WG Magazine August 2018

AUGUST WG MAGAZINE 2018

SEBASTIAN FRANK

AUSTRIAN CLASSIC

GUILLERMO CRUZ

SAKE PAIRING

VINEET BHATIA THE TASTE

www.wgmagazines.com

JOSEAN ALIJA

7 SUMMER DISHES WG August 2018 -

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THE CULINARY MAGAZINE BY ALFREDO RUSSO

IT’S ALL ITALIAN...

FROM ITALY & AROUND THE WORLD!

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HEINRICH SCHNEIDER

TERRA - THE MAGIC PLACE

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PIEDMONTESE CUISINE

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CULINARY TOUCH IN PUGLIA WG August 2018 -

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Contemporary Italian cuisine by

World Renowned Three Michelin Star Chef Heinz Beck

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For reservations call +971 4 8182 155 | +971 4 818 2222 | Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah | www.waldorfastoria.com/Dubai

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For more than 80 years, Bragard supports women and men who give the best of themselves everyday at work to ignite their client’s taste buds.

Combining tradition and inovation, professional workwear from Bragard gained unparalled reputation thanks to its quality and make the biggest names of the culinary and hospitaly world proud.

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Good taste isn’t expensive

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Suite 214, Hamsa (A) Office Tower, Za’beel Road Karama, Dubai, United Arab Emirates P.O.Box 300450, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 4 3705269 I Fax: +971 4 2947442 - WG August 2018 E-mail : info@conceptplusstyle.com I osama@conceptplusstyle.com www.conceptplusstyle.com

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Jean-Georges Dubai showcases a comfortable indoor layout with a jade, cozy garden.

While providing a fine atmosphere of an outdoor vivid lounge and stunning interiors, Jean-Georges Dubai offers its guests the chance to enjoy multiple evenings with live entertainment, a Friday brunch with an exquisite menu created by 2 Michelin Star Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten paired with impeccable service. The restaurant presents a warm ambiance that captures Dubai’s affinity throughout the day to uphold a late night.

JG Dubai is a preferred venue for many celebrities who have chosen it as a trendy destination to celebrate their events or simply to enjoy the exquisite dishes and service. Guests who have joined us in the past include key members of royal families in the UAE as well as international names such as Russell James, Franca Sozzani, Nargis Fakhri, Paolo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf, Dwight Yorke, and Christian Louboutin.

Four Seasons Resort Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai

Book at +971 4 343 6118

info@jean-georges-dubai.com | www.jean-georges-dubai.com

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Set amid the storied arches of Chijmes, fine dining restaurant, Whitegrass paves the way for a renewed style of Modern Australian cuisine.

Featured in Asia's 50 Best Restaurant List 2018 and awarded one Michelin star 2017

For reservations visit our website at W W W. W H I T E G R A S S . C O M . S G

or email reservation@whitegrass.com.sg

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For enquiries phone - +65 6837 0402 30 Victoria St, #01-26/27 Chijmes, Singapore 187996

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AWARNESS IS FINE BUT ADVOCACY TAKES YOUR BRAND TO THE NEXT LEVEL info@wgkonnect.com

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The concept of Abyat is to combine food and music in the perfect ambiance making it the ultimate ex�erience in savouring authentic and flavorf�l Lebanese dishes.

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DISCOVER FIJI WATER.

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Simply Italian brings to Dubai, the ultimate Italian experience, exploring the superior culinary skills with mouthwatering dishes. With a vibrant & colorful terrace, Simply Italian offers a charming atmosphere while dining by the beach.

Opening Hours

Sunday to Thursday : 12pm to 1am | Friday to Saturday : 12pm to 2am

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Culinary Arts can give new life to children... we make it our mission to identify talented, underprivileged children with culinary ambitions and provide opportunities that otherwise would have been beyond their reach‌

Grant MacPherson

WO’GOA Foundation Ambassador An inspirer, innovator and perfectionist - Grant encompasses all the qualities that deserving children can glean from a role model!

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The Pearl - WG Martin Benn August - Sepia, 2018 Sydney, Australia

partnered with SKD ACADEMY the culinary institute in the Philippines

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DUTY DUTYFREE FREE PRODUCTS PRODUCTS & & BONDED BONDED STORES STORES

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Real Madrid Café is a space where the passion for Real Madrid, football and socializing becomes one.

With two levels and two massive screens, Real Madrid Café, The Beach, JBR is the ultimate hangout for live matches while enjoying the beachfront location. Offering all-time comfort food favorites like burgers & wings, a wide selection of creative mocktails and shisha flavors, Real Madrid Café creates the perfect setting for Madridistas and sports enthusiasts a-like to gather and support their teams.

The extensive range of Real Madrid merchandise, including over 40 exclusively signed

pieces of memorabilia, ensures to give all shoppers and diners the ultimate football experience. Real Madrid Café also hosts a variety of events and is a popular place for birthday parties of all ages.

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SMOKED WG August 2018 -

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Together we stand strong, dream big and create greater change for causes worldwide.

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THE ULTIMATE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE

The perfect destination for authentic Italian cuisine overlooking the Dubai Fountain and full views of the Burj Khalifa SUNDAY - THURSDAY 12 pm - 12:00 am info@Serafinadubai.com | www.serafinadubai.com SerafinaDubai serafinadxb

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“everyday I work in search of pure tastes and Monviso is clearly the superior mineral water choice for me” Chef Alfredo Russo THE TASTE OF PURITY CAPTURED IN A BOTTLE!

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Editor Feature Editor

Fabian deCastro Maria Lourdes Doug Singer

Contributors

Elisabete Ferreira Michael Hepworth Laura Pedrazzoli

Photography

Victoria Shashirin

FJMdesign WGkonnect Photography Consultant Creative Design Studio Publisher IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

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Cover Image Credit: VINEET BHATIA PHOTO © JALAJ TYAGI

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India’s prominent editor, writer and broadcaster Vir Sanghvi was trying to work out who the first Indian celebrity chef was, and his guess was right - Vineet Bhatia.

Vineet is one of the world’s most exciting, creative and accomplished Indian chefs.

Throughout his career Vineet has created history with his progressive approach to Indian food, transforming perceptions of the cuisine globally through his portfolio of restaurants around the world… The Taste with Vir Sanghvi.

Sebastian Frank associates cooking with childhood memories of his home, and he gives his own unique touch to traditional Austrian dishes, interpreting them in a modern and creative way at HORVÁTH. Sven Wassmer menus always tell stories, he’s been creating his unique taste experiences beyond the mainstream and Dávid Jakabfi brings a perfect dessert from Hungary. Arnout van der Kolk takes us on a culinary journey through different temperature zones at Restaurant C where the magic happens right in front of you. A journey on a plate in London at Rigo with Gonzalo Luzarraga as he puts his own personality in his dishes.

Guillermo Cruz has been loving the world of wine since he was a kid - wine is culture, it is reality in a bottle, but more importantly, it is home.

From Bilbao to Dubai… 7 summer dishes by Josean Alija at Nerua and famed for his imaginative ingredient pairing and beautifully plated dishes, Grégoire Berger creates a unique dining experience with his tasting menu.

Heading to the East to catch up with Ryuki Kawasaki where he has the freedom to explore his individuality, a free reign to his passion and creativity at the iconic Mezzaluna – The Dome at lebua’s finest and highest restaurant in Bangkok. As the gluten-free lifestyle picks up the momentum with its popularity in Singapore, we stop over to meet Diego Jacquet at The Butcher’s Wife. Without sacrificing an ounce of taste, Diego’s comfort food is well-balanced with elements of surprise.

WG likes to thank Vir Sanghvi and Hindustan Times for “The Taste” and indeed Vineet has taken Indian food to the world!

Bon Appétit

FdeCastro

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AUGUST 2018

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CONTENTS

WG MAGAZINE

GONZALO LUZARRAGA RIGO LONDON PHOTO © ROBERTO SAVIO

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50

THE TASTE

60

SAKE PAIRING

76

7 SUMMER DISHES

92

A JOURNEY ON A PLATE

106

RYUKI AT MEZZALUNA

116

OPPOSITES IN PERFECTION

124

A TASTING MENU

144

SWEET IN HUNGARY

154

DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE ZONES

166

GLUTEN FREE

TASTE THE MEMORIES!

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VINEET BHATIA

The Taste

have been trying to work out who the world’s first Indian celebrity chef was. My guess is that it was Vineet Bhatia. The London restaurant where he worked, Zaika, was the first Indian restaurant anywhere in the world to get a Michelin star. (I think Tamarind got one the same year; Atul Kochar was the chef at Tamarind then.) Zaika was owned by Claudio Pulze, one of London’s top restaurateurs, who also owned Aubergine (where Gordon Ramsay won his first Michelin stars). That Pulze should open an Indian restaurant and bracket it with his upmarket French restaurants was regarded as a breakthrough for Indian food; finally the cuisine was being treated as being on par with the best and the ethnic tag that haunted Indian food in the UK had faded.

I VINEET BHATIA TEXT VIR SANGHVI COURTESY HINDUSTAN TIMES

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There were other upmarket Indian restaurants in London, of course, but they tended to be owned by Indians: The Mathranis/Panjabis had Chutney Mary, the Taj owned The Bombay Brasserie, the Khannas ran Tamarind etc. They were seen, essentially, as attempts by Indians to take our cuisine to a higher level.

Pulze’s involvement in Zaika suggested that Indian cuisine had entered the mainstream at the top of the market and Vineet was written about and feted extensively. It helped that, by this time, he knew London well.

He had started out at Kandahar at The Oberoi, Mumbai, given it up and flown off to London with just seven pounds in his pocket --- he had to take the Tube when he landed at Heathrow because he could not afford a cab. He spent five years at Star of India, one of London’s oldest Indian restaurants, which zoomed to the higher reaches of the market when he cooked there. Then, he opened his own, highly regarded, place in Hammersmith but had to abandon it when he fell out with his partners.

