RIP Berkinstock Clogs #18

You were better then #8 but not as good as #12

Tasting menu 76

I enjoyed a extra day off this past week to recover from restaurant week. Whenever I take a extra day off something inevitably goes wrong. This week it was a horrible headache that I could not control. I had a small bump develop around my ear this past month. I thought I had brain cancer or something along those lines. Come to find out that I am starting to get severe migraines. I got some medication that I can take when I feel a attack coming on. No doubt that it was caused by stress. DAMN YOU RESTAURANT WEEK

Grilled scallops
Yuzu curd, Fennel pollen, Treviso jelly

Watermelon powder
Oregano nuggets, Tomato, Fried feta

Guacamole space foam

Sous-vide black lime and all natural pork
Chimichurri, Sour cream rice, Compressed tomatillo salsa

Chocolate filled doughnut holes with espresso ice cream
Made table side with liquid nitrogen

Goodbye Rocky Mountain News

It is truly a sad day in Colorado today. The Rocky Mountain News, a celebrated newspaper shut it's doors just a few days prior to their 150th birthday. I grew up with the Rocky, I used to read it every morning on the bus on the way to school. After I moved down to Denver I became enthralled with the food reviewer John Lendorff. He always explained everything with such passion and insight. I have a few funny stories about John. I use to work for this crazy owner ( who am I kidding all owners are crazy) that would sit outside a local radio station and snap pictures of the food reviewers as they came out from doing special programs with Gabby Gourmet. We had a whole wall of profile shots and makes and models of the cars they drove. Pretty crazy right? Well I never had a picture of John, all I new was that he was a heavier set gentlemen. John slipped into the restaurant with out anyone knowing it one night. Instead of posting his review, he called me the next day to tell me about his experience. How was the duck?"It was very good but the taro cake was horrible. How was the steak pizza? " It was OK, the blue cheese flavors did not go with the rest of the dish." I was so taken back that John would call me up and speak to me as a friend first. He still wrote about how bad the taro was and the pizza flavors but he cared enough about me to call and have a conversation. I finally got to meet John the other night. He looks nothing like what I thought he would. I gave him a giant hug and thanked him for all of his support over the years. He gave a glowing review to the James Beard House to get my father and I in the first time 8 years ago. I will miss reading his stories and his passion for gastronomy. I will also miss Penny Parker's column. She was the gossip columnist for the Rocky. I was one of Penny's spies letting her know about different events or people coming through Denver. You could not go a morning with out reading her buzz. I will truly miss their dedication to journalism. I hope they find homes doing something that they are passionate about. We will miss you Rocky

Congrats Hosea

I did not have a chance to catch the episode last night but my wife called right after to tell me Hosea took it. I have heard a lot of shit talking about Hosea but in the end he was the chef that came through. Hosea, looks like lunch is on you next time

Tasting Menu 75

This is probably suicide but we are going to do a tasting menu this week. I will bring in a few extra chefs this weekend to help with service. We only have 1 restaurant in this hotel so we must have a little something for everyone. If I need someone to help that night I can pull from banquets. That is the best part about working in a hotel, we can flex people from other departments when you need it. There is always someone that can help. The short rib dish is inspired by Grant's short rib at Alinea.

Smoked oyster sheet
Warm shitake foam, compressed soba, crispy red bean paste

Coconut poached vegetables
Tomato cloud, yuzu, frozen puffed wheat

Buffalo short rib manicotti
Beet, housemaid ricotta, green bean “casserole”

Peanut butter sorbet
White chocolate-strawberry jelly mousse

Dear Restaurant Week

I am writing this letter to tell you how much I hate you. In theory you seem like a good thing, a chance for people to try restaurants that they have not before. This is where your fun stops. Your days are long with prep and nights are full of ass kicking. Your friends are very demanding and seem like they only like to be your pal during this week. Let them know that when the dinning room gets busy that it will generally be loud. If your friends are looking for a romantic dinner, restaurant week may not be the time. Also if you could mention that we are doing some molecular techniques on the menu. If they want floating islands or miracle fruit gum, we offer our menu on Thursday, Friday's or Saturday's. I would like to be everything for you but lets be realistic. In closing thanks for back dooring me for another week. I look forward to all of our time together.
P.S
My wife would like to thank you for letting me spend so much time with you
Thanks again
Chef Ian Kleinman

