Hollywood’s “Golden Age” Dining

It was a very different sort of evening in my kitchen last Monday, when blogger, photographer, and chef Greg Henry from Los Angeles and sous chef, Liz Lees from San Diego were ready to present a special cooking class about how movie stars dined during the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. It was an age when “being seen” was EVERYTHING!

That afternoon, Greg and Liz measured ingredients for the famous “Signature Cocktail” from the glamorous Cocoanut Grove Restaurant in the center of Hollywood and they carefully scooped black and red caviar into old-fashioned champagne glasses for Trump’s “Plantains with Black Bean Sauce”.

They cleaned, sauced and sauteed chicken livers for Don the Beachcomber’s “Rumaki” and peeled, deveined and skewered shrimp for “BBQ Shrimp with Ginger and Lime” from the old Spago Restaurant, which overlooked Sunset Blvd.

They poached chicken breasts and saved the broth for me, boiled eggs, and chopped various lettuces and cheeses for the Brown Derby’s “Original Cobb Salad’.

The final dish was the “Romanoff’s Chocolate Souffle”, the perfect ending to this sumptuous meal. Liz had pre-measured the ingredients of this very glamorous finale into a beautiful “mis en place” arrangement, including 12 carefully separated eggs, milk, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, salt and powdered sugar.

As students arrived, they were greeted with stories about how Hollywood restaurateurs developed their menus, prepared their dishes and built their reputations. They learned how movie stars became the center of attention, while being surrounded by some of the most elegant cuisine the world has ever know.

As the evening progressed, everyone mingled like movie stars with flashbulbs popping, and they dined on great recipes prepared with flair by Hollywood photographer and chef, Greg Henry. Each famous, delicious and historic dish was fit for such super-stars as Dorothy Lamour, James Cagny, Judy Garland, Groucho Marx and Bing Crosby.

And just think, this all took place in my lovely kitchen high up on the side of a volcano overlooking Boquete, Panama.
Lucky me,
Cora

www.Sippitysup Comes to Boquete

The Boquete Gourmet Host Chef Program is very happy to present the famous editor and writer of www.sippitysup and professional Hollywood photographer, Chef Greg Henry!

Greg will present “The Golden Age of Hollywood” Cooking Class on Monday, December 28, 2009 at 5pm, in my kitchen in  Boquete, Panama.

Five (5) Hollywood dishes will be created using original recipes from The Brown Derby Restaurant, established in 1932 on the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood, California, the center of the movie industry at that time.  Because Greg lives and works in Hollywood, his specialty dishes come from menus of the stars, the dishes presented during the “Golden Age” of movie-making.

If you’d like to see an example of what Greg might prepare, go to www.sippitysup.com to see some of his photos.  You can tell by his blogs that he loves to cook and he loves his L.A.-Hollywood lifestyle.

Once located in the heart of Hollywood, The Brown Derby helped define glamour, sophistication and romance during the golden age of the stars. This legendary haunt was once the most famous restaurant in the world.  Sinatra, Davis, Bogart, Tracy, Olivier, and Leigh all dined, partied and romanced at its tables. The Cobb salad was created there. The Brown Derby Restaurant has become part of our vernacular ever since it opened, and it continues to provide gourmet dining to the rich and famous who visit there today.

Reserve you seat today at $35 per ticket, which includes the class, the complete Hollywood gourmet dinner, recipe book and a glass of wine. Class will be held at the Kent’s home, El Santuario, Boquete, Chiriqui, Rep. de Panama, where Greg will be visiting over the holidays.

For reservations, please email boquetegourmet@gmail.com or comment directly to Greg at www.sippitysup.com. Class size is limited to 12, first come, first served, so please make reservations now for this once-ever event!