Past Events
Last Friday we held our Impermanence dinner in the Beautiful Flow Gallery - a uniquely tranquil space that seems to inspire a state of contemplation. With a certain Japanese essence running though it and walls that seem to have collected thought through the years, there could be no better place to hold a such a thought provoking event.
The theme for this dinner was Impermanence; The Buddhist notion that everything is in a constant state of transience. To distill this idea of change into food we sculptured a Menu that explores the idea of Impermanence on 4 different scales; Sub-atomic, Aesthetic, Structural and Environmental.
Japanese Tuna Tartare
Prawn Ceviche, Shitake Cream, Hens Yolk, Ruby Chard, Potato Soba served with a Konbu Shrimp Broth.
Pistachio and White Chocolate Ravioli with Freeze Dried Raspberry, served with a cup of Matcha.
Woodfire Chocolates
Each course was served on beautiful handmade Japanese ceramics curtsey of Akiko Hirai, Kaori Tatebayashi and Rie Tsurata.
The First Course was the Sub-atomic: A Japanese Tuna Tartare with Nasturium Leaf, Oxalis and Seasonal Flowers; served on plates by Akiko Hirai. This represented the quantum idea that all particles are in constant state of vibration and so the structure of a physical object can never remain in a fixed state. To illustrate this the tuna was cured in lemon juice and vinegar just before service, so that without knowing it the dish was cooking and evolving right in front of our guests eyes.
Throughout the dinner our guests were served Japanese tea by LalaniandCo in Akiko’s Teapots. To show the impermanent nature of the leaf the guests got to try each tea in two different infusions to see how the tea can change.
For the Main we served Aesthetic Impermanence: Prawn Ceviche, Shitake Cream, Hens Yolk, Ruby Chard, Potato Soba served with a Konbu Shrimp Broth. This was served in bowls by Kaori and represented changes that are visually very apparent to us (i.e. ageing) when the broth was poured the noodles separated, the yolk cooked and dissipated, and an intense shittake cream was released from within the prawns flavouring the broth and transforming it from a spicy hit to a smooth and mellow consomme.
For dessert came Structural Impermanence; illustrated by our White Chocolate and Pistachio Raviolis dusted with Powdered Raspberry and served with a cup of Matcha tea. Our guests dipped the little pockets of sweetness into the Matcha and watched as it began to drip and fall apart before quickly gobbling it down with a slurp of Matcha.
To finish we had our famous Woodfire Chocolates, to display Environmental Impermanence. Smoked over firewood and then served in a cloud of smoke under Rie Tsurata’s beautiful Cloche, these chocolates showed that for every element of impermanence they may exist a certain permanence; whilst the smoke dissipated and filled the room the chocolates themselves still held a reminiscence of the smoke that once was. 
Environmental Impermanence: Woodfire Chocolates
All in all it was a fantastic evening made great by our guests and the wonderful Yvonna of Flow Gallery - I am so happy to have heard such incredible feedback. And of course a big thank you as ever to the amazing Muna Mazlan who has been an immense help and backbone of many of these events. I had such fantastic evening and can’t wait to be visiting Flow gallery another time soon.
Til Then Good Night.
Ilyas.
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Last Saturday Melba (a network for social chefs and diners) held their Launch Party. I was asked to cook a dessert for the event along with 3 other extremely talented Chefs. To be honest I was a little nervous; this was the first time I had cooked for so many people out of a professional kitchen, and being intolerant to sugar and diary desserts have never been my forte. But I was up for the challenge. And as always I decided to make things more risky for myself by doing a complex dish I had never served before. Yet I am happy to say that it completely paid off, I had an amazing time, the night went so well, the diners were thrilled by every course and I received some unbelievable feedback:
“Hands down the best dessert I’ve had in my life! Awesome experience”
The event was held at Salvation Janes, a beautiful Australian restaurant and coffee house in Shoreditch.
The Menu was as follows:
Kaffir Lime and Hake Fishcakes with Nahm Jim dipping sauce
by TIM DORMAN
Salamagundi in the 21st century
by IAN BALLATYNE
Duck Soup
by JAMIE HAZEEL
Kunderian Lightness and Weight
Bee’s Galangal Ice Cream v.s Woodfire Chocolates
by ILYAS KASSAM
To start there were some delicious Asian style Fishcakes courtesy of Tim Dorman. They may just have been fishcakes, but they were the best damn fishcakes, and the Nahm Jim chilli sauce was bang on.
Next was Ian Ballatyne’s Salamugundi. This was a very intriguing many component salad. I didn’t get to try this dish properly but had a little nibble on a few of the elements, and they were simple and delicious. 4 types of beetroot, and interesting herbs i had never seen. I have heard nothing but excellent things about this dish. Will definitely be going to one of his supper-clubs soon.