NYAS Podcast

http://www.nyas.org/snc/podcasts.asp

Manhattan in 14 hours, Miracle Fruit and Harlod Mcgee

It is 3 days after my quick trip to New York and I still can't believe that I made it. The Miracle Fruit Manhttp://www.miraclefruitman.com/ asked me to come to the New York Academy of Science and help them present the miracle fruithttp://www.nyas.org/events/eventDetail.asp?eventID=12759&date=2/12/2009%206:30:00%20PM. How could I say no after I found out that Harold McGee was going to be one of the speakers. I was asked to come up with the snacks for 300 people to try after they sampled the miracle fruit. They also asked if I would speak about my experiences with the fruit. I settled on a menu of some sliced citrus fruits, balsamic caviar, compressed balsamic apples, rice wine yogurt meringue and a yuzu ginger elixir. I treated it like a Beard House event. I would make all my textures here at the hotel and ship them to the event. The day before I left I packed my serving bowls, knives, cutting boards and the textures and overnighted them to the NYAS.

On Thursday I woke up early and made my way to the airport. I was on a very tight schedule, I had my trip planned to the minute. As I walked down to my gate I noticed that my departure time was not right. They announced heavy winds in Newark and a 1 hour delay. I thought that if this was the worst thing that was going to happen I could handle it. We all waited and after the delay began boarding the plane. As I walked up to the line I saw a guy falling backwards out of the corner of my eye. As I turned my head I saw his head smack against the pavement. I rushed over to see if he was ok. It turns out he was drunk off his ass (literally) He mumbled something about Dramamine. A short ambulance bus arrived and picked him up. I got on the plane and took a seat. I am not a great flyer to begin with, I have a week stomach. So the landing in Newark was one of the worst experiences of my life. I thought I was going to die on 3 different occasions. I felt sick and dizzy and my day had just begun.

After landing I ran to catch a cab. I was not going directly to the event rather then a detour stop on 38th at the W Tuscany. Mike Wurster the executive chef had bought some dry ice for me for the event. I called him and asked if he could hand off the ice while I drove past. Thanks Mike. I then had the cab driver take me to the hotel next to the event at 7 world trade center. To my surprise I could not pay the cabbie with a credit card. Instead he watched my bag like a hawk as I ran up and down the street looking for a ATM. 90 dollars later I was at my hotel

I met up with Curtis and Fernando and we headed down to the event. The building was amazing, it had a open glass lobby with little cubes that lit up like the water cube in China. We went up to the 40th floor where the NYAS is located. I found my package which had been dropped many times. It did not even look like a box anymore. I opened it to find that my meringue textures were broken but the cold items were still cold. I began to organize and gather my prep. Where is the fruit that was suppose to be delivered at 3:00? After I got set up I walked this amazing space and stared at the view. As the event grew closer I ran my speech through my head. Where the fuck is the fruit?

Out of the corner of my eye I see Mr. Harold McGee walk in. This man has inspired me on many different levels. First and foremost he has made me ask why and if I don't have a answer to try to find one. I wanted to walk up and have a conversation but I still needed to cut my fruit. Lots of people began to arrive and fill the auditorium. In the end the fruit showed up with about 20 minutes to spare. We cut it as fast as we could and we were ready for the flavor tripping party. Towards the end of the lecture I got up and talked about how I like to use the fruit. It was pretty amazing looking down at this scientific community and relating my experiences. After I was done everyone came into the lobby and experimented. It was a great event. After it was over I got to talk to Harold about a few therioes that I have. It was nice that he did not lauph in my face rather talked through my therioes with me. It was a plesure meeting him and Linda.

As I walked out of World Trade Center 7 all I wanted was my pizza fix. It was 11:00 and not a pizza place in sight. I settled for a banana, a snapple and retreated to my hotel. I only had to call the police ounce that night on the couple beating each other up in the room next to me. I got my 45 minutes and was back up at 6. I would like to say that my plane ride out the next day was better. A plane had gone down the night before out of Newark so everyone was a little on edge. It made for great flying. As I landed back home I could not believe what I had just done.

There is podcast of the event coming out on Friday that I will post

Tasting menu 74

I am enjoying a slower start to this week. We are getting ready for 52.80 week to start on Saturday. I have to remind myself not to put myself in situations like I had last week. When I have to much going on there is something that suffers. Last week it was my lack of time with my wife and kids. Undoubtedly the hardest part of this job is not being chef rather then being able to let it go when I leave so I can spend quality time at home. I would like to be recognized as a hard working thought full chef but in the end it is about if your family recognises you.

