John LINDGREN
Keittiomestari Ollikainen Kuopio-Viking Line-Bangkok
Chef Janne Suomalianen keittiomestari Central World Convention & Centara Hotel’issa
Janne on kotoisin pohjois Karjalasta, itasuomen rajamailta siella missa yksi toinen Janne, Sibeliuksen Janne, ranskaksi Jean kirjoitti orkesteri mestari tyonsa Karelia sarja vuonna 1893.
Chef Janne Ollikainen saapui Thaiaan kuninkgas kunnan rannoille viime vuonna. Ensinmainen suomalianen kokki Bangkok’issa ja Thaimaan hotelli keittioissa missa keittiomestarit, kokit, leipurit, kakku leipurit ovat aina tulleet keski euroopasta Itavallasta, Ranskansta, Sveitsista, Saksasta jopa Australiiasta , Kiinasta, Vietnamista ja Taiwanista.
ThaimaanSuomalainen tapaa 35 vuotiaan Janne Ollikaisen hyvakuntoisen hymyilevan ilman korkeata valkoista kokki univormua ja kokki hattua Central World Hotel and Convention Centre upeassa jattilaismaisessa juhla huoneessa 29’essa kerrokksessa keskella Bangko’ia.
Ollikaisen Janne on Thai emannan, Thai International lento emannan kansssa naimisissa. Ja Suomalias-Siamilainen pariskunta osti hiljattain kerrostalon lahella Sukhumvit Onnut’in BTS “sky train’in paate pysakkia Sukhumvit ja Bagna Trad’in lahimailla.
“Nty olen Bangkok’ikkilainen ja minulla on vakituinen BTS kortti sanoo Janne ja nayttaa minulle kiiltavan “sky train kortinssa”. “Aikasemmeninm olin monta vuotta vakituinen asiakas AY’n Finskin Helsinki-Bangkok reitilla sanoo Ollikainen”.
“ Lapsena viihdyin aina keittiossa. Minulla on valokuva kun olin jotain viisi vuotta. Puetttuna kokkovaatteisiin ja valkoine kokki hattu paassa. Siina oli enne, sanoo Janne.
“ Aloitin kuorimall vihreita ja keltaisia sipulia kesalomilla kun olin viisitoista ”. Myohemmin Janne Ollikainen opiskeli Kuopion Hotelli ja Ravintola Opistiossa ja saavutti loppututkinnon 3 ½ vuoden jalkeen.
80 luvaulla kun Janne oli kuorimassa sipulia ja perunoita suomaliasen keittion maine kansainvalisesti oli iloton ja harmaa.
Raskas ja rasvanen ruoka taynna kolesteroolia suolaista tulevaa isojen miesten ruokaa. Sydan infarktiin johtava ravintoa. Suomalainen aamianen Anno Dazumal: Paulig’in kahvia, kermaa ja paljon valkoista sokeria. Voileipia paksusti voita, suolaista makkaraa, rasvaista juustoa. Ja lisaa punaista maitoa ja sitten viela kunnot Coltti savuke paalle.
Lounas; lihapullat perunaa ja suolainen kastike. Pimaa tai maitoa. Ja stressi “ressi” paalle. Ynna pitkan kylmat talvet jotka vaativat alkoholia, viinaa “kossua” jota juottin tupakkaa haisevissa kapakoissa. Kaikki polltivat. Tuhkikset taynna. Istuttiin iltaa. Ainakin kaksi askia tupakkaa ja makeita tuhteja vodka paukkuja “long-drink’ja” ja monta litraa olutta ja kuorallisia suolaisia pahkinoita, perunalastuja ja lisaa Lapin Kultaa janoon.
Ei ihme etta suomesta Suomi sai kultamitalin kansainvalisen WHO 45 + okasten miesten sydan kuolleisuus kilpailussa.
Ja sitten viela Ranskan presidentti Monsieur President Le de la France - Jacques Chirac joka kehtasi loukkata suomalista keittiota Helsingin vierailun jalkeen sanomalla “Englannin jalkeen Suomalainen ruoka on mailman huunoin.”
Ranskalaisen presidentin vaite oli tarkea suomalaisen ruuan, ravintola kultuurin vanhoillisen, perinnaisen ruokalistan vaihtamisessa. Muutos tuli jalkeen ja sydanja verenkulku sairaisauksien kuolleisuus rupesi merkittavast laskemaan.