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PHOTO © JALAJ TYAGI

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VINEET BHATIA

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COCONUT LIME CHILLI SOUP, SMOKED PRAWN RECHADEO PHOTO © EARL SMITH

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The Zaika job, with its profit-sharing arrangement, gave him the kind of profile that no Indian chef had ever enjoyed in London. Pulze let him act as Chef/Patron and marketed the restaurant on the basis of Bhatia’s name. For many years after Zaika’s Michelin-starred success, Vineet was the only Indian chef that most Londoners had heard of.

Eventually, he built on this reputation to open his own restaurant, Rasoi, which also won a Michelin star and then set up an empire of global consultancies. Some of the Vineet Bhatia-linked restaurants were in the Middle-East but the two that won the most acclaim were in unusual locations. His Mauritius outpost become justly famous and when Mandarin Oriental took over the old Hotel Du Rhone in Geneva and upgraded it to Mandarin standards, they talked to Vineet about opening a restaurant there.

Within Mandarin Oriental, many people thought this was madness: Geneva has no tradition of Indian food. The hotel was more hopeful of its other restaurant which was run by Paul Bocuse. But, against the odds, it was Vineet’s restaurant that took off. When the Michelin stars were announced, Vineet won another star for the Geneva restaurant.

Since then, the Bhatia empire has grown. There are now a dozen consultancies around the world. He even came back in triumph to the Mumbai Kandahar which they turned into a Vineet Bhatia restaurant and renamed Ziya.

For many years after Zaika’s Michelin-starred success, Vineet was the only Indian chef that most Londoners had heard of...

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VINEET BHATIA

TOMATO IDLI, CRAB CHUTNEY, MUSTARD CAVIAR PHOTO © EARL SMITH

Most Indian chefs who have succeeded abroad find the going tough when they open in India. Not Vineet. The Oberoi is making money from Ziya and is delighted that it took a gamble and handed the restaurant over to him - a decision that originally evoked as much internal debate within the Oberoi group as the Geneva restaurant did with Mandarin Oriental.

There have been reverses too. He closed down his London flagship, took on new backers and re-openered with a flourish. Michelin was delighted and the restaurant got a star.

But there were problems with the backers and the restaurant closed just weeks after the Michelin stars were announced.

It doesn’t really matter to Vineet financially; he has a dozen other restaurants. But you get the sense that because London is where he made his reputation, he feels the urge to go back and show a new generation of London Indian chefs how it is really done.

PHOTO © EARL SMITH

CHILLI ROASTED COD, PURPLE POTATO MASH, SQUID INK CORAL PHOTO © EARL SMITH

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PAN GRILLED SCALLOPS, EDAMAME & PEARL COUS COUS, CORIANDER GEL PHOTO © EARL SMITH MEZZALUNA – THE DOME AT LEBUA

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VINEET BHATIA

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VINEET BHATIA SHAKING HANDS WITH HER ROYAL MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND AT A RECEPTION AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE TO MARK THE OFFICIAL START OF THE UK-INDIA YEAR OF CULTURE - 2017 PHOTO © BUCKINGHAM PALACE

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VINEET BHATIA

POACHED LOBSTER, MALABAR SAUCE, DHOKLA, SQUID INK FOAM PHOTO © EARL SMITH

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HOME SMOKED TANDOORI SALMON, CUCUMBER KETCHUP, PEA POWDER PHOTO © EARL SMITH

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SESAME STICKY GLAZE PORK LOIN, BEANS THORAN, CRISP IDDIYAPAM, APPLE-CALVADOS CHUTNEY PHOTO © EARL SMITH

I did not know Vineet when he was in India, nor did I ever go to Zaika, even when the hype surrounding the restaurant was at its highest pitch. This was not because I had anything against him. It was simply that most London Indian restaurants bore me - and it is a long way to go to eat Rogan Josh, even if they pour the gravy over the shank and make a song and dance about the presentation.

But Rasoi received such rave reviews that I decided I had to go myself.

It is no exaggeration to say that I was blown away by his tasting menu. In those days, over a decade ago, London Indian food was about presentation and not about flavour.

But Vineet’s food was more than tasty: it showed flair and imagination.

PHOTO © EARL SMITH

SESAME CRUSTED BEETROOT TIKKI, STIR FRIED OKRA, KORMA SAUCE PHOTO © EARL SMITH

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VINEET BHATIA

“the chocolate samosa, his most copied signature dish”

Over the years, many of the dishes that we have now came to associate with modern Indian food were created by Vineet.

It was his idea to turn naans, long regarded as a side-dish, into the stars of the meal. The blue cheese naan and the mushroom/truffle naan are Vineet inventions. So is the idea of using an ice-cream machine to change the texture of familiar flavours. The most famous example is the makhni sauce ice-cream but at Ziya he does a great dahi balla icecream. Though he never gets much credit for this, his kheer ice-cream is also brilliant.

SUBZ POTLI ZIYA, THE OBEROI, MUMBAI

Then there is the chocolate samosa, his most copied signature dish.He was the first chef I know of to make khichris (rather than risottos) with unusual flavours and pair them on his plates with meats. And there are the flavour combinations: grated chocolate on lobster or coffee on kababs. Sometimes it is hard to remember that Vineet started all this: the dishes have been so influential that often younger chefs who toss off variations, do not recall that Vineet was the original inventor.

You can’t really copyright or patent recipes so Vineet is philosophical about the imitation though I sometimes feel that he made the transition from good chef to globally famous celebrity chef too fast. In the process, people focussed on the fame but missed the seminal contributions to the advancement of our cuisine.

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GOLD BLACK CHICKEN ZIYA, THE OBEROI, MUMBAI

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PHOTO © JALAJ TYAGI

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VINEET BHATIA

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PHOTO © EARL SMITH

WG MAGAZINE

“It is Rashima who looks after the business, oversees the expansion and is far more ambitious for Vineet than Vineet is himself ”

A curious lack of ambition and an unwillingness to show off are Vineet’s most surprising characteristics. I doubt very much if his empire would have grown had it not been for Rashima, his wife, who manages both his career and their lives together.

They met through an ad in the matrimonial columns and perhaps unusually for two people who were part of an arranged marriage, quickly became two halves of the same whole. Rashima, who had no catering background, first started looking after the front of the house at his restaurants and then, starting handling Vineet’s financial affairs. She was the one who told him that as celebrated as he was at Zaika, he needed to get out and open his own restaurant if he hoped to make any money.

It is Rashima who looks after the business, oversees the expansion and is far more ambitious for Vineet than Vineet is himself. It is an arrangement that he is happy with. He has never understood money and shies away from confrontation.

Perhaps as a consequence Rashima has taught herself to be the tough, disagreeable one who will fight corporate collaborators and the managements of hotels where Vineet has restaurants. Nearly everyone who has dealt with the couple is a little scared of Rashima, which is how they want it.

BEETROOT MOMO, BEETROOT POWDER, CRUSHED CASHEW NUT CHIKKI, BEETROOT MACROON, PINEAPPLE - SAFFRON CHUTNEY PHOTO © EARL SMITH

The bond between them is deep and they are obviously very in love. Some years ago, at a chef’s conference, I was interviewing Vineet on stage and we talked about how Rashima had pawned her jewellery to get the money Vineet required to open his restaurant when suddenly, without any warning at all, Vineet burst into tears. We had to pause till he composed himself again before we could resume our conversation. I suspect Rashima is as emotional though she hides it behind an air of aggression.

BLACKENED SEABASS AMRITSARI PHOTO © EARL SMITH

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VINEET BHATIA

CHAI PANNA COTTA, CARDAMOM CREAM, CHAI MUFFINS PHOTO © CHRISTOPHER PAPPAN

It is rare for a chef of Vineet’s standing to rethink his food at this stage of his career...

The Bhatias are now at the stage where there are few mountains left for them to climb. The mess in London endures and I imagine that their top priority is to sort it out and open again. But apart from that, it is hard to see how Vineet can top what he has already achieved. Rashima talks about consulting for three more international restaurants (“fifteen is a much better figure than twelve”) and she is constantly evaluating the offers that keep pouring it.

As for Vineet, I think he is happy just cooking. At dinner at Ziya, he served me a meal that was radically different from the first meal I had eaten at Rasoi all those years ago. This food was meant for sharing, the flavours were sharper and it reflected influences from a newer India: a street food dish from Indore, a fun take on Indian-Chinese chilli chicken and an uttapam with prawns, for instance.

It is rare for a chef of Vineet’s standing to rethink his food at this stage of his career. But Vineet never stops travelling, never stops picking up ideas and his food just keeps getting more and more interesting. As does Vineet himself.

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BAKED CREAMS, POPPING CANDY MIKADO PHOTO © CHRISTOPHER PAPPAN

WG MAGAZINE

DATE PLATTER - DATE SEEKH, DATE & CARAMEL CAKE, DATE LASSI PHOTO © CHRISTOPHER PAPPAN

SAFFRON SHAHI TUKRA, ROSE BRÛLÉE, PISTACHIO CRUMBLE PHOTO © CHRISTOPHER PAPPAN

ZUCCHINI HALWA TART, GOATS CHEESE ICE CREAM PHOTO © CHRISTOPHER PAPPAN

LAGAN NU CUSTARD, ALMOND GLASS, VIOLET JALEBI PHOTO © CHRISTOPHER PAPPAN

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SEBASTIAN FRANK

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WG MAGAZINE

hen Sebastian Frank first set foot in HORVÁTH, he was surprised. He had just left a five-star establishment in Austria and was expecting to enter a gourmet restaurant. Instead he found himself in a snug restaurant which embodies Austrian hospitality. He fell in love immediately with the individuality and special charm of the place which could only be created where not everything is perfect. The kitchen, too, was not equipped to the standard to which Frank was accustomed, but he began to improvise, and looking back, he says: “We made a lot out of not very much.”

