Immediately after the ceremony, I had the opportunity to catch up with Chef Ekkebus on the topic of the World’s 50 Best.

What does the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best award mean to you?

The list is created by a group of over 800 voters from the restaurant industry, consisting of chefs, food critics, and worldwide gourmands. The award means a lot to my team, as we are extremely honoured to have been recognised. It is truly a wonderful recognition. Since day one, we have always tried to deliver our best to every single guest at Amber. It is always good to be recognised for our consistent dedication. This achievement means we have been doing our jobs well, and it also motivates us to push ourselves even harder.

What should the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best mean to diners and to the restaurant industry?

The 50 Best list is an important summary of opinions from a group of experts who represent the “worldwide taste makers.” Maybe instead of seeing these 50 restaurants as the “best,” the industry should interpret the list as 50 restaurants identified as the leading culinary movement in their own region. For general diners, it is always good to know which restaurants in your region are being recognised at an international level. It is also handy to have a list of recommended restaurants around the world when you travel aboard.

Amber was listed on 50 Best last year for the first time, and it is the only restaurant in China on the list. Has this recognition had any impact on Amber in the last 12 months?

There has definitely been a positive impact on the business. Last year, for several days after the 50 Best announcement, our restaurant’s phone system could not cope with the number of calls we received! Our website also had a massive increase in traffic. All of a sudden, Amber is placed in a window that the whole world wants to see.

The impact is obvious, as the restaurant is now always fully booked for a good week ahead. We have also seen a tremendous impact on our client mix. In addition to a huge interest from the entire Asian continent, we now have guests from all over the world, providing a nice global mix of the clientele at the restaurant.

You must be now very comfortable with Amber. With Michelin 2-star and again on 50 Best, what aspects of the restaurant can you still improve?

I never feel 100% comfortable, as a restaurant like Amber is a constant work in progress towards a vision. The food always has room for improvement. I work closely with various local organic producers to improve the quality and consistency of each product. And there are always exceptional ingredients around the world waiting for me to source.

I always see areas for improvement, but it’s never easy to implement these changes. To motivate the entire team towards the vision is a challenging job. In addition, it is always necessary to adapt to a market without losing our integrity. Without a doubt, this is one of the most difficult challenges. I have done this many times, and Mandarin Oriental Group has been tremendously supportive and patient!

Another aspect is service. Mandarin Oriental has a strong Eastern service culture, and we are continuously working to improve our services. We want a restaurant that is not stuffy and where we anticipate the needs of our guests. We feel a restaurant is not limited to the experience of what you eat and drink. There are so many other aspects that combine to make a great dining experience. We are continuously fine-tuning these elements to ensure we deliver an incredible yet personalized experience.

I am sure Amber’s reservation line will be ringing non-stop once again. Congratulations to Chef Ekkebus and his team!

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF MY RECENT MEAL AT AMBER

Published by Kevin Chan. Kevin is a food traveller who has lived and travelled extensively throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Drawing upon his experience, Kevin offers a worldwide perspective on fine food.
www.finediningexplorer.com

Read Kevin’s archive.

Big news in the foodie world: the three key chefs in the El Bulli kitchen, who worked very closely with chef Ferran Adrià during the years when the restaurant was ranked among the best in the world in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, are branching off on their own.

Oriol Castro (pictured above, with Adrià), Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas continue to work for Adrià and will be involved in the El Bulli Foundation project (a think tank which will be built around the original, now-shuttered restaurant).

But they are also working on their own project: the restaurant Compartir, which is scheduled to open at the end of this month in Cadaqués, a town on the Catalunuya coast about 40 minutes North of the El Bulli site (Cala Montjoi).

Adrià has said in interviews that he gives the new venture his blessing.

The chefs claim that Compartir will specialize in small plates to share (compartir, in Spanish), and a cuisine that won’t be classic but won’t be reminiscent of the avant-garde food they served at El Bulli either.

Whether the trio has the talent to run a business as well as a kitchen, only time will tell.

Compartir: official site 
Tel.: +34 972 258 482

Rolling hills, vertical slopes, bubbling brooks, roaring waterfalls, light summers and dark winters. The Faroe Islands is a country of contrasts, and when it comes to the food culture, the 18 rock islands in the North Atlantic are more contrasting than anywhere else I have ever visited.

Tastes ranges from simple, fresh and delicate to fierce, stale and rigid. On the one hand, the Faroese have a unique access to the freshest produce; seafood, which is practically still breathing, freshly slaughtered lamb, freshly picked herbs from the steep slopes and the crystal clear water that runs out of the taps. On the other, the main ingredients of the traditional Faroese dishes – which are still to be found at dinner tables around the Faroe Islands – are salted, dried and cooked fish, whale and mutton, which is served with boiled potatoes and turnips.

