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Rick Bayless Can Go "Screw Himself"
Dissing high-end Mexican food gets one chef the boot
In the latest episode of Top Chef, Erik Hopfinger has to serve high-end Mexican cooking to Rick Bayless, the king of high-end Mexican cooking. And Erik just isn't on board. Padma helpfully declares that Chicago is "a city made up of neighborhoods." In one of those neighborhoods, there is a block party, where Erik's soggy corn dogs (chefs: Lose the sog) are a bust, but as he explains to Meredith Arthur, he's happy to be set free and has some thoughts about what Andrew's on. Chowhounds have thoughts of their own.
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I'm with Eat Nopal. Erik Hopfinger sounds like a boor and a dumbass.
Ignorance and bombast are not classy or desirable traits in anybody, especially a blowhard cook that's trying so desperately to become famous. Mario Batali he's not.
I think Erik's problem is that he can't seem to realize that Mexican food isn't all Tex-Mex. Some of the most wonderful seafood I've ever eaten was in Mexico, and there wasn't a tortilla in sight.
CHEFARTIST.... don't mean to put down your positive comment... Rosa Mexicano & Dos Caminos have not proven anything about Fine Mexican Dining... those places would have no chance in hell of surviving in Mexico City. The pedigree of Fine Mexican dining was first established by the Palace cuisine of the Olmecs around 700 B.C.... and continued with the Teotihuacans, Mayans, Zapotec-Maya, Totonacs &...+READ
CHEFARTIST.... don't mean to put down your positive comment... Rosa Mexicano & Dos Caminos have not proven anything about Fine Mexican Dining... those places would have no chance in hell of surviving in Mexico City. The pedigree of Fine Mexican dining was first established by the Palace cuisine of the Olmecs around 700 B.C.... and continued with the Teotihuacans, Mayans, Zapotec-Maya, Totonacs & Mexica. It continued in the post Colonial era with HUGE influences on European cuisine. In fact many of the cooking techniques in Spanish, French & Italian fine dining evolved from Mesoamerican cooking including Papillote & sauce making.
Furthermore... the Convents of New Spain (Mexico) were creating cutting cuisine at a time before Florentine cuisine began to take shape in France.
Anybody who has been to Mexico and has extensive experience cooking the type of Mexican cuisine we Mexicans reserve for special occassions (Mixiotes, Moles, Corazon de Filete en Huitlacoche etc.,) would know that Mexican cuisine is not only on Par with French & Italian... but in many cases its more expansive....as Mexico has a very compelling set of classic dishes with strong French & Italian roots in addition to many other influences (Filipino, Central African, Spanish, Portugese etc.)... and having been greatly influential in the 16th & 17th century culinary development of THE WORLD>-COLLAPSE
I couls care less about some contestant on Top Chef. I loved Colichio before the show and still do. I really think last seasons winner was a true talent.That being said, as a recent culinary school graduate, i would love to see a show with students or amateurs. Having all these somewhat 'accomplished' chefs compete makes no sense to me.
Anyway, as far as mexican cuisine and Fine Dining, Rosa...+READ
I couls care less about some contestant on Top Chef. I loved Colichio before the show and still do. I really think last seasons winner was a true talent.That being said, as a recent culinary school graduate, i would love to see a show with students or amateurs. Having all these somewhat 'accomplished' chefs compete makes no sense to me.
Anyway, as far as mexican cuisine and Fine Dining, Rosa Mexicano and Dos Caminos in NYC have already proven Erik wrong. I love mexican cuisine for its Artisinal nature, use of numerous seasonings, the variety of its Chiles etc. As far as 'dheges53' stating that its on par with Italian or French Cuisine, I beg to differ.-COLLAPSE
I couls care less about some contestant on Top Chef. I loved Colichio before the show and in I really think last seasons winner was a true talent. As a recent culinary school graduate, i would love to see a show with students or amateurs. Having all these somewhat 'accomplished' chefs compete amkes no sense to me.
Anyway, as far as mexican cuisine and Fine Dining, Rosa Mexicano and Dos Caminos...+READ
I couls care less about some contestant on Top Chef. I loved Colichio before the show and in I really think last seasons winner was a true talent. As a recent culinary school graduate, i would love to see a show with students or amateurs. Having all these somewhat 'accomplished' chefs compete amkes no sense to me.
Anyway, as far as mexican cuisine and Fine Dining, Rosa Mexicano and Dos Caminos in NYC have already proven Erik wrong. I love mexican cuisine for its Artisinal nature, use of numerous seasonings, the variety of its Chiles etc. As far as 'dheges53' stating that its on par with Italian or French Cuisine, I beg to differ.-COLLAPSE
He just seems overly macho and ignorant.
And why is the moderator talking about Andrew and various substances when they pulled these very same comments of the board and made a holly proclamation about why they did so?
pH of 3.8-4.6 is not considered low, I'm in the food production business and trust me, 4.6 would not stop bacteria from growing. 3.8 is at the very high end of the range of acceptable pH levels.
Although Colicchio maybe chose the wrong words, he wasn't entirely off about mayo and food freshness. Mayo is acidic (pH between 3.8 and 4.6), and the presence of acid discourages the growth of bacteria. So while mayo might not keep food "fresh" per se, it does keep it safe to eat...even if left out in the sun.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=563990
Whooops GOOGLE!!
He seemed awfully angry and he shot himself in the proverbial taco by not trying to think out side the Jack in the Box!!!
Of course there is high end upscale Mexican food and there always has been and he was being totally ignorant.
And mayonnaise does keep food fresh ...Tom was right.
You can Goolge it.
There are many articles about that...It's an old wives tale and it will surprise you.
Erik is one of the self-educated chefs. Obviously he's not a very good teacher.
I think that I'm not even going to listen to the podcast because of the title. I'm sure I'd rather eat anything prepared by Rick Bayless than that this "attention wanting" person could cook.
I've been cooking from Rick Bayless' recipes for years and my family has enjoyed every dish!
I was a little surprised to hear an executive chef from San Francisco state that fine dining and Mexican cuisine are somehow incompatible. Uneducated, absurd, elitism is how I would characterize that comment. The dozens of mexican cheeses, creams, and exquisite ingredients put Mexican Cuisine on the same level as Italian and French cuisine, in my opinion. But, then what would you expect from a...+READ
I was a little surprised to hear an executive chef from San Francisco state that fine dining and Mexican cuisine are somehow incompatible. Uneducated, absurd, elitism is how I would characterize that comment. The dozens of mexican cheeses, creams, and exquisite ingredients put Mexican Cuisine on the same level as Italian and French cuisine, in my opinion. But, then what would you expect from a chef that serves a glorified "corn dog" in his own restaurant and calls that haute cuisine. Laughable.-COLLAPSE
"Mexican food and fine dining don't go together"? Excuse me?!? I guess there's nothing like using one's culinary/cultural ignorance and xenophobia as a good "sour grapes" excuse.
...and his attitude is why Erik's gonna be serving corndogs as a career until he fixes that rectal-cranial inversion.
Mexican food is the most fattening food you can eat.
Unless of course you wash it down with Mexican water...
Erik... you are a moron Mexican fine dining existed centuries before Chicago was part of the U.S.