Gourmet is a fancy French word for
”
a feast for gourmands, those who like good cooking.
”
So it’s fitting that Gourmet Alley, where a smorgasbord of foods
will be offered at the 2007 Gilroy Garlic Festival, is headed in
part by Ken Fry, a gourmand with a taste for the best.
By Perry Shirley Staff Writer
Gilroy – Gourmet is a fancy French word for “a feast for gourmands, those who like good cooking.” So it’s fitting that Gourmet Alley, where a smorgasbord of foods will be offered at the 2007 Gilroy Garlic Festival, is headed in part by Ken Fry, a gourmand with a taste for the best.
When the assistant chairman of the festival committee in charge of food offers a basket of garlic fries, this year’s crowning jewel of the Alley, the big man beams with satisfaction, pink face shining brightly, his eyes sporting the gleam of a happy cook.
And he’s right to do so. Joining at least eight delicacies on the Alley’s menu – from Garlic Chicken Stir Fry to Penne Con Pesto – the fries stand out. It’s a perfectly balanced blend of oil, chopped garlic and spices, allowing each ingredient to lend its flavor without overwhelming that tops freshly fried potatoes.
“The secret to everything is quantity,” Fry said. “You know what to put in but how much do you put is crucial.”
Past culinary experiments haven’t always worked – a polenta dish served a few years ago got a tepid reception – but Fry has high expectations to match a high regard for garlic.
“It’s going to be a real big hit this year,” he said. “It’s a stinking rose to some people but it’s a beautiful rose to me.”
While the pungent bulb is widely used in recipes the festival will once again push the envelope with such offerings as garlic ice cream, garlic-infused olive oil and even garlic-flavored wine.
The task of feeding an estimated 100,000 to 130,000 mouths that will meander Christmas Hill Park takes a lot of experience and some serious manpower, something organizers have on their side. This year’s festival president, Judy Lazarus, is in her 18th year volunteering, and served as vice-president in 2006. Fry has put in 20 years as a volunteer in the Alley, both organizing and, his favorite, cooking.
Everything is big at the Gourmet Alley. It will take 70 volunteers to run the grills.
Fry calls it the “largest outdoor kitchen in the world” and, at 40-by-70 feet, the layout should be formidable. Pyro chefs will be grilling scampi and calamari in 4-foot high blazes of flames. Sauce City, in the middle of it all, will douse the food liberally. Another great part of the festivities is the Garlic Cook-Off, a consistently popular event 29 years running in which eight amateur chefs cook up their best garlic-showcasing recipe for cash prizes of up to $1,000.
After inviting hundreds of recipe entries from across the country, festival organizers set up a testing kitchen to settle on eight finalists, Lazarus said. A daunting panel of six judges, including chef Andrea Froncillo of the acclaimed Stinking Rose Restaurant in San Francisco and food critic Stephanie Dean of Sunset Magazine will have the last word.
