Sweet Cuisine

El Bulli Closing 2012

So Ferran Adria announces at Madrid Fusion that El Bulli will shut its doors for two years from 2012, Its been rumoured around that this will happen and now we know, since Albert Adria left the scene to concentrate on his own work its been suggested el Bulli would be changing.

But this will not be the end I think, Ferran says they will spend two years figuring out what comes next, if there is advancement to th already hyper modern cuisine that they are famous for. But that doesnt mean that I will be nervous when the lottery for the reservations come out, I have emailed for a table and hope to get one, like I have for the last , well ive forgotten how many years.

With this news there will be the usual angels of death reporters whom will tell us molecular Gastronomy is dead, and the fact they still use this term will show the understanding they have of the way that el Bulli has revolutionised cuisine around the world. They will tell us, No more foams, jellies, banish the Liquid Nitro and dry Ice, stop trying to be a scientist in the kitchen. But what they dont realise is that all that el Bulli has done is give us more tools and more options to create with. For me its sad because much of the New Zealand press is like this. If they try something new they will hark back to the food of they're past. If they have something different more often than not they will ask why the chef did not just make something like Lemon Tart for example instead of something a little more worked, dare i say creative.

No one can deny the influence that el Bulli has had, from Chicago to New York to London, through to the top chefs in Spain, right down to restaurants in Australia, all over the world the influence has been wide spread and ensure that el Bulli lives on with us through there willingness to share the info that they have gathered, lets hope it wont be closed to long so I can finally get a seat there.

Blogs

The internet is a wonderful thing, with so many chefs now blogging and sharing ideas, information, recipes and concepts there is so much to learn so here is a list of my favourite blogs to check out.

Burch and Purchese. Couple of English lads cooking up a Pastry storm in OZ

Ryan Zimmer Ryans take on Modern Pastry in Hong Kong

Ideas in Food Been around forever and still leading the way

Michael Laiskonis                       One of his two blogs, truckloads of info for the Pastry Chef

Chadzilla Lots of Info, real chefs blog.

Quique DaCosta  New Blog from one of spains top chefs, google helps translate:)

Canelle et Vanille  Awesome food photography here

Aidan Brooks Young English Chef on the right path in Spain

Madridlab Adam Melonas informative blog on progressive cuisine

Strictly Fine Dining Craig Dryhurst is an American Chef in the UK, sharing his new dishes

Power Of Passion  Just found this one.

There are more blogs in my links but these are some of my favourites, If you know any more feel free to add them on my comments and if you have one that you do yourself add it too,  because as the saying goes Sharing is Caring 

World's first Gastronomic University to Open in San Sabastian

Check this out reported in the Telegraph a couple of days ago. I wish it came 5 years ago, would be interesting to see the course's outlines

Spain to open gastronomic university

The world's first "gastronomic university" is to open in Spain, complete with a research laboratory to explore the mysterious chemistry of taste.

 

By Fiona Govan in Madrid 
Published: 6:40PM GMT 17 Jan 2010

Ferran Adria: Owner of El Bulli restaurant in Spain Photo: GETTY

Student chefs will be encouraged to master the craft of “molecular gastronomy” under the tuition of Spain’s most celebrated restaurateur Ferran Adria, who owns El Bulli, and encouraged to use scientific innovation to design the recipes of the future. Britain’s own Heston Blumenthal, the self-taught chef at the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, has also been tipped for a guest lectureship.

Construction began last month on the Basque Culinary Centre in San Sebastian and it will be ready to accept its first intake of students in September 2011 in a building designed to resemble a pile of stacked plates.

Authorities in Spain’s northern Basque country hope the university will establish the region as the new “mecca of the world haute cuisine”, said Joxe Mari Aizega, the project director.The university will be the first of its kind to offer a four-year undergraduate degree course in culinary arts taught in both English and Spanish and one year masters degrees as well as shorter courses for cooking enthusiasts.

The private university is located in the seaside resort of San Sebastian, which already holds a reputation for some of the best gastronomical expertise in Spain. The town is home to nine restaurants who together boast a total of 16 Michelin stars.

Many of the local chefs have pledged their support to the new university and will participate in the tuition on degree courses.

But it is perhaps the promise of guest lecturers such as the top chef Ferran Adria that will have aspiring chefs applying in droves.

Mr Adria who owns the famed El Bulli restaurant on Spain’s Costa Brava is considered the father of molecular gastronomy and has treated those few diners lucky enough to secure a reservation at one of his tables to such rare delights as Parmesan snow and pine cone mouse.

Despite hostility from Spain’s more traditional chefs and accusations that he is “poisoning” diners with his persistent use of emulsifiers and foams, his restaurant has been voted the best in the world for the fourth consecutive year.

Blumenthal, who famously followed in his footsteps, has won three Michelin stars and is consistently voted the best restaurant in Britain, even kicking El Bulli off the top spot in 2005.

Hailed as a culinary alchemist for his innovative style of cooking, it is Blumenthal who came up with such deliciously whimsical inventions as egg and bacon ice-cream and chocolate wine.

Spain’s minister of Science and Innovation said the time had come for gastronomy to be treated with the same seriousness as other academic subjects and given its own university degree.

”Not only is gastronomy an art, culture and an industry,” said Cristina Garmendia at the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the new university. “It is also a technology and a science.”

Michelin stars UK

Michelin at last have handed the Uk another 3 star restaurant in the way of Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, and following him Brett Graham at the Ledbury gained his second star which many predicted.

The guide released slightly early this year also awarded new stars to Galvin at Windows in the Hilton on Park Lane, Tamarind(Indian Restaurant), Apsleys in the Lanesborough hotel and Texture in Mayfair. Brett Graham also won a star for his Pub the Harwood Arms in Fulham showing that he is going from strength to strength.

The Capital lost there 2 stars due to change of head chef, and Aubergine, Foliage, Ramsays at Claridges and Richard Corrigan all losing there status as 1 star restaurants also due to changes in the kitchen.

Outside of London 5 restaurants in England gained one star recognition including the Samling in Cumbria. In Wales The Walnut tree, Tyddyn Llan and Ynyshir Hall all gained 1 star, 21212 by Paul Kitchin in Edinburgh , The Peat Inn in Fife  and Kinloch Lodge in Sky all won 1 stars for Scotland.

