Chef Janet Crandall returns to the East Coast

Chef Janet Crandall has returned to the East Coast and has joined the Culinary Institute of America as Chef Instructor in the Culinary Arts program.

Founded in 1946, the Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in foodservice and hospitality, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers Master’s, Bachelor’s, and Associate degrees with majors in Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry Arts, Food Business Management, Hospitality Management, Culinary Science, and Applied Food Studies. The college also offers executive education, certificate programs, and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences, leadership initiatives, and consulting services have made CIA the think tank of the food industry and its worldwide network of more than 50,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food world. CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore.

LA's New Intergenerational Queer Culinary School Teaches More Than Cooking

"It’s all meant to make you feel like, ‘Okay, I have value, I’m respected, I’m a person.’”

Click here to find out more about the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s $140 million Anita May Rosenstein Campus in Hollywood, which caters to unhoused LGBTQ+ youth and low-income seniors.

Executive Chef Instructor of Culinary Arts Janet Crandall’s teaching menu lists Quiche Lorraine and Tarte de Pomme and a slice of Beef Roulade.

Chef Janet now Executive Chef Instructor for new Los Angeles LGBT Center

Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond.

Today the Center's nearly 700 employees provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy.

Despite their size, scope, and determination to meet the growing demand for their services, they remain a lean, fiscally disciplined organization, earning a four-star Charity Navigator rating for six consecutive years.

Learn more with their At-A-Glance fact sheet.

The Center’s brand new Culinary program is a 12-week course that begins at the very beginning with knife skills and simple techniques and works it’s way through to culminate in an internship for each student in one of Los Angeles’ many prestigious restaurants.

Check out this video piece from LA This Week, including an interview with Executive Chef Instructor Janet Crandall.

Good things to come....

Good things to come....

Well…tho with sadness we had to say goodbye to our beloved L. A. Kitchen….

...good things are afoot.

My heart is still - as always - most lifted by opportunities to introduce open minds to the culinary life, helping to create opportunities for lives to be elevated by the creative, fulfilling life around food and nourishment.

So…announcement soon, but not just yet. But here’s a sneak preview…..

https://lalgbtcenter.org/

FAREWELL FOR NOW TO L A KITCHEN

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 19.50.58.png

L A Kitchen fed over 3,00 people a week. People who didn’t have access to healthy, nourishing food each day. L A Kitchen accomplished this by collecting food donations, training a class of ~24 formerly or recently incarcerated individuals, young people who aged out of the foster care system or formerly homeless individuals who worked hard and trained hard to build new culinary skills. A class of 24 - five times a year - in a 14 week training course.

L A Kitchen has champions like Chef Jose Andres, now best known for his social conscience and altruism.

Robert Egger, L A Kitchen’s founder and tireless Director, was very recently forced to temporarily shut its doors because of loss of funding. L A Kitchen is in a period of rebuilding.

To all my students and all of my exceptional colleagues at L A Kitchen - until we cook together again….

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdgqUcx2W4g

L. A. Kitchen: Revealing The Power Of Food

L.A. Kitchen believes that neither food nor people should ever go to waste.  By reclaiming healthy, local food that would otherwise be discarded, training men and women who are unemployed for jobs, and providing healthy meals to fellow citizens, L.A. Kitchen empowers, nourishes, and engages the community.

Culinary students — up to 26 of them, a mix of older men and women who have been recently incarcerated and younger kids who have just timed out of foster care — prepare dishes from those fruits and vegetables.

Read more about L. A. Kitchen.

A COOK'S TOOL: The Best Probe Thermometer

Most cooks just need a regular meat thermometer. And I recommend getting a probe thermometer to measure the temperature of food while it cooks.

I added my recommendation to this review on The Sweethome: http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-probe-thermometer/

KNIFE SKILLS PART ONE

Basic knife skills are the base of all cooking. Chef Janet has been teaching culinary chefs since 2003. You don't have to want to be a chef to take this class. During this class you will learn the basics on how to sharpen your knives, what are the different types of knives and their uses. You will also learn to properly hold your knives and we will be covering the methods of cutting a variety of vegetables.

