au marché: haven's kitchen

For most people (in fact, a growing percentage of modern society), the kitchen has become a scary place. Far from the comforting 1950s symbol of domestic bliss, it has become the most intimidating room in the home - a sort of torture chamber, in which fearful instruments of various sizes and unknown purpose await.

Allison Schneider, the founder of Haven’s Kitchen - the recently opened cooking school, retail shop and event space in Chelsea - does not suffer from kitchen-phobia. On the contrary, she has worked at GrowNYC, established CSAs at her children’s schools and is currently finishing a Masters Degree in Food Studies at New York University. But that doesn’t mean she’s forgotten the fearful masses. In fact, she designed Haven’s Kitchen to be a literal safe haven for the famished in body and soul.

The evening I visited Haven’s Kitchen, Allison was preparing to teach a handful of students how to make gnocchi by hand. Even though I had only stopped by for a quick tour, Allison invited me to sit in on the class. After a warm welcome and the requisite hand-washing, she mentally prepped the class with a brief overview of gnocchi history, economics and culture. Needless to say, this is not your ordinary cooking school.

The class quickly continued with a quick overview of gnocchi cooking methods, led by Katie Carey, Haven’s Kitchen’s sous chef, and former head chef at Casellula Cheese & Wine Café . As Katie encouraged the students to start chopping potatoes, Allison jumped in with some kitchen science - explaining that it’s important to start boiling your potatoes in cold water, rather than hot (for the record - it heats the potato slowly, so that it cooks more evenly).

In addition to this multidiscliplinary approach to cooking, the mission to support sustainable, local food production distinguishes Haven’s Kitchen from the city’s other cooking schools. The message pervades the decisions made by the staff on a daily level. For example, Katie selected one of the sauces for the gnocchi because there was leftover basil from a summer- themed photo shoot that morning. And the tarts baked for said photo shoot? They were up for sale at the coffee bar.

Which brings me to the retail shop. When I first approached the entrance of Haven’s Kitchen, I couldn’t help but notice the constant stream of turning heads - neighborhood regulars curious to catch a glimpse of the elegant newcomer on the block. From behind the glass, artisanal goods from a carefully curated crop of local purveyors beckon - Bellocq Atelier’s artisanal tea, Old Field Farm’s raw honey and maple syrup, and Salvatore Brooklyn’s ricotta, to name a few - as well as Haven Kitchen’s house granola and pancake mix. The shop also sells books by modern sustainable chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi and Tamar Adler. And the aforementioned coffee bar sits just behind a friendly communal table, bedecked with a gleaming refurbished espresso maker that serves up coffee from La Colombe.

Beyond the retail shop is a winding wooden staircase to the second floor event space (to be expanded in the future with a third floor and rooftop garden). The stairwell is hung with vintage Parisian prints and movie posters, as well as an eclectic, minimalist “chandelier”. The upstairs cocktail area continues this aesthetic, with homey accents and a mildly mod, Parisian flair, while the dining room has a cleaner palate and features a kitchen for on-site food preparation. It’s easy to imagine you are a guest in a very chic friend’s apartment, which is exactly how events team, wants it. "The goal is to make Haven's Kitchen feel like you're in your own home - complete with a kitchen, dining room, and living room. We want to help throw your dream party minus the stress." I could easily envision planning a birthday, office party or even a wedding in the charming space.

The overarching result is an inviting escape from the city streets - in large part due to frequent French accents, hand-selected by Allison at Parisian flea markets. The black, white, yellow and wood accents (the gorgeous floors, by the way, are originals that were discovered during the renovation) are stylish, yet subtle, and the staff is equally chic and nonchalant, happy to answer questions or pause for a chat. In fact, there’s nothing dogmatic or overdone about Haven’s Kitchen, right down to the understated, hand- scrawled manifesto:

"Food : Buy it with thought; Cook it with care; Serve just enough; Save what will keep; Eat what would spoil; Home grown is best; Don’t waste it”.

Haven’s Kitchen 109 West 17th Street (212) 929-7900 http://havenskitchen.com/

*Article originally published in Müdd Magazine

ordinary pleasures: sunday feast

As Spring approaches and the sun shines a bit brighter, my thoughts often turn to vibrant memories of markets and preparations for elaborate feasts - in short, my eternal Parisian Sundays. Each weekend, I would wake early to shop at Place d'Aligre - inventing dishes on the fly, experimenting with new ingredients. Whether it was pancakes (by request), a pork roast or an indoor picnic, each and every Sunday was "family" dinner for twelve.

Since joining the full-time workforce in NYC, my Spring Sunday routine has become simpler - typically beginning and ending with a long bike ride, in which the market is only one of several points of interest. If food is purchased, it's just a few interesting ingredients for the week, moreso than preparations for a celebratory weekend feast.

