As each guest chef arrived on site, they found all their prep work done and their station setup on stage. Prior to the show, each chef and cookbook author was asked to submit a prep and ingredient list. Whole Foods provided the food but the prep work was done by eight hard working students from The International Culinary Schools at the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago.

For three days, these eight students chopped, minced, sliced and measured out all the ingredients for such chefs as Masaharu Morimoto, Tyler Florence, Ming Tsai, Stephanie Izard, Nathan Lippy, Paula Deen, Renée Behnke, Suvir Saran and Rick Bayless to name a few. Tucked away behind the stage was a prep room that was filled with glass bowls, kitchen utensils of all kinds, All-Clad cookware, KitchenAid blenders, mixers and food processors. KitchenAid and All-Clad were sponsors of the GOHO Kitchen Theater.

Before each chef came on stage, Beth, the stage manager would come out and make sure that the stage was cleaned and prepped for the next chef. Beth made sure that KitchenAid stovetop was spotless. When Beth was done, the students would bring out the ingredients and set up the positions of each item based on whatever instructions the chef had given them.

For each chef, the students would get to stand on stage with the chef and “sous” for them. In groups of two they would each take turns on the stage. The culinary students were very professional and some point I was wondering if these kids knew how to have fun. They were all serious in front of the audience and performed their duties to the best of their abilities. But no fret, one wise crack from the guest chef and the students would grab a glance at their classmate across the stage and crack a smile.

So what was going on backstage while a chef was on-stage? Considering the schedule we had over the three day period, there was a lot of pots and dishes that had gotten used. The vastness of the great hall that the event was in was enough to mask any noise that was created back stage. For the audience, all they saw was a black curtain. Some of the students were prepping for the next chef, while others were cleaning and washing dishes.

At the end of each day, whatever demo food was left over was snacked on by the stage staff and the students. On one of the days, there was some leftover Pumpkin Pancake batter from the Hearty Boys demo and they made sure that none of that went to waste! Yumm!

Most of the guest chefs were very gracious and did not hesitate to give props to their sous chefs and to the students in the back area.

On the third day, there was a cancellation of one of the guest chefs and one of their instructors, Maria Selas, at The International Culinary Schools at the Illinois Institute of Art had a surprise scheduled for them. There was going to be a cook-off! The students would be put into two groups and compete against each other. Maria had told me the day before and I knew these students would be excited when they found out.

The next day I was running late and missed one of the shuttles from my hotel and missed the moment when the students found out. I really wanted to be there and capture the moment when they found out. The announcement was made just prior to my arrival on site that morning. Damn…

Each of the students would have 15 minutes to prepare a dish that would then be judged by a panel. Each of the students kept focused and kept to the task at hand, take whatever ingredients that is in the kitchen and make a dish. They had to used what was in the pantry and in the fridge, most of which were left over ingredients from the two days prior. After the first four students completed their dishes, they were put out and the audeince then came crashing the stage hoping to get a sample of the cuisine. The second set of students came up and did their dishes and once again the stage was overrun with audience members. I’m not sure that anyone “won” the competition, but you can be sure that each of their dishes was done with the same zeal and determination of the guest chefs they helped these last few days.

None of the students had illusions of grandeur in their quest for culinary greatness. Each one of them knew that lots of hard work, lots of repetitive teaching and practice was going to mold them into the future chefs that we will know in the years ahead.

One of the students, Rebecca Hull, will be pursuing a Food Engineering Degree when she completes her program at the Institute. Eric Vier said when he is done he wants to travel and cook around the world.

