Olympic Chef
One of New Jersey’s brightest culinary stars is home after 19 days in Beijing as the sole chef chosen by the International Olympic Committee to represent the United States. And he brings news for the state’s restaurant scene.
Scott Cutaneo, owner of Le Petit Chateau in Bernardsville, says he supervised 360 Chinese chefs who cooked for an IOC guest list that included Bill Gates, Prince Albert of Monaco, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
They worked at the Raffles Beijing Hotel, at the IOC tent on the Olympic Green, and at a large local restaurant the staff took over for the month. Most of the food served was Western, with “an Asian take.” He also did the reverse, using the French techniques he has mastered to transform Chinese dishes.
“The classic Peking Duck is with plum sauce, cucumber, leaks…then you wrap the duck pieces,” he says. “We would do that but add different vegetables like julienne carrots, so we put our own spin on it, depending on what was fresh at the time.”
One problem was that “the logistics of Beijing are such that you can order ingredients but sometimes they are just not there.” Some of the Western produce unavailable in China had to be flown in from Australia, where the southern hemisphere’s winter limited what could be had.
Still, Cutaneo says his staff made it work. The local chefs he supervised were, unsurprisingly, more familiar with Chinese than French cuisine. But they were enthusiastic, not only because of a professional interest in another culture’s food, but also because they felt honored to cook at China’s Olympic party.
“They are dedicated and disciplined, very passionate, and they strive for perfection,” says Cutaneo.
When he wasn’t cooking, Cutaneo got a chance to sample the best food in the area. At Kempinsky Hotels’ Commune by the Great Wall, he and friends sat down for a 22-course Chinese meal that included seafood dumplings and six different kinds of rice.
In China, Cutaneo reconnected with Daniel Boulud, the world-famous French chef with whom he trained, who owns restaurants in New York, Florida, Las Vegas, and now the new Maison Boulud in Beijing.
Boulud will help Cutaneo design menus for what looks like a must-go for New Jersey foodies: A new brasserie called Rive Gauche, scheduled to open next summer on the banks of the Hudson in West New York.
Beijing’s was Cutaneo’s fourth Olympics as a chef. Now, if they’d only make gourmet cooking an Olympic competition — we’re sure New Jersey would have a great team!
Tags: Food | Olympics | Cutaneo, Scott
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