While playing grandmother over the summer, I suffered humiliating culinary moments. See www.sixohdear.blogspot.com where two-year-old grandson, Quinlan, tasted a special dish I made for him. He stated a simple critique, ‘Yucky. Trash.”
When chef daughter Dakota Weiss ( now executive chef at Shangrila in Santa Monica) noted that her buddy Chef Jennifer Carroll, chef de cuisine at Eric Ripert’s 10 Arts in Philadelphia, is a Top Chef contestant on Bravo, green waves rolled through my inner intimidated-chef’s belly. Why? Because during our visit to the Ritz-Carlton restaurant for our big Six-Oh-Dear! celebration in Philadelphia
- Top Chef contestant, Jen Carroll and master food critic, Quinlan, 2008.
(again, visit http://www.sixohdear.blogspot.com for that story and photos), Quinlan ate nearly everything Jennifer brought out for him. He also loved breakfast with chef Dominic Felloni at Parc in Philadelphia.
So, the kid’s got taste. However, his recent bend towards eating only white food, gives way to one of our “kids,” Chef Rahm Fama, now executive chef at Vail Resorts, new You Tube post about how to make gnocchi–the perfect Quinlan food–white potato pasta!
Dakota might have the opportunity to cook for the young gourmand, and I promise to watch and report on food critic Quinlan’s opine.
Good luck, Dakota!
- Chef daughter Dakota, now executive chef at Shangrila, Santa Monica
www.inerikaskitchen.blogspot.com Check out LA’s Hot Restaurant, Shangri-LA http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/good_day_la/LA_Newest_Dining_Hot_Spots_20090925
Update 9/11/09
- Seafaring Quin. Does he go for the ultimate white food?
- Quin meets his dinner–fresh dungeness crab
- With Dakota Weiss’s on site guidance, the crab hit the pot.
Now the night before with fresh homemade fish and chips, Quinlan looked right at me and expounded, without prompting, “I like this!” The crab, however, was a moderate success — he preferred the potatoes and corn. Fortuntely, he declined a critique on the crab!
The Muse Pallet 