Manresa's Desserts

Citrus tapioca and yuzu sherbet, yogurt espuma

Apples in cider lees caramel, with rye crumbs, chestnut with quince sherbet

Pine nut pudding with maple gelatin, candy cap ice cream, sunchoke, chocolate

Chocolate millefeuille with banana and tonka bean, black sesame ice cream, sorrel

Chocolate Madeleine, Strawberry Pate de Fruit

Black Sesame Macaroon

West Coast

Packing and getting ready for the next adventure...

New Dessert

Tarragon "custard", ruby red grapefuit, celery, yogurt,

crystallized tarragon, campari gelee, campari gel

My Holiday Wishlist

1) Vacuum Concentrator- Genevac Rocket $20,000

2) Centrifuge $20,000

3) Rotor Stator Ultrasonic Homogenizer $900

4) Rotary Evaporator $10,000

5) Pacojet $3,500

6) Vitaprep $500

7) Kitchen Aid Pro 600 $400

8) Dehydrator $300

9) Immersion Circulator $800

10) Cvap $5,000

11) Rational Combi Oven $15,000

12) Chamber Sealer with Gas Injection Port $4,000

13) Antigriddle $1,200

14) Thermomix $1,200

15) Centrifan PE $4,000

16) Peristaltic Pump $500

17) Blast Freezer $15,000

18) Freeze Dryer $30,000

Total Holiday Spending: ~ $132,300

The items listed are in no particular order. Please feel free to send the items or donations to my home address. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Grilled Pears at Noma

During my time at Noma I was introduced to a variety of interesting techniques and ingredients. One of the desserts included a grilled pear and aerated pine parfait. I thought the method to achieving the grilled pear was really neat. You start with a conference pear. You then peel, halve and remove the core. Next you reshape the pear, and apply dill oil to the flat surface. Next comes the grilling. At Noma we used the "Green Egg" grills. Making sure the coals are piping hot we placed the cast iron grill directly on top of the coals. We then waited until the pears were completely blackened on the flat surface before removing them. Upon pick up we peeled off the chared surface leaving a perfectly caramelized grilled pear. We dressed the pear with a pear crudite garnished with oxidized pear juice, juniper, lemon thyme, verbena, bronz fennel, and flowers. The grilled pear was placed on the plate with oxidized pear sauce and the aerated pine parfat. A very simple looking plate with a lot of technique in the components. It was one of my favorite plates because it showed so much technique and provided the guest with a light and seasonal dessert. Below are pictures showcasing the method to the actual grilling of the pear, as well as the finished plate.

Saturday Night Projects

Every Saturday night at the end of dinner service a few chefs and/or stagiers at Noma prepare a "project" for the entire kitchen to try. Basically during the week chefs will come in early or stay late to work on their project for the week. They will continue to prep for their dish throughout the week whenever they have free time. The chefs/stagiers taste and make changes to their dishes daily. On Saturday night at the end of dinner service, after the kitchen meeting, everyone will gather around the pass and plate there dishes in order of where their dish would come on a menu. (starters, mains, desserts etc.) The chefs/stagiers will each plate 3-6 plates in order for the entire kitchen to have a taste. Chef Rene leads a discussion and breaks down everyones dish and offers constructive criticism to the chefs. Anyone who wants to speak up with their own opinion on a dish is welcomed. I really really enjoyed this part of the week while I was staging at Noma. There is a great sense of urgency throughout the week to get all of your components together. The nervousness overwhelms you as you plate your dish, explain it, and answer questions in front of the worlds greatest chef and 30 of his best kitchen team. A sense of calm and relief overtake you as you clear your plates. Below is a picture of my project I worked on for my last week, as well as a link to Rene Redzepi's twitter feed where you can find pictures and brief explanations of past projects at Noma.

Smoked skyr mousse, fennel, compressed apple, celery ribbons,

apple gel, smoke gel, bronz fennel, lovage, crown fennel, coriander flowers

Rene Redzepi's Twitter Feed: http://twitter.com/#!/ReneRedzepiNoma/media/slideshow?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitpic.com%2F717rlm

AFK.....Noma

I will be back posting when I return from Denmark, OCT 24.