Finding staff

It's a lot of chefs nightmare- a member of your team hands in his notice. This is especially true in a small team like mine, where we all play a part in every section and cover each other on days off etc. Being a small team is fine, and works well when everyone plays their part and knows every corner of the kitchen and how to run each section. I guess on that respect I have been lucky since before Christmas when I took on a young Polish lad to fill my last vacancy, as we have had a reasonably settled group since then. Over the last month, all that has changed, and I have had virtually everyone hand their notice in now, including the aforementioned Polish boy, who is returning to Poland as his mother is ill. Another person is hoping to leave as she has has a small child to look after and needs full time hours, but in straight shifts (which I unfortunately can't offer her at present).
There is also a young man who I had had some hope for, he was never the brightest star of the culinary world but he kept going, had been learning and picking things up, and was making good progress until he recently passed his driving test and bought himself a new car. For reasons known eonly unto himself, he felt it was best to get himself finance on a 2009 plate car which he now realised he can't afford. Given the options of changing the car for a bit of an older model and staying here, learning his trade or going to an hourly paid "dead end job" (his words), he has chosen the latter.
To my mind that is a big shame, as there are jobs with prospects ahead of him if he could just open his eyes and see that. I remember being his age and being told similar things I guess, but I know I never overstretched myself so badly that I had to give up a career I (and he) loved.
Without sounding like an old fart, harping on about the 'youth of today', I do feel that it shows how these days young people do have different priorities from the past, no longer is there the desire to learn a trade and use it to create whatever you can in the future, it is very much about the now, and wanting everything without putting the hard work in. I am of the opinion that if you work for something, you appreciate it more when you get it, if something is just handed to you, you never fully respect it or at the very least take it for granted that it can always be replaced, as it has cost you nothing financially or by means of effort.
All of this also means I am now looking for an entire kitchen brigade, apart from my sous chef, who starts next week!
In all seriousness, if anyone is looking for a job in the south wales area, or knows someone else who may be, please get in touch at stevebennett@llch.co.uk or on my Twitter- @chefbennett01.
Thanks for reading my moaning post!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Nr abergavenny

Nothing is rotten in the state of denmark

Recently, I managed to get myself invited to a lunch at Noma by a fellow chef Gareth Johns of the Wynnstay arms, Machynlleth. Our paths have crossed once or twice over the years, most recently at Simon Hulstone's 'elephant' restaurant as Simon was Preparing for the 2011 Bocuse D'or competition in february.

Gareth sent me a message asking if i was interested in joining him at Noma as a colleague of his had dropped out of their arranged trip, and Gareth knew i was a fan of eating out. I contemplated whether I could afford the trip and get time off work for it for a total of about three seconds, before contacting Gareth and answering in the affirmative. As it was a last minute drop out which gave me my spot, I didnt have to wait long for our trip, but in the few days leading up to our trip to Copenhagen, I asked a couple of people for advice of where else to try while in the Danish capital, and was offered several options, including Geranium- the restaurant of the eventual 2011 Bocuse D'or winner, Rasmus Kofoed- Relae and The Paul which is run by an Englishman, Paul Cunningham. I was told that The Paul may still be on its annual winter closure, so we missed that out, and made bookings at relae and geranium to complete an impressive line up for the three day jaunt.

As it turned out, Paul's restaurant was open, so three became four in what turned out to be an incredible and inspiring trip for the four of us, all chefs, and we had a truly memorable experience.

the first of our meals was at Geranium, which unknown to us at the time of booking, is housed inside the national football stadium, like a rent by the month office space. Dont let that fool you though, what we saw and tasted there that night was truly world class food, precisely prepared by chef Kofoed and his team. the technical skill allowed the natural flavours to promote themselves in the highest way, with a real nod to nature and seasonality which proved to be a recurring theme at all four restaurants. A few new ingredients on us, a lot of familiar ones, but all treated with respect and allowed to be their own thing, not interfered with or made into un-natural pairings purely for the chef to 'shock' the diner with his daring. everything we ate over the three days had one aim-to allow the core flavour to shine.

We managed to get a guided tour of the kitchen at Geranium, including the prep kitchen and the satellite kitchen used for sending private parties for up to a hundred and fifty. Its hard to imagine creating that standard of food for the fifty odd people the restaurant seats in an evening, never mind for conferences up to that number!

