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)

Since yesterdays MasterChef Celebrity Chef challenged aired yesterday I have been very surprised by the impact!

For the most part I have been very humbled by the reaction, its not everyday that you get 900 messages in 1 day, plus my website came very close to crashing due to unprecedented amount of traffic in such a short space of time!

1 thing I would like to say which has surprised me a little is, if you spend your life looking backwards then you will miss the beauty of evolution and everything which is amazing in the future. There have been some people who have reacted badly to the dish I chose to present and have been making negative and baseless comments. The dish is not one which I am preparing today but actually an adaptation of one which I was doing 5 – 6 years ago. I chose this dish as it was going to be a good learning experience for both the contestant and also the viewing public, I was hoping to expose you to some new techniques and to give you an insight into what is happening at the moment outside of Australia. Please keep in mind that the dish was never supposed to be one which you could prepare at home, let’s leave those kinds of dishes to Jamie Oliver and let me show you what I as a fellow Australian do.

I love spirited conversation when food is concerned as I also study the Psychological and design side of food as well. But since when did people start thinking if it’s not to their taste then it is bad?

As I mentioned before, I have had an amazing amount of support from viewers and I hate to focus on the negative but I feel it’s my duty to explain the situation.

What I demonstrated was how 1 flavor (the pea soup) could be prepared in different textures and temperatures in a non confrontational setting by using 2 very humble products, Eggs and peas. If I was to come with a dish which was full of new techniques and also a radical flavor combination then this would alienate the consumer as they have nothing to reference this experience to. This is a rule I always follow without exception. It also demonstrates the importance of the base as if the soup wasn’t right then the whole dish would be wrong.

There were many comments on the combination of egg and peas………………… Was that really the hardest part of the dish to understand? How many people have actually tried Eggs, Peas and Fresh truffle? Normally I would smoke the egg for 24 hours using grape vines but I didn’t have this kind of time during the filming, how would you of reacted to a smoked egg? I can tell you first hand, this is a delicious combination and one which makes a lot of sense the moment it hits your palette.

My second is to address the people who thought Green was unappealing and artificial looking. I am not sure how to tell you this, there are a large majority of vegetables which are green and if cooked correctly they will also be bright green. So as we prepared the peas correctly they were a florescent green, if it was brown then this would be overcooked. I think thats enough said on that point.

In regards to the use of Chemicals, I didn’t use any chemical in what I prepared. All the food additives which were used are all extracted from natural products such as Sodium Alginate which comes from seaweed and Gellan which comes from another type of seaweed. Gelatin is widely used in the food industry and it is taken from the hoofs and cartilage of animals, which one sounds more natural the one which comes from animals or the one which comes from seaweed? How many of you have eaten Burger king onion rings? Did you know these are actually onion puree which gets formed back into perfect rings via the use of the same Alginate and calcium reaction which you saw on the show? Would this stop you eating them? Of course not!

I like to think as Chefs we have the responsibility to help our guests understand what we dedicate our lives to and make them more knowledgeable about what they are consuming and how it got to the state it is in, the consumer needs to have an open mind or else the most beautiful part of the dining experience will be missed.

Thank you for all the amazing feedback you have given through all types of social media and emails, I hope this post didn’t come across as negative, my aim was to take this as an opportunity to give you a little insight into why I did the dish I did and the thought process which goes into all creations

How boring would it be if we all spent our lives watching things on TV which we already knew how to do? Hollywood blockbusters would be a thing of the past as people would want to watch a movie which is full of characters just like themselves living ordinary lives. Food can be another form of escapism yet more emotional due to the sensory reaction which you have with every bite, thats if you are open enough to enjoy the journey.

Today the episode of MasterChef Australia aired where I was the Celebrity MasterChef, So now I can finally talk about it!

I would like to first start by saying how much of a pleasure it was to work with such a professional and friendly crew! I have done Tv all over the world yet I have never felt so at ease from the very first moment like with the cast and crew of MasterChef!

The lady I cooked against (Claire) did an amazing job at being able to follow the recipe I gave her to prepare and I take a little bit of pride from the fact she was able to complete the dish in the set time. This took some amazing focus from Claire and had she not been such an articulate person the job would of been much harder.

