Media client party June 10th

Music and food go together like food and wine. We listen to music when we eat and chefs usually have a radio blaring in the kitchen.We get lost in it, it takes away from the circus we live everyday. When I was a kid I worked at a restaurant that always had classic rock on. If you did not know the song the other cooks would give you a load of shit. You listened. learned and would be able to scream out Zeppelin or the Dead when it came on. I have always wanted to pair a song with a dish. I am finally going to try it for this media event. We are going to set flat screens in each station with the video and the song playing. The guest will finish off each dish giving a play full quality to the event. We are going to send everyone home with a I tunes gift card and a musical recipe they can make at home.

Musical menu

Pour Some Sugar on Me
Def Leppard
Grilled crimini with celery root dynamite and togarashi brulee
Guest uses small torch to fire their brulee

Corn Flake Girl
Tori Amos
Cornflake and cashew tempura shrimp with avocado aioli and siracha caviar
Guest makes caviar by dropping balls with a syringe into calcium chloride


Proudest Monkey
Dave Mathews
Barramundi wrapped in banana leaf with tempura banana and ponzu noodles
Guest makes there own noodle by squeezing syringe into hot water

Cold as Ice
Foreigner
Carrot cake dippin dots with cream cheese ice cream
Guest will drop dippin dots into liquid nitrogen


Bar songs with custom molecular drinks
Red Red wine
Tequila sunrise
One bourbon, one scotch, one beer

Tasting menu 35

Took a trip to Kansas the last couple days. Thank god my mom can cook, there is not a lot of good restaurants out that way. The best meal we had was at the Topeka airport. I guess people like to watch the plains come in while they eat. It is certainly a whole different pace from my life here. My cousin and her husband have started to raise Angus cattle. Next trip out I am going to check out the farm and see if they could support a small place if I should ever open one.

Tasting menu


Sesame snapper
Dashi, edamame noodles, cinnamon


Tandori grilled salmon
Cucumber gellee, Greek yogurt, rose pedals


Organic chicken-tenderloin steak
Hunter sauce emulsion, leek, skinned tomato


German chocolate ice cream
Coconut dippin dots, pecans, chocolate ice cream
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tasting menu 34

Shit is hittinig the fan in the hotel right now. Our banquet chef is leaving to go to our competion a couple miles up the street. They are not going to replace his position so it is up to the three other chefs to pick up the slack. Needless to say I am a little worried about our banquet staff leaving with him. If they do, it will be a month of 7 days a week until we get staffing levels up. I won't be here for service this weekened. I am driving to Kansas to attend my moms master degree ceremony. Better get it in while I can

Tasting menu


Vindaloo curry
Tiger shrimp, Mexican papaya, Sweet lime emulsion


Chicken fried Cornish game hen
Grilled mashed potatoes, apple gravy, smoked pecans


Sou-vide grilled Rib Eye
Goji berries, blackened spinach, cherry balsamic



Double cream noodles, butterscotch broth, espresso ice cream
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Sou-vide blueberries

We cooked these blueberries at 128 degrees for 95 minutes in turbano sugar and cinnamon. They came out plump like they had only been seared for a short time. The texture was amazing, like blighting into a juicy grape.

Yellow Scene Magazine

In the food section of the magazine they have started a new section where they give a chef a ingredient and 24 hours to come up with the dish. They asked if I could create a dish with a red potato. Here is a link to the articlehttp://yellowscene.com/2008/05/05/challenging-element-red-potato/ We will be featuring this soup for the next month at night

Tasting menu 33

We are getting ready for Mother's day this week. We are booked except for a few late spots. We plan on doing around 1000. The new menu is going good. The flavors are were I want them but we are messing around with some presentations and ratios. I have not sou-vide fruit so I am interested in the flavors I can get.

Tasting Menu

Chorizo
Clams, Potato, Smoked carrot foam


Pickled mango
Blue crab, tarragon, pineapple sheet


Organic Colorado tenderloin
Salsify puree, cranberry pepper jelly

Sou-vide blueberries
Pie crumbs, vanilla marsala ice cream
Made table side with liquid nitrogen

Apple spice cupcake with brown sugar frosting

Need Inspiration? Go to the Asian market

I visit the Asian market at least 2 times a week. I use to go to Lucky market on Federal. I developed such a great relationship with the owner that she would give me recipes for anything in her store. Her daughter lived in the Philippines and would send fresh exotic fruit via fed ex. She has since sold her business and moved to Florida. Now I go to Pacific Ocean on Main and 120th in Westminster. It is a very clean market with lots of stuff you just want to buy and play with. Alot of the products come in smaller sizes so you can through down a buck here in there to try something new. If you want some inspiration spend some time, a little money and make good with the little old grandma behind the counter.

