SOMMELIER

J.C. Santana

THE BASTION COLLECTION

2021 MIAMI

SOMMELIER AWARD

PRESENTED BY WINES FROM SPAIN

jota_se_ / thebastioncollection

Favorite tool: I was gifted a Code38 wine key, and I am now completely spoiled by this luxury. at being said, I use my bell jigger with equal frequency and joy. Most important pairing rule: Find the balance. Favorite high-low pairing: I have really been loving the wines of Château La Négly from La Clape in the Languedoc with a spiced duck. Wine list you admire from afar: Some of my fondest memories exploring old wine were at Bern's Steak House in Tampa. Advice to your younger self: Putting menus/concepts together is a lot like DJing. If you only play music you love and no one is dancing, have you done a good job? Drawn to Miami’s nightlife, Juan Carlos “J.C.” Santana aspired to be an international DJ. But as he says, cool doesn’t always pay the bills. DJing did bring him to the hospitality world, which developed his interests in whiskey and craft beer. He attended FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management with the intention of becoming a brewer, but a study abroad trip to Rioja set him on a path toward wine. In 2014, he applied to one job at a brewery and one as an assistant sommelier at Juvia, and Juvia got back to him rst. He stayed on for a year before getting hired at the newly opened Coya Miami in 2015 as a sommelier. He knew he wasn’t ready to run his own wine program but faked it until Wine Spectator lauded Coya’s wine list and he was promoted to bar manager. When Coya closed in 2017, Santana stayed with the company to help open and manage other concepts. But by 2019, he wasn’t sure he wanted to settle in Miami. He traveled for work and tried to decide what to do, but then he received an o er that he wouldn’t turn down for anything: the opening of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Miami. At the beginning of 2021, he was promoted to beverage director of the entire company, e Bastion Collection. Pairing with the famed dishes of these restaurants is no easy task, but Santana does it with thoughtfulness and passion.

RUSSO CHRISTINE PHOTO:

Wagyu ribeye, spring onion, rhubarb, bell pepper, parsley

Chef James Friedberg of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Adapted by StarChefs

INGREDIENTS

Parsley Purée:

500 grams parsley, large stems removed Salt 6.2 grams agar agar 25 grams mayonnaise Black pepper

Rhubarb Compote:

50 grams sugar 150 grams red wine vinegar 2 grams black peppercorns 2 grams cardamom 5 grams ginger ¼ white onion, minced Olive oil 400 grams rhubarb, peeled and diced Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Spring Onion Soubise:

500 grams spring onions, green tops removed and sliced 20 grams French butter 250 grams Idaho potato, peeled and diced 50 grams chicken bouillon 25 grams crème fraîche Salt Black pepper

Blistered Bell Pepper:

1 bell pepper, seeds removed 20 grams clari ed French butter 2 grams salt

Pastry Cups:

1 package feuilles de brick French butter, softened

To Assemble and Serve:

Fresh Origins edible owers Herbs Lone Mountain Wagyu ribeye, trimmed to 5-ounce portions Sea salt Black pepper mignonette

SUGGESTED PAIRING

Garnacha Tintorera/Moravia Agria, Envínate, “Albahra,” Vinos Mediterraneos, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, 2018

“ is lovely, organic wine from the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain showcases red fruits, oral characteristics, baking spices, and herbs. Its structure and acidity make it excellent for cutting through the richness of the petite wagyu ribeye while the oral and spice notes play with the blistered bell pepper and rhubarb tartlet. A match that, in my humble opinion, brings a smile to the guest with every bite.”

–J.C. Santana METHOD

For the Parsley Pureé:

Blanch parsley in salted boiling water until tender. Shock in ice water, then transfer to a Vitamix blender. Add agar agar, then blend until smooth. Transfer blended parsley to a small pot. Over high heat, bring to a boil, then immediately remove parsley from heat and spread onto a at tray or baking sheet. Let chill until solid. Transfer back to Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. Pass through a ne mesh strainer, then stir in mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.

For the Rhubarb Compote:

In a small sauce pot, caramelize sugar until light brown. Quickly deglaze with vinegar, then add peppercorns, cardamom, and ginger. Cook to syrupy consistency, then remove from heat and set aside. In a separate pot, add onion and a small amount of olive oil; sweat until soft and translucent. Remove ginger and spices from sugar mixture, then add sugar mixture to rhubarb. Cook until all liquid has evaporated. Finish with lemon zest and juice. Let cool to room temperature.

For the Spring Onion Soubise:

In a medium pot over medium heat, cook spring onions in butter until soft. Add potato and chicken bouillon; cook until most of the moisture has evaporated and potato is tender. Transfer to a Vitamix blender and blend until smooth. Lightly blend in crème fraîche, then pass through a mesh strainer. Adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper.

For the Blistered Bell Pepper:

Using a blow torch, burn the skin of the pepper. Transfer to a sous vide bag with clari ed butter and salt. Cook in a water bath at 88°C for 15 minutes. Cool at room temperature and cut out with ring molds.

For the Pastry Cups:

Brush 1 sheet of feuilles de brick with butter. Stack with another sheet and repeat process until you achieve 3 layers. Punch out rounds with a ring mold, then set each round between two metal tart molds. Cook at 375°F for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from molds and let cool to room temperature.

To Assemble and Serve:

Place one Pastry Cup on the right side of a serving plate. Spoon a small amount of Rhubarb Compote inside the Pastry Cup. Top with a Blistered Bell Pepper ring, then ll with Spring Onion Soubise. Garnish Pastry Cup with owers and herbs. On the left side of the serving plate, place a small dot of Parsley Purée, then make 3 points out of the dot using a toothpick. Cook ribeye as desired, slice, then place 4 slices in the middle of the serving plate. Garnish ribeye with sea salt and black pepper mignonette and sauce with natural beef jus split generously with beef fat.

Featured ingredients: Lone Mountain Wagyu ribeye, Butter of Europe, Fresh Origins edible owers Featured equipment: Vitamix Commercial blender

NEW OLD FAS HIO NED

ILLUSTRATED BY BECKI KOZEL At Basque-inspired restaurant Leku, the Jamón Ibérico is a pillar of the menu (and rightfully so). e salty, sweet, nutty, cured ham synonymous with the Iberian Peninsula takes many forms throughout the menu, including in unexpected territory: the cocktail list. With an ingredient as precious to Spain as cheese is to France or Modelos are to a kitchen walk-in, why let any of it go to waste? Beverage Director Maria Pottage assures us that Leku uses as much of the precious pork as possible to pay respect to the farmers and artisans behind it. So she crafted the Pan con Tomate Old Fashioned (recipe on page 84), a super sippable umami bomb of a cocktail with the added bonus of reduced waste.

First, Pottage uses scraps left behind after the Ibérico leg is sliced to fatwash bourbon, infusing the whiskey with silky body and the smoky salinity found in markets throughout Spain. throughout Spain.

Pottage then makes a crystal-clear tomato water by triple ltering seasonal tomato juice, which leaves behind a rich, purée-like substance for Leku’s Gazpacho Maria cocktail. And so one ingredient inspires a handful of items t for La Boqueria.

All that’s left is to add a couple of bar spoons full of simple syrup and a garnish of that Cinco Jotas Jamón Ibérico, thinly sliced and skewered, and you’ve got yourself a ham cocktail, no pig left behind.