BEST PLATED MENU. African Flavour

Transcription

1 BEST PLATED MENU African Flavour Catie Awards 2017

2 SYNOPSIS A unique African menu for a high profile African client was required for a private year end Christmas event. The event was held in a small private venue. One long table was set for 18 very important guests. Although a Christmas themed event, the client requested a very distinct African flair in the table décor, styling and menu design.

3 PLATED MENU STARTER Pink pepper Cruder Springbok loin, beetroot tartar tin, sweetcorn mousse, air dried tomato, cape spiced cauliflower, vetkoek, West African chilled peanut soup. OR Highland cold smoked Trout, wasabi sweets, roasted carrot puree, Cape Malay pickled mushrooms, onions sprouts, lemon cured, honey labneh, salmon chip, fresh caddied beets, and carrots ribbons. MAIN Dukkah Gras fed Karoo lamb rib chop, roasted olive and caper confit lamb shoulder, salted daikon radish, smoked potato puree, Chakalaka, rainbow carrots, confit heirloom tomatoes, black pepper sweet soya, minty carrot mousse. DESSERT Milk tart, baked butternut pudding, brandy Ice cream, ginger soil, dried chili strawberries, mampoer fruit salad, white chocolate mousse, cinnamon cream syrup.

4 Menu goals and objectives Our goal was to fulfil the client s exact vision and even exceed his expectations. This menu had to provide an unforgettable dining experience for our very high profile client and guests from around the world. The goal was to create an out of the ordinary food presentation that would be a visual as well as gastronomic journey for the guests. Fresh and clean flavours were used. Aside from the beautiful presentation, many difficult to source ingredients were used. When creating this menu, the main objective was to showcase the different ways in which African cuisine can be utilised using a variety of different African inspired ingredients together with presenting these unique dishes in an elegant manner. African food is known to be rustic and bulky but with this menu our goal was to create a delicate presentation yet still stay true to the flavours and originality of well-known dishes from many distant parts of Africa. Two separate food tastings took place before the actual event to ensure that the menu was one hundred percent perfect. Additionally, each course was superbly executed as we paid extreme attention to detail to every single item that was placed on each plate.

5

6

7

8

9 Qualities of Menu making it appropriate To achieve the goal of creating a unique African experience which the client expected for his guests our chefs came up with a menu that is a pure replica of food and ingredients we find in Africa such as Cruder Springbok loin, Cape Malay pickled mushrooms, Dukkah Gras fed Karoo lamb rib chop, Chakalaka and milk tart. The menu included flavours and traditional dishes from West, East, South and North Africa. To start, the guests could choose between the pink pepper Cruder Springbok loin or highland cold smoked trout. The presentation of the food was in line with the table setting and décor as well. Africa is well known for their vibrant colours, within each dish, we wanted to display these colours and diversity of this beautiful continent. Brightly colored foods such as wasabi sweets, roasted carrot puree and carrot ribbons added contrast and color. Cruder springbok loin was accompanied by West African chilled peanut soup which was poured by the waiters in front of the guests. For the main course, a Dukkah Gras fed Karoo lamb rib chop was presented on a large black slate tile instead of an ordinary plate. The plating was absolutely paramount for this dish as the aim was to create a visual and sensory African feast for the guests. The combination of Dukkah Gras fed Karoo lamb rib chop, roasted olive and caper confit lamb shoulder, salted daikon radish, smoked potato puree, Chakalaka (a South African vegetable relish), rainbow carrots, confit heirloom tomatoes, black pepper sweet soy and minty carrot mousse created an artwork on the piece of slate. Finally, milk tart, which is a traditional South African dessert was served. It was presented in an elegant and more formal manner, in order to showcase that traditional African dishes can also be fit for fine dining experiences.

