Behind-the-scenes chef Soa Davies explains the big-meal scene in 'Treme'

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on September 23, 2012 at 10:00 PM, updated September 23, 2012 at 10:38 PM

When Janette Desautel and David Chang dine with some of New York’s most famous chefs – including fictional chef Enrico Brulard – in the third-season premiere of “Treme,” they dine on food prepared by Soa Davies. She’s featured in a preseason promo video about the scene here

soadavies2.jpgSoa Davies.

Here’s an edited email Q&A with Davies:

Q: Who are you and what did you do on "Treme?"

A: Soa Davies. I have a hospitality consulting company, and I’m an avid cook, recipe developer and part-time blogger. I helped write some of the menus, developed the dishes for the restaurant scenes and styled a lot of the food for on-camera on “Treme.”

How did you get the job?

I worked with Eric Ripert, and he recommended me to the Anthony Bourdain and the producers.

Was the chef scene scripted in detail?

Yes and no. The set was very detailed and most of the dialog was scripted, but other than the charcuterie and Hare "a la Royale," most of the food was left up to us to decide. We decided on the dishes based on a decadent old world menu of classics.

What was the menu?

Charcuterie & Paté

Whole Salmon "en croute"; Lemon, Dill Crème Fraiche

Chestnut Stuffed Quail, Baby Root Vegetables, Chestnut Jus

Hare "a la Royale"

Cheese (Camembert, Epoisses, Saint-Nectaire, Brillat-savarin)

Ill Flottante

Can you share a recipe?

Chestnut Stuffed Quail; Baby Root Vegetables, Chestnut Jus

Serves 6

The Stuffed Quail:

6 whole boneless quail

1 cup ½-inch cubes fresh white bread

1/3 cup whole milk

1 ½ cups roasted chestnuts, diced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 tablespoons diced shallot

½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced + 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

The Root Vegetables:

6 baby turnips, peeled and cut in half

12 baby carrots, peeled

18 baby radishes, tops trimmed

12 pearl onions, peeled

1 tablespoon butter

Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

The Chestnut Jus:

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

½ cup roasted chestnuts, chopped

2 tablespoons chestnut honey

1 spring thyme

3 cups chicken stock, reduced by half

Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Heat oven to 400°F.

2. Soak the bread in the milk in a bowl until the milk is absorbed. Squeeze out the excess milk from the bread and place the bread in a large bowl. Mix in the chestnut, egg, parsley, shallot, diced butter, thyme, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Season the cavity of the quails with salt and pepper and fill with the stuffing. Repeat with the remaining quail.

3. Using kitchen string, tie the legs securely. Season the quails on the outside with salt and pepper.

4. Place the quails on a roasting pan. Brush the quails with the melted butter and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the quails are golden brown and the juices run clear when the leg is pierced and the stuffing reaches 140°F. Transfer the quails to a platter and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.

5. While the quails are roasting, cook the vegetables. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook each of the vegetables separately until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into an ice water bath to cool. Drain and set aside in a medium sauté pan with 2 tablespoons water.

6. While the quails are resting, make the Chestnut Jus, place the roasting pan over high heat and add the shallots, chestnut and chestnut honey and lightly sauté until the shallots are wilted. Add the thyme sprig and chicken stock to deglaze the pan and stir the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the stock to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Strain the pan juices into a small saucepan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. Heat the sauté pan of vegetables over high heat with the butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Flash the roasted quails in the oven for 1 minute to re-warm

8. To plate, evenly divide the vegetables onto six plates and place a stuffed quail in the center. Spoon some of the pan sauce over and pass the extra pan sauce at the table. Serve immediately.

You've worked in some high-powered kitchens. How did cooking for these guys -- and HBO's audience -- compare?

The pressure is different. In an intense kitchen, it is a sustained level of energy during service to get everything perfect for every dish. But cooking for the camera, you learn to be patient and wait for the takes. There is a whole lot of hurry-up-and-waits. It's still intense, but more in short bursts of changing and re-setting for scenes.

How long did the scene take to shoot?

It was about seven hours, but I prepped for two days.

Explain the challenges of food styling: Sometimes the flavor isn't the most important outcome, right?

It's a whole new world for me, cooking large amounts of food just so people can pretend to eat it. But I couldn't help myself in making sure everything was seasoned and tasted OK. Especially for the scenes where I knew the actors needed to eat on camera, I feel like the enjoyment from the food comes through. The hardest part as a chef was knowing that the food was cold. In restaurants, it's all about hot plates, hot food, and it killed me to send out food that wasn't piping hot.

And yet in the promo video, you say the chefs ate the food you prepared, even though some of it wasn't hot.

They did! I was mortified, especially in light of who they were and what they had accomplished. At the end, they were all kind enough to assure me that everything tasted good.