Outside of London losing there stars The Vineyard lost there two stars after John Campbell has moved on and replaced by Daniel Galmiche, All the Bath Priory , Le Poussin at Whitley Ridge, Christophe, Seaham Hall and Nathan Outlaw all lost their stars again due to changes in the kitchen or closure.

So all in all great news for Brett Graham and Alain Ducasse.

Bubo, Carles Mampel

While in Barcelona I got to visit the many pastry shops, Oriol Balaguer, Escriba, and one of my favourites was Bubo by Carles Mampel. It took me a while to find after getting lost in the back streets of Barcelona, where once people would not have walked at night, now its an up and coming area much like every other city in europe, the dodgy areas are getting done up and become popular.

Bubo is a beautiful looking pastry shop, again much like an up class jewelery shop, and the staff so friendly and helpful, and I was surprised to find an Irish girl working in there, good to have someone to speak English to as my spanish is a little lacking after Mucho Gusto. 

 I enjoyed the famous Carles Mampel Chocolate Cake that won The best chocolate cake award which I can confirm is bloody good,  here it is with a beautiful shine, super tasty, which I enjoyed with a coffee at one of the few seats they have in the shop 
 

There were many inspiring ideas in the shop from the macaron presentation to the lollipops and cool packaging for everything, This is a must visit if you are in Barcelona, enjoy a coffee in store and chat with the helpful staff who will give you some tastings and look after you so well.
 


   

Mercat de la Boqueria, Barcelona

On my trip to spain I had the pleasure of visiting one of the most famous food markets in the world, The Boqueria, of las Ramblas in Barcelona has such an amazing abundance of quality food from nuts to bread, seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, to sweets, spices and fresh juice vendors.

This is just outside the market on the entrance from Las Ramblas early in the morning and the market is getting busy, The vendors have held there stalls for many years, going back generations of families and being passed on when the time comes, and when you look at how beautiful they set out the stalls you can see a clear pride in what they do and the produce that they sell.
 

I loved seeing all the fresh mushrooms and vegetables looking like they just came from the forest or field, the seafood looking lively and such an large choice, 

Here are some razor clams which I haven't seen in many years, since I was living on the Isle of Lewis back home, we used to be able to walk to the beach at low tide and dig for them, the market definately evokes memories that have been locked away. The smells and colours are captivating, everything so vibrant, how I would love to have access to this on a daily basis in Auckland, for sure the standard of food would rise in the cit

 
 Here are some of the pictures I took at the market, My camera skills dont do the colours justice but from the pictures you can see the quality and the freshness in the products, and be warned some of the pictures may be a little x rated for some vegetarians out there, or bunny rabbit lovers, check these out

   

 


    

A New Year

So here we are, a new year and new decade and typically everyone including me starts to think what this year has in store for them, Its amazing how the turn of a date can have such an effect on peoples thinking, one minute we are all celebrating the previous year, then its like we turn a new page and move on to hopefully for all of us a better year than the one previous.

Last year I had some great tims, especially my time spent in Spain at restaurants such as el celler can Roca whom recieved there 3rd star a month after I ate there, Martin Berasategui, ate at Arzak and had a wonderful night being looked after by the generous Elena Arzak, being looked after  by the team of hotel Ferrerro, and the highlight after looking back is my time spent at El Poblet ( now renamed Quique DaCosta Restaurante). This is a must visit for anyone seriously interested in food and gastronomy. Quique DaCosta and chefs are pushing the bounderies and for me he is the most exciting chef in the industry right now, check his new website with updated photos. I hope they are a prelude to a new book. Its truely stunning, he seems to be coming into the spotlight more and more now. check this new video out.

On a personal work level things have settled down nicely in the kitchen, we seem to be working more and more as a team now we have rearranged the pastry kitchen. The product has improved and one year from reopening the monster size  premise of Kermadec I would like to think that all past failings in the restaurant have been put to bed and with the new team, kitchen and hopefully we get a restaurant refurb in winter I am very happy of where I am right now. That is not to say I am content, I dont think I ever will be. Its in my nature to want to push on and learn something that can improve my cuisine. 

This year I want also to get out to other chefs kitchens more and see how other operations work, hopefully get a bit of travel in and see other food cultures. And as for most chefs the ambition of owning your own business gets stronger every year, every day infact its on your mind. 

Here's to a year of progression, success and good times.

Cherry 'Atelier' dish

On our current menu we reserve a space for an Atelier dish, which is pretty much a special, and since in New Zealand alot of fruits such as figs have a short season I use this dish to showcase the versatility of one ingredient and elaborate on it. 

We have a short cherry season in NZ so I decided to celebrate this with a dish concentrating on cherry with only a few other flavours in there to balance it out, I cant make enough to keep up with demand its been such a good seller.

Cherry Balloon, with Cherry espuma, Cherries poached in Chamomile tea, Cherry Paper, Cherry Meringue an d Chamomile Custard, We caramelize some white chocolate and use it as a sauce, and then a cherry sphere is added to the plate. Some corn flowers, blue borage and fennel fronds from our chef's Peter Thornleys Farm finishes the plate. along with a cherry stone Ice cream.
 

Rooibos Tasting menu version

Here is the rooibos custard from the tasting menu. bit smaller and presented a bit differently.

The Dessert tasting menu is become more popular the last month.

 

Back up and running, will be posting soon and upgrading my blog as i go, hope you enjoy

Cooliris Photo Wall

Kitchen Pranks

We have all had it done to us, and yes we now do it to our junior chefs but kitchen pranks keep everyone smiling even on the worst days.
I found this link online and for me it epitomises what happens to new staff members and juniors when they start a new job, so funny.
Check this out, priceless, put a smile on my face anyways,
Anyone out there had something similar or kitchen pranks to share?

Merry Xmas

Short staffed still and what a month Ive had, super busy no days off 15+ hours a day, hence not to many posts from me, not much time to be overly creative the last month, just focusing on getting prep and service done in the most efficient and painless way possible, there have been a few painful days.

Any way this is just a quick post to say I hope you all have a safe and merry christmas and have an awesome time be it with your families or at work or where ever you are, For me I managed to sneak the day off and will no doubt head to the beach( still cant get my head around sunny christmas's) just doesnt feel the same as a snowy or cold winters morning.

