The Tender Foodie

Chef, artist, TV personality, and chainsaw genius, Randy Finch, along with his partner Derek Maxfield, have come to embody the words, “ice” and “art.” Their team has been featured on the Discovery Channel; are in “Ripley’s Believe it Or Not”, and were featured in a show called “Ice Brigade” on The Food Network. I had the privilege to catch Randy for a chat, and visit his very “cool” studio with Steph Harding, photographer, for a fun departure from our regularly scheduled subject matter (food allergies).

TENDERFOODIE: Ice sculpture has rather utilitarian roots didn’t it? But, within a century it became quite an elaborate art form. When did the art of ice sculpture really begin?

RANDY: The beginning is debatable. The first documented ice sculpture, was the famous ice palace of 1740, commissioned As seen in Women's Lifestyle Magazine, June 2013by Empress Anna Ivanovna of Russia. She had commissioned this palace and staged a mock wedding there.

TENDERFOODIE: I read about that! She forced some guy she was angry with to marry one of her servants, spend the entire night in the palace, and expected them to sleep on a bed made of pure ice.

RANDY: Yes! I actually have an original article about this from 1741. It was published in a gentleman’s magazine at the time. The palace was quite elaborate, with trees, birds, and an elephant all made of ice.

TENDERFOODIE: Wow. Tell us more about how ice sculpture has evolved since then.

RANDY: Mostly, ice was used to keep food cool on the table, and it evolved into art. This was a technique used in the creation of Peach Melba. In fact, they originally used ice swans to display that dessert.

TENDERFOODIE: Oh, Peach Melba! Created for the legendary opera singer, Nelly Melba, correct?

RANDY: That is correct. In the early 1900’s, ice chandeliers, fountains and elaborate sculptures became more common. The quality sagged off in the U.S. for a while, and now it is coming full circle, and more elaborate sculptures are once again becoming common.

TENDERFOODIE: Why the resurgence?

RANDY: People are looking for unique and different things today. Until recent years, it wasn’t just elaborate sculptures that took time; simple products did as well. For instance we used to hand produce little sorbet dishes made of ice, and each would cost at least $35. New technology allows us to make them more quickly and at much less cost. We were the first to use computerized equipment in the U.S. We started using it in Grand Rapids, MI, three months ahead of Las Vegas!

TENDERFOODIE: Seriously? How did this happen?

RANDY: We’ve been in the business for a long time and have many personal relationships in the ice business. We knew the guy who was making the equipment in Canada, and had first dibs.

TENDERFOODIE: What other products come from this equipment?

RANDY: We can make large bins of ice that hold ice cream for parties, dishes, drink dispensers, and parts for drink luges where the party guest can interact with the sculpture. That is our niche: Interactive ice sculpture that is both functional and beautiful.

TENDERFOODIE: I saw a video of the ice desk that you did, and oh that grand piano that actually plays, and the pool table! What other interactive sculptures do you do?

RANDY: The desk was for a Food Network executive. That was really fun. One of the most outrageous projects was a 30-foot long mousetrap game that included a double, fully functional Ferris wheel, and a cannon that lights up and fires. It is based upon the concept of Rube Goldberg, an artist that did drawings of very elaborate ways of doing the simplest things. We did the Mousetrap game for a show called “Recreation Nation” on the Discovery Channel.

TENDERFOODIE: I saw your mousetrap sculpture on YouTube. Truly amazing. Is this your favorite project?

RANDY: The double Ferris wheel is nearest and dearest to my heart. It actually made it into Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. But other than that, the next project is always my favorite, whatever the next project might be. We recently did a 32-foot ice dessert bar and a live performance. We created an ice motorcycle with live pyrotechnics coming from the tail pipe right on stage. We are doing a lot more live performance shows as well. We love doing them.

TENDERFOODIE: You are a chef, and artist, and you must be an engineer of sorts to do what you do. How did you go from chef to an ice sculptor wielding a chain saw?

RANDY: Well, I also studied architecture, and we are known for our power tools. In fact we often choose the chainsaw or drill, even if a chisel is easier! But I did start out as a chef. I went to culinary school and worked as a private chef for Jay Van Andel for quite some time. I was the chef at Cygnus and for Peter Island Resort. My culinary training helps make for great relationships with chefs. I know how to design for any food without being taught. If the chef wants a caviar station, then I know we also need to accommodate blini, and how to design any sculpture so that it works for whatever food creation the chef can dream up.

TENDERFOODIE: What does an ice sculptor do in the summer?

RANDY: One of the biggest things we do in summer is sell our scrap ice, because it melts so much more slowly than regular cubed ice. Fishermen and tailgaters drop off their coolers on Monday, and pick them up on Friday for the weekend. As we do weddings and graduation sculptures, we throw the extra into their coolers. We are also doing sculpture for Kid Rock backstage.