The Main course was no ordinary Duck Soup. It was an elaborate array of duck eggs, confit duck leg, cured duck breast, duck skin, rice noodles, duck stock, mushroom hoison sauce, and a variety of exciting herbs. Again I didn’t try this all together but separately every element was perfectly cooked…. the duck breast was so delicious, I couldn’t fault a thing.
Last of all was my course. This was an exploration of the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera. The idea was to serve two dishes one of Lightness and one of Weight, in order to allow our diners to discover what facet of existence they find most gratifying.
Representing Lightness was a deconstructed Galanagal Ice cream consisting of: Comb-honey, grated galangal and kaffir cream, honeycomb, bee pollen, freeze dried lychee and lime zest.
“Deconstructed Ice Cream. GENIUS.” - May Chong
I am extremely proud of this dish, but at the same time I was overly aware of how risky it was as I was using a lot of unfamiliar ingredients and displaying them in a unconventional way. Part of me was expecting it to be a Love it or a Hate dish. But so far I’ve heard nothing but words of Love.
To finish were my famous chocolates representing Weight. Served on a piece of Fire-wood they had been smoked over a woodfire to in part a rich smoky flavor. And as always they went down a treat.
If that wasn’t enough everyone was given some of Alexandra’s delicious homemade Perviuan Amisqi Alfajores. Delightful.
All in all it was a fantastic evening, made great by the Diners, the Chefs, all the wonderful people at Salavation Janes, and of course Melba. I have had such fun working with the guys from Melba and owe them a big Thank you. It is a great initiative fueled by handful of dedicated and passionate foodies. Thank you Duncan, Santi and Elco.
“Adventurous thrilling launch. Better than best”
for more wonderful feast head over to http://www.melba.co/users/94
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THE MAYAN CHOCOLATE APOCALYPSE.
“Fabulous Night! Fabulous Chocolate! ” Suzanne
On the calm eve of the winter solstice and the foretold end of the world we held a Chocolate tasting to celebrate what could have been the end of a wonderful civilization and the beginning of a new…….. or just another day made great by the accompaniment of chocolate. But this was no normal chocolate tasting, it was a true Apocalyptic explosion of chocolate that took our guests on a journey through Mayan Civilization, cocoa production and an array of bizarre chocolates. And as always it was all tangled up in an assortment of philosophy - with a series of conceptual chocolates, and Mayan delights that fed the mind as well as the stomach.
As the Guests arrived they were greeted with a large selection of exotic chocolates flavored with some of my favorite forest pickings. These were scattered around and there to be enjoyed throughout the evening………………… And enjoyed they were, I was thrilled hear so many mmmmmm’s, and wowww’s and to meet so many people who shared my passion for chocolate.
“the most perfect way to end the world” Selina Peri Peri
Chocolate really is the greatest social Lubricant. A room full of foodies brought together by the curiosity of their taste buds:
But there were not just a few flavours to try, much much more was to come, as the evening progressed various chocolate courses were brought out, from chocolate by origin, to beans to pulps, nibs, soba noodles, and a range of uniquely obscure “Thinkers Chocolates”…….
Flavours: Sweet basil, Salted thyme, Saffron, Lavender and Cinnamon, Saffron, Vetivert, Palmerosa, Hazelnut, Mint.
1st course: Burning Wisdom Chocolates
Beans: Madagascan, Venezuelan and Cuban
2nd Course: The Transcendentalist’s Chocolate
Noodles: Cocoa Matcha Zura Soba
3rd Course: Wood-Fire Chocolates
The flavors that surrounded the space throughout the evening included:
To accompany the chocolates we had a selection of chocolate based drinks that included xocolātl - a spiced Mayan bitter chocolate drink, White Chocolate Matcha, Chocolate Orange Mate, and Mint and Cocoa Roobios. And if that wasn’t enough our friend and Wine specialist, Gus Danowski had recommended a series of Wines to complement the Chocolate.
Our first conceptual chocolates were The Burning Wisdom Chocolates, of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh. Inspired by the gifts of the Wise Men, these were served on a piece of slate with burning Incense - creating a visual spectacle that spread excitement and deliciousness around the room.
Burning Wisdom Chocolates. - of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh
Next to come was a small introduction into the production of chocolate where everyone got to try cocoa from each part of the process, including rare and delicious cocoa pulp as well as its Liquor. It is amazing how common chocolate is and how few people know where it comes from.
Happy Indian With Plate full of Chocolate: Pulp, Nibs, Liquor, Butter and Chocolate.
Following that our guests got a chance to try chocolate from a variety of different countries including: Cuba, Madagascar and Venezuela, as I took them through how to taste the chocolate and identify the different notes.
