TV Review: The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter

Chicago's world-renowned chef, Charlie Trotter, has returned to airwaves with his show "The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter". As a big fan of cooking shows, I've watched the first few episodes of the new season with a careful eye.

The show centers on Trotter preparing a couple different dishes in a kitchen, but now also includes a narrated visit to food sources like organic vegetable farms or the source of unique artisanal cheeses. The visits outside of the kitchen set the mood and the theme for the cooking portion, and reflect Trotter's dedication to cooking with pure, fresh ingredients.

I have learned quite a bit from watching Charlie Trotter cook on television. His approach is not to walk you through a recipe with exact measurements and durations. He is, more simply, demonstrating an approach to cooking, constantly fostering a love of improvisation. He makes suggestions on substitutions for items he is adding, often saying things like, "If you don't like this, you can leave it out altogether." A wilted arugula salad with sliced rabbit loin and goat cheese on a recent show could have easily been reproduced with chicken breast and spinach. The approach taken by Trotter makes you feel comfortable about using whatever you have available instead of having to search for premium ingredients.

After watching the first episode, I was reminded of another public television favorite, "The Joy of Painting" with Bob Ross. I remember watching Ross move his brush across the canvas talking about "happy little trees" that I couldn't really make out. In the first half of the show, the painting looked haphazard and disparate. In the blink of an eye, the painting would come to life and his landscape would look vibrant. I have a similar experience watching Trotter. Three-fourths of the way through cooking a dish, he has a group of ingredients spread across his work area. None of them look particularly outstanding or interesting, but you know that he's going somewhere with it. He will declare it "time to put this together", and the dish takes shape. In the blink of an eye, he moves from a few separate items into a creation that you would pay a lot of money for.

Unlike many "recipe" cooking shows, watching "The Kitchen Sessions" makes you feel as though someone is telling you a secret rather than dictating instructions. Charlie Trotter is trying to pass along attitudes rather than instructions, valuing improvisation and experimentation over rules and guidelines. It's a pleasure to watch a master at work.

Check out "The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter" on WYCC, channel 20 at 5pm on Sundays.

He also has a new Kitchen Sessions cookbook coming out soon to complement the new season.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

I agree the Kitchen Sessions is sometimes a wonderful peek into the world of a master at his finest. On the other hand I have been appalled by some of the segments. Especially a couple of weeks ago when Charlie was in the kitchen one night talking about mushrooms. On camera he kept telling his chefs that they better get the mushrooms out now, over and over, until finally he looks over the divider and basically, says "don't make me come back there and get those mushrooms, I will". He is addressing a bunch of adults, and furthermore this is a staged act on camera, where he is supposedly at his best. I can not imagine how he treats his staff off camera.

There was a story last year in New City about how Grant Achatz left Trotter's after six months because he was burned out, and Charlie refused to acknowledge that Grant ever worked for him. So weird.

Now I am not naive, having worked in a fast paced restaurant for years when I was younger. I know during service rushes, things can get downright nasty when people get in the weeds etc, plus it is a french culinary tradition in the brigade system to be downright nasty. On the other hand you can be a perfectionist, be demanding, provide great food, and still be respectful of your employees. I mean I don't know Charlie,I just hope that he is a good mentor to the folks who work in his kitchens.

As he has turned out folks like Taus from Zealous, the chefs at Tweet etc he probably is. Plus in the end he has done alot for culinary education, underpriveleged children, and more. Just really weirded out by that segment on mushrooms.

MJN wrote: On the other hand I have been appalled by some of the segments. Especially a couple of weeks ago when Charlie was in the kitchen one night talking about mushrooms. On camera he kept telling his chefs that they better get the mushrooms out now, over and over, until finally he looks over the divider and basically, says "don't make me come back there and get those mushrooms, I will".

I did see the same segment and I did find it a bit weird. Ms. EC and I had a good laugh about it since it seemed like such a heavy-handed way to show the viewer how Trotter demands kitchen perfection in his restaurant. It was silly and mis-played by the director of the show, but it didn't take away from the quality of the show for me. I have a particular fondness for his preparation and discussion of mushrooms.

Trotter does indeed refuse to confirm the employment of anyone who worked less than a year for him, but it's an understandable defensive measure against people who want to spend a few weeks in his kitchen just to pump up their resumes. Whatever other ego issues he may have, I understand that policy.

Ego issues aside, that sounds mighty close to illegal to me.

Well, we're talking in the press. I doubt the policy applies if he gets a request for documentation from a govt agency, say.