Colorado’s glitziest zip code was invaded in June by such foodies and wine lovers as Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Marcella Hazan, Patricia Wells and an army of wine experts who tasted and sipped at the annual Aspen Food & Wine Festival.
The festivities-food and wine tastings, seminars, book signings and cooking demonstrations-took place in huge tents in a park in downtown Aspen as well as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, sponsored by Food & Wine magazine. Here are some notes made in between bites of chocolate and sips of South African wine:
New York in Aspen: This one of the premier culinary events in the nation but it has virtually nothing to do with Aspen or Colorado or even the West. New York-based Food & Wine magazine plops this culinary Club Med down in the midst of downtown Aspen and the attendees pull in from all over the nation and the globe.
Eat to the beat: The jokes about “caning cuisine” were flying hot and heavy in the Singapore tent where such specialties as fresh fish salad, banana fritters and nasi goreng were served while a Singaporean country music band-Mathew (“The Singapore Cowboy”) and the Mandarins-played a twangy version of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville.”
The music of food: Texas chef and cookbook author Stephan Pyles chopped some onions and threw them in a saute pan at a cooking demonstration. When he heard the onions sizzling, he began talking about “the music of cooking,” an underappreciated but essential aspect of kitchen life. “It’s very much a part of cooking. If you think of charcoal grilling and the sound of the fat sizzling. It’s a wonderfully inviting sound,” said Pyles as he unclipped his microphone and held it next to the onions. “It’s part of why I got into cooking. It’s not just the smell and the sight of food, It’s the sound.”
Viva Italia!: The Italians really know how to feed people, even 3,000 of them. At the Italian pavilion I savored sweet prosciutto wrapped around breadsticks, perfect Parmigiano-Reggiano and Romano cheeses, chocolates that tingled on my tongue, and more. There were dozens of Italian wines to sample as well as grappa, the fiery clear liquor.
Naptime: Question: What do you get when you have 3,000 flatlanders sipping sherry, beer, Scotch, grappa, brandy, Champagne and hundreds of varieties of wine at 11 a.m. at high altitude on a dry, sunny day?
Answer: 3,000 flatlanders taking naps in the middle of the afternoon in their Aspen hotel rooms.
Watching Jacques: Chef, author and TV show host Jacques Pepin held a crowd of 800 spellbound. He wielded his chef’s knife as if it were part of his hand. The room echoed with the sound of chopping as he finely minced garlic. He used his fingers to taste foods and to test some sizzling chicken for doneness.
“You don’t have to cook chicken-especially the white-until it’s totally dehydrated,” he insists. While chopping raw tuna he talks about beneficial fish oils and dangerous pollutants in fish:
“It’s a no-win situation. The way things are going today, it’s impossible to die in good health.”
Julia speaks: Food fan Daniela Kuper was in Aspen to assist the CNN crew, which was filming the proceedings. She passed along some words of wisdom from Julia Child, who was affectionately referred to as “Saint Julia” by one of her fans:
“You give those kids wine early, mix it with a little water. Then when they’re teenagers they won’t be saying `Oooh look! Alcohol!’
“The most important thing people forget is to break bread with your family. People who say `But I work’ are missing the point. You can cook a good healthy meal in a half-hour . . . just not fancy.
“The manufacturers don’t take housewives seriously. They make us these little dolly rolling pins, which are simply no good at all. Buy lovely restaurant equipment whenever you can.”
Common sense: The sound of cookbook author Patricia Wells snipping chives filled the cooking tent Saturday afternoon as she encouraged the audience to learn about food but put aside the recipes:
“Do what you like. Experiment!”
