The plate just made by two color, black & white..... When we start working on RM upstairs opening menu, I presented 66 dishes including amuse and dessert, this was the first dish chef told me 'do it!!' I got really stoked. I start listing and working on detail components on the dish, first list I got was the following>
Black: balsamic vinegar, black garlic, sauid ink, black sea salt
White: almond sliver, almond oil powder, endive rib(white only!), enoki mushroom, young coconut
My first image on this plating was make zebra tone on the plate. I went to hair supply store and buy 5~7 different comb and tried to make sharp clean zebra tone on the plate. But... I cannot get the result matching the image in my mind. I thought about using frozen strip sheet to make zebra tone which is the technique I learned from Alinea, but I decided no doing it. I can't erase where I worked and learned, but I wanted to show off something my own..
Considering time concern on plating this dish, I decided not doing zebra tone and do more free form style like every plates are different. I personally prefer free syle plating rather than locked up "perfect" plating anyway... ( like 2 inch from top, 4 inch from left, 3 o'clock is this, 7 o'clock that, kinda plating... too 3 three michelin french / laugh) First version of scallop "black & white" is the pic showing on the top. the form is squid ink black garlic form, paint is balsamic reduction, the garnished was dressed with meyer lemon almond oil vin.
Tasting result was horrible!! Chef Adam told me the portion look small, so we decided to change nantucket scallop to diver scallop. he didn't like form on the plate, so need to substitude. black garlic is too strong and breaking balance of the flavor profile, the present look slappy....
So I start over the dish from beginning again. I was playing with balsamic reduction to make dish more elegant not slappy. And chef Gerald came over and paint the plate just like the pic showing on the top. I though it was dope and he is a genius! He surley brought me back from headache and made the follwing change on the dish.
For substitude form, I decided to make squid ink black garlic sponge.
For garnish change endive to romaine(decide to use endive for trout dish), add tobikko & coconust flake for flavor and present. purpose. Also change vinegrette from meyer vin to white balsamic young coconut lime vin, make dish much more round it flavor
For scallop, by chef Adam's idea, decided to cut scallop like belt and then caramelize the bottom side..... one side raw and one side cooked, best of the both world!
Next post the final version of "black & white '10" !!
Labels: RM seafood, Winter Frost