When I was first approached by MasterChef to do this Celebrity challenge I was unsure how I could find one of my dishes which was able to be prepared in less than 90 minutes from start to finish. So I started looking back over my previous years of work and I found one I was preparing 5-6 years ago which would fit the task (with a few minor modifications). What I create these days can take up to 7 days in preparation, or there are other that can be prepared in just moments, I believe the Green Peas and Egg dish was the most educational and controversial which is why I chose it, to incite conversation.

So as you may of seen today, the dish we prepared was a “Simple” dish of Peas and eggs.

Eggs and Peas to me is an obvious combination and not one which requires much debate, but after today I will never use the word obvious again as there seem to be an amazing amount of people commenting on this combination all over the internet.

I chose to try and show the viewers of MasterChef as well as my competitor that the same base can be made into many different variations. It is also a great lesson about texture and the use of balancing temperatures and accuracy.

I am very happy at the outcome of the episode, there really seems to be an outpouring of support and more importantly intrigue towards my style of Cuisine.

Remember, all great things start from Curiosity. If you are too afraid to venture out of your comfort zone then you will miss all of the best experiences in life!

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……………………………………………….

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!

Stay tuned for possible global developments which are currently being discussed.

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……………………….

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!

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.

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 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!

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 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

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…………………………

Sometimes as a consumer we need to be a little less concerned about seeing our food displayed and rather insisting that it be stored correctly.

Here in Spain the people seem to be attracted to the place which proudly displays it’s offer in the window for the word to admire. Take the photo above as an example of what to look for in a place you would never eat. This is a restaurant around the corner from my house in the center of Madrid which is always quite busy.

The photo is not the best as it was snapped from my iPhone, but I think it is clear enough to spot the error of their ways. We could use this as one of those photos where you try to find as many errors as possible. I will list a few:

1. It is an open chiller with no separation of the meat and seafood, so the meat will start to develop the smell of the fish and the fish that of the meat.
2. They obviously don’t rotate the stock as they get an order as the skin of the Hake was dehydrated and the surface of the meat was oxidized, plus the eyes are sunken.
3. The fish below the Hake will be taking the flavor through osmosis
4. The cubes of Ice are too big and will be crushing the flesh of the fish from direct contact
5. Etc, Etc, Etc

But by far the most alarming of all of this has to be the effect of the sun. This window gets the effect of the full afternoon sun for about 2-3 hours!

As a general rule I will never eat anywhere that displays their produce in this fashion except if it were a fish market where they have a high rotation of stock and fresh everyday.

Are you one of these people who find this inviting?

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!

Without going into Dish by dish, I will explain the highlights of the meal (Even though it was all pretty amazing).

The most standout dish by a mile was a dish he calls “A simple dish of Potato cooked in the earth it was Grown“, It is pretty self explanatory in the title but as I was eating it I thought of a better Title “Best Potato of your life” as I think this sums it up a little better! Honestly I was a little skeptical before I started eating it, usually dishes like this have a better story than obvious result. This case is the exception to that rule! Ben actually cooks the Potato in the growing soil at a very low temperature for a long period of time wrapped in cabbage leaves. This is then served on a smoked goats curd which has been garnished with several components which work to provide differences in texture and taste in every bite. These Garnishes include; Fried Saltbush leaves, Ground coffee plus many other components. I started with a large mouthful and after realizing how amazing it was I very quickly decreased the size of each bite to prolong the eating experience as long as humanly possible.

Another dish which has stuck in my mind since this dinner was a dessert of Apples………………………………………………………….

It was such a simple dish of apples, but the balance of flavors, Temperatures and textures turned it into one of the most intelligent dishes I have eaten in a long time. The dessert contains 6 different apples and when eaten together in this format it was like a symphony that all seemed to play the right note at the right time. It was all topped off with a few spoonfuls of a toasted biscuit and oat mix which came hot, this gave you an amazing aroma of a freshly baked Apple Crumble yet a texture underneath which resembled something totally different. If this dish was even slightly out of balance it would of been simply apples, but with this exact balance it turned it into something which had a familiar comfort about it yet almost like you were really tasting apples for the first time!

Ben Spends a lot of time foraging for his fresh wild herbs, leaves and seaweeds. This ensures he has a totally unique product and one which he has the passion to understand as it takes him hours everyday to collect before he starts work.

