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LIFESTYLE

In the Kitchen with Terry Paulding

Terry Paulding
Contributor
June 2007

When I think of ratatouille, I can almost smell the air on a hot summer day. I envision a gorgeous, full-ripe vegetable garden, picking peppers and eggplants, zucchini and onions. Adding garlic from the larder, olive oil from the spring pressing, and lots of fresh herbs gathered while fat, lazy bees hover and watch. Of course, I don’t live in the French countryside, and this isn’t yet summer—and this spring, Ratatouille has yet another meaning in Emeryville.

Instead of buzzing bees, there is a buzz of conversation—Ratatouille, the animated Pixar release, is coming. First as a benefit screening for the Emeryville Ed Fund, then to theaters on June 29th.

The recipe for making ratatouille, the seasonal vegetable stew, is very straightforward, as you’ll see below. But making Ratatouille the movie, was not nearly so easy. Picture a bunch of young animators, most of them guys who don’t cook, trying to make the characters look and act real as they run a restaurant kitchen. There don’t have a clue about the rhythm of kitchen tasks, something generally acquired during years of on-the-job experience. In my many cooking classes, I’ve taught hundreds of people to wield a chef’s knife and sauté, season and plate dishes. I’ve guided amateurs as they struggle to do these tasks correctly, and achieve the easy motions can make the difference between drudgery and ease in the kitchen. Most of the time, I am happy when my students learn the basics, take them home, and put them into practice making the family’s dinner. During the making of Ratatouille, I got to do something special, and work with the animators, to help them understand the motions and procedures that comprise prep work, finish cooking, plating and serving food in a restaurant, and assist them in animating the actions properly.

Each group came to me enthusiastic about the task at hand. They donned aprons, learned cutting and cooking tasks, made and consumed meals with great rel

ish. With some of the groups, we actually created a restaurant, complete with a prep schedule, and a full dining experience where they traded off being chef, diner and wait staff. Many of the sessions were videotaped for reference, so the animators could return to them again and again. Most of they guys (and the few women) had a blast, and learned things that they hopefully will find useful in their future lives. All of them found the experience enriching, and I, for one, cannot wait to see the result—an animated movie that takes a very exacting profession, and shows it in a true light. Well, as true as you can be with a rat as a main character, of course.

When the heat of summer brings its bounty to the farmers markets, try your hand at the ratatouille recipe below—in the meantime, enjoy the movie!

Terry Paulding is President of Paulding & Company, a Creative Kitchen, 1410 D 62nd Street in Emeryville. Please be sure to visit her website at www.pauldingandco.com. You can sign up for her monthly e-mail newsletter with food news and recipes.