This menu is a continuation of my last pop-up, where I paid homage to my heritage. Deciding to stay in Seattle, the city where I spent my childhood and left in my early 20s, made me realize that I knew nothing about the produce and the micro seasons here in the PNW. The courses were challenging to conceptualize as I had to work with mother nature, and some courses quickly evolved as spring transitioned into summer. However, I did my best to create what these seasons mean to me during my second year back in Seattle. The challenge was for me to either forage, at least one ingredient, as well as utilize local ingredients directly from farmers and small producers. Some of the photos you see below will be slightly different to the desserts at the pop-up, due to whatever was available from the farmers and what I could forage.
foraged “raindrop”
wild strawberry leaves, mara des bois, wood sorrel, foraged flowers
the prédessert was my interpretation of the rain—something that seattle is known for. it signifies the start of spring. more importantly, rain is necessary for farmers to grow beautiful produce and vegetables for us to enjoy the fruits of their labour at the table. I personally foraged wild strawberry leaves and oxalis for six weeks. What began as an experiment, transformed each ingredient into its purest flavour in the form of a jelly and jus. Paired with mara des bois that I foraged, oxalis, and sorrel flowers, this dessert captures “nature in it’s purest form.”
green asparagus
green asparagus, parmigiano reggiano, lemon, yogurt, honey, black pepper
paired with domaine mader, crémant d'alsace, france
initially, I planned this menu at the start of spring when asparagus was in season. white asparagus is commonly used in french cuisine and desserts, but incredibly expensive and couldn’t be found locally. thus, I approached this dish using it’s more common form. grilled or sauteed in the form of a side dish—these are ways on how we enjoy this humble vegetable. I paired this with flavour profiles that were commonly eaten with asparagus, but utilized each in a dessert form—sweet and salty parmigiano reggiano crumbs, bright and acidic lemon curd “egg yolk”, creamy honey-yogurt sorbet, delicate honeycomb tuile, and black pepper at the end to compliment the green asparagus mousse on the side.
heirloom tomato
heirloom tomato, strawberry, extra virgin olive oil, lovage, chickweed
paired with coralie et damien delecheneau, sauvignon triqu'âmes, loire, france, 2020
the most labour-intensive dish throughout the entire menu, heirloom tomato was my choice of summer vegetable. i’ve used it in the past, but I wanted to reimagine one of my favourite vegetables. it was my first time using and foraging lovage—reminiscent of celery with an aftertaste of anise and cumin. immediately, I knew that savory and pungent aroma would compliment with the sweet intensity of the tomatoes in the form of a granita. 400 individual sugar pieces were hand-blown for the pop-up evenings. over 1000 cherry tomatoes were hand-peeled without blanching, then compressed in a pickling liquid. heirlooms were roasted, cherry tomatoes were sun-dried, and fresh strawberries were folded in to create the compote inside the sugar shell. fresh, roasted, compressed, pickled, sundried—I used every method to bring this heirloom tomato to life in a bowl.
this final course has far fewer components, in comparison to its predecessor, but that doesn’t mean a lack of flavour. corn is a nostalgic summer treat for many—outdoor bbq, food carts, and corn on the cob at summer carnivals. this was one of those moments where I wanted to keep things simple. not wanting to discard the corn husk, I toasted them to intensity its aroma, pulverized them into a fine powder, and torched it on top of the marshmallow to add a depth of flavour. the “purple corn with husk” shaped ice cream on the bed of crunchy corn crumble was a last-minute addition. during a time when I was struggling to feel inspired, two girls gifted me a bag of their forbidden rice they started selling in their company. that same day, I played around different recipes with their rice. upon tasting my trial runs, I immediately fell in love with the flavour, and knew it would compliment with the sweetness of the corn. I used their rice to create this indugent ice cream, and the same ingredient to replicate the husks on the side of the corn in the form of fried rice chips.
sweet corn
purple rice, sweet corn, corn husk, basil
vivanterre, white msm, loire, france 2020
watermelon
watermelon, rind, cucumber, nasturtium, finger lime, tasmanian pepperberry, egyptian salt
normally the meal is finished at the third main course, but I couldn’t resist using watermelon as a post-dessert as summer is known for beautiful fruits and veggies before everything disappears into the colder months. the watermelon was compressed in its own juices to intensify its colour and flavour. not wanting to discard the rind, I compressed it in a sweet pickling liquid to give it a translucent appearance. plated in its own juices, the watermelon is complemented with fresh cucumbers, foraged nasturtium, finger limes, and fine egyptian salt.