Monday 7 August 2017

Friends of friends...


Seared prawn and octopus salad on tomatoe coulis

An occasion will present itself, once in a while, when you not only know a chef ( Question here: When does a cook become a 'chef'?) but said chef will invite you to his/her's AND, cook for you. Remember the saying: "The tailor's wife is the worst clad?", tis very true for cooks and chefs too - an abiding memory of mine will be seeing the Japanese chef of an exquisite sushi meal, many years ago, in a 5 star, eating a Burger. lol

Such an occassion presented itself, a few weeks ago. An American friend knew this guy and asked if I would like to accompany her. So I, of course (duh!), said YES! Turns out, he worked as a sous-chef to Gordon Ramsey himself.


And between each freshly prepared course, regaled us with his stories from here, there and everywhere. We started with a delicious tomatoe and burrata salad (above). The vinaigrette was uplifted by the mix of fresh herbs: parsley, mint, basil and coriander.


Next came some bite sized morsels of fresh tuna on purple Peruvian potatoes, with a fresh sprinkling of herbs and some de-seeded chilli, for that extra bite. Along with this came stories of how our chef got started in the business.


It being the hot season, we had some more light and fresh tuna, this time quick seared and on a bed of squid, salmon and yogurt. Very fresh and melty.


And then the food became more serious and the type after which you lick your fingers ( and even the plate, provided no one is looking): King prawns cooked in the most delicious broth, I peeled, ate and then sucked head while my American pal pretended to, coz she had never done that before - lol. There are many places where meat and fish are sold in such a sanitized way that the end product doesn't look like it ever had bones and skin, let alone head and feet - Spain is most definitely NOT one such country. Just this dish, on its own, with some crunchy bread and a glass of white wine would send anyone on a straight trip to heaven, no layovers presaged. Mmmmmmm.


And last, but not the least, New Zealand lamb chops pan fried with confit endive and a sprinkling of goat's cheese.

'Twas all heavenly......Hurray for friends of friends who are chefs! Hurray for chefs! Hurray for food!