The StarChefs Congress Archives: The Early Years

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the StarChefs International Chefs Congress will not be taking place in 2022. Stay tuned for info and updates regarding the International Chefs Congress in 2023, and read on for info about the 2020 Congress Archival Release.

DONATE TO C-CAP (CAREERS THROUGH CULINARY ARTS)

Join us December 27 - 29, 2020 for the Congress Archival Release, celebrating the 14 years of the International Chefs Congress!

As 2020 finally—finally!—comes to a close, StarChefs offers a respite for the hospitality community—the StarChefs Congress Archives: The Early Years. For 14 years, the Congress, a symposium that draws culinary legends from around the world, has been a venue for chefs to learn from one another. This year, the StarChefs Congress takes the form of a video archive release that showcases the very best of past years.

The videos will drop on Youtube and Instagram from December 27-29 in a pay-what-you-can structure. All donations will benefit the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), a workforce development nonprofit that provides low-income teens with culinary, professional, and life skills. 

At its heart, the StarChefs Congress is about getting hospitality professionals together to be themselves—teachers, bosses, innovators, community leaders, fighters. We hope this look back inspires, entertains, and distracts you as we head into a fresh year.

Stay tuned and follow @starchefs on Instagram for more information.

ARCHIVAL CONGRESS RELEASE SCHEDULE:

Day One:

Anthony Bourdain

Leadership Lessons From the Kitchen, 2006

Anthony Bourdain delivers the keynote address on day one 

of the 2006 StarChefs International Chefs Congress.

Paul Liebrandt and Jordan Kahn

Artist to Artisan: The Role of a Chef, 2006

In this presentation, Chef Liebrandt explores the relevance 

of art in the restaurant industry as it was at the time. 

Andoni Luis Aduriz

Cocoa Bubbles, Edible Rocks, and Vegetables, 2007

For Andoni Luis Aduriz, it is an imperative to create food that speaks to emotions and the palate. He shows us how to create his edible “rocks” from potatoes and “vanity” in the form of shiny chocolate bubbles, stabilized with xanthan gum and made with a fish tank bubbler.

Suzanne Goin

Behind the Scenes at Lucques, AOC, and Tavern, 2010

On the main stage, Chef Suzanne Goin prepares some of her iconic French comfort dishes and lays out her classically driven approach to California cuisine.

Sam Mason

Nontraditional Ingredients, 2006

Sam Mason demonstrates how he uses hydrocolloids, or gum systems, to preserve flavor while enhancing texture and viscosity in his desserts.

Sean Brock

Getting Down with Lowcountry Cuisine, 2009

Sean Brock illustrates how he uses heirloom and often nearly extinct ingredients in classic lowcountry Southern dishes. 

David Burke

Aging, Brining, and Flavoring, 2007

David Burke presents taste and flavor as two separate concepts, 

each used in different ways to describe a dish’s effect on the palate.

Albert Adrià and José Andrés (as translator)

The Hummingbird and The Rock, 2006

Albert Adrià shows how his innovative 

techniques overcome obstacles and turn his visions into realities.

Emeril Lagasse, Charlie Trotter, Norman Van Aken

A Four-Way Discussion on the Roots and Evolution of American Cuisine, 2009

This keynote panel features three chefs who have helped shape modern American cuisine in their corners of the country: New Orleans, Chicago, and Florida. 

Marcus Samuelsson 

Contemporary Pan-African Cuisine, 2006

Chef Marcus Samuelsson spotlights the myriad influences on the 

traditional cuisines of Africa, as well as the trends that are 

developing in modern African food.

Day Two:

Dan Barber, Thomas Keller, David Kinch, and Michael Ruhlman 

Creativity: Art vs. Craft, 2010

Is cooking an art, a craft, or something in between? This keynote panel 

features four individuals who weigh in on all sides of this question.

Grant Achatz

New Tools of Gastronomy: Service-Ware Reimagined, 2008

Grant Achatz is known for breaking the serving dish mold; his presentation illustrates how service pieces can be tools of modern gastronomy. 

Charles Phan

Putting Vietnamese Street Food on the American Map, 2009

Charles Phan demonstrates two Vietnamese street foods that he’s adapted for the American setting of his pioneering modern Vietnamese restaurant, The Slanted Door.

Audrey Saunders and Tony Conigliaro 

Getting to Nose Your Cocktail, 2009

In this seminar, acclaimed mixologists Audrey Saunders and Tony Conigliaro delve into the ingredients, temperatures, techniques, and volatiles that can add scent to cocktails.

Wylie Dufresne 

The Evolution of a Dish: An Interpretation of Eggs Benedict, 2008

Wylie Dufresne leads the audience through the different phases of preparing eggs benedict: egg, hollandaise, English muffin, bacon, and chives. While executing the components, he describes the history of the dish and the creative process.

Grant Achatz, Daniel Boulud, and Pierre Gagnaire

Modern Cuisine: A Generational Discussion, 2009

A free-flowing conversation among the three renowned chefs covers topics from where they get their inspiration to the art of opening multiple restaurants.

Dave Arnold and Nils Norén

High-Tech Delicious, 2009

Dave Arnold and Nils Norén put on a knockout demonstration of their latest kitchen expeditions: extracting pecan butter and oil using a centrifuge; "gluing" thin sheets of lamb and tuna on a warped board to create a marbled meat slice; clarifying with pectin X; and, as usual, distilling moonshine using a rotary evaporator. 