The following day was the biggie- Rene Redzepi's Noma, recently named as the worlds best restaurant for the second year running by restaurant magazine and San Pellegrino. I have to admit to being sceptical in the past of Noma's reputation, and the hype which surrounds it, but having been now I must admit that it is something very, very special. Although pinpointing a single 'best' restaurant seems slightly like asking you to name the favourite of your own offspring, Noma makes a very good claim for the crown. The whole experience is not just about the food, its so much more. the whole ethos has been picked up by Rene's staff -front and back of house-and they promote it well. we ate bullrushes, mussels in their shell (the shell was edible), raw shrimp, herbs by the bucket load, doughnuts with whole smoked fish poking out of them, radishes in a pot of soil-and the soil, animal skins, pork fat and we even fried our own eggs. You just don't get that anywhere else. Everyone in Copenhagen that we told of our meal at Noma told us the same- its a special place. even the other restaurants look up to what they are doing and respect it.

I cant tell you it was the best meal of my life-but it was incredibly close to it, and quite possible the best all round experience. Again we got the ten pence tour, by the sous chef, English guy Sam Miller, and we saw a team of chefs who were prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve Rene's goals, and its easy to see why- he was a lovely guy, who took time out to chat with us and sign menus even though he was meant to be off as his wife had only given birth to their second child in the middle of the previous night! what a guy and what a place.

After five and a half hours in the place, we dragged ourselves away from Noma, to make our way to our dinner reservation at Relae - run by an ex-Noma sous chef, Christian Puglisi. A far smaller and simpler operation, relae doesnt suffer in comparison to Noma, it is a corner restaurant in a residential part of the town, where again the emphasis is on seasonality and exacting standards of cooking. again we were greeted and served all night by a charming and enthusiastic host- Kim Rossen. The meal was shorter than Noma- five courses instead of nearly thirty, but it was all executed perfectly, and threw up some interesting ingredients and presentation. Once again, we managed time with the chef, who was another friendly guy, willing to share information and chat. I would gladly return to Copenhagen, just to check out relae again.

Our final gastronomic treat was at The Paul. Paul has had some media coverage in the UK recently, so we all knew of his restaurant and wanted to try it. When we discovered that we had been previously misinformed, we made our way straight to the Tivoli gardens where the restaurant is housed, and gladly paid the entrance fee.

We were not disappointed.

Another menu which started with 'snacks', each bite was close to perfect, some of the finest food I have experienced, and again highly inspirational, and very seasonal.

Paul Cunningham arrived as we were close to the end of our meal, and joined us at our table while we drank our incredibly strong coffees. He seemed genuinely pleased that we had made the effort to find his place, and was another fine host with time to share his views and discuss his passions-food and photography take equal billing. A prolific author - Paul has five cookbooks to his name over the last few years- his personal recipe book collection has taken over a large corner of the restaurant. I recommend going to the Paul almost purely to see the decor, but mostly to sample the food. at lunch its meant to be a four course ment, but with snacks and petit fours its around nine courses, and in the evening there is a twenty course menu for you to enjoy. We all agreed that there has to be a return visit to allow us to do the twenty and sample as much of Paul's food as he is prepared to share!

Detailed posts of all four will follow. and please forgive the misquote in the title of this post!

Tom Aikens

As usual, I have taken a long time to post this one. I feel bad for being so slow in getting some of these posts up as I have had lots of adventures so far this year, but the disappointment of missing out on my proposed trip to el Bulli made me very reluctant to talk or write about my dining experiences. However....
I'm over it.
So.... in January, my best mate Kevin Barron (@kevinbarron07) came back to the UK for a few weeks-for those who dont know, he is currently working abroad, in Kenya- so as seemed fitting, we arranged a few culinary jaunts to keep us entertained. one of these jaunts took us to Chelsea to try out what Tom Aikens had to offer. As it turned out, we chose well- Tom is a fantastic chef and the menu had a really natural flow. That said, the restaurant decor was a little tired, with battered chairs and damaged paintwork all around us. Not the types to let the room put us off our food, we chose the tasting menu which was a very reasonable £55 for 7 courses. we opted out of the matched flight of wines and instead spent the same money on a very nice bottle of st emilion.



starting the lunch off, we were presented with a lovely little pot of duck confit, foie gras and Madeira jelly. a delightful beginning, the confit was a perfect room temperature and soft and easily spread on the plentiful crostini served with it. Its often been said that its the simple things that are often the hardest, and this was a real testament to Tom's ability.