New menu

We have been working on a new menu this week. There is a lot to coordinate in this hotel. Tastings, Costing, Pictures, Recipes, Prep schedules, Sourcing ingredients, Training, Printing of menus ( house and room service), Menu roll out, Quality control, Basically a lot of shit. Twice as much if I was in a independent. Here menus must be costed to the penny, at a independent I usually took the price of the protein and made a educated guess about the rest. I never took pictures in a independent because I was always there when we were open. Room service is a whole different animal. 300+ rooms with no kitchens and high expectations. Anyway I have been busy. Here are some examples of some molecular techniques that we are doing on our new menu:

Sou-vide salmon with edamame flan and curry carrots

123 degrees for 40 minutes with yuzu dill butter. Sear in hot oil to order

Colorado trout with beans, pancetta and whipped maple 7 oz pure maple, 1 oz molasses, 1/4 cup apple juice, 1/4 tsp xantham, 1 tbl. virsawhip 600

Fried baby artichokes with warm walnut mayo, cotija cheese, elephant garlic chips
6 eggs, 6 egg yolks, 1 cup walnut oil, 1 1/2 cup oil blend, 2 tbl Dijon, 2 tbl. Sherry1 tbl. salt, 1/2 cup parm grated fine, 1 Co2 charge, place in water bath of 120 degrees

Mojo jelly side sauce with oysters2 cups fresh lime juice, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup corn syrup, 8 sheets gelitan, 4 tsp. agar, 1/2 cup fresh mint chopped. Bloom gelitan, boil sugar, syrup, agar 2 minutes. Add gelitanand cool. Place in blender. Whip for 10 seconds. Remove and add mint

Southern peach sorbet made table side with liquid nitrogen with Merlot caviar and frozen thyme. 150 grams Merlot syrup, 50 grams water, 2 grams aliginate, 2.5 grams calcium chloride, 500 grams water. Place syrup, alginate and water in quart container and mix with hand blender. Place in a squeeze bottle. Put second water and calcium chloride in a different court container. Blend with hand blender. Drop small balls of Merlot syrup in calcium water. Remove after 2 minutes and rinse. Marinate in Merlot syrup.

Shrimp sheets

We used the sheets on the tasting menu this week. We layered them with whipped corn, ricotta, charred tomatoes and olive oil.

Recipe

300 grams Tiger shrimp cleaned and diced

3 grams Activa

1/4 tsp. Ground toasted fennel

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

pinch White pepper

Put ingredients in a small chopper and pulse until a very smooth paste is formed. Smear through a tami. Place a large piece of plastic wrap on your work surface. Put 1/2 cup paste and form into a square. Put another piece of plastic wrap on top. Roll out to desired thickness. It can be rolled paper thin. Place on a sheet tray and steam for 2 minutes. Remove and cool.

Flexible warm white chocolate with frozen coconut powder

Liquid nitorgen Smores with cinnamon foam

Tasting menu 32

I am planting a big garden this year in my back yard. Hopefully we will yield enough to do some nice tasting menu items. Colorado is warming up. I can't wait for the farmer's markets to open.

Tasting menu


Curried escargot
Pea puree, crispy carrots, pea sprouts

Shrimp Lasagna
Charred tomato, whipped corn, ricotta


Apricot sou-vide organic chicken
Jalapeño rice, smoked crimini, apple butter


Villa Mandori dark balsamic
Cherry Ice cream made tableside
With liquid nitrogen

Grapefruit frozen ahi

I am playing around with some ahi because it will be gone next week. We have experimented alot with freezing purees onto food with liquid nitrogen. I think one of my favorites is creme anglaise frozen on cherries. It is like eating a impossible frozen bon bon that melts back to creme anglaise instantly in your mouth. Today we froze a honey-wasabi- grapefruit puree thickened with little xantham on the rare tuna. The tuna remains tempered while a popsicle like coating is made on the outside. We topped it with some kiwi and pickled ginger jelly

Lego dish

I build blocks a lot with my 2 girls. I was imagining how interesting it would be to give a customer a plate of different flavors of blocks. Different flavor combinations of dishes could be presented like whats on the back of a jelly belly box. 1 red+1 orange+ 1 green= Shrimp cocktail. I like serving dishes that the guest has to use all of there senses to consume a meal. I ordered some silicon today to make a mold that looks like a Lego. If it works I will want my kids to play with their food.

