FINE DINING - Issue 1
EDITOR’S NOTE Issue 1
Welcome to The Salmon, a quarterly publication from AfroditiKrassa HQ. Our purpose is to showcase significant movements in different categories within the hospitality industry. I am delighted to send you our first issue, the focus for which is the changing face of fine dining. The AfroditiKrassa crew has been busy checking out the world’s finest eating & drinking establishments. It sounds like fun, and it is, but behind all this frolicking about, there is serious business to be done. Our generation has witnessed the most phenomenal cultural shift in dining focused experiences, with the last two to three years being the most intense. I still remember my first visit to a British supermarket as a young student in 1992. There was just a single brand of olive oil on the shelf. Much is said of the rising cult of celebrity chef and new interpretations on what we eat & how we drink, but the conversation surrounding restaurant, hotel and bar interiors remains largely the same. As a studio fortunate to sit ‘backstage’ at these places, we are seeing design playing a much more considered role in the fine dining experience, one that goes far beyond cushions, curtains and colours and reaches into product design and storytelling. This is an Eating Revolution, and I for one cannot stop thinking ‘like a salmon’ and asking myself, my studio and our clients, “how can we continue to innovate and stand out in a river full of other fish?”. I hope you enjoy this little trip upstream; your thoughts are truly welcomed as my greatest hope for The Salmon is that it starts a discussion between my studio & you, the reader.
Editor
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1. Cover: Escoffier (seated) at the Baur au Lac in Zurich in 1930 2. © Afroditi Krassa 3
AFRODITIKRASSA FOR HESTON BLUMENTHAL
AFRODITIKRASSA FOR DISHOOM
AFRODITIKRASSA FOR 4 CURZON
CATEGORY-DEFINING DESIGN We believe whatever the status quo is in your area of business, challenging it gives you the chance to be remarkable. We call what we do ‘category-defining design’. Our clients come to us because they want the design of their restaurant, bar, hotel or place of entertainment to be regarded as ‘best-in-class’. We work with some of the world’s most ambitious hoteliers, entrepreneurs and brands. Recent projects include the design of the Curzon Cinemas flagship venue and Heston Blumenthal’s Perfectionists’ Café at Heathrow.
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CONTENTS 8 - 9
INTERVIEW WITH PAUL LIEBRANDT
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THE STEREOTYPES
A SEA OF WHITE TABLECLOTHS GAZILLIONS OF CUTLERY ELEVATOR MUSIC STUFFY STAFF WHITE BOX 26 - 27
INTERVIEW WITH DOUGLAS BLYDE
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FOOD IS THE NEW MUSIC
BACKSTAGE ACCESS DRESSED DOWN FRIDAYS FOLLOWERS NOT PATRONS ALTERED STATE FIRST NAME BASIS AUTOGRAPH FRONT ROW SMOKE & MIRRORS RAW FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY! SOUND & VISION SEX, DRUGS & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL THE BLACK BOX SHOW IS ON!