SEBASTIAN FRANK

Taste the Menories!

PHOTO © WHITEKITCHEN

In 2011 he received his first Michelin star, then in 2014 when the owners decided to devote themselves to a different project, Sebastian made a quick decision, he and his partner Jeannine Kessler, became the new owners of HORVÁTH. In 2015, they received their second Michelin star and they have made this traditional culinary address into one of the leading gourmet restaurants in town.

At HORVÁTH you taste the memories, that’s the conviction of chef de cuisine and owner Sebastian Frank, he associates cooking with his childhood memories of his home, he gives his own unique touch to traditional Austrian dishes, interpreting them in a modern and creative way. In his kitchen, vegetables are equal to meat and fish. They are all actors on an equal footing that can take on various roles depending on whether they are used to spice up a dish, lend consistency or play the lead. He has developed his very own unmistakeable style of cooking with vegetables.

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SEBASTIAN FRANK

“When I plate a dish, I show the food in its nature, just like it is.

I am not a fan of over the top presentation.

Nature makes the art for us.”

Sebastian Frank

This unconventional, decorated restaurant is at the heart of Kreuzberg’s Kiez district, does without any pomp and circumstance, and here you will find the living embodiment of Austrian hospitality. The conscious treatment of food is writ large, and that is why Frank concentrates on products from the region and from his home country of Austria.

They form the basis for Berlin’s most daring cuisine which awakens memories you thought were gone with its unique combinations of contrasts, aromas and creative ideas.

WG catches up with Sebastian Frank…

It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion for cooking and where they grew up…

I made the decision to become a chef when I was thirteen years old. There were cooking lessons at my local school, the lessons where already based on Austrian cooking, which is also what I do now.

You trained at some of the best kitchens, how has it helped you as a chef?

My experience is based on the Austrian classic cuisine, which I learnt in down to earth restaurants at the beginning and then in high level restaurants later on. The years I spent working at these places, helped me a lot on developing my own Austrian style and it has influenced my cooking in great fashion ever since. I would say that it is the red line in my philosophy. I thank two people in particular, for teaching me everything - Walter Schulz from Restauarant Steirereck in Vienna and Christoph Zangerl, my chef at Interalpen Hotel Tyrol in Austria.

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SEBASTIAN FRANK

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WG MAGAZINE

“my greatest influence is traditional Austrian cuisine”

Your cuisine highlights the purity of flavors in perfect harmony on each plate, a perfect balance…

I think it is actually not that hard to create the right balance, you just have to be patient and mindful. If you bring saltiness, sweetness, fat and acid in the right balance, you could handle every kind of dish. As you see I am all about simplicity. I believe that cooking is like a simple Vinaigrette.

Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a new dish…

My personal philosophy that I follow is clearly the creation of modern, Austrian inspired dishes, based on vegetables and memories of my childhood. Creating a dish is to pick out the magic moment of traditional food and try to transport the emotions directly to the plate. This comes easy when it flows naturally.

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SEBASTIAN FRANK

Ingredients that inspire you, your favourite ingredients…

I am just working with ingredients with a bonding to my Austrian childhood. I always liked simple things, that’s also what I use in my cooking, I do not use rare or exotic herbs and vegetables. Simple things like parsley, onions are my favourites. I know all of them really well. There was no big struggle mastering them to be honest.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

I don´t like to use too much techniques for cooking, I prepare each ingredient just once. The creativity is the most important thing for me I would say. In reality that means is the use of Austrian flavours which are unknown to a lot of people.

Your earliest food memories, flavours from your childhood…

The best memories I have are the ones of my childhood. I think I will never stop reminiscing my mum’s cooking-style.

What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?

My motivation is to create a welcoming place, where people can lay back, relax and enjoy what we cook for them, also a lively place which allows loud laughter and our guests to be themselves, whoever this is.

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SEBASTIAN FRANK

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What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?

I do not follow cooking trends. It is important to create your own cooking trend and be yourself in the kitchen and on the plate. Do not imitate someone else or try to me anything you are not.

In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

Individuality and Regionality are the key factors. A chef nowadays is trying to show us his story and his background through his individual cooking style.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time‌ I would recommend young chefs not to try to learn their techniques through social media. Stop watching plates on Instagram or Facebook which only focus on the aesthetics of the dish. Like in every job you first have to learn the basics, when you have mastered those you can work your way up to the top. You should start learning and experimenting at a local, simple restaurant which gives you the space for creativity. If you have this base you can create later on dishes with heart and your own individuality.

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GUILLERMO CRUZ

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PHOTO © AITZOL ETXEGOIEN / MUGARITZ

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“I have loved the world of wine since I was a kid”, it is something that is so deeply rooted in him that studying and looking for unique wine producers is not an effort for him, it is a huge pleasure. Professionally speaking, he is really strict with himself but it is about character, it is an effort that is part of who he is. He thinks that it is important to build his own path and not to get trapped in the comfort zone and once he has reached one of his goals, he look for a new ones. That constant search sustains the tension, the hunger of learning, travelling to meet those people who are behind the bottles and whose philosophy is the one that makes the wine genuine. That aim makes him understand producers, as it is fundamental to show it in the dining room of Mugaritz.

“It is one of the most enriching experiences, as a person and as a sommelier”

GUILLERMO CRUZ

In his house there is an important culture around wine. He can’t remember any meals in which his father, his uncles or grandparents didn’t drink a glass of wine. For Guillermo, wine is culture, it is reality in a bottle, but more importantly, it is home. The path to being a sommelier… “In this context, I decided I wanted to be sommelier when I was a child. It is weird for me to see a meal without wine – except when you are at work. When I was a child I really loved to understand what was behind a glass of wine. My mother forced me to keep studying, she made me finish school and to go to Gastronomy School before I got my Sommelier degree.” That’s when everything started, he began learning while at his Enology Master’s Degree, and then the WCT came. It might seem like a contradiction, but, even though he didn’t really like school, in his life the act of studying and learning has never stopped.

This passion transcends all the aspects of Guillermo’s life.

When he travels on holidays with his wife, he loves to visit new places, but he always need a moment to visit interesting wineries. It is another way of understanding the local culture.

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GUILLERMO CRUZ

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WG catches up with Guillermo Cruz, Head Sommelier and Head of the Front of House team of Mugaritz…

How much of a skill is required to properly pair food and wine?

Can anyone learn to do it expertly, or do you need a natural flair?

I believe everything is about training, effort and being constant.

In Mugaritz, from every corner of the kitchen, you can read on the wall a sentence: “The possible of the impossible lies in the willingness of the human being” I agree with the values that lie behind this sentence and I understand that, with work, sacrifice, and passion you can reach the goals you have. I can see that this values are reflected in our sommelier team, in our FOH team, the research and development team.

The only way I think that is not possible to create a wine pairing is without eating and drinking. You cannot pair using your memory as a tool, it is important to taste, to try different combinations, to play, to experience.

I would like to add that pairing wine and food is an act of a thousand combinations that could match, but I believe the unique way of merging the solid and the liquid part is to pair stories. To create emotional harmonies which are a new language themselves to communicate, through gastronomy, a feeling, the effort of a local producer, a moment that only two people who shared it can transmit it…

EVERYTHING CHANGES PHOTO © JOSE LUIS LOPEZ DE ZUBIRIA / MUGARITZ

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You closely worked with Natsuki Kikuya, how did it help and influence you as a sommelier and what was the experience?

Working with Natsuki Kikuya is truly amazing because she has a unique vision: the perspective of a woman who was born in a Tojis family, who are Kura owners, and, at the same time, a person who understands Europe and its society.

Sake is a cultural matter to her. When you listen to her talking about sake, she is actually speaking about her family. Sake means home to her, it is her childhood. She has helped us to build our sake menu with the goal of creating an amazing list that can help you travel to Japan through its liquid part. Outside Japan there is not a deep sake culture, and Natsuki has helped us understand that this drink is an artisan’s work that needs a context to be enjoyed, because the unknown tends to generate rejection. She has helped along this path.

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ORYZAE STYLE PHOTO © JOSE LUIS LOPEZ DE ZUBIRIA / MUGARITZ

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GUILLERMO CRUZ

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7TH HAKE IN WHITE, ‘DOBUROKU’ PHOTO © JOSE LUIS LOPEZ DE ZUBIRIA / MUGARITZ

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What is the Sake philosophy at Mugaritz, take us through the process of pairing Sake...

Mugaritz has been connected to Japan almost since the project started in 1998. I could say that some people from our team could have been born there, for their common values with Japan, for their way of thinking. In 2010, when our kitchen caught on fire and we had to close the restaurant, that connection to Japan had its peak; although we were so far away from them, Japanese chefs, culinary journalists and other people from the world of gastronomy in that country were amazing to us in those difficult moments. Now, our connection has gone one step further and we connect with them through emotional harmonies.

Our first sake harmony were crab threads with a macadamia nuts cream, a dish with artisan textures that was perfect to pair with a Junmai Daiginjo. After that, we evolved the concept and now we use dishes to give context to sake and its culture. In 2017, someone brought to us a jewel: a unique Doburoku bottle we had never seen before, one of those sakes that finish the fermentation inside the bottle, a deeply traditional style which is served in the houses of sake producers. Something that special could only be served to our diners with something really special for Mugaritz. We decided to use a creative exercise, we had been promoting in the last six years to show sake: it is called ‘hake in white’ and it is a way to leave a really narrow space to creativity, because of two rules: use hake (a product rooted in Basque Country kitchens, and with an amazing texture) and the dish has to be served only with white ingredients. The seventh hake in white from Mugaritz, in 2017, was a hake with Doburoku.