Curry pancakes
Tea smoked salmon, lemon grass syrup, yogurt

Crispy silver fish
Wonton noodles, toasted nori cream, roasted peppers

Floating buffalo chicken and celery

Pork belly Oscar
Puffed pearl barley caramel corn, carrots, onion

Oven baked palm sugar crepes
Cherry and vanilla ice cream made table side
Using liquid nitrogen

Yellow Scene Magazine

Yellow scene came out with their top 25 dishes we love. Our tasting menu was featured as the #1 dish. They gave us a great wright up and they were the first to take a picture of our floating plate. For the article we did a floating white chocolate macadamia nut brownie with coffee ice cream and peanut butter ganache. It is a small portion that can be picked off the floating plate and eaten in one bight.http://yellowscene.com/2009/02/07/our-favorite-dishes/

The busiest week of my life

I am going to attempt to get caught up on some post today. This past week seems like a dream or a funny story I would laugh at if someone told me. Here are a few thoughts from this past week: I am going to die on this airplane today. Will 6 ice packs and 1 pound of dry ice keep my items cold until I open it 3 days later? Am I really standing here asking Harold McGee my theory of combining flavors using absolute zero? Is that right, we sold 110 tasting menus this week? I am glad I do not drive a cab. I hope I can sleep tonight. Are my global serving tongs going to make it through security? Holly shit, my tongs made it through security, what else are people getting on the plane? Am I going to see my wife on Valentines day. This is what I do with my vacation days? I am in New York and I did not get my pizza fix

Newtenderlambsirloinribeye steak

We have had some great success using activa. We have made a zebra steak in the past that was organic chicken glued to tenderloin. This time we wanted to use all of the cuts of meat that we feature on our menu. I first trimmed all of the steaks and then seasoned them. They were then tosses in a 3% mixture of activa to water. I then placed them in a vacuum bag being careful to layer them so there was no gaps in the meat. I then sealed it 0n a setting 0f 10 and placed a weight over it. We let the steak set for 12 hours. The next day I put it in the freezer for 2 hours so the outside will freeze and it will be easier to cut.

52.80 Week

The last week and February and first week in March we will be featuring this menu for 52.80 per couple. It is a great deal and a chance to get out and support your local restaurants

1st
Lumb crab cake with avocado relish, watercress and siracha caviar
148 degree egg with grilled tomato, prosciutto and cherry balsamic
Apple tarragon puree with smoked bacon wrapped mushrooms
Mixed greens with compressed apples, beets, goat cheese vinaigrette

2nd
O’s roasted prime rib with baby Yukon potatoes and onion jus
Sou-vide Dijon chicken with pastrami hash and rosemary air
Grilled salmon with shitake, asparagus and hoison brulee
Root vegetable pot pie with curry and green pea paper

3rd
Vanilla custard with peach air and tapioca pearls
Hawaiian doughnuts with white chocolate mac nut dipping sauce
Liquid nitrogen whipped blueberry ice cream with grilled yuzu # cake and caramel

Tasting menu 74

I have some interesting projects coming up in the next couple of weeks. I have been asked by the miracle fruit company I work with to come to New York on the 12th of February to help them at the NY Academy of Sciences. We will present the miracle fruit along with some samples of products you can take with it. I am very excited to go knowing that Harold McGee will be there. I also received a email this week from http://www.countrybobs.com/ asking if I would try and wright about their product. First of all I am a steak sauce freak. My favorite is mixing a little Heinz with A-1 and a little ketchup. I swear that Bob has nailed that flavor combo in this bottle. I don't think he had a flan in mind when he sent it to me but I will do his sauce proud. I am also getting ready for my Will Powder demo this next week

Sous-vide pork
Smoked sugar, apple, fried sour cream

Peanut butter daqoius
Grape jelly gastrique, line caught tuna, compressed watercress

Floating kampachi sashimi

Tenderloin-New York-Ribeye-Lamb chop-Sirloin steak
Country Bob’s steak sauce flan, parsnip, asparagus powder

Flexible raisins and carrot foam with cream cheese ice cream
Made table side with liquid nitrogen

Floating Plate Set

I received my package from Robert today. He sent me this floating plate set. I now have 8 small plates that can hold a small sphere and one large plate that can hold up to 25 pounds while still turning. The larger conductor and ring gives even more lift then the smaller plates. I have only played for a few hours but have already measured a 2 inch gap from conductor to magnet. We have many dishes in mind for this new presentation. Starting next week we will feature our floating plate on the tasting menus.

