Archive for April, 2008
We are pleased to announce that we are accepting applications for our 2008 Summer Internships.
The Internships are unpaid, though accommodation will be provided.
Work experience will be within the Central Kitchen, Sushi and Pastry sections.
The candidates that we are looking for should have some catering experience either in hotels or restaurants, be able to work well under pressure and willing to learn.
The time frame can be suited to individual needs, though there is a requirement of a minimum of 6 weeks.
Contact information can be seen at the end of the LCTV presentation below.
We get strange looks when this Amuse Bouche is placed on the table.
“Tomato Soup with Grapes”, present our Service staff.
“But where is the Tomato?”, quiz our guests.
It is only when they taste it do they realise that it is packed with Tomatoes.
It is a wonderful way to start a dinner, this chilled soup is easy to make and leaves a lasting impression.
It all begins with the Service Staff telling the diners that it is a “Tomato Soup“. Immediately you think that it should be reddish, or you think that the staff are playing a joke on you 
, or have made a mistake :oops: .
The surprise arrives when you actually taste it, as as I said above, it is packed with Tomato flavour.
The Grapes have been peeled and deseeded, then placed in the freezer for 20 minutes.
The clear chilled Tomato soup added, this too has been chilled in the freezer for the same amount of time.
Spain probably has some of the best Hams in the world. Known locally as Jamón (pronounced “Hammon”) it is sold in nearly every tapas bars, local restaurants and eateries.
There are many different types of Jamón available, though the acorn fed “Jamón Ibérico de Bellota” is without question the “King of Jamón”.
Some of the best Jamóns are cured for more than two years, and their flavour unrivalled.
What we are concentrating on is the fat.
This is no normal pork fat, it has a delicious nutty aroma, and when thinly sliced, just melts in the mouth. It is taken from the thickest part of the Jamón, which acts as protection for the wonderful ham during the curing process.
When preparing the Jamón, a large wedge of fat is normally sliced off and reused to cover the exposed part of the meat to stop it from drying out.
We used paper-thin slices of fat to cover our Marinated Sardines.
It is always a pleasure to work with great ingredients. One of the front runners has to be Caviar.
Inspecting the contents of a whopping 950g tin.
Expensive, but well worth the money, and needless to say it is one of my favourite “things in life”.
What I would really love to serve is Sturgeon Sushi topped with a spoonful of Caviar, but sadly we cannot get hold of fresh Sturgeon here.
In the meantime we use Caviar to adorn some simple dishes.
Caviar Moscovite, a dish that I recently learned to make uses potatoes that have been cooked, had the flesh scooped out which is then mixed with cream, salt and white pepper to make a creamy puree and piped back.
It is then topped with a spoonful of Caviar whilst still warm and served immediately.
(Thanks to Dries (prounounced Driss), one of the hotel cooks for the recipe) :)
Another great way to serve Caviar is simply on toast, with some Sour Cream.
We served this as our Amuse Bouche tonight, which went down a treat. ;)
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This week our Sushi Chefs have been busy.
Sushi Boxes featured in our local “Feria de Tapas” (Tapas fair).
Our two Sushi Chefs, Saki and Kuchi prepare the boxes.
We served up the small boxes with Salmon, Tuna and King Prawns. The boxes sold for 5€ each alongside some Spanish Tapas that were available.
At the same time Saki and Kuchi were preparing Sushi for a buffet at the hotel.
Our Fishmonger has been happy with us this week. :)
Talking about fish, it is not only served raw at the restaurant.
Seabass, filleted and simply grilled and served with vegetables.
The green oil is made from Coriander and Olive Oil with a touch of Garlic.
We like to fillet the fish and debone it at the last possible moment. Luckily our Sushi Chefs tend to the job in a matter of seconds.
Another “sea” ingredient that we have used over the past week is our Octopus Chips. Fried in abundant sunflower oil, they puff up and have a wonderful crunchy and light texture.
The process of making the chips takes about 4 days, which includes the “drying out” time. Paprika Salt gives them a “Spanish touch”.
Many people eating them can be forgiven for mistaking them for factory made Prawn Crackers, but the flavour is more pronounced and “homemade”. It is easy to rip open a packet and plunge it in to the fryer, but the satisfaction that you get from making your own is overwhelming and immensely satisfying.
Sometimes it is the simple things that make you pay attention. Like restaurant made bread, or grissini or even a tapenade.
We even smoke and marinade our own Salmon, which is used for our breakfast buffet. That way we can control the quality and flavour. That is one of the pleasures of working in a Five Star Hotel, we have all the best equipment and ingredients at our disposal, which in turn, we hope produces the best quality for our guests.
Talking about Salmon, the other day I was reminiscing about London and the fantastic Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Bagels that you can find at the all-night bakery in Whitechapel (I often remember the food before I remember the place ;) ). It has been years since I had a Bagel, and I had just finished making a batch of Salmon, so I thought “why not” and made up a batch of Bagels for the Laocooks.
Okay, lets be honest, Cream Cheese is not a flavour that the Laocooks like, but at least I enjoyed them…. ;)