The highlight of the evening however was the Q&A after the screening where Daniel took time out from his busy schedule to speak with Dorothy Cann Hamilton, CEO of the French Culinary Institute.
Daniel was very open (and funny). It was great to see such a well-known, influential and powerful man sitting, laughing and answering every question that was thrown to him. After the screening and Q&A, I got the opportunity to meet and speak with legendary Chef Alain Sailhac. As a former culinary student and chef myself, meeting Chef Sailhac was easily one of the higlights of my culinary career, topped only by the time I went to Julia Child’s house in Cambridge, Mass in the late ’80s.
If you don’t know who is, here is a little bit of his French Culinary Institute Bio: “After returning to New York in 1974, Sailhac became chef de cuisine at Le Cygne, which, during his tenure, received its first-ever four-star rating from the New York Times restaurant reviewer Mimi Sheraton. He served as Executive Chef from 1978 through 1986 at the legendary Le Cirque restaurant on Manhattan’s upper west side, earning three stars in 1984 from the New York Times reviewer Bryan Miller.”
If you are looking to get to another screening, it will be shown again on October 26th at the French Institute Alliance Française. If you even remotely consider yourself a foodie, see this documentary. It offers a rare glimpse into the private life of one of the world’s most public chefs.
On the Daniel subject, check out the TV show he did called After Hours with Daniel on Hulu. The premise of the show – as per the Hulu description – is “Join Chef Daniel Boulud and his celebrity and top chef guests behind-the-scenes at America’s best restaurants as they trade recipes, culinary secrets and untold stories.” The pilot episode was shot at Blue Ribbon Sushi and features Anthony Bourdain, Floyd Cardoz of Tabla, Scott Conant of Scarpetta and food writer Ed Levine amongst others .
You can find the pilot episode here.
In 2006 Daniel wrote a book called Letters to a Young Chef (The Art of Mentoring) . You can find excerpts of the book on Google Books and for sale at Amazon. He firmly believes in sharing and passing on all that he has learned to the next generation of chefs.
Here is an extensive bio of Daniel from Hub-uk highlighting his background, accolades, awards and accomplishments. This is a man who has worked close to 40 years to get to (and stay at) the top of his profession.
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