What Have I Been Up To Lately?

The answer to that is simply: school.  Exams are coming up, and I'm on the editorial board of our publication at school.  That has taken up a crazy amount of time, and has not left me the space to really cook up some amazing dishes.

That being said, I got a smoker.  A friend at school is moving, and he gave me his off-set smoker.  What are my thoughts?

1.  It's tricky.  A lot trickier than I had imagined.  That being said, I can smoke a piece of meat while working, so it's efficient!
2.  I'm starting to get into the whole rubs and sauces bit.  More on that later.
3.  I'm staring at an 8lb pork shoulder right now; hoping to make some pulled pork in ~4 hours!

As always, I'll keep you guys posted.  Hell month is over in a couple of weeks, and I'll have much more time to devote to my favorite past time.

The Greatest Chef You've Probably Never Heard Of

The recent Brittany episode of No Reservations really piqued my curiosity.  Seafood, to me, is the end-all of cooking.  Beef...chicken...pork...they all seem so simple when compared to seafood.  Brittany, of course, is famous for its seafaring history, its oysters (the Belon; if you think you've had it, you probably haven't unless you've been to Brittany), and lastly, its chef--Olivier Roellinger.

His story is really compelling.  Olivier had suffered a horrendous accident, which caused him to relearn  not only how to walk again, but to live again.  This newfound sense of livelihood eventually propelled him to a 3rd Michelin Star in 2006.  Then he gave it all up, not 2 years later.

What does he do now?  Relaxation...in his food...his life...etc.  What intrigues me about him is simple: he's such a great chef, yet doesn't care for the "establishment."  He doesn't need others telling what's good, what's bad, what's wrong, what's right.  The stress was too much, and I presume that his prior experiences really just told him to enjoy it while it lasts.

However, he isn't out of the game, so-to-speak.  He runs this place, and ironically enough, it just earned its first Michelin star.  He runs a store full of spices as well, which is fairly neat.  And to add onto that, he apparently designed a $100 pepper mill.

Life's not always so bad, eh?