The Greatest Resturant Show on Earth: NRA 2006

"Let me show you something," said Philip Preston, inventor of the Grant Achatz inspired Anti-Griddle Coldplate, at the National Restaurant Association Show, the restaurant industry's annual mega-convention that ended yesterday in Chicago.

At the back of his booth - tucked in the lower level of the sprawling exposition halls swirling with some 75,000 restaurateurs, vendors, and chefs - Philip picked up what appeared to be a black plastic gun then lit the contents of the metal bowl fitted on top with a finesse I've not seen since a lost weekend in Amsterdam. At the flick of a switch a plume of smoke flowed from the barrel.

"Grant's planning to use this," he said grinning as the aroma of mesquite wafted around us. He described the potential future Alinea dish - details which I won't divulge.

Though Philip is the president of PolyScience, a manufacturer of laboratory equipment with a team of engineers and an industrial facility, he prefers to work on R&D for his new Culinary Technology division alone out of his garage. He's not only still tinkering with the tool itself but also its name. Look for the Smoking Gun, Mini Smoker, or perhaps the Blow'n'Smoke in the hands of top chefs by this summer.

During the show chefs from Charlie Trotter's cooked Tasmanian ocean trout with fennel in the new and improved PolyScience thermal circulator, now with a protective cage around the heating coil, and froze yuzu cream pops on the Anti-Griddle.

Upstairs at the show another kind of smokin' demo was going on with the red-hot Giada De Laurentiis cooking for Barilla and a crush of conventioneers. Giada also signed books and recipe cards while camera phones snapped non-stop.

From cheesecake to beefcake, Ajinomoto served up amongst their tasty samples slices of seared reconstructed ribeye steaks. The international food ingredient company makes Activa, known popularly though not appetizingly as meat glue. It's used notably by Wylie Dufresne at wd-50 for his shrimp noodles made with nearly nothing but shrimp. With the steaks, the layer of fat was removed between the cap and eye then the meat glued back together with Activa. There was no visible seam nor discernable difference in texture or taste.

Another item on my daily Ajinomoto menu was a long scallop roll formed from morsels of scallops bound with Activa. Unlike surimi, the product was uniform throughout. The scallop was rolled into maki-sushi as well as sliced, wrapped in bacon, and griddled until crisp.

A few booths over, iSi and Cuisine Solutions unveiled their new line of ready-to-use foam bases with flavours including lobster, basil, Roquefort, and parmesan. iSi - pronounced Eee-see everywhere else in the world but Eye-sigh in the US - makes Ferran Adria's favourite foam dispensers, while Cuisine Solutions is the industry leader in sous-vide food. The Cusine Solutions bases come frozen and, once thawed, are perfectly portioned for a one-pint iSi Thermo Whip to serve hot or cold. The flavours were mild but the consistency excellent, which says as much about correct handling of the whipper as it does the base itself.

Where might a home cook find the most au courant kitchen goods? The same place that a chef like Alain Ducasse does - Le Sanctuaire, the exquisite kitchen boutique in Santa Monica, California. While I missed charming owner Jing Tio as he jetted off to meet a chef in New York, I did speak at length with his enthusiastic younger brother Alex. Their elegant yet adorable mother was also present - it's her family's plantation that supplies many of their impeccable spices. An imminent addition to their perfect current selection, coveted by chefs, Le Sanctuaire will soon carry the Gastrovac, the sleek Spanish device that not only cooks under vacuum but also allows absorption once atmospheric pressure is restored.

And finally, conventions are nothing without their swag. The difference with food shows though is that while the swag is abundant it's often ephemeral - there are only so many scoops of gelato that even the most gluttonous gourmand can eat. Trust me. One of the most desirable items this year was, of all things, a full-sized domed cup of blue raspberry ICEE Slush sipped through signature spoon-ended red straws.

How do you say brain-freeze in your language?

Comments

[David]

Well, I'm glad to see you're not just trolling the aisles of Bed, Bath, and Beyond all day!

[shuna fish lydon]

This sounds like more fun than all the fancy food shows I've been to, that's for sure. Molecular Gastronomy is not where I'm headed but it's nifty to hear about how some of these concoctions are created. Thanks for the behind the curtain look-see.

[jacqueline k.]

I amazed and as we say in French "scotched".
I will come back and already insert your site in my "Coups de coeur".
Jacqueline k.
Cuisine et Compgnie.

[Robert Nanders]

I'm a big fan of these sorts of development - the further "high" cuisine gets from our stomachs, the better. There's food to eat and enjoy, then there's food that can be something else. There's room for everything in this world, eh?

[David Archer]

Hi we met at the NRA Show, enjoyed speaking with you. Would love to have you try our made in Brooklyn Dumplings & invite you to the grand opening our our new 80ksqft state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Williamsburg, Bklyn. this fall. best, David Archer

[ted niceley]

Great stuff Louisa, glad you're at it!
best to you & yours,
ted

[Nicky]

Hi Louisa,
sounds like a fun event, it's always interesting to get some insight in new gastronomy trends!
Btw, "brain-freeze" is exactly what we call the nasty feeling in your head after enjoying too much ice cream... there is no German term for it, at least none I'd find acceptable and to the point ;)

[Louisa Chu]

David Lebovitz - I KNEW it. You secretly harbor fantasies of me strolling through the Pleasure Dome that is our beloved Bed Bath & Beyond - with me occasionally pausing to lovingly handle every single item on the OXO wall. We have to have a little talk.

Shuna - I went to Fancy Food Show in Chicago too. It's a different kind of fun - and the FFS definitely has mo' better eats. And my dear you're already AT Molecular Gastronomy. It has nothing necessarily to do with cutting-edge ingredients or technology, If you simply apply scientific standards to figure out why your cookies taste so good, THAT'S Molecular Gastronomy. Remember the simple experiments in high school? Those are scientific standards - it's not about big, fancy, expensive industrial labs - it's about standards. Get your McGee on!

Jacqueline - thanks so much - I've never heard "scotched" used in French. My French has been irreversibly bastardized with archaic kitchen vulgarities.

Robert - that's an interesting point you bring up. People always ask me if the food at such-and-such is good - well, taste is so subjective, but it does have to be enjoyed at some level.

David - of course I remember meeting at the NRA show. Best of luck to you and the dumplings at your grand opening.

Ted - I'm always at it. ;)

Nicky - I'm so shocked there's no extraordinarily long but extremely precise German word for "brain freeze". But wait a minute - brain freeze occurs when eating something too cold - not after eating too much ice cream - though I've yet to reach a point when I've eaten TOO much ice cream. I'll have to test that at your favourite place in Munich - the one with the little dog. Many, many tests.

[Jeff Saunders]

Just wanted to add some photos of a recents awesome weekend bbq.

- Jeff