Most foreigners will need a few attempts to really appreciate the traditional dishes, such as skerpikjøt (dried lamb) which have a strong, fermented taste that is challenging (or thrilling) for even the most culinarily adventurous. On the other hand, it is very easy to find fans of the extremely fresh products that are important ingredients in the modern Faroese kitchen and in more and more people’s everyday diet.

Where to eat in the Faroe Islands?

The most interesting restaurants are in the capital, Torshavn. There are mainly three places which in their own way show the way for the modern Faroese kitchen:

Koks at Hotel Føroyar – New Nordic Cuisine serving rare, North Atlantic products. Dishes are light, feminine and resembling nature.

Hotel Hafnia – Faroese “fusion”. Colourful dishes made from fresh Faroese products and inspiration from around the globe.

Etika – Japanese sushi made with extremely fresh Faroese fish and shellfish.

Everywhere you look on the Faroe Islands, the eye is met by a breathtaking sight © Flemming Gernyx

There are rolling hills and steep slopes © Flemming Gernyx

Sheep are grazing everywhere © Flemming Gernyx

The extremely fresh fish and shellfish are very tempting - here giant Norway lobsters © Flemming Gernyx

Sea urchins © Flemming Gernyx

Scallops © Flemming Gernyx

Crayfish © Flemming Gernyx

But the Faroese themselves especially value the dried specialties, such as skerpikjøt (dried lamb that has a strong, fermented taste). Photo by Mads Eneqvist © Flemming Gernyx

Here is lamb in a milder version - "parma lamb (dry cured lamb) with seaweed and vegetable tempura" served at one of the Faroe Islands' best restaurants, the one at at Hotel Hafnia © Flemming Gernyx

Rhubarb is the only "fruit" grown on the Faroe Islands - here served as a dessertat Hotel Hafnia with caramel and ice cream © Flemming Gernyx

Eva Helbæk is editor of the Danish Restaurant guide Spiseliv and contributor to MetroXpress
Twitter: Twitter.com/evahelbak

living in Copenhagen.

Situated on the east bank of the lake, The Hyatt Regency has some of the most amazing rooms in the city offering stunning lake views. Although we were impressed by the natural scenery of this charming city even after a short stroll along the lakeside, what attracted us here was actually the restaurant on this hotel’s ground floor, which many consider the best in China.

Just like a few other Hyatt hotel restaurants in the country, the name of this restaurant is simply the address of the hotel, 28 HuBin Road. The entrance is dominated by an ancient Chinese horse cart which stands in contrast with a modern dining area while providing a sense of the traditional residential courtyard. Since HangZhou is renowned for its fine tea plantation and the meal began with a proper tea ceremony accompanied by an eye-appealing cold platter – crunchy enoki mushroom, crispy fried radish, smoky fish, aromatic beef, sweet sticky rice cubes with lotus root, and an amazing slow-poached quail egg with the yolk replaced by foie gras mousse. This selection of traditional and innovative appetizers was a real treat.

The menu had a wide range of dishes, but for a meal in a city so rich in culture, I was keen on sampling the classics of the region, like the Lady Song’s fish soup and the Dragon Well Shrimp.

It was the two main courses that set this restaurant apart from the rest. The first was the legendary Beggar’s chicken – a stuffed whole chicken wrapped in layers of lotus leaf and covered with clay before baking for an hour. Initially, I hesitated to order this dish, as I have had many disappointing experiences with it in other restaurants – overly dry meat with bitterness from the preserved stuffing. Surprisingly, I was completely enlightened by the result. The bone fell off with just a gentle touch, and the meat was juicy, packed with the flavours of rice wine and soy sauce along with the seductive fragrance of sesame oil, star anise, ginger, and all the good stuffing, finished with a hint of sweetness on the palate. It was as good a chicken could possibly get! This chicken really changed my impression of this traditional dish forever. I later learnt from the former Executive Chef, Peter Zhou, that he had experimented with more than 200 recipes in order to fine tune this Beggar’s chicken to perfection. The astonishing result justifies the effort. Truly impressive!

Next was the restaurant’s signature Dongpo pork that comes with a small basket of pancakes. It was an eye-catching braised pork belly layered up into a pyramid! This plating is a result of meticulous knife work that involves slicing the pork belly along the edge into a single long strip before rolling it back to form this shape. A spectacular masterpiece. This dish was also featured in an episode of the food and travel series “Rhodes across China”.

