nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Question Of The Day #42

matthew.snyder77

ChefSteps is all about pushing boundaries. About taking old knowledge and combining it with new techniques, often with spectacular results. With that in mind, what is the most ambitious cooking project you have ever undertaken? Was it going solo on a dinner party for a dozen or more people? Was it a modernist wonder, like the CS 'unreal quail egg'? Or was it something a bit more broad, like becoming a vegetarian?

Find more posts tagged with

QOTD

Comments

Jenny_106356

would love to find a friend like you did.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

It was probably the 72 hour short ribs with the crispy beef thread/shallot salad and Asian glaze from Modernist Cuisine. Making those crispy beef threads took me forever... pulling apart individual muscle grains is tedious. By the end, the dish involved deep frying, sous vide, microwave dehydration, and pressure cooking. The result was pretty spectacular.

tshewman

Thanksgiving 2012. Did a tasting menu using The French Laundry/Per Se's template. No circulator, no vacuum, all traditional. 3.5 hours with my families (Canadian and here in the US). That cemented how much I enjoyed cooking and a catapult of what it could offer as enjoyment for a chef and the ones they serve.

douglas_bd

So the most ambitious project I ever started was a dinner scheduled for July 30th, 2011. That was the last evening for service at elBulli. Having never had the chance to dine there, I thought I'd do a tribute dinner. Something modest like 25 - 30 dishes for maybe 10-12 friends, none of whom likely had any idea what elBulli was. This was before I had a circulator; before I'd ever spherified anything; before I had ever used Xanthan gum or owned a whipping siphon. I had a growing interest in cooking and had pulled off some 6 -8 course menus for friends, but I clearly didn't have the skills to back up my plan. I didn't want to recreate specific elBulli dishes, but was putting together my own interpretation of what I thought an elBulli meal to be. I started thinking about this probably a year ahead of time. About 8 months before, I realized there was absolutely no way to do what I wanted to do on my own, so I tried to enlist help. Without any chef / cook friends per se, I sent feelers out to a few friends who I thought might bring something interesting in the way of skill set to the mix, despite their complete lack of cooking experience. They were an innovation guru (or some such corporate title), a college chemistry professor, and a magician. All of them were semi-game for the endeavor, but not really invested in it to the extent I needed them, and it was clear that I'd be doing all of the heavy lifting and most of the rest of the work myself. I had a menu of roughly 23 conceptual dishes (give or take a few at any given point in time) that I refined on paper over the course of many months, none of which I'd ever prepared before, and most of which I had no idea how to actually pull off. At some point, the whole damn thing fell apart, and I bailed a couple months prior to the big date. I'd like to get back to it someday. And feel like I could at least have a realistic shot of pulling off some of the planned dishes as part of a much smaller menu, even if a full 25 - 30 course menu remains decidedly out of my home kitchen reach. Spectacular results?....no. Even though the event never happened, I think the thought process that went into it was ultimately beneficial and encouraged me to grow as a cook. It ultimately led me here some 18 months later. So there's that.

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

Please use it...if you have any additions please share with all the children. Trust me, NEW guests that get this menu either cancel immediately or know they are guaranteed a hell of a time...

DiggingDogFarm_65362

The fact that I'm on a restricted diet is what got me interested in modernist stuff.

I'm rather a purist and old-fashioned in many ways and I was quite skeptical of the modernist movement when it first came along (several years ago now)....but information on eGullet is what first piqued my interest.

I'm not into it as much as most folks here but I've been drawn in far more than I ever expected or intended. : )

Anyway...my ambitious projects continue...including a low-sugar/low-starch sandwich bread that doesn't suck and several other related projects. There's always room for improvement!

matthew.snyder77

I wonder how many members here count ISOP as the jumping off point for their modernist adventures? I certainly do, and it was the BFG episode that did it. The first couple episodes I had seen were certainly cool, but nothing like that. I think it was the power paint gun that did it.

borgech

I love it too, and am thinking about how I can incorporate it into our menus!! Genius.

Davide_Tassinari_86770

I have similar fond memories of the ISOP series: the Black Forest gateau was probably my first big kitchen project, though I had neither any equipment or any idea what I was doing.

The amount of fun I had in (trying to) replicate the recipes from the series is one of the main reasons I decided to become a chef. I blame @Chris_Young_80640.

