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Lunch with the Tuna King of Tokyo! (Well, with a version of him, at least!)

Washing dishes like a Buddhist monk: Save one piece of radish from the meal, pour hot tea into your rice bowl, use the radish to wash your dish, then drink the tea at the end. Not a bit of waste!

Market Stalls

by Olivia

Photo Credit: Olivia

Eating by way of Zen

by Robert

Maple Syrup Pancakes

by Jay

Welcome to Read, Eat, Write 2017! This year we come to you from Tokyo, Japan! After four years of minimester blogging from the Chelsea neighborhood in New York, we have taken this show on the road. For the next ten days, 15 middle grades students are venturing around Tokyo and blogging to prove it. Enjoy our adventures and leave us a comment!

Meeting Chris Fischer

When Chris Fischer first arrived here I was expecting him to speak mainly about his book and how he developed the recipes in his book. He did a presentation about the farm where he grew up, and in the process and I think he changed some of our minds about meat. He stressed the importance of understanding where meat comes from if you are going to be eating it. When telling us about some bunnies on his farm, he said “Actually, it’s the parents that cringe when I tell them they are food. The kids don’t mind so much.” I think this proves that not knowing where your food comes from is learned through life and not always thought of. This made me realize the importance of Chris Fischer spreading awareness of the origin of food through the stories in his book. When we finished the presentation he showed us some articles he wrote for the local newspaper. He said he started writing for the newspaper because it was his way of beginning writing. Finally, we did a chocolate tasting, and he told us some background about each chocolate and where is came from. Personally, this made me better appreciate the chocolate because I know the story behind it. I think Chris Fischer did this because he wanted to show us how to understand the things we eat so we can further appreciate and respect our food, just like the animals.

- Rachel

#beetlebungfarm #avenuesnyc #submission

Today’s cheese isn’t quite as naturally made as cheese 100 years ago was. Beecher’s Cheese is one of the few places that still hand makes cheese, and it’s extremely delicious. They work nearly 24 hours per day because cheese requires a ridiculous amount of attention. There were two stainless steel tubs. One was for fresh milk and the other was for curds and whey. They churn each one and when the milk is churned enough, they press it and put it into metal boxes. They send the cheese to their storage area in New Jersey where it ages for 15 months!

-Idana

One ingredient three ways: hazelnuts! The top picture is raw hazelnuts The middle picture is Nutella The bottom picture is a Nutella crepe!

Top picture courtesy of FarmFlavor

- Sadie

Del Posto

When we went to Del Posto, the experience was inspiring. This is a restaurant that takes the dining experience very seriously. Each person on the staff wants every diner to have the comfort that they deserve. Everyday, the dining table setup changes to mimic the reservations, every table is properly set for the number of guests visiting that day. For example, when we visited the banquet kitchen and were introduced to the main chef (Chef Josh), we were let into the behind the scenes of the culinary industry. In addition, we learned that running a proper kitchen is difficult because of all the health codes they have to follow. For example, they have to freeze any raw fish they serve in a special freezer of approximately - 86°. Furthermore, they also have an intricate process for all their food. When they make their fresh handmade pasta, they have to layer it and put it through a machine so it will be the perfect thickness. Going to Del Posto was not only a great learning experience, but showed us the truth about working in the kitchen.

Nutella Land!

-Idana

Eating Her Curds and Whey

On Thursday, we visited Beecher’s Cheese and they had these amazing machines to make the cheese. There were two huge stainless steel vats. One had just the milk and some salt, while the other held the curds, whey, and culture. Culture is the good bacteria that flavors the cheese. The process was incredible. Chef Josh walked us through the cheese-making process from cow to your shopping shelf. Beechers uses milk from Jersey cows and Holstein cows. He told us that after they put the cheese through the process of the vats, they would cut the cheese into pieces, and then they would put the cheese into these pressers. After that, they would wrap them in cloth and put them in cases so they could sit for 15 months before serving. Or you can taste it before it ages. We got to taste the same cheese, but one was 15 months old while the other was fresh. The difference was very outstanding for being the same cheese. The curd was softer and chewier and the aged cheese was harder and the cheddar flavor was more intense. This experience was amazing and I think that everyone should go there!

-Kaia

Inside Del Posto

Today our class took an exclusive tour of the famous Italian restaurant in Chelsea, Del Posto. We were lucky enough to see inside the kitchen and how long it really takes to make the food. Del Posto has two kitchens, one downstairs and a main one upstairs. First, we went downstairs and toured that kitchen; my favorite part was when we saw the lobsters. They go through almost a three-day process of getting, cooking, cleaning, seasoning, and preparing the lobster to be eaten. People underestimate a restaurant and seeing Del Posto made me realize that some food is really worth what you pay for it. After touring the downstairs kitchen, we went upstairs and saw the main kitchen. Each row of the kitchen had three chefs, each for a different ingredient. It was huge and looked like something you would see in a movie, even our host, Miss Chloe admitted that it looked like the kitchen from Ratatouille. We then tasted one of their best winter salads. they told us that because spring is already here, in two days they are replacing the salad with more “spring type vegetables.” Overall, Del Posto made me realize that the staff and their hard work at a restaurant makes it what it is and that Del Posto is a perfect example of that.

-Leo

During class today, each person was given three different pieces of chocolate. Without knowing what kind of chocolate it was, we first tried half of each piece. The first chocolate was shaped like a cube and covered in brown powder. It was soft, chewy, and sweet, and it melted in my mouth even before I began to chew. The second was hard and very strong, and not perfectly shaped. I suspected it to be dark chocolate. Finally, I tried a chocolate that tasted very bitter and bit sour. From the outside it looked like normal milk chocolate piece but it sure did not taste like it! The first chocolate ended up being a soft chocolate made in Japan by very specific cows. The second was dark chocolate like I suspected, and the last, the biggest shocker of all was that it was made of sheep’s milk!

- Martin

#avenuesnyc #submission

Beechers different kinds of cheese.

-Jack

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