I guess you couldn’t pick a better place to host a Media dinner then at a place called the Pressclub!

There were 2 reasons for me being back in Australia last month, the first one was an invitation to come and cook with my old friend George Calombaris and second was of course to be the Celebrity Chef on MasterChef Australia.

George invited me to come and do a dinner with him where we would showcase our 2 very different styles in the one menu for Media and invited industry VIP’s. I immediately said yes as I love to see the result of the merging of 2 styles.

We ended up with 20 guests of which half were media and the other half were some of Australia’s best Chefs and people whom I respect very much.

So both George and myself went about drafting our own parts of the menu so they would flow 1 after the other for 22 courses, this was all done from our opposite sides of the world (Madrid & Melbourne). So after a month or so of preparing the menu on paper so we didn’t have any repetition of ingredients or techniques we were finally ready to come together to prepare this dinner!

Once in Australia I prepared the menu for 4 days before the dinner with the very professional team both front and back of house in the Pressclub.

On the night we served the whole dinner at a Spanish pace, this means there was not more than 3-5 minutes in between each course. The most important thing about serving menus of this size is Rhythm, if you delay for too long between courses the guest becomes tired as the food is already starting to digest. It is also a technique used to keep up the energy during the meal as you are constantly being stimulated by something new and exciting

You can see the menu below, The Courses in Red are those of George Calombaris and the ones in Black are from me.

Welcome Drink –  Rambutan and Finger lime Martini sorbet

Salty soccer nuts (in a test tube and you shot them)

“Mushrooms on toast” (dehydrated feta)

“Seafood sand castle” (octopus, white anchovy on a stick, edible sand over top using tapioca etc)

Salmon & Salmon (Salmon skins and Taramasalata mousse)

Lobster-pop (Lobster pop with rice vinegar gel & Nori)

Choco-gras aero (Bitter chocolate and foie gras fat)

Bubble tea Greek salad

Szcecuan tendon (Braised tendon & Spicy broth)

“Lemon taramosalata” (tarama ball depend in lemon gel, snow pea shoots, potato salad, potato glass)

“Tuna” sashimi (Tinned Tuna, dashi and wasabi flavors)

Carrot salad, olive oil cous cous, Kalamata olive caramel, black olive sponge

Rice Yoghurt risotto (Yogurt, Cummin and lemon)

“Inspirations from Sea Satin” (cured king fish, Attiki dressing)

Miso Salmon with horseradish sorbet (Miso, Salmon & Horseradish)

Lamb neck, smoked yoghurt, seeds, pulses and grains

Teriyaki tongue (Teriaki sauce, Celeriac puree)

“Avgo rhubarb”  (baked egg white, rhubarb centre, candied fennel seeds, tomato and champagne consommé)

Caprese (Heinz Ketchup, Mozzarella, Vanilla)

“Aphrodite”  (served with soil scent at table) we need smaller mould for this dish

Apple crumble “Cru (Apple, crème Anglaise, sable)

Zen Garden (Fruit salad and Yogurt)

Adam Melonas Consulting

Last week I had a business meeting with so partners for my Manhattan Project, so I suggested no other than my friend Wylie’s WD-50.

As always the food was amazing!

There were a few stand out items…………..

The best of which is in the photo below (sorry for the poor quality, it was taken using my iPhone), it is effectively a sponge made from Foie Gras terrine. It is a technique using the vacuum machine to aerate and set the mix. It is a technique which is now widely used but never in this format from what I have experienced. It was technically perfect with an even bubble pattern throughout the whole terrine.

Another was a small bowl of what looked like fettuccine but infact it was scallops which had been fussed together using Transglutaminase. I was a little annoyed as I had done exactly the same technique 2 years ago but I never thought of cutting it into fettuccine. I used mine to make a Rubiks cube when I was helping to coach the Spanish team for the Boccuse d’Or.

Of course Wylies False Sorbet Bagel is always a winner, the shock of the sorbet fools people everytime!

