Vino Voices Special Edition: "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars - Season 2" by Apple TV—Episode 3

"Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars - Season 2" by Apple TV

This Special Edition Vino Voices post is one of seven that will take place while the Apple TV series "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars - Season 2" is running.

I was fortunate enough to be provided with advanced screenings of this series and have been watching them during past weeks. Episode 3 premiers today on Apple TV. Below is a brief overview.

"Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars - Season 2"

Episode Three: Could you imagine losing one?

Restaurants & Locations: Continuation of—Calusso in Fort Lauderdale and Cotoa in North Miami, Florida. Both are seeking their first Michelin star.

Also new this week—Stubborn Seed in Miami Beach, Florida. The chef aims for a second Michelin star.

Tensions/Conflict:

Stubborn Seed—

Chef Jeremy Ford has opened six additional restaurants since his Stubborn Seed restaurant gained a Michelin star four years ago. To manage these new enterprises, he needs to delegate duties to a new head chef at Stubborn Seed. Can this chef, Adolfo, wield his Venezuelan heritage and culinary prowess to help keep the Michelin star?

Calusso—

When Chef Jonathan Kaiser of Calusso has doubts, he has to hide any sense of weakness from his employees. As for winning a Michelin star, which song will he play after the Michelin ceremony: "We Are The Champions," or "Everybody Hurts"?

Cotoa—

Chef Alejandra has put her family's house up as security to fund moving to a larger restaurant, and has barely seen her family all week. She is concerned—will her new non-ice cream dessert gain favor with diners, or with a Michelin inspector?

Quotations:

Chef Jeremy Ford of Stubborn Seed: "We use farm to table ingredients and we try to pack as much umami into our food—tomatoes, chilies, onions. That's the overall goal."

"I don't want to see tomatoes cut from the day before. If there were an inspector here, we're done. We have to be perfect every single night. This is the Michelin standard."

Chef Jonathan Kaiser of Calusso: "In those kinds of moments where it's like down to the wire is where you find your best inspiration. It's where the best work happens."

Chef Alejandra Espinoza of Cotoa: "Having Michelin recognition would really help us to move to the next level. You have to be all in, in order to be successful."

Anonymous Michelin Inspector: "Anonymity is one of the cornerstones of the Michelin process. You use aliases, you pay with different credit cards, you use different email addresses, different phone numbers. Those are some of the tricks."

Narrator/Host Jesse Burgess: "It's a real eclectic menu, different things from around the world. But then, that's Miami. There's no centuries old dining tradition that everybody has to sort of pay their respects to, or stick to."

Culinary Highlights:

Stubborn Seed—Alaskan halibut on purple long beans with hibiscus glaze that includes chili, lime juice and salt.

Calusso—Chicken breast stuffed with late season truffles; other chicken parts used to make a sherry jus.

Cotoa—Pineapple compote, layered with cake soaked in lemon, bathed in milk made from three types of coconut and topped with coconut cream.

Local Quirks:

Stubborn Seed—Jeremy Ford has his own six-acre farm that produces food for the restaurant guaranteeing 'farm to table' fare.

Vino Voices

Thanks for tuning into this episode of Vino Voices. Check out my next regular Tuesday post, which will feature a visit to a boat show in Genoa and to a wedding in Antibes, Provence.

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