This year, for example, we serve a fermented rice with lobster, and another different rice fermented with a caramel coated koji. We show, in the solid part of this emotional harmony, two different fermentation processes, and, in the liquid part, we share with our diners four glasses at the same time, with two Koshus and two Junmai Daiginjo, to give the opportunity to understand the differences between different ways of polishing rice for sakes and different fermentation processes, Nowadays, we have a sake menu divided in different kinds of rice, with around 90 references from almost all the prefectures of Japan.

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GUILLERMO CRUZ

Appearance, Aroma, Bouquet, Taste, Aftertaste and Overall Impression are some of the factors considered for a good Sake – take us through the process of selecting the Sake’s for Mugaritz.

Right now we have 90 different sakes.

To get there, we have probably tasted around 3.000. In the end, the key point to get certain sake to Mugaritz is to, of course we look for technically good sakes, but the main factor is the emotional part of them, sakes with a story to be shown, sakes that can bring to diners hidden values of Japanese culture. We like to have the most quantity of different kinds of rice and the most number of prefectures represented.

We also believe that more than one reference from the same producer must be in Mugaritz, because it is the way to respect and honor their style.

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THE VOLCANIC AGE PHOTO © JOSE LUIS LOPEZ DE ZUBIRIA / MUGARITZ

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Your passion to taste, learn, and especially to share your expertise on wine continues to grow...

What keeps you motivated?

Basically, in the wine world you never stop learning. It is impossible to know everything. I guess that, once you are close to that point of feeling that you know everything, the reality of what you feel evolves and you have to start learning again. That is simply amazing.

I love talking about the stories behind the wines. I love making people happy, having the chance of doing so, of sharing that moment with people who have a deep knowledge of the world of wine and with those who don’t, but who are curious. There is something else that is really special to me and that makes everything have a sense: the time the R&D team from Mugaritz and I share to search for stories, to create new ideas, to go further around emotional harmonies.

Having the opportunity to be part of a creative process is a gift to me and I’m thankful for Andoni and all the R&D team.

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GUILLERMO CRUZ

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WHOLE MACKEREL PHOTO © JOSE LUIS LOPEZ DE ZUBIRIA / MUGARITZ

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In your opinion best Sake’s and

which are the the best wines?

I like sakes from Dassai, from the Yamaguchi prefecture.

I’m fan of Matsumoto, from Kyoto prefecture, and Dewazakura from Yamagata prefecture.

There are so many wines all over the world that it is really difficult for me to choose...

But I could talk to you about German Riesling wines, all the wines from Maria José López de Heredia and her family winery Viña Tondonia, in Rioja, all the world of Sherry wines.

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GUILLERMO CRUZ

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HAKE WITH ASPARAGUS AND SAKE PHOTO © JOSE LUIS LOPEZ DE ZUBIRIA / MUGARITZ

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How important is it to properly pair food and wine?

It is important because you can bring the dish or the wine to another level. It is important to do so with ideas, values that you really share, that are not artificial to you, with a story that makes sense.

“If you don’t properly pair food and wine you can break the coordination between the solid and the liquid part, you can create confusion”

It is always about balancing the solid and the liquid part, to let them have a conversation between equals.

That’s when you manage to get to a higher level.

How is the art of food and wine pairing evolving?

Some years ago, when they started talking about pairings, there were wines for pairings, basic wines with a good relationship between the quality and their price.

Nowadays, few restaurants invest great wines in pairings, the common idea is to keep with that first scenario, while the dishes of a degustation menu are all high class dishes.

That is something that can create confusion, because you serve high level dishes with ‘regular’ glasses of wine. We share another philosophy, we defend to serve high quality bottles in pairings because it is the only way to reach more people with unique wines. We love to think that this idea can inspire other restaurants and help them walk through this different path, the one that talks about uniqueness and once in a lifetime moments, with the liquid part of the experience. I don’t want to share a 1.500 euros wine with just a table, because it is going to be bought only by someone who can invest that amount. I feel a unique bottle needs to reach more people, some of them who cannot afford to pay 1.500 euros, but who deserve to taste that story behind that bottle. Generosity is the key. There is nothing more beautiful than sharing unique bottles.

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GUILLERMO CRUZ

What does it take to get the qualification for Sommelier of Sake?

There are different courses all over the world. WSET for example, it is taught in London. In fact, Natsuki Kikuya is the teacher there. There are sake lectures organized by the Sake Sommelier Association with different levels of expertise, and Japan hosts many lessons. There are different ways to get knowledge around sakes, and all these organizations make a highly valuable effort to teach sake culture both in Japan and outside that country.

For all those interested in sake, I would give them a small piece of advice: while learning from these teachers, it is really helpful to travel to Japan, to meet the producers, to understand the way they live, the effort being sake, the values that are rooted in this beverage.

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What was the feeling when you were awarded the Best Sommelier in Spain in 2014?

It was a recognition to all the efforts. I remember that year perfectly because it was special,

“I pushed hard to meet the expectations”

I understood how important it is to travel and to have the perspective of the producers behind a bottle, and I learned many values, I understood how far you can get with effort and being humble.

They are values that are part of me and that I try to transmit to the front of house and the sommelier team at Mugaritz.

MALUS DOMÉSTICA PHOTO © JOSE LUIS LOPEZ DE ZUBIRIA / MUGARITZ

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JOSEAN ALIJA

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is secret is his creative process, a tool that he uses to develop his cuisine and the experience at Nerua. Analyzing, reflecting, and adopting different approaches. Since then he has been gradually perfecting, season by season, his style of cuisine: pure, essential, without disguises. Research being the key and essential to analyze products in depth, to learn about their origins, their uses, their properties, and their potential. It involves continuous questioning.

Core, heart, essence… Muina has no literal translation in English. But is the term that best identifies Josean Alija’s way of seeing things and gastronomy. It is the world that best defines him, it refers to the soul, the substance, but also the brain and knowledge.

Josean Alija

Muina is a general concept that encapsulates what Josean Alija is and what he has to offer. It enables the creative process to be viewed as a journey to the source of things, to their roots, allowing their true potential to be developed fully through the description of rounded, complete and pleasurable sensations. This is what Muina holds: a very personal representation of the world and the reality that surrounds Alija. Acceptance, specification and loyalty to a series of values lead him to follow the same path constantly, never straying from it. It is the determination to share knowledge, research, projects, life experiences and emotions.

Muina is the way in which Josean Alija understands a complete gastronomic experience, the unique result of focusing attention on the purity of things.

“Every season, we leave our kitchens to get to know the products in depth. We do it in the company of our producers, who feel Nerua as theirs, they know that without them we could not do what we do. We study every product deeply, from every possible point of view: anthropological, historical, scientific, sensorial... Once we know all the secrets of each product, we experiment with them to merge all those ideas into flavours, textures and memories. We taste it raw, we analyze its flavours and aromas, and try grilling, cooking, scalding, sautéing it to observe how their organoleptic characteristics change. Knowing its history and its flavour, we begin to define the concept of the dish that we want to reach and try to reach it through different combinations. We work to achieve a perfect balance between technique, idea, taste and presentation, in order to find a perfect harmony, which reflects the identity of the product and its essence.”

7 summer dishes by Josean Alija at Nerua…

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JOSEAN ALIJA

Tomatoes in sauce, aromatic herbs and capers

A reflection on interaction between people: a handful of tomatoes. A selection of aromas.

Restlessness. Social encounter. Surprise. This is exactly what I try to convey in this dish. A world that cannot be discovered unless it is experienced, a flavor and different aromas that encourage diners to ask, to comment... to share.

The tomato-flavored water with the aromas of capers is a reference to the very essence of this fruit/ vegetable. The handful of small tomatoes of different varieties, shapes, smells, colors and sizes. A selection of different herbs is infused into the heart of each tomato. A correlation of sauce explosions.

Every mouthful is different; each sensation is unique.

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JOSEAN ALIJA

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Shrimps pod and peach

Different sweet, marine, vegetal and fruit flavors. Nice, pure, delicate.

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JOSEAN ALIJA

Prawn consomme, ‘nata de coco’ and curry

It all started with an invitation to discover an unknown country to me. It was thank to one friend of mind, Chele Gonzalez, with whom I shared knowledge across that stage and who has opened doors to great experiences. Chele fell in love with the Philippines and decided to settle there to start his new project. During my visit to the country, I discovered a product that fascinated me.

For Filipinos, it is a simple traditional dessert, but I saw in it a product with a lot of possibilities. The coconut cream is fermented by bacteria that was made to preserve the food. It has a texture similar to a jelly, which offers many possibilities to be combined with both sweet preparations as salty.

I needed months of study and research to use it in Nerua and to make the most of something so special. Just one example: ‘Prawn consomme, ‘nata de coco’ and curry’. Broths are of the key in my kitchen and through one of them, we achieved to join the soul of the product with the history of a country cuisine.

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JOSEAN ALIJA

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‘Sopako’ bread soup, tomato and anchovy

A slice of bread impregnated in fresh tomato, oil and salted anchovy. Pure umami. Iodine, sea, orchard. Summer. We make a fresh tomato juice in which we cook ‘Sopako’ bread pieces.

‘Sopako’ bread is a traditional bread from Basque Country that become in a kind of flux gel. We season it with a broth elaborated from salted anchovies and a wisp of basil.