Enjoy the festive period :)

Rooibos and Caramel Custard

So this is the third dish from the new menu at kermadec, no smoke or bubbles on this one, slightly more conservative but my favourite,

Here you have a really soft custard set in acetate in our cannoli moulds flavoured with a special blend of Rooibos tea and caramel using Iota to give it a super soft set. on the bottom of the plate is a Mango cream, pistachios and freshly diced mango, Pistachio and Mango tuile making full use of the croquanter from texturas,

Then is the 30 second yoghurt cake, i love this, my favourite of the microwave cakes, also some coriander which goes so well with the mango, Pink Grapefruit and Vanilla Gelato and a syrup made from hibiscus flowers.

Labels: croquanter, Hibiscus, iota, mango, Pistachio, rooibos

Exploding Strawberry Milkshake

So here we have another dish recently gone on our menu, influenced by my trip to 3 michelin starred Restaurant Arzak in San Sabastian. I serve a milkshake poured tableside which then starts to bubble up and sauce the rest of the plate which actually makes up the main part of the dish.

We chose many flavours from spring and summer, concentrating on berries, a jelly veil is made from an intense jus extracted from strawberries, this is draped over cheesecake mousse and then we garnish up and around the jelly with strawberries, raspberries, black and blue berries, a blackcurrant meringue, strawberry and blackcurrant fruit tuiles, Pineapple sage flowers, coriander flower, corn flowers.

Also compressed watermelon adds a little bit of extra freshness to the dish. a small amount of black olive and muscavado powder adds a little savoury touch.

The dish is finished off with a lavender Ice Cream and then of course the Strawberry milkshake poured by the waiter.

Check out the video here of the milkshake at the table

Labels: Arzak, berries, blackcurrant, Exploding milkshake, Raspberries, Summer fruits

Nayarit Chocolate Creameux

Here is the Nayarit Chocolate Creameux with Mandarin Jelly, Licourice Nitro Caviar, Chocolate and coconut soil, and an Ice cream flavoured with the Barrel of the Jack Daniels.

The Chocolate is set in the fish bowl on an angle.

We infuse the Jack daniels barrel under pressure with our Ice Cream base and cook it sous vide, marinade it for two days in the fridge then pass it off and freeze as for Pacojetting.

Also served is some freeze dried Mandarin and some glazed Chocolate Puff Pastry stick.

Here is the video of the dish at the table, sorry about the shaky hand, must be working to hard,

The bowl is sat on a dish filled with the barrel of jack daniels whiskey chips,

Labels: Chocovic, Dry Ice, Freeze Dried, Jack daniels barrel, Licourice, Nayarit

El poblet is No More

Thats right El Poblet is finished, No More, I hope you all got the chance to eat there before it all ended.
But dont fret it has just changed its name to Quique DaCosta Restaurant with a fantastic new website which you can see here http://www.quiquedacosta.es/index.asp?Idioma=ES&opc=10&pag=Home .
The website is awesome with fantastic pictures, links to the Quique's personal blog, check out the menus etc.
I had heard rumours about the name change but couldnt find anything until I stumbled across this last night.
Well worth checking out guys, the chef is a genius, the food is outstanding.
also check out http://quiquedacosta.blogspot.com/ 

Round up

So thats it, all my blogs of Spains restaurants are complete, and what a journey it was, Im looking forward to the next trip, once I save back up again after destroying my savings, curse the weak NZ Dollar!!!!
So here is a little best of list of my trip
Best Restaurant Meal:- and Best Service
Im struggling to choose between El Celler de Can Roca and El Poblet, both very different, the food in each was outstanding, innovative and amazingly tasty, memories of the el Poblet seafood dishes will live a long time in my memory, so to will the Olive tree at El Celler, and the the desserts. I think I would have to go for El Poblet as my best dinner in Spain over all. The service was fantastic over the two nights I ate there, Didier the Maitre, well he is the man when it comes to looking after  people in the restaurant and his confidence spills over into his team who are fantastically presented, so proud of there jobs and know the menu inside out. The Food, well I experienced everything, from the 2009 menu full of innovation, dry ice, Liquid Nitro, amazing flavours, a real experience, and then was the classic  El Poblet menu, which was still just as strong as the 2009 menu, faultless. This is my favourite restaurant I have ever eaten in. Quique Da Costa is a genius, a gentleman and an amazing chef and will for sure reach the 3 michelin star status he deserves.

Most memorable dish,
Again a few choices here, there is the Squid dish I had at Restaurant Martin Berasategui's, The Foie, Whisky and coke dish from El Poblet, and then there is the Lactic dessert of Jordi Roca. And as it is imprinted in my memory I must go for Berasateguis squid dish I had. Squid biscuit, consomme and sphere, the flavour was so distinct, I can still recall the aroma from it. world class in every way





Best Hotel
Hands down this goes to Hotel Ferrero, the next closest Being Hotel Mon, which was not even close to touching the standards set by Rut and Paco at Ferrero, The hotel has it all, A world class restaurant, a stylish and luxurious design, stunning bedrooms with everything you want, beautiful outdoor pool area, attentive staff. Just recently been included in the relais and Chateaux guide which is all about luxury.
I loved every minute and felt so relaxed at this hotel.


Best Breakfast
Again Hotel Ferrero knocks everyone out of the park with there breakfast, an amazing choice, the best ingredients, super fresh, and just awesome. Sat out in the spanish countryside on my own balcony on a beautiful fresh morning. The Perfect start to my day.

I will always Fly with:- Singapore Airlines they rock, best service, most attentive stewardesses, awesome amount of room in seats(even in economy);) Everything just seemed to be of a better standard on the flights with them than the other carriers that i flew with.

Dont fly Lufthansa, worst flight of my life both ways, Singapore to Frankfurt and the return leg. Most uncomfortable, worst food, and not the most friendly stewerdess's in the world, everything seemed like a drama for them, even getting a glass of water!!

Best Budget hotel i stayed in was Pension Alameda in San Sabastian, Location was awesome, right on the edge of the old town, near all the best Tapas joints, and 30 minute walk to Arzak, the beach was a 10 minute walk away, well priced and the owners were the most lovely people that looked after me while I was in Spain, really nice people and I will stay there when I return to San Sabastian next year.

The High speed trains operated by Renfe were a great way to get around the country and so cheap, really affordable and would advise you to pay the little extra and go for first class, its not expensive and so worth it, as accurate as I have ever seen a train service, really comfortable, and gets you around Spain fast, maybe not as fast as flying but much cheaper and very comfortable.

