Chef Ian Kleinman Invents "The Inventing Room"

Innovative culinary catering by acclaimed Denver chef

Chef Ian Kleinman, until recently performing culinary magic at O's Steak & Seafood in the Westin Westminster, has set up a catering business called The Inventing Room, he reports "named after the place Willy Wonka thought up his sweetest concoctions." Kleinman sure does sweet and says that he can do ice cream parties for up to 1,000 guests with rich ice cream made with liquid nitrogen with a fabulous selection of toppings. He produces what he calls "the miracle fruit" that can alter the taste buds so that sour tastes sweet for the next 45 minutes of so. Kleinman also does savories of all sorts, using sous-vide, molecular and other cutting-edge techniques for small corporate groups or a gee-whiz party in a private home.

The good news is that Chef Ian will still be preparing these magical meals in the Denver area. The bad news is that we can't just make a reservation at the restaurant and enjoy the magic of the week. I hope he'll be able to catch the eye of some last-minute holiday party planners who want to do something really festive.

He promises a website, but right now, he can be reached right now at 303-319-2592 or catering@theinventingroom.com.

Best of luck, Chef Ian.

Calgary's Blink: A Winner

Fine 21st Century Fare in 1988 Olympic host city

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler are captivating the attention of winter sports fans, but 22 years ago, all eyes were on Calgary. Calgary and Denver are like twins, separated by a friendly border and 800 +/- miles. Both cities are at the edge of the plains and within sight of the Rocky Mountains. Both grew up on ranching and rail transportation. Both boom whenever oil does and are troubled when the oil industry is. Denver was awarded the 1976 Olympics but Colorado voters rejected them, and Calgary hosted the Games in '88. More germane to this blog, both have matured from steak-and-spuds dining cities to offer interesting and sophisticated cuisine. Case in point: Blink Restaurant & Bar. Chef Andrew Richardson (below left), a British-born chef was exec chef at the renowned Araxi in Whistler, and his wife Leslie Echino (right) opened Blink as a restaurant in 2007, closed it for a total renovation and reopened it. The only thing that didn't change was the name.

Locals told me that Blink is one of Calgary's best new (and new-style) eateries. Contemporary abstract paintings hanging on old exposed brick walls, a high ceiling with exposed pipes and, polished wood floors and huge white-leather chairs are stylish and classy -- as is the food that comes out of Richardson's open kitchen (below) and Echino's front-of-the-house hospitality.

A gaggle of us, in town for a speedskating World Cup, went to dinner at Blink. We shared some appetizers while waiting for everyone to gather. I didn't capture images of all the dishes before the hungry horde dipped into them, but examples of the simple presentations and careful preparation of first-rate ingredients are below. The red wine drinkers had Kettle Valley Merlot, while the white wine drinkers sipped Laughing Stock Chardonnay -- both from the Okanagan Valley in neighboring British Columbia.

A special starter du jour was this double-baked cheese souffle (below), which began tilting a tad while we toasted the evening and the new friends gathered around the table.

Asian pear salad with two kinds of endive, shaved Sylvan Star's Gouda and pecans dressed in a light coat of walnut vin and oil. The Alberta artisanal cheesery's Grizzly Extra Aged Gouda was a big winner at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix of cheeses and also placed high in the 2006 and 2008 World Championships, while their Grizzly Sharp, aged for more than a year, was the 2009 Canadian Grand Prix winner.

Carpaccio of fine Alberta beef plays peek-a-boo under the arugula with house-made potato chips and  truffled Boschetto, generally an Italian cheese, but for all I know, some Canadian cheesemaker is also producing it.

Silky foie gras (humanely raised, of course) with late-harvest ice wine jelly; triangles of toasted brioche were separately served on another plate.

Like Denver, Calgary is a long way from anyplace that scallops are raised, but these Alaska sea scallops were as fresh, tender and perfectly cooked as any I've had within sight of saltwater. They were served with Hokkaido squash, crunchy pumpkin seeds and microgreens.

Alberta beef is rightly famous, though the US -- in its total lack of wisdom, considering the numerous e coli incidents has banned it since one mad cow was traced to a provincial ranch some years ago. The beef special of the day was ordered by a majority of our group. This towering AAA beef tenderloin was sided by Parmesan polenta, Swiss chard and wild mushrooms.