Ja tanaan vonna 2007. Suomlaiset ovat terveemipa kuin ikina ja Suomessa on tanaa monta kuuluisaan kansainvalista Michelin tahti ravintolaa. Ja uusia tulee joka vuosi. Ja ruokalistoilla tuoreammat ja parhaat raaka aineet. Kokeista, keittiomestareista on tullut Chef’it joilla on kova media ja julkkis status ja jotka jopa kutsutaan Presidentin Linnan Suomen Itsenaisyyspaiva Vastaaotolle.
Satoja nuoria kokkeja niinkuin Janne Ollikainen nostavat suomalaisen ruoka kultuuriin la cuisine Finlandaise seuraavalle tasolle ympari maalimaa.
“Oppiarvoni saatua jalkeen tyoskentelin Klaus Kurki butiikki hotelli & ravintolassa Helsingissa, senjalkeen Saariselka Hiihtokeskuksessa myohemmin Helsingin Kansalais Oopperan keittiossa kertoo Janne Ollikainen.
“Sitten merille. Kuusi vuotta kovaa risteily kokemusta. Punasilla Viikingi laivoilla. Tukholma-Helsinki reitilla. Tyokentelin “chef-de-partie” tai kolmois kokkina. Meilla oli euroopan suurimmat kylma keittiot” keroo Janne. “Kymmenia tuhansia aterioita per vuorokausi”.
Jannella on 20 vuotta keittio kokemusta ynna keittio suunittelu, ruoka budgetit, henkilokunta koulutus ynna muuta. Chef Janne Ollikaisen uusi haste on juuri avattu Central World 5 tahden 5.000 henkilon hotelli & kongressi keskus.
“Meidan kapaciteeti: 3,000 istuma paikkaa and 7.000 seisovaa kokkari vierasta. Tulitera keittio huippu high-tech varusteineen. Mutta jaakapit ovat kumminkin pienempia kun Viking-Line’in kylma huoneen”.
Kongressi keskus avattiin kuukausi sitten. Keskella Bangkok’ia Chidlomin BST aseman vieressa. Central World jattilais kauppa keskus hirvio. Kongressi keskus sitjaitsee 29’ssa kerrekksessa.
Avajaisissa eras kutsuvieras sainoi: Tannehan mahtuu lentokone. Tai tuo pieni Boeing 737.
Vapaaika? Kysyn. “Ei todella paljon “relaks” aikaa. Mutta pelaan golfia” sanoo Janne. “11 ½ handickappi . Kohta tippuu yhteentoista. eleven! Mieluiten pelaan The Ramintra road’in armejan kentalla” , kertoo Ollikainen.
Ja mikas on lempi juoma? “Puna viini. Ranskalainen Bungundy Pinot Noir ja McAllan Speyside single malt whisky. Ja joskus paksu pitka Havana polkky – jos on aikaa ja oikea tilaisuus.”.
Ja minkaslainen ruoka maistuu keittiomestarille? Kala, yksinkertainen “seafood” , mutta myos Ruian pallas, Maine’in (USA’n itarannikon hummeri. Ja tietysti huhtasieni, musta koiso Morchella deliciosa tama on hyvin arvostettu sieni ranskalaiset gourmet kokkien parissa. Me suomalaiset olemme sieni aficionado’ja. sanoo Janne ja hymyilee.
Ja miten Thai ruoka? “ Pidan Lab Muu (sour salads containing meat, onions, chillies, roasted rice powder and garnished with mint) ja Gaeng Som (chili vihannes keitto). Tykkaan myos makeasta chilista ja keltaisesta ja makea hapan currysta.
“Olen aina tykannyt Thai ruuasta” lisaa Ollikainen.
“ Minun kokkaamisessa on itamaista, japanilaista sopusointoa ja myos elementtia klassillisesta ranskalaisesta keittiosta . Ravut ja lohi suomesta. Keitetty (poached) kala.
Janne sanoo: “raakaianeet ovat tarkeat, keittio kalusteen niinkuin “software” henkilokunta myos hyvin tarkea. Meidan joukkue: Thaimaan ehka parhaat 25 kokkia; Thai, Kiinalaiset ja Japanilaiset. – Unelma joukkue - “ the dream team”. Sanoo Janne Ollikainen Central World Hotel and Convention Centre’in keittiomestari.
Ensinmainen suomalinen mestari kokki Thaimaan paakaupungissa. Ja tiedan etta hanella on Nokian kannykka.
