'Food and Food Systems in the 21st Century' at UCLA's Fowler Museum

On Aug. 11, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., TedxLA Miracle Mile presents "Food and Food Systems in the 21st Century" at UCLA's Fowler Museum.

Spawned from the nonprofit organization TED, TEDx is a program of independently organized events that bring together people from the worlds of technology, entertainment and design (hence the name TED) to engage in the sharing and spreading of ideas. Next month's TEDx gathering at the Fowler will examine food and food production on a local and globalized scale. Speakers will address what is obsolete and what is up to par -- politically, socially, economically and culturally -- in the context of today's rapidly growing human population.

The event will be a merging of minds with guest speakers such as Jason Kelly Johnson and Nataly Gattegno of Future Cities Lab and Jonathan Todd of John Todd Ecological Design. Also joining in on the discussion of food will be Tara Kolla of Silver Lake Farms, Ken and Kathy Lindner of Lindner Bison, Laura Avery of Santa Monica Farmers Market and "Righteous Porkchop" author Nicolette Hahn Niman, among others.

The daylong event includes a pre-event mixer with access to the museum, a catered box lunch by Auntie Em's Kitchen and a post-event wine and cheese reception. Tickets are $60 for general admission or $48 for students, seniors and Fowler Museum members.

308 Charles E. Young Drive North, L.A., (310) 825-4361, fowler.ucla.edu.

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Photos: From left, Tara Kolla, Ken and Kathy Lindner, Laura Avery.

Credit: Tedxaltavistala.com

Here's what's rotting at David Chang's Momofuku kitchen lab

"Microbes equal flavor." Words to live by, especially if your life is David Chang's. The Momofuku/Ssäm Bar/Ko/Má Pêche chef a couple of years ago turned a 200-square-foot room into a culinary lab where he's currently exploring "microbial terroir" by pickling, curing and fermenting whatever he can get his hands on. "We've just been letting stuff rot," says Chang, who, along with collaborator Dan Felder, led a lecture on Thursday at UCLA, part of its Food and Science series. "We're the kings of rotten stuff."  

So here are some things rotting in the Momofuku kitchen lab: 

Pork: Butabushi -- it's the pork version of katsuobushi, the Japanese dried, smoked, fermented bonito ("a genius ingredient right up there with puff pastry," says Chang). Pork loin is steamed, smoked and "left to rot." The first time he made it, it was "a technicolor weird thing" covered with mold. "I wondered, am I dying as I'm breathing this in?'" But when cut into, it was the same amber as katsuobushi, and just as delicious, according to Chang. The hard part has been replicating it. 

Rabbit: Seven- to 21-day dry-aged rabbit. "It's got a really strange funk to it. It smells gnarly."  

Chicken: Chickenbushi. Look for the -bushi trend. Chang says Sean Brock at Husk in Charleston, S.C., is making scallopbushi.

Fish: Fish sauce. "The lab -- it smells really funny in there." Salt is added to chopped fish (including the guts) and, again, left to rot. For five months. "The smell is extraordinary." 

Legumes and grains: Chang and his team are cultivating koji on grains such as barley and basmati rice by steaming, inoculating and incubating it. The ensuing mold is used to make miso, traditionally made with soybeans. Chang et al. are experimenting with chickpea miso and even pistachio and pine nut miso. "Chickpea miso tastes like parmesan." With the help of a high-speed centrifuge belonging to New York University microbiologists, they can get pistachio, pine nut and chickpea tamari, too.

Fruit: Vinegars. "Balsamic vinegar is crazy to me. Anybody who's been to Modena knows what I'm talking about. I want to make the good stuff, the rotten stuff." So Chang has set out to to make his own vinegars with New York apples (again, it's all about microbes and terroir). "Rotting fruits. I really wish we could capture the smell of this place for you." 

Lardo: A side project is sprinkling barley koji powder and salt on lardo to cure it and give it "a funky dry-aged flavor."

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Noma's Rene Redzepi and Lars Williams at UCLA

Nobody had expected to witness a few handfuls of crickets meet their death, shoved into a blender and whizzed up with mold-inoculated barley. But that, according to Noma chef Rene Redzepi and Nordic Food Lab research director Lars Williams, is how to make one version of a sauce known as garum. 