The English sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce at the end of the meal struck me as a perfect balance to the cheese souffle in the beginning. Both were served in shallow soup plates with elegant simplicity and excellent preparation.

It's virtually impossible to go wrong with crème brulée, which just about every chef or pastry chef does well and tweaks a bit. Blink's subtle orange custard was enhanced by chocolate in the caramel.

Bourdain to Denver. Hickenlooper to Introduce. Sparks to Fly?

Celeb chef/author/television Anthyony Bourdain comes of Denver on Wednseday

I feel as if I know Anthony Bourdain. I've read several of his books (Kitchen Confidential, A Cook's Tour and No Reservations) and I've traveled around the world vicariously with him on his Travel Channel series, "No Reservations." He's opinionated, snarky and yet has become increasingly empathetic about the lives and tribulations of people he has encountered. Along the way, he once visited Denver to promote A Cook's Tour and much to the irritation of local patriots and foodies, dismissed the Mile High City's food scene.

He's coming back for a one-night stand at the Buell Theater on Wednesday, November 18, at 7:30 p.m. As a preliminary welcome, Westword ran a contest subtitled "Make Anthony Bourdain Eat His Words."  Readers were invited to suggest three local restaurants that would make him change his snooty New York mind. The entries make for hilarious reading.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, quick-thinking and comfortable on stage, will introduce Bourdain. Hickenlooper is a former restaurateur; Bourdain is a former chef. The repartee should be interesting, but I'm betting that both of these smart, eloquent men will spar for a mo', revert to gracious collegialty. Tickets $35-$65 are still available on line from TicketMaster or by calling 866-461-6556

2009 Taste of Elegance Competition Winners: Corey and Long

Judging a chefs' competition is a delicious but difficult job

 Once again, I was honored to be a judge at the "Taste of Elegance" chefs competition at the 2009 Denver International Wine Festival. As was the case last year, each competitor is given a bottle of red and a bottle of white in advance to taste and then create two dishes to pair with those wines -- wines that had previously place in September's Denver Wine Competition. We judges were charged with evaluating dishes based on presentation, tasted and food/wine compatibility to come up with the best overall chef and the most creative chef.

Chris Davies CEO of Wine Country International, which runs the festival, took the picture, below, of us judges just before we set off on our appointed tasting rounds. We discussed whether to stick together or split apart and decided to move from station to station in a cluster so that the chefs would only have to describe their dishes just once. Below, from left, Hosea Rosenberg of Jax Fish House, Boulder, and winner of last season's "Top Chef" honors, moi, Amanda Faison of 5280 magazine and Teresa Farney of the Colorado Springs Gazette. We did not look quite so perky after we had tasted two dishes from each chef and wines to match -- plus Belgian beers.   

Wine glasses ready for the sell-out crowd of 400 at the entrance to the festival, which this year moved to Mile High Station, a new events facility.

Before 6:00 p.m. when the public was allowed in, the competing chefs and their teams worked quickly and quietly to stage their two dishes.

 There was only so much I could do  at the same time -- tasting, evaluating, snapping quick pictures and scribbing notes in the hopes of matching images with restaurants and chefs. It was beyond my multi-tasting talents to do it all, so below are just some of the dishes we tasted. I can identify some but not all, so I won't label any. Just know that there was a lot of good food, a lot of well-thought-out plating and a lot of care displayed by "Taste of Elegance" chefs.

Attendees milled around, also tasting and sipping, often with considerably less restraint than those of us who had a job to do.

Let me tell you that the decision was difficult. There was a lot of good food preapred by local culinary talents. In the end, we selected Robert Corey of Sandoval's Kitchen, Denver as Most Creative Chef and Michael Long of Opus, Littleton as Best Chef. Jean-Luc Voegele of the Westin Tabor Center, Denver took the People's Choice award. Congratulations to all.

Last year, I managed to write a post immmediately after the festival, and you might want to read it for a backgrounder. Other than the venue and the number of chefs competing, the format was largely the same both years.

