Study In Umami...

818 on 8/18...this reflects the number of chefs tables to date on the date in which is was executed, and for the person who was the first to dine at the table! What a long road, amazing journey and incredible story it has been along the way! Tonight's dinner was a study in UMAMI...14 courses of savory, succulent, earthy, palate tingling, and salivating satiation, in which mental, emotional and spiritual intoxication of eating is all wrapped into a bundle of amazing flavor combinations, which are considered the fifth element of taste, dubbed as savory, or umami. It is really a concept and experience that is not easy to explain or define and exceptionally deep to fathom and contemplate. It refers to the glutamates in foods, the sensation it evokes as the taste receptors in your mouth and on your tongue become stimulated and create an almost euphoric sensation that makes you salivate and get that craving for something tasty. Certain foods posses more glutamates than others, and some are extremely high in them, thus creating more umami than another. Foods that are high in umami are foodstuffs such as shiitake mushrooms, parmesan cheese, soy, seaweed, fried potatoes, truffles, truffles and the like. Here are a handful of dishes that we created for such an experience. I can honestly say that this was one of those dinners that I will remember for the rest of my life. To cook this dinner was an honor and a privilege.

peach and house cured lomo skewers
uber ripe summer melon and grana padano parmesan cheese wafer

truffled popcorn and spicy parmesan popcorn

lobster, white nectarine, avocado, caviar, yuzu sabayon

crispy duck tongue cocktails, black pepper-maple aioli
fish sauce, shiitake-plum relish, crispy potato, maple-sherry drizzle

heirloom tomato core, baby sun gold tomatoes, heirloom tomato sorbet
shiso, surf clams, smokey jal-turmeric-shiso dressing

soy and sweet chili lacquered spanish mackerel, broiled, citrus heart of palm
caramelized mango, kimchi puree, micro greens, herb oil

peaches, peach pearls, herbal tea reduction, green tea sorbet

potato noodles, fresh uni, cured lemon, bottarga, micro arugula
vermouth-sea urchin essence, chives

seared scallop dashi, beer & soy braised quail leg, sriracha, black garlic
carrot-ginger salad, peas
(staged for dashi finish)

sides for dashi...
crispy togarashi potato fries and savory nori seaweed ice cream

silky and rich dashi broth with pork belly, szechuan, lemongrass, garlic
mushrooms, chili peppers, citrus, bay, thyme and other love

sweet corn flan, truffles, leeks, chanterelles, corn, truffle-foie gras nage

american kobe beef tri tip, grilled, cabbage-plum slaw, king oyster mushrooms
mustard dressing

slow braised unctuous pork belly, blackberries, polenta, lobster mushrooms
chard, tamarillo-pistachio-pickled shallot sauce

fig and pine nut tart, porcini crust, porcini custard, fig jam
parmesan ice cream, pine nut dust, peppered balsamic strawberry salad