We unravelled this pyramid by picking up the outer end of the strip and detaching it with a slight pull. That’s how thin it was! The pleasure began with a subtle sweetness from the warm chestnut pancake, followed by the deep savouriness of the marinated crunchy shredded bamboo shoot, then came the fully braised soft meat saturated with the aromatic sauce. Once the thin layer of fat started melting in our mouths, we immediately understood why this was the iconic dish of the restaurant. It was impossible to not enjoy this dish! The best part was that the dish wasn’t greasy at all, and it kept us wanting more piece after piece. The restaurant’s preparation of this pork would definitely make the famous poet Su Dongpo proud.

It was a flawless meal. Even the simple braised cabbage was exceptional! The cabbage was precisely timed so that it was just soft enough to soak up all the flavours from the crab roe, transforming a plain vegetable into a delicacy. It was an example of a simple but perfect dish.

Much like the cold sampler that started the meal, the dessert was a platter combining both the traditional and the modern worlds. It was a thoughtful selection of desserts, in particular the crème brûlée of Dragon Well Tea, a notable variety of green tea that the city is renowned for, and the ice cream of Osmanthus, the city flower of HangZhou. There was no better way to make our journey more memorable than leaving these elegant flavours of the city on our palates!

We came across many top restaurants in China delivering good food but poor service. I was delighted to see that this wasn’t the case here. The staff were well trained and certainly understood that their job was not merely to bring food out to the table. We appreciated not only the smooth service throughout the meal, but also the legends behind many of the local classics told by the staff which made each dish come alive. This restaurant undoubtedly provides a comprehensive world class fine dining experience.

A famous Chinese saying, “Up there is heaven, down here is HangZhou”, what we had must be the cuisine of paradise. Albert Wong, the ex-Chairman of 50Best China Region, once suggested that 28 HuBin Road is probably the best restaurant in China. I would be surprised if there is a better one!

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE FULL MEAL

CLICK HERE FOR ALBUM OF THE FULL MEAL

Published by Kevin Chan. Kevin is a food traveller who has lived and travelled extensively throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Drawing upon his experience, Kevin offers a worldwide perspective on fine food.
www.finediningexplorer.com

Read Kevin’s archive.

Canapes
Served with 1999 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru from Salon, Le Mesnil

Choux pastry with gooey gruyeux filling

Buttery cornets topped with fresh salmon and a creamy red onion creme fraiche

Oyster leaves coated with sticky cocktail sauce, presented on a bed of crushed ice

Fava Bean Veloute
Thick Fava Bean Veloute with Serrano Ham ‘Gelee’, creamy Egg Yolk Emulsion and Truffle Croquette

‘Oysters and Pearls’
Keller’s signature dish. Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca, poached Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

Dungeness Crab ‘en Feuille de Brick’
Sweet, crispy pastry cigar filled with tender Dungeness Crab, Hass Avocado, Petite Radish, Horseradish and Garden Blossoms

Shad Roe ‘Porridge’
Upperwood Smoked Sturgeon and tangy Satsuma Mandarin Rice Snap ‘Raisins’
Served with 2010 Gruner Veltliner ‘Rotes Tor’, from Hirtzberger, Federspiel, Wachau

Hen Egg Custard
Creamy Hen Egg Custard with a White Truffle and Mushroom Base, topped with a rich Perigord Truffle and Veal Ragu with a Potato Chip
Served with Blue Apron Ale, Brooklyn Brewery

Salad of Marble Potatoes
Blue and Golden Potatoes with Pearl Onions, Miners Lettuce, ‘Soubise’ and Black Winter Truffle with a White Sesame Puree and Black Oil Reduction

Moulard Duck Foie Gras ‘Pastrami’
Soft cured Foie Gras with Knell’s Speck Ham, pickled Tokyo Turnips, Sorrel, Caraway ‘Gastrique’ and Brioche

Australian Hiramasa Collar ‘En Cocotte’
Succulent Hiramasa with Abalone Mushroom, Sea Beans, Pine and Citrusy Yuzu Vinaigrette
Served with 2006 ‘Alteni di Brassica’ from Gaja, Langhe

Maine Sea Scallop ‘Confit‘
Sliced Scallops with Beef Tendons, Fennel Bulbs, Cara Cara Orange and Osmanthus ‘Vierge’
Served with 2009 Chardonnay from Kongsgaard, Napa Valley

Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster Tail
Meaty Butter-Poached Lobster Tail with Stinging Nettle Barbajuan made with a crunchy Olive Oil Dough, Nantes Carrot and creamy but bitter Parsley Root Veloute

English Pea ‘Agnolotti’
Hobbs’ Bacon, Castelmagno Nuage and Shaved Black Winter Truffles

