My Little Bread Children

Louis Gorham — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:49:44 GMT

Chef Mike Kalanty, author of Bread Baking the Artisan Way has been baking and teaching bread baking for years. Baking is more than a career, it's a passion as well. Here is something he recently shared with us - it touches on the pleasures of passing your knowledge to others - and, sometimes, the greater pleasure of seeing that knowledge expand through others hands.

It's funny how the random occurrences of life can suddenly all run together as if they were always meant to be. The way the different story lines of the well-written Seinfeld shows oddly intertwined in the final minutes of each episode.

Backstory from 1998-2000 and I'm working in Sao Paulo under contract with the Universidade Anhembi-Morumbi. The private university already had a stable of 4 dozen technical programs under its auspices. But they hungered for a 2-year hands-on program in gastronomy, their arching term that included sweet and savory cooking, breads, wine, and culinary history. As the program developer, I had the pleasure of working with some of the most wonderfully energetic, passionate, and fun-loving people I have ever met. One year and a half later, the program was up and running, students filled all semesters but the senior term by now.

Finding qualified chefs was easier than I should admit to. Training these skilled hands and palates in the art of teaching was harder than I can describe. Chef are creative, willful, and of course, always right. Mix in some Brazilian joie de vivre and it's quite the potent cocktail. The best way to teach them, I decided, would be for me to actually teach the classes at the start. My experience in teaching many different subjects, not just cooking, was my strong suit. Language skills were my sloughing cards. In typically Brazilian manner, everyone jumped right in and played along. Any and all contributions were welcome. The classes took shape one or two per day. The new chefs began to understand the art of transferring knowledge in a sort of sequential structure, and a student even told me my Portugues was tudo bem.

Jump to the Paris Cookbook Fair in 2010 in Paris, France. Where How To Bake Bread was honored as "Best Bread Book in the World" by Gourmand. In the days that followed I met some of the most important publishers across the globe. From 57 countries, all with different interests, customer demographics and literary styles. In the midst of the week-long activity, I found myself on more than one occasion seeking asylum with the representatives from Senac, the largest book publisher in Brazil. Why there? It was the simple joy of being Brazilian once again, if only for a short while. I was always offered espresso and a bottle of water. And always enjoyed warm, light conversation. IN English or sometimes the disjointed Portuguese which came back to me in waves.

We spoke of Sao Paulo and Rio. Of the bread classes I had once taught at UAM. I learned that some of the breads I had taught were now quite popular items in several fashionable bakeries in SP. One of my students had gone on to open an enterprise of pizzarias in the style that we now know as Napoletana. The Seinfeld story lines were colliding, washing back over one another and there was laughter, warmth and espresso.

When he was the Vice President of European Marketing for a well-known computer manufacturing company, my uncle taught me once that each nationality has its own style of doing business, so distinct from its neighbors as to be called a personality. That lesson rang true as I returned for more visits to my new Brazilian publisher friends. Before they could do any sort of serious business with me there needed to be that period of time wherein we establish trust for each other. And the pleasure of sharing our company. It was my uncle's casual remark a decade earlier that was now ringing true, unfolding before my eyes.

Just two years later, which in the international publishing arena I am to understand is just longer than the blink of an eye, Como Assar Paes graces bookshelves throughout Brazil. As I look at it, I am not at all struck by the many changes in design, color and style that make How To Bake Bread appear so different from its Portuguese-language brother. A father always recognizes his son. After four years away at college. After the summer abroad in Europe. Under the superficial characteristics of a new identity, the true child's spirit and light always shine.

I understand my startled mother's reaction when I returned from my first year in France with long hair, a tattoo and my Bohemian clothing. She could tell it was still her son under there. And under the beautiful and sleek stylings of Como Assar Paes, I recognize my little bread children and am pleased to see how they have grown.

Chef Mike Kalanty - Guest blogger and author of Bread Baking the Artisan Way - 25 Favorites from the baking classroom. Available now from the App Store.

Universal version of TheInformedChef cookbook Apps

Louis Gorham — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:43:17 GMT

Only two days ago we provided a brief blog update on the new universal version of the Serves Two cookbook app. Now we are very pleased to announce that three more of TheInformedChef cookbook apps are also available for iPhone as well as iPad. The updated apps are Raghavan's Indian Flavors featuring Raghavan Iyer, Counter Intelligence with Meredith Deeds and Soup in Season with Cynthia Nims. If you already have any of these books you can not only update to the latest release on your iPad, but also now download onto your iPhone at no additional charge.

This Monday coming we find out if TheInformedChef series of cookbook apps wins the Outstanding Use of New Technology award, at the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference in New York City; #IACPNYC for the Twitter users out there. Most of the authors of the cookbook apps will be at conference in New York, so if you want to see what the apps look like just tap them on the shoulder and ask.

TheRecipeManager Team
March 29, 2012

Serves Two available now for iPhone

Louis Gorham — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:05:30 GMT

Hot off the press today, Serves Two is now available for iPhone and iPod Touch as well as for iPad. If you already own Serves Two, you get download the iPhone version at no additional charge.

Following on closing from this release will be Universal versions of all of the other cookbook apps in TheInformedChef series. Again, if you already own iPad versions of any of these Apps, you will get the iPhone version of these at no additional charge.

TheRecipeManager Team
March 27, 2012

Blog

My Little Bread Children

Universal version of TheInformedChef cookbook Apps

Serves Two available now for iPhone