Alfresco Foods Leave Bad Taste on Chefs’ Palates

“It’s immoral,” chef Evan Kleiman (Angeli) cried. “Just think about it; people are walking along, hot and tired, thinking about the raspberries and ice cream they’re going to be eating at the end of the trail. Imagine how disappointed they’re going to be!”

Disappointment was one of the milder sentiments expressed by three local chefs during a recent blind tasting at The Times of freeze-dried food for campers. (The food usually requires the addition of boiling water; many even suggest that you pour the water right into the foil packages, eliminating the need for a pot.) After the very first mouthful, Nancy Silverton (pastry chef at Spago) said, “Now I know why I never went camping. I like the exercise--but oh the food!”

During the next hour, as the chefs tasted their way through 20 freeze-dried dishes, from shrimp dip to blueberry cobbler, comments ranged from “despicable,” “inedible” and “blech” to the all-too-occasional “I would eat it.”

Nobody was expecting great gourmet treats, but it was surprising that food could be this bad. “I honestly think they could make it better,” said Ken Frank (La Toque).

Some Pleasant Surprises

There were a few pleasant surprises. Alpine Aire mountain chili was, according to both Frank and Kleiman, quite edible. Silverton had higher praise for the Mexican bean tostada made by Natural High. “I would eat it,” she noted. ‘ “Too sweet,” Frank wrote, “but in light of all this stuff, too much sugar is easily forgiven.”

In one case, sweetness was not due to added sugar. When Kleiman tasted the Richmoor peas and carrots she wrote “sweet.” Then she added “ . . . and delicious!” In fact, all the freeze-dried vegetables the chefs tasted scored well.

Although the chefs tried vegetables from several companies, the quality did not seem to vary. In fact, the one thing that became clear during the tasting was that no single company has the lock on quality. While the chefs said they would eat the bean tostada made by Natural High, they were not thrilled with the same company’s enchilada ranchero. And while Alpine Aire scored with their Montain Chili, their mushroom pilaf with vegetables was called “awful” by all three chefs.

Disappointing Desserts

Desserts did not turn out to be much of a treat. Richmoor’s blueberry cobbler (made, incidentally, entirely without blueberries) was dreadful. And while Silverton noted that freeze-dried Neapolitan ice cream from Backpacker’s Pantry (eaten dry, from the package) “doesn’t taste terrible,” she added, “but it doesn’t taste like ice cream.” What would the chefs themselves take camping? “I wouldn’t take any of this,” Frank said, “Put it this way,” Silverton added. “If I had to eat this stuff, I’d stay home.”