1. Luncheon in honor of the late Auguste Escoffier, given by Oscar of the Waldorf. © Waldorf Astoria
“A hundred years ago, people went to the opera where they wore top hat and tails. People still attend operas but perhaps they don’t wear the same outfit. The approach has changed not the content.” Paul Liebrandt
INTERVIEW WITH PAUL LIEBRANDT CHEF, THE ELM/NEW YORK Chef Paul Liebrandt’s food melds the tradition of classical cuisine with a contemporary and personal approach to ingredients, technique and a unique visual style. EDITOR: You are known for your daring cuisine and creative style. What motivated you to do things differently? PAUL LIEBRANDT: There isn’t one thing that motivated me to be different per se. I would say having a sense of curiosity is the main motivating factor to doing things differently and not to accept the status quo. EDITOR: Has it been easy for you to challenge the status quo? PAUL LIEBRANDT: No, it has not been easy. These things never are. People generally take time to warm up to new ideas, so patience is a virtue in this regard. EDITOR: Do you see the way fine dining is being done changing in New York? If so, how? PAUL LIEBRANDT: Yes I do see it changing as I also see it changing around the globe. Fine dining used to be for an older generation that has money and now is accessible to a younger generation. I don’t think fine dining itself has changed in that people still want personality, creativity and high quality. These fundamentals never change in the discipline of the creative arts. What has changed is the approach to how they deliver those fundamentals. To use an analogy, a hundred years ago, people went to the opera where they wore top hat and tails. People still attend operas but perhaps they don’t wear the same outfit. The approach has changed not the content. EDITOR: Which restaurants are leading the change? PAUL LIEBRANDT: Glen Ellen Star [Sonoma]and Benu [San Francisco]. EDITOR: What inspires your creative process? PAUL LIEBRANDT: It isn’t one particular thing. More and more these days travel, culture and history seem to be the driving force behind ideas and inspiration. EDITOR: Your cooking style has been described as “eccentric”. What do you take that to mean? PAUL LIEBRANDT: I have no idea what that means as I have never heard that word used to describe my cuisine. My guess would be that my cuisine is hard to pigeonhole, neither classical nor avant-garde but somewhere in between!
1. © Paul Liebrandt
FINE DINING. CLOSE YOUR EYES. WHAT DO YOU SEE?
A SEA OF TABLECLOTHS
1. Previous Page: Auguste Escoffier, © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis 2. Restaurant, Grand Central Terminal, ca 1912. © Library of Congress 13
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ELEVATOR MUSIC
1. Previous Page: Seafood cocktail with cocktail fork served in a cocktail glass w/ice liner and dry sherry 2. Old Fashioned Elevator at the Story Hotel, ŠOSI Femmes 17
STUFFY STAFF
1. ©Йа Kapтинко 19
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IF CHEFS ARE THE NEW ROCKSTARS, WHY IS FINE DINING SO UN-ROCK ‘N’ ROLL?
AFRODITI ASKS DESIGNER, LONDON I do love my good food. I do love my cooking too. And like so many of us, I do believe that culinary art is one of the greatest of all art forms. So experiencing the work of top chefs in restaurants should be just tons of fun, right? Well, so often it is not. “Chefs are the new rockstars.” “Food is the new music.” I have heard such comments repeatedly. And it is true, you get people tattooing themselves with a portrait of Gordon Ramsay. If this is not the sign of the times, then nothing else is. So, why is fine dining design, so un-rock ‘n’ roll? Is there still space for the endless rows of tables, all lined in pristine table clothes, the waiters in uniforms and a space which is hushed and intimidating, like a museum; where people are too scared to laugh or talk normally. I want to see an element of rock ‘n’ roll taking over restaurants all over the world. It is happening and the move is being led, to a large extent, by the exciting and innovative Scandinavian chefs who have wowed us with their inspired cooking and completely changed the concept of what going out to eat should be like. I am convinced that a more theatrical element to restaurant design will gradually be introduced in the next few years, especially since younger diners are the new followers of the God-like celebrity chef. Communal tables, as well as a variety of seating layouts, will be commonplace. Just as the casual dining market has embraced the idea of all of us sitting together, fine dining too is moving on to more