Henry Strassburger - The Man of Style

I have met Henry many years ago, not long time after I came to Australia. It must have been 1980. At that time we both worked for IBM. Henry as an editor of the IBM magazine THINK and I as a trainee programmer. Very different backgrounds except for Polish roots.  Henry spent in Poland only his first 8 years but he felt some affinity with me, a Polish migrant. I remember being invited to lunch by Henry who introduced me to his friends so I could  feel more at home in the new country. That was the first time I met with Henry and his kindness.

We were not close friends those days, but each time I met Henry it was memorable. Henry loves picnics and as a person with Polish roots he knows and understands about forest mushrooms. I have been invited several times to Henry’s  mushroom picking parties and picnics. The Sutton forest was a perfect place for that. One could find Boletus mushrooms there.

This is how Boletus mushrooms look like

In European forests there are many types of wilde mushrooms and one has to know how to recognise edible from poisonous ones. Henry knew his Boletus  and I  also was considered an expert having some wild mushrooms picking  experience from my childhood.

There is a story about Henry bringing forest mushrooms to a home of his friends and insisting on preparing a meal out of them. He was given a reluctant permission but nobody was game to try the special dish. Henry was the only person in the company who, after elaborate preparations, ate the meal. The rest of the company watched him with real concern, looking for first signs of Henry being poisoned. There was an emergency number and a phone ready to use in case of decline in Henry’s wellbeing. Of course, Henry was in no danger and any Pole would understand that. The story had a happy ending and convinced some Australians that there are edible mushrooms in forests.

I have to add that any mushrooms picked by Henry had to be presented in friendly kitchens or in picnic environment on fronds of forest ferns. After all Henry is a man of style.

Forest ferns for mushroom presentation

One of many Henry’s talents and interests is cooking. And I mean this is serious cooking and serious interest. Henry was one of  the members of a very elitist group called Escoffier Society in IBM. The group was named after Auguste Escoffier.

Georges Auguste Escoffier

(pronounced [ʒɔʁʒ ɔɡyst ɛskɔfje]; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. He is a legendary figure among chefs and gourmets, and was one of the most important leaders in the development of modern French cuisine. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Antoine Carême, one of the codifiers of French haute cuisine, but Escoffier's achievement was to simplify and modernize Carême's elaborate and ornate style. Referred to by the French press as roi des cuisiniers et cuisinier des rois ("king of chefs and chef of kings"^[1]—though this had also been previously said of Carême), Escoffier was France's preeminent chef in the early part of the 20th century.

 

The gentlemen  met monthly for a dinner cooked by the members, wines were carefully selected to accompany dishes in a most appropriate way. After each dinner a general discussion on merits of each of the dishes was held and their contributors were either leaving in full glory or promising themselves to do much better the next time. I must add that the group was active in the 80ties. They were precursors of professional business man cooking for fun.

It may be easy to understand that each time I was inviting Henry to dinner I was close to a nervous breakdown.  But Henry is a very kind man and I never found out from him about shortcomings of my cooking.

Henry cooking for his friends

There are many stories about Henry and his  elegant and original style. I will continue telling them for a while. So stay tuned.