Potato terrine

I have been using pectin a lot as a fruit and vegetable glue. (thank you alex) I have also been doing a lot of sous-vide vegetables since I got my vacum sealer. The best temp is around 83 C or about 181 degrees Fahrenheit. (thank you chad) For this component we have combined both techniques to make this colorful terrine for our menu this week. Is this a terrine? No , not in the classical sense of being baked in a mold but the finished product resembles a baked and sliced product. To make it we mixed 15 grams pectin with 80 grams melted butter and .5 grams calcium bicarbonate. We then tossed the potatoes in the pectin mixture. I then layered them in a bag with salt and rosemary. They went into the vacuum sealer at #9 pressure setting and #8 seal setting. We cooked them for 50 minutes and then shocked them in ice water. The key was compressing the potato slices together after they finished cooking. This insured a tight seal between the layers.

Valentines day 09

Valentines Day 09

Warm Avocado and Spicy Shrimp with

Ginger Caviar Papaya Salad
$12

Sweet Corn and Jalapeño Consommé with

buttermilk Fried Oysters
$10

Sous-vide Maine Lobster with

White Asparagus Tapioca and Vanilla air
$30

40 Second Rose Pedal Cake with White

Chocolate Ice Cream and Frozen Caramel
$8
Tasting of all 4 courses
$50

Tasting menu 73

As you can probably tell by the lack of post and pictures I have been crazy busy. I usually have a few hours a week that I can devote to experimenting but the last 5 weeks have lent me no time. I have agreed to take on the position of GM/Chef here at the hotel. It is a very unique opportunity for me to be apart of decisions that happen in the front of the house. This will mean that I will need to be even more organized in my efforts to better my restaurant. It will take a few months of growing but I am excited at the opportunity to gain more skills. I can finally concentrate on the ideas that I have had instead of running into road block after road block. We will hire a front of the house manager in the next few weeks with our new lunch and dinner menus after that. I wanted to improve on service and here is my chance.

Lump crab Benedict
Foie hollandaise, avocado, 148 degree egg

Sous-vide potato terrine
Pancetta, fig pudding, black pepper paper

Tempura vegetables
Edamame, frog legs, dashi noodles

Caramel apple cracker crust pizza
with cinnamon streusel and clove ice cream
made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Bison Confrence

I had a great time doing a demo for the bison conference this past week. I did it with Robert Long, a rancher from Halltown Missouri and the Flintrock bison ranch. He talked about how they smoke 1/2 carcasses of buffalo under their ham so the buffalo can absorb the fat and flavors of the ham. He has a huge facility that raises, slaughters, and processes meat. My part of the demo was explaining how different cooking methods can yield some amazing textures. The best conversation we had was about how sous-vide could help him in his operation. His biggest concern is listeria. Listeria is a food air borne illness. If you do sous-vide correctly you can portion, cook, cool and ship all in the same package, the product will never be exposed. It would also save him in labor and would help his consistency. It was a pleasure meeting everyone and learning about all of the care they put in to their side of the industry, and the buffalo they brought was amazing

Tasting menu 72

We have our annual bison council meeting this week along with a speech from Mr. Buffalo himself Ted Turner. I have been asked this year to do a demo on unused cuts of buffalo. It should be a great event. The cooking class on Saturday is sold out. I am doing a demo at nobel sysco on February 9Th to launch the companies affiliation with Will Powder. There will be a few other chefs demoing including Keegan Gerhard from Food Network andhttp://www.dbardesserts.com/. I am also starting work on the Miracle Fruit project. Things are starting to move again after a couple very slow weeks.