I strongly recommend a trip to Attica if you are in Australia as they are doing some pretty special things and certainly I have just had one of the best meals I have eaten in recent years!

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

All I can say is this is down to a poor selection of hosting companies. My host has been under constant attack from hackers and this has given all of us clients nothing but headaches for the past month or so. I have just signed up with a more secure host which guarantees no down time! So you can expect nothing but new stories and info to be posted here!

The transfer process will take some days but definitely well worth the effort!

Thanks For your patience,

Adam Melonas

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!

Well I am kind of misleading you when I say I realized as that makes it sound like I caught the problem. The truth is I realized when I woke up one morning to a full email box of people telling me my website had a problem! I tried to open it up and a red screen appeared telling me it was an attack site!

This was the start of a very frustrating few weeks of no information and very poor service from my host network “Network Solutions”. Their server was hacked and attacked by a series of very malicious viruses trying to redirect people to other sites in Ukraine. I am not the most advanced computer user around apart from writing and posting stories. So I heavily relied on those around me to get me through this troubling time, for this I am very thankful!

The site is back now and totally safe to use!

I look forward to getting back into the rhythm  of posting stories as I have a huge backlog of adventures to tell about.

Thanks for your patience and staying with me!

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).

OK, so if you are still reading this means you are doing so at your own risk…………………………………………

So now I would like to tell you a little story which is a bit of a cross between Shrek (there is a donkey) and Quinten Tarantino’s Hostel.

The arrival is innocent enough with a Donkey carelessly chewing on Grass in a lush field with a backdrop of wineries as far as the eyes can see, we happen to be at the most popular lamb on the spit restaurants in Croatia (they have asked that I not mention the name due to possible health and safely issues from the Government). In this restaurant you order the lamb by the Kilogram and the only garnishes are bread roasted in a wood fire and fresh scallions to chew on while you have the lamb in your mouth.

It wasn’t so much different to other lamb I have had on the spit except for how crispy the skin was but while still having meat which is still relatively juicy even in the thinner parts of the belly. So I asked the waiter why this was and he explained to me that the lamb was still alive up until 2 hours ago. I actually laughed as I thought he was making a joke at my expense being the foreigner in his country, but I realized he was serious when he looked offended when I asked him if he could next time bring me the lamb on a leash in the restaurant so I could choose which one I wanted (like with Lobsters). Obviously I was joking as I thought he was making fun of me.

So I asked to see the kitchen and if possible where the live lambs were kept, they graciously accepted.

It was true, this became obviously apparent when I saw only fridges for drinks and none in the kitchen. So they explained their reasoning behind this kill and cook theory as they said the fat in the lamb starts to become rancid from the moment it is killed and the only way to stop this natural process is to start cooking it. They even have a schedule to ensure the ultimate freshness for every customer, this is they kill 1 at 10:30am for any early diners in the restaurant, 6 more at 12:00 for the lunch service and then 4 before the dinner service. So being so obviously intrigued at their process they invited me back the following day to see the whole process from the killing to the cooking. Being a Chef my response was an easy one……… I would love to (said with a big smile across my face!)

As I arrived the following day I was led down to where the lambs are kept and as we were walking down I could hear the faint sound of pop music (the only reason I noticed is because I thought how out of place it sounded in such a setting). I arrived to the pens and was greeted by a very friendly and smiling Croatian man who was covered from head to toe in blood and wielding what looked to be the type of knife you would have in your home collection. He managed enough words in English that I understood he was asking if I wanted to see how he killed the lambs, of course my response was yes. So we went to one of the pens where he disappeared into another covered room and came out with a Lamb under one arm. I then followed him to another room which looked (and I am sure smelt) like one of the rooms in the movie “Hostel”, complete with blackened walls and floor which I am assuming is the result of many many years of blood and fat which has now become impossible to remove. The kill itself was pretty quick which I would of missed had I blinked, it was a simply knife to the jugular artery and then the lambs head was placed into a hole in the ground to allow it to bleed out. Without going into graphic detail let’s just say it took a while for the poor thing to finally stop thrashing around once it realized what was happening.