2009 Taste of Elegance Chefs

Jeff Bolton, Second Home, JW Marriott, Denver

Chad Clevenger, Mel's Bar and Grill, Greenwood Village

Austin Cueto, Restaurant Kevin Taylor, Denver

Robert Corey, Sandoval's Kitchen (overall Best Chef winner)

Eliza Goodwill, 221 South Oak, Telluride

David Harker, Meritage, Omni Interlocken, Broomfield

Daniel Joly, Mirabelle Restaurant, Avon/Beaver Creek

DeWayne Lieurance, 5280 Chef/Clandestine Chef

Michael Long, Opus Restaurant, Littleton (named Most Creative Chef)

David Olivieri, Farraday's Steakhouse, Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel, Black Hawk

Eric Riviera, LaLa's Wine Bar & Pizza, Denver

Eric Skokan, Black Cat Bistro, Boulder

Jeremy Thomas, Parisi's Italian Market & Deli and Firenze a Tavola, Denver

Jean-Luc Voegele, Westin Tabor Center, Denver (People's Choice winner)

Kelly Yepello, Yepello Chocolates & Confections, Steamboat Springs

Historic Nottoway Plantation Houses Contemporary Restaurant

Ramsay's Mansion Restaurant:  Stellar dining in the Louisiana countryside

New Orleans is one of the country's best-known dining Meccas, but on a recent farm-to-table visit to Louisiana, I found lots of other amazing food. A recent addition to the region's fine-dining scene is Ramsay's Mansion Restaurant at Nottoway, a magnificent plantation house that was renovated and refurbished earlier this year in time for its 150th anniversary.

Executive chef David Reyes was a city kid, raised in a rough Chicago neighborhood, but he has his Mexican family's farm-to-table catering business in his blood as well. His family planted corn by hand, raised cattle and made cheese, forging a direct connection from the growing and raising to the preparation and finally the consumption of food . Reyes himself graduated from Kendall College's well-regarded culinary program and interned at Puerto Vallarta resort and a Michelin-starred restaurant in Toulouse, France. Last year, back in the US, he won the grand prize and a $20,000 scholarship in the Kraft Foods 2008 Chefs of Grey Poupon Student Culinary Competition for his Dijon Surf and Turf in a New World Romesco Sauce recipe.

Once he was on board at Nottoway, he set his sights on some of the property's 38 acres for a kitchen garden, from which he has already been harvesting. The phrase "more than 30 herbs" also passed his lips. He is not yet 30 and has a combination of energy, ambition and culinary training that bode well for Ramsay's Mansion Restaraurant, especially if our group's seven-course dinner featuring Chef's selection is any indication. A lovely setting in a glassed in garden room looking out at the landscaped grounds (until it got dark), attentive service and wines that I wrote down somewhere but can't find made this an idyllic meal.

The first course was a single moist blue crab cake with mango sauce, a cap of smoked paprika aioli and a "feather" of dill from the small-plates list on the regular menu.

Butternut squash and ginger soup with a bit of Louisiana blue crab and a froth of coconut milk, garli,c chive and soy sauce was an excellent autumn soup.

If the soup said "fall," the caprese salad said "summer." This version is made with organically grown heirloom tomatoes and house-made mozzarella with cucumbers and basil  from the garden.

I had never heard of fish called "triple tail," but it is one of those species long recognized by saltwater sport fishermen that has only recently come into its own on the table. Once considered bycatch of the New Orleans shrimp fishery, it is now recognized for its similarity to sea bass. It was served in a light lobster bisque, Parmesan risotto and crisp salad of house-grown borage, fennel, beet sprouts, basil and arugula on top.



The word gnudi, a close relative of gnocchi, has now made it to southern Louisiana. The Mansion Restaurant's ricotta gnudi were soft pillows of dough made with house-made ricotta, perfecty cooked and loaded into a soup plate with fresh house-made sausage, sage, brown butter, a piquant sauce and a shaving of cheese (Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, other?) on top.

X marked the spot on the plate where two lamb chop bones crossed and Reyes's signature tandoori spiced lamb chops rested. The tender lamb was seasoned with an almost-Cajun spice mixture, roasted and served with a bit of roasted vegetable parfait layered with goard cheese and shallot confit.

Silk buttermilk pannacotta served as the underlayment for a coulis of fresh berries and oh-so-Southern pecans.

Price check:  At dinner, small plates, $8-$12; soups, $8-$19; salads, $8-$11; mains (including grilled items), $18-$32.

Nottoway is at 31025 Louisiana Highway 1 (off The Great River Road), White Castle (south of Baton Rouge);  225-545-2730.