Soft-spoken, with a sweet French accent, Chef Gui Alinat relays the events of the tour he led last month of the Fresh Market at U.S. 19 and Enterprise Road: We went over produce, pretty good produce. We check the celery roots. I show them how to recognize and choose avocadoes. We went to tomatoes. I show them fine herbs, how to make them. I had them smell and touch all the vegetables, have them recognize the flavor, have them match it with something, fish or chicken. That's where I try to have an interaction.Alinat leads another interactive tour of the fresh market at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, sharing culinary tips, talking about unusual produce, herbs and spices and answering cooking questions.
Born and raised in Provence, Alinat, now 31, studied for six years at the prestigious Ecole Hoteliere de Marseille before setting out to work in England, Spain, South America, his native South France and America. Naturally, his cooking style is a mix of classic French and Mediterranean cuisine with some global influences.
For the past 15 months, he's run his own business preparing private meals, teaching cooking classes and offering in-home cooking demonstrations.
One thing he tries to do in his lessons is demystify cooking. He wants people to enjoy cooking, to bring their senses into play and create dishes that are personal.
"I always say recipes are the worst thing that happened to the culinary world, because if I give you a recipe are you going to try to follow it by the letter? You'll lose sight of what's in the pan."
He believes anybody can cook well if they learn two basic techniques — how to dice shallots and chives, and how to saute something.
Of course, one has to have fresh ingredients.
For more info on Chef Gui and his services, visit www.chefgui.com, or call 727-515-4844. The Fresh Market is located at Cypress Square at the corner of U.S. 19 and Enterprise Road in Clearwater.
This article appears in Jul 10-16, 2002.