Here’s what the students made on their day on-stage:

Rebecca Hull
Roasted Beet Salad with Caramelized Pears

Lynn Beasley
Linguine Pasta tossed with Fried Panchetta and Rosemary

Brittnay Sudlow
Asian Coleslaw Salad with Orange/Chili Vinaigrette

Eric Vier
Steamed Mussels with Roasted Vegetables

Patrick Brown
Mariated Chicken Kabobs w/Feta and Vegetables

Andrew Denton
Seafood Pasta made with Shrimp, Mussels and Squid Ink Pasta served with a Cream Reduction Sauce

Nicole Scherff
Cold Potato & Green Bean Salad with an Italian Vinaigrette
Warm Beet Green Salad with Honey Carrots & Beets

Nicole Montalbano
Chicken Kabobs with an Asian Coleslaw w/Sweet Vinaigrette

I applaud these students and their hard work. As a former cooking school manager, I know how important it is for prep work to be done properly for a cooking demo.

Remember these names, you will see lots of good things from them in the near future.

Show floor shots, GOHO Kitchen Theater shots, Renée Behnke, Michelle Bernstein, Rick Bayless, Paula Deen, Marcus Samuelsson, Ming Tsai, Rick Bayless, David Burke

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Special thanks to Ian Ford, a co-worker of mine who lent me his Canon 40D for this event. Thank you Ian. You can view some of Ian’s work on his website at http://www.voxinforma.com

Show floor shots, Akasha Richmond, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Stephanie Izard, Survir Saran, Todd English, Tyler Florence, Nathan Lippy

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Special thanks to Ian Ford, a co-worker of mine who lent me his Canon 40D for this event. Thank you Ian. You can view some of Ian’s work on his website at http://www.voxinforma.com

So far I have watched demos from Akasha Richmond, Tyler Florence, Morimoto and Todd English. In a few minutes, Survir Saram will be giving an Indian cooking demo highlighting his new ceramic wares. Also on the plate today are Stephanie Izard from Top Chef and crazed out Rock n Roll Foodie, Nathan Lippy.

I left my USB cable for the SLR camera at the hotel, so no photos until tonight…

Akasha is demoing the Americraft Cookware line of products. Akasha is very matter-of-fact. Before she came on stage, she was being fitted for her mic and she said this was a horrible mic. She was live! It was kinda funny. She came on stage and had on one of those headset microphone things like they use in the Madonna videos. She starts her demo by showing us how to cook coffeecake in a skillet. She really didn’t go into much detail about who she was or that she owns a restaurant in Culver City. Her restaurant has been highly recommended by friends and by several food bloggers around Los Angeles!

Like I said, she started her demo making coffee cake in the skillet. She then went to start her demo on something savory. Akasha wanted to show how to cook chicken breast in the Americraft Cookware without any oil, butter or any fat at all! She placed the chicken breasts in the hot skillet. She mentioned that the pan needs to get hot in order for the full effect of the 360 degree cooking that the cookware promotes.

From Americraft’s website:

Design That Delivers. Americraft cookware works like a small oven, dispersing heat uniformly, cooking food evenly—and perfectly. All without water and without oil, grease or other unnecessary additives that detract from the pure essence of the ingredients. It is called “surround cooking” or “360º” and is unique to Americraft for use in home kitchens. Our 7-layer construction creates an “oven” effect. Heat from the stove is conducted through an aluminum alloy inner core, requiring less heat. Food cooks evenly to perfection, with no water, oil or additives necessary. So nutrients aren’t destroyed from high temperature or washed away through boiling. And healthy fats, naturally present in our food and vital to our health, don’t turn “rancid” (these damaged fats have been linked to many health issues including heart disease and cancer.)

She then started to steam some broccoli in a 2 quart pot. She was trying to show how the cookware is support to form a vapor seal with the lid. By spinning the lid on the pot, and the steam generated from the food, a vapor lock should form with the lid, keeping the essential steam trapped to cook the food. She was never able to get it to work.

The third dish she made was “steaming” fish in the pan. Some salsa, corn, fresh spinach on the bottom of a saute pan and then some tilapia filets on top. While this was going, she checked up on the chicken to show how it browned and without any fat at all.

