Incredible Edibles

BURNING CONFESSIONS: Martin Gagne of Sole Food joins other local chefs to dish their best -- and worst -- kitchen memories.

Ten local chefs gather to tell their stories and whet your appetite.

by Juliet Fletcher

For sheer kitchen farce, chef Martin Gagne likes to tell of a hapless student who studied in one of his kitchens, and one day mistook the salt for sugar. The wrong white stuff was sprinkled over a whole batch of Danish pastries, and Gagne got an earful from every guest.

Then there was the time he walked out of his kitchen to find musician David Crosby sitting by himself at one of his restaurant tables. As a huge Crosby, Stills and Nash fan, Gagne was a little nonplussed. "[Crosby] said to me, "Hey, I really dig your shit, man,'" Gagne remembers. "And I said, "That's great — I've been digging yours for years."

Gagne admits it dates him. "I'm an old guy, I always have these silly little stories that I like to tell," he chuckles. But it's just this raconteur's streak that snagged Gagne, head chef at Sole Food, an invitation to this evening's "Edible World," an unscripted night of true stories of kitchen madness that kicks off the First Person Festival.

"Food is something which we all have in common, so there's nothing distancing to it," Vicki Solot, organizer of the festival, which celebrates memoir. "I can talk to anybody about fried chicken or apple cake or whatever." But why do people especially love to hear chefs talk about what they do? Gagne has an idea: "Most chefs don't start any dialogue with their clients, so they're an enigma. And when they do, [the crowd thinks], "Whoa, what have we here?'"

Solot agrees that kitchens provide rich source material for storytelling. Gagne will be joined by nine other local chefs, such as Jean-Marie Lacroix, Marietou Fanny of La Creperie and Tim Olivett of Rx. The challenge will be not only to spin a yarn but to serve the accompanying dish. Gagne reckons he's on solid ground with his prized chocolate gratin, "a very soft, rich chocolate souffle served on a sugar cookie," which he dreamt up in the '80s. Upon serving it one night at Hotel 21 East in Chicago, he was called out to meet a table of guests. "Then I noticed His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Bernadine [archbishop of Chicago] was sitting at the next table, with nuns that worked at the rectory, apparently hanging on my every word. As I turned to leave, he grabbed me by the arm, and asked, "What is this dessert?' I said, "It's so good, you'll think you've sinned.' And he said, with a twinkle in his eye, "Lead us into temptation!'"

Solot, who gave this year's festival a mission to uphold "cultural diversity," says, "What could be more natural than exploring the culinary history of people and places?" The event's stars combine different experiences in the kitchen, "from haute cuisine to tiny hidden restaurants," she says. But culinary variety is just as evident: "The chefs were not necessarily born elsewhere but have traveled and picked up tidbits" from abroad. They include Seiko Dailey, whose Narberth restaurant, Maido, re-creates one owned by her mother in Japan. And Neghisti Gaabrehiwet, whose Eritrean restaurant, Dahlak, has paved the way for West Philly's recognition of African cuisines. Even Gagne, who's opened 27 restaurants and hotels in his career, treasures memories of his time in Bangkok, working in a restaurant with Mrs. Chin, a Cantonese chef, who once asked him what Buffalo wings were. Her resulting interpretation will be re-created by Gagne tonight — wings braised and cooled in Vietnamese fish sauce, lemongrass, honey and oranges. "When I first tried them, I just said, "Mrs. Chin, these are killer.'"

With these stories, Gagne hopes to break through the enigmatic silence between a chef and hungry diners: "I think chefs, because they're in the back don't bother with that. I won't say I cruise the dining room, but if I'm having a good time, I'll go out there and say hello."

And, while no one's suggesting that hanging out with chefs makes you smarter, you might at least learn how to distinguish seasonings. "If you look closely, sugar is much whiter than salt," Gagne explains, "but most people aren't that careful."

Edible World, Thu., June 2, 6 p.m., $25, Red Tettemer, PNB Building, 1 S. Broad St., 24th floor, 215-569-9700, www.firstpersonfestival.org.

Hungry for More?
"I'd say about a third of this year's First Person Festival events feature food in some way," says organizer Vicki Solot. Here's a rundown of where to find your next course:

First Person Connect
The tour of Philly neighborhoods winds up in Norris Square, where Grupos Motivos, a catering company founded by Puerto Rican women, will serve traditional Latino dishes while sharing their stories. (Sat., June 4, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., $40, leaves from the Independence Visitor Center, Sixth and Market Sts.)

A Bintl Lebns
Professor Kathryn Hellerstein leads a reading and performance of Yiddish letters and poetry, including excerpts from the advice column, "A Bintl Briv," from the Yiddish newspaper The Forward. Dancing and Jewish snacks follow. (Sun., June 5, 2 p.m., $15, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St.)

Chutney & Ketchup: Growing Up Indian in a Mixed Up World
Nimisha Ladva reads from "Good Girls Don't Stare," her writing competition-winning short story about growing up with her Indian family in Britain. Samosas will be served. (Mon., June 6, 7 p.m., free, Asian Arts Initiative, 1315 Cherry St., second floor east.)

Savoring Tradition
Writer Leslie Li reads from her food memoir, Daughter of Heaven: A Memoir with Earthly Recipes, while chef Joseph Poon re-creates some of Li's favorite dishes. (Sun., June 12, 6 p.m., $35, Joseph Poon Asian Fusion Restaurant, 1002 Arch St.)

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