4 minute read
INTERVIEW
from EastLife April 2021
by Times Media
Chef Heaven sent
Diners at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Auckland wouldn’t be too far wrong if they described their meal as heavenly! That’s because out in the kitchen, young Sam Heaven is putting his talents to good use after making the finals of this year’s Beef + Lamb NZ Young Ambassador Chef competition.
Elated at making it to the final three in the Beef + Lamb NZ Young Ambassador Chef contest, Sam Heaven is likely to be in 7th heaven should he take out the top prize, to be announced in early April.
“It was great to meet the other two competitors – they were both very talented – but I’m hoping to make a good showing with my two contemporary dishes which, naturally, embrace both beef and lamb.
“If I win, I feel the opportunity to be a beef and Lamb ambassador will definitely help me gain more confidence cooking with New Zealand beef and lamb and is sure to help grow my career.
“I entered [the competition] because I wanted to achieve a better understanding of the ‘farm to table’ journey of beef and lamb and discover what I could better do as a chef to devise and promote premium beef and lamb dishes in the kitchen.
Working in a fine dining restaurant, Sam says the effort to achieve perfection sometimes creates a lot of waste and it was this which inspired his beef entry – “I wanted to work on a dish that had all the elements of perfection but without the waste,” he explains.
Choosing to showcase New Zealand wagyu beef, aged in Koji and Kombu cooked in cultured butter, bone marrow, onion, bluff oyster emotion, fig leaf and micro shiso seasoned with sea water, it was served with chargrilled bluff oysters cooked is Wagyu fat, pickled baby pine cones, buttermilk and pine oil.
By ageing the beef in koji then wrapping it in kombu, Sam says the idea was to create an “umami boom of flavours.”
“I also used all the off-cuts to add depth of flavour. This is where the idea of ‘beef salt’ came into play; I used it to finish the dish by micro planning over the rested steak.”
Using bone marrow to further minimise wastage whilst adding an extra level of flavour and fat, Sam cooked his steak by emulsifying together two fats – the roasted bone marrow and cultured butter with thyme and garlic which he used to baste his steak.
“To finish I sprayed the herbs with sea water to season them just as you would season any other component on the plate. Subsequently, I believe my dish showcased beef as the star but also gave an underlining flavour to all the components. This shows just how versatile New Zealand beef can be.”
Keen to work with Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chefs to learn more about how he can improve himself in this quarter, Sam says his early interest in cooking came from growing up in Hawkes Bay where his family owned a bakery. However, his culinary passion was developed at high school where he learned to cook traditional dishes although, eventually, that wasn’t the way he wanted to go.
“On finishing school I wanted to carve my own path with my own style of food. The food I prepare now is all about pushing the boundaries and with a minimalistic approach. I’m inspired by Nordic food but like to use native New Zealand produce.
“To become the best, you need to have your own style and your own way of doing things, it’s all about developing your personality on a plate.”
Sam says it is important for him to cook with New Zealand beef and lamb because it is such a big part of New Zealand culture and is highly regarded around the world.
In addition to his beef dish Sam also prepared for the competition a beeswax aged lamb saddle cooked in lacto fermented tomato and fallen leaves, sunflower seed purée, nasturtiums oil and nasturtiums capers, served alongside lamb neck and caviar tart with lamb nasturtium tea.
Created to be a main course within a nine-course tasting menu, he says it was designed to tell guests a bit about where he grew up in the Hawkes Bay – on an olive grove surrounded by lambs and beehives! elements grown in the area or which could be foraged from around my hometown, including bees wax from my grandfather’s bee hives. I wrapped the lamb saddle in the beeswax to age it.”
Matching his lamb saddle with a braised lamb neck tart, which included an olive compote to reflect the olive grove on his family property, once again Sam aimed for minimum waste. As a result he also made a lamb tea brewed from the bones and served with a nasturtium oil.
“I incorporated fallen leaves which I found while walking to work; these helped create a picture of lambs in the paddocks back home whilst also adding extra flavour.”
And, as a further nod to his Hawkes Bay roots, for the plating he used rocks from a river where he used to swim just five minutes away from his family home.
“I tried really hard to make sure everything on my lamb dish had a meaning or formed part of the story of my heritage. I wanted the dish to spark a conversation and allow the eater and myself to connect and share our memories of lamb .”
