This unique, three-part demonstration focuses on hydrocolloids and their savory and sweet applications. Increasingly found in kitchens around the world, hydrocolloids are starches and proteins that allow chefs to push the boundaries of creativity thanks to their varying gelling properties.

10 AM-12 PM
George Mendes, Aldea: Savory Applications

Hydrocolloid applications to summer market recipes, using xanthan gum, agar agar, gelatin, and Ultra Tex 3 to achieve various textures.

George Mendes is the chef-owner of Aldea in New York, named after the Portuguese word for village. The restaurant’s menu is inspired by the Iberian Peninsula and Mendes’ heritage. There, he adds a modern, seasonal approach to create a menu perfectly balanced between rusticity and refinement. Chef Mendes’ first mentor was David Bouley, for whom he worked at the original Bouley in the 1990s. He later worked as executive sous chef of the three-star Lespinasse in Washington, D.C., under Sandro Gamba. He then returned to New York to help his friend and fellow Bouley alumnus, Kurt Gutenbrunner, open his Austrian restaurant, Wallsé. He later joined Tocqueville as chef de cuisine, where he was inspired by the nearby Greenmarket and his travels in Europe. After more than three years running the kitchen, Mendes left to pursue his own restaurant venture. Throughout his career, he has staged in Europe with Alain Passard at Arpège, Roger Vergé at Le Moulin de Mougins, Alain Ducasse at La Bastide de Moustiers, and Martin Berasategui at his eponymous three-star Michelin restaurant in Spain.

12:30-2:30 PM
Tim Koerner, John E Koerner & Co, and Chef Anthony Caratozzolo, Beau Rivage Resort and Casino: Savory and Sweet Applications

Using the Texturas line from El Bulli, demonstration of Sperification with Melon; Reverse Spherification with Olives; Emulsification with Smoked Chocolate Ganache, with Chocolate Mousse and Honey Centers; Emulsified Foams with Grand Marnier; Chocolate Frozen Foam; Spaghetti and Stuffed Ravioli made with Gelification; and Smoked Fish with Carta Fata (Magic Paper).

Tim Koerner is president of John E Koerner & Co, a bakery and specialty food service distributor in the southern United States. The company has been specializing in pastry, high-end restaurants, and casinos since 1999. It imports El Bulli’s Texturas from Sole Graells in Barcelona, and works closely with many European chefs and the products that they develop. The Koerner company distributes products from if 100,000-square foot facility in New Orleans, and is an active sponsor of the World Pastry Competition on a national and international basis, and of the Coupe du Monde de Pâtisserie in Lyon.

Anthony Caratozzolo is executive sous chef of Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Miss. He has worked as part of the opening team of the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and at Gold Strike Casino Resort, MGM Mirage’s sister property in Tunica, Miss. Following Beau Rivage’s dramatic renovation in 2006, Caratozzolo returned to Beau Rivage after two previous stints there at various stages of his career. As the second in command of an operation that oversees more than 600 culinary staff---a position he holds since January 2007---Caratozzolo is responsible for all of the hiring, staffing and training, as well as food product ordering, quality and preparation.

3-5 PM
Sam Mason, Tailor: Sweet Applications

Sam Mason, the executive chef and owner of Tailor in New York, is one of the most creative chefs working in America today. Having honed his craft at some of the most prestigious kitchens in the country, including Palladin, Union Pacifc, Atlas, Park Avenue Café, and, most notably, as the pastry chef at the renowned wd~50, Chef Mason is known for his culinary vision and combinations of unusual and innovative ingredients that surprise, delight, and challenge the palate. At Tailor, his goal is to challenge the palate and the imagination of diners, blurring the line between dinner and dessert.

Champagne reception to follow.