The first course proper was 'Roast scallop, beetroot puree, caramelized onions, beetroot dressing'. As scallop dishes go this had it all- plump, well cooked scallops served with a variety of beetroot preparations, red endive, red amaranth and roast grelote onions. We both took our first bite and slowly turned to each other smiling. the temperatures and flavours worked really well together and the enjoyment continued through the whole plate as we tried the various beetroot garnishes including puree, paint(?), powder, jelly and roasted. Probably the standout course of our meal.



Next up was 'salad of roast mallard breast, winter vegetables', which was a picturesque dish reminiscent of a 'Noma' style pickled vegetable course with the addition of the roasted mallard, which to our surprise was completely cold. We didn't feel that the mallard suffered for being cold, but that if it had been served hot or even warm, the dish would have been pushed on to the next level. as well as the mallard and vegetables was a mallard 'ham' which also gave another texture dimension. Amongst the vegetables were some strips of carrot, beetroot and parsnip, which were mostly filled with a variety of mousses, jellies and even a kind of remoulade- salted shredded celeriac bound in mayonnaise. A very good dish, which ran the scallops very close.


For the main course there was a choice, so in the interest of research we had one of each so we could have a taste of each others. I chose the 'roast turbot, pumpkin sauce, braised veal shin'. As with a lot of the menu, there was a simplicity to the dish as well as a refined definition in composition. the turbot, shin and pumpkin were joined only by a crisp potato beignet. This left the main flavours alone to shine, the combination of the rich shin and the meaty, fresh fish was sublime, and the pumpkin was a great tool to relieve the richness with a touch of sweetness.



Kevin's choice of the 'Loin of Romney marsh lamb marinated in ewes milk cheese, aligot potato' was better however, a silky smooth, generous portion of garlicky potato covered in grated ewes milk cheese, roast onions and the star of the show- the lamb. Im a fussy bugger with my lamb, as I feel lucky that I work in the heart of south wales where we produce (and i cook) the finest lamb in the country. That said, this was a fine example of the young ovine meat we call lamb. succulent texture, and a rich yet delicate flavour which definitely left me wishing i had chosen it instead of the (absolutely fine) turbot.



After a perfectly acceptable cheese course, we moved on to the desserts-starting with 'pistachio mille feuille, parfait, praline and pistachio cassonade'. This dessert divided us in our opinions- it seemed a bit too much pistachio for me- I know, I know, what did i expect from a pistachio dessert, but it was just too much for me. i don't mind a little, but the entire thing left me feeling a bit overdone. all the elements were fine, just could have done with another flavour to break the nut monotony.



The same was our united opinion of 'passion fruit mousse, panna cotta, passion fruit granite'. as you all are aware, passion fruit can be a tart wee fruit, and when every element ( about 7-8) are strongly flavoured with it, it leaves the inside of your mouth feeling a bit acidic. for me, passion fruit is more of an accompanying flavour, and this was pretty overpowering. A lovely selection of elements again, and each one would grace any plate, however too much is too much.

We finished the meal with some lovely petit fours- three flavours of madeleines and two different chocolates- and a little tour of the kitchen and a brief chat with Mr Aikens himself.
All in all a lovely meal and experience, with a few points that could have been improved.

dishes of the year, 2010

My selection of the best dishes I ate this year

Everyone seems to be doing one of these lists at the moment, so here comes mine!

These are in no particular order, as it is an impossible task to choose between some of the fantastic plates which have been put in front of me this year, as I have eaten at a vast range of styles and standard of restaurants, which is why they are labelled by letters rather than numbers,but here goes.....

A. Parmesan 'egg' with migas- Minibar by Jose Andres, Cafe atlantico, D.C.

A stunning, modern dish from Washington's adopted chef, Jose Andres. he has revolutionised eating out in D.C. with his selection of restaurants which are all within 8 blocks of each other in the U.S. capitol. Minibar is the flagship of all his eateries and showcases the cutting edge of american cuisine. This dish is made by infusing a parmesan flavour into a light stock, which is then 'spherified' with a quail's egg yolk in the centre. it is simply presented in a bowl, looking just like a poached egg, but carrying a massive parmesan flavour. the migas, are essentially crostini, but named as migas as a nod to Jose's Spanish heritage. a clever, tasty and entertaining dish.

