RKS 2023 Film: “Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter”

The documentary “Love, Charlie” can be seen as a study of brilliance, passion, perfection and self destruction.

The late Chef Charlie Trotter was in the vanguard of new cuisine in the United States for those that could afford it. His story is told by himself, fellow chefs, his first wife, former employees, fellow family members, customers and through archival footage. It is not a study in glorification but a balanced picture of Trotter.

Raised in a meat and potato family he caught the culinary bug after working as a student in certain less than gastronomically noted restaurants. His ex-wife describes meeting him in university and noted his eccentricity. I couldn’t think but Trotter had ADHD very early on in the documentary.

We see and hear Trotter at the beginning of the documentary stating that if it wasn’t for employees and customers the restaurant business would be the greatest business in the world. While there may be grain of truth in that to publicly state that shows arrogance and disdain for those who propelled him to celebrity status.

One is never quite sure if Trotter was a tyrant and toxic. One can’t doubt his creativity, brilliance and obsession but did those qualities lead to his demise? One might conclude that as his fame grew in the mid 1980’s onwards and his empire grew to include foodie videos, books and more restaurants whether these character traits were magnified into a self-destructive fireball.

Think what you may but there is no doubt Trotter revolutionized food for upper class patrons that could afford fine dining. But the man was also a philanthropist and concerned with the development of young chefs. As Trotter and his rock star chef colleagues revolutionized cuisine and displaced the old French restaurant restaurants that were the pinnacle of American fine dining so was Trotter displaced by the new cadre of chefs experimenting with molecular gastronomy. What he “dished out” to the old guard eventually he was on the road of being displaced which happens to many great chefs.

Foodies will enjoy the film but even non foodies can witness the fleeting nature of high reputation, fame and success whether in the kitchen or in life.

Trotter died of a stroke in 2013 at the age of 54.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9dYyg5VcvA

The film will have a theatrical release on January 2,2023.

RKS 2023 Film Rating 87/100.

“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous”; Chapter 20 Slavery of the Young Lawyer! Donuts and Orangemen in Toronto

Not being lily white in the province of Ontario, home of Orangemen, a sort of Canadian Ku-Klux-Klan and in the City of Toronto well known for its anti-Greek riots in 1918 I was bypassed by the big Bay Street law firms who failed to realize my wealth and corporate structures I presided over! Their loss. This was before law firms and corporations jumped on the “global inclusion” bandwagon like the latest fad where lily white became somewhat of an evil (too late to benefit me) of course not including in senior management and in the boardrooms. So I articled with Mr. Donut in the east end of Toronto. You have to article for a year as a “lawyer in training” before you took Law Society of Upper Canada courses you had to pass to obtain your license to practice.

In Montreal often with a café au lait one ate a croissant. Here in Toronto it was a fattening sugar coated donut Torontonians were obsessed with. Premium coffees were unheard of as were croissants! Mr. Donut had some 155 franchised stores in Ontario most of which were in seedy neighbourhoods. I became an expert in negotiating franchise agreements. I represented the corporation in shoplifting matters, trespassing actions and all types of small claims litigation. Occasionally I would defend Mr. Donut delivery drivers for traffic infractions. It was all very exciting at a drastically pathetic salary and a box of 24 donuts each week which I fed the pigeons and gave to the homeless sleeping in the alleyways of our cockroach infested corporate office on Coxwell Avenue. Exploitation wages. I had to plod away at this for a year then it was a year of courses at the Law Society of Upper Canada with exams held mostly at decrepit bingo halls. I was called to the Bar as they say and ready to be a “real lawyer” 6 years after I started the process. Then the frenzy of applying for a job and again being part Indian the curry in my blood did not sit well with the roast beef brains of the Anglo-Saxon legal elite. I accepted a job back in New York working for an organization The United Mutations advocating for the rights of mutants throughout the world. I was working on drafting a very historic Charter of Rights for mutants. Being half Indian in Toronto I was a mutant anyways. So it was off to New York! I was no ambulance chaser! I was changing the world!

RKS Wine: What to Have with Your New Year’s Eve Repast

Our New Year’s Eve dinner is seafood focused which means white wine is called for given the suggested dishes.

Appetizer: Malpeque oysters

Your white wine selection:

I would go with a Brut or Extra Brut sparkler. Loaded with a good bead of bubbles the aromas are apple, pear, caramel, guava, honey and Brioche. On the palate a good crisp bite of acidity with Flemish pear, sweet white grapefruit with a little wave of applesauce. So the wine is far from one of those non-descript sparkling wines that lets its acids speak more than the fruit.

