artful-cuisine-blog

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Wolvesmouth's "birds of a feather"

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Pharmacafe

Culinary event experimentalists Bompas & Parr are back, and this time with holistic healthcare in front-of-mind. 

Pharmacafe is a sensory dining experience that integrates components and ingredients found in holistic healthcare. 

Upon entering the café, visitors are given a bespoke drink based on their DNA, obtained by a hand scan at the entrance. Ingredients ranged from violet to chamomile, turmeric, rosemary and lovage, all of which have their own medicinal benefits: turmeric helps to boost the BDNF hormone, while violet is used for its antiseptic qualities. Guests can also receive a restorative boost courtesy of assistants in lab coats pouring flasks of memory-enhancing peppermint mist and a ginger wellness mist floating from the shoulder-height bar.      

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Ooho!

Meet Ooho!

Drawing inspiration from spherification -- a process beloved by Modernist chefs, and popularized by elBulli -- Ooho is the edible, environmentally-sustainable alternative to the plastic water bottle. 

It’s also a beautiful example of the innovation that evolves from the the design and culinary worlds informing each other. 

[artful-cuisine-blog]

"The Rock" at Atelier Crenn

[artful-cuisine-blog]

A Celebration of Food and Community with Nopalize Seasons

Nopalize founder and man-about-town-and-food, Stephen Satterfield.

Food lovers of San Francisco are well familiarized with Nopa and Nopalito restaurants as benchmarks in the local food movement. Both foodie hubs are centers for the Bay Area community (and beyond) to gather and celebrate incredible food that consists of ingredients provided by local purveyors, with a focus on sourcing with intention and cultivating community through cuisine.

This past year, members of the Nopa team launched an event series through the restaurants’ digital offshoot, Nopalize. Nopalize’s mission is clear: “know good food.” And they follow through. The event series, Nopalize Seasons, offers a lucky few the opportunity to be whisked away to the various purveyors’ sites -- from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company to Riverdog Farm – to enjoy a Nopa chef-cooked meal and selection of curated wines, or to alternatively join in a family-style private lunch at Nopa restaurant, where the purveyors come to the diners. All meals are complemented with an educational element: a series of talks and backstories from the various purveyors to give diners a deeper understanding into where their food comes from, and the story behind its process.

I had the privilege of joining in one of the family-style lunches where we learned first-hand the story behind Nopa’s olive oil from local oleologist, Maia Hirschbein, and a coffee lecture from Blue Bottle Green Buyer, Stephen Vick, all while enjoying an incredible meal by Nopa chef, Lawrence Jossel.

The experience was super fun, inviting, beyond delicious, with the added bonus of being educational.

I can’t wait for their next season of events in 2015!

For more information and events, keep an eye on the Nopalize site. 

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Turnip, apple, lemon, tarragon at Grace

[artful-cuisine-blog]

A design shout out to the stunningly curated site for Osteria Francescana. 

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Yellowtail tuna, daikon and dashi-infused gelée at Archetype.

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Tropical Fruit dessert at Alinea

[artful-cuisine-blog]

DIY Molecular Gastronomy

For the past decade, molecular gastronomy has redefined creative boundaries through the combination of science and the art of cooking. Meals are deconstructed, food types change texture or form and flavours are combined to produce novel creations.

Now foodie inventions of the sort Heston Blumenthal creates could be part of your everyday cooking repertoire thanks to a new range of molecular gastronomy home kits called Molecule-R. The DIY kits teach four molecular techniques: gelification, spherification, emulsification and thickening. They also come with recipes and detailed instructions to create a bunch of exciting things - like chocolate spaghetti, lemon foam or mint caviar.

Check out their videos here and try it out for yourself at home.

[artful-cuisine-blog]

3-D printed coffee sweeteners by The Sugar Lab

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Wild fluke, brassica leaves, buds and flowers, and perilla at Saison SF

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Archetype

While back in my hometown of St. Helena, I had to try out Howard Backen's (semi-)newly reopened restaurant, Archetype.

Newly named from its former life as French Blue -- and including a little design facelift from Backen, as well a new chef, Ryder Zetts (of Solbar fame) -- Achetype is a total home run. Not only is the food above and beyond delicious (and farm-to-table fresh,) the interior is one of the most beautifully designed in the valley.

Exterior (photo credit: archetypenapa.com)

Patio (photo credit: archetypenapa.com)

Euro-meets-Nantucket interior (photo credit: hesitantlyhealthy.com)

I still dream of this hearts of peach palm, beet and hazelnut salad. 

And the three layer chocolate mousse with matcha and orange gelee was the perfect way to end the meal.

I highly recommend making a stop here for an extraordinary Napa Valley culinary experience.

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Amoraco Catering

NYC, are you looking for your next caterer? Look no further than Amoraco.

I worked with Chef Tamara Shenkle on an event I recently produced, and not only was she a dream to work with, but her cuisine went above and beyond: the perfect combination of superb flavors, fresh ingredients and artful design. 

Crudite cones with basil hummus

Chicken mini tacos with tomatillo salsa, gucamole crema and cilantro

(Photo credit: Deidre Schoo) 

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Wolvesmouth’s “Throwback to Hollywood”: coconut cake, black sesame meringue, cocoa and gold sorbet, rosewater and lime “implants,” topped with silver.

[artful-cuisine-blog]

An array of farm-to-table treats at SolBar, Calistoga.

[artful-cuisine-blog]

Atelier Crenn's porridge of Koshi Hikari, coconut, pineapple, and Spirulina