Salmon Creek Farm Pork ‘Jowl’
Smokey and sweet Pork Jowl with Corn Pone, Savoy Cabbage, Noble Maple Syrup and ‘Dijonnaise’
Served with 2002 Pinot Noir from Kistler, Sonoma Coast

‘Steak and Eggs’
Snake River Farms’ juicy and tender ‘Calotte de Boeuf Grillee’, soft poached Quail Egg, Swiss Chard, crispy Onion Rings and ‘Steak Sauce’
Served with 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Eisele Vineyard’ from Araujo, Napa Valley

Meyer Lemon Sorbet
Soft Ricotta Pound Cake with Toasted ‘Meringue’ Marshmallow and creamy Lemon Curd
Served with 2005 Vouvray ‘Domaine du Clos Naudin’ Demi-Sec from Philippe Foreau, Loire Valley

‘Pimm’s Cup’
Cool, icy Pimm’s ‘Granite’, Ginger Ale, Garden Mint Osmanthus ‘Foam’ and refreshing Cucumber Sorbet
Served with 1954 Barbeito Malvasia ‘Reserva Velha’ from Madeira

Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter ‘Mousse’
Rich Milk Chocolate Mousse with Gros Michael Banana, Oregon Huckleberries, Brioche Puree and Dehydrated Milk Chip with decorative blossoms
Served with 1977 Graham’s Vintage Port

Thomas Keller, chef proprietor of The French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York

Revered the world over, innovative chef Thomas Keller is probably the most awarded chef in history, with a Legion of Honour, several James Beard awards, Michelin stars and two stints as the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurant for The French Laundry in California. Reputed to be somewhat of a perfectionist, the talented chef invests much time into training and mentoring his staff to ensure standards remain impeccably high across his six-strong stable of restaurants, which include Per Se in New York.

You recently ran a pop-up version of The French Laundry at Harrod’s in London as your first foray in the UK. How was the experience for you?

The pop-up was extraordinary. It was an amazing event moreso because of the historical aspect of it – it’s never been done before by us or Harrods. Most pop-ups are done in someone elese’s restaurant space on the fly for a commercial purpose but this was done just the opposite to resemble a restaurant that already existed. We did an amazing job of replicating it. When you’re on the fifth floor of Harrods you don’t have a lot to work with, but we tried to make the space resemble the real thing as much as possible. We even had astro turf for the garden space. It’s kind of corny but it’s an attempt and we couldn’t put real grass up there. It’s kind of Disney-esque but a lot of things are staged in department stores – people go to look at the windows because of the staging. So the concept fit well within the environment we operated in.
It was also incredible when you just think about the different groups of individuals that were part of that process, none of whom ahd ever worked together before. We had chefs and dining room staff who came from all of our restaurants who don’t typically work together; working with the Harrods team who we’ve never worked with before and also a third team of 14 servers from the UK put together especially for the event. How these different groups of people came together for me was one of the proudest moments I’ve had.

Were you pleased with the reviews The French Laundry pop-up recieved?

I never expected any reviews – I thought it was a bit strange for magazines and newspapaers to review a restaurant that was not permanent and sold out from the time we opened so people wouldn’t have a chance to make a reservation, but we got one from every major newspaper in London. To try and compare our restaurant to others already in London was a bit awkward for me. There was one newspaper that said the pop-up was the best restaurant in London. I’ve got colleagues there like Gordon (Ramsay), Heston (Blumenthal), Marcus (Wareing) and Jason (Atherton), and it was just a slap in their face to review a restaurant that’s not even permanent or one that anybody can get into, and try to qualify it in comparison to restaurateurs and chefs who have made their careers in London. Writing a story I get it, but to give it three, four or five stars – there’s no point.

Would you ever like to do it again?

No, we’ve been thinking about touring The French Laundry for several years, and I don’t know if it would be The French Laundy or not, but it’s already been done before. Paul Prudhomme already did it in 1983 so it’s nothing new. Everything’s been done before.

Where does your desire to continuously break new ground come from?

I’m a one off person and once I’ve done it I don’t necessarily want to do it again.

The French Laundry dropped out of the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for the first time last year  – after previously being named number one on two occasions what did that mean to you?

