"A bouillabaisse is not so much what you put into it but how you go about making it," said James Sly, chef de cuisine of the El Encanto Hotel in Santa Barbara. Sly made his version so well that he won the classic division of the second annual Santa Barbara Bouillabaisse Festival held at the Brander Vineyard at Los Olivos.
This year's contest, open to Santa Barbara and Central Coast restaurants, was divided into classic and open categories. The open division, which allowed the chefs unlimited creativity, attracted the most entries. Only four of the 18 competitors attempted to produce an authentic Mediterranean fish soup.
Sly, who has worked at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo, said even veteran European chefs disagree on what makes a genuine bouillabaisse. His soup featured Santa Barbara-area snapper, halibut and mussels, Mexican sea bass and an assortment of organic herbs and vegetables. The dominant flavor was full-flavored extra virgin olive oil. Sly used the oil in the soup stock, the soup itself and in its accompaniments: slices of French bread fried in oil and rouille , a spicy "mayonnaise" to spread on the bread.
Controversy erupted over the cold, molded bouillabaisse entered by Michael Hutchings of Michael's Waterside Inn. Classic division judges thought this soup-salad belonged in the open division, but Hutchings would have challenged that. "In some of the better houses in the south of France, they'll do it (bouillabaisse) en gelee, so it's not as radical as it sounds," he said. Hutchings won a prize anyway, for presentation in the classic division. And on that hot day, his entry was unquestionably the most pleasant to eat.
Second place in the classic division went to the Epicurean, whose executive chef, Roger T. Maune, passed out sheets on the history of bouillabaisse. Third place went to Cafe au Lait for a soup that included angel shark, halibut, snapper and scallops.
Last year's contest gave such free rein to creativity that the 1989 winner wasn't even a bouillabaisse but a Mexican fish soup, caldo de mariscos. The caldo was entered by Cafe Vallarta, a Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara. This year, Cafe Vallarta entered again--and won again. Chef Justo Gracia and his partner, Liliana Parra, titled the complicated dish caldo de pescadores (fisherman's soup). The ingredients included pureed roasted plantains, Cajun seasoning, hot red chile sauce, mint and a long list of other herbs and seasonings. For seafood, they used calamari "fajitas," octopus, thresher shark, red snapper, salmon and Pacific mussels.
Second place went to the Olde Port Inn at Avila Beach. Leonard Cohen, Olde Port owner-manager, entered a variation on cioppino that included char-broiled scallops and salmon. (Coincidentally, Cohen and C. Frederick Brander of the Brander Vineyard both initiated fish soup contests in 1989. Cohen introduced a "Cio-Pinot" cook-off and tasting--a judging of restaurant cioppinos followed by a tasting of Pinot Noirs. The second staging of this event is set for October 16 at the Olde Port Inn.)
Third place in the open competition went to Linny Largent-Mayer, executive chef of Remington restaurant at the Los Olivos Grand Hotel. Largent-Mayer flavored her robust soup liberally with garlic, fresh oregano, basil, thyme and chile flakes and topped it off with Italian parsley and Parmesan cheese. Garlicky pesto seasoned the accompanying slices of French bread.
The Wine Cask in Santa Barbara won the open category award for best presentation. Chef Tim Buckingham's bouillabaisse was studded with black mussel shells and bordered with toast slices spread with brilliant yellow \o7 aioli\f7 , producing a sunburst effect. Lobster roe and chive blossoms were scattered over the top.
Other entries in the open division ranged from a Brazilian-style soup made with coconut milk, produced by Stephen's restaurant, to one from Paul Bhalla's Cuisine of India flavored with coriander, turmeric, cumin, ginger and garlic. Here are the recipes for the two first-place soups.
EL ENCANTO HOTEL'S BOUILLABAISSE
1 pound red snapper fillets
1 pound sea bass fillets
1 pound halibut fillets
40 mussels
1/4 cup olive oil
7 ounces fennel, julienned
7 ounces onion, julienned
6 ounces celery, julienned
6 ounces leek, julienned
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 bunch thyme
2 generous dashes saffron
Peel of 1/4 orange, dried and shredded
2 quarts Bouillabaisse Stock
1/2 russet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup Sauvignon Blanc
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
16 slices French bread, fried in olive oil
Rouille
Cut red snapper, sea bass and halibut fillets into 1-ounce chunks. Clean mussels and remove "beard" from outside of shell. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add fennel, onion, celery and leek and saute until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add thyme, saffron and dried orange peel.