Tasting menu 31

We are getting ready to switch menus right now. I have implemented a lot of molecular techniques and technology on the new menu. We kept all of the descriptions generic so no one will be intimidated.We want the food to speak for itself. We are taking all tuna products of the menu. After reading about the almost extinct population of blue fin, the mercury scare, and the fact that a lot of yellow fin is being caught very young and raised in over crowded pens we have elected to take it off for a while. We have to allow fish to repopulate naturally and I think the best way is not to buy it. Will my one restaurant make a difference? No, but it is the responsibility of the chefs to take a stand. I have also checked all of my new seafood menu items on the Monterrey baywebsite.http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_search.aspx

Roasted parsnip
Edamame, asparagus, rice wine Dijon noodle

Alaskan king crab
Coconut, brown butter sorbet, smoked cashews

Mission fig consommé
Barramundi, spicy apples, goat cheese sphere


Tempura banana
Honey clove ice cream
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Interviewing

We see a lot of people interviewing in our hotel. Interns are in and out. Line cooks come in and usually bail when we can't match 15.00 dollars an hour down the street. I usually have to talk to potential candidates along with the executive sous and banquet chef. Here are a couple things some people could do if they really want the job:

1. Don't come in a fucking tee shirt and shorts. You are applying to work in a professional kitchen, not the hot dog shack on the 16th tee.

2. Familiarize yourself with menu of the restaurant. Understand what you are getting yourself into. Show interest in wanting to learn and grow in this business

3. Understand that working in a kitchen, especially a hotel, means you need to be flexible. You can't have off every holiday and yes you may need to stay late to plate.

Tasting menu 30

This is my 100th post. I have learned alot since I have started but I am more excited about what is to come in the future. After talking to Herve and eating Wylie's food, I am ready to begin my next 100 post. I have alot of chefs that understand why and alot of other chefs that don't. It is the same attitude that I encountered before I started doing any molecular. Everyone has there own taste, flavors that they are comfortable with. I could make the best shrimp dish but you may not like shrimp. I don't think you could ever make a savory dish that everyone will like. As chefs we put our hearts on our sleeves everyday hoping to connect with that persons perception of that perfect dish. You may like it, you may not but I feel good giving you that opportunity to make that decision. Here is to a 100 more

Tasting menu

Purple potatoes
Sopresetta crème Frâiché, crispy shallots

Sou-vide beets and tarragon
Shitake hummus, lemon stilton


Lobster steak
Baked taro, Tasmanian pepper, béarnaise gnocchi


Apple dippin dots
Danish dough, mascarpone, caramel powder


Pineapple curry bubble gum

WD-50

I have been using some molecular techniques for about a year. The only problem is that besides the food that I make I have not tried anyone's food. That all changed for me on Saturday. My wife and I made it down to this restaurant after we cooked at our event. It was amazing to see what Wylie can do with food. We had the tasting menu which was one course after another of a seem less balance of flavors and textures. My favorite course was the hamachi and the coconut cake. After we had eaten I asked if we could see the kitchen. They let us come back and take a look. It was a double sided French line with Wylie on one side and 3 chefs on the other. Pantry was nestled into the corner. A solid butchers block sat in the entrance of the kitchen with 4 heat lamps hanging down. It was amazing being there, to be able to ask questions about the food. Was that carrageenan in the chocolate paper? "No, it was pectin and agar." I thought to myself holly shit I am asking the people who wrote the book. Needless to say I think it was important to try the food, but it was equally important to see that I am pointed in the right direction. Thanks Wylie, Alex, Kevin and the entire staff

Random Ln tank in NY

Cookin in New york

We arrived on Thursday night for our Friday event. My package made it to the W in good condition. We ate at Icon in the W where we were staying that night. Chef Mike Wuster has worked in may great restaurants. He opened Le Cirque and was the chef at 11 Madison. He sent course after course of some really great food. The next morning we gathered our food and some small wares the W had lent to us and made it down to the event.