The wine is organic.

I’ll be looking for more sparkling Ontario Riesling in 2023.

(Tawse 2019 Spark Limestone Ridge Riesling Brut, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Tawse Winery Inc., Vineland, Ontario, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 370361, 750 mL, 12%, RKS Wine Rating 88/100).

Of course, if you want to go real classic Chablis is a tried-and-true accompaniment to raw oysters so you can try a Charton et Trébuchet Chablis 1ER Cru 2020 which you can pick up at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario for $36.95.

Hyper chilled vodka works very well too and I would go with a Tito’s from Texas.

Second appetizer: Moules Mariniere

Chop up garlic (as much as you want) and scallions and Sautee for a minute throw in a half bottle of dry white and a handful of parsley. Let it cook for a few minutes throw in mussels and cover cooking on medium heat for about 7 minutes until all mussels are open. Serve in a large bowl. Sop up the broth with chunks of baguette.

Your white wine selection:

Muscadet from the Loire region in France is a reliable wine to enhance the flavour of the dish but it is not always that easy to find so I suggest a Mâcon-Lugny made by Cave de Lugny from Burgundy. It is unoaked. Aromatics of pear, apple and quince. On the palate it is definitely a dry wine but not one of those leaving an acidic and meagre profile. The wine has character to it and for an unoaked Chardonnay it has some richness to it in a minimalist way.

(Mâcon-Lugny 2020 Grande Reserve, AC Mâcon-Lugny, Cave de Lugny, Lugny, France, $20.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 26444, 750 mL, 13%, RKS Wine Rating 89/100).

Main: Butter garlic shrimp

Your white wine selection:

I would select a Cave Spring Estate 2019 Chardonnay which is moderately gold in colour. On the nose pineapple, mango, South African tangerine, marzipan and peach with moderate oak notes. On the palate Greaves apricot jam, Sweet Israeli grapefruit, Niagara pear Galette, butterscotch and guava with a peppery finish. Beautifully integrated acids so important to sippable white wines. The oak influence in the wine is moderately high.

(Cave Spring Estate 2019 Chardonnay, Cave Spring Vineyard, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Cave Spring Vineyard, Jordan, Ontario, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 25652, 13.5%, RKS Wine Rating 92/100).

Dessert: Gateaux Verlaine (raspberry mousse, raspberry lychee gelée, lychee crémeux, raspberry rose jam and almond sponge cake)

A good choice would be Southbrook Canadian Framboise. As for aromatics it is replete with just picked ripe raspberries tinged with a miniscule bit of milk chocolate. The palate is silky and smooth with just plain old ripe raspberries with a moderately long finish. Not complex but straightforward and delicious. There is enough acidity to keep this wine from being cloying or sickly sweet.

It is organic and vegan.

(Southbrook Canadian Framboise, Southbrook Vineyards, Niagara-on-the-Lake, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 341024, 750 mL, 13.5% RKS 2023 Wine Rating 94/100).

The bubbly conclusion

To ring in the new year assuming you have the stamina to remain awake I would think the last wine you want is a bone dry brut or extra brut. Given the exorbitant cost of Champagne there is the eminently reliable Pierre Sparr Crémant D’Alsace Brut Rosé. I won’t break the bank at $19.95. There is some very nice strawberry, raspberry and bright red cherry mousse to welcome the year. (Pierre Sparr Crémant D’Alsace Brut Rosé, LCBO # 39016, $19.95)

Happy upcoming 2023. Best of health, happiness and the discovery of a wine that you will not forget!

RKS 2023 Wine: Southbrook Canadian Framboise: This May be Your Chocolate Desserts’ Best Friend

Southbrook Vineyard’s Canadian Framboise would be more than happy to meet a chocolate-based dessert particularly cakes with some raspberry or cherry filling like a Black Forest Cake. I am sure there are some Canadians out there that will be having chocolatey desserts to end the year. Readers outside of Canada may try and find a raspberry fruit “wine” in their jurisdiction. Frambroise means “raspberry” in French. It is also just fine poured over vanilla or chocolate ice cream with a few fresh raspberries tossed in.

As for aromatics it is replete with just picked ripe raspberries tinged with a miniscule bit of milk chocolate. The palate is silky and smooth with just plain old ripe raspberries with a moderately long finish. Not complex but straightforward and delicious. There is enough acidity to keep this wine from being cloying or sickly sweet.

