A most eager guest

It is one of those annual dinner invitations that your favorite food columnist is raring to go… the Final Culminating Dinner Event as prepared by the second year students of Culinary Arts Chefs Programme of the International Culinary Arts Academy Cebu (96 P. Del Rosario Extension, Email: [email protected], phone 256-0461, 4182988).

The theme this year is “An Evening of Sous Vide Cooking,” a collection of recipes inspired from “Under Pressure” authored by Chef Thomas Keller. Sous Vide is an upgrade on cooking techniques using a “vacuum packing machine to seal food tightly in a heat resistant plastic bag” and plunge it in a machine called an immersion circulator to cook it in the desired cooking temperature. No more guess work in food preparation!

I have seen the concept of “vacuum packaging” way back in 1973 when I started work in Mara Livestock Company. A special plastic bag was used to wrap the chicken making it a kind of “second skin” which protects the product from “freezer burns.” Heat resistant plastic bags are sometimes used to wrap poultry during roasting.

The three hour dinner began with the Poached Organic Egg with Green Asparagus, Fleur de Sel and Ossietra Caviar and immediately lively discussion began on the nuances of the dish. When you are seated with the likes of Marriott Hotel F&B Herbert Villarosa, British Consul Moya, Anthony Jackson, Yolanda Kwok and Cybil Shun, make sure that you have an encyclopedic background on food. I require a second round of Prosecco Blu, Linea Vini, Spumante Italia to help in the recall process.

Second item on the menu was fish: Rainbow Trout with Grouper and Scallop Mousseline, Crème Fraiche, Dill Vinaigrette & Compressed Cucumber. Definitely, not found in the regular Filipino table since fish is fried, stewed or boiled. In Chinese cooking, it is either stir fry or steamed. This vacuum method locks all the natural goodness of the fish!

Panko & Parsley Crusted Divers Poached Scallop with Edamame Dungeness Crab & Coconut Hollandaise was served and immediately questions were raised; what is panko and what is edamame. I should have brought my Larousse Gastronomique book; I buy Japanese bread crumbs but I never knew it was called “panko” and neither did I remember naming the baby soybeans as “edamame.”

The soup was very delicious: Fresh Sweet Corn Soup with Tarragon Oil. There is a technique in preserving the sweetness of freshly harvested corn – include the stalk to which the cob is attached. Breaking it off triggers an enzyme which breaks down the sugars and goodbye, sweet corn. Corn seed is a reproductive organ and was never intended to be eaten! The tarragon provided the anise scent to this luscious soup.

It was time for Frozen Watermelon Yoghurt Sorbet before the 1st main dish was served: Torchon Foie Gras with Port Wine Reduction and Duck Confit with Cranberry Relish, Compressed Cardava Banana with Banana Puree. My beloved readers know that I have an affinity to duck dishes. Cooking it under vacuum and adding Cardava banana gives a new dimension to its flavors.

The 2nd and 3rd main dishes were the US Angus Beef Tenderloin, Potato Confit, Haricot Vert Tempura and Truffle Sauce and the Lamb Stew with Pasta. The beef was extra tender and the tempura of green beans provided the texture. This dish certainly merits as among the best dishes I have ever tasted.

Concluding dishes and wines served were the following:

1. Cheese dish with the Brie de Meaux with Compressed Roasted Beets, Gorgonzola with Port Wine Reduction Poached Compressed Pear accompanied by the Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, Villa Guilia 2007, Italia

2. Bourbon Chocolate Sorbet

3. Apple Geneoise, Candied Apple, Ginger Custard, Milk Jam, Apple Calvados Parfait and Apple Chips served with the Corte Dessert, Spumante Italia

4. Summer Berry Consommé with Goat Cheese Tiramisu and White Balsamic Foam

Unfortunately, print space is limited and to discuss each and every dish needs paragraphs to describe the flavors, texture and its accompanying umani (the fifth basic taste).

Bon voyage to all the graduating chefs! The International Culinary Arts Academy Cebu has provided you the necessary skills to be globally competitive but you need the experience to further the horizons of the culinary arts. And God willing, this writer will always be a most eager guest anytime there is an invitation.