conversation-conducive spaces, all anchored in front of the spectacle of the open kitchen, “the stage”. It is more a sense of being part of something, rather than a spectator. All over the world the Chef’s Table has become a hugely popular concept. At one restaurant in Sweden the guests can number no more than 12 and there are no waiters. The chefs cook and serve the food in the kitchen and then join the customers at the table, just like a backstage pass. It is this experience that becomes more important than the food itself. I strongly believe that the chef should be the star of the show. We have seen how television programmes have catapulted talented chefs into the arena of celebrity and many of them now enjoy the status of pop stars. For diners, the idea of a really special night out is the chance to be cooked for and then to talk to one of their hero chefs. This personality-driven restaurant is definitely the way things are going to go in the future. There’s a thrill to eating great food in an unusual location, and especially one in a really dramatic setting or one that somehow captures the moment during an event or Festival. I loved the way the Chefs Club in Aspen, USA, has decided to change the menu every four months and bring in a different celebrity chef to ‘perform’. The design of the interior space is not chef specific anymore, it is a vessel for a temporary performance. I have experienced first hand the magic of Heston Blumenthal and what he has done with food – he’s taken the sense of theatre to amazing extremes. Alain Ducasse has 21 Michelin stars to his name but at the new Rivea Restaurant at the Bulgari Hotel, London, he has chucked out the starched linen table cloths and dressed his waiters in cardigans and trainers. Why spend thousands of pounds keeping white table clothes pristine every year when you could be spending that money on buying fabulous ingredients and making wonderful dishes? I believe that the secret of success, in the future, is for restaurants to offer a defining moment in someone’s life: the fun, the buzz, the sex, the drugs and the rock ‘n’ roll! I think that, in 30 years’ time, we will be describing this place to our grandchildren with a cheeky smile on our face. Bring it on!
1. Page 20/21: The Ledbury, London 2. Previous Page: Trust. iCON 3. Heston Blumenthal’s Perfectionists’ Café by Afroditi Krassa
INTERVIEW WITH DOUGLAS BLYDE SOMMELIER & WRITER, LONDON Douglas Blyde has written for international media on food, drinks, travel and design for a decade. He is also a private sommelier. intoxicatingprose.com
EDITOR: What’s getting you excited about the way people are experiencing food and drink right now? DOUGLAS BLYDE: Rather than the increasing tally of killjoys who masochistically delight in imposing a checklist of debilitating dietary irks upon themselves out of choice, stymying fun for everyone else, what excites me both as a drinks professional, gastronomy writer and human being is meeting people who are warm to trying ingredients which are new to them. London 2014 is an orbit of venues purveying almost every genre of international cuisine (you can, for example, eat food from all of the Eurovision countries) as well as exciting fusions. They afford diners a luxurious, not-to-be-missed opportunity to travel via the vessels of plate and glass. I thoroughly approve when diners within show a willingness to explore more of a venue’s menu too - leading to tables laden with a tableau of dishes which should be shared, Chinesestyle: so much more entertaining than slavishly adhering to three courses in three acts. EDITOR: How important is the space in overall culinary experience? DOUGLAS BLYDE: Considered design provides the stage for the experience. It both cossets and enchants the diner, almost serving as a visual amuse bouche. However, in addition to aesthetics, acoustics must be well judged, while lighting must literally be cool. Who wants to sit under hot lamps at the counter of a seafood restaurant, for example? And I’ve little respect for tragic, skin-deep operators who immediately cuts costs behind the scenes: if their staff are treated well then they are able to value their environment, and thus, their guests. EDITOR: What is your ultimate luxury dining experience? DOUGLAS BLYDE: I liked the idea posed a few years ago by a prospective re-developer of Battersea Power Station for a one table restaurant in a glass cubicle atop one of those iconic chimneys. Above all, I relish the idea of incongruous luxury, like that offered by Abercrombie & Kent, the first travel operator to offer cubes of ice in drinks at remote desert camps. So far, my greatest meal