currently : chef de cuisine @ palantir
formerly : head chef of catering & events | head chef of crave cafe | sous chef of charlie's @ google
HALLOWEEN MENU 2012 : TRICK OR TREAT? MYSTERY PUSH POP
roasted chicken ice cream - cauliflower gratin ice cream - apple pie ice cream
This was our fun little intermezzo. The push pop is inconspicuously layered with different flavored ice creams that have all been dyed pink so that each flavor remains indiscernible to the eye. We didn’t tell our guests what they were having. They had to guess.
HALLOWEEN MENU 2012 : INSIDE/OUT CHICKEN
chicken heart & guts infested with maggots
This dish didn’t come together until we actually plated it. I had so many ideas for it that I just didn’t know what the end result was. It turned out quite nice.
I used a needle syringe to inject the raw chicken heart with the chicken jus which I reduced, mounted with butter, and then dyed with beet juice. You can actually insert the needle right into the arterial tubes and it’ll pool up in a hollow area in the heart. Pretty awesome.
The breakdown:
chicken heart - grilled chicken heart injected with blood jus
guts - chicken stew
maggots - risotto
egg in nest - soft-boiled quail egg, potato frites, & sweet potato puree
that thing on the left - sous-vide & fried boneless chicken wing
HALLOWEEN MENU 2012 : BURIAL GROUNDS
human bone & rotting flesh with larvae
For this menu, I really wanted to be creepy and gross yet still elegant in presentation, all the while keeping within the spirit of Halloween.
Here’s a breakdown of what everything actually is:
human bone - bone marrow with filipino sea salt
tree branch - pizza dough
rotting flesh - beef heart tartar
larvae - black sesame bread
rocks - squid ink flat bread
dirt - dehydrated olives, mushrooms, and grapenuts
BIRD’S NEST
fried noodles - baby carrots - vegetable jus - beech mushrooms
Vegetarian option for the Vietnamese menu.
PANDAN WAFFLE
rice cream - rice cracker crumbs - mango puree
Vietnamese Menu Part 4
CLAYPOT SABLEFISH
candied pork cheeks - scallion foam - black pepper anchovy caramel
Vietnamese Menu Part 3
LOBSTER SPRING ROLL
house-made vanilla rice paper - compressed mangoes - yuzu tobiko
PORK BELLY BANH MI
pate choux bun - micro cilantro - serrano chili aioli
LEMONGRASS BEEF TACO
sesame rice cracker - peanuts - nuoc mam gel
VIETNAMESE SNACKS
lemongrass beef taco - pork belly banh mi - lobster spring roll
Vietnamese Menu Part 2
