Trotters to Go

Monday, February 17, 2003

Have you ever been to the restaurant of a well known chef and wanted him or her to come out and see you, and treat you extra special? Well, this weekend in Chicago for the FENI conference (Food Educators Network International), we experienced this, and then some.

Upon arrival in Chicago on Friday, we attended Masters Classes. I personally had the pleasure of attending a course in Flatbreads given by the Associate Dean for Baking and Pastry at the Culinary Institute of America, Thomas Gumpel. Others attended wine appreciation, and catering classes.

That evening we ventured out to the blues club “Buddy Guy’s Legends.” The music was fantastic, and of course the owner Buddy Guy was there to enjoy it along with us.

Saturday was spent in conferences from 7am-6pm. We had some very interesting and informative speakers including Dr. Jerald Chesser, author of “The Art and Science of Culinary Preparation.”

We then all gathered to go to dinner at “Arun’s” a wonderful Thai restaurant. This dining experience will be one of the most memorable to all those that had the good fortune to attend. The menu is prix fixe, and in reality, there is no menu. There is a set menu every night and you are served whatever the written menu is for the night. The staff was extremely informative and aided in selecting the perfect wines to accompany the menu, and answered any questions we had regarding the menu and items served.

Chef Machado gave us all a mini lecture on the food, due to the fact that she had spent some time in Thailand, which helped us appreciate our food even more. We began with 6 appetizer courses, then 4 entrée courses, and finishing with 2 dessert courses, each one better than the last. The flavors were impeccable, the plates and visual art were spectacular. We had the wonderful opportunity to meet the Chef-owner himself Arun, who himself gave us a tour of the facility, and answered any questions we had.

Sunday the conference continued until 12pm. We had some excellent speakers including Maitre Fromager Max McCalman and Dr. Tony Alessandro.

We all decided to visit “Trotter’s To Go” and get a quick bite before heading to the airport. Well, needless to say we got so incredibly lost, none of knew Chicago at all, and at the end it was ridiculous how we kept going up and down the same roads, round and round, but FINALLY we found “Trotter’s To Go.”

We all walked in and began looking around and admiring the items available. As we were deciding what to get, in walks Charlie Trotter himself! He was there to shop for some guests he was having that evening. . He is known secretly as California Culinary Institute’s most famous drop out. Go figure. His inspiration for his cuisine, he says is Jazz music. And he is a truly inspired culinarian.

Chef Pantone who had met Chef Trotter before approached him, introduced himself, and told him who we were.

The next thing we knew, he is directing his staff to prepare us sampling platters, he is picking and pairing wines from off the shelves, and instructing the staff to make sure our glasses stay full. Soon, individual sampling platters of cold food arrived for each of us containing 6 different items, all outstanding! Next he walks by and announces that a hot sampling will be on its way shortly! We were all shocked. Talk about hospitality. After taking pictures and signing books we all bought, he excused himself, as he himself had guests he was expecting. He instructed his staff to take care of us, and off he went. Not only did we each get our own hot sampling platter, but the staff sent out a sampler for all of us featuring 3 different desserts. All exceptionally outstanding!

The staff was gracious enough to call the airlines for us to make sure our flight was still on time, and as we left they handed us each a bagged lunch for our flight, declaring “You don’t want to eat airline food!” We were speechless. We never expected this kind of treatment, and certainly not to this extent. We left “Trotter’s To Go” on cloud 9 that day. We all collectively decided this was the most memorable experience of the trip. We all learned the meaning of hospitality that day.

The weekend to me represented one of the main reasons I became, and enjoy being a chef. To create great food and memorable experiences for your customers, or in this case, your fellow culinarians is truly what the term hospitality represents. Our main objective as culinarians is and should always be to create these kinds of experiences for everyone. If you can do this you do truly understand the meaning of hospitality.