It bothered me for a moment but we are not defined by other people. We don’t live for an award, it’s just not who we are. The awards we receive are wonderful – to be the first chef to have back to back wins was extraordinary; it was a very proud moment. To be the only chef ever to have two restaurants on the list let alone in the top ten is an extraordinary accomplishment, but it’s not about me, it’s about the team we have and with that credit comes a sense of responsibility not to the award but to the guests and each other. That’s the cause. Our culture and society get caught up in this idea of awards and it deteriorates and diminishes the reason to do things. I have 15 James Beard awards for everything but they are just sitting on the shelf. I’m the only chef to win the Wedgewood award, the only American chef to have three Michelin stars and the only male American chef to have been given the Legion of Honour in my profession. Was I proud to be a part of those things? Yes, but how can they define who I am? I can’t let that happen. At the end of the day who really cares. I want to think about what I’m doing tomorrow, because we are going to come to work knowing we are going to do a better job than we did yesterday.

How has The French Laundry developed in the past year?

The French Launcdry is one of those unique restaurants that develops every day. We change our menu every day and by doing that we continue to build on what we did yesterday. The nuances of what we do continue to develop but part of the important thing we do is working with our suppliers and making sure that we continue to support them, give them what they need and continue to progress as well, because when they become better so do we. Cooking is a very simple equation: it’s about ingredients and execution, and if we are not supporting the people who supply us those ingredients then they are not going to be able to do what we need them to. If we can bring those two elements together through support in significant ways then we should have a successful evening. At the end of the day it’s a sport franchise, a baseball team, and it’s about making sure you have the right individuals in that team to perform at a high level and ensuring they have the right tools they need to perform.

You’re a very busy man, how do you divide your time between your restaurants and still maintain standards?

It’s not about me, it’s about the team I have working for me and their commitment, determination and desire to work at very high standards. If you hire the right individuals, train them and mentor them and give them the tools they need then they will be able to perform at a very high level and that’s the most important part for me. It’s not about any one person.

You made an advert for American Express lately that ran during the SuperBowl – how did you get involved with that?

It was nice to move outside of my normal scope of work and experience something else, like making Spanglish or Ratatouille. American Express has been a great partner of ours so when they asked me to become part of their new membership effect programme I was happy to help.

What are you looking at in terms of expansion?

Nothing right now, but there are opportunities everywhere and it’s a matter of having the time. Its easy to open restaurants but it takes a lot nore to maintain them. Someone’s always writing a letter suggesting somewhere to open. In 19 years I’ve opened six restaurants – that’s one every three years. That’s quite conservative when you compare me to some of my colleagues who have opened three times as many restaurants than I have in half the time.

What’s been your ultimate lifetime goal?

I’ve achieved more than I could ever dream of. My goal was just to have one restaurant one day and I failed that three times before I got The French Laundry. My goal now is that my restaurants today have what they need. It’s an interesting time to be in the restaurant business. When I started out there were no celebrity chefs in America, or even the world outside of France. There was no respect for food so when I started cooking it was simply about the act of cooking and not about becoming famous. I decided to become a chef after cooking for three years and I was then enlightened by a chef who showed me that we cook to nurture people and make them smile. That’s the moment I became a chef – because I realised that I’m a nurturer at heart. I want to make people happy and what better way to do that than feed them. If I wasn’t a chef I’d be a doctor or a teacher – something where you can have a positive impact on people.

What’s in the future for Thomas Keller?

My partners ask me whats my exit strategy, but as a chef I don’t have one. I won’t be a chef all my life but the one greatest thing that’s happened to our profession in the last 30 years is chefs have been liberated from being in the kitchen all the time. The last generation of chefs who were in their kitchens died in their kitchens. Chefs work really hard to reach a level in their career where they hopefully have a successful restaurant and work it with determination and desire, but at some point they reach an age where they can no longer physically do that. In older generations chefs didn’t have options – they physically stayed in their restaurants and started to diminish. And most of those guys would have trained and mentored the next generation who would have gone on to eclipse them. Today if we are lucky enough and have a little bit of talent and are in the right place at the right time with the right idea then we are given opportunities to do other things that liberate us. We can now establish a culture and business that continues to perpetuate the ideals and standards that you begin with and evolve into a place that is better than you ever thought it would be. And that for me is what I want to do. None of my restaurants have my name on it – what would happen if I wasn’t here, or I sold it, or died? It would cease to exist and what kind of legacy is that? There’s no place I’d rather be more than in the kitchen and I’m not ready to sit back just yet.

Have people eclipsed you in terms of skill?

Yes, I don’t know about everybody but quite a few have and my job is to make sure that when youngsters come into our restaurants, whether it’s in the kitchen or dining room, that they have the knowledge and training that’s going to help them be better in their next position. If I hire the right individual and mentor that person then they are better than me. I’m proud of them all.

You have a reputation amongst those that have worked with you in the past for being somewhat of a perfectionist. Do you think your reputation is accurate?

