Technique

Nothing says «fancy pants» like three shrimp and a puddle of sauce.

We were invited to attend this event held at the newly remodeled campus of the Portland outlet of world-​renowned cooking school, «Le Cordon Bleu.» The Ronald McDonald House Charities partners with the school to hold benefits to help raise money for this valuable global/​community charity.
The mission of the charity is to provide comfort, safety and advocacy in a home-​like environment for families with critically ill or injured children who must travel to fulfill their health care needs. The first Ronald McDonald house opened in Philadelphia in 1974; today there are 305 houses in 52 countries, plus various other accompanying children’s health care programs.
Le Cordon Bleu is the world’s largest hospitality training college, serving more than 20,000 students on five continents. While the origin of the concept can be traced back to 1578, the first school opened in Paris in 1895. Present ownership is in the hands of owner, André J. Cointreau, a descendant of both the Cointreau and Rémy Martin liquor dynasties.
The 18 schools in the US are operated through a partnership with Career Education Corporation.
The schools offered advanced training in the culinary arts, as well as hospitality management.
The Portland partnership between the school and the charity is mutually beneficial; the school’s students get «real world’ experience in planning and executing events, while the charity is afforded the opportunity to raise funds for its valuable work.
The theme of last night’s event was «Food of India», and included a short demonstration before enjoying a five-​course meal at the school’s «Technique» restaurant. Master Chef Anjali Wynkoop led the demo and organized the dinner, based on specialties from her birthplace.
The starter was a peppery-​soup, hot and satisfying, served in a teacup. The starter was prawn fritters, served with tamarind, mint and cilantro chutney.
Chef wowed us with her entrée of «Murg Chettinad», chicken prepared in traditional manner of its origin; Chettinad is a region of Tamil-​Nadu, one of the 28 states of India, located in the far southwest of the peninsula.
The chicken is marinated and sauteed with coriander and black pepper. We learned in the demo that turmeric, a common herb used in Indian cooking (from which many dishes obtain their «yellow» coloring), is not used in India for its color or flavor, but rather as for its preservative qualities in keeping meats palatable for a longer term. Another choice ‘tidbit’ Chef proffered was that in India, you can tell if its a special occasion (birthday, wedding, anniversary) merely by the fact of whether or not meat is served at the meal!
The side was one of our personal favorites, Paneer Korma Bhaji, soft cheese with a medley of vegetables and cashews in coconut sauce, and dessert was an aesthetically pleasing mango and cardamon kulfi (ice cream), with a hunk of flavorful pistachio flat-​bread.
The entire event was organized and hosted by the Ronald McDonald Charities event coordinator, Rylee O’Brien, who demonstrated repeatedly why she holds this position; the event was flawless. Kudos to the student/​staff of the school for their execution.

I was one of the winners of free tickets to Dinner and a Movie at Technique (Le Cordon Bleu) and The Living Room Theater (Big Night). Though I had a wonderful time and was thrilled to win, I want to try and give an honest review for people who may want to attend future Dinner and Movies here.
**Please keep in mind that the restaurant is culinary students, so judgment shouldn’t be held to the higher standards as most restaurants around town. It seemed as though they were pretty nervous (at least the poor guy serving our water and taking our order for drinks). There was no wine or beer served this night, because they didn’t have anyone licensed to serve at the time. The staff was pleasant and the event proceeds went to an excellent cause (Ronald McDonald House).
When we arrived we were pleasantly greeted by our host Rylee O. As the menu for the night was described by the Chef, I was anticipating this wonderful meal. Unfortunately when it came out, it seemed as though everything was luke-​warm to cold. It was almost as if all the food was cooked and prepped and set on the plates hours earlier and sat under a heat element.
The menu consisted of the following:
— Anti-​Pasta Platter with sautéed grapes, Olvilitini (small mozzarella balls), and marinated tomatoes.
— Tri-​Colored Risotto and Big Night Timpano
— Torta al Vino wine cake with grapes.
The best part of the meal was the dessert. The Anti-​Pasta Platter was just OK, but didn’t stand out as a menu item that you’d remember. The Tri-​Colored Risotto (I thought) had potential if it were fresh, but had a gluey texture as if it had sat for quite some time. The Big Night Timpano was dry as well and seemed as though it had sat too long and the ingredients were not evenly distributed between plates. My partner’s Timpano seemed to have egg in her entre, but mine didn’t have any in it. The Torta al Vino wine cake with grapes was decent, but still it lacked moisture. It was a pleasure meeting the Chef and students as all seemed welcoming.
The movie was entertaining as I haven’t seen it before, and see how it coincided with the menu. One Item I would have loved to have on the menu would have been the suckling pig in the movie. I’m a sucker for anything pork .
Would I attend another event here? Yes, due to the cause, but not necessarily the food. Some classes may be better than others and thus it’s always chancy when eating out where culinary students prepare the meals. I’ve been to other culinary school restaurants where the food was great, so again, there is hope for the future.
Overall rating: ³⁄₅
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅
Host and staff: ⁴⁄₅
Food: ²⁄₅
Movie: ³⁄₅