She was really stretching the demo out. She was telling stories about how she went out toe Joe’s Stone Crab last night and basically had a done to eat. Then she mentioned that she was going to Alinea tonight. I’m jealous. In fact I’m jealous she had Joe’s Stone Crabs! :) Speaking of which for our Southern California Readers…don’t forget to head to Rockin’ Lobster for their special buckets! Anyway…I’m off point.

Anyway…it was an interesting demo. I like Akasha, she is very endearing, just not sure she made for a good product spokesperson today, but I think its her marketing rep that didn’t her all the info she needed. Here’s what she had going against her. I think that stove is being fed by propane and not natural gas. This doesn’t get a hot as it should in a short amount of time. We spent alot of time waiting for something to heat up. I’ll check out Americraft’s line of cookware later in the day.

She started a very interesting line of discussion, well…it was more of a one-way discussion, about how kids today don’t know what they want. They go to culinary school not knowing what they want and something to the effect of disillusionment of being “top chefs”. Then these kids finish culinary school and are hit with the hard reality that life and working the line is nothing like being a “top chef”. She says that being a good chef has to do with knowing flavors.

If you are in Culver City, CA anytime soon, stop by her retaurant for some great food! I know I will soon!

Akasha Restaurant
9543 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
310-845-1700

So the drama this morning is that I lost my Driver’s License and two credit cards. I had walked out of the hotel, walked up a block to Michigan Avenue, hailed a cab and realized I didn’t have my credit card. Doing the feel-the-pocket dance, I couldn’t find them.

I rushed back to the hotel, got upstairs and still couldn’t find them. I emptied out my bags, went thru the laundry, went thru the bed and my luggage.

NOTHING.

I started to freak out. It was now 7:30 and the keynote has already started. I took a deep breath and started again. Systematically emptying out pockets, looking thru receipts and trying to figure out where I put those damn cards!

Well after about 20 minutes of frantic searching…I found them. Where you ask?

They were located in my show packet. I guess in last night’s rush I accidently put them in the envelope. Can you believe that??

So I rushed over to McCormick to see a sea of cabs and people pouring out into the McCormick Convention Center. For a Sunday morning, there are alot of people here. I was surprised.

I got to the press office and checked in as well as pickup my camera badge. So I’m official. I tried to get to the show floor, but they didn’t allow press until 8:30am. So I’m sitting outside of the press lounge writing this entry!

More to come later!

Follow FoodieInDisguise on Twitter: www.twitter.com/disguisedfoodie

I will be covering new product announcements, covering all the live cooking demos from celebrity chefs like Tyler Florence, Gale Gand, Rick Bayless, Tre Wilcox and Stephanie Izard from Top Chef and much, much more!

Come to this blog for photo’s and videos straight from the show floor and the GOHO Cooking Theater ! I’ll be at the Opening Keynote hosted by Tyler Florence at 7:30am!

I have been using Bodum products for years! My French press is used all the time and their Assam tea kettle is awesome.

This year they are adding 8 new bold and colorful shades to their lineup of products this year.

More news on Bodum at the Int’l Home+Housewares Show when I get there on Sunday!

Bosch will be showcasing its lineup of small appliances including:

• Tassimo Hot Beverage System
• Mixxo Hand Blender
• Universal Plus Kitchen Machine
• Benvenuto and Barino Coffee Machines

Cuisinart will also debut its most powerful blender to date, which is perfect for creating healthy soups and sauces, as well as delicious drinks.  The blender is the ideal combination of power and performance with pre-programmed settings as well as the traditional Low, High and Pulse blending speeds.  The company will round out its new offerings with coffeemakers, a slow cooker and a spice and nut grinder.

This weekend at the Int’l Home + Housewares Show Cuisinart Executive Chef Fabrizio Bottero will demonstrate a variety of delicious and exciting recipes designed to meet the demands of savvy and discerning home cooks. Chef Bottero was honored by Johnson and Wales in 2000 as a Distinguished Guest Chef and was named one of America’s Outstanding Chefs in 1992 by the National Chef’s Registry. He is the author of Simple and Enticing Recipes.