Purple yam éclair
Tobiko fondant, scallop scramble, coco nibs

Smoked pecan waffle
Mushrooms, corn, goat cheese bubbles

Loaded baked potato gnocchi
Buffalo sirloin, dandelion, cayenne

Hot chocolate ice cream with broken whipped cream
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Absolute Zero

I have been fascinated with this subject ever since I wanted to learn how liquid nitrogen was made. Absolute zero is a temperature around -273 C. It is the point when temperature meets pressure. Heat can go up and up but absolute zero is believed to be the coldest point that can be reached. When temperatures almost reach absolute zero, atoms behave in a very weird way. A new matter that is not a solid, liquid or gas is created at this temperature. Atoms no longer have a individual quality to them. They actually mix together and become one wave like structure. I have been trying to think how absolute zero could be used in foods. Imagine isolating atoms of flavor and being able to mix them together, a kind of molecular mixing bowl. Actually building a flavor on a molecular level. I theorize that this is how food could be replicated. If you had a machine that had 100's of different flavored atoms and a process of mixing and emulsifying, you can replicate anything. Absolute zero is not something that I could do in my kitchen today. Only about 10 years ago at a lab 20 minutes away from me in Boulder was absolute zero almost achieved. They had to use lasers and magnetic fields to cool heavier periodic elements to come within a billionth of a degree. It took centuries of scientist and chemist theorizing and experimenting to get where we are today. We take for granted many useful products that were invented because of mans quest for absolute zero. Items like walk-ins , flash freezing, and air conditioning. Without these inovators pushing their boundaries, we would not enjoy the common conveniences of today.

Mark

Mark has a laugh that can be recognized throughout the hotel. As I turned the corner yesterday I saw him in tears wearing this very "special" uniform that only Mark could pull off.

Cooking Class

I will be doing a cooking class at www.kitchentablegv.com on January 24. It should be a fun evening of molecular cooking in a small classroom setting. The session will be hands on with the oppurtunity to use some ingredients like liquid nitrogen and the thermal circulator.

Tasting menu 71

The restaurant is going to be going through some major changes this month. We have lost our GM of 6 years to some unfortunate circumstances. I had a good relationship with him but we did not agree on a lot of service issues. One being that he refused to have a expediter. The food would sit for 5 maybe 6 minutes before it was run. A lot of our molecular presentations must be run right away or we lose the textures we worked so hard to create. I had to take some items of our last menu because of the timing issues. With a new GM comes new ideas and a wiliness to work with each other to improve our guest experiences. I know I have been pulling this place in so many directions, hopefully we can settle it down and have fun and create

Poussin
Caul fat, goji berries, red pepper

Buffalo short ribs
Shitake wonton, mint, pickled watermelon

Tomato Brushetta Space Foam

Maine lobster tail
Chipolte, corn gnocchi, Cilantro tapioca

Banana foster ice cream sandwich
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Cooking at the Governors Mansion

Last night I was invited to cook a few courses at the Governor's mansion. The event was for file://www.projectpave.org/, a organisation promoting alternatives to youth violence through education. Chef Greg Barnill from the Broadmoor along with Joe, Phil and myself prepared and served this menu in a amazing setting.





Walking into the house was like stepping back into time. The dinning room had a large wooden table with very fine linen and set with china from the 1800 and 1900's.


The kitchen was nicely updated with a large buthcer block and a commercial stove. It reminded me of the Beard House kitchen before the remodel a few years ago.


There was a long corridor behind the dinning room where staff could move freely as they cleared plates and poured wine. The dinner went perfect. Chef Greg's dishes were based on Colorado ingredients, solid in flavors and technique. My dishes were challenging with some surprising textures and flavors. It was a perfect balance of new and old styles. It was a quite a honor to be there, we found out that it is a very rare site to see outside chefs come in and cook. The staff of the house always takes care of all functions, they made a exception for us and I will never forget it. We ended our evening sipping Colorado distilled whiskey with the Governor and his wife.

The Governor’s Dinner
with Colorado Governor & First Lady Bill & Jeannie Ritter
Benefiting Project Pave
Honored Guest David Scanavino & Friends

Amuse Course
Seared Ahi in Wonton Cup with Chucka Salad Wasabi Tobiko Caviar
Paired with Philieponnat Brut Royal Rose, Rems Champagne

Salad Course
Compressed vegetable Salad with Colorado Goat Cheese Marbles and Balsamic caviar
Paired with Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc

Fish Course
Smoked Colorado Trout with Apple Textures and Tempura Cranberries
Paired with Cakebread Reserve Chardonnay

Intermezzo
Wild Strawberry and Yuzu Sorbet with Frozen Olive Oil Dust
"The Floating Egg"

