We recently saw on the front page of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald a story about two of our finest chefs, Mark Pomaski and Brian Hirata, who were nominated for this year’s James Beard Award.
Hiloan Sheldon Simeon, who owns Tin Roof in Maui, was also nominated.
But do you know who James Beard is? He was often called a walking encyclopedia, full of more knowledge about eating and cooking than most people.
When James Beard was a toddler, he devoured a raw onion — skin and all — which challenged his palate for food. This would be difficult for most 2-3 year olds to do so he was destined for a life of food.
His British mother, Elizabeth, worked in a hotel and was a gifted professional chef in Portland Oregon. He learned how to taste and savor every mouthful in a no-nonsense kitchen.
James’s mother was often assisted by a Chinese chef named Let. When James was 3 years old, he contracted malaria and the jelly from Let’s long-simmered chicken helped him to recover. “That jelly provided one of many powerful taste memories; this ability to recall and re-create food experiences in his own mind-helped make Beard special.”
James always battled with being overweight and often overfed. He became an expert swimmer and would gather oysters and razor clams. He became a master in the art of frying oysters and steaming Dungeness crabs, and he wasn’t digging for clams, was harvesting blueberries in adjacent swales.
As a youngster he watched Chinook Indians spearing Columbia River salmon and knew what it tasted like straight from the water.
Elizabeth was an artist at outdoor cooking and made James so enjoy picnics that he was the first American exponent of backyard feasting.
James began his career as an actor, a member of Portland amateur theater group. He moved to Greenwich Village, tried to find a job as a thespian but at 6-feet, 3-inches tall and 250-300 pounds, there wasn’t much out there for him so he turned to what he was good at, cooking. Like his mother did in Portland, he made friends with the French, Italian and Polish butchers.
At the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, Long Island, James Beard was among a handful of knowledgeable New Yorkers who repeatedly visited the fair and hailed the chefs who were there to showcase the classic foods of France, Belgium, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland and many other regions. Many of these foreign chefs decided to stay in New York after the World’s Fair closed and soon there was Henri Soule’ Le Pavillon to 57th Street, and chef Pierre Franey came with him. The Brussels restaurant, the Cheese Grille, the Italian Pavilion, the Spanish Pavilion and the Swedish Pavilion all followed from Flushing Meadows in Manhattan.
But then the war broke out abroad and James Beard met two European refugees with whom he opened a catering shop called Hor’d’Oeuvres, Inc. This established the custom of cocktails before dinner. He revised his mother’s tea sandwiches into “highball sandwiches,” some filled with her recipe for potted meat paste. Hamburgers became the size of large marbles that could be picked up with toothpicks; a spread of ground country ham and California olives with chives and mayonnaise; thin brioche rounds and thin onion slices, with edges decorated with minced parsley and mayonnaise, all became party classics of even today.
During this time, Jame met Jeanne Owen, who was the executive secretary of International Wine &Food Society. She, as he was, was very opinionated and quick-tempered. The society page of the newspaper called them “an item” – not a romantic twosome, but a sophisticated odd couple, going to sophisticated events together.
“Taste memory is like a perfect pitch” Beard said and it means the ability, not only to recall the food one has eaten with relish but to recognize all the components of a meal, or a dish, by being able to identify each nuance of flavor. After tasting a dish for the first time, James would settle down in his kitchen to experiment tirelessly to reproduce it exactly.
He once described every flavor of his first meal at La Pyramide Restaurant in Vienne, France, to a national food magazine editor many years after he had the meal.
Foodie notes
Speaking of James Beard nominations, Check out Chef Brian Hirata’s students at The Hawaii Community College’s Culinary program. The students will be ending their second semester soon and the second year students will be graduating so order some take-out from the first year students at The Cafeteria or the Bamboo Hale from the second year students.
Check out details via their website:
Cafeteria: http://hawaii.hawaii.edu/cafeteria
Bamboo Hale: http://www.hawaii.hawaii.edu/bamboo-hale
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.