Along with cricket garum (which tastes like soy sauce) and fermented barley, Redzepi and Williams served seaweed ice cream, cucumber "spice" and carrot "vinegar" at a UCLA lecture titled “The Exploration of Deliciousness,” part of a course series on science and food. Deliciousness, Redzepi says, is the point of both Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant known as "the best restaurant in the world" thanks to an annual list published by S. Pellegrino, and the nonprofit research facility Nordic Food Lab.

But it is where and how Redzepi and Williams discover deliciousness that has drawn the attention of the culinary world -- amongst the sea arrowroot that grows along Danish beaches, the 125 types of horseradish in the Nordic region or its 263 varieties of seaweed, or ants that taste like kaffir lime leaf (yes, ants), for example.

"It's a difficult challenge to get excited about those ... so put it in something delicious," says Redzepi, who in fact does get excited about ingredients that are otherwise underutilized and overlooked. The man -- someone who mandates "the need to understand horseradish" -- waxes passionate about sea arrowroot: “I never would have dreamed that there was a plant that wasn’t coriander or even in the coriander family that tasted like coriander!”

Dried cucumber powder is an example of a variety of fruit and vegetable "spices" (the Nordic version of spice, anyway), dried at a certain temperature to achieve caramelization and heightened sweetness. "Vinegars" are made with kombucha -- "an extra live creature in the kitchen," notes Redzepi. Williams says microbes, including various fungi and bacteria, are big in the Noma kitchen. Lately, fermented peas have become "peas-o," their take on miso. "It's a working title," Redzepi says. 

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Can It!: Food Forward's L.A. Foodsteader Tour

The nonprofit organization Food Forward, which has harvested more than 700,000 pounds of backyard fruit and donated it to food pantries and other agencies serving the hungry in L.A., presents Can It! -- a series of four preserving classes taught throughout the year by L.A. "foodsteaders." 

Classes take place in four unusual private locations: a historic estate and creamery in Altadena; a working home/farm in the West Valley; a farmers market kitchen in Hollywood; and a professional artisanal preserve maker’s workspace in Silver Lake. Students can enroll in all four classes or in individual classes at EventBrite's website. 

The four half-day workshops focusing on gourmet jamming, goat cheese-making, backyard orchard care and raising chickens. The cost of each session includes take-home samples, recipes, canning paraphernalia and a Foodsteader apron. Can It! raises funds for Food Forward. The price is for one class is $130; two classes, $240; three classes, $360; and four classes, $475. Classes will be held Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  

On March 31, chef Ernest Miller leads a session on all things Meyer lemons and shares canning safety tips at the Farmers Kitchen. On June 30, Stephen Rudicel teaches cheese making at Mariposa Creamery (the Historic Zane Grey Estate) in Altadena (meet the baby goats). On Sept. 8, Craig Ruggless leads a course at Winnetka Farms, 3 acres of orchard, chickens, vegetables and more. And on Nov. 3, Jessica Koslow teaches a preserves class at her Sqirl kitchen. For more information, go to foodforward.org/get-involved/can-it/. 

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BBQ Bootcamp, the second annual edition

Grillmeister Frank Ostini of the Hitching Post II in Buellton, Calif., is hosting the second annual BBQ Bootcamp March 8-11 at Alisal Guest Ranch in Solvang. The four-day, three-night grilling weekend should teach you everything you want to know -- and possibly more -- about traditional Santa Maria-style barbecue.

Boot camp, though, seems hardly the concept, since plenty of free time is built into the schedule. Guests can roam the 10,000-acre dude ranch’s walking and horseback riding trails, or find relief from barbecue-induced aches and pains at the ranch spa. 

Beds in “deluxe cottages” promise to be soft, too, and all rooms have wood-burning fireplaces to keep everybody warm and cozy.

Morning classes are taught by Ostini with Alisal executive chef Pascal Godé. Afternoons are free for all of the above activities. And after dusk, Santa Ynez winemakers show up to pour their Pinots and Rhone-style reds. 