Michael_93748

I was thinking the exact same thing but didn't want to own up to it!

Brendan_Lee_56950

I might be stealing that disclaimer.

Tasha_78709

I was a volunteer cook for an artists' retreat centre north of Toronto. There was no electricity or running water, the gas stove had only 3 of 4 burners working, and there was no functioning oven. For the weekends I volunteered, I planned the menu and did all the shopping, then once there I cooked Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Sunday breakfast and lunch for the retreats single handedly for anywhere from 7 - 30 people . Most of the meals were fairly simple, and Saturday's lunch was always sandwiches, but I made sure everything was delicious.

lucasbodd

there quite few me and my team done so far. my wife and i have a catering company in french Alps, so a lt of catering is done is extreme environment. last summer we did gourmet hog roast buffet, canapés, plated starter, main buffet, plated dessert on the side of the mountain in the middle of forest on alt 1600m not far from chamonix. great fun! no hot water but we had electricity. so thermal circulators all the way.

now we stick to chalet based events that we call "supper club". just last night we did 5 course tasting menu with wine paring. two chef, thermal circulators and old good Aga style oven.

have a look

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.887813057919855.1073741848.156895797678255&type=1

menu:

LvF winter wonderland supper club

MENU OF 5 FESTIVE FLAVOURS

VANILLA

jerusalem artichoke, mushroom, vanilla

topinambour, champignon, vanille

Vin de Savoie, Pinot noir, Domaine Blard et Fils

Raspberry & vanilla aromas

CLEMENTINE

duck, prune, orange, rhubarb chutney, clementine, tarragon

canard, pruneau, orange, rhubarbe, estragon, clémentine

Vin de Pays du Val de Casse, Languedoc Roussillon

Fruity Red w/ a hint of spice

PINE NEEDLE

salmon, beetroot, pine needle

saumon, aiguilles de pin, betterave

Coteaux Varois en Provence, Domaine de la Goujonne

Dry, Floral & spicy white from provence

STAR ANISE

pork, orange, star anise, parsnip, carrots, port

porc, orange, anis étoilé, panais, carotte, porto

Cotes du Rhone, Terre de Gaulhem

heavy red, slightly oaky w/ mature red fruit aromas

CLOVES

pear, ginger, honey, red wine, cloves

poire, gingembre, miel, vin rouge, clous de girofle

Cote de Bergerac Blanc, Chateau Barouillet

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

that sounds great!

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

The following menu was for 8 guests and is fairly typical... it has taken a long time to perfect how to make this easy and be able to dine with my guests. I allow no one in the kitchen except whomever is clearing the plates from the previous course. I move very quickly (especially for an hammered old guy) and don't want to run the risk of burning someone or knocking them over. The rules for my dinner parties are cast in stone, see the last paragraph. (Muffin is my wife)

Chez Muffin

Guests must meet minimum requirements*

Cheese and Watermelon

Balsamic Reduction, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Black Lava Salt

Gloria Ferrer Brut ‘04

Smoked Salmon Snow cones

Norwegian Salmon, Cream Friache, Capers, Red Onion

Gloria Ferrer Brut ‘04

Avocado Vichyssoise

Potato and leek soup with avocado

Justin Sauvignon Blanc ‘06

Seared Scallops with Pancetta

Match stick French Fries and a Mustard Cream Sauce

Justin Chardonnay ‘05

Trio of Tuna

Seared, Sashimi, Tartare with Ginger Edamame

Justin Chardonnay ‘05

Pan Seared Duck Breast

Cherry Chardonnay Sauce, Parmesan Potatoes

Lincourt Pinot Noir ‘04

Oven Roasted Lamb

With hazelnuts and Frangelico Green Beans

Chateau St. Michelle Cabernet Indian Wells

Dessert

Who knows…yet.

7 o’clock in the evening, May Twenty-eighth, Two-thousand and thirteen

Management has the right to add to this menu at the last moment. All cancellations must be made at least two days in advance or the Chef will burn your freakin’ house down and sell one of your children (the best one).

*Minimum Requirements include: you must be able to walk in (walking out is optional), you must at least taste everything, if you don’t like it you can spit it out BUT not on the table, consume at least one glass of wine per course, you may fall out of your chair but not into your plate face first, no cigar smoking at the table, you may laugh at Muffin but it is suggested you not laugh at the Chef until dinner has been completed, you will NOT be held responsible for you actions or anyone you are associated with, as long as you don’t get sick in a public area you will most likely be invited back whether you had a good time or not.

