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8. Featured Cookbook: If You Can Stand the Heat: Tales from Chefs & Restaurateurs by Dawn Davis
Oct 1999
Penguin Group (USA)
Whether you are seriously considering making a career out of your passion for the kitchen or you're an armchair foodie, If You Can Stand the Heat is essential reading. This informative and dishy insider's collection of interviews with some of the country's leading chefs and food professionals shows what it takes to make it in the world of food, and helps answer such questions as: What are the first steps in opening up a restaurant? What can I expect if I make a mid-life career change?
http://www.starchefs.com/cook/cookbooks/I
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10. Featured Chef to Know: Michael Mina of Michael Mina - San Francisco, CA
335 Powell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 359-0791
RESTAURANT FACTS
Seats: 100
Weeknight Covers: 100-160
Weekend Covers: 150-200
Tasting Menu: Yes $98/$135
CHEF FACTS
Other Restaurants: Las Vegas, NV: Michael Mina, Nobhill, StripSteak, Seablue; Scottsdale, AZ: Bourbon Steak; Miami, FL: Bourbon Steak; San Jose, CA: Arcadi; Dana Point, Ca: Stonehill Tavern; Detroit, MI: Bourbon Steak, Saltwater; Washington, DC: Bourbon Steak
Cuisine: Modern America
Born: 1968
Began Career: 1987
Culinary School: The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY
Work History: New York, NY: Aureole, Tribeca Grill; San Francisco, CA: Charles Nob Hill; Las Vegas, NV: Aqua at the Bellagio, Nob Hill
Mentor(s): Charlie Palmer, Don Pintabono, George Morrone
Protégé(s): Chris L'Hommedieu, Jay Wetzel, Mark LoRusso, Jeffrey Lloyd
Awards: 2005 Bon Appetit Chef of the Year; 1997 James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef; 2002 James Beard Foundation Best Chef California; 2005 San Francisco Magazine Chef of the Year
Affiliations: The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which does really good work with under-served kids. Andre is a great friend of mine and he has put together an incredible foundation that has started a not-for-profit, free, co-educational private preparatory school in Las Vegas for kids who couldn't otherwise afford it.
Books Published: Michael Mina: The Cookbook by Michael Mina
Language Spoken: Egyptian
NOTABLE DISH(ES): Tomato Soup with Minted Scallops; Pancetta-Wrapped Atlantic Cod; Lobster Pot Pie
FAST FACTS
Restaurant Recs: Bodega Bistro for the green papaya and dried beef salad
Kitchen Tool(s): Potato ricer
Interview Question: What can you contribute to the success of this restaurant? It's a question that most potential applicants are unprepared for, so it makes them think. So many young cooks are just looking for a stepping stone to their next job - I want cooks who seek to contribute to the greatness of the restaurant, not just to put another name on their resume.
Flavor Combo(s): I like bold, clean flavors. Typically I go for classic flavor combinations and try to make them really stand out through a new or interesting technique.
Fave Cookbook(s): The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller.
Chef to Cook for You: There are so many, but the late Jean-Louis Palladin stands out in my mind. He was an incredible cook and good friend, who cooked with a sensitivity and depth of knowledge that is still almost unrivalled.
Culinary Travel: I'd love to go to Japan again. The purity of the flavors and the quality of the ingredients are breathtaking.
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 11. Recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake, Dark Chocolate Cream, Toasted Bread, Maldon Sea Salt, and Olive Oil from Chef Michael Laiskonis of Le Bernardin - New York, NY
Adapted by StarChefs.com
Yield: 12 Servings
INGREDIENTS
Flourless Chocolate Cake:
170 grams unsalted butter, softened
420 grams granulated sugar
12 whole eggs
120 grams cocoa powder
Chocolate Cream:
2 grams (1 sheet) gelatin
200 grams heavy cream
80 grams whole milk
150 grams granulated sugar
20 grams pasteurized liquid egg yolks
80 grams dark chocolate couverture, chopped
Chocolate Sauce:
100 grams whole milk
25 grams glucose syrup
90 grams dark chocolate couverture, chopped
Toasted Bread:
1 mini baguette or ficelle style bread
Extra virgin olive oil
To Assemble and Serve:
Tempered dark chocolate rectangles, 4 centimeters by 11 centimeters
Maldon sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Semi-candied orange peel
METHOD
For the Flourless Chocolate Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, creaming until smooth and lightly aerated. Add eggs 2 at a time, scraping the bowl between each addition. Add the cocoa powder, mixing until thoroughly incorporated. Transfer the batter to a parchment-lined half sheet pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Once cooled, cut it into 3 centimeters by 10 centimeters rectangles.
For the Chocolate Cream:
Bloom the gelatin in water and set aside. Bring the heavy cream and milk to a boil. Meanwhile, gently whisk together the sugar and egg yolks. Temper the hot cream into the egg yolks and return to low heat; cook until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate. Add the gelatin and combine thoroughly. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and chill. When set, transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a medium straight tip.
For the Chocolate Sauce:
In a small saucepan, combine the milk and glucose and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and gradually pour over the chocolate, stirring to combine. Allow to cool slightly, and transfer to a covered container or small squeeze bottle.
For the Toasted Bread:
Preheat the oven to 400?F. Using a serrated knife or (preferably) a deli-style slicer, slice the bread into 6 very thin slices, 12 centimeters long. Arrange the slices on a baking dish and drizzle with a little olive oil. Toast in the oven until lightly browned and crisp. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.
To Assemble and Serve:
Place each rectangle of cake on an individual serving plate. Top each cake with a rectangle of tempered dark chocolate. Transfer the chocolate cream to a pastry bag and pipe four rosettes onto each of the rectangles of chocolate cake. Top each dessert with a slice of toasted bread, a drizzle of olive oil, and a few grains of Maldon salt. Add a few bits of the orange peel. Serve immediately.
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