The first night, Thursday, features a Western-style welcome dinner. Friday night, Astini and Godé cook a meal to accompany Hitching Post II wines (made under the Hartley Ostini label). Saturday, students show what they've learned with a grill-your-own dinner, while local winemakers pair wines with each course. Sunday, breakfast at leisure, and when good and ready, head on back to L.A. with a leather-bound BBQ booklet in hand for future reference.

Sounds like fun. The only drawback? The price, which starts at $2,650 for four days and three nights, based on double occupancy. For more information, contact Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort at (800) 4-ALISAL or (805) 688-6411. More information at www.alisal.com.

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Photos: Frank Ostini explaining meat. Credit: Lisa Cohen

Culinary workshop on Gothic desserts at the Getty in March

On March 1 and 2, Getty Center educators Nancy Real and Robin Trento are leading a culinary course that explores the world of Gothic art and cuisine.

The group of 20 participants will tour the exhibition "Gothic Grandeur: Manuscript Illumination, 1200–1350," with their hosts before preparing desserts similar to those found in the medieval courts of Europe.

Real and Trento are incorporating recipes to enrich the historical components of the course and will discuss Gothic history that influenced the time period's desserts, such as the uses of spices and sugar. Panforte di Siena, for example, contains cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper, evidence of the Arab countries' influence on European cuisine because of the use of spices.

After the tour, the class will retreat to the Getty's private dining room, where participants, with the help of their instructors, will prepare desserts representative of the period and countries of origin of the manuscripts featured in the exhibition, such as lavender pudding from England, krapfen from Germany, torta bonissima and panforte di Siena from Italy, marzipan from Spain and pignolat from France.

The workshop is $75 per person.

1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A., (310) 440-7300, www.getty.edu.
 
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Harvard’s Science + Cooking lectures: Now playing on iTunes U

Apple just released its iTunes U app for iPad and iPhone, which makes it much easier to browse for free classes and lectures from top universities around the country.

One category is Food & Nutrition, where you’ll find 32 courses available, including Tips for Sustainable Gardening from Oregon State University, Food and Sustainable Agriculture from the Yale School of Forestry, Food Processing from UC Davis and Health and Nutrition from Cornell University.

But the real find here is Science + Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter from the Harvard School of Engineering and Science, 52 one-and-a-half- to two-hour videos from a lecture series that “discusses concepts from the physical sciences that underpin both everyday cooking and haute cuisine.” You have Ferran Adria of the late El Bulli presenting spherification, Jose Andres of The Bazaar (and minibar in Washington, D.C.) discussing basic components of food and gelation, and Wylie Dufresne (wd-50 in New York) on inventions with transglutaminase. 

Just listen to the titles of some of the lectures: “Mixing the Unmixable,” “Sous-vide Cooking: a State of Matter,” “Meat Glue Mania,” “Olive Oil and Viscosity.” Heady stuff, and it’s free, free, free -- even the app.

A new way to suck up large amounts of time and bandwidth for the aspiring or experienced cook. But also a new way to learn from the best in the business. An incredible resource. Note that, because the lectures are videos, once downloaded, they will show up in the video app, not the iTunes U library.

Also, the iTunes U app syncs, so you can start watching a lecture on an iPad and finish it on an iPhone. Pretty seductive.  

However, maybe millions are trying to watch the same lecture at the same time. I keep getting messages that the lecture cannot be downloaded at this time (it could just be my sluggish connection), but with a little patience it eventually restarts.

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3 Events: Marino's mammas face off; Golden Road; butchery class

Naples vs. Venice: On Thursday, Marino Ristorante is taking the Naples-vs.-Venice battle to the kitchen, with Mamma Maria Marino representing Napoli and Mamma Luciana Ongaro representing Venezia. The two will prepare a six-course menu that features side-by-side Neapolitan and Venetian classics. Maria helped her late husband Ciro re-create Neapolitan recipes at Marino and raised their three children in the restaurant (Rosanna, the CFO at Marino; Mario Jr., the general manager and maître’d; and Sal, executive chef at Marino and chef-owner of Il Grano). Luciana, the daughter of a prominent chef in Venice, inspired her son Stefano (Rosanna Marino’s husband) to open the erstwhile All’Angelo. Examples from the menu: Manila clams gratin with garlic aioli (Naples) and salted cod crostini (Venice); double-wide rigatoni stuffed with veal, beef and pork (Naples) and thick Venetian spaghetti with pulled duck (Venice); and rolled sirloin with raisins, eggs and pine nuts in tomato sauce (Naples) and milk-braised Niman Ranch pork (Venice). $65 per person (includes a glass of Prosecco upon arrival) and $35 optional wine pairing. 6001 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 466-8812, www.marinorestaurant.net. 

