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)

If you are wondering what this title is all about I will not be able to fill in the blanks for another 2 months

Over the last 12 months I have been creating a concept for my own TV show in which I aim to educate people about a new way to look at food. I am pleased to say that after my recent trip to New York I now have an amazing developer on board who has a proven track record in the American Television industry and has been nominated for an Emmy Award as an Executive producer. We are now going to work together to bring this dream to reality.

Both the name of the series and the exact concept of the show will be announced once negotiations have come to a conclusion and a network has been confirmed.

What I can tell you is that it will be pretty much be a “Fly on the wall” account of what happens in my New York Lab everyday.

Stay tuned for more details……………………………………………….

I have spent the last 3 months travelling around the world doing dinners, Conferences and getting some projects off the ground.

In these travels I have discovered some amazing things and discussed some monumental projects. I am now home in Spain for the next 3 weeks before my next trip to Sicily, so during this time I will be updating you on all the things which have been going on in the last 3 months.

Stay Tuned!

For those of you who are in Australia, Tomorrow (Tuesday) nights episode of MasterChef will be the episode where I am the Celebrity MasterChef.

Once it has aired tomorrow I will give a full breakdown of the whole experience, which hopefully you had the chance to see. If not I know you can buy it on iTunes

I will post all the details of this fantastic experience tomorrow,

Watch this space……………………….

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!

Tonight we went to La Esquina for dinner,

For those of you who do not know about the restaurant in New York, let me fill you in………………..

Back in the day it used to be “The Place to Be”, with entry only possible once you have proven you know the right people and even then with a long wait.

It’s a regular taco stand to the unsuspecting passer-by, but to those in the know, it’s a clandestine restaurant hidden in the basement behind a grey door. Once you go down the stairs it is necessary to pass through the kitchen and into the dark restaurant.

The menu is modern Mexican with a few unique touches, but for the most part it is pretty standard Mexican.

Unfortunately it is now very touristic and has suffered the same fate of those restaurants that used to be the fashionable place and are now surviving on that “Used to be” reputation. The food was good, but not spectacular and unfortunately nothing memorable enough to write about.

If you are up for a tourist attraction it’s worth a visit, but if you are looking for a gastronomic experience………………… Eat elsewhere.

Today I went for lunch with one of my business partners to David Chang’s Ma Peche. It is the latest restaurant in his Momofoku empire that is now 4 restaurants strong. It only opened a month or so ago and was the only one of his restaurants which I had not been to, well now I have.

First we tried to call to see how busy they were as they do not take reservations and we wanted to know if it was worth the walk, they would not tell us if it was busy so we would have to come and see for ourselves. Little did we know that had they answered our question they would of told us it was very empty.

The room itself is pretty amazing with very high ceilings and an interesting use of material and light to give the place a unique feel for very little cost.

We started with some American oysters with a Vietnamese mignonette, they were small but very very tasty! Next we had a selection of starters such as some Fluke fish with strawberries which was a really great combination, something that was dissapointing was the boiled shrimps (which were bought frozen for sure) with a dipping sauce which was way too powerful for the bland shrimps.

For the main courses we had items such as: Rice pasta with pork mince and corriander which was beautiful, pork ribs which just melted off the bone, Pork sausage and snails which sounds like an unlikely combination but really worked, and a few other dishes.

Overall we had a great meal but I must admit that it is not as good as his other places…………………..

Another worry is that it was only half full for a wednesday lunch, this is never the case with his other eateries.

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!

Last night after a large dinner with my friends Monica and Nick we decided a whiskey would help ease the pain in our stomachs!

Being in New York no ordinary whiskey bar would suffice, so Nick suggested The Brandy Library in Tribeca. When we entered I was supprised at the extent of their collection, it seemed to just go on forever. I spent the whole time trying to spot repetition of bottles, but could not seemed to find one which was doubled up.

While being extravagent they still kept the most important part if any whiskey bar intact; intimate, dark and comfortable.

The waiter asked me what Whiskies I normally drink then said he will make a suggestion. This was the best decision of the day as his choice was purely spectacular! I mentioned I was a Chef so he would suggest something interesting in flavor instead of just something old. He found a combination of the 2. It was a 13 year old Balblair from the North of Scotland. It had such strong aromas of Toasted coconut that it truly surprised me, then what surprised me more was how long that flavor lingered!

A truly remarkable whiskey in a memorable place, well worth the trip if you are in New York!

I will be in New York from tomorrow (22nd of June) to the 3rd of July.

This trip will be to put all the wheels in motion for my planned Manhattan restaurant and my proposed US TV show. No doubt there will be PLENTY to report on upon my return (like hopefully dates and confirmations).

For those of you who don’t already know, I will be opening a restaurant and Bar in Manhattan in 2011. The concept will also include a TV series which I am planning to shoot in my basement Laboratory.

The trip will also include spending a day with some of the most brilliant minds in the world of Food and sensory science.

Stay Tuned…………………………

As you may be aware, I am currently in Australia on a PR and media trip which has involved some filming for one of Australia’s highest rating TV shows and a collaboration dinner with George Calombaris in Melbourne.

During my trip back home I took the opportunity to dine in the restaurant of a good friend of mine, Ben Shewry at Attica. Attica has just recently been recognized as #73 in the world by the famous San Pellegrino top 100 restaurants in the world.

When I met Ben in Madrid during Madrid fusion earlier this year I became intrigued at his whole food philosophy and how he has taken so much of his inspiration from his childhood growing up in country New Zealand. His style is very honest with a clever use of technique to enhance the dish rather than to pointlessly use techniques for fame. My intrigue was certainly satisfied after he prepared us (Myself and my good friend Darren Purchese) an amazing 12 course menu!

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I am very sorry for the turbulence Madridlab has been experiencing………………………………….

My host has been attacked by all sorts of bad mannered people and it has been impossible to post

I am now on my way to Australia where I will be preparing a Dinner in Melbourne’s Pressclub (http://www.thepressclub.com.au/) with it’s Chef George Calombaris. We will be doing a 26 course menu where I will be preparing 14 of my dishes and his team will be doing 12 of theirs. It is for a table of 20 of Australia’s most influential media and industry faces.

I will also be filming Masterchef Australia (http://www.masterchef.com.au/home.htm) where I will be Going on as a Celebrity Masterchef and doing a Challenge. Stay tuned……………

As always I will try and post while I am away, but sometimes it just isn’t possible

I am heading off to Istanbul tomorrow to speak at a conference and also for some media obligations.

I will be out of Spain for a week but during my trip I will write of the discoveries I make in Turkey and any new products I find.

Ciao!

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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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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