Category : BasqueStage, Videos
We are in the heat of applications, and our candidates for the Rising Star and Top Chef Sammic Scholarships are being asked to perform a series of ‘tasks’….
The first thing they were asked to do is submit a video that would tell the judges a bit more about who they are, what inspires them to cook, and why they want to be the next BasqueStage. And boy did we get some videos!
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and watch along with us as these 30+ candidates show their stuff!
Category : Videos
Contrary to how our scholars Ruth and Elisha‘s blogposts may make it seem, BasqueStage is not all garden and gourmet glamour. And there’s definitely more to it than cooking in a three-star Michelin (even if that’s a pretty sweet part of the deal).
One of the important parts of the BasqueStage is filming videos. To prepare for the videos, the stages visit Sammic, the kitchen equipment company and sponsor of the program. There, they learn about the workings of Sammic’s many kitchen machines, and then film videos like this one:
The factory is located about thirty minutes away, in the small town of Azkoitia. The stages take a monthly trip to get the lowdown on the latest machines coming out of Sammic. Many of the machines are used in the kitchen at Restaurant Martín Berasategui, but the newest ones are still in Azkoitia, being tested and perfected. Good thing our stages are so photogenic!
There are innumerable perks to being a Sammic Scholar for BasqueStage…..the pay, the pintxos, the knowledge gained, living in Spain….just ask our current stages, Marco and Cameron.
But as a young chef, one of the greatest rewards of being a BasqueStage has to be working at the right hand of one of the world’s greatest chefs, Martín Berasategui. You gain knowledge about the specific preparation of the plates at the restaurant, of course, but you also are there to pick up the hard-earned wisdom of a Michelin-starred chef and savvy businessman.
In a recent video, Chef Berasategui shares his “recipe for success” with us.
“The best surprises are never improvised. Behind every great recipe, there are always hundreds of failed attempts, days and nights of reflection. But every step makes me feel closer to my set goal….for me this goal is perfection. Bettering yourself means, simply, giving it all you’ve got. Putting so much passion into my work is what allows me to demand and find it in my team. Sharing success is what makes it really great.”
Watch the full video here:
Presentación Martín Berasategui from Art & Life Proyectos Visuales on Vimeo.
Category : BasqueStage, Videos
Sammic scholar Athena Thickstun is back with a video for us, this time drawing inspiration from her American roots. The video crew arrived to a studio filled with the smells of cinnamon, sugar and maple syrup….cinnamon rolls! Athena shows us how to create the popular pastry, from the yeasty dough to the slightly tricky shaping of the rolls. The delicious filling of melted butter, cinnamon and sugar is sprinkled over the square of dough, which is then rolled up and sliced to bake. Athena modernizes her rolls with a cream cheese-maple icing. Que rico!
Category : Videos
Sammic scholar for BasqueStage Tracy Chang presents a coconut bizcocho that would be right at home on the dessert menu of Restaurant Martín Berasategui. Using the coconut ice cream from the actual dessert menu, she incorporates it into one of Spain’s most popular desserts, the bizcocho (or cake). She adds her own nostalgic flavors, like star anise and ginger, and also manages to incorporate one of her favorite snacks from here, “potato” chips, made from yam. Buen provecho!
Category : Videos
Sammic scholar for BasqueStage Athena Thickstun takes us step by step as she creates a dessert reminiscent of the landscape of San Sebastián. She uses exotic ingredients like kataifi, a type of Middle Easter pastry most often used in sweet applications. Athena also shows the home cook how to adapt alta cocina techniques, like the famous ‘microwave cake’.
Category : Videos
After the stages’ foray into the traditional preparation of Kokotxas al Pil-Pil, they decided to go a little modern on this common Basque dish of cod jowl cooked slowly in olive oil. Using an immersion circulator, they sous-vide the kokotxas in a mixture of garlic, olive oil, and cayenne pepper. They finish the kokotxas in the traditional manner to create the emulsified pil-pil sauce.
Then, Tracy and Athena take their favorite flavors from the traditional dish and enhance them, garnishing the cockles with fried garlic and sprinklings of cayenne. Using techniques that lean more towards high cuisine than grandma’s stove, they create gelees from txakoli and chives to garnish the dish. The verdict? A delicious update on an already delicious Basque dish.
A successful round of experimenting in Restaurant Martín Berasategui, and just another day in the life of a BasqueStage.
Tracy and Athena bring another video to you highlighting a very popular Basque dish, kokotxas al pil-pil. This dish is often made with little more than olive oil, garlic, and kokotxas, the meat from the area around the codfish’s throath. Yet an incredible rich sauce is formed as the juices from the fish emulsify with the oil.
The keys are in the details: temperature control, handling of the fish, and a few magical flicks of the wrist. Watch the BasqueStages prepare the dish and you can pick up some helpful hints if you want to try this one at home. Which, by the way, we fully recommend. It isn’t legendary for nothing!
Category : Videos
The first BasqueStage video is officially here! Watch as chef Martín Berasategui teaches two yankees how to make one of the most traditional dishes of the region: patatas con chorizo. Garrote!
You can see Athena in another video featuring Sammic’s line of products here.
