The Pittsburgh Chaîne Takes the Heat - In the Kitchen
By Vice Chargé de Presse Ken McCrory
Harry Truman once said, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Well, the Pittsburgh Chaîne must like the heat because the February 13, 2000 Induction and Millennium dinner, for 90 members and guests, was held in the kitchen at Pittsburgh's renowned Westin William Penn Hotel.
The William Penn is one of the few "Grand Hotels" left in the United States. Grand Hotel is a term of art used to describe hotels built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when ornate, finely detailed plaster work and beautifully carved wood work were standards for construction (and affordable). The William Penn, designed by famed architects Janssen & Abbott and built in 1914, has plenty of both. The venue for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres was the elegant and traditional Terrace Room, scene of many fabulous parties and now the hotel's main dining room. The crystal chandeliers alone could probably pay a few semesters of your kid's college, or buy you one share of the latest "dot com" company. Greeting us at the door were Maître Hotelier Joe Berger and his wife, Beth. Joe is a dedicated gourmet, whose former position with the Westin chain was in San Francisco. Since San Francisco got centerfielder Barry Bonds from the Pirates, the least they could do was give us a top notch hotelier and food aficionado in return. Hors d'oeuvres, presented by the white gloved service staff, included eggplant caviar on water cracker with squash hay, fennel marmalade on crostini with sweet bell pepper and purple potatoes with truffle oil. In addition, there was a baby Portabello cap with duxelle and a crunchy shiitake crisp as well as a tomato lovers delight of cherry tomatoes filled with oven roasted vine tomatoes and a fresh anchory. This wonderful array was accompanied by a Drappier Rose champagne, whose reddish tint was a hint that Valentine's Day was the next day.
After hors d'oeuvres we adjourned to the back of the Terrace Room under the well-known (but historically questionable) mural of George Washington riding into Fort Pitt. Speaking of history, this was an historical event itself, as it was former Pittsburgh Bailli Pete Hanowich's first home induction since his elevation to Bailli Provincial. The usual suspects were rounded up for the induction including Kathleen Forbis of Toledo Ohio, a good friend of the Hanowich's, who came to Pittsburgh to be inducted, Pam McCrory who helps this Vice Chargé de Presse write the Gastronome articles for Pittsburgh, and Michael Chen of China Palace. Michael, as one wiseguy put it, is our first "Chaîne Chen" - ouch!
Awards and promotions included Chevalier Stan Pollock who was promoted to Commandeur in recognition of his 20 consecutive years in the Chaîne. That doesn't seem long, but Stan noted that some members were still in grade school when he joined. Dame de la Chaîne Colleen Byrne, a fine cook herself, was promoted to Vice Conseiller Gastronomique. If every Chaîne dinner is as tasteful as some of the meals Colleen prepares, we will be eating well indeed!
After the ceremonies, we adjourned to every "foodies" dream and the most interesting venue ever for a Pittsburgh Chaîne dinner - the kitchen. Chef Rôtisseur Jacky Francois, General Manager Maître Hotelier Joe Berger, Bailli Provincial Pete Hanowich and Pittsburgh Bailli Barbara Hanowich had discussed the idea of dining in the kitchen and each grew more interested until they decided it just had to be done! As we walked up the stairs into the kitchen, Chef Jacky greeted us with "welcome to my home" - and what a home! The size of the kitchen comfortably accommodated 90 members and guests at one end, while Chef and his crew worked at the other end.
Throughout the evening, we wandered around the kitchen smelling the aroma
of large stockpots as they steamed, watched as the Chef critically eyed
each plate before applying his final touch, then, with a nod to the wait
staff (flawlessly directed by Maître d' Warren Tsang), it was whisked
away for delivery. It was a "busman's holiday" for many of the Pittsburgh
Chaîne professional chef members since they left their kitchens to come
to this kitchen. Chef Rôtisseur Mike Uricchio noted that "It was hard
to stay seated, I kept thinking I should be working on something."
The ballet-like combination of energy and elegance in the kitchen made
this perhaps our most interesting dinner ever. Energy OK - but elegance?
In a kitchen? You bet! We aren't talking steel chairs and formica tabletops
folks. General Manager Joe Berger went all out, including special electrical
wiring above the ceiling to provide pinpoint spotlights onto the spectacular
floral centerpieces at each table. He also had special light covers cut
to project the Chaîne logo onto the walls. Our menu was embossed onto
a commemorative souvenir plate with a background picture of the hotel
and each was autographed by the Chef.
A "way cool" venue is one thing - but Chaîne dinners are ultimately about food and wine. The William Penn crew was more than equal to the task. Chef Jacky Francois was born in West Germany (his father was a French army officer), but trained in France. Among other restaurants, he served at two Michelin two star establishments - Clos du Longchamp at the Paris Meridien Hotel and Albert Premier in Milan. He joined Westin and worked in Atlanta, Dallas and Montreal before coming to Pittsburgh three years ago. Jacky likes the safe, family-friendly atmosphere in Pittsburgh and is especially pleased with the help and support he receives from the very food conscious Joe Berger. The two form a grand team for a grand hotel.
The menu revealed the Chef's classic French background to everyone's delight. We began with Hudson River foie gras with an artichoke mousse, cidromel vinegar and a kalamata cracker. This was accompanied by a 1996 Alsasian Trimbach Pinot Gris "Reserve Personnelle". The fish course was a Georges' Bank cod roasted on the skin, which provided wonderful texture to the dish. Green lentils enhanced with tarragon accompanied it. We were all delighted with the classic, crisp, white Chassagne Montrachet from Gagnard that complemented this dish. The soup course of double consommé "Henry IV" was a rich oxtail consommé with a bouquet of Malmsey Maderia accompanied by a glass of Sandeman's Madeira. This flavorful dish left a wonderful taste in our mouths as the next course of farm raised baby pheasant with mild mushrooms in oven roasted winter vegetables arrived. It was perfectly accompanied by a 1995 Domaine de Courcel Pommard. Chef Jacky was building to a crescendo, which was delivered in the form of a marinated rack of venison with lingoberry sauce, joined by a chestnut purée and baby fava beans. The incredible texture and taste of this dish was accompanied by the star wine of the evening - a 1981 Chateau Leoville Barton. Enough can't be said about the wines served with this dinner. That each wine perfectly complemented the dish it was served with was wonderful, but finding such wines in enough volume for this dinner, in Pennsylvania's state controlled wine system, was a difficult feat indeed. The salad course of baby greens with grape seed oil and epoisse cheese with a 1996 Les Meysonniers Crozes-Hermitage was next and the dinner closed with a dessert appropriately titled "Trilogy of the Kitchen". It included a rich dark chocolate pâté with marinated pistachio that could easily have been mistaken for fudge, a delightful fresh green cardamon vanilla ice cream and an array of berries. This was accompanied by the final wine of the evening, a not overly sweet, 1990 Château La Faurie Peyraguey.
When the courses were ended, we adjourned to the final venue of the night, a beautifully wood paneled room where cigars and digestifs were offered. The aroma of cigars and good conversation hung in the air as the ladies and gentlemen of the Pittsburgh Chaîne sipped, puffed and reminisced about what a wonderful start to the Millennium this dinner was.
As we walked down the marble stairs to the lobby, I remembered an expression on a plaque that hung in my mother's kitchen "No matter where I serve a guest, it seems they like my kitchen best." Indeed we did! Indeed we did!