Best Tapas,

I loved eating at El Feugo de Negro, the Tapas were more on the modern side with a cool bunch of people socialising round the bar, just so good having world class Jamon, peppers etc in a relaxed surroundings like this, would love to have similar in NZ.

Favourite Town,

This for sure is San Sabastian, I loved the place, has a great feel to it, relaxed, a bit old school but modernism sneaking in when you least expect it, a fantastic city, with great food, awesome beaches, super friendly people and amazing restaurants. Really felt at home there, maybe it was something to do with being on the Atlantic Coast, and was sad to leave. Fantastic memories. It has a wonderful history too with so many seafaring battles taking place just of its shores.

Sergi Arola Gastro

On my first day in Spain, Madrid to be exact I was straight out for lunch after the mammoth journey from NZ, So it was straight from the airport to the hotel, dump my bags and to my of to the first meal of my tour of spains restaurants.

Sergi Arola Gastro is in a beautiful area in Madrid, reminded me so much of South Kensington in London where you would visit Tom Aikens or Gordon Ramsays restaurant. Leafy streets, obviously a wealthy area. The restaurant is situated on the first floor, a door man leads you up the stairs to a hidden doorway that slides open as you approach leaving you with a view of a very modern restaurant, the table settings being stand out of all the restaurants I visited.

The service staff as you would expect at a two star are very attentive, the food is fun, not overly crazy but a few nice touches here and there. The flavours are spot on. As with many of Spains top Chefs, Sergi Arola spent time at El Bulli so you see spherification, thin flavourful jellies, interesting flavour combinations and a fair bit of interaction with the waiting staff who had to finish quite a few of the dishes at the table.





First up were the Snacks, or Tapas as they called it, A small cone of popcorn Ice cream with corn brunoise was first up, sounds like it would be sweet but was quite savoury, then moving on was a 'Waldorf salad' which turned out to be  a sphere of celery jelly, encassing an apple and walnut cream, served with a rich Chicken Consomme, the aroma of the consomme was spell binding. Being my first meal I was so excited, the smells of the food, the interaction of the waitstaff had me thinking how amazing the rest of my trip would be.

Then the classic made modern potatoes 'Brava' arrived, small cylinders of potato with aioli on top finished the tapas, we were on our way to the entrees,

The first entree was a Tartar of beetroot with a sphere of Mango, Goats cheese and yoghurt sauce and tender leaves, Simple presentation but great balance, the tender leaves were to use as a 'bread, to drop the tarter on to and eat, memory tells me that this was stand out, simple yet packing a punch, and its great to eat with your finger isnt it??

Next up was this little morsel, It was swiss chard filled with Oyster brandade, caviar and sour cream, and potatoes. Again as you can see the presentation is immaculate as I was to become accustomed to in spains top restaurants, the flavours clear and direct and luxurious.






Sadly my camera died a death after this photo, and what followed was some amazing dishes, my first taste of many sardines to be eaten while i was in Spain came with Roasted and crispy fried egg, and black trompets, the sardines beautifully cooked, nice and plump.

Then came the Cod Chins with snails from the sea and land, Pearl onions individually stuffed with tapande, Black pudding and a garlic and parsley ice cream which was cleverly stuffed into a snail shell, how very cool, loved the presentation of this dish, the garlic not to over powering in the Ice cream.
another winner.

Pigeon from the region of Navarra followed with marinated foie gras, lovely sliced ceps and a rich jus, the pigeon cooked to perfection, I would have liked a bit more foie gras, although there was good balance to the dish, I probably just craved it having been denied the pleasure of having Foie available in NZ as it is not allowed to be imported apart from the poor quality tinned rubbish.

Green tea microwave sponge came next,  with orange concentrate, rose caramel wafers and a lemon verbena ice cream, not much to say about this, maybe expected a little more from a two star,

The second dessert was a  frozen souffle of candied fruits and kirsch, set in a little metal coup, with Blackberry spherification, and hazelnut cream, again very simple and a bit of a let down,

Then came the last dessert which for me was stand out flavour pairing, It was a Dark Chocolate Cream with freshly diced apple, Strudel crumble mix and Coconut sauce poured at the table, a really great dish. Simple, but delivers a great end to the meal.

I was given a tour of the restaurant behind the scenes by the restaurant manager after my meal, and the place is immaculate, spread over two floors with a seperate prep kitchen. Its a fantastic set up. I can only thank them for the sheer hospitality shown to me by everyone. A superb meal by any standards.

El Celler de Can Roca, 3 Michelin Stars

Congratulations must go to the Roca brothers, today they received their third Michelin star, the most coveted award in the culinary world, which as I said in my review of the restaurant would be so well deserved and for sure they should not have had to wait so long, with a new restaurant and kitchen there was little doubt in my mind that I was eating in a restaurant that was for sure punching above its weight.
The hard work, dedication and innovativeness of these brothers shines through and the meal for sure was in the top two that I ate in Spain.
Well done. I have so many good memories from Girona and cant wait to return next year to spend more time there. More news on the Spanish Michelin awards to follow. :)

Labels: El Celler de can Roca, Joan Roca, Jordi Roca, Michelin 3 Star

Paco Morales and Rut Controneo

I managed to get up to Hotel Ferrero where Spain Chef of the year for 09, Paco Morales is wowing his followers with his food and partner Rut Controneo pushing the front of house to high levels.


Let me tell you about the Hotel first, for me its one off the best I have stayed in, I dont have big budgets, and managed to stay here on a lower rate but having worked in and seen some of the finest  country house hotels in the UK a let me tell you they are pretty amazing, this is up there at the top, Attention to detail is impressive, style impeccable and the location, perfect.

It took me a while to get a taxi with my broken spanish from Villena to the hotel, but when I got there I felt at home straight away. A beautiful pool area, amazing gardens and orchards and oh so quiet compared to the hustle of madrid where i had just been.

Aidan Brooks of aidanbrooks.blogspot.com suggested on a forum on Egullet that I come visit and see what I think, and having read up a bit I was very excited about the food. The one downside to my stay was that I was the only guest but boy, did I get looked after, 3 waiting staff, an army in the Kitchen , Paco Morales and Rut Controneo both there, which made the stay feel so much more special.












As you can see from the pictures its a little piece of paradise and Im sure that within time the place will reach the acclaim it deserves, 
So then onto the food.


