The kitchen looks great, isn't it? Ingredients needed for the day. Tomatoes. Greens. I attended the class called 'Great Tasting Healthy Food' where Chef Emmanuel repeatedly emphasized there is no need or just a minimal usage of flavour enhancements like salt, soy sauce and etc. I loved the Japanese tomatoes! They were very sweet. Chef got the bigger ones (seen on the tables, wrapped). I remembered the one I had at Gunther's was a much smaller one.
Celebrity Chef Emmanuel Stroobant also known as Chef in Black working in his kitchen. He is burning the eggplant for easier removal of the skin which also created a smoky taste in the eggplant.
Olive oil with this special Elderberry sauce which complemented the olive oil so well. It was sweet. Tasted a bit like Ribena concentrated. Look at the colour, it's maroon.
There were also the seasonal white asparagus which are only available during April to June. They were uncooked and surprisingly, it was just like eating cucumber, except that it has a mild choking taste. Some may not like the raw taste. I felt it was crunchy and fresh. His assistant, Gene, mentioned that it is quite hard to buy white asparagus in the market because they are usually sold to the restaurants direct. It is definitely an easy task for Chef Emmanuel to get his hands on them.
Salmon strips. Chef cut them for us to taste. They may have looked ordinary but they were actually flavoured. Konbu aka kelp was used to wrap the salmon and left overnight. So, the salmon strips actually has a very nice konbu flavour. Note, no salt was used.
Green Tea Marinated Salmon Fillet with Gluten-free Toast
Salmon fillets were not cooked but rather left in an acidic mixture which consisted of lime juice, lemon juice, green tea and etc. It was very appetizing. Gluten-free toast - very intriguing because I have never heard of it before. It was made of bean sprouts, not the sprouts but the black cap thing that drops when the sprout grows tall. You can imagine, it is not going to taste nice. Oats bread still taste better. But, the salmon fillets were great!
Tofu Royale with Organic Tomato Soup and Parsley Essence
A light soup. So healthy. Ladies, you will definitely like it. Tofu at the bottom was made like having a texture akin to creme brulee. It could well be a tofu brulee. Added some pine nuts on top and tomato puree was poured into the ramekin, decorated with the green parsley essence. Again, no salt was used. All were of natural flavouring.
Chef made his own dehydrated olive bits. He even made the orange skin peel and kept them vacuum packed. I was so amazed. I personally do not have a liking for olives because I felt it has a puckery taste or rather, like food kept in a can for too long. Well, this was actually quite true, considering that olives have to be marinated for some time before they can be eaten. Else, they would have taste bitter. What are we going to do with the olive bits? Read on...
Lamb Tenderloin crusted in Seaweed and Petit Farci
Did you manage to spot the olive bits? Yes. The lamb tenderloin was crusted with nori (seaweed which has been processed) and olive bits. No salt was used to marinate the lamb tenderloin. They were simply seared on a grill. Mild sweet and salty taste from the nori and olive bits gave the lamb the taste. It was delicious. Chef only drizzled a drop or 2 on the greens that surrounded. He had the rosemary leaves 'stabbed' into the tender lamb and had the ends burnt. The smell of rosemary immediately filled the surroundings.
Fresh Fruit Granite and Basil scented Melon Soup
A mixture of diced fruits. A mixture of sweet and sour taste. Dragon fruit juice was extracted and frozen (granite). Aahhhhh.....Refreshing. Just nice to counter the scorching weather.
The dishes seen here were exclusive to the class. They were not available in his restaurants. Enjoyed the class because it was very interactive. Chef Emmanuel is a nice guy. He has made cooking look so simple and of course, great tasting healthy food is possible!
Saint Pierre