10 Challenges and Obstacles Due to the complexity of the menu, it was very difficult to source many ingredients required for some of the dishes. This can be said as they were quite unusual and not readily available. The challenges started right from the menu design as South Africa has many well-known dishes that are traditional, classic and evoke fond memories. It was our challenge to put a contemporary spin on these dishes so guests would be reminded of their favourite old time dishes but be able to enjoy them in a whole new light while being paired with unusual complimentary ingredients and plated like never seen before. We had to work in an incredibly small kitchen with only two trestle tables. As the space was so tight we relied on one chef and just one waiter to plate up the dishes. It was an incredibly rainy and cold day and the kitchen was not connected to the venue, we had to run with a waiter holding an umbrella. Besides these challenges faced at the venue, the power also tripped several times from the storm but luckily the dining table was full of candles which added a real South African edge to the whole event (due to our countries poor power and energy management, we often experience power outages and load shedding). The guests could not stop laughing about how they had to eat their milk tart in the candle light, just like back in the day. Overall, we met all obstacles and received endless favourable feedback.

11

12 Pink pepper Cruder Springbok loin, beetroot tartar tin, sweetcorn mousse, air dried tomato, cape spiced cauliflower, vetkoek, West African chilled peanut soup. Cured loin 2 each Springbok loin 5TBS Pink salt 1cupRock salt 5 sprigs Thyme fresh 1cups Brown sugar ¼ Pink pepper Trim the springbok. Mix the curing mix the rub on loin and set a side in fridge for 4hours- after this, roll in plastic, make sure this is thigh to get a nice round shape. Place in freezer, till function. This will help slicing it thin.

13 Beet tart 10 each Beetroot baby 2 TBS Sugar 1 tsp Garlic 1 tsp Ginger 2 TBS honey 2 TBS Butter Boil the beetroot till soft, the clean the beets. Cut to size and place on the cut puff pastry, sprinkle with garlic, ginger, sugar and butter- bake at 180 till crispy and golden. Squeeze some honey on just before serving Sweet mousse 6 each Corn on cob 2 cup Milk 3 cups Cream 5 ml Salt Boil the corn in milk and water for around min then cut corn on the cob, cook it till soft and creamy set to cool- whip the cream up and the fold in the sweet corn.

14 Dried tomato 500g pack Cocktail tomato 1 tsp Garlic 2 sprigs Rosemary 2 tsp Parsley 2 tsp Coriander Cut tomatoes on halve, chop all the ingeriedients and rub the tomatoes with it, place un the pass to drie outbest over night Cauli puree 1 head Cauliflower 2 TBS Mild curry powder 500ml Cream 100ml Oil 5g Salt 3g Cajun spice Rub the cauliflower head with oil and top it with the curry powder- then bake in the oven till soft and golden. Blend in food processor- place it in a pot with cream and cook for 10min- then blend smooth

15 Vetkoek 3cups Cake flour 10g yeast 1TBSP butter 1 TBSP white Sugar 2cups cooking oil 1tsp salt 300ml luke warm water Mix flour, sugar and salt together, dissolve butter and water, add to water mix, mix well for 15min. cover and let it stand for 15min in warm place. Portion the dough to the correct size. Deep fry till golden brown.

16 Soup 3cups veg stock 1/2 medium red onion 1 TBSP ginger 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp salt 1 bunch kale 3/4cup tomato paste 1 tsp chillies 1 cup peanut butter Cook the kale, add the onion, garlic, ginger, salt, tomato paste and chilli, pan fry to get the flavours out. Add the peanut butter and cream. Simmer for 15-20min- then blend smooth.

17 Highland cold smoked Trout, wasabi sweets, roasted carrot puree, Cape Malay pickled mushrooms, onions sprouts, lemon cured, honey labneh, fresh caddied beets, and carrots ribbons Smoked salmon 1 whole scaled and filleted Salmon 1 cup Wood chip 5 ml Salt 2 bags Rooibos tea Mix wood and tea- the place salmon in smoker and smoke cold for 20 min- very light smooke.

