Tasting menu 28

It has been a crazy couple days in the hotel. UFC is here with all of their fighters and television people from spike TV. All of the fighters are on limited diets before there fight. It has been interesting talking to the trainers about how they can loose or gain 10 or 15 pounds in a matter of days.

Tasting menu


Crispy shrimp
Siracha, avocado, feta

Apple Noodles
Watermelon, cilantro, curry lamb


Smoked buffalo New York
A-1 Sheet, onion, baked potato powder


Liquid nitrogen dipped guava and strawberry pate fruit

Boston cream pie
Compressed cake, flexible pudding, frozen chocolate

Pate fruit

I used to make this at this pastry shop I use to work at. I wanted to try them dipped in liquid nitrogen. They come out crispy on the out side and chewy on the inside. I made it this time with equal parts guava and strawberry puree

Recipe

2500 grams Puree

60 grams Apple pectin

250 grams Sugar

800 grams Glucose

20 grams Trimolene

2300 grams Sugar

Boil puree. Add glucose and trimoline, boil again. Add pectin and #1 sugar, boil again. Add sugar and cook to 108 C. Pour into molds with a silt pad. Cut or unmold and dip in sugar

Tating menu 27

I am going to do my dessert course this week for my trip to New York for the Colorado tourism event. We are also doing a demo at the new Macy's store opening in Westminster next week. We received best tasting menu in Westwords best of 2008 http://bestof.westword.com/bestof/award.php?award=749670&year=

Albacore bacon
Edamame, chicken skin, dashi foam

Humboldt blue cheese
Candy walnuts, carbonated grapes, yogurt sphere

Sou-vide tiger shrimp
Scallop saffron scramble, cryo-blanched peas


Buttermilk consommé
Merlot caviar, peach sorbet
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Web presentation

I rolled my tired ass out of bed this morning at 4 am so I could make it to the hotel this morning for my web presentation. I was asked to present our sorbet program to every Westin in the world. This morning was Asia and Europe and I will do north America in about 30 minutes. I am posting some pictures from the presentation that obviously were not taken by me.

Easter prep

We have 800 reservations for Easter. I dread holidays because it is hard to work when your family is home missing you. I always notice when people work holiday's and try to acknowledge them. We all wish we were at home.

Salmon,scallop and edamame roulade made with activa

Soft poached eggs for our pastrami hash with mustard hollandaise

Denver Post

Tucker Shaw called me last week and asked what would I do if I had a recipe for chicken stock and did not have any in my house. Here is my smart ass remark
http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_8617510

Wine dinner pictures

The best part of doing a wine dinner is everyone is so drunk in the end. The grey haired gentlemen is Hubert Trimbach himself. He flew over from France for the dinner. It was a great night

Tatsing menu 26

I have been asked to join 4 other chefs for a Colorado takes over New york event for the Colorado tourism board. We will be cooking at Madison Square Park on April 11. I will work on my menu this week but it sounds like they want me to bring the nitrogen. Here is the tasting menu this week

Baby octopus
Parsnip salad, whipped yuzu, Catela’s olive oil

Frog legs
Rice oil, gobo root, tomato gelee


Sou-vide Colorado Lamb chops
Black lime chimchurii, achiote rice, smoked corn


Sugar baked sweet potato biscuit
Bourbon vanilla ice cream made
Tableside with liquid nitrogen

Chiplote and tomato

Tasting menu 25

I am running the same courses that we have on our wine dinner tomorrow night. We are sitting at 45 covers right now that we will cut off at 50. I have been working on a web presentation here at the hotel. The president of the Westin brand has asked me to do a demonstration for all Westin properties around the world. It will be a great opportunity to learn from chefs in different markets.

Sweet corn pipette
pickled red jalapeno, butter roasted lobster

House smoked salmon

Lavosh powder, fried capers, cream cheese gnocchi

Black truffle quiche

Grilled escargot, elephant garlic, chive

Honeycomb candy

Panna cotta ice cream made table side with liquid nitrogen

A room service order

We got an order yesterday for our beefsteak tomato salad on the room service menu. The ticket said: beefsteak salad, hold the beef, add chicken.

