News from Mark Mitton

Last night, Nils Norén, the Vice President of Culinary Arts at the French Culinary Institute, was kind enough to give Susanna and me a tour of the facilities, and then treat us to a spectacular dinner at the Institute’s restaurant, L’Ecole. It was an incredible evening. (We had met Nils last year when he was a panelist on my round-table about ‘Masters of the Senses‘ at the Philoctetes Center).

We saw students from around the world making the most delicious things, from breads and cakes to pasta and meat dishes. David Arnold, the Director of Culinary Technology, taught me how to saber a champagne bottle. This is a technique for chopping the top off a champagne bottle with a sword (although it can also be done with a heavy knife, as you can see in the photos). It is amazing that it works!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Nils and Christina Wang, the Director of Education, and afterwards Nils introduced us to the founder of the Institute, Dorothy Cann Hamilton, and the deans of the school, including the legendary Alsatian chef André Soltner, chocolatier Jacques Torres, Alain Sailhac and Cesare Casella. I was asked to do some magic and I managed to secretly remove Dorothy’s watch. Jacques Torres then explained that all the deans had bought her a special Christmas gift. At that point André Soltner opened his hand and there was her watch!

Check out these “sabering” photos (click to enlarge):

Greg Calbi, who was a panelist on my round-table discussion ‘Masters of the Senses‘ at the Philoctetes Center last year, just hosted his own panel there this past weekend. The subject was ‘Deep Listening’. Greg is an amazing mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New York, and he has worked on albums for the greatest legends in music, such as John Lennon, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, U2, John Mayer, Norah Jones, etc.

He assembled a panel of top experts on music, recording and sound (Steve Berkowitz, Evan Cornog, Michael Fremer, Kevin Killen, Craig Street), and it was a fascinating afternoon.

Check out the video on the Philoctetes website or on YouTube. It’s 2 1/2 hours long, and well worth it!

My friend Sandy Rower, Director of the Calder Foundation, invited me to spend a couple of days with him at Art Basel Miami. It was quite an education! Not only did we see lots of art, but we also attended many parties. Sandy was able to get us into a Marilyn Manson party at the Gansevoort Hotel by using some sort of secret password that I still don’t know. At another party, Faye Dunaway came over to me and introduced herself. She has the strongest handshake and an amazing presence! Rosa de la Cruz, one of Miami’s most prominent art collectors, opened up her beautiful home museum on Key Biscayne. I bumped into my old friend Alan Katz, who is now the group publisher of the Brant Publications (Art in America, Antiques and Interview), and we ended up having a very late-night supper together. I had a wonderful time and can’t wait to go back next year!