I was the only diner which felt very strange but the team made me feel at home, taking me to the kitchen and meeting the Chef, it amazed me to see the whole team on , with just me dining, I felt a twinge of guilt about having them work just for me.. but well they made a great experience. The first course that came was of young Walnuts, beautifully white and nothing like the dry ugly walnuts you may be used to , these were succulent, served on a sable, at the same time the bread wafer standing proud in a piece of stone along with butter and goats cheese mousse like texture.

Next from the kitchen came the salad of Jerusalem Artichoke with Sea Lettuce, Arbequina Olives, Green Apple, Citric Melisa and Hazelnut.Beautiful fresh hazelnuts with bright green cubes of Apple , again great textures and flavours.

followed by Cubes of Cuttlefish with Asian pear impregnated with black garlic. Reminding me a little of Mugaritz with many different contrasting herbs, the pear was slightly warm lovely cuttlefish. The Herbs here were so full of flavour.

Next up was possibly one of my favourite dishes, sublime, It was the Baby Prawns of Santa Pola with Guacamole, black olive and Almond milk. The balance was great , I loved everything about this dish, the simplicity, the impact so good. A real highlight. The Black olive seemed to be brushed onto the bottem of the bowl with the prawns and guacamole on top, finished with a almond milk, simply delicious and as good a dish I had anywhere.

I think this is one of the Chefs Signature dishes, It was a Consomme of Smoked tuna, with baby Courgette, and Marine Pine Caviar.

Fresh flavours, with a great impact from the consomme. the marine pine caviar I think being mock caviar, but my memory fails me there,

Thin Slices of Fatty Salt Pork with Judas ear wild mushrooms, Lambs Brain and Pimpinalla followed and how beautiful is this dish , again the look is simple but the flavour was amazing, 

This was the monkfish foie, with Cauliflower and turnip water , another favourite of mine, I love the texture ,  you dont get monkfish liver very often in New Zealand so I was quite excited to get this dish, the presentation is so clean, turnip water added a great secondary flavour to the dish,

Here is dish similar to one I had at Martin Berasategui, It was called the Market in the Dish, and was all the vegetables and herbs found in the locality of Hotel Ferrero, something of a palate cleanser before the hearty main courses arrived.

The Flavours were so clean and pure, I recall it was a slightly jellied Tomato water with everything arranged on top, so clean and pure, good flavours.

This was the first of the main courses, It was The Crusted stuffed cod with Tender onions lentils and Pancetta, The crust was scorching hot, a beautiful white colour encasing the Cod inside cooked to perfection, The crust was made from Potato Starch, The textures were great, Crispy crust, really sticky and a fantastic rich sauce, The only thing for me was I burnt my tongue on the crust. other than that beautful dish.

This was the first of the Desserts, Apple compressed and made an amazing green colour using spinach and applying the osmosis technique, with Pastry Cream , Apple Puree, biscuit crumble and Apple Sorbet, Really refreshing after the marathon of dishes I just ate,  good textures. The Pastry chef at the time was Aidan Brook, sorry we didnt make it for a drink after, 
This dessert was followed by Elderberry meringue with Blackberry Sorbet and dried lucky clover(not picture) . again really fresh and light and a perfect way to wind up the meal.

 

All in all Paco Morales in my opinion stays true to the values of food, you could be blindfolded and still know what you are eating unlike in some other restaurants I ate, The flavours produce were superb, technique was interesting. The hotel has just this past week been entered in to The Relais and Chateaux Guide book which is fantastic news, now all they need is Michelin to have a look, surely deserve more than one 'Estrella' from Michelin!! Paco and Rut are a fantastic couple and so welcoming, and I'd like to thank them again for looking after me so well. hope to see you guys in New Zealand some day

Final draft of the New Menu

Atelier’ The Workshop 
A free thinking environment. Evolution, morphing, seasonal, the classic, haute cuisine,
symbiosis are all elements explored in this dessert

Nayarit Milk Chocolate Crémeux
With mandarin gel, licorice, caramelised bitter chocolate puff pastry and
ice cream flavoured with the barrel of aged Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey

Rooibos Red Bush Tea And Caramel Custard
With mango, coriander and pistachio, 30 second yoghurt cake,
Hibiscus and a pink grapefruit and vanilla gelato

Exploding Strawberry Milkshake
Served with vanilla cheesecake, lemon curd, strawberry jelly, with many flavours
of summer fruits and lavender ice cream

Nitro White Chocolate Shells
Iced Jaina white chocolate shells with lychee, fresh raspberries, wild sorrel ice cream
and chilled consommé of yoghurt and lemongrass

The Atelier dish is something I can keep on menu, and use it for the evolution of a dish,  this month I have chosen to work with milk, and create a dish using milk in all its form, from ewes milk, milk curds, making milk biscuits, caramel from lactose etc. Which is great for recipe development for us. almost like a special dish of the day, but more concentrated. 

Evolving to a more Dynamic Pastry team

Above is the area for restaurant service.

My Pastry section at Kermadec is not massive but I think well utilised, We have just completed moving the brasserie pastry section up to the old bakery area since the bakery has now been moved off premises to make more space for our increasing capacity and other commitments, I now have a tidy little space housing both Restaurants pastry sections which in turn gives me so much control over what is happening during our days, with some extra bench space to come, and having some great equipment available to us its a real pleasure to work there.

Above is the brasserie pastry area , just after service

As summer comes and we are consistantly pushing out 100+ for lunch and up to 200 for dinner in the brasserie as well as 80-90 in the Restaurant as well as functions in our two function spaces it was essential that we made the move. We can now operate as a more close nit team and bail each other out as the services peaks and falls in both restaurants, it can be a bit of a push when both kitchens are pumping. Plates everywhere. but I don't think there are many other pastry kitchens in New Zealand like it which I am quite proud off, as like i said before pastry is a bit of an after thought here. but slowly peoples attitudes are changing.

Some dishes

So we have managed to get the new menu up and running and now its into crazy season, so the pics are a bit slow in coming , The one above is the Nitro moulded shells, made with white chocolate Ice Cream and freeze dried raspberries that come with a Raspberry and lychee dish, with Yoghurt and Lemongrass consomme, Wild sorrel Ice Cream and below are some lychees filled with a white chocolate Ganache the coated in a jelly made of Raspberries. The full picture of the dish will follow soon.