He took another one which he had just killed before I arrived and started on preparing it for the spit, he was kind enough to explain to me the whole time why he was doing each step and why it was important. Once he had the Lamb hung on the hook to start the very efficient task of prepping I began to laugh as I realized the work was being done while listening to “The Pussy Cat Dolls”, as this upbeat music couldn’t of been more out of place in this chamber of death. This was not the only time I laughed as when he was removing the stomach which was still steaming he withdrew his hands when his phone started ringing and he took the call while still covered in the lamb’s insides.

Anyway, that’s enough graphic details to paint enough of a picture for you to imagine the setting.

Finally I realized what the trick was to getting the skin so crispy and juicy (Obviously as well as how fresh it was), he removes the crépinette or the Caul (Fatty lining) of the Lambs stomach and wraps it around the outside of the lamb where it will come into contact with the coals. This was secured with a small bone he removed from the leg as if it were a tooth pick.

With the less than romantic part (Although I actually found it interesting and enjoyable) of the tour over I was led up to where they cook the lambs on the spit where I was greeted by a team of smiling faces yet again, I am sure these people love what they do! The wood fired spits were in an enclosed room where the air was thick from the ash and the temperature was almost unbearable, they were all sucking down beers to keep themselves cool.

The interesting difference with this restaurant is the freshness of the lamb, This is certainly the first restaurant I have been where the lambs are getting killed to order and starting to roast when the bodies are still warm (+/- 30 degrees Celcius). The result was a great example of well cooked lamb on the spit, certainly nothing life changing for me but a great experience and insight into the culture here and how they believe lamb is best prepared.

The below link is to a 6 photo slide show of the more tame photos which will not offend.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49257366@N02/sets/72157623869254302/show/with/4525425483/

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.

It’s pretty simple…………….. As he has a big problem with insects and animals eating his crops before he has a chance to pick them, he figured out a solution that didn’t include the use of any pesticides or other types of deterrents. He figures the best way to combat this problem is to create a “Yours and mine” type of a system where he let’s the animals have 80% and he only keeps 20% for himself and the restaurant. Yes those numbers are correct! He is very Generous by giving the animals 80% but he tells me this does not mess with the natural order of things.

Normal farmers would be enraged at some insects destroying their hard work but not Dusko (His name) as his face seemed to light up when telling me how hard the insects are working to achieve their goals and how smart they are. 1 Story amused me the most when he told me of a very well organized group of ants who started carrying away the anise seeds moments after he planted them like a ant-sized heist. And also how the wasps snip the most juicy part of the basil seedlings and drink out the moisture using the stalk like a straw.

He figures this way he is keeping his piece of land fertile and full of life and everyone gets what they want.

Food and flowers aren’t his only specialty, he also specializes in Schnapps, Pickling fruits and vegetables and fixing cars for the locals. Now thats what I call multi skilled!

It makes you think, how much do we really pay attention to what is going on in the garden. There is a whole new miniature sized world going on down there and we miss it as we throw out pesticides around to eradicate these problems.

As I have mentioned before, Dan Barber and his team are king at these pesticide free alternatives. They introduce natural repellents and other things which attract the natural enemies of what has invaded the garden.

This will be the future (Dans Barbers way, but the way they do it here is amusing and so honest) with all the focus now being paid to smarter growing and treating our world with a conscience.

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……………………..

P1050974

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)

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.

Something I expected to obviously stand out were the tomatoes………………….. No surprises here as there were some spectacular examples from Sicily in all kinds of shapes and colors. The smell from the vine (which happens to be my favorite smell in the world) was intoxicating! Every vine was perfect down to the small hairs which grow on them and full of oil.

Also plenty of amazing Artichokes in the prime of there season ranging from tiny to as big as a baseball, something curious is how much business is done on raw artichokes which are peeled and cut into disks. There seem to be 100 different places selling them from a waterbath in front of their stands.

1 Very interesting product is a kind of ridicio as you can see in my flickr photos which resembles a green rose with lightly packed petals. The pattern in the leaves is amazing with little uniform spots of red and purple.

Also it is the time of year for wild Asparagus here in Europe, which if you have never tried it I recommend it! The flavor is very strong in minerals and is very bitter, goes perfectly with a 64.5 degree egg and hollandaise sauce!