I never think anything’s perfect because if you get to the point where you think something’s perfect you soon realise it’s not. You can never achieve true perfection. That’s one of the things that drives us – how do you make it better? We use green tape in our kitchens to tape things down and between 1994 and 2004 we used to rip the green tape off the roll. But when we opened Per Se in 2004 one new member of the team was taping down the pass for the first time and he took a pair of scissors and cut the tape. It was monumental because no-one had never done it before. For an entire decade no-one had the thought to cut the green tape istead of tearing it. So while we are always striving for precision and perfection none of us thought to cut the green tape. You look at something forever and it’s hard to see how to improve simple tasks. From that point on we’ve always cut the tape. It’s now become an extension of The French Laundry – you’ll see it at a lot of restaurants.

Canapes

Red Pepper-Black Olive
Sugary Black Olive Madeleine with a sweet Red Pepper Malaise

Garden Beignets, Vinegar Powder, Aged Goats Cheese
Crispy then soft Beignet with Crispy Kale and a salty dusting of aged Goats Cheese

Dried Tuna and Black Tea Bouillon with Smoked Salmon Roe
Jellied salty and smokey Black Tea Boullion with refreshing Smoked Salmon Roe

Local Milk Pannacotta with Abalone
Creamy Pannacotta with Monterey Bay Abalone and Breakfast Radish

Thinly sliced Black Radish, with Turnips, Savoury Granola, Arugula, Milk Curd and bitter lemon
Served with 2010 Marco Porello Pomero Arreis

Sauteed Monterey Bay Scallops, with deep-fried salty Scallop Chips, Wild Nettle jus and ‘Asparagus on the Plancha’
Served with 2010 Muscadel Botani Nantuket

Into the Vegetable Garden…
Goats Milk Foam infused with Edible Flowers, Purple Radishes, Broccoli Stems, Carrot Puree, Peppery Flowers, soft, earthy Beetroot and bitter Lemon Mousse on a bed of Chicory and Dehydrated Potato Dirt
Served with 2010 Sauvignon Blanc from Domaine de Subard, Cheverny, Loire Valley

Crispy Brussel Sprouts roasted with Chanterelle Mushrooms, poached Oysters and Satsuma
Served with 2010 Domaines ott Cotes de Provence

Tender Spring Lamb Roasted in Dandelion Butter with a Terrine of Lambs Tongue, roasted Garlic, baby Grapes, asparagus, Alliums, Ocean Persillade and mustard seed
2005 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley

Garden Tisane
Tea of Peppermint and Nettle

Zingy Passion Fruit Sherbet, with Coconut Spittle, Grapefruit Curd and Salted Peanut Crumble

Doughy Pine Nut Pudding with Maple Gelatin, Salty-sweet Candy Cap Ice Cream, Caramelised Sunchoke Chips and Chocolate Pieces
Served with 2010 Millineux Chenin Blanc

Thick and creamy Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice-Cream

Petit Fours ‘Strawberry-Chocolate’
Chocolate Madeleine Cookies with a Strawberry Malaise

David Kinch, chef-owner of Manresa in Los Gatos, California

Nestled between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and rugged Californian coast in the quiet town of Los Gatos, Manresa’s reputation as a destination restaurant has grown rapidly over the past few years. Chef-owner David Kinch uses organic produce from local biodynamic producer Love Apple Farms to create playful dishes that showcase the region’s unique produce.

What would you say is the concept for Manresa?

My goal is to create a quality restuarant – I hesitate to say fine dining – and a reflection of not only who we are but where we are. We try to capture the spirit of a really unique corner of the country. We have this really beautiful area where the mountains meet the sea with many different micro climates; we have the ocean and one of the most fertile and productive farmlands of the US, plus the wine country.

How would you describe your style of cooking at Manresa?

I like to describe my cuisine as contemporary Californian using tremendous amounts of local products. Our farm is just 15 minutes away and we’re importing less and less from outside the state. At that point the food becomes quite personal. I only cook food I like. I try to pay a certain amount of attention to tradition and what has been done before but I also build on that. We are mindful of contemporary techniques and the revolution that has gone on for the past 15 years or so, and are respectful of the previous generation of cooks by taking what they started and building on it for the 20th Century. It would be the easiest thing in the world to get involved in food politics and make some sort of statement with my food, but here in California some people do that certainly much better than I and probably with more enthusiasm than me too.

Do you try and progress it in your own way?

We change the menu frequently and it’s always tweaked 5-10 per cent every day. The farm throws us a lot of curve balls because there is a finite number of ingredients. I want this restaurant to be pleasureable and hedonistic – I dont want to put a mission statement on it.

