Home Again, Home Again

It’s good to be home. I’m back in my parents’ house right now, outside of Strasbourg. Of course, I’m here to see them. (My mother’s been reminding me that I haven’t visited in two years.) But I’m really in town for the 40th anniversary of L’Auberge de L’ill’s three Michelin stars. All of the apprentices from the past 40 years are reuniting with the Haeberlin family to celebrate.

Maintaining three Michelin stars from year to year is not easy. (It’s definitely on my mind everyday in the kitchen.) Imagine 40 years! The Haeberlin’s are a wonderful family—they’re all phenomenally talented and gracious. And they changed my life. Well, my parents changed my life when they took me there for my 16th birthday dinner. That meal confirmed my calling to be a chef. I started my apprenticeship under Paul and Jean-Pierre Haeberlin a few months later. For three years, I learned a lot about cooking and running a restaurant, but most importantly, I came to understand the importance of fresh ingredients.

In the countryside of Illhaeusern, L’Auberge de L’ill cooked “locally” long before it was fashionable. One of my duties was to pick up fresh milk from a local farm each morning. Some of the meat “suppliers” were hunters who would bring in their game. When you cook with ingredients picked (or caught) that very day, you definitely can taste the difference. I guess that’s why, despite technological advances and food trends, I still prefer live cooking.

All I mean by that is that I like cooking with ingredients the day I get them. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately with the growing popularity of sous vide cooking. Sous vide is essentially cooking something in a plastic bag with very low heat for a very long time in a special sous vide machine. Originally developed for school cafeterias and airlines as a way to keep food cooked and warm for long periods of time before serving, sous vide is now popular among chefs. I’ll admit that the flavors do come together in a unique way with this technique, but I’m just not a fan of putting together a dish, sticking it in a bag, and serving it two days later.

I’ve started using another technique—or, more accurately, another machine—to cook with low heat. The C-Vap, which stands for “Controlled Vapor,” was developed for Kentucky Fried Chicken by the same company that invented its fryers. It’s basically a food warmer that uses warm water vapor—much cooler than steam—to keep KFC’s chicken crispy on the outside but warm and moist on the inside. (Or at least that’s the idea.) But I don’t use it to hold cooked foods, I cook with it.

My technique is a lot like sous vide, but without the bag—I can put the ingredients in a skillet or saucepan and stick it right into the machine. Right now in the restaurant, I’m using the C-Vap to cook a sea bass fillet topped with honshimeji mushrooms. The fish stays firm, while the mushroom flavor seeps into the flesh. And it’s ready to serve within 15 minutes or so.

Since you’re not going to find a C-Vap at your local kitchen supply store, I’ve come up with a simple and foolproof technique that gives you similar results. Check it out in my recipe for Steamed Salmon in Ginger Broth, an easy and delicious dish I love making at home.

I have to rest now, even though I won’t be cooking much on this trip. (But I know I’ll be well-fed!) Next time, I’ll tell you how the party went. I can’t wait to catch up with old friends, and to share the Haeberlins’ amazing food and friendship with them.