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JOSEAN ALIJA

Crayfish, stir-fried tomatoes and pilpilsauce It is common among chefs to speak of simplicity, that simple dishes are always magical: the fried egg, the bread impregnated in the yolk, and what would be of our cuisine without the ‘sofrito’? Our plate of ‘Crayfish, sofrito and pilpil’ has to do with the sofritos, with the short sautéing of a crab tail. With the use of the remainders in the kitchen, which give always much pleasure. We make the most of the rest to make a broth in which the soul of the crab is deposited and to elaborate with it a pilpil, which integrates the crab with the sofrito and awakens an emotion, a memory.

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JOSEAN ALIJA

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White beans with vegetable juice

Fresh ‘pochas’ beans, a creamy texture, sensations of stew, spoon plate, sweet.

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JOSEAN ALIJA

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Inspired by strawberries with cream dessert. It is a delicate contrast, between the creaminess of the ice cream and the crispiness of the strawberries, and the acidity, sweetness and exotic taste of fenugreek. The excitement of discovering something new in everyday life.

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GONZALO LUZARRAGA

GONZALO LUZARRAGA A journey on a plate…

PHOTO © ROBERTO SAVIO

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GONZALO LUZARRAGA

BONE MARROW

aving spent his childhood on the French boarder of Italy in Piedmont. Gonzalo was immersed in food from a young age, he was brought up in a family centered on food, surrounded by diverse flavors, and a rich tapestry of native ingredients. “I would see my grandfather and father cook, and their passion inspired me as I spent my childhood in the kitchen, reading and learning how to cook from my grandfather and father.”

His father was from the Basque region and would cook at home every Sunday and his grandfather, who was a pastry chef, taught him the foundations of cooking and a respect for crafting food with love, passion and skill, an ethos which he built on when he embarked on his journey through Europe, Asia and South America.

As an intelligent child, Gonzalo’s parents wanted him to go to a technical school as being a chef was not as highly regarded as it is today since there were no celebrity chefs and the profession didn’t seem like a big deal. His grandfather was his idol and he was really attached to him but when he passed away, Gonzalo decided to go to cookery school to become a chef, just like him.

He was lucky because the cooking school he chose in Piedmont was well connected with some of the best restaurants in France and Italy. At 15, he did my first stage at a Michelin-Starred restaurant in Piedmont. It was an old French-style restaurant and everything was perfect. It inspired him even more to become a chef.

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SEARED FOIE GRAS

OYSTER

FRESH MOUNTAIN BEEF

PLUMA OF CINTA SENESE

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GONZALO LUZARRAGA

PORCINI BRÛLÉS

VENISON TARTARE

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SPAGHETTONI DEI FIORI

WILD ENOKI

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HAND DIVED ORKNEY SCALLOP

“I was lucky to learn the basics of the kitchen from Alain Ducasse and the creativity from Walter Eynard”

He worked under some of the most progressive chefs in the industry, including Alain Ducasse and Walter Eynard and led several high-profile restaurants. “I was lucky to learn the basics of the kitchen from Alain Ducasse. Alain always found the best ingredient on the market, in terms of both colour and taste. He taught me the importance of ingredients, and how to respect them. Walter was more creative. He used unusual ingredients and he was lucky to have top quality, organic local produce.

He had a modern approach, using less fat for example, and focussing on giving dishes an interesting taste. His parents foraged ingredients in the mountains and the animals used were raised on a strict diet locally. He was one of the first chefs in the world to create a restaurant that is a destination for those living miles away.” adds Gonzalo.

Ducasse helped to push him, teaching him to always strive to perfection and how to respect the ingredients, which reflects in Gonzalo’s cooking while Walter taught him how to be more ethical when sourcing produce, and the importance of sourcing top quality produce, putting this into an innovative dish.

Both Alain Ducasse and Walter Eynard influenced his style of cuisine. Ducasse with his modern French style of cuisine influenced his precision when cooking and Walter for his creativity, always the first to try something new and to be creative. With working both France and Italy, among other countries, Gonzalo takes his inspirations from his experiences and put them into his own style of cuisine, which showcases French, Italian, Spanish and Asian influences.

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GONZALO LUZARRAGA

SEA URCHIN

Your culinary philosophy, the creative approach of creating a dish, the inspiration…

I try to put my own personality in the dishes. I always want guests to remember my dishes when they leave. I try a combination of flavors, of which guests may have never tried before; normally taking inspiration from food I tried in the past to put emotion into my dishes.

WG catches up with Gonzalo Luzarraga…

Your cuisine is a combination of fresh and quality ingredients, creative with the finest produce, creating a composition of flavors which is complex and modest yet impeccably balanced…

My dishes are quite complex so to create balance on the plate, I firstly choose the base ingredient and then elaborate the dish depending on my own taste. Many chefs use sweetness and acidity, whereas I prefer an umami and bitter taste so I put dishes together in this way. I like to use a strong flavor, one that guests will remember, and the rest of the ingredients are chosen to enhance this.

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I usually choose the main ingredient and then choose other ingredients to compliment and enhance that flavour. I decide if I want the flavour to be acidic, sweet, salty or umami, and then find a way to boost the main ingredient. The base ingredient must always be the flavour you are left with, so the experience when eating it is like a rollercoaster of flavours.

Some of my dishes take inspiration from past experiences, such as my childhood or travelling. The Sea Urchin dish on the menu at Rigo was inspired by my childhood. My father gave me my first sea urchin while we were fishing. It was the first taste that really shocked me and I didn’t like it initially, but it is a memory that has stuck with me and fills me with nostalgia.

Other dishes are inspired by my emotions. I like to capture the emotions of the people around me and put it into a dish.

For example, I have a dish on the menu using fava beans.

This reflects the emotions felt when seeing my wife. When we lived apart, it was always bitter sweet when seeing her, as I knew it wasn’t permanent. The strongest flavor of the dish is the cheese, so a little bit of sweet and a little bit of bitter in this dish portrays this.

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BACALAO GADUS

STONE BASS-

NATIVE LOBSTER

WILD SALMON

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GONZALO LUZARRAGA

RISOTTO

FASSONA BEEF

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BEEF TENDONS

SALMON

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WILD DUCK EGG

Ingredients that inspire you, your favourite ingredients, ingredients that you weren’t able to master…

“My favourite ingredient is the sea urchin. It was the first taste that shocked me as a child, and this memory has stuck with me”

I like to work with unusual ingredients to create a new taste, so I like to look into other cultures to find these. I have recently started using seaweed. I like the taste of natural saline. I used to use Bottarga, which is typically used in Italy. I’ve also tried using Ume Shiso from Japan – it tastes like seaweed but it’s made of plums and shiso leaves.

I like to work with unusual ingredients to create a new taste, so I like to look into other cultures to find these I have also started to use pinecones. I’m still in the experimental stage and have been fermenting them to change the taste, combining with sugar or salt. Then, I always try to compare it to another taste, so I know which ingredients to pair it with.

Pinecones have a similar taste to rose. Once I have the best result from the main ingredient, I will start to think about the other ingredients that compliment it.

I have many, but I would say my favourite ingredient is the sea urchin. It was the first taste that shocked me as a child, and this memory has stuck with me – I can taste it just thinking about it!

Chilli! I have tried to incorporate it into my dishes a few times but haven’t quite been able to master it. I once made a soup and the only taste that came through was the chilli. For me, Chilli overpowers all the other ingredients.

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GONZALO LUZARRAGA

MORTADELLA

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

My favourite machine at the minute it the Ocoo. It’s a Japanese double pressure cooker. It’s great for fermentation as it extracts all the juices from an ingredient.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Creativity is the most important for me. Of course, without the other two, you can’t do anything, but it’s the creativity bringing these two elements to life. Without creativity, it would be difficult to evolve and grow as a chef.

Your greatest influence in the kitchen…

Curiosity - If you’re not curious you can never come up with new ideas. I will always try something new. This is true with all aspects of life; it enables you to become more creative in what you do.

Your earliest food memory, flavors from your childhood…

My grandfather’s cooking. He would make coconut cookies.

They were made of almond and coconut, and it’s a taste I have never been able to recreate it. He would also make Panettone every year for Christmas. He used to bake at home quite often, and I remember the fragrant smell of the Panettone cooking in the oven. I crave for it every Christmas!

Sea urchin is also a food memory from my childhood I will never forget. The saltiness and umami flavors from this are ones I cannot live without!

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VIOLET ARTICHOKE

SOUR ANCHOVIES STRACCIATELLA, SOURDOUGH BREAD AND CURED ANCHOVIES BUTTER

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GONZALO LUZARRAGA

DESSERT

MODERN WHITE BONET

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MELON

EDELFLOWER TIRAMISU

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What keeps you motivated?

I try to keep myself motivated in order to improve. If you are driven, you can grow not only yourself, but the people around you. In the last two years, my wife has always kept me motivated. If I ever have self-doubt, she believes in me, which pushes me to do more.

What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?

There are so many new cooking trends so it is difficult to stay on top of all of them.

Everything moves so fast so new trends seem to disappear quite quickly, and they are not quite as clear as they once were.

For example, a few years ago, everyone knew the trend was molecular kitchen, or foraging, or seasonal cooking. I think today we are missing a clear food trend.

I always have one eye open at the trends as it’s important to be aware of them, but I always try to go down my own route.

In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

Everything changes very fast. Due to globalisation, people travel so they are aware of authentic cuisine from other countries. It’s common today for a chef to cook a cuisine from a foreign country.

They have their own vision of the food, with a new approach, and end up creating something new.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

Being a chef is very hard work and it takes patience. It can be very exhausting so you need to stay focused. Although it can be hard, being a chef can be one of the most satisfying and rewarding jobs.

“If you are driven, you can grow not only yourself, but the people around you”

BLACK FOREST

Gonzalo Luzarraga

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RYUKI KAWASAKI

Born in the city of Niigata, Ryuki Kawasaki developed his lifelong love of cooking as a child helping his mother and grandmother in the kitchen. For him, it was something natural to do after schooling because he loved to cook. “All Japanese women have a passion for cooking and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my grandmother and learned how to cook traditional Japanese” says Ryuki.