Golden Road party: Golden Road Brewing is hosting a double celebration on Sunday, the launch of its pub and its brand-new 16-ounce cans. The pub will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with chef Adam Levoe grilling burgers (vegan and non-vegan) on the outdoor patio, served with a can of Golden Road beer, either the Point the Way IPA or Golden Road Hefeweizen, for $10. The full menu will also be available, along with draft beer options. 5430 W. San Fernando Road, Los Angeles, (213) 537-4655, www.goldenroadbrewing.com.

Class at Huntington Meats: Suzanne Tracht, chef-owner of Jar, is collaborating with Huntington Meats at its 3rd Street Farmers Market shop for a series of classes on butchery and cooking. A class on beef takes place on Sunday. Huntington’s butchers, John Escobedo and Robert Ore, will present an “up close and personal” class, and Tracht will present a cooking demo and discuss how to best use the various cuts of meats. The upcoming schedule includes pig on Feb. 26, lamb on March 25 and beef cuts for spring on April 22. Topics for January: breaking a side of beef, portioning primal cuts, and grading to grinding. Learn how to prepare beef cuts in winter, including short ribs, briskets and roasts. The price is $65 per guest. 6 to 8 p.m. Reserve by calling Huntington Meats at (323) 938-5383. 6333 W. 3rd St. at the Original Farmers Market, Los Angeles.

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DIY confab Craftcation lands in Ventura, March 22-25

Need a craftcation? The Craftcation DIY workshop and indie-business conference takes place in Ventura on March 22 to 25. Started by Delilah Snell and her niece Nicole Stevenson, who also co-produce the Patchwork arts and crafts festival, Craftcation is geared toward anyone who is looking to start a craft-based business. Industry professionals will lead business workshops, panel discussions and Q&A sessions.

Events and topics include: how to start a crafty business; maximizing social media; blogging; the ins and outs of indie craft shows; Etsy; wholesaling; merchandising; accounting; legal issues; branding; website design and more. DIY workshops: screenprinting, sewing, canning and preserving, cheesemaking, needle arts, terrariums and edible gardens, organic bath products, jewelry and more. Speakers include Amy Tan, Aida Mollenkamp and Gustavo Arellano. 

Also at the event will be meet-and-greets, pop-up shops, yoga, a barbecue and cocktail socials. See the full schedule here. Registration for a three-day pass is $275 at www.craftcation.com/register.

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Gardening classes at the Natural History Museum

 

In the spring, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County   will be offering gardening classes as part of its new workshop program.

Learn how to grow your own vegetables at home through the guidance of master gardeners Florence Nishida and Araceli Perez-Ocejo. Classes will be taught outside the Butterfly Pavilion and will showcase various gardening techniques, such as how to start from seed and transplant; how to grow organically,  without the use of pesticides or herbicides; how to create good soil; and how to appropriately feed and water plants.

Featured classes include "Best Cultivation Practices," to address watering, trellising, feeding, weeding, pest management, pinching and pruning, and "Feeding the Soil" which will focus on fertilizer types, uses, signs of deficiency and worm composting.

Classes are $25 for members (or $80 for all four classes in the series) and $30 for nonmembers (or $100 for all four classes in the series). For residents of ZIP Codes 90006, 90007, 90008, 90011, 90015, 90016, 90018, 90037, 90062 and 90089, classes are discounted to $15 per class (or $50 for all four classes in the series).

Exact dates have not yet been posted for the gardening classes; check the museum's website for updates or call (213) 763-3471 for more information.

900 Exposition Blvd., L.A., (213) 763-3466, nhm.org.

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