To finish a great meal with desserts from Alex Stupak is always a pleasure! I love his false tarts which are so convincing that you find yourself chopping at the plate as you assume the pastry on the outside is hard when in fact it’s very soft. The tart he prepared this time was hazelnut with coconut, chocolate and Chicory.

The boys both front and back of house did an amazing job to make us feel welcome, comfortable and very satisfied!

In a little street named Stanton in New Yorks fashionable district of the Lower East side is a food concept that seems to be on everyones lips (litterally).

In a City which seems fixated on finding the next fad eatery, the meatball shop ticks all the boxes.

When we arrived we were told the wait would be and hour and a half, and up to two and a half on weekends! So we decided to take a drink at the bar to begin with. Once inside, if you were not hungry before you arrived you certainly would be once you step inside this place of prayer for meatball lovers. The smell was almost overwhelming yet comforting!

We couldn’t wait for our table, so we decided to eat while standing up and using a small table in the corner.

The title of the restaurant is exactly what it is! Many different ways to eat meatballs!

This us not a place for vegetarians, that’s for sure!

We decided the beat meatballs were the Spicy pork and the best side dish was the creamed polenta. The traditional tomato sauce was also a great way to eat them. They also do Sliders (which is apparently a fashionable way to eat mini burgers, but with just 1 meatball and sauce in a bun), so we had to of course try these as well. We made the rookie mistake of ordering too many sides and eating too quickly, so we were pretty much destroyed by the time we left.

A very simple concept done very well!

On my recent trip back to Australia I was fortunate enough to be invited by a friend of mine Professor Russell Keast to visit him in the Food Science department of the Deakin University. Russell was kind enough to give me a full tour of the university and showed me all the current testing that is taking place.

I will be reporting on several things which I observed over the next few posts.

One of the tests which Russell gave me was a taste sensitivity test, this test was using a compound called: n-6-propylthiouracil, or PROP. This is a compound which not many people can taste and others are born with a genetic sensitivity to. I was instructed to place the strip of paper in my mouth and leave it for a few seconds on my tongue. I didn’t know what I was expected to taste or feel but after about 1 second I had to take it out of my mouth as it tasted 100 times more bitter than grapefruit peel. After eating a chocolate I could finally get rid of the awful taste. Russell told me that when he puts it into his mouth all he can taste is paper, this is the same for most people. There are a lot of things which people can’t taste and this just demonstrates how obvious this can be, one of those things is namely truffle. I read a study about truffle where it said more than 40% of women and 50% of men can’t actually properly taste truffle, yet it is one of the most expensive ingredients. So a large % of these people are paying for Truffle without getting the full effect.

As this is a Genetic thing I took 2 tabs home to test both of my parents to see which one I got it from, the great news is that they both detected the compound, so I got a double dose

P1060105

Originally uploaded by manhattanlab

How many people actually really know where their dinner came from? How many people really care?

In this day and age we seem to be becoming more and more insulated from the realities of where our food comes from and how it got into the neat little packages which you load into your trolley’s and take home. Our hunter and gatherer instincts seemed to of changed into one of selection when we are choosing which cut from which animal.

One thing I did notice since living in Spain is how we do not generally call the meat we eat by the same name as that which is living. Take for example Pork, the animal is called a pig yet we call the meat Pork. When you think about pork or beef you do not conjure up a picture of an animal but instead a food product, so it makes it easier for some people to eat. With something like Chicken no one really bothered to think up another name as it is a small animal which not even many vegetarians have a problem with eating. But here in Spain the animals and the meat have the same name as they are not as sensitive as other cultures, you will also find there are far less vegetarians here as well for this same reason.

Chefs deal with butchery everyday and yet many of us have no idea of the steps involved before it came to us, this is a shame!

Anyone who is easily offended or has a sensitive stomach should think about not reading any further (this means I do not want to get hate mail from any vegetarians or Vegans as has happened in the past).

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Originally uploaded by manhattanlab

You see how happy this man looks in the picture?

