Lunch with the Four Chefs
The tag teams of Trotter-Lagasse and Puck-Batali wrestle over the best food-and-wine pairings
By Daniel Sogg
It was billed as a meal, but Saturday's final tasting seminar, "Lunch with the Four Chefs," was actually culinary blood sport. When Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Trotter all returned to the Wine Experience to match talents (and wits) for the second year in a row, it was a no-holds-barred event, and barbs filled the air as thickly as smoke from a kitchen fire.
That was clearly part of the appeal, beyond the delicious food and inventive wine pairings. A line formed outside the ballroom an hour early, and the running of the bulls at Pamplona has nothing on the stampede that followed the opening of the doors. Surveying the enthusiastic crowd during his introductory remarks, Wine Spectator executive editor Thomas Matthews teased, "After many years on this podium, I've learned an important lesson. You people are impossible to satisfy. Last year was our best year ever, and you were still not satisfied. You wanted a full lunch."
And that's what the chefs provided, in place of the tasting sampler they served at their 2004 seminar. This year's format teamed Trotter and Lagasse against Puck and Batali. Each prepared a course matched with two wines-one white, one red. Trotter and Puck made the appetizers, Lagasse and Batali the entrées.
Trotter prepared the first dish: Tasmanian ocean trout braised in olive oil for six hours, then served with braised pork belly and chanterelle mushrooms. For the wine pairings, he selected the Trefethen Chardonnay Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley 2003 (87 points on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale, $28 per bottle) and the Garretson Grenache Paso Robles The Spáinneach 2003 (86 points, $26).
"I wanted the Trefethen because it has the acidity to complement the fish, and a bit of oak to augment the mushrooms," explained Trotter. "I called Trefethen and said, 'I need like six cases of your wine.'"
"Nine cases, actually," corrected Matthews.
"No, I'm talking just for me," replied Trotter, eliciting a laugh from the crowd, which split down the middle in their preferences for the red and the white.
The gloves came off quickly as the chefs evaluated their opponents' selections. "I like the wines Charlie chose, but the trout tastes like it came from Lake Michigan," needled Puck, an Austrian native who tends to be rather puckish.
"Oh, it starts early," said Lagasse, sighing with resignation.
Puck prepared an eggplant terrine with stir-fried lamb and a spicy peanut sauce, as well as a foie-gras parfait with pear chutney. He matched it with the F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Trocken Wachau Loibner Berg 2004 (not rated), noting that there has been a vast improvement in Austrian whites in recent years, and with the Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Paso Robles 2003 (87 points, $43), a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Counoise.
"Foie gras in America is under attack, and Charlie has agreed it should be under attack," observed Matthews, which provoked a few boos from the crowd.
"I appreciate what the issues are, but I'm also happy to be at the top of the food chain," responded Batali, rarely at a loss for a quip. "And as far as vegetarians, some of my favorite things to eat are vegetarians."
Although Lagasse praised Puck's efforts, he also noted that each chef was supposed to prepare only one dish: "I've done this for a few years with Wolfgang, and once again he's rewritten the rules and cheated."
"I didn't cheat. I just had a baby, and it wasn't with Emeril's wife," Puck fired back.
"I prefer the white with both dishes," said Matthews, whose efforts to keep the chefs on topic were greeted like a speed trap at a NASCAR race. But the crowd chose the Paso Robles red as the favorite, both on its own merits and with the food.
Between courses, the chefs discussed the dramatic increase in Americans' knowledge of food and wine. They each agreed that diners at their restaurants are more willing than ever to venture off the well-trodden path of Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet.
Lagasse made the first entrée: slow-braised pork on a country bread crostini, served with flash-fried shallots and black truffle syrup. The pork came from baby hogs cured 72 hours with citrus, spice and salt, then braised for a day until the meat was almost falling off the bone. For the white wine, he chose King Estate Pinot Gris Oregon Domaine 2003 (88 points, $25), and for the red, the Sangiovese-based La Mozza Morellino di Scansano I Perazzi 2004 (NR, $15).
Matthews, referring to the ample size of the portion, said, "Mario called it a hoagie."
"Listen, brother, when you're homeless, you only eat once a day," retorted Lagasse, whose three restaurants in New Orleans are still shut down as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Not surprisingly, Batali praised his opponent's effort, if only because he is a partner in La Mozza, which was the crowd favorite for the round. "Emeril is one of the few people in America who can throw everything at a dish and have it not taste like everything."
For the final dish, Batali offered his take on a classic, vitello tonnato, veal with a tuna sauce. He removed the fat from the veal breast, layered it with jalapeno and then stuffed it with pancetta. The sauce, much like an aioli, was infused with the tuna oil. For wines, he picked two Italian selections: the Bastianich Tocai Friulano Colli Orientali del Friuli Plus 2004 (NR, $35), from his restaurant partner Joe Bastianich, and a racy red from Piedmont, the Vietti Barbera d'Alba Tre Vigne 2003 (87 points, $19).
Matthews noted how well the red worked with the dish. "One of the reasons it's so food-friendly is that it has a bit more acidity."
Lagasse agreed, adding, "This is perfectly executed. Usually the tuna sauce is overpowering. It couldn't be a better match."
Once again, the crowd preferred the red, both as a stand-alone wine and with the dish.
At the end of the meal, Matthews polled the crowd, asking them to pick a favorite dish. Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken made the final tally: "I was able to scan very quickly. It was a four-way tie."
Judging by the standing ovation the chefs received, the audience happily agreed it was a draw.
