2016 CATIE Award Entry Best Main Course Plate Presentation. DUCK & SCALLOP 50 th Birthday Bash

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2 SYNOPSIS: One of our top planners contacted us for a 50th birthday bash. It was an intimate 10 person gathering for a local executive and his closest friends. While the client had never worked with our company before, based on what he wanted, the planner said we were the only call they needed to make! With only Fire, Ice, Fun and Wow as our direction, chef was able to go wild and create an interactive dinner experience ending with this grand finale course: DUCK & SCALLOP / seared maple leaf duck breast, scallop, king trumpet mushroom, twicebaked sweet potato, fennel confit, tangerinespiked mushroom-herb duck consommé, liquid nitrogen-frozen flowers.

3 CONCEPT AND DESIGN: The concept of this event was definitely a reflection of the client s adventurous style, but it was also important to us that he was proud to host his50th Birthday Bash with us at the culinary helm. The menu needed to be both unique and interactive, while tying in the elements Fire, Ice, Fun and Wow! ORIGINALITY OF PRESENTATION: As guests took their seats, they were greeted by the sweet aroma of a prepared duck consommé simmering in individual miniature cauldrons on the table. Tiny vessels containing different ingredients were also perfectly placed at the top of each place setting. As the dinner progressed, guests were instructed to add specific ingredients to the consommé, which would be incorporated into the finale course.

4 DETAILS OF CULINARY COMPONENT: The amuse-bouche course featured house-made forest mushroom soup dumplings served in tiny bamboo dim sum baskets with matching chopsticks. As guests enjoyed this course, they added a variety of foraged mushrooms to their consommé. The salad course was a deconstructed Caesar salad featuring torched baby romaine, tableside presented salt block cured anchovies, powdered olive oil, soft poached egg yolk, parmesan cream filled croutons, and tangerine zest. Guests were instructed to mix their egg yolk and croutons with the powdered olive oil to create a creamy Caesar dressing. While guests were making their dressing, our chef made balsamic caviar which was combined with iced extra virgin olive oil and served with fresh baked focaccia bread. To complete this course, a pinch of tangerine zest was added to each salad, as well as the increasingly fragrant pots of duck consommé. ASSEMBLING THE PLATE: For the main course, guests were served a dual entrée of perfectly seared giant sea scallops and herb roasted duck breast accompanied by king trumpet mushrooms, twice baked sweet potato roulade, and fennel confit. As guests were pouring their now-completed duck broth over their plate, chef added edible flowers and fresh herbs into liquid nitrogen for a unique and frozen garnish. A classic mortar and pestle was used to grind the flowers and herbs into the fine dust she sprinkled onto each plate. Fire, Ice, Fun and Wow indeed!

5 CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES: Our biggest struggle was presented during the testing phase of this dish, in our kitchens. We needed to determine an appropriate vessel to keep the duck consommé hot, while not allowing it to reduce during the extended dinner service. After testing three different methods, we came to the decision to use our 5 cast-iron skillet paired with a large votive candle. This combination was the perfect solution for presentation and warmth. Another obstacle we came across was on-site was overcome swiftly by quick thinking on the part of our senior most Event Manager (Captain). We were asked to provide a wood table to match up with the clients existing table extending the length to accommodate the guest count and tablescape. When we arrived on-site, we noticed two of the tables were slightly different heights. The table legs were quickly loaded into a staff car and driven to our shop where they were trimmed accordingly. Voila, problem solved! Although not a food related challenge, it was still an issue for us to solve!

6 DUCK AND SCALLOP - YIELD 4 SERVINGS : 4 Duck Breast 8 U10 Scallop - Score the duck breast skin and render fat - Clean scallop KING TRUMPET MUSHROOMS 2 king trumpet mushrooms ¼ cup sugar 1 tablespoon fresh ginger 1 tablespoon garlic 1 cup mirin 3 tablespoons nori 3 tablespoons kombu 1 cup water 1 tablespoon salt - Bring all ingredients except for Mushrooms to a boil - Cut Trumpet Mushrooms to resemble the scallop - Let mushrooms marinate in brine for at least an hour - Sear mushrooms DUCK CONSOMMÉ 3 quarts duck stock Best Main Course Plate 2 carrots Presentation 1oz. 10 egg dried whites mushroom - Froth egg whites and pour into stock pot TWICE BAKED POTATO 2 sweet potatoes ½ lb. butter 1 cup cream salt - to taste - Roast sweet potato in oven at 350 F - Cool potato down completely - Cut potato into 1 diameter sections - Use ring mold to cut the center of Potato - Return the center pieces of potato to heat add all other ingredients - Season to taste CONFIT FENNEL 1 bulb fennel 1 quart oil 1 tablespoon salt - Quarter fennel - Slowly cook fennel submerged in oil until fork tender 1 lb. ground duck meat 1 onion 2 celery 6 oz. tomato paste - Make a raft by rough cutting onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms - Add the raft with tomato puree into stockpot - Pour cold duck stock into stockpot - Turn heat to medium and slowly bring to a boil - Stir every couple of minutes until the raft begins to float on the surface - When the raft forms, poke a 1 hole in the center and let the consommé simmer gently for at least an hour - Put a fine-meshed sieve over a container large enough to hold the consommé and line sieve with cheese cloth - Ladle consommé through sieve - Season to taste