Following his heart, he joined the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Tokyo specializing in French and European cuisine, followed

by Chateau de l’Eclair in France, where he received the “Best Chef of the Year in School’’. After graduating, Ryuki went to work at some of the most legendary Michelin-Starred restaurants and chefs in Tokyo, Paris, London and Las Vegas.

He got the opportunity to do his stage at Paul Bocuse in Lyon and later he returned back to Tokyo to work at Le Chateau de Joël Robuchon. He then headed back to Europe and joined Pierre Gagnaire’s restaurant Sketch in London and later went on to open Pierre Gagnaire’s restaurant Twist in Las Vegas.

RYUKI KAWASAKI

“When I worked for famous Chefs, I was not looking to use my style of cuisine, I just followed and learned what I could. These experiences formed my base and helped to build my current style of cuisine”

With all these years of experience, Ryuki mastered his culinary skills and learned to manage the kitchen. “The experience of working in some of the best kitchens across the world brings out many similarities. I can say it was not that easy, but I liked the work and learned so many things. Wherever I worked, I found the staff motivated and they really work hard.”

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SHIMA-AJI (STRIPED JACK) “CITRUS CURED”

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SAZAE (SEA SNAIL) “IN HERB BUTTER”

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In 2015, Ryuki decided to join the iconic Mezzaluna – The Dome at lebua’s finest and highest restaurant on the 65th floor in Bangkok. The menu is based on guests’ preferences and what they desire in a fine dining experience. At Mezzaluna, Ryuki has the freedom to explore his individuality, a free reign to his passion and creativity. “Here at Mezzaluna, I am able for the first time to select the finest exclusive ingredients in the world without limitations, whether that is best lamb from France or Nagasaki Wagyu beef from Japan – that make Mezzaluna the best fine dining in Bangkok” say Ryuki.

With an open kitchen at Mezzaluna, Ryuki is delighted to be close to the guests, he can observe how each guest reacts to each dish and also invite them into the kitchen to make the whole experience more interactive.

AYU (SWEET FISH) “CONFIT”

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My style of cuisine is French but the technique is to use Japanese ingredients or add its flavour into my dish...

WG catches up with Ryuki Kawasaki…

Your cuisine highlights the purity of flavors in perfect harmony on each plate, a perfect balance - how do you bring about this balance on a plate?

It difficult to say how but it comes from my experience and imagination. But more important is trying, tasting and trying again and again until it approaches the image I have in mind and I am satisfied with the final product.

Could you describe your culinary philosophy, take us through the process of creating a dish and the inspiration…

The philosophy is to use the best seasonal ingredients, cook and extract its taste and flavour. I research ingredients available during the season and think of matching the taste and flavour. Further, I look into the way I can balance the menu and create more details for the recipe. The end game is of course, I try to make the dish again and again, taste and try again, till I feel it is perfect. The inspiration comes from the moment when I choose the ingredients. Most of time it’s from the main products that we use, but sometimes it comes from the image of dish. My style of cuisine is French but technique is to use Japanese ingredients or add its flavour into my dish.

Plating is an art which gives a different texture to the dish… what inspires you when plating a dish?

It is from my imagination. Normally when I create the menu I have already have the images of the dish in mind. Of course, I try to make dish beautiful and clean but it is important that it should be easy to eat and guests are able to enjoy all ingredients on the plate.

NIIGATA MURAKAMI WAGYU BEEF A5 “GRILLED OVER BINCHŌ CHARCOAL”

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Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Most important is Produce, because Creativity and Technique are needed to make a great dish, but if produce itself is not good then creativity and technique is useless.

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RYUKI KAWASAKI

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LOIRE VALLEY SUCKLING PIG “HATCHO MISO CRUSTED”

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MEZZALUNA – THE DOME AT LEBUA

Ingredients that inspire you, your favourite ingredient and ingredients that you weren’t able to master…

I am inspired by all ingredients, it has to be seasonal and most of the ingredients that I use are from Japan and France.

I love working with fresh seafood. I don’t have any specific ingredients that I gave up on, but sometimes it doesn’t match with the image even after I try the dish. It’s more about balance with other courses in the menu.

What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?

I don’t think I’m on top as of yet, but I want to keep providing better food experience for guests. I do a lot of research and I take inspiration from the latest happenings around the world.

HAMO (CONGER PIKE) “BEIGNET”

MEZZALUNA – THE DOME AT LEBUA

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“IMr.learned the basics of French cuisine with Bocuse and Mr. Robuchon, but I worked more closely and was most influenced

by Mr. Gagnaire”

Ryuki Kawasaki

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In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

I think cuisine and countries are now coming together and will grow closer in the years to come. There is no more an issue of categorisation of cuisine and people are more interested about personality of the chef and style of cuisine that he/she comes up with.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time‌ Learn the basics thoroughly before longing for fancy things. Be ready to challenge everything. Being a chef is a tough job and one should be prepared for long hours of work on the feet all the while. You cannot be an expert chef overnight and it takes years of learning on the job, before you can make your mark. The profession of a chef is a wonderful occupation and at the same time, it is not an easy job. To be an amazing chef you have to spend your whole life trying hard.

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SVEN WASSMER

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TEXT HANGAR-7 PHOTO © HELGE KIRCHBERGER PHOTOGRAPHY / RED BULL HANGAR-7

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SVEN WASSMER

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e combines things that don’t initially look like a match made in heaven. Young and experienced, accessible and disciplined, Vals and the big wide world. He’s been creating his unique taste experiences beyond the mainstream. Always inspired by nature.

Sven Wassmer - perfectionist, purist and child of nature. Away from his kitchen, you’ll come across him in the forest collecting wild herbs or mushrooms. Or you’ll find him 2,000 meters up with his cows. It’s this deep bond with nature which makes his creations so authentic and him so likable. For although he runs like a well-oiled Swiss movement, he also leaves space for innovation, is cosmopolitan through and through and sometimes extends his feelers towards distant lands. At one time he was drawn to the Night Market in Vietnam to look for special ingredients from small family-run companies. His focus is always on respect for the products, close contact with his suppliers and the aspiration to breathe new life into old memories and create new ones.

His CV is lined with famous names. For example, Sven Wassmer, as sous chef of Nenad

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ECKART WITZIGMANN AND SVEN WASSMER

Mlinarevic at the Focus restaurant in the Parkhotel Vitznau, was instrumental in winning its second Michelin-star. He worked beside Nuno Mendes and Leandro Carreira in the Viajante in London, and with Andreas Caminada from Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau. Nevertheless, the greatest inspiration and most important teacher in life has been his grandmother.

“No stars, no points, but number 1 on the list of the 100 best grandmothers in the world”

MARTIN KLEIN, SVEN WASSMER AND CHEFS IN IKARUS KITCHEN

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Sven Wassmer finds his own path to connecting regionality with cosmopolitanism; it’s impossible not to see influences from all the continents.

So based on the maxim “think global, act local”, he relies whenever possible on small, local producers and adapts his menus to each season.

Allow yourself to be seduced by the naturalness of his compositions and experience the subtle play between nostalgia and avant-garde on your own palate. That’s got to be a match made in heaven as Sven’s menus always tell stories...

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GRÉGOIRE BERGER

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A Tasting Menu...

Famed for his imaginative ingredient pairing and beautifully plated dishes, Grégoire creates a unique dining experience at Ossiano, Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. His style of cuisine is more of a designer than the cuisine of a chef. Always looking for the visual aspect to define the taste, he tries to feature the taste on the design and not the design on the taste. His visual aspect drives the process of creation, it is all within the architecture of the dish. As an example, on a plate he will try to abstractly suggest the design and the taste to create an emotive experience for the diner. Every day he and his team of chefs in Ossiano create new dishes to find the right taste, the perfect balance of art and cuisine, and he continues till his eyes are satisfied and his taste buds are convinced.

From the Young Chef San Pellegrino Young Chef Competition Africa Middle East in 2016 to coveted title of 10th Best Chef in the World at the Best Chef Awards 2017, Grégoire has taken home more awards in 2017 than any other chef in Dubai.

Since opening, Ossiano has won an impressive portfolio of awards including Best Seafood in Dubai four years running and Most Romantic Restaurant in Dubai.

A tasting menu by Grégoire Berger.

PHOTO © COOK & SHOOT

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GRÉGOIRE BERGER

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“Spring” Lobster

An ode to the spring…. A dish that has been part of the Ossiano history, made with Thai mango, French raspberries and perfectly cooked Maine lobster.

PHOTO © ATLANTIS THE PALM

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GRÉGOIRE BERGER

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Burnt Leek & Razor Clam PHOTO © ATLANTIS THE PALM

A dish that is also called: “Armor & Argoat” which is means Land & Sea. The idea came from the desire to serve the leek on its own “body” and paired with a ceviche of Razor Clams which brings the acidity and freshness, a contrast with the warmness of the leek that has been gently cooked on seaweed butter.

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Langoustine “Mayo”

In Brittany, when fishermen bring in their catch and especially langoustine, we just cook them on a “Court Bouillon” and serve it with a classic mayonnaise. Here I took the essence and memories and elevated it to a fine dining perspective.

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PHOTO © ATLANTIS THE PALM

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“Bouillabaisse” 2.0

Dubai is a very eclectic city and sometimes at Ossiano, we have more than 20 nationalities dining on a night. To please most of the palates, I took the famous traditional fish soup from Marseille to another level by adjunction of an XO (Chinese preparation) ice cream for the contrast of the temperature, it’s an element of surprise and guests are curious to discover what the rest of the menu is…

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PHOTO © ATLANTIS THE PALM

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Foie Gars “Tatin”

Memories of my childhood, from the famous “Tarte Tatin” made out of slow cooked apple, hazelnut streusel and emulsion of cider (from my origins in Brittany).