This next photo is of the Rooibos and Caramel Tea Custard dish thats been in the works for quite some time, it comes with pink grapefruit and vanilla gelato , mango Gel cubes, Pistachio and hibiscus, I thought this may be the dish that doesnt prove so popular but the sales have not been to bad, I love the flavour of Rooibos tea and the health benifits are an added bonus.

Then next up is a Nayarit Milk Chocolate Creameux  with nitro frozen Licourice licourice caviar, Mandarin in freeze dried and jelly, Chocolate puff pastry , Chocolate, coconut and popping candy soil and an Ice Cream flavoured with the barrel of the Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey. We serve it in a fish bowl sat on the woodchips from the barrels of Jack Daniels which were used for the Ice Cream. The dish is pretty simple, but the flavours are to die for.

Next post will talk about the exploding milkshake dish inspired by restaurant Arzak

Up and coming new menu

Its coming up to Summer here in NZ so we are getting super busy, it certainly has been a hectic few weeks since I made it back to the Restaurant, 1 guy walked out while I was away, so now we are 2 staff members down, its all normal in this trade I guess.(anyone looking for a job??) also a big thank you to Juan and Michiko who looked after the Pastry while I was away, Im so lucky to have two people so dedicated working alongside me, your both awesome.At the same time the numbers in both our restaurants and functions are going through the roof so its all go.

We are however changing the restaurant menu next week , All the berries are coming through,  some new suppliers have appeared on the scene with some great new ingredients, I love summer menus. New dishes with little bits of inspiration from my recent trip to Spain and the introduction of a new concept for the menu, the dessert tasting menu will be updated also, so keep an eye out for the photos of the new menu which will come up over the next.

El Celler Can Roca.

Its pretty much the end of my trip now, Ive eaten in some great establishments, all with there own personal touches that make each one differ from eachother.  Some memorable dishes, and yes some not so.
El Celler Can Roca was my last 'big' experience in Spain. I headed out to Girona after a day in Barcelona, having pounded the streets of La Rambla in the morning, breakfast in La Boqueria and the on a bus up to Girona for Dinner at El Celler de Can Roca at night.

Girona is a beautiful city, Im often envious of the people that live so close to great restaurants such as this.  For sure I wish I did. But in coming to Spain I took my chance and got a table. The 3 brothers Joan, Jordi and Joseph make up such a Talented family, they have built such a beautiful restaurant and I was about to experience what all there hard work accumulates too.

Arriving at the restaurant you walk through there little courtyard where you can look into the restaurant like a giant goldfish bowl, on the other side you can just see the chefs scurrying around getting ready for the service, I was sat promptly and as normal now went for the Tasting menu with matching wines.


13 courses of heaven followed along with 7 snacks to begin the meal, a very cool way of serving caramelised olives start the meal, hanging on a tree, i loved it. so original.
Followed quickly by Anchovy bone crisps, Black Sesame tuiles,  Razor clam Macaroni, trade mark Foie Gras nougat and a tomato and tuna Salad. All great, preparing my taste buds for an awesome meal.
I wont go through every dish, but give you a brief outline. enjoy

The first course was a Cherry soup, with a cherry sorbet and ginger Ice cream centre I think, served with smoked eel . Fantastic, nice and tart, not sweet, The sorbet really refreshing your plate , the eel was nice and meaty.

A 'double' spherification of Herring 'omelette' with a caviar, taking on the mock form of an omelette infact being a liquid centre of pure joy, great flavours, a massive success

Charcoal grilled Sole with Green Olive, Pine nuts, Fennel, Bergamot and Orange, looks simple but the flavours are so refined. faultless

Catalan Cod Pot au Feu.

This Course made the change from savoury to sweet, was one of my favourites written as Charcoal grilled eggplant confit, the smoke coming from the plate gave a great aroma while you ate the dish heightening the flavours, another great savoury come sweet from Jordi Roca. Superb

This is one of Jordi Rocas dishes, he is famous for matching desserts to fragrances, this was an adaptation of Terre by Hermes, a Chocolate Cream with Orange, Jasmine milk, Patchouli Ice Cream Distilate sand and grapefruit cake. You also get a small paper cone with the perfume on to smell after you eat to make a comparison. It was very good.

Petit Fours,Praline, Vanilla, Saffron, Rose and one called Gerd(not to sure about this one)

As you can see I started struggling with the amount of wine a little bit, but the matches were fantastic, luckily i managed to get them written down, otherwise it would have all been lost from memory

I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the kitchen and restaurant, meeting the Chef Joan Roca, Pastry Chef Jordi Roca and Joseph Roca who looks after the front, they really go out of there way to say hello to everyone and put themselves out there, I love the openness that they show.

I dont know about anyone else but I hope this guy will be handing the Roca brothers the third star that is so deserved, they have a fantastic restaurant, a great team of professionals on the floor, knowledge, skill and creativity in abundance. I love the place, and time will tell, I will be so surprised if they don't get it this year.

Labels: El celler can roca

Arzak

To say I was excited to dine at Arzak is possibly one of the biggest understatements since, since well, Ever!! Arzak has such a massive history, yes its had 3 michelin stars for , get this , 20 years. Thats such an unbelievable achievement in itself, Juan Mari Arzak is the third generation to work behind the stoves there and is passing the gauntlet onto his super talented daughter Elena Arzak. Its incredible to think that it has over 100 years of history. He is probably the chef that has done the most for progressing Basque cuisine. A true Legend of cooking.

I was so happy to have the company of my brother who had nipped over from London for a few days, and we settled to having the Tasting menu, 5 Tapas followed by 10 course to tantalise your taste buds,

The meal was superb, the staff the same and Elena Arzak was so attentive of us from the beginning of the meal, we took a tour of the establishment, through the kitchen and to a very impressive wine cellar with some amazing technology in keeping the wines at the correct temperatures, the kitchen was large and immaculate.

The Tapas were great, there was a Black pudding bon bon tempura,  Lotus crisps with fish mousse  and Rockfish fried in some sort of crispy crust that I cant remember. a great start.

The first course was a figs and foie dish, anything with foie gets the thumbs up from me, and the figs of course went so well with them, the foie had a really thin caramel crisp on top just adding a little texture.

Moving down the menu there was a Potato crisp covering lobster, with a lobster sauce like ive never tasted before,  I love the these spanish chefs that are making the sauces and jus in the restaurants here, so bloody good!! Could just taste the sea.

