Tatsing menu 101

Thank you to everyone who came in to help us celebrate number 100, the support for our tasting menu has been incredible over the past couple of years. The unbelievable part to me is not how many tasting menus we have done but more so where we are. If I can pull this off in Westminster Colorado, it can be done anywhere, it is all in the approach. My advice, make people comfortable with the food, they will be more open to trying news things. Simple is the best- not to many ingredients or flavors. Use the best tool to come up with the best product. Don't make it about a label, let the food speak for itself

House made pancetta
Green beans, compressed heirloom tomato, honey-dijon jel

Dashi broth
Chinese mushrooms, lump crab, sriracha caviar

Sous-vide duck breast in hoison and orange
Celery root puree, tempura grapes, foie wonton

Sweet potato and maple ice cream with streusel
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tasting Menu 98

Luck has it that I was selected to sit on a jury last week. It gave me an appreciation for our justice system. The gentleman was found guilty of 3rd and 1st degree assault on a person of risk. Sometimes I wonder if I could have had the patients to be a lawyer or a judge. Instead I chose a profession where I am constantly judged.

Lobster popcorn fritter
Tempura seaweed, yuzu jel, bok choy

Buttermilk fried tarragon chicken
Corn flan, sous-vide ranch potatoes, coconut gravy

Berbere grille New York
Smoked plum puree, compressed portabella, cheddar bacon risotto

Blackberry ice cream with hazelnut cream
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tasting Menu 95

I am back after a very nice vacation. It will be a very busy couple of weeks for me. We are changing all menus right now including room service. Someday I will have time to get caught up on some post and get some of the pile of recipes I have on the blog. I will have some exciting news coming up pretty soon.

Grilled baby leeks
Chicken cigar, edamame hummus, red pepper pipette

Apple wood bacon powder
Blue cheese-apple-walnut terrine, baby iceberg, smoked grapes

Lemon grass salmon
Tobiko champagne jelly, lump crab fried rice, compressed melon

Bloody marry sorbet
Crystallized celery made table side with LN2

Tasting menu 93

I sure needed the last couple of days off. You really don't know what you are capable of doing until you are right in the middle of it. We have a lot of people out the last couple of weeks. I found myself running a omelet station in a banquet room at 6 am one morning. I have not worked omelets for awhile, my first couple really sucked. I will have to schedule my self for a few more breakfast shift to get the skills back.

Chicken and apple sausage
Compressed peppers, grilled onion jel, tomato bubbles

Bone marrow
Garlic Bruschetta, crimini


Sous-vide tiger shrimp in olive oil and herbs
Crab roll, dashi tempura, peach salad


Watermelon brulee
Watermelon textures made table side with LN

Tasting Menu 91

My wife and I had a amazing meal at 1515 market last night. Gene the owner invited us in for some food and wine. The best plate by far was the seared scallop with huitlacoche puree. I have not seen the corn mushroom since I worked at the Rattlesnake grill about 1o years ago. It is a underutilized ingredient. Basically they leave sweet corn out in a warm environment. Eventually a mold or mushroom will grow on the outside. It has a deep sweet flavor to it that complimented the scallop dish perfectly. I would say it was one of the better meals I have had in a while.

Coconut Grouper
Watermelon pop rocks, mint from the garden, dashi gelee

Compressed heirloom tomatoes
Garlic, dandelion leaves, Tasmanian pepper caviar

Chorizo
Brioche, plantain, fried quail eggs

Tiramisu ice cream with frozen lady finger dust

Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tatsing Menu 86

Sesame monkfish
Green tea noodles, carbonated tobiko, white soy

Curry hibiscious vinaigrette sheet
First herbs from the garden, baby vegetables, fried asadaro

Blackened Ribeye
BBQ gelee, malted potatoes, black vinegar

Pineapple raisin carrot cake
Cream cheese ice cream made tableside with LN

Tasting menu 84

My wife and I did a demo at Mckinley-Thatcher elementary school yesterday. There is no doubt that I would rather cook for kids then adults. I have so much fun showing them how everyday products they buy at the store can be made at home using a little imagination. We are getting ready for Mother's day brunch next weekend. We should do around 800 for brunch and another 150 that night for early dinner. We have hired a new Executive chef for our hotel, I cannot wait for him to start. I need to learn a lot more before I become a hotel chef and he is the guy that will bring me to the next level.

Compressed Mexican papaya
Jerk shrimp, avocado pudding, parsnip

Spring ramps
Foie, tempura berries, coco nibs

Acidic yogurt space foam

Smoke bubbles
New York, jalapeno jelly, tamale pie

Pecan waffle with maple ice cream
Made table side with LN

Tasting menu 83

This is Jacob Williams. He is working with us for his day on the job project through Stanley Lake High School. What do I tell these young culinarians about my business. Don't do it unless you really love it. The hours are horrible, the stress levels are sometimes unbearable and if your looking to get rich, look somewhere else. I have a school demo coming up this week. The kids at Mckinley-Thatcher have challenged me with homemade root beer, should be fun to learn how to make it.

Sage derby cheese
Roasted cauliflower, pear jel, shaved bread

Hamachi carpaccio
Togarashi aioli, fennel, “fried rice”

Mustard braised pork belly
Israeli cous cous carbonara, black truffle sheet, spinach

Pineapple crème brulee tart
Coconut ice cream made table side with LN

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

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

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

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

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

Tasting menu 62

We are really starting to feel the dip in the economy. The good news is our weekend business has been very strong. We sold 43 tasting menus last week. It is time for me to crawl back into my shell again. I have my best ideas when I don't look at a lot of food media. We are going to make head cheese next weeks menu. I have not made it before but our Executive sous Scott did it a few times. The inspiration for the ice cream this week comes from Ideas in Food's article in Popular Science

Crawfish noodles
Creamy grits, smoked corn, cactus paper

Snow crab crème brulee
Watermelon, hoison sugar, unagi

Liquid Nitrogen Ratatouille

Sauerbraten
Mustard textures, truffle croquette, crispy sauerkraut

Rum ice cream with raisin powder
Made table side with liquid nitrogen