Gourmands, lower your flags to half-mast

[East Coast Hustle]

One of the most influential chefs of the past 50 years (and the best chef that I have ever known personally) died yesterday.

Jacques Richard, one of the founders of the French Culinary Institute with Michelle Bachelet, passed away yesterday afternoon after a years-long battle with cancer.

after his long and distinguished culinary career, he retired in the town in which I work (and used to live), and became close friends with my current boss, as well as being a good customer at my old pizza place. When I came back from the islands and started slinging high-end slop instead of pizza and steak bombs, he would frequently stop in to offer advice on techniques and to make sure that my style and technique wasn't being corrupted by my "impossibly pigheaded french-canandian boss" who was clearly "some sort of idiot-savant of the culinary world".

He taught me everything I know about charcuterie (admittedly still not much) and allowed me to steal a recipe for foie gras terrine that took him 25 years to weasel out of Mr. Bachelet. He taught me the easiest way to peel garlic, which kind of booze I should be drinking at a given point in my working day, and that any asshole can figure out what flavors taste good together; it's technique that separates us from the heathen masses with their hamburger helper and electric stoves.

I drank hennessy until 3:00 this morning in his honor.

Today, I request that those of you that have a love for food do the same.

RIP, Jacques. You will be sorely missed.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

Aw. 

[Richter]

Damn...sorry to hear.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

Sorry ECH.
that sucks dude.

[LMNO]

So, what's the easiest way to peel garlic?

[Triple Zero]

sorry to hear, ECH ..

and yeah I was wondering about the garlic as well personally, i take a clove of garlic, crush it a littlebit with the flat side of a knife till it goes "crack", then cut off the top and bottom bits of the clove, and the pink-silvery peel basically falls off.

[East Coast Hustle]

I don't know that I could explain it without showing you, but basically you cut off just eh bottom of the bulb, then you turn the knife over and hit the very tip of the clove with the blunt side of the knife and move it incrementally down the bulb (as if you were doing a VERY fine chiffonade) and the whole bulb will just pop out.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

That is genius.  I'm going to try it next time I cook!

[Triple Zero]

I don't know that I could explain it without showing you, but basically you cut off just eh bottom of the bulb, then you turn the knife over and hit the very tip of the clove with the blunt side of the knife and move it incrementally down the bulb (as if you were doing a VERY fine chiffonade) and the whole bulb will just pop out.

okay i'm going to try this.

but, chiffonade? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiffonade how does that have to do with this technique?

so you push it out by pushing the blunt end of the knife towards the cut off end?

[BADGE OF HONOR]

I assumed he meant bashing it gently with the blunt side as if you're chopping it very finely, which would bump the clove out of the skin.

[Payne]

Which could make a cool "bump" smiley.

Maybe even better than the trailer park boys one.

Especially if you were using an axe. And peeling someones brain out of their skull.

I seem to be in a weird mood today, I think it's all this housework.

[Richter]

which kind of booze I should be drinking at a given point in my working day,

I'm curious about this part, what was his take on day-round drinking?

[East Coast Hustle]

white wine during prep time, ice cold lager during service, vodka or gin after work.

unless it's your "friday", in which case Red wine or scotch are both acceptable after-work drinks.