But on rare occasions - for a holiday or an out-of-the-ordinary reunion - I return to my elaborate Sunday kitchen. The weekends that I escape to my parents' home in Connecticut, these culinary impulses are at their peak, inspired by spacious counter-tops and cupboards (filled with tools for which I lack space in my meager Upper West Side studio).

This Easter was no exception. We spent Saturday afternoon preparing a home-made batch of puff pastry. On Sunday, that pastry was adorned with gruyere, creme fraiche, bacon and eggs - a spectacular and indulgent Easter Sunday brunch.

My sister and I went for a spin before eating, as per our NYC custom. As the sunlight gleamed through the tall seaside grasses, we squinted, rounding the corner for home. Just then, our uncle arrived in a family heirloom - grandfather's 1969 jaguar convertible - the cherry on top of our Sunday CT nostalgia.

recipes: cooking with tea

The food-pairing trend may have started with wine and cheese, but in recent years has burgeoned into a full-blown industry, with events featuring products from whisky to kimchi. Tea pairing has become an increasingly popular alternative to alcoholic pairings, inspiring a tangential interest in culinary uses for tea.  At the forefront of this movement is French tea brand, Le Palais des Thés, which recently launched an online US store and has plans for a New York storefront in the coming years.  I sat down with Aurélie Bessière, president of the company’s American branch, to learn more.

I recently learned that tea was actually introduced into France more than thirty years before coffee and made popular by Cardinal Mazarin and Louis XIV.  Can you speak a bit about the French tea tradition?

The French tea tradition, introduced in the 17th century, was always less popular than coffee, but has grown. In France, we always look for the best quality and taste [in food], and it is the same with tea. We want to find the freshest and most interesting product available.

What distinguishes Le Palais des Thés from other French tea brands?

Le Palais des Thés was founded when my uncle, François-Xavier Delmas, first discovered a passion for tea. He opened the first store in Paris and quickly decided to go to the plantations in Asia to select the leaves himself, to pursue the best quality. This was and still is unusual, as tea companies tend to go through intermediaries. He then opened a tea school in Paris, the only institution of its kind in Europe. Students learn about blends, regions and crus, as well as tea ceremonies and food pairing. The most popular class is tea and cheese pairing – very French!

Have you noticed any difference in American tea culture vs. French tea culture?

We didn’t expect this, but in the US there are more male customers (30%) than in France (25%). What remains consistent is that our customers tend to be loyal tea drinkers and that the most popular teas are our signature creations (such as Thé du Hammam, Thé des Moines, and Thé des Lords) and grands crus (such as our Darjeeling first flushes and Korean Jukro.).

Has the growing interest in tea pairing affected your production style?

The growing interest in tea pairings has not changed our philosophy. Our focus is on quality and rarity first. Then, of course, we take an interest in how we can use the teas in cooking and pairings – we’re French after all! What is different is that we have begun to use the teas in more interesting ways, and we now provide suggestions for pairings.

In what ways have you collaborated with other culinary professionals to explore the tea pairing trend?

We have a history of collaborating with chefs in France, most notably on a tea-based cookbook, which is currently only available in French, but will be available in English in the future. We have also partnered with chefs for events. For example, in New York City, we organized a class with the French Culinary Institute and chef Melanie Franks about tea pairings and tea-based cooking. We are also the proud House Purveyor of tea for the James Beard Foundation for all events at their House in New York.

Aurélie also provided a recipe from La cuisine au thé (Cooking with Tea), the aforementioned French cookbook featuring products from Le Palais des Thés, so I could experience tea-based cooking first-hand.

The recipe I tested was for potato soup, featuring Thé du Tigre - an unusually fragrant, smoked tea from Taiwan that one friend remarked, “smells like bacon!” The soup itself was lighter and more elegant than I expected, with the tea imparting a pleasant, subtle layer of added flavor. I served it, as suggested, with Le Palais des Thés’ Grand Yunnan Imperial – a dark amber, smooth and lightly sweet black tea.

Potato Soup (translated from La cuisine au thé)

Serves 4.  20-40 mins of prep and cooking. Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion
• 4 potatoes
• 4 slices of uncured bacon
• ½ cup of cream
• 3 tsp of Thé du Tigre

Instructions:

1. Cut the onion in large pieces.  Brown it in olive oil in a medium-sized pot.
2. Chop the potatoes and add to the pot. Sprinkle tea into the pot as well.
3. Add water to the pot, just above the level of the potatoes.
4. While potatoes are cooking, prepare the bacon by frying it until crispy in a pan.  Once cooked, set the bacon aside on a plate lined with paper towel.
5. Cook the potatoes until soft. Mash them, then pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or chinois.
6. Return the strained soup to the pot.  Add cream, reserving a small about for decoration.
7. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Add a slice of bacon or crumbled bacon to the bottom of each soup bowl, then fill with soup.

To learn more about Le Palais des Thés, click here.