During my trip I will write about any new discoveries and local products I find along the way.

Stay Tuned!

This is what I wonder most mornings when I go for breakfast here in Madrid.

Being an Australian I really appreciate a great breakfast made up of simply prepared high quality ingredients, and of course a coffee made with a little intelligence and a lot of LOVE! Is that so much to ask?

Well it seems it is! I have to admit there are many countries which make a great cup of coffee and unfortunately Spain is not one of them The coffee grind is rarely if ever checked and there doesn’t seem to be an understanding of any parts of the whole process. If you know anything about coffee you will know there are many many techniques involved in making a great cup, if one of these are not respected the result is disastrous. A bad breakfast has the power to ruin your day before it’s even had the chance to start and if it is your coffee at the end of a great dinner it can overshadow the whole experience and leave you with a bad taste in your mouth (literally). But I didn’t write this story to talk about coffee (If you want to read about my techniques on coffee follow this link http://www.madridlab.net/melonas/2009/04/there-is-a-technique-for-everything-coffee/).

The reason for writing this story is to help people realize why they are doing what they are doing. Chances are if you are reading this story than you actually have enough interest in the world of food and beverage as you are doing this in your spare time (Or slacking at work). But next time you get bad service or the the Chef is disrespecting food ask them “Why” as I did in Prague a couple of weeks ago when my food was basically thrown at me.

We all started this job (Chefs) as we have a love for food and want to discover, produce or create. We didn’t start this job to start cutting corners, doing things we know we shouldn’t, or working our way up the Chain (In my opinion down the chain) just so we could start carrying a clipboard and pushing papers around as they do in Hotels.

I am saying this because I ordered a Croissant this morning which was basically like bread in the shape of a croissant which had sugar glazed on the top. This is not the worst part, it was served to me at 4 degrees from the fridge and the waiter stuck a fork in it right in the middle and stabbed it like a piece of roasted meat before carving. Are these the actions of someone who likes what they do or more importantly is this someone who respects “what is a Croissant”? I was too afraid to ask for it warmed up as the guy next to me was eating a black and smoldering one as the waiter didn’t realize you can squash the croissant into the toaster especially when it has sugar glaze, worst thing was the customer seemed to be happy eating it!

Anyway, time for me to come down from my soapbox……………

Love what you do and do it well! We have the greatest job in the world, don’t forget that and start cutting corners!

http://www.guiadelabuenamesa.es/?p=1359&language=es

As you know I am normally pretty opinionated about most things, especially when it comes to ignorance towards food. So after 1 month of biting my tongue and listening to all the facts I am now ready to give my 2 cents worth…………………………..

It all started in the youtube link below, this is when Italian Ministry of Health’s secretary Francesca Martini signed the new legislation banning the use of pretty much all food additives in professional kitchens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cy6HeX0ZIA&feature=player_embedded

This less than qualified new Health minister in Berlusconis party does not have the qualification nor the intellect to deem the use of additives as dangerous, she should stick to commenting about things she does know about like this article (http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/italian-tv-chef-roasted-for-praising-joy-of-eating-cats_100321564.html) Condemning the eating of cats by a famous TV Chef!

Ok, so now to the serious part of this story………..

Let’s have a look at the legitimacy of their claims. What makes Agar Agar any more or less of a “Powdered” food additive than the flour the Italians have been using for generations to make pasta? You can also make a pasta from the Agar Agar. The Flour is taken from the milling of wheat and the Agar Agar is extracted from the red Seaweed Gelidium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelidium), but the law still suggests you can eat the red seaweed in it’s natural state so it is not a problem with the product but merely the final result.  What about if we look at Pectin Powder v’s Gelatine leaves? By the true definition of this new law you cannot use pectin which comes from the cell walls of certain fruits (Citrus being the primary source) but you can use Gelatin which is being taken from the hoofs and cartilage of Animals! Which one sounds hypothetically more natural and “Safe”? In actual fact they are both 100% safe and have been used for a very long time yet one is banned under this new law and the other isn’t. I can give you thousands of examples of why this does not make sense, but I won’t as I am sure you are all smart enough to smell an ulterior motive on the behalf of the Italian government. But before we get to this let’s discuss the biggest hole in their story!