Meat Course One
Juniper Crusted Colorado Elk with Maple Roasted Root Vegetables and Colorado Chokecherry JusPaired with Cakebread Syrah

Meat Course Two
Grilled Colorado Bison with Blue Cheese Crust, morel mushroom ragout and stone ground grits
Paired with Cakebread Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Dessert Course
Chocolate Cinnamon Flan with Homemade Churros and Hazelnut Cream
Paired with Monastrell, Olivars, Jumilla Spain

Presenting Chef’s
Greg Barnhill, Executive Chef, Charles Court, The Broadmoor
Ian Kleinman, Executive Chef, The O’s Steak and Sea Food, Westin
Joe Hubbard, CPA, Sommelier, Chef at Anne Hubbard’s Kitchen
Sommelier, Phil Laramore, Baroness Distributing & Insatiable Wines

Tasting menu 70

We are getting back to normal business levels this week. We are continuing to work on our new menu. I will be out of the restaurant on Friday, I have been asked to cook at the Governors mansion that night for Project pave. I have never been inside but I am very familiar with the building. I used to live across the street. I have always wondered what the inside looks like.

Goat cheese fondue
Compressed vegetables, black pepper puff, bing cherry air

Lagastino risotto
Smoked peas, shitake paper, lemongrass brulee

Sou-vide tenderloin
Coffee, malt, mustard greens

Yuzu sphere with blueberry dippin dots
Made table side with liquid nitrogen

look Ma I am a Top Chef

One of my regular tasting menu customers came in tonight and told me he saw my photo on the Top Chef website. He told me to go to season 5 on Hosea's photo page. Sure enough there is a photo of me making liquid nitrogen sorbet for a wine tasting I had here a few months ago.( It is the 5th photo on the page) I have no head in the picture but it is my coat, table set up, restaurant, everything. I will have to give Hosea some shit when I talk to him next time. http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/photos/gallery.php?e=photo_diary_hosea

Superfoods

All Westins are starting a new Superfood program for breakfast starting in January. Superfoods are high in nutrients and anti-oxidants and are believed to have disease-fighting benefits. Superfoods include: Apples, Avocado. Beans, Berries, Broccoli, Cinnamon, Dark Chocolate, Dried Super fruits, Honey, Garlic, Kiwi, Lemons, Low Fat Yogurt, Oats, Onions, Oranges, Pomegranate, Pumpkin, Soy, Spinach, Tea, Tomatoes, Turkey, Walnuts and Wild Salmon. We have a few guideline recipes that we will use but the rest of the menu is up to us. I worked on a raspberry french toast pudding with lemon curd and whipped cream today. We will do a tasting next week with a new menu roll out the following week

Culinary Resolutions

1. Be more artistic in my presentations
2. Be original
3. Develop 5 commercial products
4. School demos
5. Organize notes and recipes
6. Miracle fruit project
7. Have fun
8. Challenge my guests
9. Educate my staff

New Years Eve

We had a great New Years eve last night. We did around 175 in the dinning room and another 100 in room service. I did a few molecular specials on our price fix menu last night. Shane, our pantry chef took a lot of pictures from service last night. Unfortunately only 1 of the 20 pictures he took was actually in focus. This is a grilled tropical fruit plate with ginger sabayon.
It was hilarious coming in this morning seeing how all the drunk people parked their cars all over the private drive. We have 500 spots about 100 feet away but why walk when you can park on the side walk?

Mont Blanc Christmas Party

This is the Mont Blanc Blog about the custom molecular dinner we did for them using some of their productshttp://montblancgourmet.com/blog/

Tasting menu 69

I have been getting some emails lately about how crazy my food is and that I am doing some kind of disservice to the culinary world. Why would you ever float food or why did you put a inedible garnish on a plate they ask? My answer is why not. As long as the garnish if functional like the chap stick compound butter. I would rather challenge my guest with new flavors or presentations then throw out the same shit year after year. Look, I was the chef 2 years ago looking into this crazy world and wondering if it had a place. After a few years of burning my hands in LN or making soda or even making Lego's my answer is yes. I am having a blast and the people that try our tasting menus do to. I know my customers will remember their meal, will yours??