Rohini Dey and Maneet Chauhan

Bastardizing Disparate Cuisines or Innovation? The Deal with Fusion, 2009

Restaurateur Rohini Dey and Chef Maneet Chauhan take the main stage to address the controversy behind fusion cuisine. They interpret the meaning of authenticity, the role of cultural influences in cooking, and where regional cuisine comes into play.

Pierre Hermé

Architecture of Taste, 2006

Pierre Hermé is an explorer of taste in every sense of the term. His presentation focuses on organizing structures and flavors that helped him build a pastry empire.

Enrique Olvera

Traditional Mexican Techniques in a Fine Dining Context, 2008

Enrique Olvera’s presentation puts street food and traditional techniques of Mexico into context and shows how he transformed rustic cuisine to white-tablecloth dining.

Anthony Bourdain, Fergus Henderson, and Chris Cosentino 

Guts & Glory Panel, 2006

Bourdain, Henderson, and Cosentino speak candidly and passionately about all things offal. They consider the practice of sustainable eating and why using the entire animal, not just a few of the most prized parts, makes sense from a philosophical, economical, and culinary standpoint. 

Day Three:

José Andrés

American Cuisine Through a Spanish Lens, 2009

In this main stage presentation, Chef José Andrés offers his interpretation of traditional American cuisine, examining how American dishes become richer as other cultures contribute new layers to classic American recipes.

Heston Blumenthal

Eating is a Multi-Sensory Experience, 2008

In the keynote address, Heston Blumenthal speaks about the ways in which his research ignites his imagination and factors into the creation and development of new dishes.

Mourad Lahlou

Putting Soul on the Plate, 2010

Join Mourad Lahlou for a dynamic main stage presentation, in which he shows off a selection of signature dishes that combine Moroccan ingredients with modern techniques.

Dan Barber

A Recipe for the Recipe: Concept-Building at Blue Hill, 2010

Get a rare glimpse inside the mind and kitchen of one of the country's most celebrated chefs. In this exciting presentation on the main stage, Chef Dan Barber details his culinary philosophy and illustrates through various preparations how chefs practice both an art and a craft. 

Elena Arzak

Recent Restaurante Arzak Experiments, 2007

Elena Arzak focuses on advanced techniques as a means for maximizing the potential of each ingredient. Her culinary pursuits are based on three pillars: culture, pride, and the universality of ideas. 

Joël Robuchon and Bruno Goussault

Classic Sous Vide, 2007

Beginning in 1984, Joël Robuchon worked closely with Bruno Goussault of Cuisine Solutions to develop and perfect the sous vide technique in fine dining. Robuchon’s “Nouvelles Premieres” menu, created more than two decades ago, retells the stories of French cooking using modern, precise techniques. 

Daniel Boulud

Mentor / Protégée Cooking Demo, 2008

Daniel Boulud offers a cooking demo based on the theme of mentoring with the help of three of his protégées: Executive Chefs Jean François Bruel, Damian Sansonetti of Bar Boulud, and Olivier Muller of db Bistro Moderne.

Ann Cooper

School Lunch Lottery, 2007

Two versions of a school lunch (traditionally unhealthy fare and the organic, healthy hot lunch of the future) serve as both lunch for attendees and fodder for the Ann Cooper-led school lunch roundtable.

David Bouley

Paris to Tokyo: French Cuisine, Japanese Techniques, 2009

David Bouley shares ways to incorporate Japanese techniques into any kitchen with examples from his French-Japanese fusion.

Paco Torreblanca

A Peek into Pastelería Totel, 2009

Paco Torreblanca offers a glimpse into his creative process and the techniques he used at Pastelería Totel.

Anthony Bourdain, Marco Pierre White, Michael Ruhlman (as Moderator)

The Role of a Chef, 2008

Three of the culinary industry’s best-known characters come together to debate the role of a chef and much, much more. 

PAST PRESENTERS INCLUDE:

Grant Achatz (Alinea), José Andrés (ThinkFoodGroup), Elena Arzak (Arzak),  Dan Barber (Blue Hill at Stone Barns), Jonathan Benno (Benno), Jamie Bissonnette & Ken Oringer (Toro),  Michel Bras (Restaurant Bras), Sean Brock (Patchwork Projects), Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn), Kyle Connaughton (SingleThread), Abe Conlon (Fat Rice), Chris Cosentino (Cockscomb), Vinny Dotolo & Jon Shook (Animal), Wylie Dufresne (Du's Donuts), Kelly Fields (Willa Jean), Spike Gjerde (Woodberry Kitchen),  Will Goldfarb (Room4Dessert), Eric Kayser (Maison Kayser), Christopher Kostow (Meadowood) Pierre Hermé (Pierre Hermé), Francis Mallmann (Patagonia Sur), Virgilio Martínez (Central), Masaharu Morimoto (Morimoto), Kwame Onwuachi (Kith/Kin), Marcus Samuelsson (Samuelsson Group), Michael Solomonov (Zahav), Alon Shaya (Saba and Safta), Chris Shepherd (Underbelly Hospitality) Daniela Soto-Innes (Cosme), Curtis Stone (Gwen),  Missy Robbins (Lilia and Misi),  Joan Roca (El Celler de Can Roca), Michael White (Altamarea Group) and Bryan Voltaggio (Volt).