18 Wasabi sweets 3tsp Wasabi powder 8 tsp Castor sugar 3each Egg whites ½ tsp Corn starch Whip up egg whites till soft peak, add the sugar spoon by spoon and beat till smooth and gloss then add the wasabi and corn starch. Puree 2 pun Baby carrots 3TBS Oil 5 ml Salt 1 cup Cream Rub carrots with oil and salt roast till soft ( min), the blend til smooth and pass through sieve mix with cream the get the consistency right.

19 Pickled mushrooms 400g Wild mushroom mix 2 cups red wine Vinegar ½ cup water ½ brown Sugar Salt 2 TBSP curry powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp Mustard seeds 3each Bay leaves 1 tsp Turmeric 1 whole Onion 1 tsp Garlic 4each Allspice berries Clean mushrooms- heat the wet ingredients the add the dry. Add the mushrooms to the warm-not hot mix. The set to cool and pickle

20 Lemon curd 5 egg yoks 5 TBSP white sugar 5TBSP butter Zest from 1 lemon Juice from 1 lemon Mix the egg yolk, butter and sugar, the place on heat, keep on stirring till thick the add the lemon keep on stirring till mix is thick and smooth. Honey labneh 1 cup Greek yoghurt 3TBSP lemon juice 4 TBSP honey Mix the yoghurt and lemon juice well. Place in the strainer with a cloth to make sure the water drains. Set over night. Mix the honey to taste.

21 Beets and carrots 6 each Slice thin and set aside till service Dukkah Gras fed Karoo lamb rib chop, roasted olive and caper confit lamb shoulder, salted daikon radish, smoked potato puree, Chakalaka, rainbow carrots, confit heirloom tomatoes, black pepper sweet soya, minty carrot mousse Karoo lamb dukkah 15 lamb chops extra long bone French trimmed 1cup roasted nuts ¼ cup sesame seeds 2tsp cumin seeds 2tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp black pepper 2 tsp cajunspice 1 tsp salt 1/2cup Cream cheese Blend all ingredients expect for cream cheese. After blend. Mix every thing with cream cheese. Place between two greaseproof papers and press flat- using a rolling pin helps set in freezer the when frozen cut to size.

22 Confit lamb shoulder 1 Lamb shoulder 3kg duck fat rendered 3kg lamb fat rendered 3 sprigs rosemary 2 tsp black pepper 1 onion Parsley 1packt Bread crumbs 1cup Blend parsley and crumbs together Trim shoulder, and place in insert, add duck and lamb fat, rosemary, pepper, onion. Braise for 3-4hours, the set to cool down the shred very fine, mix with cream cheese. Place in insert and press down, place something heavy on the insert to make a nice compression. After cut to size and coat with parsley dust 2each Daikon radish 20g Salt 2tsp Oil Rub radish with oil and salt- roast till soft.+- 1hour

23 Smoked potato puree 8 large 1 cup Wood chips 1cup milk 1cup cream Peel and boil potatoes, when cooked place in smoked- smoke for 20min- the place in pot with cream and milk mix- simmer for 10min the blend till smooth like a puree-not mashed potato. Chakalaka ½ cup oil 1 onion chopped 1 green pepper chopped 2 tsp Cajun spice 2tsp curry powder 4 tomatoes large 4 carrots large grated 1 tin baked beans 2 chillies Fry all the ingredients but adding the baked beans and tomatoes after 5min, then simmer for 20-30min

24 Confit heirloom tomatoes 1cup olive oil 20 medium size heirloom cocktail tomatoes Salt Place the oil and tomatoes in a small insert and bake at 230 for 20min, the set to cool in oil. black pepper sweet soya 1cup light soya 3TBP spoon honey 3 TBP white sugar 2tsp crusher black pepper In sauce pan add all and reduce till coating back of spoon minty carrot mousse 10 baby carrots Mint Cream white sugar Salt Boil carrots till soft, blend adding the mint- let cool. Whip cream and sugar, fold in the minty carrots and set to service