A Menu in Time...

This time. The time is now. It is of the moment...and it was good. I have written many a time about my inspiration and focus of the conceptualization of a dish or menu and it is amazing how often that the inspiration comes from who's coming to dinner! It is not that anybody is better than anyone else. Hell no. As we have said, or at least thought throughout our budding careers as young cooks when someone has said "hey, Mr. X is coming in and he is a VIP" and the typical reply usually is..."everyone is VIP"! I get that and support it, and now as a chef, preach it and demand it. But...there is a little something extra special that happens when a guest comes in who you either know well, is a very special customer, or is a major foodie that truly is all about your cooking which sends you into a different realm. It inspires. It drives. It provokes thought. It stimulates and excites your ideas and senses. It pushes you into the challenge of doing something special and out of the norm. It brings out that inner cook in us that was made present as young cooks working on the line to just do whatever, without thought of food cost or labor cost, without the mindset asking us is it proper or not, or even, the notion of holding back because that might not be what they want, but it is because it is what you want to cook for them. I love it when that happens for me. It is, well...inspiring. Here is a menu from a recent chefs table dinner in which that culinary spiritualism took place. I hope you can enjoy the inspiration of our cooking in which to stimulate your own.

~amuse du soire~

chilled maine lobster salad "en oeuf"

mango, avocado, american sturgeon caviar, yuzu-champagne sabayon

(not pictured)

chilled asparagus-potato "vichyssoise"

black mission fig-lonza skewer, shiitake dust, chevre de cremier

trampetti olive oil

copper river salmon belly "crudo del fuego"

beet tapenade, shiso, english pea-orange mint salad, aprium ice, horseradish crema
bergamot dressing

~

honey bunches of oats crusted foie gras

hazelnuts, cacao nibs, poached rhubarb, brown butter-balsamic vinaigrette

(not pictured)

seared diver scallop & veal sweetbreads "porridge"

truffles, house bacon, fava beans, fregola sarda, morels and madeira jus

"bouchee revigorant"
heart of palm "ravioli", plum confit, lemon verbena, wild elderflowers
elderflower compressed cucumber sorbet

cumin & coriander rubbed loin of lamb "sliders"
frozen yougurt lozenge, "greek style" baby tomatoes, fennel, basil, olives
and caramelized garlic

heather honey lacquered breast of squab
baby zucchini puree, porcini mushrooms, pork cheek ravioli, pea blossoms

and a pineapple sage jus

lemon pudding cake, rhubarb, plums, rhubarb sorbet, langue du chat
local strawberries, pistachios, grains of paradise, goats milk gelato
passion fruit curd "refreshment"
valrhona manjari silk, caramel, espresso, sapote ribbons, sapote sorbet
praline milkshake (not pictured)

~
spanish olive oil chocolates, strawberry pates de fruits, bacon caramels

hazelnut macaroon sandwiches

(not pictured)