By Jamie Drummond
Last week The Cookbook store hosted a fascinating two hour hands-on workshop at Toronto’s Nella Cucina. The demonstration was presented by Chef John Placko, Culinary Director for MapleLeaf Foods, and covered techniques detailed in Nathan Myhrvold’s six volume Modernist Cuisine. Good Food Revolution were hiding in the audience (comprised of enthusiastic Toronto foodsters and a smattering of Hogtown’s top Chefs) to capture the proceedings.
Chef Placko showed the magic that one can work with liquid nitrogen, an ISI Gourmet whip, an anti-griddle, a Pacojet, a Thermomix, a vacuum sealer, a smoke gun, and a thermal immersion circulator. It has to be said that the resulting dishes were quite spectacular!
Nathan Myhrvold’s Modernist Cuisine is available from The Cookbook Store, a certified “Good Food Fighter”
Chef John Placko directs a Modernist Cuisine demonstration.
A perfect 63 Degrees Celsius Egg.
Gelatin clarified tomato water sphere with basil oil inside )via a syringe and needle.
Deconstructed breakfast- baguette toast, warm parsley gel, tomato seeds, king oyster mushrooms (sous-vide), bacon snow, 63 degree egg.
Octopus (sous-vide for 4 hours), black olive oil, dehydrated olive, compressed Roma tomato, frozen mozzarella, basil oil.
Lemon meringue- aerated white chocolate, tube of lemon curd and dehydrated yogurt wafers.
ISI whip used to dispel the sweet berry spaghetti- from the tubes
Sweet Berry Spaghetti
Dessert- warm raspberry terrine, pistachio micro sponge- dehydrated, liquid nitrogen poached raspberry niblets, sous-vide meringue- glazed and freeze dried raspberries.
Chef John Placko speaks to an enraptured audience.
Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… and he is looking forward to recording his interview with Chef Placko.