This is because he is holding the fruits of his labor in his hands and about to hand them over to be consumed by some hopefully very happy guests. This is the father of the owner of the restaurant in Croatia where I am consultant. It is an every day or every second day occurrence when he will travel from his property to deliver fresh herbs and flowers.

Yesterday he explained to me this is an eco-friendly approach to growing his crop and let’s just say I was impressed at his love for what he does and also his understanding of nature.

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I was visiting Trieste yesterday while driving to Croatia and I stopped in on a supplier on the border near Slovenia that stocks a lot of specialty products from Spain and Italy.

They had row after row of products from my friend Quico Sosa (http://www.sosa.cat/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=34&lang=en). If you are familiar with the products from Sosa you would know that they have a large range of freeze dried products, essences and also many types of food additives. With the current situation in Italy being as absurd as it is they can only sell the products that do not come with a European union approved additive number (All products that also have a code starting with “E”) as this makes them a non-restaurant approved item with these new “Laws”. So there are now countless products on their shelves which will have to remain there until someone in the “Government” over turns this ridiculous legislation.

I hope we can all look back on this and laugh one day, like the fat politician in the US who tried to have salt banned in restaurants because he couldn’t practice self control so he thought he would legislate it to make it easier……………………..

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Originally uploaded by manhattanlab

The Jerusalem artichokes at the moment are in plentiful supply and an amazing level of quality here in Europe.

Here is a photo I took in the Markets of Venice.

(This is just to test the Flickr “Blog this” Option)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49257366@N02/sets/72157623723197721/

Sorry I still can’t add photos, but I have figured out how to use Flickr to upload photos. See the above link for my latest album about the below topic.

Yesterday morning went to the Padova markets on my way from Venice to Croatia.

The hit of inspiration I got from the visit was better than a double shot of Italian espresso!

The range of products was not really anything surprising or to rave about but the quality was outstanding! Everything seemed to of been ripened the old fashioned way (on the vine or plant and in the sun) instead of the insipid under ripe and under flavored things you find in many other markets of the world.

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On the 25th of February the site “Guia de la Buena Mesa” were the first to write about the absurd situation in Italy with the signing of new legislation banning the use of Food additives in the kitchen, this is also going to extend to the use of Liquid Nitrogen as it is a “gaseous substances” and considered dangerous even though 78% of earths atmosphere is actually Nitrogen in it’s gas form! The title of the article says more than 1000 of my words “The Italian Taliban”! The article is as below:

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Since I wrote the story regarding fishing and harvesting with a conscience I have had an amazing response on my email, other sites and some people have even felt the need to call me! I also posted the same story on Egullet.org which people have responded both positive and negatively. The good point is that we are continuing to discuss the topic, the more awareness = more people thinking before they order one of these items.

I am also putting my money where my mouth is! I have since taken a consultancy role in Croatia where I will not be using anything which is not local or sustainable in the region. It is a small step but hopefully we can start something and begin to educate the others not to use irresponsible products. I will keep you posted on the progress of the restaurant and my mission!

See the below link to a very interesting article published on a sustainable blue fin tuna named Kindai, as well controversial but definitely a step in the right direction!

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/02/22/with_bluefin_endangered_sushi_chefs_look_to_other_fish_in_the_sea/

Also see the below link to the comments chain in Egullet.org

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/131972-sustainable-ingredients-when-will-we-learn/page__pid__1731233__st__0&#entry1731233

When you are constantly searching for new techniques you often encounter some collateral damage in the form of techniques which you cannot find a use for and who get left behind.

It is not because they are bad or unattractive but instead from not being able to make them fit into what you are doing.

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When will some people learn? This is the question I am constantly asking myself…………………………..

We all know the problems we are facing in the world with some of the oceans and rivers being close to fished out, but why does it take so long to really sink in to some peoples heads?

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I thought you should see the end of this comments Chain, there were some pretty good points brought up and some others which were a little strange. The good news is that I haven’t changed my mind from my first points, in fact I may of even just strengthened my view on the matter!

Feel free to leave your comments on the chain

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/131769-progressive-cuisine-is-not-dead/