We set our food in our booth and went to check out Colorado in New York. It was cool to see the Breckenridge film festival and mountain bike team. I grew up in Breck and I liked seeing my home town in the park. I think more then anything I was proud to be there. I was born and raised in Colorado and I am proud to call it my home. The event went great. The tent was packed with media and people from the Colorado tourism board. Hopefully I made some good impressions with people.

Packing for New York

Doing a event cross country is a little nerve racking. You must think about everything because you are 2000 miles away from your kitchen. I have cooked at the James Beard House 3 times. Each time we shipped out raw ingredients to a kitchen in New York. We would spend 18 to 20 hours prepping. We would then load our ingredients into a cab and get down to the house and cook. I have learned to utilize my space here at my hotel and ship out already prepped ingredients. Chef Mike Wuster at the W Tuscany has allowed me to ship my package there and he will put it in the walk-in for me. I have the utensils, pots, containers, serving tongs on the bottom in peanuts.

I then place a layer of packaging material that will keep my ingredients cold. Herbs and mushrooms are wrapped in newspaper to protect them. My smoked cheddar broth has been frozen and will keep everything cold for the trip.

Tasting menu 29

I am working on the menu for next week because I won't be here for service. I have changed my dish that I am going to make for the Colorado tourism event in New york. I was going to do a peach sorbet with Merlot caviar and buttermilk consomme. After I made it I decided it was to sweet. They want me to do a soup course and there is a chef already doing the dessert course. I have also been checking the weather for that week and it looks like it is going to be in the 50's. I have settled on a hot soup that is creative and everyone has liked that has tried it. It is a Smoked cheddar broth with roasted pearl onions, Colorado potatoes and sour cream noodles. I will be prepping the next couple days and shipping it to New York. I plan on doing a post about doing an event cross country. Here is the menu for the next week

Tasting menu


Ultimate wonton
Poached lobster, tuna, black truffles


140.4 degree egg
Bacon consommé, Buttered toast foam


Shrimp cannelloni
Blue crab, ricotta, yuzu veloute


Blue champagne
Poached fruits, Saffron mango sorbet
Made table side with liquid nitrogen

Boston cream pie flip

My wife made me this wonderful Boston cream pie on my day off. She asked me to flip it this week. Flipping is what I call taking a dish, de-constructing the flavors and putting them back together. Other chefs have other names like Moto in Chicago calls it morfication. The elements of the dessert are white cake, pudding and ganache. I took the white cake and placed them in vacuum bags with vanilla syrup. This compressed the cake and all the syrup was soaked up. Next I made a frozen chocolate powder and some dark chocolate ice cream using liquid nitrogen.

The last and best element was this flexible pudding. One of the line cooks said is has the consistency of cheese but taste just like pudding. Thanks to Chadzilla and Fabian for help on ratios for this pudding.Here is the recipe:

1200 grams milk

140 grams Cornstarch

315 grams Sugar

100 grams Egg Yolks

2 grams Salt

3 grams Vanilla paste

1.8 grams Genuviso Carrageenan

9 grams Kappa Carrageenan

Place the milk and vanilla paste in a sauce pan. Heat until it scalds. Whisk the eggs, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Pour the hot milk over the mixture and return the pan over heat. Cook on medium stirring constantly. After 3 minutes put the mixture through a china cap.Put in a clean pot and put back on the stove. Whisk in the carrageenan while the pudding is boiling. Pour into molds and let cool. Remove and cut.

A day off

As other chefs will tell you, there are no days off in this industry. Especially when you work in a hotel that is open every minute of the year. I usually take Wednesdays off but this week I was asked to do a demo at the new Macy store. I did a easy dish, one that I have done 100 times. I neglected to think about the fact that I was not bringing any helpers and I had to move a 6oo pound liquid nitrogen tank. I wish I was sitting in a car watching my stupid ass wheel this tank on a 2 wheeler through the parking lot.The demo went great. I answered my normal question about liquid nitrogen and after 4 demos we loaded up the truck.

When I got back to the hotel there were 500 fans, press, and fighters from the UFC in the hotel lobby. We got slammed in our main room and in the bar. It was 10:30 before I snuck out the back.