This rule only applies to restaurants and not the Production industry! If this was for health reasons how is this possible?

Imagine that the same Sodium Alginate and Calcium that you are not allowed to use in Kitchens you are allowed to consume when eating your Burger king Onion rings or your McDonalds Apple pie (which also are not very Italian restaurants, perhaps all non Italian restaurants will be banned next?)! Would this have anything to do with the power of the Production industry and the amount of revenue they bring in from Taxes as opposed to that of restaurants?

Think about the level of stupidity it takes to think that any Nitrogen gas remains in food once it’s been frozen, considering liquid Nitrogen (-190 +/- degrees Celsius depending on your altitude) boils at room temperature and changes back to a gas. Then add the fact that we are already breathing 78% Nitrogen all day long……………. It doesn’t make sense! So I guess we can rule this one out as ridiculous!

This government stinks of desperation in an attempt to keep the Italian cuisine traditional at the expense of progression. There will always be those Chefs who will continue to cook traditional food as this is where their roots are, but there also has to be those pushing the boundaries and creating the next generation of what will one day be traditional or else food will be stuck in a virtual time warp.  Whats next? Are we going to start burning Creative Chefs at the steak like the treatment of witches in distant times? How can this backward government think the people are that stupid?

Why is it not possible for traditional Italian Cuisine and New Cuisine to co-exist harmoniously? Take my friend Carlo Cracco as a great example. Carlo has a cuisine which is deeply rooted in tradition yet he utilizes all the tools at his disposal with the introduction of new techniques into his cuisine. Is not the role and responsibility of every Chef to use every tool, technique and ingredient at his disposal to help interpret his vision of food? So if we remove one part of this how can we be free to express?

From the reports I am being told by my friends in Italy, the police are entering kitchens and seizing any powdered products and giving the owners nasty fines.

This is a very desperate and pathetic attempt to retain control (Communist style) of what is known as an iconic cuisine of the world. Hopefully the Italian Government will realize the error of their ways before it’s too late or else the world of cuisine will leave your country back in the dark ages at the expense of your great Chefs and the enjoyment of the consumer.

I am still having a technical difficulty on uploading pictures so you will have to bear with me until this is fixed very shortly, my apologies!

MANY things have been happening since I last wrote, this is part of the reason that I have not been able to get anything up on this site. Let me try to bring you up to speed.

• I have started consulting for a beautiful restaurant on the Adriatic coast in Croatia, this restaurant is set in a 700 year old building and has an immense amount of potential! I am working with the Chef/Owner to help develop dishes using only local products and products which have little or no environmental impact. There are some very bad fishing practices which exist in Croatia, one of my goals of this project is to help educate the Chefs, Diners and government about the alternatives and how to correct this error before it’s too late. I will bring you more up to date with this as I make some headway.
• I have finished shooting the first episode of a US TV show I have been planning for the past 12 months! The footage is now with my Producer in New York which we aim to have ready in the next 2 weeks to be able to pitch to some of the major networks who have shown interest. The concept is very new and sure to raise a few eyebrows! I cannot share the details with you at the moment, but you will be the first to know as soon as I can
• My Manhattan restaurant is still moving along nicely (contrary to media reports) but I have delayed it slightly due to some major projects I have here in Spain. I will make some more details available when I can make them public.
• I have now started my second company here in Spain which is Adam Melonas Consulting. I am now busy with projects all over Spain and I have also been asked to pitch for a project which would see my influence in 40 countries around the world, I can tell you a little more about this very soon………………………

Apart from this there are many more things happening! But I will try to space it out a little so I don’t overwhelm you.

I am out of Spain on a lot of trips in the next 2-3 months, So as always I will be posting stories from all of my trips while I am away. Also if you are in any of the countries which I will be please feel free to drop me a line so we can meet up and you can show me some good local cuisine. My calendar is as below:

• Venice (April 9 – 12)
• Slovenia (April 12)
• Croatia – Sibenik (April 13th – 18th)
• Istanbul (April 29th – May 5th)
• Australia – Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane (May 16th – June 9th)
• Denmark and Sweden (June 16th – 20th)

I now have many stories in reserve, so I will now be back to posting 4-5 stories per week. Stay Tuned!

Thanks for continuing to read!