I don’t like to put anything negative in my stories as I feel you can find something positive in everything…………………
But unfortunately the grand image I used to have of Madrid Fusion is slowly coming down brick by brick this year, Day 1 was lacking content and day 2 was just the biggest commercial exercise I have seen in the 5 years I have been coming. I will explain more later.
It’s that time of year again that we all wait 12 months for in anticipation for what we we can expect to see. Madrid Fusion is now 1 day into it and the program is sure to have something for everyone!
The first day saw many conferences from a wide variety of Chefs including David Munoz (New 1 Star Michelin Chef and friend of mine from Diverxo Madrid), Ferran Adria (El Bulli, Rosas), Mark Best (Marque, Sydney), Grant Achatz (Alinea, Chicago), Joan Roca (El Cellar de Can Roca), a Jam session by a group of 4 Danish progressive Chefs, + many more………………………………
Finally I got the front cover of a magazine that I have been waiting for!
Today’s Sydney Morning Herald in Australia ran a story about me as their feature and used my profile shot as their cover page! All of this on the best day of the year in Australia, Australia day! I still haven’t seen the newspaper as it is in Australia and I am in Spain, but I hope it gets scanned soon as I am dying to see it 
See the link below to the online version of the story.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2010/01/25/1264267963950.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
How many times have you admired the beauty of an object or a food item and wished you could buy a silicon mold to replicate it?
Do you know how easy it is to actually make your own? If you did you wouldn’t bother to make them anymore!
By making them yourself you can actually avoid the cookie cutter look of bought molds which are all the same, this way you can actually get as close to lifelike as possible!
Let me explain how to make them
It’s that time of year again! The event us Chefs look forward to more than Christmas is starting on Tuesday. For those of you who do not know the event, Madrid Fusion has become the more important culinary conference in the yearly calendar where the best of the best gather to show their years work. This year is my fifth year and one which is sure to be one of the best, the invited country this year is Australia, so it will be a special year for me. It is also starting on Australia day, what a gift!
There will be many of Australia’s top Chefs here for the event who I will be hosting (being the Aussie Chef in Spain, I have been asked to assist) and providing assistance where needed and helping to present.
Watch this space for daily updates on what is happening in and out of the conference…………………………
3 days to go!
How could I be anything but happy when preparing my Octopops while looking down over all of Sydney on a beautiful summers day!
As you may be (should be) aware, I just returned from a long overdue return to Australia. While in Australia I was invited to prepare a dinner in what seemed like the top of the world. The setting was an amazing penthouse which belongs to a good friend of mine. The mission was to prepare a dinner which represented the food I have been creating in Spain, showing my fellow Australian what I have done since I have been away was a very personal mission for me as these are my people!
After an amazing 16 day trip back to Australia for the first time in 2 years, I am finally back and full of energy and inspiration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope you were kept entertained by the stories which I post dated so 5 stories per week would be put on the site. You see, This is how much I respect and care for my readers!
2010 Is going to be one to remember! Everything in my professional and personal life is going to have a 100% change.
As and when details are available I am going to post them on this site, this should interest everyone as I am constructing a restaurant and bar in Midtown Manhattan. I will be posting all the trials and tribulations which I encounter plus an insight into the new concepts which I will be introducing to the dining Scene.
I have many great things to post and stories to tell after my trip to Oz, Stay Tuned!
You may remember quite some time back I received the very famous miracle berries from Africa…………….
Well if you don’t here’s a recap:
Miracle berries are a berry grown in Africa which contain a protein called Miraculin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculin), Miraculin acts as a protective film which coats your tongue and stops the penetration of Acidic and Bitter elements. I tested the effects on about 160 different products ranging from Bitter, Sour, Spicy, Sweet, Artificial sweeteners, Umami etc. There were some surprising results such as it actually made artificial sweetener about twice as sweet and regular sugar half as sweet. The power was taken out of the Umami effect.
After discovering the natural wasabi flavor in Brussel sprouts last year this next dish is a bit of an obvious yet also very justified progression.
Wasabi is naturally associated with sushi/sashimi and Japanese cooking in general, so it makes sense to do a bit of an eat meets west theme.
One of the more symbolic food investigations I undertook in 2009 was the search for the perfect representation of both Australia and Spain, As I am an Australian living and working in Spain,
My tests took me all around the many options available from both countries but I settled with the most symbolic ingredient from each of the countries…………. Kangaroo from Australia and Jamon Iberico from Spain!
Who doesn’t love fondue?
What is there not to love…………… Melted Cheese with tasty things to dip into it!
Imagine having the best part of fondue without the worst part of fondue, Having to clean up the mess!
Do you recognize this Chemical above? Probably not!
It actually happens to be what I call one of the biggest misconceptions in food and cooking. How many times have you said or heard someone say “My steak is still bleeding” or “I like my Steak Bloody”? What if I told you that in most cases it is not even blood (obviously depending on the cut). When you think about it for a while it actually makes sense! Where does the blood circulate in your body? Your muscles or your veins? Obviously your veins! So if you are eating a piece of animal muscle why should it be any different? So when you think of it logically then it makes sense that the piece of rare steak you have in front of you is not actually bleeding nor does it contain any blood.
After 6 months of work (not every day but every now and again when a different solution comes up) finally we are closer to the goal. The idea is to have a perfect “Mozzarella” which looks as it should but in fact be filled with warm Tomato and balsamic liquid and a perfect “tomato” which is filled with liquid Mozzarella. Like my favorite salad Caprese, but in a warm and totally unexpected form. In the picture is the “mozzas” and instead of the liquid mozzarella in the tomato skin I have put a mozzarella mousse.
Something I did about 10 months ago but never really wrote about was an inverted poached egg………………
When decontructing a dish there are many things you need to think about in order to make it good and of course so the guest doesn’t get too confused while eating it, Make it understandable:
In this particular dish I have combined the famous Tortilla Espanola and the traditional poached egg…………….
Ikea have a loyalty program called Ikea Family.
This year we needed to design a tapa using 1 of the hundreds of suggestions which the members gave us for a new Family Tapa. This tapa is given away free in every store in Spain and Portugal when the member presents their card.
This year we decided on a pizza using a whole wheat cracker which is sold in the stores as a base as the flavor is very Swedish and actually adds a lot to the overall concept. What can be more Swedish (or Scandinavian) than Salmon Gravadlax? This must be one of the most stereotypical flavors that conjures up images of a trip you may of taken to Scandinavia.