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| Tuesday May 13, 2008 |
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Traveling Missouri's Weinstrasse
By Bob Carter
The Missouri Weinstrasse, complete with its sweeping vista of the Missouri River Valley covers rolling hills formed by the Ice Age some 20,000 years ago. The glacier dust soil, together with a favorable climate makes it possible to grow remarkable wine grapes. So remarkable in fact, that in 1979, the region was certified as America's first Viticultural area.
My final experience on the strasse included an excellent catered dinner prepared by the owners, staff, and chef of Cuisine d'Art Catering, Inc. of Eureka, Missouri. A highlight was meeting the chef, Scott Payne, and being awarded an official Ambassador medallion at Blumenhof Vineyards and Winery, winner of scores of awards at prominent wine competitions. Meet Chef Patrick Scott PayneChef Payne, began his 15 year private apprenticeship
under the tutelage of French Chef Jean Pierre Auge. Under Chef Auge's
guiding, these years were spent honing his craft and perfecting his
skills in the art of French cuisine: patissiere, saucier and chacuterie.
He later acquired the position of Executive Chef forthe Mark Twain/Mercantile Bank of St. Louis, Missouri. During his tenure as executive chef, Scott was responsible for creating classical French menus, plus producing and coordinating corporate and private events for 30-300 guests. He was creatively challenged on a daily basis to accommodate the upper echelons of the banking industry. Chef Payne spent some time with Chef Terry Conlan of the Lake Austin Health Spa in Lake Austin, Texas, expanding his experience to include Southwestern low-calorie nouveau cuisine. Additionally, he took a sabbatical to travel to Europe to refine his culinary skill and experience European cuisine first hand. In May of 2000, Scott joined the creative team of Beth
Williams and Chef Brenda Harris as Sous Chef in their versatile cafe
and catering business, Cuisine d'Art, Inc.Chardonnay.
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Four
family wineries, Blumenhof, Augusta, Montelle and Sugar Creek, create
more than one hundred different wines. If you're interested in learning
more about America's first Viticultural Area, 