New Culinary Traditions

Tomorrow

2011-08-12T23:56:00.000-07:00

I'm performing tomorrow.
Cooking for the local seafood festival on a stage.
I get to introduce people to the wonders of agar-agar.
I wonder how everyone would feel if they knew i was veganish?

Fine Dining for Vegans

2011-08-09T05:13:00.000-07:00

I spend a lot of my time reading and thinking about food. Like every long-term chef I also have a pretty good idea about what I do and do not like on a plate.
Since eliminating animal products from my diet I have been researching vegan fine dining pretty much constantly, and i've come to a few conclusions.
#1) There is no reason that vegan dishes should be of less quality than equivalent omni dishes.
#2) Unless you are a health resort or a specifically healthy eating establishment we need toThe ditch the flavorless low salt, low GI, not fat crap.(Gluten free i'm all for however, allergies should be taken seriously)
#3) We need to stop veganising omnivorous dishes, the vegan versions are poor imitations, and don't really convince anyone. Vegetables have their own beautiful language and should be allowed to speak for themselves.
#4) There are a whole bunch of new ingredients and techniques that are only just now being explored, things like sous-vide, vacuum evaporation and various vegetable gums are opening a whole new range of textures and flavors not previously attainable. These areas have some massive possibilities for vegan food.
#5) The tide is turning, plant based cuising is becoming more and more acceptable.

The #1 restaurant in the world for the last 2 years is a restaurant called Noma in Copenhagen and, while being a far cry from even vegetarian, is very plant centered. They choose to showcase their local plant life and animal parts tend to only play a secondary roll. ( http://www.noma.dk/ )

I can seriously foresee a time in our gustatory future when some of the top restaurants in the world are vegan.

Honestly, I can't wait.

Back to Aus

2011-08-07T00:09:00.000-07:00

Well........ A lot has gone on since last post.
- Our first baby was born in a beautiful homebirth.
- I got usurped as head chef of the steakhouse (my bosses belated response to a payrise request)
- We moved back to Australia (to be closer to family)
- I spent quite awhile looking for work, or at least it felt like it, looking for work in our country town and now the Head Chef of an as yet to be opened Modern Australian restaurant with a strong SEAFOOD focus.
I mean really, it feel like I just keep stepping away from vegetables. I can work some into the menu, but their place is always going to be limited.

As an aside however, I am going to be the long term caretaker for Modernist Cuisine, a spectacular compendium of everything to do with food and cooking techniques.

Starr Anise

2011-01-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

To me star anise is the Ringo Starr of the spice world, it’s distinctive flavor is much better suited to a supporting role amidst other strong spices and flavors than being center stage (I’m sorry Ringo if you ever read this, you were a fantastic drummer, but in lead vocals I really think you are an acquired taste).

The powerful taste of star anise is due largely to the compound Anethone, a chemical also found in european anise (no botanical relative), tarragon, and liquorice. Anethone has a sweet flavor (of its own accord) and a strong scent. Believe it or not (no really, you should take this one on faith) the shiny seeds actually have far less flavor than the shell (or fruit) surrounding, which I found out much to my disgust when I decided to test this information (p.s. eating parsley helps to remove the flavor which was un-dissapated by anything else I tried).

At work (yes that same freaking steakhouse) I use star anise in combination with other herbs and spices to bring out Umami flavors in dishes (mostly meat based) that also have a high fat content, this is because (especially when combined with onions) the subtle application of anise has the effect of heightening this savory flavor. When used in Vegan cookery the effect can be the same, used with mushrooms, star anise emphasizes their mushroom-iness, and my favorite method of use is to combine white beans (for fat and body) kombu (for umami), and star anise. Any Vegan dish that has a high fat content and strong protein presence can benefit from a small amount of star anise.

I could go into the applications of star anise in sweet cooking but I really cannot stand the taste of liquorice.

If designing a new dish using star anise you should keep in mind its traditional accompaniments, in India it is used in conjunction with cardamom, cloves, pepper and cinnamon to make chai (combine with sugar and oat milk and simmer for 20-30 minutes, then steep black tea leaf, try it, it’s good.) or in China with the addition of szechuan pepper (prickly ash).