What’s the most important thing to you that your cooking achieves?

People hae to enjoy it. It’s really nice when the food is thoughtful but I don’t know about challenging diners. I kind of stepped away from that because for me that’s more about cooking for yourself or other chefs than the guests. I think there has to be a thoughtful element to it though and we want our dishes to remind diners of something, or make them wonder why I cooked something a certain way or that they may not have thought of it. With fine dining what you’re paying for is not only the craft aspect, but the artistic element of thoughtfulness.

You have a rare relationship with a single supplier Love Apple Farms whom you source the majority of your produce from and who only supply Manresa. How did your relationship develop and where has it taken you both to now?

I met Cynthia Sandburg here at the restaurant and a friend of hers called me to say she grows great tomatoes so I asked her if I could try some. Later that summer she drove by and on a whim she dropped them off and they were fantastic so I bought from her for the year and rather naively at the same time I had thought about growing my own vegetables. At the farmers market there were chefs all around me and as good as this stuff was everybody was buying the same thing, so I thought how can I cause some degree of separation to find a better product. I went to Cynthia and asked her for some land to grow my own product and she just happened to be looking to start a small farm to supply a restauarant. We made a huge comitment to each other. She dug up her yard, took out her swimming pool and we bought some greenhouses. It grew slowly over the past seven years and about two years ago they moved to a new 22 acre location. The extra land has afforded us many opportunites, we have goats making our own cheese and milk products, we have six pigs and are starting our own meat and charcuterie programme. Every year it becomes more ingrained into what we’re doing. We’ve had a great response thanks to our unique relationship with LAF.

Have you been growing anything interesting lately?

We do alot of experiments on growing things, a lot of trial and error for the future. We work two or three seasons ahead – it’s like a fashion house. We sat down in February to discuss our Fall and Winter menu next year and discussed what new seeds we’d like to plant as well as what things haven’t worked in the past so we can formulate a plan. The farm is there to grow for the specific needs of the restaurant. We just plant and try to figure out what we need. It’s an exclusive relationship, everything is ours.

What degree of your cooking is dedicated to showcasing the produce you get from Love Apple Farms?

More than half. I really try to showcase the produce as we have a lot of unique items that come from the farm. We really don’t want to bury that under other ingredients so we look for technique that highlights rather than masks.

Where would you say your passion for food and cooking comes from?

It’s the only job I ever had. I had grandparents that were great cooks but it wasn’t a case of me cooking at their knee. I grew up in New Orleans and they have a great restaurant and food culture that’s really ingrained there. I was fascinated by that and started working in restaurants after school and I fell in love with the business, way before I fell in love with food. I became fascinated with cooking in the end because it was creative – you could work with your hands and were penalised if you took shortcuts. I got a trenemdous amount of satisfaction from making people happy through my food and I haven’t left the business since.

Is there a reflection of New Orleans in your cooking?

No, it’s very traditional food down there and while it’s really good it’s not in our repertoire.

You’ve  trained and worked in some remarkable restaurants around the world including the Hotel de la Poste in France and Schweizer Stuben in Germany and Akelarre in Spain – how have your experiences influenced your cooking?

They’ve all made some sort of contribution, and everybody I worked for is a mentor. I’ve taken away positive elements and aspects of every place I’ve worked, and while I dont think I have one particular mentor, there are some people I’ve worked with that have had an influence on not only how I cook but how I conduct my business.

How would you say your cooking presence has developed over the years?

It’s become more mature, confident and simple. I find I’m cooking less like I’m trying to impress myself and more for the customer because I have faith in my own abilities and that of my staff. The single biggest thing is hard to articulate but I’ve moved on from being a young cook and imitating people. My own style has emerged now and I care less for what’s going on around me. I dont mean it like I don’t care about what other chefs are doing – of course I’m interested but I’m less so in having it directly influence what I do. It’s important to me that my environment, in terms of my location, the people I work with and the produce I work with, has more of an influence on my style than others.

At what point would you say your style was truly established?

It was only in the past three or four years. It’s taken a long time. I’m an old guy and I’ve been cooking for 33 years but it’s really been the past three where I’ve learned a lot about myself and I feel better about my cooking now than I ever have before.

Do you have any regrets that you didn’t reach this stage sooner?

No. It’s a crappy business to be in if you don’t like it but I still love coming to work everyday. When I don’t like coming to work anymore then I’m going to quit because it’s a really lousy business to be in if you dont like it.

You’ve been credited with quite a few awards recently. Two Michelin stars for six consecutive years, the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in America for the Pacific region and GQ Chef of the Year 2012. But despite all that what’s been the most rewarding thing for you?