occurred in a remote bothy in the Highlands of Scotland on the Glorious Twelfth of August. I shot a grouse, was blooded by it, then ate it with polished cutlery and pressed linen alongside a heavy crystal glass of Dalwhinnie. A Damascus bite. EDITOR: What interesting things are other countries doing in the world of fine-dining? DOUGLAS BLYDE: In Shanghai, Ultraviolet aims for a “fully immersive environment” where each course is served to a calibrated mood board of lights and sounds: something I expect we will be seeing more of, executed to various levels of success and failure. I’ve noticed more tinnitus about restaurants offering calorie-counting cuisine, which suggests their clientele is eating out a little too often for their own good, frankly. And, although I don’t agree with it unless the diner has a doctor’s certificate, there is certainly a rise in gluten-free and dairy-free dining across the board, as well as low-to-no carbohydrate dishes. And, sadly, there seems to be a trend for ever more savoury desserts, which defies the point of a sweet resolution/reward. I also expect to see more specialism. And a refinement of the supper-club trend, albeit at the very top end, where chefs draped in accolades invite a very moneyed, influential clientele to dine at their home dinner tables. Finally, I’m wondering which country will be first to develop a computer application to give the prospective diner a preview of the aroma of a dish in advance of the actual experience… EDITOR: Is the role of sommelier relevant in a fine-dining experience today? DOUGLAS BLYDE: Yes, although a sizable number are kamikazes, risking their livelihood by alienating the consumer from wine altogether by prescribing them erroneously-titled “natural” wines, many of which are barely-potable witches brews. Good ones however will steer the diner away from the hallowed turf of old school regions into other and emerging territories on occasions. And great ones will also strive to bravely introduce the gamut of other quality drinks with their chef’s creations, although absolute precision matches are becoming less important. I believe craft beers, finelypolished sakes and copitas of barrel-aged tequilas and boutique vodkas, as well as caringly mixed cocktails, are as deserving a place at the table as wine.
1. © Douglas Blyde
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BACKSTAGE ACCESS
1. Dried herbs and hanging meats in the dinning area - Fäviken, Sweden 2. Fresh potatoes cooked with autumn leaves that have been decomposing under the snow during the winter - Fäviken, Sweden 3. The chefs’ at Fäviken spent time sourcing the very best produce the region has to offer. The fish comes from a nearby mountain lake - Fäviken, Sweden 4. Magnus Nilsson serves his food to the customers - Fäviken, Sweden www.favikenmagasinet.se/en www.nordicnibbler.com/2012/12/faviken-magasinet-jarpen-restaurant_12.html www.foodstudio.no/column/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-at-faviken 29
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DESIGN & DEFINE
“At the soon to launch Coast in Pembrokeshire, former Michelin-starred chef Will Holland wants to do brilliant, affordable things with cheaper ingredients (mains, £12-£20), rather than falling back on fine dining's truffles and technical wizardry. ‘I can hold my hand up,’ says Holland, ‘and say, sometimes, you forget who you're actually cooking for.’”
1. Eat in the kitchen - Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, USA www.brooklynfare.com/pages/chefs-table
2. Increasingly more young people are interested in fine dining - Noma, Denmark www.noma.dk
3. Chef’s table - Marcus, UK www.marcus-wareing.com
4. Open kitchen - Spice Market, UK www.spicemarketlondon.co.uk
5. Bar dining - Marea, USA www.marea-nyc.com 31
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DRESSED DOWN FRIDAYS
1. Converse shoes for uniform - Rivea, UK www.bulgarihotels.com/en-us/london/bar-and-restaurant/rivea/rivea
2. Tiny plates to eat at the bar - Marea, USA www.marea-nyc.com
3. Prairie Oyster - Savoury cocktail created by molecular mixologist Tony Conigliaro. Twist on a Bloody Mary. - 69 Colebrooke Row, London www.69colebrookerow.com www.findeatdrink.com/Index/Drink/Entries/2014/6/4_creative_cocktails_london.html
4. Unexpected bar design - 41 Grados, Spain www.41grados.es
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FOLLOWERS NOT PATRONS
1. Food is the new music www.lostincatering.com/lostincatering/Food_the_new_music.html
2. Mario Batali’s Twitter Followers 3. Bone Martini - Cocktail created with roasted chicken bones by molecular mixologist White Lyan www.bartend.com/news.php?id=92