B. Normandie tart- Le Relais de la poste, Damville, Normandy.

Don't bother trying to find this restaurant in any of the big guide books- it wont be there. When I visited Michel Cluizel's chocolatrium in Damville in November, we were taken to this family run restaurant for lunch. despite humble furnishings and simple presentation, this was a great meal, the highlight of which was this classic French apple tart. buttery short pastry, sweet firm apple filling and rustic presentation all combining to create a perfect pudding.

C. Salad of spring vegetables with walnut oil, parmesan and a warm pheasant egg- The Ledbury, London.

Brett Graham seems to be going from strength to strength whether it be at the Ledbury or The Harwood arms. This dish is one I sampled at a lunch arranged by the Caterer magazine in April, and it was the most talked about of the day, several different vegetables-all treated differently, puréed, dried, boiled crushed and pickled amongst the techniques. with a walnut oil mayonnaise and a warm, soft boiled pheasant egg. seasonal, fresh, interesting, technical and just damn tasty.

D. Piggy burger-Bar Boulud, london

This is a regular highlight on anyone's visit to bar Boulud-a recent addition to the dining options at the mandarin oriental hotel in knightsbridge. a good sized beef pattie, topped with jalepeno mayo, barbecued pulled pork, lettuce all wrapped up in a cheddar bun. this restaurant does not take itself too seriously, and as a result serves up some good, fun simple food. Of all the dishes we tried here, this was a stand out winner.

E. Paella- Jaleo, D.C.

Another of Jose Andres' fine establishments, this time his Spanish tapas venue. My meal here was a birthday treat, and I couldn't have chosen a better one. Our table tried a total of 12 different tapa's, and a large dish of chicken and mushroom paella, which is a passion of Jose's- he has a large variety available at jaleo-and has even enlisted some experts in the field to train his staff, and it shows. the rice is perfectly cooked, the flavours are bold, and as an eating experience it is a real sharing plate worth indulging in.

F. Crispy pigs tail, dijon vinaigrette-Poste moderne brasserie, D.C.

We took in the '20 bites' menu by Robert Weland at the showcase restaurant of the Hotel Monaco, smack in the centre of Washington. A great concept, well executed, and this was one of the highlights- braised pigs tails, shredded and mixed with Dijon mustard, coated in panko crumbs and fried. served with a devilled quails egg and a little micro cress bound in the vinaigrette. its again a simple dish, yet refined and succulent.

G. Scallop 'curry'-Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham.

When I ate at Sat's eponymous restaurant with rooms, I had been working on a dish revolving around the flavours of scallops, cauliflower and spices. As I sat at the chefs table right next to the kitchen, and got presented with this dish, I felt upset. upset that this eclipsed everything Which I had dreamt of. The same concept, just better.

Sat was really good about it when I jokingly told him he had pissed me off by showing me how far ahead of the game he is, and said it was a dish they have been adjusting and improving for ten years. The dish comprised a single, large (really large!) scallop, poached sultanas, cauliflower beignets, sliced dried cauliflower, diced apple, apple jelly and puréed mango chutney. the scallop had been rolled in Indian spices before being roasted. amazing.

H. Bubblegum,long pepper, hibiscus, creme fraiche-Alinea, Chicago.

A real fun course, part of the 20-odd I was served. This comes in a glass tube in three sections- the long pepper and hibiscus were a jam, and the creme fraiche was flavoured with vanilla and the final section was the bubblegum part made of sago, cooked in a 'hubba bubba' stock. You are advised to put the 'jam' end in your mouth and suck. it makes a very loud slurping noise and reminds you of the experience of bubble gum as a kid, not only in flavour but in texture too, as the sago needs to be chewed at the end. Great fun.

I. Black truffle explosion- Alinea, Chicago.

I know- another from Grant Achatz? who would of thought...

This is a modern classic, a real signature dish of his. incredibly thin pasta enveloping a potent black truffle stock, which literally explodes in your mouth. So much so, you are advised before you eat it to close your mouth once its in there and keep it shut. The whole thing seems to double in size as you put it in your mouth!

