Joe Poon

I returned to Philadelphia last Thursday. Took the day off from work, on a 6:05am train from Penn Station, got to Philadelphia at almost 8:00am and went to an all day 10 course Chinese Banquet cooking demonstration by Chef Joe Poon.

If you have never had the opportunity to be part of one of Joe's classes, lectures or meet him it would take too long to explain what you have missed.

With his energy and enthusiasm it is hard to keep up.

I was one in a group of eight culinary professionals taking part in the class led by Chef Poon offered through The American Culinary Federation.

Me, I have known Chef Poon for several years first meeting him at the Philadelphia Flower Show. He spoke to the audience like they were gathered around the kitchen in his home while he wields a knife and produces a floral arrangement out of some unsuspecting cantaloupe, honey dew and watermelon.

Our day started with tea and traditional Chinese pastries. We spent about 1/2 hour in the kitchen and then did a tour of Philadelphia's China town. I have been there and eaten in so many of the restaurants but I was shown a different side. Traveling the streets with Chef Poon I no longer felt like an outsider.

We stopped at different places to eat things I never have before. I have been changing my diet for personal reasons over the last year and now I know pig offal will not be missed. Since I was there it would have been wrong not to try it and I would have felt as though I was insulting Chef Poon. It was not so bad and now I have a better understanding of a culture that is not mine. I am sure I eat things others would never try.

After our tour we returned to Joe's kitchen at 1010 Cherry street around 11:00am and started preparing our banquet, as Joe instructed us on proper culinary technique he also explained the health benefits of each food. One of the most important things, to me, learned is in the Chinese kitchen there is a specific reason for each action and movement, nothing wasted.

First up Joe's Roast Duck. I have tried for a long time to reproduce the duck you get in a Chinese restaurant with little or no success. In 10 minutes Chef Poon solved the mystery with simple explanation and concise direction.

For the next five hours the Chef had everyone in the group take turns at the wok.

We continued turning out plate after plate each dish being prepared under the instruction of a man who has dedicated his life teaching others what he knows.

I could not say what my favorite things were that day other than the roast duck but the jelly fish soup, abalone and fried rice I have already made in my little NYC apartment. They don't taste quite the same but as with anything, the more times you do it the better it gets.

Since starting to cook at an early age I realized there is more learning from my mistakes than any other time.

I hope to return to the Chef's kitchen before too long. It felt like coming home to a place I have missed.

Chef Poon's website http://www.josephpoon.com/ is a wealth of knowledge and offers so many things to do, the Wokn Walk Tour looks like a lot of fun, the spring/summer lobster feast that you could not find anywhere else at twice the price should not be missed.

As always I look forward to questions and comments. www.chef@matthewbabbage.com

The Sandwich

Standing on line at a neighborhood store I picked up, started reading and purchased Saveur magazine The Sandwich Issue http://www.saveur.com/sandwiches/.
I have always been a sandwich person, everything form pb& j, my mother's grilled cream cheese and her homemade jam for me as a child since I was a picky eater, and almost anything else that can be put, stuffed, piled or "gently placed" inside two slices of your average white bread, pita, matzo, roll or hunk that you tore off the end of a loaf of Italian or French bread.

This is an issue you must add to your collection. Next to my desk is a large stack of magazines, even though so much information is available on line I like periodicals. The feel and smell of the pages, it is to me visceral and the pictures fuel my imagination and transport me to the past reminding of places I been. I am fortunate having many of the sandwiches described.

Many articles are written about food and it's importance. We eat during holidays, special family meals, celebrations, for tradition, the list can go on forever but the main reason is we eat to survive.

From such a humble beginning we have elevated the "sandwich" to something ethereal, taken something simple and made it something hard to describe.

This is not bad, pizza has done the same thing. We look to always improve what we do but the funny thing is that no matter how hard you try even something like peanut butter and jelly on sliced white bread does not need much. Sometimes I like things unadulterated, unchanged. There is a place for Wonder bread, Skippy and some inexpensive grape jelly, add a glass of cold milk and it fits.

Like pasta every culture has one that is known around the world.
From Shawarma to Bocadillos, French dip to Bahn Mi, ham and swiss on rye to Carolina pulled pork the list and combinations are infinite.

Breakfast this morning will be fresh bread from Parisi Bakery parisibakery.com, still warm. As I write this I am waiting for Alleva's, http://www.allevadairy.com/, America's oldest Italian cheese store to open and whatever Robert recommends will go on the bread with some fresh mozzarella. If you walk by early morning you can watch it being made and also smell when they are smoking it.

As always I look forward to questions and comment. chef@matthewbabbage.com