But seriously, do NOT chew the spice raw, it will be a mistake you will regret for most of the day.

Photo Credit: Nikki Griffin

A Kitchen Confessional

2010-12-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

I love food! And approximately one year ago I became vegan, which, I would say, is an event in itself in anyone's life. In my life however it is kind of……Awkward.

I’m a chef and have been for 12 years, I’m the Head-Chef of a well(ish) regarded Restaurant, I’m not a fine dining chef (much to the disgust of my inner snob over the years) but I am a very good, Anthony Bourdain type, steakhouse chef and over the years I have been indirectly involved in the slaughter of a large amount of non-human animals.

Prior to becoming vegan I was not a conscientious eater, in fact, despite detailed knowledge of what factory farmed animals went through I couldn’t care less where my food came from. I ate anything, and I was pretty proud of that fact (much to the distaste of my vegetarian - now also vegan - wife).

No, seriously… I. Ate. Anything. (Almost anyway, I don’t think I ever ate an eyeball).

Liver. Tongue. Brain. Tripe. Marrow. The more warped it was, the more outside the ordinary eating experience, the more I enjoyed both the eating, and the bragging about it afterward.

Now, for those of you who have never been in a commercial kitchen (actually inside, not just seen Gordon “Fucking” Ramsay on T.V.) they are quite machismo environments, even most female chefs are crude, revolting and misogynistic and there is a certain amount of respect reserved for the culinary adventurous. I had a lot of “Kitchen Cred”, I owned “Nose to Tail Eating” by Fergus Henderson (and numerous other tomes dedicated to the processing of dead flesh), I had eaten king cobra with Burmese expats in Thailand, and roasted porcupine in Vietnam. I was vocal in my distaste for vegetarians (except those I personally knew) and regarded them as a personal affront to my keen abilities. I mean seriously, how could anyone not want to eat the duck liver parfait that I spent years (literally) perfecting, or the oxtail ravioli that was the very definition of the word unctuous. I put chicken stock in my soups just because I really and sincerely believed that those declining to rejoice in the suffering of others had absolutely no idea whatsoever about what exactly made food taste good and, via extension, life worth living.

For those years, I am truly sorry.

I spent years of my life, working under thuggish assholes, working to be better and more passionate than everyone around me, dealing with years of abuse in order to learn all the tricks of the trade when it comes to processing and manufacturing quality animal products, spending hours (on my own limited time) researching every aspect of animal processing from birth to slaughter and beyond.

I have detailed knowledge of Mailliard reactions, the science behind “resting” meats, over 100 methods of egg cookery, protein reactions to various temperatures in sous-vide, and the factors involved in the curdling of milk proteins for making cheeses.

I have finely honed skills in butchery, from frenching rib-bones and tying rib-eye for cooking to breaking down a quarter of pig, beef or venison (deer).

If I sound defensive, it’s probably because I am.

I would estimate 60-70% of all the knowledge I have accumulated from years of research focuses on the use of animal flesh and their secretions.

I have dedicated years to this knowledge.

It is all I currently know.

It is the only way I can earn a reasonable living.

This is not what I want.

I do not want to spend any of my day working with the blood of a non-human person crusted under my nails.

I want to dedicate my time and efforts to creating good food that does not include hours of suffering in its ingredients list.

I want to cook for people who feel the same.

I need you.

Vegans I need you to request vegan meals when eating out, be vocal, complement food that is good, and criticize the bad (please give reasons though), because without demand there will be no supply (even I can’t put on a food that won’t sell).

Omnivores, if you are here then I guess you are probably at least vegan curious so keep that up, expand your taste buds, there is so much more food out there when you start looking for it (how many of you have eaten seitan, tempeh, farro, quinoa) you will quickly realize that there is really no need for meat, dairy or eggs.

Chefs, I really don’t know what to say to you, but for those of you who are open minded and looking for more humane ways to create interesting food, great and thank you for being an inspiration!

And for those of you that either don’t care or actively sabotage vegans, fuck off, grow up, and don’t EVER step foot in my kitchen.