The main course was a choice of Pigeon, Lamb or,hmmm one other , cant remember, I went for the  pigeon which came with beautiful spheres of rice wine and i think balsamic . blue potato spheres and potato rounds, written on the menu as Perdigones dulces which i believe translates to 'Sweet shots'.

The meal was great, and possibly one of the most colourful meals I've ever had, very striking. It came across as very playful with use of dry ice here and there, flavours were so good and dishes massively balance, Stand out dish for me was the Dulce Lunatico, loved it, it was like a white chocolate and caramel casing(may be wrong there) with a beautiful filling of and Orange gel, and came along with red wine reduction, so good.. the photo above is Chocolate with crystals and colours, A soft ganache with chocolate and rosemary ice cream and many different super thin tuile, simple but tasty.

All in all another fantastic experience fully worthy of 3 stars and for sure worth a special trip.

Elena Arzak is a fantastic host, I even left with a bottle of Rioja as a present from her, shows that

they may be super star chefs but they are kind, caring and above all fantastic chefs, true leaders in our profession.

Labels: Arzak, elena Arzak, juan mari Arzak

Spain Trip Almost Complete

My trip and blogs aren't quite complete yet but I feel like writing this part anyway

When I started planning this trip a year ago now I didn't have any Idea how much of an effect it would have on my thoughts on food, service and culture, I didn't know much about Spain and with such a vast history I still dont, but I have touched the surface and will continue to study the country and learn the language when I get back to NZ. I feel touched by the kindness and openness shown to me by the Chefs, front of house staff and people in general. And it is all appreciated.

I've experienced some of the best food on the planet, travelled more in 26 days than i have in a long time, been served by true professionals, learnt so much from watching these waiters/waitresses which will benefit me once I have my own place as the standard in my mind has risen so much higher than anything on offer in NZ, Its amazing what you can learn from observing,  Ive had so much inspiration from the food in the kitchens, been amazed by some of the produce found even in the supermarkets, more so the markets, everyone must fall in love with la Boqueria when they visit it for the first time, I didnt want to leave that market.

For the first time I appreciated Jet Lag, waking me up at four in the morning on my first day in San Sabastian and heading out for a walk in the old town, smelling the baking that was going on was heaven, getting chased around by the guys washing the street was charming, and having these streets pretty much to myself was eerie, but cool.

The Architecture in Barcelona was stunning, I could spend a month there and still have stuff to do, visiting the pastry shops, being surprised to be served by a native of Ireland in Bubo, very interesting, visiting Paco Torreblanca's shops was a great highlight on my way back from staying at Hotel Ferrero and being made to feel so welcome by Rut and Paco was great, and being the only person in the building too. A big thank you to them for that, you dont know how much I appreciated it.(Review to come).

Im Going to go back to New Zealand, with a slightly different idea of what I want my food to be like, what my own style should be, what I want to achieve in the future, but I'm also going back quietly confident that I can hold my own with the skills i have developed over the years although there are things I really want to work on which i will make a priority over the next year
Looking at the work of Quique DaCosta and the Roca brothers at El Celler is what will inspire me most, but the pureness of flavour and technique at L'angle and Restaurant Ferrero will also stick in my mind.

Berasategui, Arzak and Mugaritz of course had a profound effect on my thinking too, especially the broths, consommes and juices, pure flavours and techniques that I have not practiced yet. Sergi Arola in Madrid also a highlight on the trip, Very cool restaurant , great host and sommelier and wonderful food, I  discover a few new flavour pairings there.

The Pinxtos in San Sebastian were outstanding, from the modern Feugo Negro to the more classic, Bar Martinez was great, la Cepe all great. What a great history and culture this country has in food.

So its back to NZ for me soon, Still wanting that illusive dessert restaurant, it will come, and I cant wait, but between now and then Im sure I will be back to visit, maybe not as extreme a visit as this one, 9 dinners in less than three weeks was hardcore!! will need to hit the gym and get on the bike for sure. But its all been worth it, and every penny was well spent :)

Labels: Arzak, Barcelona, Denia, El Celler de can Roca, El Poblet, Gastronomy Mugaritz, Girona, Hotel Ferrero, Joan Roca, Jordi Roca, Madrid, Martin Berasategui, Paco Morales, San Sabastian, Srgi Arola

Restaurant Martin Berasategui, Lasarte

Alot of people commented before I went to Spain that maybe Berasategui's restaurant may not be worth visiting, that it may be better to save my money for somewhere else, well, Im glad i didnt listen to them, as it was a great meal with one of the best dishes of the whole trip enjoyed there, Great service and a lovely restaurant.

Martin Berasategui restaurant is situated about 20 minutes from the beaches of San Sabastian, probably best to grab a taxi there, as you will want to enjoy the wine matches they do. I opted for the Great Gegustation menu and sat back and enjoyed the meal, with some small dishes coming out, first up was the lightly smoked cod, with hazelnut, coffee and vanilla, nothing to crazy there, great flavours, and a nice espuma.

This was followed by a mille feuille of Smoked Eel, Foie gras, spring onions and green apple, peach Gazpacho with Cockels and Txakoli. Another nice little mouthful or two being advised to finish with the gazpacho.

Then we were down to business, this was the Crustacean and Ginger Jus upon aromas of vegetables, the jus was awesome and full of flavour, the broths, jus, and consomme's i have tried in Spain have been of such a high level, it really has been mastered. the quenelle was a light espuma of what i cant remember, hmm where did i put my notes!!

Moving on to something I do remember and wont forget, One of the best dishes I ate in the month I spent in Spain was this, Squid soup, with squid ink Ravioli(spherification I believe which burst in your mouth and squid tuile, the flavours were fantastic, the soup again a sign of the highest skill level. and the biscuit adding the texture, I could have had another portion of this.

Next up was the Oyster with watercress, Rocket and apple Chlorophyll, which sat just under a fennel and lemon grass cream and Oxallis. The oyster like many I had in Spain was huge, the chlorophyll was very green  and had great flavour, acted as a little surprise under the white on white of the dish.

Next Dish was a plate of fennel on different preperations, nothing to crazy , nice fennel flavours.

Then I had Cheese and Carabana oil bubbles with Endive, Iberian bacon and red onion juice.

Great flavors, almost a posh cheese and ham, the Iberian bacon is always a great flavour, the red onion juice again another fantastic clear soup and the cheese bubbles finished a great dish, using spherification again.