J. Souffle aux pistaches et sa glace-Koffmanns, Knightbridge.

Another chef, another signature dish, this time one from the old school. I enjoyed my meal at Koffmanns on the whole, but the stand out dish was the dessert, a real strong pistachio flavour, and a great presentation, including a little theatre with the waiter lifting your sorbet into the heart of the souffle. A great dish and well worth going for.

K. Spot prawns 'en brioche'-Minibar by Jose Andres, Cafe Atlantico, D.C.

People accuse me of being a Jose-stalker, but if he keeps putting dishes like this on the menu, I have no shame in keeping my eye on his restaurants. I have eaten at Minibar twice this year, the first time I ate a different incarnation of this dish, with langoustine sandwiched between two crostini, a lovely concept, like a prawn cocktail sandwich. This next step, was two large spot prawns, poached in the waterbath, and briefly seared on a plancha, then served with a brioche flavoured espuma, or foam. wonderfully yeasty and buttery at the same time, and perfect with the textures of the prawns, which were both crusty from the plancha, and tender from the waterbath.

L. yuba, shrimp, miso, togarashi- Alinea, Chicago.

I didn't know what to expect from Alinea, having read the book, and seen lots of reviews of the place, but this really let me know I was in for something different as this was about the fourth course I was presented with, and it was incredible. I spent about five minutes just looking at it, before starting to eat. It comprises a long crisp made from dehydrated soya milk skin (I know- stick with it!), a length of raw shrimp wrapped around it, an orange shrimp toffee drizzled over it, and a miso mayonnaise dipping sauce. the whole menu was incredible, but this was the one I would eat all night long. Umami, sweet, salt and bitter flavours all in one. Magical.

M. I don't think that anyone who knows me and has discussed food with me will be surprised to know that I have one more dish from Alinea on this list. I cant let my list of the best of 2010 go by without mentioning my final dessert course. A simple dish of chocolate, peanut, apricot and honey. Only it wasn't simple. It was incredible, and it was plated for me at my table, ON my table by chef Achatz himself. There is a video available on youtube HERE. It is a bit long, and the first four minutes are just the waiters setting up and talking about the wine, so skip to 4:15 and enjoy.

Well thats it, its been a great year, and 2011 already looks to be another cracker, with Tom Aikens, Galvin at windows, les deux salons, Harwood arms, el Bulli, el celler de can roca and dinner by Heston already lined up. I hope you enjoyed this list, and try a few of the places I have mentioned.

Alinea- part 3

It has been two months since I ate at @GAchatz's Alinea restaurant in Chicago, so I must again apologise for being so slow in posting this final piece on what was, for me, the meal of a lifetime. You don't need to know the ins and outs of why its taken so long to get around to this post, so i will just jump straight in to it.....

A restaurant like Alinea is hard to define. It is not only unique, it is hard to imagine the thought process behind how it came into being. Like el Bulli in Spain, to have once looked at what is now one of the finest restaurants in the world when it was in the early days and create what now stands takes real genius. sure, it has taken time and evolution to reach this point, but both Achatz and Ferran Adria (of el Bulli) must have had the final model somewhere in their minds when the whole process of planning and creating started.

I use el Bulli as a comparison, to gently alert anyone who finds this blog interesting that I am planning on going there in January with my best friend and former work colleague Kevin-follow him on twitter @kevinbarron07.

El Bulli is also a fair comparison as it is also famed for its deconstruction of dishes, creative presentation and the barrier crushing inventiveness of its dishes.

Grant Achatz takes the familiar-leek and potato, bubblegum, pineapple and bacon-to name a few of the combinations I experienced- and twists them in presentation and service technique, so far that if it wasn't for the excellence of flavour, and taste memories they invoke, you could not get your head around what the heck they are. We all had a pineapple and bacon pizza in our time I'm sure, but who ever thought of pineapple purée, dehydrated to a see-through wafer with smoked Virginian ham? Chef Achatz did. and that's just one example.

Every bite of my meal at Alinea is still in my memory, as each bite was an extension of a previous memory-something in-built, which we carry round each day subconsciously, until we taste bubblegum, truffle or apple again. Its the ability to recreate these memories which sets Alinea apart from the rest. An ability which should be explored and celebrated.