4. Ceiling of Le Jules Verne Restaurant, Eiffel Tower, France 5. A webbed presentation plate that matches the ceiling of the restaurant - Le Jules Verne Restaurant, Eiffel Tower, France www.lejulesverne-paris.com 35
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ALTERED STATE
1. Food presentation for the “El Somni� multi - sensory dining experience - El Celler De Can Roca, Spain www.cellercanroca.com/index.htm
2. Tiny raviolo served with a cup of water. When dunked in the water, the envelope of pasta disappears. - El Bulli, Spain www.elbulli.com www.stayatstovedad.com/stay_at_stove_dad/2011/07/review-of-el-bulli-cooking-in-progress.html
3. Kinetic sculpture that you can eat - Alinea, USA www.alinearestaurant.com
4. Above & Beyond cocktail. An inflated pillow as a garnish, that releases eucalyptus vapours when it bursts and also contains a small bag of Guatemalan worry dolls. - Artesian Bar, UK www.puretravel.com/blog/2013/12/05/inside-the-worlds-best-bar-artesian-at-the-langham 37
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FIRST NAME BASIS “After 10 glorious years as Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, the restaurant underwent a major renovation, and a name change, to reopen as a more relaxed and contemporary environment.�
1. Walnut orgeat cocktail - Pollen Street Social, UK www.diffordsguide.com/class-magazine/read-online/en/2012-11-27/page-4/diy
2. The Sonic Cake Pop, served with a telephone number. Depending on the sound you choose, you can change the taste from bitter to sweet. - House of Wolf, UK www.messi-palate.com/house-of-wolf-n1/#sthash.dCqUEkd8.dpuf www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/the-5-senses-of-flavour-how-colour-and-sound-can-make-your-dinner-taste-better/ article9957597
3. Food presentation in a birdcage - Zakuro, Japan 4. Even the names of the restaurants is becoming more casual - Marcus, UK
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/09/fine-dining-identity-crisis-end-of-posh-food 39
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AUTOGRAPH
1. Forever young cocktail inspired by the novel “The Picture of Dorian�. A mirror reflecting your image completes the overall experience. - Artesian Bar, UK www.artesian-bar.co.uk www.findeatdrink.com/Index/Drink/Entries/2014/6/4_creative_cocktails_london.html
2. Autograph from the chef on the menu card - The Fat Duck, UK www.thefatduck.co.uk
3. Gordon Ramsay Tattoo 41
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FRONT ROW
1. Magnus Nilsson saws through the bone to extract the marrow from its core in the dining area - F채viken, Sweden www.favikenmagasinet.se/en
2, 3, 6. The waiter is serving butter which is made in house with a Miele butter churn - Vue de Monde, Australia www.vuedemonde.com.au www.ministryofgluttony.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/vue-de-monde-melbourne-victoria-alissa.html
4, 5. Dark Chocolate Dessert - The waiters spreads sauces and crumbles around the entire surface of the table before cracking open the chocolate spheres right in front of the diners - Alinea, USA www.alinearestaurant.com www.refinery29.com/2014/08/72698/alinea-chicago 43
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SMOKE & MIRRORS
1. Peach snow, ‘multi-sensory’ fireworks - Food scientists Bompas & Parr, UK 2. Giant ‘zesty orange’ bubbles, ‘multi-sensory’ fireworks - Food scientists Bompas & Parr, UK www.bompasandparr.com www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2521417/London-2014-multi-sensory-firework-display-Bompas--Parr.html
3. Pheasant tempura-fried with apple cider, impaled on a flaming oak leaf - Alinea, USA www.npr.org/2011/03/03/134195812/grant-achatz-the-chef-who-lost-his-sense-of-taste
4. Fireworks you can smell and taste - Food scientists Bompas & Parr, UK 5. Creating ice cream with liquid nitrogen in the dining area - Dinner, UK www.dinnerbyheston.com
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RAW
1. Edible green-apple helium balloon - Alinea, USA 2. Kinetic pieces spear bites which are to be eaten without hands - Alinea, USA 3. Soup of nitro-frozen sorrel and tea, blueberry brownies, buttermilk cream and macadamia sucked up through a stainless steel straw - Alinea, USA www.alinearestaurant.com
4. Using your hands to pick the olives from the small olive tree - DiverXO, Spain 5. Historic dish of the restaurant served on the top of your hand. - De Librije, Netherlands www.elizabethonfood.com/content/1381/2/De_Librije_-_3_Michelin_stars_%282013_review%29.html 47
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FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY!
