PCRM Event with Fran Costigan

This week I had the honor to work with Fran Costigan, known as the Diva of Dairy-Free Desserts. I assisted her for an event for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine held at the Peter Max studio in New York City. Here’s a recap of the two-day internship.

Day One – Monday, March 23

I get out of work unusually late today because I am preparing to free myself up to create my first special at the restaurant later this week. This isn’t the day to get out of work late. I need to head home, shove some lunch down my gob, shower and head out to the upper west side to meet Fran Costigan. I met her briefly last week at a book party at my school but didn’t have a chance to speak to her.

By the time I get to Fran’s I’ve shaken myself out of the usual afternoon nap time reverie. I am ready to work (again.) I get lost a couple of times trying to find Freedom Lane or Avenue or whatever silly name Trump gave his little condo estate by the Hudson river. I am announced by a doorman and brace myself. I don’t know how long or how rigorous this day will be, and I’ve already been up since 4 am. Fran meets me in the hallway. She is donned in a chef’s jacket and pink handkerchief for her hair. It reminds me of what I wear to work and I feel a little bit more at ease.

“Oh great. You’re here. I’ve been waiting for you. Get changed and we’ll get started.”

I quickly change into my clogs and she gives me an apron and chef’s jacket. Her strict desire to keep a sanitary kitchen catches my attention.

We start by making the batter for her Orange Ginger Crisps. After a few vegan and gluten free courses at school I am not expecting much from these recipes.She says, “I created this recipe because it’s very difficult to find crispy vegan cookies. So I made something that I wanted, and this is a really good recipe. I’m going to show you how I measure and this is how you will do it.” The internship begins.

She is very precise. She is using a piece of paper with 3 recipes on it but folds the paper so she only sees one at a time. “It’s easy for me to miss an ingredient so I only want to see the one I’m doing. You’ll read each ingredient to me, to make sure I’ve gotten all of it.” As she says, she does forget to add an ingredient. I don’t realize either as I try to keep up with her frenetic pace. I am realizing that she is distracted by me and I minimize my commentary to yes and no so she can concentrate.

Once the batter is done, she lets it rest in the fridge to thicken. I pick up on this step – something I would never think to do. “If you don’t like how your batter looks, then store in the fridge while you do something else and maybe it will be the consistency that you want.” She measures how much batter is made and jots down some notes so she can remember the properties of this particular batch.

We then make two chocolate cakes - one made with water and a gluten free. The gluten free is still not great, but still better than some that I have tried previously. Her signature cake is “The Chocolate Cake to Live For.” She has made this cake earlier, and has me taste one from the fridge. It lives up to the name and vegan cakes are forever vindicated in my mind.

Around 3 p.m. a graduate from her popular vegan baking boot camp class arrives to help. I am glad for another person in the kitchen. My exhaustion is beginning to surface and having a buffer is welcome. By now I have tasted at least half a dozen chocolates and infusions. I am hoping that I can glean whatever sugar or caffeine rush from the chocolate.

We then take the mini chocolate cakes we made earlier, plus some orange ones she made a day ahead and make petit fours by dipping them in melted chocolate. The orange cakes, sweetened with orange juice, pairs nicely with the bitter ganache.

Theo chocolate, the first organic and fair trade chocolate company in the U.S., (all organic chocolates were previously imported from the Europe), has donated all the chocolate we use today. All of it is 75% cocoa.

Next, Fran demos how to make the truffles by hand. First we taste the silky truffle filling made of extra bitter sweet chocolate. Then she spreads a spoonful of melted chocolate in her hand and swirls the truffle ball around quickly and drops it into a bin of Dutch processed cocoa. It’s about a 5 second preparation. “This is how real chocolatiers make truffles. By doing this you create a thin chocolate shell that gives a light crunch when you bite into the chocolate.” Heavens to Betsy. It is out of this world good.

Next we make truffle sticks instead of balls. They somewhat resemble little shards of bark, and are very elegant once the cocoa has dusted them. The truffle is infused with a curry mixture of ginger, turmeric, cardamom, coriander cinnamon, plus coconut milk and vanilla. I’ve never tasted anything like this before, and know that I am in the presence of a chef who has truly honed her craft.

Once the truffles are done, she lets me go. I try to help her with the clean-up, but she says, “No. You must be tired. I know you’ve been up for a long time and I need you fresh and perky for the event tomorrow night.”

By the time I reach home, it’s nearly 7 p.m. and my bed time is in an hour. The day has gone by so fast, and I am elated that all I’ve done today is cook.

Photo by Linda Long