Back to the actual meal, and as i previously mentioned in part 2, there is only one course which I have not yet described to you, my main dessert-chocolate, apricot, honey and peanut. when i was preparing to go to Alinea of course I looked around the internet for info, menus and images. several searches uncovered videos of chef Achatz 'plating' guests dessert course on their table. not AT their table, but ON it. While I was sat at my table on the second floor of the north Halstead restaurant, I did everything I could not to watch what my fellow diners were getting as I was trying not to spoil the surprise, but I couldn't help but notice that every single course they ate was from a plate, spoon or bespoke stand. Not once did anyone in whites venture into the dining room to assemble anything in plain view of the diners. Until my final course, When a waiter asked me to remove everything from my table so he could roll out a table sized mat which would form the 'plate' for the highlight course of my meal. what followed is best explained through the following video which I took, as my words aren't enough.

Dessert at alinea

(sorry its a youtube link, so right click and select 'open in new tab')

The video takes a while to get going, but fast forward to 4.15 to get to the point...

As you can see, i made a bit of a fool of myself, when i misheard chef Achatz describing one of the components, due to his softly spoken tones and me forgetting the American pronunciation of basil (bay-sil) when I thought he said diesel. I know. Sorry.

watch the video a couple of times to take it all in, the honey liquid which is poured in the cylindrical glass mould then sets as it cools and is turned into a brulée, the nitrogen poached chocolate mousse which is solid yet melted in my mouth as I ate it, the artistry of the way all the different elements are assembled, and just the sheer concept of doing the whole thing in front of me or anyone else for that matter. It harks back in a way i guess to the old school restaurants of the big hotels where a any maitre D worth his salt would flambé crepes or fillet fish or create sauces in front of diners.

The dessert was the perfect finale to my meal and the Alinea experience, and I hope my journals have done enough to keep you interested, informed and wanting to try it for yourself. Here are a couple of shots of the finished dessert. Thanks for reading, if anyone would like any more info, email me on chefbennett@ymail.com, or tweet me on twitter.com/@chefbennett01.

Menuwatch – Llansantffraed Court Hotel - 12/10/2010 - Caterer Search

Menuwatch – Llansantffraed Court Hotel - 12/10/2010 - Caterer Search

Alinea - part two

Okay, I guess I've kept you all waiting long enough! It’s been staggering the amount of you who read, acknowledged and praised part one, to those people- a massive thank you!

