My friend Shaina Robbins was among a group of Midwest chefs
(even though she now works at
Gramercy
Tavern in New York) who were invited to cook for the Dalai Lama in Madison,
Wisconsin, for the dedication of a new Buddhist temple there. Says Shaina:
"He was unbelievably friendly, asking each of us personally what we were
preparing." And, she says, while there were plenty of vegetarian dishes,
the menu also included pheasant breasts stuffed with mousseline and baby beets;
asparagus soup with salmon roe; and veal breast with Wisconsin morels.
Surprisingly, His Holiness didn't stick to the non-meat dishes alone but ate
every morsel he was served. There was plenty of food to go around, enough to
feed the security cops who acted as escorts.