After so much rich Chocolate, it was time for a little break but I didn’t want the experience to stop. So our next dish was a conceptual chocolate: The Transcendentalist’s Chocolate - The transcendentalists are concern with the essence of the Universe that lies beyond the form. In chocolate terms I wanted capture the essence of the chocolate without the chocolate. This was done with a very lightly smokey Cocoa Nib and Clementine Shisha.
Cocoa Nib and Clementine Shisha.
To break up this Marathon of Chocolate, and to fill up the part of the stomach that chocolate itself just cannot reach we had Noodles: Cocoa Matcha Soba with cocoa Nibs. Dipped in green tea and cocoa butter they had the taste of chocolate without the intensity.
Making of the Cocoa Matcha Zura Soba with Cocoa Nibs
And to finish of the evening we had a theatrical chocolate which is probably the one I am most proud of: The Wood Fire Chocolates. The idea of this was to recapture that feeling of sitting by the fire on a winters eve and drinking a cup of tea with some friends. The way this was distilled into a piece of chocolate was by creating a woody smoked chocolate that had the sweet taste of a woodfire without the harshness in the throat. This was served in a cloud of smoke, and left our guess with a sense of warmth as they left off into the night.
Woodfire Chocolates Served in a Cloud of Smoke
Finally if people wanted to buy gifts for their loved ones or carry on their Christmas Indulgence of Chocolate, then there were many on offer, including Mayan Chilli chocolate, Voltaire Coffee bean, Foragers Chocolate Boxes and Smoked Hazelnut Bars.
All in all it was a fantastic evening, made all the more fantastic by our wonderful guests, and the amazing help of Muna Mazlan. I have heard nothing but great reviews since, and can’t wait til the next Apocalypse.
“What an Amazing Feast…. AND the world didn’t come to an end after all” Getia
A Happy New Year to you all. I will see you in the 2013 where there will be many more culinary delights to grace your palette. til then, Peace, Love and Chocolate.
Ilyas.
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- An Existential Adventure of the Stomach -
Last weekend we held our Mystery and the Unknown Dinner. This event was slightly different to our usual dinners. Like all our others it did involve an exploration of a philosophy. However this time the philosophy wasn’t reveal until the end of the meal, leaving our diners on quest to decipher the menu and find what philosophy underlay the coming arrangement of Food. The idea of this was to allow our guests to venture through the meal and analyse the food in a manner that parallels the philosophers quest for meaning and obsessive deconstruction of the Universe. Whilst none of the guest managed to guess the philosophy or the philosopher, I am happy to say that they and their stomach all thoroughly enjoyed the culinary journey.
“It was a Veritable Feast and I loved every bit of it”
MENU
Bergamot Ponzu Oyster with Ikura and Camomile Leaf
Japanese Tuna Tartare
Cognac Smoked Chipotle Beef and Tamago Donburi
Black Truffle Ice Cream with Argan Baked Fig
Homemade Saffron Chocolates
So to kick it all off we had Bergamot Ponzu Oyster with Ikura, Camomile Leaf Oil and Oxalis Blossom.
Luck for us one of the guests was a really Oyster Lover and exclaimed that they were among the best Oyster she had ever had.
I was really chuffed to have Ale Wilkinson of Dim Sum Diaries join us straight from her flight in from Hong Kong: a Truely Dedicated Gastronome. As well as many other interesting food loving epicureans. In hours of eating and talking there was never a moments silence, everyone got on fantastically and bonded over the shared delight of the food.
Following on from our fellow Aphrodisiac of the Sea, was another light and refreshing dish, and a specialty of ours at The Thinkers Balcony: Japanese Tuna Tartare. It seemed this was the hit of the night, everyone gobbled it right down……elegantly of course.
Japanese Tuna Tartare with Nasturtium Blossom and Violas.
For the Main Course we had a wonderfully warming and smoky beef dish served with rice. Each diner was served a bowl of rice with Sesame Tamago (japanese scrambled egg with a delicate taste of sesame and konbu). And in the Middle was a large plate of flank steak that had been marinated in Cognac and served in a cloud of smoke with a Chipotle sauce:
Cognac Smoked Chipotle Beef and Tamago Donburi
For desert came one of my most recent creations, and one that I am most proud. A dish that is a true reverence to the seasons, and takes advantage of the 2 golden months of truffle forgery. - Black Truffle Ice Cream, with Argan Baked Figs served on a Pumkin, Date and Hazelnut Crisp Sand. This Dish really seems to be a Love it or Hate it kind of thing. The people who love it go completely nuts for it, they just devour it and I have had people wanting to place orders. And others just think it is way too barmy to be having mushrooms for desert. Luckily most of our guests were of the former category, and between the lovers and haters they managed to polish it all off without a single crumb to spare.
Black Truffle Ice Cream, with Argan Baked Figs served on a Pumkin, Date and Hazelnut Crisp Sand
And to finish of, in the usual custom of our dinners were the famous Homemade Chocolates. This time with the humbly opulent flavour of Saffron. “A delicious end to an Amazing Meal” exclaimed Ale.
