‘Being a winery chef is a very unique job’
Six courses. Forty-four diners. One chef. Cakebread Cellars’ culinary director Brian Streeter puts his 20-hour flight behind him to cook for India
It is fascinating watching Brian Streeter at work. He is laser-focused on the task at hand: elbow-deep in flour, wielding a giant rolling pin. The culinary director of Napa Valley’s much-awarded wine producer, Cakebread Cellars has made a rare foray out of the sunny, green climes of the winery he works at to fly down to India for two special wine dinners he is headlining at. The first is just a few hours away, and Streeter is demonstrating his mettle. There are no signs of jet-lag as he deftly rolls the dough for the pierogies which will be the amuse bouche to start the 6-course dinner tonight. He’s in and out of the kitchen at The Lodhi’s all-new Perbacco restaurant, giving instructions, chopping, tasting, talking to the kitchen team assigned to help him cook for the day.
Dusting his hands on his apron, he’s ready for a break and a chat.
Landing in India for the first time is often overwhelming and Streeter admits to it being an ‘eye-opener,’ as he describes it. We sip our coffee and start. He’s not fazed one tiny bit at the idea of cooking for 44 strangers, many of them wine writers and critics who will dine tonight on his food… he does it all the time in his own kitchen in the Napa Valley. Nor do the new set-up, unfamiliar ingredients and working with a brand-new kitchen team ruffle him.
Blue cheese soufflé with wildflower honey, garden beets, dried persimmons and toasted pecans with Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Streeter has spent 29 years with Cakebread Cellars, which is family-run and known for their extraordinary retention of their top staff. Cakebread is also deeply committed to showcasing Napa Valley, where they are based, with local produce and great food.
The next day, he’s flying to Mumbai where he will join Bruce Cakebread, the producer-owner and a long time India hand (who has persisted with the Indian market over the years, keeping Cakebread on track as one of the best wine brands in India from the Napa Valley) Here, more wine lovers will come to taste and test his cooking and wine pairing skills. Then he will fly back to Napa and back to his day job.
Watch the interview in the videos below. We talk about food, and wine in India, and the possibility of Indian cuisine pairing with wine. I’ll let Brian Streeter speak for himself, just the way the Cakebread wines and Streeter’s food spoke in the pairings at the dinner later that evening.
Notable among the courses were the following wine and food pairings:
Kimchi & potato pierogi the amuse bouche, was paired with the delicate, fresh Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2016 (Streeter’s own favourite)
Seared scallops with carrot-brown butter emulsion, spinach, English peas and pumpkin see dukkah with the Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay 2016
Spice-rubbed duck breast with fig mostarda braised radishes, kohlrabi and sugar snap peas with the Dancing Bear Ranch 2009 (Cabernet-dominated blend, the most exclusive, expensive wine of the portfolio showcased).
Blue cheese soufflé with wild flower honey, garden beets, dried persimmons and toasted pecans with Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Watch my YouTube interview with Brian Streeter on Cakebread wines and the annual American Harvest Workshop concept at the winery – Part 1:
Interview – Streeter on pairing wines with the cuisines of Asia -Part 2
Visit Cakebread Cellars by prior appointment
www.cakebread.com
Address: PO Box 216
8300 Saint Helena Highway
Rutherford, CA 94573
Cakebread wines are available in India at select retail outlets, starting from Rs 4700 ($70).
For more images of the sit-down wine dinner with Cakebread Cellars and La Cave, New Delhi, go to the Wine Society page on this website.
