French version Facecook
"jgreghenry" interview 12/04/2008
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| How long have you been cooking and what actually gave you the taste for cooking ? | |
| The 1970’s were when my own awareness of food began to develop. My mother was a fantastic cook. She probably learned most of her skills during this same period and I’d bet that Julia Child, Simone Beck and the whole “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” craze were her primary sources of inspiration. While other kids were scarfing down “Tuna Twist”, “Mug-O-Lunch” and “Shake-A-Puddin”, my mom was serving us Bouillabaisse, Duck a la Orange, Mousse de Foies de Volaille. She even taught my little brother and me how to make perfect little crepes so that she could have 2 or 3 pans going at once for her famous dinner parties! I recall bringing celeriac roumalade to school in my lunch box. I knew the difference between a béarnaise and a hollandaise. We did not eat meat cooked beyond medium rare (even pork). Ever! So in many ways, you see, these are my comfort foods. | |
| What's your favorite dish and why ? | |
| For all the talk I do about the classically styled French cooking that I grew up with, my true heart lies in Japan. I love the thoughtfully prepared and artfully presented simplicity of impeccable ingredients. The mind boggling complexity of a few simple tastes so well paired! And of course the absolute awareness of and adherence to freshness. Really good Japanese food is way for than just eating. | |
| Your greatest culinary memory ? | |
| I spent two years at FSU as a Fraternity Brother. While there we fraternity made a road-trip from Tallahassee, FL to New Orleans. It was one of those drive all day…party all night…don’t sleep…and drive back in time for finals kind of events. I think it was part of FSU’s mandatory curriculum. Well, just before we left the French Quarter, we went to Café Du Monde for BEIGNETS! Now I was no beignet neophyte mind you. My mother took care of that. She used to make beignets at home…in UTAH circa 1968. But my mother missed one critical aspect of a REAL beignet. She used to “dust” her “donuts” in sugar. Well the real thing is “suffocated” in powdered sugar. In fact my memory tells me that they used to bring you steaming hot beignets in a brown paper bag. They would heap several huge helpings of powdered sugar into those bags, then shake them vigorously, before pouring them out in front of you! Okay! Maybe it’s just me. But when faced with a sugary glob of piping hot fried pastry dough, my first inclination is to breathe in deep. Both in anticipation and because, well, tasting the air around really good food is just something that is ingrained in me… A word-of-advice. Do not breathe powdered sugar into your lungs! It’s painful. It’s all encompassing. It’s embarrassing! People (tried and true New Orleanians I am sure) laughed at me! They roared in merriment, as only they can! I made their day. I am sure of it. Hell. I’m proud of it. ‘Cause it could only happen in New Orleans! | |
| What recipe or dish (or starter, salad, desert…) are you best known for ? | |
| I don't think I am known for any particular dish or style of food. I am not the kind of cook who repeats things very often. But if I am know for anything it is putting together a really good experience at the table. A nice mix of people, wine, food, conversation. Whether is Ken and I home alone on a Tuesday night, or 4 friends by the fire, or a full table in the dining room, I try not to panic, or be too fussy, I hope to introduce people to new tastes, and I love to talk about food! This seems to be a good combination of ingredients. I have a website www.sippitysip.com. I use humor to present my thoughts on food there because I am really trying get past all the "recipes" and point out that food and culture and life are all intertwined! | |
| A restaurant you would like to recommend and the reasons why ? | |
| TED PETERS SMOKED FISH HOUSE on the causeway to St. Pete Beach in St. Petersburg, FL. The smoked mullet will flip you out it's so good. I love this place because it could never exist any place else in the world but Florida. It's been there forever, and is truly authentic. Iin this ever shrinking world we live in authenticity is becoming a thing of the past. That’s why the associations I make between food and place are so important to me. If you ever find yourself in the area get over what ever preconceived notions you may have about mullet, and order your self up a plate full. Don't forget the cold beer, cause it is Florida after all. But, these associations are also the main reason I avoid chain restaurants, even good ones. I want to create experiences t | |
| What do you like and dislike about the region/town/village you live in ? | |
| I live in Los Angeles and I love it. It could never exist anyplace else in the world. It is just so completely L.A. Sure there's traffic, sure we have earthquakes, sure there are way too many people. But these things are part of the vibe! How's that song go? From the South Bay to the Valley From the West Side to the East Side Everybody's very happy 'Cause the sun is shining all the time Looks like another perfect day I love L.A. | |
| What are your favorite works or heroes (author or book, film director/actor or movie, paintings or painters ,etc.)? | |
| I am not really a movie fan. I almost never go and when I do I walk out half the time. Give me real life any day. But the movie BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN devastated me. I am an entertainment industry photographer and (years before BROKEBACK) I got to photograph the movie's director, Ang Lee. In the photo I did, he appears very tiny, standing pressed up against a large tree. There is an older white man looking up from his paper on a porch across the park. He seems startled by what we are doing. Ang Lee doesn’t see the man. It’s almost as if he doesn’t see the camera either. I think it’s because he’s too focused on what was coming up in his own life, in his own career. In the photo, Ang Lee seems to be taking a moment to hide out and prepare for what lies ahead. There was so much to that man he seemed to be holding back. He let it out in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. I don't know if it's the story, the actors, the writing, or the massive talent of Ang Lee, but that movie changed my life! | |
| A place for holidays to recommend and the reasons why ? | |
| Our best trip was the Croatian Coast of the Aegean and the Dalmatian Islands. The simple fresh seafood, the abundance of good simple wines, the incredible vistas, the authenticity of the lifestyle all contributed to a trip of a lifetime! But the stand out was the seafood. I have never eaten oysters so meaty and delicious. They were like a whole new food to me. | |
| Your crasiest dream ? | |
| I want to have a small house with ocean view and a large working garden on island, possibly Taveuni, Fiji. Plenty of tourists go there, but once they get there, well, there's not much to do. I'd like to open my place as a day destination. A place to lay by the pool, have a few drinks, walk around the garden and enjoy the views. Then a late lunch would be served. No menus, no choices, I'll just be cooking something special with what I have from the garden, from the sea, from the local environment. About 4 o'clock all the guests will go back to their hotels, Ken and I will have a cocktail and a supper of left overs while looking out over the sea. We might play a little backgammon and get to bed early. We would do this night after night for months on end. Then when the season ends, we head back to Los Angeles for a few months of a whole other lifestyle. | |
| A Cookshow member or recipe that you particularly like ? | |
| FoodBomb, FoodBomb, FoodBomb...he lives in L.A. I think also, but I have never met him. I can see his talent when he cooks. He's obviously an actual chef, while I just play one on the typing TV! | |
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