What happens when a two-star Michelin chef from Chicago comes to town as part of an event called, “The Best of America,” held at the Hilton KL? He brings good things! At a cooking demo followed by a lunch, a lucky group of 30 learned how to make this olive oil poached salmon. Duffy seals the raw salmon with the oil in a bag using the sous-vide method, then he poaches it for 45 minutes at 118 degrees F. The finished fish, of a buttery yet firm texture, is combined with the flavor of licorice coming from lacy strips of fennel bulbs and a fennel leaf emulsion. A mustard vinaigrette, chopped black olives, red sorrel leaves, anise hyssop, sweet cicely leaves and fennel blooms round out the rest of the flavors. The accompaniment: a smattering of airy, crisp crackers made from tapioca flour, akin to rice crackers. Salmon and fennel are two of my favorite foods…so I truly enjoyed this dish and its fresh, green, spring-like presentation.
Soup followed…a healthy, earthy combination of barley and quinoa enveloped in veil of amaranth, moistened with a toasted sunflower seed consomme. At Duffy’s cooking demo, I learned that there are 12 garnishes in that dish, yes, twelve! Sultanas, caramelized pearl onions, puffed amaranth, fried sunflower seeds, sunflower sprouts, burgundy amaranth, quails grass, chive tops, chive blossoms, lemon balm, sweet woodruff, and Queen Anne’s lace. Let’s here it for fresh herbs! Duffy described the flavor profile as earthy, nutty, and dark, with raisins and onions for sweetness, and the lemon balm to lighten and highlight.
I’ve never come across a palate cleanser quite like this before: liquid sudachi (a small, green Japanese citrus fruit described as a mandarin hybrid with a tangy grapefruit-like flavor) wrapped in coco butter and white chocolate with nepitella mint resting on a bed of super fine sugar. These white balls came with an official warning from the chef and waiter: put it in your mouth and keep your mouth closed. Why? Because the perfectly tart liquid center squirts out like a geyser. At the cooking demo, we learned how to make these lovely balls…I will give it a try someday.
Finally, this sinful dessert reminds me of the game Candyland. Strings of chocolate Manjari ganache form a checkered path along which one might fall into a pool of caramel spiked with cassia buds, puddles of blueberry and lemon puree, a sand pit of brown butter powder, or hit a rock of cocoa. Mountains of hazelnut financiers are buried under the winding path, one of them topped with a quenelle of mandarin ice cream garnished with dill, banana mint, and candied rind. All I can say is, Wow! I’ve never experienced so many flavor combinations on one dessert plate. The chocolate rush was so intense I felt like a kid again.
As part of Duffy’s gastronomic program he also prepared a six-course dinner, including all of these delicious dishes plus…sea urchin with rhubarb, hojo santa and hyssop bloom (excellent flavor combo); Nantucket bay scallops with romaine lettuce marmalade and white poppy seed milk (okay, the milk was a little too funky for me); and grilled Wagyu beef ribeye with smoked coconut pudding, yuzu puree, preserved kumquats with African blue basil (really nice, even if I’m not a red meat eater…my husband loved it).
During an interview, when I asked Duffy to describe his cuisine, he said, “thoughtful-progressive.” He’s right on both counts. I predict a third star will come his way someday.
More about Chocolate, Desserts, Fish, Herbs, Main Courses, Salmon