It is organic and vegan.

(Southbrook Canadian Framboise, Southbrook Vineyards, Niagara-on-the-Lake, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 341024, 750 mL, 13.5% RKS 2023 Wine Rating 94/100).

RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Judas and Jesus

“The redbeard (Judas) growled and bared his teeth like a sheepdog that hears his master’s voice. Head bowed, he turned around and marched heavily over the bridge, talking to himself. He remembered when he roamed the mountains with Barabbas-God bless him-and the other rebels. What an atmosphere of ferocity and freedom. What a splendid leader of cut-throats was the God of Israel. That was the kind of leader he needed. Why did he follow this clairvoyant (Jesus) who was scared of blood and shouted, ‘Love! Love!’ like a panting-teen-aged girl. But let’s, be patient Judas reflected, and see what he brings from the desert! “

Nikos Kazantzakis “The Last Temptation” 1961

RKS 2023 Wine: Porthead Alert! Pocas LBV 2015: Massive Blackberry Attack and Berserk Raspberry Personality!

If you want to become a full fledged Porthead hopefully you will recognize the incredible luxury Port offers at a bargain basement price. Yes there are Vintage Ports declared only in exceptional years but there are cheaper Late Bottled Vintage Ports to keep in mind. Quite frankly sometimes the line between LBV’s and Vintage Port can be fuzzy. This Pocas is going on to eight years in age and still behaves like a spring chicken. LBV’s make the luxury of Port even more affordable.

Massive blackberry assault on the nose. Blueberry is behind the main blackberry attack. Lest we not forget the black cherry and milk chocolate. On the palate there are some tannins of a solid nature but barely climbing to the moderate level. Mostly blueberry and blackberry on the palate.

Port has a great capacity to age. While in Porto in 2014 our Port producing hosts knowing we were Canadian opened up an 1867 Vintage Port that still had years left to be consumed. Canada was born in 1867 as a country. This LBV won’t last as that Vintage Port would but I think it can cruise well into the 2030’s!

Try this with a Mary Macleod’s (located in Toronto but ships throughout North America) Dutch Chocolate shortbread cookie where all butter richness meets Pocas LBV richness and the combo causes the Pocas to go into a happy berserk raspberry romp. Sublime. In the meantime I look forward to some LBV with Portuguese ox in February. More about that later.

(Pocas 2015 Late Bottled Vintage Port, Manoel D. Pocas Junior, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, $21.25, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 642058, RKS 2023 Wine Rating 92/100).

“Travels to a Different Time” : 14 & 15 September 2022 Athens: Hanging on

We must move from Inn Athens to Home Sweet Home Athens as the room was only available for two nights. The ankle is now a shiny red and gleaming and yes more pain. It is very frustrating and tiring. Spent the day in bed reading. The hotel room is very 1970’s except the bathroom has been updated. The shower stall is retro. The hotel is in the Plaka district. A very simple lobby if you can call it a lobby. There are a few chairs and a sofa just off the reception area. The breakfast area is just off the reception. Very simple. Breakfast is more simplistic than other hotels we have stayed at on this trip but more than adequate. French toast for the Americans with Norwegian maple syrup. The manager makes the rounds saying hello, chatting and asking if there are any questions about the food. Breakfasts are interesting here as they always have some sort of regional speciality. The homemade marmalade is delicious. Most interesting was a Pontic Greek “pizza”. There are Pontic speaking Greeks in Northern Greece and when the manager heard that Fotini had relatives in Thessaloniki in Northern Greece she had the kitchen prepare this special breakfast “pizza” for us. Pontic Greek is also spoken in Turkey, Russia, Georgia and Armenia. And yes they have lose leaf tea! The staff here are super friendly.

Entrance Home Sweet Home Athens; Photo Robert K. Stephen

RKS 2023 Film: “The Stalking Fields”: Evil System, Evil People and Victims

Marcus Woodman (Sean Compton) is a former U.S. Navy Seal with over 200 kills. One of his last kills was an American who pleaded for mercy and that mercy was his death which Woodman accommodated. Woodman may have killed many but killing a U.S. citizen is a lynchpin to his post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) common amongst many soldiers. In pre–Gulf War days PTSD was referred to as “shell shock”. PTSD can take a nasty turn with soldiers as they are trained in weaponry so can cause fatalities when having a PTSD “attack”. We had here in Canada an Afghani war vet with PTSD that killed his wife and two children then himself. Yes it would seem that Canadian veterans are praised and glorified by the Canadian government but when many return with PTSD suddenly there is minimal funding to treat the psychiatric disease.