I believe we left off wondering about the items deposited on my table at the start of the experience (calling it a meal seems an injustice, bearing in mind the technical wizardry, visual presentation and finesse on display).
The first of the two items (rosemary and red 'sheet' were placed on my table with the instruction to 'forget about them'), was what I discovered was a sheet of tomato and black garlic pasta, for the dish 'short rib, olive, red wine, blackberry'. In my haste to create (!) this dish and eat it, I neglected to take a photo, but all I can say is it was phenomenal. The dish is brought to you on a physical puzzle of a plate with a glass square on it, on top of which are the flavour components of this dish, in little piles. After lifting the glass plate, I had a wooden frame which housed two metal pieces, which fitted together and created a stand on which my waiter carefully draped the red pasta sheet. While he did this, another waiter - another charming young lady with red hair who has worked at Alinea for over four years - brought me a small pan with the hot, braised pieces of short rib. Together they explained that the dish was 'similar to a fajita, in as much as you add all the ingredients to your own taste, then roll it up and eat it from your hands.'
So, I travelled four thousand miles, to (what I admit we didn't know was) a three Michelin-starred restaurant, and had to roll a 'fajita' myself, at the table, and eat with my fingers!
Seriously, this was another sensational dish, made just about as close to perfection as you will find, by myself. The flavourings provided for assembling the dish were-smoked sea salt, fresh blackberries, charred onion, black garlic, sweet potato, Nicoise olives, sour cherry, diced tomato in vinaigrette, diced salsify and a tobacco jelly. Once encased, in the by-now perfectly room temperature paste, the hot rib and other flavours balanced temperature, taste and texture amazingly. The interaction of having to make it yourself is part of the humorous element which takes chef Achatz's food to a new dimension.
Next up: a classic Achatz signature dish-'hot potato, cold potato, black truffle, butter'. Let’s say now, it’s a classic for a reason- it’s another assault on multiple senses at once. Each service, the chef responsible for the dish makes hundreds of little wax bowls approximately three inches in diameter. For serving, he has to pierce the side of the bowls with a steel pin, on which is placed a tiny chunk of Parmesan, a tiny cube of butter, a chive baton, and finally a hot ball of potato topped with a slice of black truffle. The wax bowl is filled with chilled potato soup and brought to the table. 'This is the only time sensitive dish, so be quick' says a waiter as I hurriedly try and take my photo. I ignore him briefly, but the scent of truffle soon made me agree with him and I took the pin out, dropping the chunks, ball and baton into the chilled soup and then threw it back 'like an oyster', as I was told to do.
Truffle aroma, buttery potato richness and the alliums flavouring of the chive, as well as the temperature differences combine to please several taste buds and senses at once, and the slightly unusual act of eating without cutlery making me feel childlike, as though I was doing something wrong, but how can it be wrong when it tastes this good?
In the Alinea book, Achatz asks the question whether keeping some dishes on the menu is stifling creativity or honouring it. I for one, am extremely glad he feels confident in the creativity of himself and his team that he can keep a few signatures around to put on the menu as he feels the need - if you buy a ticket to go and see a gig, you expect to hear the hits, as well as the new stuff.
To follow on from a modern day Alinea-Achatz classic, we travelled back to the nineteenth century to sample an Escoffier classic. For anyone who doesn't know, Escoffier was a French chef accredited with formalising the recipe book, and assembling one of the most comprehensive repertoires of any chef then or since. As an hommage to Escoffier, I was served one of Escoffier's creations- 'pigeonneau a la saint-Clair'. This was visually different from the rest of my experience that night, as it resembled the kind of dish we used to put out when I was receiving my formal training as a young chef in the old school, classical restaurants I started in. That's not to say it was old hat or done with any less precision or technique than everything else I ate- far from it, it was just an unusual brief departure. An early glimpse perhaps of what chef Achatz is hoping to recreate with Next- his soon to open time period themed restaurant in Chicago.
Either way, it was great, a very short in texture butter pastry case, containing squab pigeon breast, foie gras parfait, mashed potato, truffle, and a little squab jus: Very rich flavours which all held their own, and a multitude of textures again. How does he do it? From every angle, this meal has been perfect so far, in taste; presentation; experience and knowledge - the waiting staff is phenomenal - and wine pairings. I wrote in my notebook at this time - 'how can food get any better?’
Then it did.

As though my night up to then had been wasted, the next course was one of two highlights (the other is being reserved for a final Alinea post). And it’s another signature dish from chef Achatz - 'black truffle explosion': a dish of dazzling simplicity- or so it looks, but with its simplistic look comes what must be a harrowingly difficult task for the chef on this dish each night. A black truffle stock is jellied, then enrobed in a smooth silky pasta sheet, which literally explodes in your mouth releasing the most pungent, sweet and earthy aroma and taste of truffle. In his book, Achatz reveals the torture of the young chefs starting to make it for the first time-the pasta has to be knead for fifteen minutes or it will tear, and the kitchen mustn't be too humid or the jellied stock melts and makes the pasta break- so getting this dish right time and time again is impressive to say the least. What is more impressive is the way that after the 'explosion' in your mouth, you feel as though you will have that taste with you for the next week, but it slowly dissipates and you are left clean-mouthed and truffle free.

I could write superlatives all day about this dish, it comes presented on what the waiter said is known as the anti-spoon, a spoon rested on a circular piece of china, in such a way that it just floats above the table. there is a tiny piece of very mature Parmesan and some crisp romaine lettuce on top, there is no smell of truffle until you have the entire thing in your mouth - 'eat it in one, and don't open your mouth while you eat it, it really does explode!' were my words of advice on this occasion, and I'm glad I heeded the advice. As you pop the spoon in your mouth, close and bite, there is a real sensation that there was more liquid inside the pasta than seems possible- the 'Tardis' effect again!