END TEXT
Monday, November 3, 2008
My name is Giovanni - Grappino Amari Watergate
John LINDGREN November 2007
Grappino Amari Watergate - My name is Giovanni…
Do you remember the SIAM LODGE hotel group? A hundred years ago! Siam Lodge is what the the Amari Hotel Group was known as before it became Amari Hotel Group. The strategic, conceptual re branding by took place in 1996. And the flagship property of the group was named Amari Watergate Rong Raeem Amari Pratunam located between the old chronically crowded Prathunam whole & retail market and the towering, glowing Central World and Paragon mega mall lifestyle superstructures.
The ten year old Amari Grappino Italian restaurant is the only Italian high-end eatery in the eternally busy Prathunam district.
The Grappino shares the 5th floor with Amari Watergate's sophisticated Cantonese Restarant Heichinrou. Upon entering the recently re-designed Grappino we are greeted by a spacious dining room with large tables and open casual, minimalist decor in black and orange with the window tables offering a panoramic vista of Metropolitan Bangkok.
On the wall a collection of poster size black & white grainy Italian retro 50s and 60s photographs.
The name Grappino is taken from the the fiery grappa the Italian 'firewater', collection said to be one of the most extensive in the city.
Our chef for the evening is Giovanni. "My name is Giovanni" says the lanky Chef Ranaudo who hails from from the spa city of Term Catteri town in Toscany. After completing a 5 year culinary education Chef Giovanni sailed the seven seas on Princess Cruises for three and a half years. 'We prepared 12.000 meals a day ! High pressure, high volume non-stop cooking' .
The Holiday Time Christmas and New Year tasting (degustation) dinner starts with a zuppe , the ubiquitous Minestrone soup, so simple; veggies finely chopped, pesto and spinach hot and delectable. A minestrone for all seasons.
The vino to accompany is Italian, of course, a 100 % Chardonnay the Est Est Est !!! Monte Fiascona 2004. Dry, fruity and zesty.
The next dish on the Christmas Eve menu: Tiger Prawns with warm lentil salad, crispy potatoes with black squid ink and balsamic vinegar. The big juicy al dente prawns with the warm lentil salad and black shoestring thin crispy potatoes. Is this the new lean Italian cuisine?
Nuvella cuccina Italiano.
More of the new light Italian cuisine. Lobster Lasagna with zuccini, saffron sauce and caviar. The word Lasagna is first recorded in English in 1760. It derives from the Vulgar Latin lasania for a cooking pot, but the Italian etymologists prefer to find an origin in the classical Greek lagana, a type of unleavened flat bread not unlike pasta).
Chef Gianno's lasagna is di-vi-ne. Da ultimo ! Al dente-melt-in-the-mouth-culinary-experience. Phuk-kket lobster, caviar, and the saffron (the most precious and most expensive spice in the world extracted from the saffron flower,Crocus Sativus Linneaus ).
With Chef's recommendation we switched to red vino a Castaldo Chianti from Central Tuscany. In the glass dark orange-garnet red with a jammy aroma and dry tannins and a tad oak. It's a medium-bodied style with strawberry and plum fruit, hints of liquorice and tar and reasonable acidity. Made to go with pasta or lasagna rather than for drinking on its own.
"This is a modern lasagna – a modern seafood lasagna" says Chef Giovanni. I would say international Italian-Thai fusion.
The last main course on our deputation menu: The larded monkfish, medallions with spinach on green asparagus, complimented by a spicy tomato and garlic sauce. The presentation a beige paper parcel. When opened it sends a delectable aroma from the fish and the spices and all the herbs. The tad salty monk fish perfectly balanced the simple Italian ingredients; spinach, green asparagus, and the spicy imported Italian tomatoes and the garlic sauce, of course. Washed down with the medium-full bodied, mouth filling 13.5 percent Castaldo. It's good to the last bite and the last drop.
And the grande finale: the Dolce Degustationo on a long white plate with the classics side by side. Tiramisu, the Venetian Ti-ra-mi-su. In English pick-me-up. Served in a twisted bone white coffee cup. Perfect, dolce but not "make-loose-your-fillings-sweet" and the creamy vanilla ice-cream, the dark hot 'lava hot melted' chocolate mousse and the healthy yoghurt mousse with fresh berries. Followed by Illy freshly brewed potent Arabica with a Chardonnay Grappa in a miniature wine glass. "Fire in the hole" Grappa with looong after taste.
A perfect end to a 'Fantastico Italiano Gegustazione X-mas & New Years dinner. A smiling Chef Ra-naudo bids his farewells standing tall in his white toque. We say "Mille Grazia" He smiles "my name is Giovanni… Please come back".