CHEEKY...PORK CHEEKS

Pork Cheeks Confit with Cider Slaw and Roasted SunChoke

These Confit of Pork Cheeks are tender, with so many layers of flavor.  I serve them with an Apple Cider Slaw that give the right amount of tang to contrast the richness of the Pork Cheeks.

The addition of Roasted Sunchoke brought nuttiness to the dish.

HOTDISH...HAUTEDISH...

If you are Minnesotan, you are familiar with Hotdish.  Hotdish is a Midwestern icon developed by housewives in the early 1930's. 

Hotdish consists of:

  • Protein, usually ground beef.
  • Frozen vegetables, carrots, corn, peas or string beans.
  • Pasta or potatoes
  • Canned soup of Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Chicken undiluted.
  • Crispy topping of Tater Tots, Fried French Onions, or Chow Mein Noodles


Outside of Minnesota, Hotdish is referred to as a Casserole, named after the pan in which it's cooked. There are spectacular international dishes of which this is also true. Spain for their Paella, France for Cassoulet, and Central Italy for Lasagna for example.

The Crandall family grew up eating Hotdish and my Mom still makes it. You can find authentic recipes, and other Minnesota favorites in a cookbook my parents wrote after closing their Cafe after almost 40 years of business. All proceeds have been donated to The Scleroderma Foundation which I am proud to say has totaled around $12,000. to date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a Chef, here is my haute version:

TATER TOT HAUTEDISH

  • Ground Beef seasoned with sauteed garlic, onions, and fresh thyme.
  • Haricot Verts
  • Sauteed Crimini mushrooms
  • Sunchoke puree with Creme Fraiche
  • Pommes Darphin finished with Truffle oil

 

So if you ever find yourself in Minnesota, try the Hotdish, it's a regional favorite.  Or try this version of Hautedish!

Love…The most important ingredient

In my many years of teaching culinary students, I have always stressed to put love into the food that we create.  What does that mean?   I think we have all, at one time, had a dining experience that was not all that.  Maybe the food was not served at the correct temperature.  Was the plating sloppy and food not appealing to the eye?  Was the flavor just not quite there?  If a chef is having a bad day or really not putting the love into their food, we can taste, see, and most importantly, feel it.  Those are some examples of loveless food. 

I have found an even more powerful use of love in cooking.

I’ve recently had an experience cooking for a family who are caring for a loved one who is terminally ill.
Food keeps us alive.  Food created with love, makes life more worth living.  People with very specific dietary requirements need more than just nutrition.  They need something that is delicious and has so much love in it, they can feel it in each taste.  

IMG_2524.jpg

I have always put love into my food,  knowing how important it is.  Cooking for this family has shown me, without any doubt, that food created with love brings people closer and helps them heal. This loving experience, this responsibility, really made me comprehend just how essential love is in our cooking.  


With food and love,
Chef Janet

Bourbon Pork

Back in 2010 I had the opportunity while teaching at the French Culinary Institute to join a small group of my fellow chef’s on a bourbon trail in Kentucky.  I went as a novice not knowing “Jack” about bourbon.

I found the tours of the distilleries and cooperage very interesting.  They explained to us what steps they take in making really great bourbons.  I think one of the highlights of the trip was visiting a cooperage.  We watched the barrel making process and how each barrel was charred to the distillers specifications.

Bourbon has become more popular over the years in sweet and savory preparations.  Bourbon is a major component in a vast variety of great southern dishes.

This weekend I felt inspired to make a pork dish that was bright, light, and full of flavor.  This pork tenderloin brings me back to a wonderful time spent in Kentucky.

This pork tenderloin was marinated in bourbon, honey and dijon mustard before grilling.  I’ve garnished the pork with pickled pears and whole grain mustard. I served this dish with some beautiful red swiss chard and sweet potato pomme pailles.