The Wisdom of Jim Koch
On Friday afternoon at GABF, I attended a beer and food pairing session hosted by Jim Koch of Sam Adams and Chef Jorge de la Torre, Dean of Culinary Education at Johnson & Wales University. They prepared several great looking dishes that thanks to some logistical mishaps and a packed crowed, I didn’t get to try. Luckily, Jim dropped a series of great nuggets of wisdom on us during a QA after the demo.
Jim’s favorite way to cook with beer:
“I use beer in place of milk in pancakes and waffles”
In response to a question about there being no “rules” in beer pairing, like there is with wine:
“You have to trust the authority of your senses when pairing beer and food, and if the pairing tastes great, it likely is”
In response to a question about beer styles versus country of origin:
“The idea you have to make beer in its country of origin is bullshit”
October 13th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
the last line is full frontal petry
October 15th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
[...] this is the worlds strongest beer. I had heard it was being poured, and was even so ballsy to ask Jim when it was being served on Friday. He gave me a time, and I went to the Sam Adams tent, but was [...]
October 20th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
[...] Although the pairing being handed out sounded great – I didn’t get a chance to try anything. Thanks to portion problems and logistical nightmares, and having trouble even hearing what was being made, entire swaths of the seated audience didn’t get a chance to try anything. Luckily, Jim kept up entertained with a steady stream of sage advice. [...]
November 1st, 2008 at 9:04 pm
[...] and set about trying to make a great pumpkin pancake. I also knew I’d be drawing on the advice of Jim Koch and using beer in the batter as well. I opted for an Oktoberfest, since it’s seasonal, [...]
January 1st, 2009 at 3:19 pm
nice post – and some interesting, candid thoughts from a candid man there.