END TEXT
Grappino Amari Watergate - My name is Giovanni…
Do you remember the SIAM LODGE hotel group? A hundred years ago! Siam Lodge is what the the Amari Hotel Group was known as before it became Amari Hotel Group. The strategic, conceptual re branding by took place in 1996. And the flagship property of the group was named Amari Watergate Rong Raeem Amari Pratunam located between the old chronically crowded Prathunam whole & retail market and the towering, glowing Central World and Paragon mega mall lifestyle superstructures.
The ten year old Amari Grappino Italian restaurant is the only Italian high-end eatery in the eternally busy Prathunam district.
The Grappino shares the 5th floor with Amari Watergate's sophisticated Cantonese Restarant Heichinrou. Upon entering the recently re-designed Grappino we are greeted by a spacious dining room with large tables and open casual, minimalist decor in black and orange with the window tables offering a panoramic vista of Metropolitan Bangkok.
On the wall a collection of poster size black & white grainy Italian retro 50s and 60s photographs.
The name Grappino is taken from the the fiery grappa the Italian 'firewater', collection said to be one of the most extensive in the city.
Our chef for the evening is Giovanni. "My name is Giovanni" says the lanky Chef Ranaudo who hails from from the spa city of Term Catteri town in Toscany. After completing a 5 year culinary education Chef Giovanni sailed the seven seas on Princess Cruises for three and a half years. 'We prepared 12.000 meals a day ! High pressure, high volume non-stop cooking' .
The Holiday Time Christmas and New Year tasting (degustation) dinner starts with a zuppe , the ubiquitous Minestrone soup, so simple; veggies finely chopped, pesto and spinach hot and delectable. A minestrone for all seasons.
The vino to accompany is Italian, of course, a 100 % Chardonnay the Est Est Est !!! Monte Fiascona 2004. Dry, fruity and zesty.
The next dish on the Christmas Eve menu: Tiger Prawns with warm lentil salad, crispy potatoes with black squid ink and balsamic vinegar. The big juicy al dente prawns with the warm lentil salad and black shoestring thin crispy potatoes. Is this the new lean Italian cuisine?
Nuvella cuccina Italiano.
More of the new light Italian cuisine. Lobster Lasagna with zuccini, saffron sauce and caviar. The word Lasagna is first recorded in English in 1760. It derives from the Vulgar Latin lasania for a cooking pot, but the Italian etymologists prefer to find an origin in the classical Greek lagana, a type of unleavened flat bread not unlike pasta).
Chef Gianno's lasagna is di-vi-ne. Da ultimo ! Al dente-melt-in-the-mouth-culinary-experience. Phuk-kket lobster, caviar, and the saffron (the most precious and most expensive spice in the world extracted from the saffron flower,Crocus Sativus Linneaus ).
With Chef's recommendation we switched to red vino a Castaldo Chianti from Central Tuscany. In the glass dark orange-garnet red with a jammy aroma and dry tannins and a tad oak. It's a medium-bodied style with strawberry and plum fruit, hints of liquorice and tar and reasonable acidity. Made to go with pasta or lasagna rather than for drinking on its own.
"This is a modern lasagna – a modern seafood lasagna" says Chef Giovanni. I would say international Italian-Thai fusion.
The last main course on our deputation menu: The larded monkfish, medallions with spinach on green asparagus, complimented by a spicy tomato and garlic sauce. The presentation a beige paper parcel. When opened it sends a delectable aroma from the fish and the spices and all the herbs. The tad salty monk fish perfectly balanced the simple Italian ingredients; spinach, green asparagus, and the spicy imported Italian tomatoes and the garlic sauce, of course. Washed down with the medium-full bodied, mouth filling 13.5 percent Castaldo. It's good to the last bite and the last drop.
And the grande finale: the Dolce Degustationo on a long white plate with the classics side by side. Tiramisu, the Venetian Ti-ra-mi-su. In English pick-me-up. Served in a twisted bone white coffee cup. Perfect, dolce but not "make-loose-your-fillings-sweet" and the creamy vanilla ice-cream, the dark hot 'lava hot melted' chocolate mousse and the healthy yoghurt mousse with fresh berries. Followed by Illy freshly brewed potent Arabica with a Chardonnay Grappa in a miniature wine glass. "Fire in the hole" Grappa with looong after taste.
A perfect end to a 'Fantastico Italiano Gegustazione X-mas & New Years dinner. A smiling Chef Ra-naudo bids his farewells standing tall in his white toque. We say "Mille Grazia" He smiles "my name is Giovanni… Please come back".
END TEXT
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