We use an exceptional foie gras that adds fat and textures, making it a savoury dish, when actually the Tatin supposed to be a dessert.

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GRÉGOIRE BERGER

“Signature” Black Cod

The Black Cod is a very popular fish in Dubai due to his huge range of Asian restaurants… here I decided to add a French touch with zucchinis and clams. The fish is marinated with apple cider vinegar and white miso, a Japanese / Franco dish…

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PHOTO © ATLANTIS THE PALM

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PHOTO © ATLANTIS THE PALM

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Legine “Katsuobushi

The Patagonian Toothfish is an excellent fish caught in the Kerguelen Island, southern indian Ocean. I wanted a black dish, so I the fish in black nori powder, and added textures - bonito flakes, garlic and fried sunchokes petals, which is complimented with a black sesame sauce.

A real Japanese influence for this “umami” dish.

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GRÉGOIRE BERGER

Vacherin “Ispahan”

Ispahan is an irresistible combination of rose, litchi and raspberry by French Pastry Chef Pierre Hermé, he created a clan of 42 Ispahan desserts. Here I propose a graphic and very tasty pre dessert.

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PHOTO © ATLANTIS THE PALM

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Lemon Tart

A contemporary dessert‌ a classic lemon pie that will tantalize your taste buds from the first spoon.

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PHOTO © ATLANTIS THE PALM

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DÁVID JAKABFI

DÁVID JAKABFI

Sweet in Hungary...

PHOTO © MICHAIL JAHN AND ADAM BALAZS

It all started when Dávid was helping at the two restaurants which his mother’s brother had. He did not really know what he wanted to do, so his parents enrolled him in a cookery school after his primary school studies. Even then, he wanted to become a pastry chef, but everyone tried to convince him that cooks make a better living, they make more money.

Upon finishing secondary school, he tried to find a job as a cook but gave up the profession as he could not find a place to work. He continued his studies to become a technician but since times were tough and his help was needed, Dávid decided to go back to cooking and with trying his luck in Austria. It was here that becoming a pastry chef became a possibility.

His career as a pastry chef started in a hotel in Tirol, Austria, with limited and insufficient knowledge, Dávid was lucky to meet a pastry chef who was very knowledgeable and would be able to teach him. Dávid was invited by his former head chef who he worked with for over three years, since he knew that Dávid loved baking he entrusted him with a cake shop.

Here he got to know the preparations of different products. His boss was a kind young lady who allowed him to experiment with new desserts whenever the weather was bad, since there were no too many guests. It was then in 2013 when he started to find his way into desserts,

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WG chats with Dåvid Jakabfi‌ You involve different elements to create a combination to surprise and stimulate the palate - how do you bring this balance on a plate?

I try to prepare the elements in a way that they only become an addition to the main element and accompany that in their taste. I believe it is important to present various textures – the crunch or we use all our senses, taste buds, when consuming a dessert or any food, for that matter, we increase the appreciation value. In addition to textures, colours are also very important. I used to use up to five colours on a plated dessert but today I tend not to use more than three and prefer the various shades of a given colour. Sometimes less is more.

What is the secret to a perfect dessert, your favourite flavour combinations?

I believe that the perfect dessert is as tasty as it is beautiful. It is also important that it should not be either too little or too much in size and that it should reflect the season. For me, the synergy of passion fruit and white chocolate is a favourite. The sourest taste gets the taste buds going and it goes perfectly with the silky taste of white chocolate.

In your opinion, the best recipe you ever created, what inspired it?

There are several but what I would like to highlight my basic chocolate mousse. You would not think how versatile it is and how many ways it can be used. For me, this is a stable foundation that gives security. Inspiration comes from seeking the perfect structure and I have looked at lots of books to find the real thing. It was also a purpose of mine to find a replacement for the boring and heavy butter cream, which in my home country. In Hungary it is still made in a very heavy, not properly processed way, making cakes very heavy.

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My philosophy is to always strive to put something beautiful on a plate...

Could you share the process you go through to creating a new dessert?

Most of the time, I wake up and go to sleep with new shapes and tastes in mind. I even often dream about them. Sometimes I just give them a try in a rush, this is not always a recipe to success but this urgency pushes me to give thought to what I really want to achieve. Most of the time I first design the look since I already know the taste i want to work with. I always draw up a draft, a picture, on paper, where I make notes of what elements should go where or what elements should take on what function. Then comes the trial run for plating and the tasting but I always ask someone else to taste my creations for the first time.

What is the next trend you see emerging in desserts?

Sooner or later the shapes of the elements will change but it will take some time. As for tastes, I think that vegetables will come to the fore, already, there are lots of pastry chefs who use contradictory seasonings or oils that do not match but those make the creations interesting. There is always demand for the new. I believe that the fashion today is clarity and simplicity, which teaches us to plate in a clean-cut way.

But accidental shapes and unruly elements are coming back into fashion, and those will be placed on the plate in an asymmetric way.

Your culinary philosophy‌ My philosophy is to always strive to put something beautiful and tasty on a plate. My drive is not that one dessert should be better than the previous one but that the offerings that I have created should become ever wider.

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DÁVID JAKABFI

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“I have to keep educating myself because that is the way forward”

What inspired the book Jakabti David Patissier?

At that time, I use to share a lot of my recipes and creations with others, it was an inspiration as there was a rising number of followers and most of them kept telling me why don’t you write a book and this is how Jakabti David Patissier came about.

Today it is the motivation, quite a number of people have read my book and come to my courses. Nearly 3,500 people have bought my book and this is a big thing for me. My courses are also fully booked and it may take several months to secure a place in one of them. I am also in the process of establishing my own kitchen, which will serve as a place to hold courses and help me write my second book. I have also received some professional acknowledgement. I do not want to pretend and say that I am not afraid of what other pastry chefs are afraid of. I have to keep educating myself because that is the way forward.

Ingredients that inspire you…

These days I have been working a lot with coffee and coffee beans, my book also has a recipe with coffee beans. With coffee and coffee beans you can make some excellent desserts. For me, if I do not know something 100 percent, I ask for the help of an expert. That is the same when selecting the coffee I work with, It is important that coffee should have a character, roasted properly and of good quality. In addition to coffee, I also want to work more with matcha tea, it is an exciting ingredient but it requires some learning. It did happen that I used it for making a cream and the taste somehow did not work. But these failures are also part of the profession.

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DÁVID JAKABFI

“ I love every single aspect of making desserts”

Special techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

I do not have a favourite one. I love every single aspect of making desserts. I recently tried molecular gastronomy at a course I held in Berlin. I tried it a few years ago and I really liked it. My serving spatula is my favourite equipment, it is my lucky charm that I believe brings luck and I would never part with it.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

All three are very important, should I want to put any of them on the back burner for the sake of the other that would work against one another.

What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?

Instagram is a good tool and like everyone else, I also follow the best pastry chefs and would like to go to places to study and work. Have been planning to go and learn from a renowned pastry chef but haven’t had the time. I am lucky as a lot of people reach out to me.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to young chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

Start at the most demanding place, where you need to work hard, strict instruction is the basis of all basics. If you keep at it and remain humble, you will succeed.

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ARNOUT VAN DER KOLK

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ARNOUT VAN DER KOLK a culinary journey through different temperature zones...

e couldn’t stand the idea of a 9 to 5 situation and it was until that Arnout came in touch with the kitchen, cooking and the rawness that he fell in love with. Working in some of the most prestigious Michelin-Starred kitchens for over 10 years, it was at the three Michelin star restaurant Oud Sluis where Arnout refined his culinary talent, learning a lot about himself, about work ethics and to be able to produce high quality dishes. It was tough but very precise and thrilling at the same time and it was here at Oud Sluis and under the guidance of Nick Bril that helped him to form his culinary dream.

He then went on spend 3 years with Onno Kokmeijer & Arjan Speelman at their two Michelin star restaurant Ciel Blue where it was all about the flavour, you build your own taste, and learnt how to run a business. Working with different chefs helped him to bring out the best in himself. “Nick Bril really changed the world for me, I owe him much gratitude. He believed in me and helped me develop. But also others at Oud Sluis like Sergio Herman, Syrco Bakker and Hendrik Buysse who also trained me. Onno Kokmeijer & Arjan Speelman and Dennis Huwae were also very valuable for in my culinary journey”.

At Restaurant C, Arnout creates a unique experience, dining

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at the kitchen bar where the magic happens right in front of you. C revolves around Celsius and the kitchen takes you on a culinary journey through different temperature zones, where small variations in temperatures strongly affects the taste. Both, flavour and texture of the same product can change when prepared at different temperatures.

It’s not just about the product, it’s the way Arnout and the culinary team at C prepares it and this is what makes the difference.

WG catches up with Arnout van de Kolk…

Your cuisine highlights the purity of flavors in perfect harmony on each plate, a perfect balance…

It’s mostly looking for different layers. Especially in mouth feel as well, you can play a lot with different textures and flavors. But it’s also a lot of trial and errors! Basically you are only making mistakes but all those mistakes help you to understand what is going on.

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PHOTO © SASKIA DE WAL

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For me a dish needs to be very colourful or at least a have good contrast.

It has to look natural, it needs to inspire and make you wonder...

Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a dish, the inspiration…

Flavours need to be strong but light at the same time it needs to be clean and crisp! Normally I don’t take my inspiration from the food I ate, but looking for a concept or a story for what the dish must be. The concept of the dish (childhood memories, feast, etc) is the best way to start, but it could also be a product where you are dying to work with or a feeling what you are trying to create.

