demonstrated through a grueling three day trial that they are experts in various forms of pastry: cakes, candy making, chocolate work, sugar work, sculpture, colors, and flavors.

The movie follows three MOF finalists, Jacguy Pfeiffer, Phillippe Rigollot, and Regis Lazard, as they prepare for what is to be a highlight of their professional careers. Preparations begin months, if not years before the actual examination as the certification is only offered every four years. Many of the chefs have made two or more attempts to gain the title and it is taken so seriously in France that it is illegal to claim to be a MOF and wear the red, white, and blue striped collar if, in fact, you are not an MOF.

The first half of the movie is spent setting up the story lines of the primary characters, showing family and professional life, intense scrutiny from coaches and friends, and trial runs of everything from cake making to sugar sculptures and chocolate show pieces. My favorite moment during this portion of the film was when Jacguy, one of the co-founders of the French Pastry School in Chicago, walks the audience how he constructed a "wedding" cake out of nearly ten layers of mousse, genoise, dacquoise, ganache and finally finishes it with a simple airbrushing. He makes an extra to take home to his family only to have his young daughter look at the outside of the cake and naively claim how "simple" it looked.

I was a little worried that I wouldn't get invested in these characters and the trials and tribulations of achieving the MOF award, but I have to say that for all of the time spent setting up the story lines, the three days of examination really drew me in completely. While the jury (the other MOF chefs who were present to judge the contestants' entries) was obviously hypercritical of every flavor and technical flaw, they also showed themselves to be compassionate and supportive of the candidates. At one point during the examination, the absolute worst possible event occurs to one of the chefs, a shattered piece of sugar sculpture. As the chef breaks down and ponders the unthinkable of simply quitting, the other MOF chefs fortify around him and give him the encouragement he needs to salvage what he can. That was probably one of the most touching moments in the film.

At the end of the examination when the buffet tables have to be filled with each of the participant's pieces, you really get a sense of the urgency for how short a time period was given for such monumental tasks. It doesn't matter if the piece is striking and perfect; if it's not on that table, it will not be judged. As the film progresses, it is clear that these three days have completely drained the men emotionally, intellectually, and physically. One tired and frustrated chef claims that regardless of the outcome, he will never do this again. He has had to put so much of his life on hold while preparing and participating for this that he repeatedly emphasizes how entirely empty he feels inside.

Of the sixteen MOF finalists, only a select few receive the award. As I watched the tearful pronouncement of the winners, I truly felt the joy for the chefs who attained this rarefied level of certification, as well as sadness for the majority who didn't achieve their goal. For me, this movie did a fantastic job of taking me on a roller coaster ride. The first half of the movie felt like that slow, gradual climb to the top of the first hill. Once the MOF examination started and all the way to the very end, it was a constant twisting and turning, changing directions in an instant, until at the very end, you pull into the station and finally come to a complete stop.

In an age when Hollywood constantly bombards audiences with the latest technical craze and special effects and puts character investment at the very bottom of the list, it is refreshing to find a film that relies totally on the human drama and the characters that make up the dossier. Kings of Pastry was a fun and consuming film and the level of skill required to create the breathtaking show pieces out of chocolate and pulled and blown sugar was simply amazing. Completely family friendly (although reading comprehension is required as there are sub-titles), this is a film that will be on my "must see again" list of movies. I suggest you add it to your list as well.