Quail eggs
Chorizo, black vinegar, blackberry

Compressed watermelon
Olive salad. Snow crab, whipped feta

Line caught tuna and prosciutto terrine
Parsnip pudding, curry sphere, zucchini

White chocolate macadamia nut brownie
With coffee ice cream made tableside
With liquid nitrogen

Floating Blueberry Pate Fruit with Yuzu Sugar

Merry Christmas

Tasting menu 68

I am working on changing all of the menus in the restaurant this week. We are going to make some changes to help with our business levels in 09. One thing we will do is not to offer a breakfast buffet Monday through Saturday. We will be able to control food cost better and with one less cook. We are going to have to take a look at all of our operations to make sure we are running a tight ship next year. New Years eve should be very interesting this year. Rumor has it that Wide Spread Panic will play in our ball room after their concert in Denver. Merry Christmas to everyone and have a creative 09.

Smoked tempura cranberries
Rainbow trout, dried Japanese cucumbers, apple gastrique

Parsnip fries
Bresola, caper aioli, red pepper textures

Frankincense space foam

Sou-vide Colorado lamb chops
Chanterelle, blue cheese marbles, chestnut powder

Peppermint ice cream rolled in gingerbread crumbs
Made table side with liquid nitrogen

Silicon Mold for Floating Dish

I bought some bouncing balls today to use in my soft silicon mold. After the mold is cured I will be able to make 1/2 spheres of any flavor and glue them together for the for the floating plate.

Gadget Inspectors

This article came out Monday in the Rocky Mountain News. There is also a video part if you get on the website. Last week we all learned that the Rocky Mountain News was up for sale and might shut down in the near future. The paper has been running for over 150 years and it will be a tragedy to see it go.http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/14/slicing-and-dicing-the-claims/

Tasting Menu 67

I hate December. Most people like it because they get to spend time off with their families. Chefs get to spend 20% more time at their jobs handling holiday parties and special request. This week marks the end of our major Christmas parties. I will take all of the business I can get, who knows what the first quarter of next year will bring. I am looking forward to spending some time on some ideas I have had floating around my head. I am still playing with my superconductor like a little boy on Christmas morning

Grilled Hama Hama oysters
Buddha’s hand, garlic jel, fried bread

Popcorn soup
Butter lattice, Siracha caramel corn

Maine Lobster
Ginger mosaic, corn sorbet, avocado cream

Fresh baked blueberry muffin
Yuzu cream cheese ice cream
made tableside with liquid nitrogen

The Floating Truffle

Ever since I started cooking I have always thought about floating food. After a gentle nudge from Jason at Westword and a lot of help from Robert Semerad of Theva labs in Germany my dream was reached. I have been like a kid playing with the superconductivity "plate" since it arrived from Germany yesterday.

Robert has baked rare earth metals into this superconducting cube. It is attached to a special plastic plate with glue that can with stand the -320 temperatures of liquid nitrogen. The "plate" is a rare earth magnet ring that levitates on top of the cube when the cold temperature of the superconductor is reached.

Any round food item can sit inside the ring as it turns and spins. It is imposiible to not sit there and stare at it in amasment. How can this be done? I have already had thoughts about eggs, bubble gum, spheres, you name it. Thanks again to Robert for helping me make my dream come true. We will be getting in more "plates" in so our guest can play with their food.

FIN

GSI Score

When you check out from any Starwood property you have the opportunity to rate your entire stay from the friendliness of staff to food quality. This is called our Guest Service Index or GSI. Today ratings were posted for all brands. Our restaurant came in #3 for all Westins and #10 overall for all brands. Our brands include St. Regis, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, W, Westin and Sheraton. This is a huge honor for us considering that we are not a resort property rather a business hotel with very traveled and educated customers. I am very proud of my entire staff

The Silver Solder Plate

I really like table side presentations. It is a chance for the guest to see a little kitchen prep in the dinning room. As I was soldering some pipes for a plumbing project at home, I was taken back by the shapes the solder would make as it hit a hard surface. I wondered if it was possible to make someone a plate table side. Solder in the 60's, 70's and 80' was made from lead. These days it is lead free and non toxic so my plate was still an option.
I began by melting the solder into a liquid ball.

I then picked up the sheet tray it was on and slammed it against the table. I then cooled the plate with cold water. After a few seconds it is cold enough to serve a dish on.

A free formed plate remains that when cooled can be used as a app plate

Here I used the plate for some liquid nitrogen dipped creme anglaise cherries