New "Webisodes" Posted on Häagen Dazs [dot] com

Apparently there have been new web episodes posted on the Häagen Dazs site for a week now. Maybe some of you have already seen them.

1) http://scoop.haagendazs.com
2) Click on the tab named "webisodes"

Don't know how I missed them. OK, yes, I do know. They put the new content in a separate area of the site. Personally, I think they should have put the newest content on the front page, but I guess they want people to continue voting. Speaking of which, don't forget to vote for Coco y Cacao while you are on the site.

But, the problem with the site is that it is Flash based. Not that that's a problem in general, but I think it doesn't work for people who decide to use RSS feeds. I've subscribed to the Brightcove feed, but it didn't show the new webisodes, so I had no idea until I happened to notice from a search on Brightcove for "haagen dazs", and lo and behold, what is the fifth video listed? It's the one with Judiann Woo on the first frame, entitled "The Ice Cream Adventure Continues ". Confession: the RSS feed does show the new webisodes AT THE VERY BOTTOM of the list. At least that's where they show up for me (I'm running Firefox). Try it for yourself. Let me know if you don't get the same results, because I'd really like to know why they show up AT THE BOTTOM! Duh! Who's going to go all the way to the bottom of a list when this is supposed to be a live bookmark? Don't you think the latest stuff should be listed FIRST, at the TOP? Can you tell I'm a bit annoyed with this? I think I've had issues with the Brightcove hosting from the beginning. Well, maybe not me, but definitely some people I know. I mean, they had (and continue to have) problems voting. It seemed pretty clear to a geek like me, but even other computer geeks I know have asked me for instructions on how to vote. One of my best friends from high school, who I think is hyper-intelligent, even had problems voting. Are we all just so smart that we are dumb?

Enough with the bitching. Here's a short guide to the webisodes:

#1 "Putting a Face to the Flavor ":
Since this is my blog, I'm just going to talk about myself. It's my party and you can cry if you want to...

I have to admit, I was glad to see the title of this webisode, as I remember saying this in my final interview. Good to know I had at least one good sound bite. AND, Sara Moulton actually talked about me specifically. How cool is that?

#2: "The Ice Cream Adventure Continues"
Some funny moments of me in this episode. Nice contrasts between my supposedly being "very methodical" and being "comfortable in the kitchen".

Chrissy got a great description of her flavor from Jacques.

And then the drama...

"That realization doesn't work. As for today, I don't really believe in it."
-Jacques Torres, Mr. Chocolate

I'm hoping this is all for dramatic effect and the next webisodes will have Jacques singing my praises. Haha, I hope!

P.S. If you've seen the recent episodes of Scoop on the Food Network, that was last year's (2006) contest. So, don't worry, I'm still alive and have a shot at winning it all.

Bakersfield, Day Two, Part Two

First, a digression: I can't wait for the ice cream to arrive tomorrow morning. Too bad I have a 9:30am meeting, otherwise I'd wait around for it (supposed to arrive by 10:30am). May just have to head home for lunch. Six packs is so little - I can't possibly spread it around for everyone.

Ok, back to Bakersfield...

As many of you know, I had created a recipe for Coco y Cacao prior to my Bakersfield trip. Therefore, I had a firm idea of what my ice cream should taste, and feel, like. So, when I saw the ingredients I had to play with, I think the first thing out of my mouth was "NO". No, I don't like shredded coconut. No, this ice cream base doesn't taste right. No, no, no, no. OK, maybe I wasn't that whiny. But I definitely had strong opinions against the coconut base ice cream they had prepared - I had used coconut milk, which has a significantly different taste. I had used fresh, young coconut -- they gave me re-hydrated coconut (shredded and flaked). I have to admit, though, I was curious if you could rehydrate coconut. Turns out you can, though it isn't nearly as tender.

Well, after this little stumbling block, we went to work perfecting the "Aztec" Chocolate Swirl. I was given several choices of spicy fudges, but decided to make my own combination. So, I had to choose between the two varieties of cinnamon, which was easy b/c one choice was the kind you find in cinnamon chewing gum, which burns my tongue.