Plating a dish…

In New Zealand I learned to create “LIFE” on the plate, looking for a sort of structure to build up the plate so it always looks super crisp. For me a dish needs to be very colourful or at least a have good contrast. It has to look natural (so if something for example grows up, you don’t put it upside down), it needs a sort of motion, and it’s still food! It needs to inspire and make you wonder.

Ingredients that inspire you…

I like to work with shellfish, as they are so lively and fresh if you get them at the right time. The taste is very delicate and perfect to pair with a good sparkling wine or a good cocktail.

Although I did 100’s and 100’s of kilos of this in the last decade and a half, yet you still try to develop a better and faster way to work with them and this sometimes is not the ideal produce for that with all the spikes and sharp edges. So be careful, you will get hit but the flavour is amazing and can vary in taste in different places in the world!

PHOTO © DISHTALES

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Special cooking techniques…

Slow cooking and fermenting at the moment is really cool way to really help the product develop its own taste. You can really capture flavours inside the product by doing this. But we never stop exploring new ways.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

It’s really a combination… I would better say hard work and love are the most important, however will say produce, as the flavours or texture of the product is absolutely essential.

Your greatest influence in the kitchen…

Definitely memories, things I felt, saw and ate. But also music is a very good way to get in to a mood of cooking or creating.

Your earliest food memory, flavours from your childhood…

My first food memory was of eating Sole Meunière in New Zealand with the parents of my best friend, they really taught me to eat different things and I’m still thankful for that. Happily they still come and visit me sometimes in the restaurant.

What keeps you motivated?

There is always so much to aim for, but mostly it’s the drive not to stand still. I always want to be in movement and don’t really see how you can stop to develop. As long as everything around you interest you there is a way to learn and get better.

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What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?

Not too much… as I don’t really feel connected or obliged to be ahead of trends or anything. But off course stuff like Instagram and other social media really helps us cooks to share knowledge and develop and connect with a lot of guests at the same time.

In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

For sure it’s changing all the time! Specially because new people meet and take new things, cultures mix and the world is getting smaller by the day. Through internet and development you can be on the other site of the world in a day or second. Also a lot more knowledge is gathered every day to help us cooks know more about different produce and how to use it to its best potential.

PHOTO © SASKIA DE WAL

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“The first 10 years at least you have to invest in yourself and put everything on the side in order to be above average”

Arnout van de Kolk

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

PHOTO © DISHTALES

Glamorous - absolutely not! Times have really changed, nowadays kids see a lot of attention for chefs on television, magazines and social media. You rarely see that in the kitchen, they have no idea that basically 98% of the chefs never hit the screen, never are in a magazine or radio talk show or whatever. When I started my teacher said the first day: “Why in the **** you ever want to do this, you always have to work, you don’t really get paid well, they are very long hours, you can never have a normal relationship, and you burn and cut your fingers every day”, This entire idea was sold immediately and loved this approach and knew what to expect.

The first 10 years at least you have to invest in yourself and put everything on the side in order to be above average.

Of course looking back, I had an amazing time and would not change it for the world, but there were periods where I had to dig really deep and I am glad I did!

Nowadays after 2 weeks, new students come up to me and say, sorry chef I worked 44 instead of 42 hours how can we solve this next week… I thought I fell over… but it’s getting normal like this. They have wrong expectations. But it’s good for us to adjust a bit in this as well, it’s for the better in the end of the day… But quality comes with a price!

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DIEGO JACQUET

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DIEGO JACQUET

As the gluten-free lifestyle picks up the momentum with its popularity in Singapore – whether as a personal preference or due to gluten intolerance; The Butcher’s Wife joins an increasing number of worldwide chefs and restaurants to apply their creative energies to creating gluten-free menu, so even coeliac are able to enjoy the flavors, colors, and joy that food can bring.

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Born in Patagonia, south of Argentina, Diego lost his left eye at the age of 14 and could not pursue his football dreams, however at 17 he started cooking. He went on to study hotel management and started his cooking training at the kitchen of the renowned Argentine celebrity chef Francis Mallmann. He remembers walking into the kitchen and seeing this organized machine, so full of passion, energy and determination, everyone was so into it and he just fell in love with it. He remembers it like it was yesterday, seeing everyone pushing, cooking, and working like a perfect machine. That was the day he decided to become a chef.

He then went on to work in the kitchen of El Bulli with Ferran Adrià, this is where he was inspired to be a professional chef, he learnt to be fast, sharp, and focused, and to be able to handle long hours with discipline under immense pressure.

Travelling to New York, Diego gained further experience with Nils Norén and Marcus Samuelsson at Restaurant Aquavit.

“Nils Norén taught me how to be a head chef, a leader and how to lead by example, how to even to run a kitchen where you are able to jump at any moment to any station, to do any cooking, to be faster, better, cleaner and more precise than anybody else. Ferran Adrià, Nils Norén have been the biggest influences that I can recognize that have helped me to be the fair and passionate chef that I am today’ adds Diego.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS

Consultant Chef Diego Jacquet’s cuisine is full of flavors, his comfort food is well-balanced with elements of surprise.

When it comes to the gluten free menu at The Butcher’s Wife, it is a normal menu emulating a neighborhood bistro that he would like to have next to his flat in London, with an added element of being gluten free without sacrificing an ounce of taste. The creativity and engineering of the menu starts out as a consistent, well balanced menu, after which he includes the gluten free element and works around it.

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COD A LA PLANCHA

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CURED SALMON

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DIEGO JACQUET

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GRILLED RIB-EYE STEAK

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WG catches up with Diego Jacquet...

Your culinary philosophy, take us through the process you go through to creating a new dish and the inspiration…

It’s quite simple, work with local produce and be as sustainable. Dishes need to have a strong presence of flavor profile that explodes in your mouth, different textures.

The process of creating a dish, we start with a product that is the best in the season. And we start working around it like a puzzle and think about how we would like to cook it. If it was a particular fish, we want to brine it or not brine it, grilled it, pan fried it, steam it, you name it. Then we start to associate this main product with other produce that are in season as well, vegetables, for example.

There is always the element of fun and surprise. This can come from many different forms of inspiration, travelling to different countries, talking to fellow chefs, anywhere basically.

My inspirations mostly come from my trips, as I am lucky enough to get to travel everywhere, eating at home, eating with my friends, in a restaurant, or at the market, this way you get to have a different view of how people treat their products that you never imagined before. For example, when I tried Bagna Cauda, which is a classic Italian thing, and instead of having it as a conventional fondue, I reduce it and use it as a garnish or a sauce because I want the element of anchovies in a certain dish.

CHILLED ALMOND SOUP

Ingredients that inspire you, favorite ingredients and those you not able to master…

The ingredients I love working with are strictly seasonal.

Ingredients that we are exploring right now are like wild garlic, rhubarb and cherries. I especially like the acidity of rhubarb and play that into savory dishes. I am doing a lot of raw fish with fresh cherries as they have well balance of acidity and a little bit of sweetness, which is very good for raw fish. My favorite ingredient would definitely be cherries.

I don’t think I have any ingredients that I weren’t able to master, but I have things that I don’t like to eat and to cook.

I don’t eat figs, for example, so I don’t cook that much with them, or tripe, I don’t do tripe. I’m not very passionate about cooking artichokes.

GRILLED OCTOPUS

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Special cooking techniques or equipment…

We enjoy grilling, it gives a certain element of smoking, caramelization, and crispy; it’s fantastic. We love grilling, roast fruits, vegetables, fish or any seafood, meats, I’m very into grilling pineapples and cabbage.

Grilling is a good starting point, because when you grill, it will turn out great, or not, nothing in between.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

The most important to me would be the produce. The produce has to be the best, if you start with something that is not the best, no matter what creativity or technique you apply, the dish will never be good. Definitely, produce is the starting point, it’s non-negotiable, after choosing the best ingredients, and then we can apply a particular technique, a certain level of creativity to the dish.

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KALE & GORGONZOLA ‘BUÑUELOS

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Greatest influences in the kitchen…

I am very fond of Scandinavian cuisine. I used to work in Sweden in 2003 and before it even became popular, I remember telling a fresh chef, if you guys can get this global and the recognition that you deserve, you’re going to be huge, and that definitely happened. I just love the season availability. I’m from Patagonia, south of Argentina, the contrast of all the seasons is really important to me. It’s a good challenge, to find balance with strong flavours that I carry from the Argentine and Spanish influences.

What keeps you motivated?

I have been cooking for 25 years, what keeps me motivated is working closely with people who I’ve been working with for six, seven years and see them grow. Some of my guys started as chef de partie, and one of them is now a head chef at one of my restaurants. Seeing them get better than you, learning and growing together, and develop new concepts. For example, in Singapore, dreaming up a restaurant concept, to the moment it opens; it is a tough journey, but it is what keeps me motivated. My kids are another point of motivation, and I strive to be better for them every day.

What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?

I don’t trust or follow trends. Trends come and go, but it is important to observe and learn from trends, to see what people want, what will stay and what won’t stay. You need to read a lot, talk to chefs and customers, and try to understand what they want. This is a professional industry that requires chefs to stay alert at all times, to be observant and reinvent yourself, and be able to listen yet stay true to yourself. It is also important to stay alert in terms of looking out for new produce, new suppliers, new methods of cooking, and new equipment.

THE BUTCHER’S WIFE BEEF BURGER

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

I think just like any other career path, you will be the kind of chef that you want to be, you can be a glamorous doctor, or glamorous architect. I want people to understand that yes, this is a beautiful profession, but that you need to be humble, need to work hard, invest time, and learn from the best, you might worry about money in the beginning. However, it is important to be passionate about it, humble, ready to work hard for it. This is such a kind and grateful profession, when you are ready, it will give back to you. Be respectful to the produce, customers and team, and you’ll have a great life.

OUR GREEN PEAS HUMMUS

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