TENDERFOODIE: Tell me, ice & cold are rather counter-intuitive symbols of romance. Why do you think it has come to be so closely connected with celebrations and love?

RANDY: There is a simple elegance to ice. It is artistic. Art and romance have always gone together. Ice sculpture is created for one, single event. It’s just for you. Ice swans, for instance, are typical sculptures for weddings because they mate for life. Ice is sensuous. It has clarity and a slickness. Like a diamond, the light gives the sculpture a life of its own. Like life itself, the ice sculpture transforms the entire time it exists. That’s why people love it and that’s why I love working with it.

See more about Randy and his team...

About Elisabeth

Owner of Blue Pearl Strategies, Elisabeth is also The Tender Foodie. She started this blog and The Tender Palate, to help those food allergies and sensitivities.

1 Comment

Thursday

Mar212013

Turn Me On, Muffin!

Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 1:18PM

Elisabeth Veltman, The Tender Foodie tagged

Paleo muffins,

coconut flour,

how do I use coconut flour

Email Article

Print Article in

Food History,

Recipe

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF HAGE, GREEN FROG PHOTO

Once a most fashionable, on the go treat, the muffin has become the ugly stepsister to the flashier, sweeter, more complex cupcake. At one time, however, muffins were so sexy that they sold them without the bottoms. A “stud muffin” was popular slang for a hot guy, and more recently (and more intimately), a “muffin” was a cutesy way to talk dirty about our lady parts.

Now, the top of this cup-sized bread has become the rather undesirable bulge that hangs over our jeans. What has happened to the muffin?

A WEE CAKEY HISTORY

The muffin has been around for centuries with only a few key pivots in its culinary transformation, despite its colorful cultural As seen in Women's Lifestyle Magazine's March 2013 editionreferences. The English muffin dates back to the 10th century in Wales, and is a small, flat, yeast-raised bread that is cooked on a hot griddle. It began as a servants’ food of leftover bread, biscuit dough and mashed potatoes. When the aristocracy tasted the English muffin, it became a popular teatime bite. In the 18th century, street vendors called “muffin men” put tins on their heads, or wooden trays around their necks, rang bells, and sold these nooks and crannies on the streets.

The American muffin appears closer to the 18th century, and is more of a quick bread made from a batter, rather than dough like the English version. American muffins were also a way to turn leftover bread, fruits, even meats into a tasty treat.

So, what is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake? Gluten-free Pastry Chef Kyra Bussanich says that cupcakes get their flash from the higher ratio of sugar to flour, and because of the creaming method of whipping the butter (or fat) until its light, and then adding in the sugar, and then the eggs, and then finally adding the flour. This method creates a tender cake crumb after baking.

On the other hand, muffin batter usually starts with the dry ingredients mixed in one bowl, and then the wet ingredients mixed together in a separate bowl before combining with the hands or spoon. This method creates a bread-like texture.

PALEO: HEAR MUFFIN ROAR

Modern food allergies present new culinary challenges for the muffin, but I predict a muffin comeback. With over 20 million people developing gluten sensitivity and cross-reacting to different grains, people aren’t just going gluten-free, they are going GRAIN-free! This throwback to hunter-gatherer style eating is forcing yet another chapter in muffin history. The Paleo muffin. Now what could be sexier than a muffin in a loincloth?

One of the most popular flours to use in this Paleo diet is coconut flour. Here are a few tips on using coconut flour, and try this recipe for some yummy, grain-free muffins.

COCONUT CREAM MUFFINS

PREPARE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cups or heavily grease with coconut oil

Yield: 12 muffins
Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-Free

INGREDIENTS

1 c. coconut flour (do not pack)

3/4 c. unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 tsp. sea salt 1/2 c. coconut oil (melted, but not hot)

6 eggs (whisked)

15 oz. can of Thai East Organic Coconut Milk (with the coconut fat in the can mixed in to make the cream)

1/2 c. honey

1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla

1 c. chocolate chunks from Enjoy Life Foods (or chips, or mini-chips, or whole, raw cranberries)

COMBINE

In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, salt, and coconut flakes, getting out any lumps that might remain. It is a good practice to sift the flour before you measure it, so no lumps or packed flour can throw off the recipe. In another med/large bowl whisk the eggs, then add in the coconut oil, honey, coconut cream, and vanilla. Slowly add in the coconut flour mixture to the egg mixture until well-combined. It will be a thick batter. Add in 1 cup of chocolate chunks or whole, raw cranberries.

BAKE

Place muffin cups into a muffin tin, or grease the tin well with coconut oil. This is a sticky, absorbent flour, so regular oil will get sucked into the batter and away from the tin. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin so that each cup is evenly full. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 30 min., or until the tops of the muffins are slightly brown and just firm to the touch. Do not overbake.  Enjoy!