After Hours with Daniel Boulud

Daniel arrives at Michael's Genuine Food with a flock of freshly-killed game birds and gives his host, chef/owner Michael Schwartz a quick intro to feather-plucking. The two chefs head to the docks to meet Michael's suppliers, local fisherman, known to free-dive sans tanks and spear their catch. For the grand feast, Chef Boulud prepares a decadent meat pie, and Chef Schwartz does an entire black grouper-stuffed with herbs and lemon and then cooked to perfection in the restaurant's wood oven.

Daniel samples Chef Cindy Hutson's "cuisine of the sun" at Ortanique on the Mile, her renowned outpost of island-influenced dishes. Taking to Ortanique's kitchen, Chef Boulud prepares a compliment for his host's feast-a platter of fried quail atop braised lettuce, served with a mint-almond dipping sauce. Later, Chef Hutson and her partner/husband take Daniel on a tour through La Marqueta, Miami's gateway for the exotic fruits and vegetables of the Caribbean, before preparing an incredible meal for an amazing array of guests.

For Daniel's visit to her acclaimed eatery, chef/owner Michelle Bernstein roasts a 70-pound pig in Michy's back parking lot. Back in the kitchen, Chef Boulud gets to work on a platter of frog, served four different ways and also prepares an incredible pile of fresh stonecrab. Chef Bernstein escorts Daniel to her marketplace in Miami, where crispy pork skin, fresh juices and boisterous Spanish set the tone, before returning to Michy's dining room for a pork-laden party.

French country classics meet local Floridian organics when Daniel visits Chef Mark Zeitouni at The Lido. Chef Boulud quickly settles in and gets to work on an assortment of Mediterranean fish for his bouillabaisse, a compliment to the Lido's light fresh fare. Chef Zeitouni brings Daniel to the source, Paradise Farms-- a local organic farm where Miami's top chefs get their avocados, jackfruit and edible flowers-before sitting down to wholly wholesome feast.

Daniel pays a visit to the fast and fiery kitchen of Chef Pietro Vadreu at Miami Beach's Sardinia. In the name of cross-cultural exchange, Chef Boulud convinces his brash Italian host to cede some kitchen space to a Frenchman. While Daniel goes to work on a massive platter of poached cod, razor clams, langostines and other deep sea delicacies, Chef Vadreu prepares a Sardinian classic--rabbit steeped with herbs, leeks and white wine. Before sitting down to their grand feast, the chefs visit Prime Line Distributors, Miami's staggering emporium of imported foods, where the city's elite chefs stock their kitchens with rare finds.

Daniel visits the pride of New Orleans, Commander's Palace to get a glimpse of the talent and tradition that are instilled at the legendary establishment. Since 1880, Commander's Palace has served its Creole-influenced cuisine to a distinguished crowd, with its current owners, The Brennan Family overseeing operations since 1974. Daniel is welcomed into the kitchen by the Chef Tory McPhail and soon takes the reins on an elaborate pot au feu-a steaming cauldron of shank, tongue, brain, marrow and root vegetables. The chefs discuss the secrets of New Orleans alligator sausage and local boudin (pig's blood sausage), while Chef McPhail offers Daniel some of his own house specialties, including a $29 po' boy, an homage to Chef Boulud's $32 hamburger. With the arrival of the Brennan family grande dame, the feast is served and a meeting of the restaurant minds leads to one of After Hours' most heated dinner conversations.

Daniel makes a stop in the French Quarter, with an entire goose in tow, for his visit with Susan Spicer at her restaurant, Bayona. Chef Boulud collaborates with the French-trained chef/owner on a meal that celebrates the incredible decadence of French cooking. As Chef Spicer prepares sweetbreads and crawfish, Daniel assembles a ham and truffle appetizer and a serious cassoulet, one that puts the whole goose to good use-roasted, as confit, and stuffed with foie gras. Over a dinner that adds a bit of Louisiana sass to classic French cooking, the guests discuss new, old food sources and the rise of the Slow Foods movement.

In the gallery zone of New Orleans' Warehouse District, Daniel stops in at Cochon. At Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski's bustling outpost, pork is definitely not the "other" white meat. Chef Boulud makes himself at home, roasting a pig to be served with four types of mustard and sauerkraut, and Chef Link brings in Louisiana flavor with his duck gumbo and crawfish pie. A visit to the Link Crawfish Farm gives us a glimpse of a beloved Cajun tradition that's still thriving in the bayous.

Daniel visits the boisterous kitchen of August and its bon vivant of a chef, John Besh for a meal that celebrates the past, present and future of New Orleans cuisine. Chef Besh pshaws the idea of escorting Daniel through yet another farmer's market, and instead, the chefs drive out to Covey Rise Lodge to hunt quail for the evening's meal. Back at August, with the champagne freely flowing, Chef Boulud and Chef Besh get to work, with Daniel preparing red fish--butterflied, stuffed and sewn together with chords of fennel, and John Besh fixing an authentic, fresh-from-the-sky quail gumbo.

At the French Quarter's Stella!, Daniel is welcomed by Chef/Owner Scott Boswell and treated to his unique blend of international flavors and Louisiana tradition. The chefs take a short Segway trip over to the Ursuline Convent, where Chef Boswell oversees the extensive garden and uses its harvest for fresh, local ingredients.