Working with the chefs was amazing. One taste and they immediately know what needs adjustment. Making that adjustment is the tricky part. How much coconut for the base? How much cinnamon for the chocolate? How much pepper? The pepper was trickiest. We first kept adding gradually, but weren't feeling the heat. Then I doubled it and we all agreed it was a decent amount. Then Floyd comes in and immediately says it is too much. People are going to eat more than one bite, he said, and the heat will continue to grow. Excellent comment and exactly why the experts were there. Floyd is the spice guy, after all. Another thing Floyd said later was how he instructs his cooks. He tells them not to make small, incremental, baby steps when playing with flavors. Make a big leap, and if you went too far, then you know you need to dial it back. If it still isn't enough, then you haven't wasted your time with tons of small changes. And that is pretty much what we did, unwittingly. We doubled the amount of pepper, only to bring it back to an intermediate stage. Also, Denise said that after tasting for more than 15-20 minutes, or so (can you tell I'm guessing here?), you begin to lose your sense of taste. Other interesting tidbits were that they normally have people come to the taste sensory labs around 10-11am. This is when the sense of taste is highest for most people. Ok, maybe not that exact time, but I think just before lunch is the key. You are hungry, and that heightens your sense of taste. Also, I think she said most ice cream is consumed late at night, because you are a little hungry after settling down from dinner and it tastes the best when you are a bit hungry, versus right after a meal.

By the end of the two-hour kitchen session, you could get a good sense of each chef's style. Jacques seemed to like strong flavors, while Sara more subtle, with Floyd and Nancy falling in between. We had to choose 2 variations to present to the judging panel the next day, so I decided I would go on both ends of the spectrum to sort of calibrate my scale. I would use the judges comments to see where along the spectrum I needed to be. So, I chose one batch with strong coconut flavor and lots of heat, while the other had more subtle flavor and just a hint of heat. We poured the batches into containers and off they went to the blast freezer (-40°C ?). Ahhh, that's nothing -- I work with freezers twice as cold. Oh, before I forget, I learned (or re-learned: I had seen a show on this once, but forgot) how to make a swirl in ice cream. Rather than "swirl' or mix it in, you fold in the chocolate to make swirls.

As in any industry, there are specific terms for things. Variegate equals swirl, Add-in equals, well, stuff you add in (you know, like chocolate chips), etc. I'm probably butchering this.

After lunch, we got a tour of the ice cream factory. Another "clean" experience. You will be happy to know how many precautions they take to prevent your food from getting contaminated. They don't give tours to the public, so we had to don everything the employees wear: hairnets, ear protection, safety goggles, gloves, coats, and booties. All jewelry has to be removed, and anything else that might fall into the food. Even the coats are designed not to have buttons that might fall off. We asked if our chef's coats were ok, and they were because there aren't any buttons.

Factory highlights for me were: 1) The "Dazzler". A beautiful piece of engineering designed to put that criss-cross pattern on the Häagen Dazs bars. 2) The rail that flips over cartons of ice cream for packaging. 3) Sampling all sorts of ice cream!

To top off the day, we all went out to dinner and got to spend some "quiet" time with everyone from Häagen Dazs, Gourmet, etc. I say "quiet" because this was one of the rare moments when we didn't have any cameras following us around. The toast Jacques made during dinner is what really opened my eyes to the real value of the contest. He said it was a learning process for everyone, including the chefs. And I have to agree - I learned so much that day. Before, it was all about winning. After, I was appreciative just to have had the experience. Sure, I still want to win this thing, but even if I don't "win", I will still value the experience. And winning the contest will just extend the experience.

Bakersfield, Day Two - Part One

Woke up bright (ok, not so bright) and early on Thursday. Nervous? Nah -- I only woke up before my alarm. Like that ever happens. Then forgot my chef's jacket on my way to the lobby. And, forgot my recipe. Couldn't believe I forgot that. Had a momentary feeling of panic, but then I realized a) I knew most of the recipes by heart b) I had a crack team of food scientists and expert chefs behind me -- what did I have to worry about?

After breakfast, we headed up for a brief "orientation" and our first opportunity to meet the chefs. They (Floyd Cardoz, Nancy Silverton, and Jacques Torres) were already seated when we arrived. As they were at the front table, with their backs towards us, it wasn't very conducive to introductions. We were escorted to our seats, to the left of the chefs; Chrissy to my left, Leslie to my right, then Jacques, Floyd, and Nancy. Jacques broke the ice by introducing himself, but before we could finish, the orientation began.

After orientation, we broke out into our teams and headed to the test kitchens; Bonnie and I were teamed with Denise and Mandeep in Kitchen #1. This is not your typical kitchen - it almost felt like I was back in my lab in Berkeley, except I had to be even cleaner (we had to don hair nets, lab coats or chefs jackets, and gloves). I felt right at home in the lab/kitchen -- this was the moment I'd been waiting for. No problem putting on my nitrile gloves. Hey, there's a water bath in here too. And a scale. Oh, and the Kitchen Aid mixer, but too bad it was red (ssssssss!, Go Bears!).

Part Two tomorrow...