Liquid Nitrogen Air Freshner

We have a program here at the hotel called unwind. It is a opportunity for our guest to join us in the lobby at 6:00 for a liquid nitrogen demonstration. Westin's official smell is white tea and it is the first thing you notice when you walk into the lobby. To make the air freshner, take a balloon and fill it with blue colored water. We then roll it in the LN until a hallow sphere is formed. We burn a whole in the top and fill it with the white tea. That is followed by some nitrogen. It spurts out white tea air that fills the room. You could do it with any flavor table side.

Thomas Keller demo

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the opening of the Johnson and Whales new demo kitchen. Holly shit it was beautiful. What even made it more memorable was a demo by Thomas Keller. He made a simple lamb dish using sou-vide techniques. He cooked a bone in lamb loin at 142.7 degrees for 1 hour. He took it out of the bag and seared the meat in butter and herbs giving a roasted quality to the meat. He also demonstrated a lamb demi. He started with a lot of oil that he added lamb bones to. After a fond developed he de-glazed with water. He allowed the fond to develop again and de glazed with chicken stock. A third fond was followed by tomatoes and mirapoix. His final fond ended with lamb stock. He will reduce and strain 5 times before his final product achieved.

What did I learn? First the French Laundry has 15 thermo circulators. Second Thomas Keller has a quality about him. He is so passionate and outspoken about his art. He talked about a provayer that produces 15 pounds of butter a week for him. That's all this farm produces. All of their product goes there and nowhere else. He has a amazing commitment to ingredients. Herve last week, Thomas this and Notter next week. I am truly inspired.

Tasting menu 24

We just gone done with a really busy 3 weeks. It is going to slow down a little so we should have a chance to experiment. I am going to a demo at Johnson and Whales tomorrow for Thomas Keller. He is going to help open the new demonstration kitchen at the school. I have been playing with ioata and kappa the last couple of days giving me this wonderful flexible chocolate for the dessert. I took 100 grams of white chocolate with 100 grams of water. I mixed in 1 gram each of the carrageenan and cooked them in a pan untill the mixture boiled for 20 seconds. I set them in some flexible pyrex molds. Here is our menu this week.

Tasting menu


Buffalo tar-tar
Tomato syrup, asparagus, bernaise ice cream


Tempura crab claw
Apple, miso, radish


Chicken stuffed quail
Marshmallow root, celery, green summer squash


Flexible warm white chocolate
Raspberry rose ice cream made table side with liquid nitrogen

banana foster sphere

I forgot my camera last week when I did the tasting menu but I wanted to make this dessert today. I first juiced some oranges and added rum. I placed in small balloons and rolled in liquid nitrogen. We made a banana creme brulee and placed it in the whip cream canister with 2 charges. I burned a small whole in the sphere and we filled it with the foam.


The caramel powder is made by pouring caramel in liquid nitrogen and the putting it in the blender for 10 seconds. I served it on the side so the guest could pour the powder over the top table side

Trimbach wine dinner

We will be doing a special wine dinner in a couple weeks. We have some very short notice but we can't say no to this one.The Trimbach family have been making wines in the Alsace region of France since 1626. That is 382 years……………………….12 generations of winemakers. We will be fortunate to have Hubert Trimbach attend the event. Here is the information. Please call 3034105066 for reservations.

Wine Dinner
Trimbach winery
March 14th 7:00
100 per person


Passed App
Sweet corn and lobster pipette with pickled red jalapeño


Whipped foie gras
Cipollini onion, smoked apple syrup
Gewurztraminer


Oyster pearls
Champagne, tarragon, tomato vinegar
Pinot Blanc


House smoked salmon
Lavosh powder, fried capers, cream cheese gnocchi
Riesling


Black truffle quiche
Grilled escargot, elephant garlic, chive crisp
Pinot gris reserve


Honeycomb candy
Panna cotta ice cream made table side with liquid nitrogen
Late harvest

El bulli synthesis

This was painted on a wall at Le sactuare in San Fran.