Suvir actually started in the art business before concentrating in the culinary arts. Hosting grand dinners for his friends, he went on to start his journey in food. In 1997, he joined the staff of NYU’s Department of Food and Nutrition, teaching what became some of their most popular classes. Shortly thereafter he started a small catering business that became one of New York’s hottest catering companies as heralded by New York Magazine in 1999. The highlight of his catering career was cooking the first Indian meal ever served at Carnegie Hall for a host of international celebrities and dignitaries in honor of the 50th anniversary of India’s independence in 1997.

Suvir now has two cookbooks, Indian Home Cooking and American Masala: 125 New Classics From My Home Kitchen. In 2008 he started his porcelain dinnerware line. He currently resides in upstate New York home of his American Masala Farm.

If that wasn’t enough, Suvir is the co-owner of Dévi, a 75 seat upscale restaurant in NYC – a restaurant he opened with co-owner Hemant Mathur in October of 2007. Dévi offers the authentic flavors of Indian home cooking as well as dishes inspired by Suvir’s cookbooks. Dévi received a Michelin one-star rating in 2007 and 2008, as well as a three-star rating from New York Magazine and two stars from The New York Times.

Suvir has tought at many classes at cooking schools across the United States including Sur La Table, my former employer. You can find out more about suvir at his website: www.suvir.com

Photo credit: Troy House

Nate Lippy runs an online food blog called Food, Drinks and Rock n Roll. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in 2004, this Florida born dude moved to a tiny apartment in Harlem, NY and went to work for some of the best restaurants in NYC. While moving from small French Bistros to Mexican and then a fine Steak House, he began to ponder where his exact food passion was.

“How can I rock out and cook at the same time?”, “How can I bring people together and have a great time as a career!?” I think I figured it out…or at least I almost have. I suppose the journey from here will be my greatest yet. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

On his blog he has recipes and videos from a unique perspective. I can’t wait to see him perform live in Chicago next weekend.

Here is a video of his last online video, turning those ramen packets into something special:

I will be attending the International Home + Housewares Show at the McCormick Convention Center. It’s an industry trade only show and not open to the public. The show starts on Sunday,. March 22 and ends on Tuesday, March 24.

The show starts on Sunday and the keynote address is being given by Tyler Florence who will be talking about Beyond The Stovetop: The Business of being a Celebrity Chef.

A person very close to my culinary soul will also be at the show, my former boss and owner of Sur La Table, Renée Behnke. Two Sur La Table cookbooks are up for nomination for the coveted IACP Cookbook Awards and she will be doing a book signing at the show. It will be nice to see her.

Other celebs are Season 4 Top Chef Winner Stephanie Izard, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Gale Gand, Paula Deen, Rick Bayless, Akasha Richmond of the Akasha Restaurant here in Culver City and a host of many more chefs.

I can’t tell you how excited I am!!! The show is the world’s largest homegoods & housewares marketplace, showcasing thousands of new products and designs. Over 60,000 attend this show each year.

The International Home + Housewares Show is the world’s largest homegoods & housewares marketplace, showcasing thousands of new products and designs.

The show will focus on four key areas:

1. Dine + Design – Cook and Bakeware, tabletop, kitchen essentials, gourmet, industry service providers

2. Wired + Well - Electrics and home healthcare

3. Clean + Contain + Promotion in Motion – home, bath, closet, furniture, hardware, DIY, home improvement, organizing

4. Global Crossroads – International Pavillions

Unfortunately this show is closed to the public and is open only to those in the trade. The show is the largest of it’s kind and hosts up to 60,000 attendees each year.

Below is a video to give you a glimpse of what the show is about. Each year HGTV is also the only network that has access to the show and does an annual show on HGTV each year.