The point in time when I realised the restaurant was going to be a success. There’s a big difference between being a chef and a chef-owner. Being a chef-owner you’re responsible for 30 people’s livelihoods. I’m responsible for giving them work, paying them and ensuring my vendors are paid too, and it’s finding the right balance that’s a big step for any chef. It’s easy to spend ther people’s money. That was a major turning point – learning not only how to be a successful chef but a restaurant first and getting the most out of people.

What are your thoughts on the attention you’ve had over the past few years from the media and critics?

I don’t think too much about it. It’s a positive and it helps the restaurant be a success but I don’t think too much about how it portrays me because it’s always distorted. I like to think that you’re never as bad as they say you are but you’re never as good either.

Would you lke to be a celebrity chef?

No not really. Maybe if they paid me millions for a TV show. I did Iron Chef America which was nerve-wracking and live – there’s nothing fake about the hour that you’re cooking. The funny thing is that equipment can break or you can cut your finger off but they’re not going to stop it. There’s a lot of contrived scenario and drama on the show but the cooking is very real.

How would you say your cooking fares on the global stage?

We have a lot of international visitors who make this restaurant a destination and that makes us very proud and happy, but it creates a level of expectation that pushes us. In terms of competitiveness we don’t really care, it’s not important. It may have been to my more immature self but now I believe it’s more important to let things fall where they may. If good things happen to us naturally then it means we are on the right track.

What effect has being associated with the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards had on your business?

In 2006 when we entered the list it was astonishing. It was the first time a lot of people in the US and overseas had heard about the restaurant. There was only a handful of Asmerican restaurants that year and so it put us in this elite category. Although since then we’ve been in the 51-100 list and it’s not the same thing, we’ve still gained recognition.

Whats the definitive element about Manresa that makes it stand out?

It’s a lot of small things we do correctly plus the uniqueness of our location. Los Gatos is off the beaten track and we’re not in a major urban area. Even if youre visiting San Francisco and you want to eat at our restaurant it’s an hours commitment and a lot of people dont want to do it. This is a destination place but it allows us to really speak about what we are, plus our relationship with Love Apple has a tremendous effect on what we do.

So why did you choose Los Gatos for Manresa?

I was in San Francisco and my first restaurant was a small bistro called Sent Sovi in Saratoga. It was successful and did great but the kitchen was tiny and I thought I would kill myself if I worked there another year. I almost went back to San Francisco with a new premise but we had carved a name in the South Bay and when we stumbled upon this place we fell in love with it. It was a restaurant before but just four walls and nothing on the inside. We’ve just completed a renovation last year, improving the entry way and patio.

What’s in the future for David Kinch?

To stay alive and keep going. I have a couple of little side projects on the go. I’ve got Manresa’s first book to deliver in November for a Fall 2013 release, which will be about our relationship with Love Apple Farms with recipes, photographs and narratives. I’d also like to do another place but I’m not sure what yet – we have a couple of things in the fire. I’m also doing some design projects involving plates which will hopefully be available in department stores soon, but I have a great balance right now, I’m happy. And if I’m happy it puts the restaurant in the most productive mood.

The inspiring success story of Rene Redzepi, chef of Noma, in Copenhagen, is the cover story of Time magazine around the world this week. The article, by Lisa Abend, presents the chef in a very honest way, calling him a ‘Locavore Hero’, a well deserved title!

Redzepi is not only the chef of the number one restaurant of The S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, but also the main responsible for a change in the world culinary landscape in the last years. His research work, commitment and dedication to Nordic Cuisine are beyond compare.

Here the beginning of the article :

“The man who runs the best restaurant in the world cannot afford his own home. He lives in an airy and light rented apartment in the old part of Copenhagen and cycles to work, pedaling through the streets with his 4-year-old daughter tucked cozily in his bike cart as he tries to get her to school on time. After dropping her off, he stops at a nearby coffee bar to down an espresso and a yogurt that will be his sole meal until his restaurant’s staff dinner.”

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2109150,00.html#ixzz1pzJKLplz (for subscribers) or for sale now!

 Luciana Bianchi is chef de cuisine and food writer, works as International Editor correspondent for the Brazilian gourmet magazine, Prazeres da Mesa, and contributes to several publications around the world.

on Twitter  http://twitter.com/LucianaBianchi

lucianabianchi on Instagram

 Luciana Bianchi is chef de cuisine and food writer, works as International Editor correspondent for the Brazilian gourmet magazine, Prazeres da Mesa, and contributes to several publications around the world.

on Twitter  http://twitter.com/LucianaBianchi

lucianabianchi on Instagram

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