Once again, I was too entranced in the next dish to take a photo, but 'lamb, red cabbage, mastic' involved the other table-guest of the night: the rosemary stalk. Three perfectly cooked pieces of lamb fillet (cooked in a water-bath, then transferred), were sat on a 'sizzle platter' of bespoke design, each individually garnished with a little mastic cream- think of the aroma of a pine forest- pickled sun choke/Jerusalem artichoke, and the eponymous red cabbage. As the very hot dish was placed on my table, the lovely redheaded waitress rolled the rosemary in her hand a second, and then placed it in a small hole at the one end of the dish. Instantly the smell of rosemary was all around me. As I ate (with chopsticks for this course only), each lamb garnish activated different taste sensations for me - the mastic was distinctly umami; the artichoke had elements of salt and sour; and the cabbage was both sweet and salty. All this with the perfume from my warm herbal dining companion was great stuff, and the course I would most liked to have been bigger. (I would gladly have had seconds of everything, if not thirds too, but this deserved more of a large part in this production.)
As I waved farewell to the friend I had experienced fifteen courses with up to then, I received three courses at once again. To keep from confusing myself and you, I will call them by single ingredient names- pineapple was one, bacon was two and three was popcorn. Of course they all go together and of course they all taste amazing, but who knew how good they could be?
The pineapple transparency was a crisp sheet of incredibly tasty pineapple which was sprinkled with powdered Virginian ham. The bacon was apple-wood smoked bacon, dipped in syrup and hung to dry on another bespoke piece of table wear which resembled a bow/washing line: The bacon hanging on the thinnest of wires like a crisp bed sheet. The popcorn, my word the popcorn, came in liquefied form, in a glass tumbler, with a light foam texture and the most brilliant impression of a bag of buttered toffee popcorn I have ever drunk! I had them in the order I just described, and they were perfect, logical steps to bridge the gap between savoury courses and sweet. Sat Bains calls it the 'crossover' on his menu, like an introduction of the two, where you take a few strides with a foot in each camp before launching into the homeward steps of the desserts.
My first 'proper' dessert was (yet) another multi sense dish, entitled 'earl grey'. The dish itself arrives on a large bowl/plate with the flavour components of Earl Grey tea broken down into a group of distinct individual flavours: citrus, bergamot, pine nut, apple vanilla and milk. Probably more, but I was getting tired! As well as small pearls of lemon curd, dried milk noodles (!) and the orange scented cream were several herbal flavourings presented as powders and soils. To those of you who know me, it’s no surprise this dish grabbed me. I'm sure- I enjoy Earl Grey, and this was like a bite of tea, which just like Earl Grey was slightly different with each taste: Impressive and made more so by the additional presentation tool. Go on guess.....
This course took two waiters to bring to me, one for the plate, and one for the warm pillow filled with earl grey scented air, which was slowly forced from the tiny holes in it, again creating a multi-sensual experience, as the weight of the plate pushed down: An incredible extra dimension to the whole dish, which would have been great without it. With the pillow, well, I'm all out of adjectives. I have to repeat- fun, tasty, sublime, brilliant, and incredible.
At this stage I was told I had two courses to go, and immediately was filled with the sad realization that I wasn't going to be at my table forever, constantly being fed morsels of increasing brilliance, and that in fact, this perfect opera was nearing its closing bars. As if sensing my sadness, the waiter brought me the most fun dish of the night- 'bubblegum, hibiscus, long pepper, crème fraiche. If I told you that this dish was jellied hibiscus and long-pepper jelly would you think it was fun? Maybe. What about if I mentioned that the crème fraiche was flavoured with vanilla and lemon? Fun? Probably not. Okay, how about the news that the bubblegum was a flavoured stock which tapioca was cooked in? Is that your idea of fun? Probably more fun than the rest, but let’s add all the fun and tell you that these ingredients came in the order I just described, but I had to slurp them out of a long glass pipe, like a test tube with no bottom, making a loud slurping noise as I did so? There's your fun element right there. The bizarre thing is, I hadn't seen anyone else have it that night, but I know they did because they were all given the same menu as me at the end of our respective meals. I guess I was so engrossed in other courses, I missed it all. It seemed so loud to me as I sucked on the pipe- 'like a cigar is best' said the cheerful redhead- that I was sure I would have recalled! It was great tasting, as well as fun, with the flavours of bubblegum being hibiscus, pepper and vanilla, they all revealed themselves in turn, with the tapioca giving a chewy, gum texture which made me think of the 'hubba bubba' years of my childhood. Amazing.

That, my friends, is where I must leave you hanging again. There was one more course, and what a course and what a presentation, but that needs a bit of technical jiggery-pokery on my part, to edit and upload a video. Yeah I know who reviews a restaurant by video. Well, I did, and trust me, it’s worth the wait!