Succede presso il Culinary Vegetable Institute di Milan, Ohio, dove il giovanissimo chef Jamie Simpson getta i semi della tecnica e della fantasia nei solchi di un progetto agricolo senza pari.
La Storia
La storia di Jamie Simpson
Ha solo 27 anni, Jamie Simpson, eppure il suo talento è già spuntato sulla scena gastronomica americana. I cotiledoni proiettati verso l’alto, prodromo di un futuro che potrebbe gettare vaste ombre tutt’intorno. Merito dell’humus giusto, quello del Culinary Vegetable Institute di Milan, che da un anno lo coccola e lo nutre. E non si tratta di una zolla qualunque, visto che rappresenta il braccio formativo di The Chef’s Garden, azienda agricola che rifornisce la ristorazione gourmet, gemellata per di più con Veggie U, programma di training nutrizionale per i giovani.
<Octopus in the garden
br />Prima della metempsicosi in cuoco, a dire il vero, ci sono state le intemperanze rock and roll, come membro di una band e presso uno studio di registrazione. Un concerto repentinamente sospeso a causa di problemi di salute, senza abdicare al senso del ritmo e della melodia. “Si è trattato di un cambiamento naturale”, commenta oggi. “Esiste un parallelismo fra la musica e il cibo. Un grande ristorante è una sinfonia, c’è un direttore. Al posto delle note individuali a uscire sono i piatti”. Il piano da suonare è stato prima parcheggiato in un ristorante di Charleston, poi presso il pluripremiato Charleston Grill, che ha preso l’iniziativa di spedirlo al Culinary Institute della città. Aule in cui risuonava un insegnamento interdisciplinare, compresa un’infarinatura di management, comunicazione, psicologia. Nonché il primo approccio con i prodotti di The Chef’s Garden: ortaggi baby e germogli ignoti, spediti nelle propaggini più remote del globo, dal Regno Unito al Perù.
Salt Curred black radish. Olive oil powder. Red pepper ash. Nacino reduction. Blackberry viola
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Poco più che autodidatta, dal 2014 Simpson è responsabile del ristorante della casa: sopra l’imponente ed equipaggiata cucina dove opera, ferve il via vai dei visiting chef che passano per il complesso, cui è incaricato di mostrare i possibili utilizzi dei prodotti. Ciò fa di lui uno chef’s chef, in qualche maniera, visto che il suo pubblico è costituito prevalentemente da colleghi, e dei più blasonati. Ma la struttura ospita anche banchetti di matrimonio, piccole e grandi cene per il pubblico, raccolte di fondi in favore di Veggie U e per la preparazione del team che rappresenterà gli Stati Uniti al Bocuse d’Or, tanto per fare un esempio.
ENGLISH VERSION
Jamie simpson, creativity as agricultural act.
It happens at the culinary vegetable institute in milan, ohio, where the young chef jamie simpson throws the seeds of technique and imagination in the furrows of an agricultural project unparalleled.
Jamie is only 27 years old but his talent has already been recognized across the American culinary scene. Like the cotyledon leaves bursting from a new seed towards the sun, so his talent grows, embracing the warmth from industry leaders and basking in the promise of a future focused in a rich American culinary tradition.
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Jamie’s journey into the culinary industry began with a deep history in music and art. As a talented and traveled musician he confesses that the excesses of rock and roll and the on-the-road lifestyle led to a desire for something fresh and new, and he moved up into his new career without skipping a beat or missing a note. “It was a natural progression,” says Jamie, “there is an easy to follow parallel between music and food. A great restaurant is very much like a great symphony.”
Jamie’s serious culinary dedication began in charleston, south carolina at the award-winning charleston grill, the culinary focal point of the city. it was here that jamie had his first introduction to the chef’s garden, the farm that was shipping baby vegetables and micro greens to the charleston grill and as far away as the uk and peru. the restaurant served as a makeshift classroom where jamie learned the discipline and mindset of a professional kitchen. here he also learned what it takes to manage and lead a kitchen team. the owners recognized his talents and his strong leadership skills and sponsored him to attend the culinary institute of charleston.
With little more than his years of experience in a professional kitchen and a degree from culinary school, jamie is now responsible for the world-class kitchen in the culinary vegetable institute that bustles with modern equipment, a full staff, and visiting chefs from top restaurants around the world. it is here that chefs can come and experiment with the products of the chef’s garden in a relaxing atmosphere just a stone’s throw away from the farm that grows and nurtures them. the culinary vegetable institute is an extension of the chef’s garden, a small family-owned farm that supplies some of the top restaurants in the world with delicate micro-greens, rare and exotic vegetables, and edible flowers.
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Jamie has taken residence at the culinary vegetable institute, located in milan, ohio, just a few scant miles from the southern shores of lake erie. the cvi has supported and sponsored jamie since 2013 and provided him with a place to work and thrive both creatively and as a professional.
Jamie’s strengths as a chef are apparent in the flavors he creates for his dishes, and his natural artistic sensibilities are now in the spotlight as gorgeous compositions as he gracefully constructs each plate he sends from his kitchen.
Jamie is a chef’s chef. he works day to day with colleagues from around the globe, some famous, some infamous, some on their own path to becoming future leaders in the food industry. although the cvi is a place for experimentation and building new pathways in food and food culture, it also holds events like weddings, banquets, and dinners for small and large audiences. the cvi also does a fair share of fundraising for local and national charities, for example, raising money for the preparation of the team that will represent the us in the bocuse d’or.
I Piatti
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