Next up came this dish, a Farm egg with beetroot which i didnt think held much purpose, liquid herb salad which was fantastic and  carpaccio of basque stew and cheese, The dish was really good, the yolk hidden under the carpaccio mixed in with the herb puree, and made a great dish.

Then came the Warm vegetable hearts salad with seafood, lettuce heart cream, and idionized juice, Visually stunning and you got to wonder how long it takes to knock this dish out, many different flowers, leaves and vegetable roots, taking a salad to the extreme with a slightly gelatinised liquid but not overly so, every mouthful was bursting with flavour.

The next dish was a Red Mullet with crystals of Soft Scales, juice of white chocolate and seaweeds, I missed the photo I think just because it was so bloody tasty, The scales had amazing texture with the fish being perfectly cooked, the white chocolate was an interesting combination I hadnt heard of before that worked very well.

Then came the Roasted Pigeon beautifully cooked with pasta, onions mushrooms and truffles, need I say anymore? Though not!!! maybe a bit of Foie would have been nice with it but thats being cheeky,

Pushing on and we have reached the desserts,  A pre dessert of warm and Cold Apples and roots turned out to be a chilled apple drink with a warm foam, in a small glass to be downed all together to get contrasting temperatures. Then came The coal crumbs with Frozen Yoghurt, Strawberries and a lemongrass and passionfruit shot to be drank at the end. Really good flavours, spherification again in the form of strawberries sat on a citrus granite, coal crumbs were like a biscuit crumble and a great smooth Yoghurt Sorbet,

Then Came the Banana and Vanilla stew, with citrics and Ice Cream.this was a pineapple soup, with banana, citrus foam and sorbet, very light clean flavours.

Im Glad I didnt listen to the people that said dont go, Its a great restaurant and I look forward to going back next year, the service was great, the maitre'd really looked after me well and gave me a tour of the kitchen afterwards. Huge kitchen with a shitload of chefs, but all working with purpose.

Labels: Lasarte, Martin Berasategui, San Sabastian, The great degustation menu

Mugaritz, Andoni Aduriz

Going back a few weeks I had the opportunity to eat at Mugaritz, not to far from San Sabastian, Dont trust your GPS to get here as mine got me completely lost. But when I got there they made me feel perfectly at home. Its a beautiful place set up in the Hills of San Sabastian, beautiful Gardens, and the restaurant is pristine. They even have toothbrushes in the toilet, thinking of everything!!

They had prepared a Tasting menu for me so I got to sit back and let them take control of me for the afternoon, I had the pleasure of having Jose Ramon Calvo looking after me for the meal. The Service was superb, knowledgeable and fun. I think I have had the best service ever in Spain, NZ sees waiting like the brits, its not really a career to them but like in France, Spain has some fantastic skillful waitstaff.

On to the meal, It started with the Stones,  made to resemble the stones that are placed on the table I guess, was a potato that was wrapped in Kaolin clay which is edible, a fun and quick start to the meal,
This was followed quickly by the minature melons with Goats cheese, which was very crunchy, and cleaned up the palate a little bit.

Next came some little prawns, not to sure of the exact species or age but they were completely edilbe, heads, shells etc, nice little snack. and then we moved on to the menu.
The first course was Roasted Tomato Salad and its own cool water. This was a Roasted Tomato, Served with a Tomato water sorbet, refreshing and clean with good tomato flavours.

At this stage I was looking forward to the meal to kick start and see some fanatastic dishs, the next one up was Oven roasted and Raw vegetables, sprouts and greens with 'emmental cheese'. This dish for me from my knowledge is what Mugaritz is all about, some amazing fresh ingredients, many from the hills around served with a sauce/soup of emmental, The flavours were striking, and the sauce was fantastic, I never tasted flowers and vegetables so great before this dish. 10/10. I loved it.
This was followed on by the some Idiazabal Cheese Gnocci in Salted Pork Boullion, with contrasting herbs, While eating this I was thinking each dish keeps surpassing the previous one, beautiful flavour and texture, I always thought its a bit wanky to put small leaves on plates, the the strength of flavour off the contrasting leaves was so good, much stronger than I expected and the Gnocci I think is made with Kuzu leaving a very pure flavour. Excellent















The restaurant was filling up now but with no detriment to the service, I the next course I had was the Carpaccio, with Idiazabal cheese, and vegetable splinters, Fun dish, The carpaccio is intended to fool you into thinking it is meat but in actual fact it is Watermelon, with sweer and sour dressing, fun dish. Not taste sensation but kept your mind thinking.
Sauteed Mullet came out next, two fillets stuck together with meat glue , with beautiful liver and vegetables, very nice dish. Fish was beautifully cooked and came well with the Garnish

Then I had the baby Octopus, I remember it was a good dish but cant remember the Garnish and it was an extra on the menu for me. Very good flavour, first time for me eating baby octopus. 

Certainly wouldnt say no to it in the future.

 

Up next came a great dish of veal roasted and perfumed with vine cutting embers,thyme salt and crisp radish, As with many of the dishes this was Faultless, the meat was so juicy and tasted so good, with such a striking presentation on the plate, all black.The Radish adding a touch of freshness, loved the sticks. so good

Iberian pork tails was next with beautiful meaty langoustines, with reduced braising juices, and Iberian Jamon, This was one of the best dishes of the night, it had a great wine match which took the edge of the strength of the Pork and braising liqour, fantastically balanced

So I'd made it to Desserts,

First up and my favourite was the Spoonfuls of Clashing contrasts, heavy cream, sweets and leaves,

turns out to be Celery root Ice Cream , with Celery root and fenugreek, Brilliant, fantastic start to the desserts  and I would come back for this dish, Followed by French Toast with Fig leave Ice Cream, This was tasty but I sort of expected a little more from somewhere pushing for 3 stars, It was a nice dish, but maybe not in the same standard as the rest of the menu, Then came  the Mugaritz Tablet, to be honest I cant remember this dish, but I remember it wasnt really for me, i Didnt like the Tablet and the bubbles didnt really serve much purpose, the Ice cream was good, but like i said it wasnt memorable.

   

All in all a great meal, a couple of thing that I didnt get but that may be personal preference as im sure some people would love the ones i didnt. It certainly wouldnt stop me going back, thats for sure.

Labels: Mugaritz, San Sabastian