1. Ephemeral design. A combination of food, drink and entertainment styles - Sketch Restaurant, London www.aajpress.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/martin-creed-sketch-restaurant-london
2. Dinner created by Eindhoven restaurant Avant-Garde van Groeninge and designer Maarten Baptist for the Dutch Design Week - Netherlands 3. Temporary restaurant inside a greenhouse during Dutch Design Week. Designers team up with leading dutch chefs to create a dinner for guests - Netherlands www.dezeen.com/2007/10/23/eat-drink-design-a-temporary-restaurant-in-a-greenhouse
4. Pop-up Restaurant with a rotating roster of guest chefs. Chef Didier Elena - Chefs club in Aspen, USA 5. Pop-up Restaurant with a rotating roster of guest chefs. Chef Thomas Riordan - Chefs club in Aspen, USA www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/dining/chefs-club-in-aspen-has-plans-to-expand-to-new-york-and-san-francisco.html?_r=0
6. Sky Dining (The Dinner in the Sky concept) over the Vaal River, South Africa www.hotelandrestaurant.co.za/tourism/dinner-in-the-sky-at-emerald-casino
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SOUND & VISION
1. Multi-sensory dining experience called “El Somni”. An opera unfolding over 12 acts/courses. - El Celler De Can Roca, Spain www.elsomni.cat/en www.cellercanroca.com/index.htm www.cntraveller.com/news/2013/april/el-celler-can-roca-el-somni-restaurant
2. Use of technology to achieve a multi-sensory experience. - Ultraviolet, Shanghai www.uvbypp.cc www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/dining/reviews/chinas-dining-acrobatics.html?pagewanted=all
3. Scentee, Mugaritz app that lets users recreate one of the restaurant’s dishes before a device attached to the bottom of the phone kicks out the actual smell of the dish. www.finedininglovers.com/blog/news-trends/scentee-mugaritz-smell-food-phone 51
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SEX, DRUGS & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
1. Ball-shaped spoons used to enhance taste - Jinhyun Jeon in collaboration with De Treeswijkhoeve, Netherlands 2. Cutlery with a rough surface to change the perception of salty, sour, sweet and bitter - Jinhyun Jeon in collaboration with De Treeswijkhoeve, Netherlands 3. Serrated cutlery to stimulate the sense of touch inside the mouth - Jinhyun Jeon in collaboration with De Treeswijkhoeve, Netherlands www.treeswijkhoeve.nl/wb www.jjhyun.com www.dezeen.com/2012/11/18/tableware-as-sensorial-stimuli-cutlery-by-jinhyun-jeon 53
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IS THE BLACK BOX THE NEW WHITE BOX?
1. Zoning, Private dining - Noma, Denmark 2. Zoning, Dining area for smaller groups - Noma, Denmark 3. Zoning, Communal table - Noma, Denmark www.noma.dk www.dezeen.com/2012/11/01/noma-restaurant-by-space-copenhagen 55
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SHOW IS ON!
1. “Black Box” - Vue de Monde, Australia www.vuedemonde.com.au
2. Dark interior design to showcase the food - Attica, Australia www.attica.com.au
3. Dark materials in the interior - Noma, Denmark www.noma.dk
4. Page 58/59: Quality Hotel Expo, Norway, © Trine Thorsen 57
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