Display ice

When I first came out of high school I was a practical joker. I use to freeze other cooks knives, clogs or uniforms into a solid block of ice on their days off. They would see their suspended items sitting in their work area when they came in. I found in my playing around that if you use hot water you get a clear frozen block Here at the hotel to garnish our raw bar we would freeze muscle shells, pineapple tops or whatever else that was going to be thrown away. Now we color the ice with food coloring. Each night we take the left over unmelted blocks and freeze them into each other. We yield these amazing rainbow patterns that catch your eye when you walk-in. The best part is that there is no cost involved. You could also make a ice plate the same way to present a cold dish or dessert.

Cauliflower chips

We are using these chips on the vegetable tasting course on the menu. They are made by steaming cauliflower for 3 minutes and shocking them. We then slice thin length wise and place them on a silt pad with truffle oil. The chips are baked at 190 degrees for 65 minutes. They come out nicely brown and compliment the dish with a woodsy flavor