 Woodman has had numerous flashbacks about his kill and his wife pleads with him to seek treatment. After Woodman’s wife dies he seeks treatment in a U.S. Army facility conducting preliminary studies and treatments for PTSD called Operation Stalking Field. Yes an American corporation is deeply involved as well as a particularly cruel woman and her sidekick. Welcome to a new Cruella de Vil!

So what is the essential element of this experiment? Those with PTSD are to hunt down and kill innocent civilians. Far fetched and against all prevailing psychiatric treatments yet backed by a powerful corporation and the U.S. military.

It is a turkey shoot. But matters take an unexpected twist as viewers will witness that not all is what it seems to be. The hunters become the hunted. The innocent civilians are not all that innocent particularly in the last 5 seconds of the film.

Yes the film is exciting and apart from some clumsy and overacted “hunt scenes” the acting is solid and the screenplay is believable because co-writers Sean Crampton and Jordan Wisely come from military families and have personal experience with PTSD. Director Ric Maddox is an army veteran.

Yes the innocent civilians in the turkey shoot are told its is time they served their country to serve those who have served you!

While “The Stalking Fields” is an action film let me take it further saying it is heavily laced with sarcasm and genuine anger at lack of meaningful PTSD treatments for U.S. Army veterans, the stupidity of patriotic jingoism, a fundamental distrust of partnerships between corporations and the upper echelons of the U.S. military.

You can watch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/759234332?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220

“The Stalking Fields” will be released on digital platforms on January 17th 2023.

RKS Spirits: Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

The Monkey Shoulder website states that Monkey Shoulder was originally crafted for mixing. The website statement is heretical to the seasoned mature scotch whisky drinker who might wither in discomfort when asked to make cocktails with scotch whisky! But if you ain’t tried it don’t knock it! After being in Greece this September I can assure you in the many outdoor watering holes cocktails are the rage amongst the younger set. However I was given this whisky as a sample to test it with shortbread cookies so perhaps we shall try a Monkey Shoulder inspired cocktail in the upcoming weeks.

The label states Monkey Shoulder is a blend of Speyside single malt whiskies. It is bottled by William Grant and Sons the same company behind J&B Rare Blended Scotch Whisky. My impression from the website, the label and even the name that this scotch whisky is for the younger set that seeks to escape the “boredom” of beer and wine.

Served neat:

Aromas of honey, apricot, toffee, peach jam and vanilla. The palate presents a high-toned spirit that is very smooth and approachable. Plenty of apricot and butterscotch with a slow long-lasting heat. The heat sneaks up on you gradually unlike some scotch whiskies that hit with fire as soon as they are in your mouth.

Served over the rocks:

The ice brings out the apricot and adds ginger and tangerine. In other words it substantially alters the aromatics. It tones down the heat substantially but unlike the Irish whisky Tullamore D.E.W. the ice does not slay it. It holds nicely with ice and I prefer it to being served neat. Just the type of scotch whisky over ice for a long transatlantic flight as it has a long life over ice.

It is available at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario for $54.95.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 13September2022: Mr. Handicapped in Nightmare Alley: Thessaloniki and Athens, Greece

The ankle has worsened. Fotini went down for breakfast. I have not eaten in two days. Packed up and limped to the waiting car to Thessaloniki Airport. Again on the wheelchair all the way into the plane. Me and a 90-year-old grandmother hoisted on the plane. Very dispiriting. A smooth 45-minute flight to Athens on Aegean Air. Wheeled around in a wheelchair in Athens Airport. How bad can this get! Our car pick-up was not there so Fotini had to make a few calls. What a ride once we arrived at city centre. Once you are off the main streets tiny winding streets. What a nightmare for parking! Renovated low rise hotel full of young travelers. Matchbox size room with a huge shower stall but a funky smell in the bathroom. Only one chair and nowhere to sit. Really thin towels. I limped to the corner for some baguette sandwiches and to a snooty and overpriced wine store. Watched more of the royal death watch crap on TV, had a shower and went to bed. Suffering badly I just want to go home. I feel like I am living in Nightmare Alley. When I return home I will relentlessly push to get a firm answer about this ankle situation. You have to assert yourself in this falling apart Canadian medical system.