Take Five with Mia Messier, Head Chef for Cirque du Soleil’s “Totem” Show

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Crew members touch up the stage for Cirque du Soleil's "Totem'' in San Jose.

Mia Messier was a hotel and restaurant chef in Montreal when she decided to run away with the circus.

Not just any circus, but the worldwide phenomenon known as Cirque du Soleil.

Who can blame her?

Now a veteran of nine years with the Montreal-based entertainment company, Messier has traveled with various Cirque shows through more than 25 countries for anywhere from six weeks to a year and a half at a time.

It’s her job to feed the hungry troupe of 52 performers from 20 countries, along with 68 other crew members, while they’re on the road.

Recently, I had a chance to visit her cafe at Cirque’s “Totem” show, now playing in San Jose through April 15.

The fanciful costumes are all hand-made.

Would you believe this got its start as a piece of white fabric?

Light-weight and stretchy.

A mold is made of each performer's head to create these intricate head-pieces.

I also got a quick peek backstage that afternoon with Cirque publicist Francis Jalbert, as crews were touching up the 2,700-pound turtle carapace that is the centerpiece of this particular show. Behind it, a hydraulic stage is flanked by what look like soaring, solid wood reeds. But would you believe they’re actually inflatable, so as to make transporting easier?

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Souvenir From Hawaii — Macadamia Nuts

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Macadamia nuts direct from Hawaii star in these indulgent cookies.

When visiting Hawaii, don’t forget to pack your swimsuit, flip-flops, sunscreen — and Costco card.

Seriously.

The cavernous membership warehouse store has some of the best — and best priced — Hawaiian souvenirs you can find. I’m talkin’ surf T-shirts, bags of taro chips, lilikoi cookies, Kona blend coffee, and of course, macadamia nuts. My husband had to buy another tote bag for the plane for all the goodies he brought back home on our trip to the islands last year.

Me? I was content with a big bag of macadamias for a steal.

After all, it’s always good to have a ready supply for when the baking mood hits.

And it did big-time with this recipe for “Macadamia and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies” from Alice Medrich’s “Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies” (Artisan), of which I received a review copy. Only, I changed it up, substituting dark chocolate for white — TCHO Dark Chocolate Disks 68 Percent ($7.98 for 8 ounces) to be exact, of which I also received a sample. With macadamias one of the richest tasting nuts around, I prefer them with the slight bitter-earthiness of dark chocolate rather than the often cloyingly saccharine white chocolate.

The cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for at least two hours or overnight, so plan accordingly.

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Fighting for Foie Gras

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Foie gras and more foie gras at Lafitte. Here, with beef cheek, gigante beans and broccoli rabe.

I’m not usually met with protesters when I go out to dinner.

But such was the case last Thursday night at the “FU Foie Gras” dinner at Lafitte in San Francisco, where 10 peaceful protesters held up signs outside the restaurant, imploring people to stop eating foie gras, the luxurious fattened liver of a goose or duck.

If you’re a fan of that rich delicacy, you better enjoy it while you can. Come July 1, California will become the only state in the nation to ban the sale of foie gras.

A peaceful protester at the Lafitte dinner.

Protesters picketed for a little over an hour before leaving.

Animal welfare supporters, many of whom have been picketing restaurants that have foie on the menu, applaud the upcoming law that will stop what they believe is inhumane treatment of the birds, which are speed-fed with a tube down their throat to engorge their liver. But many chefs are rallying against the law, which they believe is unnecessary and unfair. A number of them, including Lafitte’s Chef-Proprietor Russell Jackson, have visited foie gras farms in the United States and found no such mistreatment, especially because ducks have no gag reflex, breathe through their tongue, and naturally increase their consumption when they migrate.

There are only three major producers of foie gras in the United States. Two are in New York: Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farm. And only one is in California: Sonoma Foie Gras.

Gotta have a few skulls around when the restaurant is named for a pirate.

Since late last year, restaurants throughout the state have been hosting special foie gras dinners to educate the public and build grassroots support for the pricey ingredient that’s been produced as far back as ancient Egyptian times. Proceeds have gone to support CHEFS (Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards), a pro-foie advocacy group made up of restaurateurs and other culinary professionals.

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Chef Demos, Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Plus More

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Chef Brandon Jew of Bar Agricole will cook up a storm at the Flower & Garden Show. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Chefs Star at the 2012 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

It’s time for the largest garden festival around, the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, March 21-25, where you’ll not only get to gawk at gorgeous garden exhibits, but enjoy a host of cooking demos, too.

Some of the Bay Area’s finest will be showcasing garden-to-table cooking. Among those taking the stage are: Executive Chef Brandon Jew of Bar Agricole in San Francisco (March 21); Melanie Eisemann and David Budworth of Avedano’s Meats in San Francisco; Chef Greg Dunmore of Nojo in San Francisco (March 22); Pastry Chef James Ormsby of Bluestem Brasserie (March 22); Chef Annie Somerville of Greens in San Francisco (March 23); the creative team behind Bi-Rite Market and Creamery (March 24); and TV cooking personality Martin Yan.

And for those in the South Bay and Peninsula loathe to drive to San Francisco, remember the garden show actually is held in San Mateo at the San Mateo County Event Center. So, there’s no excuse not to go now.

Tickets to the garden show are $20 for a single day, $25 for the all-show pass good on all days of the event, and $65 for the gala, which includes food, wine and music.

"Bacon and eggs'' at last year's Pebble Beach Food & Wine. (Photo by Barnaby Draper Studios)

Fifth Annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine

Join more than 75 of the world’s best chefs and 250 acclaimed vintners at the Pebble Beach Resorts, April 12-15, for a slew of gala dinners, cooking demos and one-of-a-kind wine tastings.

Among the highlights at this year’s Pebble Beach Food & Wine will be a celebrity chef golf tournament, a special father-daughter presentation by Jacques Pepin and Claudine Pepin, a cooking demo by Michael Chiarello of Bottega in Yountville, and a dinner in tribute to Thomas Keller of the French Laundry.

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A Taste of French Comfort Food in San Carlos

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Roast chicken in creamy mustard sauce at Cuisinett.

Geoffroy Raby came to California a little more than a decade ago from northern France without knowing any English.

But he had the dream of recreating the simple, classic and casual bistro fare of his native land.

Last October, he did just that — opening Cuisinett in San Carlos with the assistance of Consulting Chef Guillaume Bienaime late of Marche in Menlo Park. Bienaime designed the menu, created the recipes and did all the training of the kitchen staff at Cuisinett. He’s even doing the book-keeping there. Raby makes you feel welcome immediately, chatting easily with both regulars and newcomers as if they had just stepped into his own home.

The rooster logo.

It’s a tiny place with only about 26 seats at small tables fashioned from reclaimed wood. Brick walls, exposed pipes and small arched windows just below the ceiling give the place an industrial charm. It’s already proved a hit. On Friday and Saturday nights, there’s often an hour-long wait to get in.

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