|
|
BITE: A TASTE OF BEAUTY
by Sunamita Lim, photography by Lois Ellen Frank
Santa Fe Trend
Santa Fe, NM
Summer/Fall, 2004
Page 132
A sublime meal is a joy forever, and a taste of beauty that lingers on, wondrously.
Culinary maestro Joseph Wrede's uncommon meals are as close to epicurean heaven on earth as it gets. Served with pure, unbridled love at his restaurant, Joseph's Table, each repast is an invitation, indeed an ode, to savor food at its simplest and finest. It is no wonder that Wrede, who has consistently delighted diners in Taos, New Mexico, was selected by Food & Wine magazine as one of "Ten Best New Chefs" in July 2000.
When the original Table closed, the town waited breathlessly for Wrede to return. As news spread that he would reopen at the historic Hotel la Fonda de Taos, Wrede's artist friends could hardly contain their excitement as they came out in full force to offer the restaurant their own gifts of creativity.
ABOVE... A toast to Everyone! Along the wall: Harlan Emil Gruber (designer of Joseph's wine rack); Kim Wever, next to her husband, painter Jack Smith; painter Paul Pascarella; sculptor Peter Chinni; artist Sandra Lerner. Foreground: Robert de Silva of Studio Architettura and artist Claire Libin.
Tony Abeyta painted algae and microorganisms floating delicately on a tabletop, inviting diners at "his" table try exotic seafood a la Wrede. In a case of food mimicking art, Wrede's signature appetizer of deep-fried soft-shell crab with a piquant Vietnamese dipping sauce is a popular choice with diners. Other Taos artists who left indelible tabletop impressions include Jack Smith, Larry Bell, Charlie Strong, and Ron Cooper and his wife Sandra Lerner, among others.
Abeyta's fashion designer wife, Patricia Michaels, emblazoned her chic hand painted silks on the walls of three cozy dining booths; each with silk draw curtains for dining privacy. Saffron and buttercup yellow banner spice up the foyer's warm welcome.
Meantime, Kristin Bortles, Wrede's partner, hand painted 3,000 butterflies fluttering along one side of the walls, and larger-than-life-sized tulips on the other. Bortles says, "It's Cookie who sees the big picture all the time in envisioning the entire décor." Cookie Venn is Wrede's mother, an interior designer who specializes in residences. Venn's touch transformed the former Chinese eatery into an upscale bar and dining room, bar none.
LEFT... Chef Joseph Wrede with Kristin Bortles's tulip in the background. CENTER... Marlin Sashimi on Fried Kale in Orange Soy Vinaigrette and Wild King Salmon with Mushroom Duxelle and Herb Butter Crust. RIGHT... Joseph Wrede and his mother, Cookie Venn, in front of 3,000 handpainted butterflies.
It was also Venn who brought everyone together at Joseph's new Table. Trend was invited to dine with Wrede's artist friends when he prepared a thank-you dinner for their painterly gifts. Fortunately, award-winning photographer Lois Ellen Frank and her crew were also available to record the event. (Frank's book, Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations, won the Americana category in last year's James Beard Foundation Awards.)
Beauty transforms when the senses are awakened, and the diner is left deeply satisfied. If the aroma of delicate sauces wafting by is a prelude to enjoying a good meal, then laughter and scintillating conversations of friends feasting on each other's company is second to none - as diners relish every bite of the evening with camaraderie and food.
And what bites of food! Venn ordered her favorite steak tartare with shirred quail egg on a red pepper fennel tuile; her husband Jerry savored every bite of his Alaskan halibut with tarragon compound butter and fresh strawberries; while many went for Wrede's classy rendition of American steak au poivre: pepper-corn-encrusted organic beef tenderloin on "smashed" potatoes with Madeira mushroom sauce. Seven Way Luck Duck, the most expensive entrée at $30, materialized as an artistic tribute to the bird via breast, foie gras, confit, chicharones (adding a local northern New Mexican touch with deep-fried duck fat), broth, aspic and mousse with corn crème brulee. Other entrees start at $18.
Dessert was no less heroic. Pastry chef Theresa O'Connor's Flourless New Mexican Chocolate Cream with Caramel Chile Sauce is redolent of local ingredients while tasting haute. The Bay Leaf Panna Cotta with Blackberry Espresso Sauce is pure indulgence. The Four Way Mescal mesmerizes chocoholics with a light lime sorbet in a chocolate cup, "mescal shooter" cake topped off with crème fraiche, and it's piece de resistance of a dark chocolate confection layered with mind cream wrapped in banana leaf and tied with an elegant bow - and fittingly, a final gift from the evening's table.
Chef Joseph Wrede's culinary brilliance consistently bestows beautiful bites of joy.
How does this 38-year-old chef present such consistent gifts of excellence?
"I'm very conscious of texture, flavor, and presentation," Wrede explains, "because eating is a sensual and healing experience. Many chefs cook out of extreme; the zap we get from their food is either from anger or love. I prefer to impart love and positive energy by giving myself over to the cooking. Honest self-expression is the most satisfying way I know of making a living."
Likewise, diners unwittingly give themselves over to the gastronomic exchange by savoring bites of beauty; and thus to being healed, nourished and satisfied, for many a day. "If we appreciate the food we eat, immediately our appreciation itself is a form of art, because our appreciation is giving life to (what) we are eating. Otherwise, it is all lifeless," writes Sri Chinmoy in Art's Life and the Soul's Delight (Agni Press, 1974).
Click here to return to the NEWS page...
Click here to make a reservation...
Phone 505-751-4512, or e-mail info@josephstable.com for more information.
|
|
|
Click here to return to the NEWS page...
|
|
