Bistro Group of Restaurants' corporate chef Josh Boutwood bagged the title “Chef of the Year” at Philippine Culinary Cup (PCC) held during this year’s World Food Expo (WOFEX) 2013. In line with this, Chef Josh who is also known as “The Alchemist” for his unprecedented creativity in the culinary world, had a cooking demonstration at the Village Tavern in Bonifacio High Street.
The cooking demo features three of his award-winning dishes which will be included in Village Tavern’s Holiday Menu alongside other exciting holiday selection to be introduced soon.
The three dishes demonstrated during the gathering with selected media outfit were; Dory Alzheimer’s Memory, Henry The Duck, and Ballade Bodacious. Chef Josh Boutwood is generous enough to share with us some of the recipes of these award-winning dishes.
Fun, whimsical, inspiring, and undoubtedly delicious as just some of the words that can describe chef Josh's creations. His delectable food creations mirror his flair for creativity, thus, everything is downright impressive. Take for instance a fish dish he baptized as "Dory Alzheimer's Memory". Inspired by one of chef Josh's well-loved animated movie, this dish that earned him gold medal during the Philippine Culinary Cup 2013 is made of lapu-lapu fish, pearl barley, and seaweeds.
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| Dory Alzheimer's Memory |
One of the dishes that earned him a silver medal on the other hand was "Henry the Duck" which was inspired by a story book he reads for his child. Chef Josh told in an interview that in this dish, the sweet potatoes represent the banks of the pods while the watercress reflects the seaweeds in the story.
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| Henry The Duck |
Henry The Duck
For The Duck Breast
1 Whole US duck
60 ml Canola oil
80 grams Butter
2.34 grams Salt
1.2 grams Ground black pepper
2 grams Fresh thyme
4 grams Fresh sage
2 pc Bay leaf
For the Watercress
300 ml Duck stock
40 grams Watercress stalks
100 grams Butter
Red wine sauce
30ml Merlot red wine
100ml Duck stock
20 grams Cherries
5 grams White sugar
Sweet Potato Puree
200 grams Sweet Potato (orange)
3.8 grams Salt
140 ml Heavy cream
1.2 grams Cinnamon
2 Charge N2o
Watercress sauce
60 grams watercress
10 ml Distilled vinegar
100 ml Water
75 grams Butter
Garnish
Watercress leaves
Assorted wild herbs and leaves
Jerusalem Artichoke
100 grams Jerusalem artichoke
60 grams Butter
20 ml Canola oil
120 ml Fresh cream
0.82 grams Salt
20 ml Reduced Duck stock**
Procedure:
1. Start by cooking the sweet potatoes in a pot of boiling water. Once fork tender strain off water and blend with heavy cream, finish by adding the remaining ingredients and transfer to a creamer. Keep warm until needed.
2. For the artichoke puree, Heat another pot and melt butter, add chopped Artichoke and canola oil. Cook until edges of the vegetables are brown. add heavy cream and adjust viscosity by adding water. Blend with a hand mixer, add stock** and season. Pass through a fine sieve and Set aside and reserve for plating.
3. For the watercress, in a frying pan add 50 grams of butter and bring to heat, add duck stock and saute for 5 mins. Add the watercress stalks and continue to braise until tender.
4. For the watercress sauce. bring water and vinegar to boil, add the watercress and blend until smooth, strain through a fine sieve and adjust acidity with vinegar.
5. For the duck. Remove breast and legs from the carcass. Save the carcass for later use. Score the skin of the duck. Pre-heat a pan and add canola oil, butter and season well. Place duck skin side down first and cook for 6 minutes, carefully flip duck breasts over and cook for an addition 6 minutes. Transfer from the pan to a clean plate, cover and let rest.
6. For the legs, remove thigh bone and discard drumstick. Flatten out and season the meat side well. Roll and tie with string to form a roll. Sear all sides and finish in the oven.
7. For the sauce, caramelize sugar until golden, add red wine and reduce, add stock and further reduce until thick.
Serving Pre-heat serving plates and arrange on the counter side by side. Take the celery root puree with a palate knife and swipe each plate on the top right corner (2 o'clock). Arrange watercress sauce in an eclectic manner and siphon the sweet potato at 2o'clock and 7 o'clock Slice duck in half and season open side with salt. Arrange in the middle of the plate. Arrange watercress fresh in free flowing positions and coat with the duck reduction sauce. Arrange wild herbs around the plate and serve immediately.
Another dish that earned him a silver medal was the "Ballade of Bodacious" inspired by a notorious rodeo bull named Bodacious which nobody could ride and died last 2000.
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| Ballade of Bodacious |
Ballade of Bodacious
800 grams Blade
2.4 grams Salt
1.8 grams Pepper
30 ml Canola oil
60 grams Butter
Bone Marrow / Garlic Puree
100 grams Garlic cloves
120 grams Bone marrow
0.86 grams Salt
Pickled Red Cabbage
1/2 pc Red Cabbage
100 ml distilled Vinegar*
75 ml water*
75 grams white sugar*
Truffle Mash Potato
200 Grams potatoes
50 grams butter
200 ml whipping cream
7 ml truffle oil
1 pc dried shiitake**
*Reserve for reduction
**Garnish
Procedure:
1.Start by bringing water to boil in 2 pots .
2.Place whole garlic cloves in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Once tender remove water and add bone marrow. When the bone marrow melts and there’s slight caramelization on the garlic, transfer and blend. Adjust seasoning to taste, place in a piping bag and reserve for later.
3.Place potatoes in the other pot and boil until cooked. Once tender, remove water, add butter and mash. Add cream and season well. Pass through a fine sieve and add the truffle oil. Transfer to a canister and charge. Reserve and keep warm.
4.For the pickled cabbage, mandolin slice the cabbage thinly and transfer to a bowl. Bring vinegar, water and sugar to a boil and pour over cabbage, cover with cling wrap and let sit for 20minutes. Strain the liquid and place in a pan to reduce and thicken.
5.For the beef, trim well and select the best cuts, reserve the trimmings for any future preparations. In a saute pan, add butter and oil and season well. Sear all sides and cook until desired doneness. Transfer to a clean plate or tray and let rest.
6.Pre-heat serving plates and arrange on the counter side by side. Take the marrow puree
and place dots around the plate in no particular motion. Place cooked beef slightly off center and season with salt.
7.Arrange pickled cabbage around beef and siphon the truffle mash adjacent to the beef.
Microplane the dry shitake on the mash potato and garnish with fresh/wild herbs and leaves.
Chef Josh Boutwood's talent and creativity reflects in every dish he creates in terms of presentation and flavor. No wonder the restaurants under his wing still continue to strive amidst stiff competition within the Philippine Restaurant Industry. Even more so, this kind of talent deserves the title "Chef of the Year".
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