The art of food

Young Chang

There are no secrets in their business.

No hoarding of tricks or even recipes.

In fact, chefs at the Taste of Newport will not only demonstrate

how to make their signature fondues and salt-crusted red snappers and

tarragon cream dressings, they’ll send you home with written

instructions, too.

“Like the Food Network, only one-on-one,” said Chris Lauderdale, a

chef instructor at the Art Institute of California-Orange County,

which is co-sponsoring the Gas Co. Chefs Pavilion portion of the 14th

annual event.

Chefs from the Costa Mesa art institute, which offers an extensive

culinary arts program, as well as chefs from well-known area

restaurants will share cooking techniques and tips at the Taste of

Newport so that visitors can go home and recreate the morsels sampled

on Newport Center Drive.

“You get to talk to them, you get to participate with our chefs

and it’s really close up,” said Paul Yarmoluk, Academic Department

Director for Culinary Arts at the institute. “Everything we’ve

collected to do, you’re able to work on at home.”

Yarmoluk and the institute’s executive chef, Peter Striffolino,

developed the program of demonstrations keeping in mind both novice

as well as experienced cooks. The institute co-sponsors the event

with the Gas Co. A lineup of five chefs will begin at 4:30 p.m.

today, with the last chef beginning his segment at 9:20 p.m., and

Sunday’s three experts begin demonstrating at 12:30 p.m.

Also part of the pavilion is a sculpture that really couldn’t be

any more gluttonous or extravagant.

In a gesture combining both art and cooking, chef Rick Royal has

created a chocolate motorcycle that is entirely edible. It is

life-sized, made with 500 pounds of chocolate, swept with edible

silver dust meant to mimic chrome and surrounded by fog (or the

effects of dry ice). A skeleton made entirely of sugar sits on the

motorcycle. His leather jacket is made of chocolate and the logo on

the back reads “Death by Chocolate.” The sculpture will be displayed

at the Taste of Newport.

“It’s food art,” said Royal, a pastry chef.

Katie Averill, a chef instructor at the art institute, will

demonstrate how to make her version of S’mores involving milk

chocolate custard tarts, an espresso cookie shell and homemade

marshmallows.

“I’m sure people can’t even fathom that it’s something they can

do,” Averill said of making marshmallows at home. “It’s just whipped

egg whites, powdered sugar and gelatin. You heat it up and whip it in

the mixer for 20 minutes.”

The texture and firmness of the marshmallow will depend on how

much gelatin you use. But Averill, who teaches culinary students at

the institute, said she tries to keep in mind that the average public

audience member might not know what gelatin is.

“You have to keep in mind that you may be talking to people who

are stopping by because they like to eat,” Averill said.

Lauderdale will demonstrate a fruit de mer and artichoke salad

drizzled with a healthy tarragon cream dressing. The technique is

called modified food starch and is used to replace the fat in salad

dressings.

“A huge trend in the food business right now is to make food

healthier,” he said. “Lowering fat and maintaining the wonderful

flavors and textures of the original sauces.”

* YOUNG CHANG is the features and arts and entertainment writer.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4268 or by e-mail at

young.chang@latimes.com.