Ed_D__14103

I once did a 5 course tasting menu with cocktail parings for 35 people with a friend. It was a "put up or shut up" rage call for two guys who were (and remain) really into food in cooking.

The theme of the meal was smoke and every dish had a smoked element. We pushed the envelope pretty far for two guys with zero restaurant experience or culinary backgrounds.

Bottom line--we pulled it off and got a lot of positive feedback. This after several trial runs weeks prior to the event with family "guinea pigs" and something like a combined 30 hours in the kitchen the day prior to and day of the event. Never been so exhausted in my entire life. And I've run marathons. I was sore for like 3 days afterwards.

I came away from it with an intense appreciation for how hard the professional craft is and a commitment to not quit my day job.

In terms of technique, there's one thing we came up with for the dinner that I still pull out of my bag of tricks from time to time. We did a vegan (not necessarily on purpose) "tartare" as a first course. This was basically diced tomato flesh (it was late summer, so we got a mix of good ones from the farmers market) that we drained in a strainer without salt for a few hours to create a drier "beefier" texture. We then took some of the tomato water and a lot of the strained jelly and mixed it with smoked paprika and folded that back into the the tomato with minced capers, parsley shallot and worcestershire sauce. We put this in a ring mold. In the center, we spooned in an olive oil and yellow bell pepper puree that looked a lot like a yolk. We considered reverse specification early on for this, but wound up never having the time to experiment with it and it was pretty good without it. Served with garlic toast.

Still pretty proud of that one. Found a pic (attached).

Brendan_Lee_56950

I used to do 5 course meals for 12+ guests once a month pretty much all by myself from start to finish. That was crazy but also very informative and helpful for me. I'm trying to start it back up in the new year again.

Michael_93748

Mine's modest, but yet full of failures. I hosted a dinner party of good friends (7 people in total) and was a bit...ambitious. I attempted multiple courses and multiple options for my guests (as two weren't eating meat at the time, one only likes everything well done, and four avid carnivores). Hits were a delicious roasted buttnernut squash soup that I've never quite been able to replicate, a very tasty creme brulee (although overcooked), and a nice broth in the mussels (which were undercooked slightly...many of them "barely" opened). So even most of my "hits" were fraught with challenges. The failures were many...on top of the above...steaks that finished early so were put in the warming drawer that kept them too warm and overcooked them badly, salmon that was overdone, duck breast that was underdone.

The biggest problem was my ambition - doing MANY things that I hadn't done before for the dinner party. Every course, pretty much, was new to me. I hadn't done the soup (or any soup for that matter) before. I had never done mussels (but consider myself a bit of an expert on eating them and dipping my bread in the broth!). I had never done duck breast. I had never done creme brulee.

I'm going to do it again early next year, but I'll have sous vide at my disposal, a better understanding of prep and mise en place as well as both of those former vegetarians now eating chicken. In fact, I came here to start a post about helping me with some of my ideas for the next feast!

The next one will be ambitious but more well planned. I will use several techniques learned here...from pressure cooking my own stock to sous vide creme brulee to sous viding proteins to avoid overcooking dangers, etc.

Mike_Rupp_31704

I cooked a fennel crusted pork tenderloin, apple gastrique, and apple / fennel slaw for 45 people in the Anza Borrego desert in CA. I had a 5 gal water jerry can for all of my water needs. I used a small Japanese grill for the pork, and had a small Korean butane burner for the gastrique. Everything went flawlessly, mainly because I probably spent 3 hours planning everything out in advance and writing out the plan.

Samuel_68313

I guess it varies, I did a nine course meal on my own for eight people one christmas. I've done a few big dinner parties for about twenty people. They are big projects but never felt too much.

Ages ago following some of the ISOP recipes felt like huge undertakings though, these days it probably wouldn't feel like much of a big deal but six or seven years ago making some of those dishes (bolognese, chilli, burger) felt pretty overwhelming.

Something more along the lines of pushing boundaries and ambition is coming up with your own recipes. I really wanted to make an awesome lemon tart and after a few disappointing results I decided to work hard on my own recipe, must have made about twenty or so until I was really happy with it. That was a lot of work.