As the Evening came to a close it became time to reveal the Philosophy that everyone had been waiting for. Unfortunately I can not reveal what it was in case we decide to repeat this dinner, and are fortunate enough to have you join us. But I can assure you it was suitably absurd, And left our guests pondering their lifes as they wondered of into the night, Argan Oil in hand.
Thank you again to all of those who came, and to the wonderful Natasha Piper for all her help….. As always I had a fantastic evening, made so by the enthusiasm and enjoyment of our guests.
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- A Culinary Exploration of the Theory of Eternal Recurrence. -
Last Night we held a special event, in Association with Action Against Hunger all the money raised went to fight hunger around the world. The Theme for this special occasion was the philosophy of Mister Frederich Nietzsche. Probably our most challenging and adventurous dinner to date. Exploring the idea of eternal recurrence we strived to serve the same dish 4 time but all in different textures and aesthetics. Luckily we managed to pull it off and our guests were stunned.
In order to exhibit this idea we served four courses of Duck and Pistachio. The biggest challenge was to create a sense of newness and wonder, whilst staying true to the repetition of ingredients. Thankful none of our guests felt a sense of boredom or tedium that can often accompany such repetition, rather they experienced a deep sense of intrigue. The array of Duck and Pistachio included:
Cognac Smoked Tartare of Duck and Fillet with Fennel and Crushed Pistachios.
Pistachio Risotto with Smoked Duck and Beef Onglet
Crispy Duck Ice Cream
Duck and Pistachio Chocolates
After spending a tearful morning of just cutting onions I managed to make a beautifully intense smoked onion and cognac jus to marinate the tartare. It was then served in a cloud of smoke with sliced fennel, crushed pistachios and a pumpkin seed toast.
As a chef the preparation and execution of such an event was a great learning experience. Confining myself to certain ingredients, allowed me to explore the versatility of an ingredient and release a depth of flavour that was otherwise unaccessbile. And what was greater was that our guest managed to explore these ingredients and their tastes in a way they had never done before.
For the Main Course we had an intensely rich Risotto of Pistachio and smoked duck, served with Beef Onglet, and drizzled with a wonderful Argan oil form our friends at Arganic. This was a marvelous success and was flattering to have our guests all trying to coax the recipe and “secret to such depth of flavour” out of me.
Risotto of Pistachio and Smoked Duck served with Beef Onglet and Fennel Leaf.
Throughout the enjoyment of a rich array of food, our guests enjoyed hours of philosophical, gastronomical and comical conversation. With our guests originating form Austria, Hong Kong, Austrialia, and boat in Knightsbridge It was great to have such a diversity of people all dine together and get on so well.
Next came the desert. And i think its is fair to say this was our most creative and obscure exploration of Duck and Pistachio, and what seemed to be the highlight of the meal…. Our Famous Crispy Duck Ice Cream:
Crispy Duck Ice Cream Rolled in a Pistachio Sand.
And of course like every one of our meals we ended with our creamy dark chocolates, this time we had the Bizarre combination of Duck and Pistachio. A crunchy nutty creamy delight.
Duck and Pistachio Dark Chocolates.
At the end of the meal our guests were given a small gift of fresh pistachios, still with their skin on they were fresh from their trees.
“A Beautiful Evening of wonderful culinary delights and philosophical musings”
All in all it was a fantastic evening, made wonderful by the help of our amazing suez chef Muna Mazlan, and extremely adventurous and inquisitive guests. Thank you so much to all those who came, we hope to see you again…….. and again and again.
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THE THINKERS BOWL OF FOOD FEAST
28TH Sept 2012
“What a brilliant idea….. turn up at a new place, meet a bunch of cool people, have some great food and chat away. You have to do this”
Last friday we held our thinkers bowl of food feast. The idea of this dinner was to showcase the very first dish I created and cooked. The dish from which The Thinkers Balcony grew and from which my love for cooking began. It was a dinner about simplicity, beauty, meditation, authenticity and the deliciousness of sharing. Luckily this was all communicated in the essence of the event, and as a result our guests had a fantastic experience.
When the guest arrived they were greeted with edamame and of course our amazing co-host Fran.
It was really amazing how well everyone got on; with hours of nattering it was as if everyone had known each other for years.
It was a real pleasure to have the guys from Epicurely come round; true foodies with a real passion for what they are doing. There is no-one more gratifying to cook for. So flattered that they enjoy the food.
THE MAIN EVENT: Ginger Salmon and Avacado Donburi served with Roasted Nori and sesame Furikake.
This is a simple but delicate bowl of food. Carefully balanced, this is about homely, wholesome, meditative, yet delicately refreshing food. Inspired by the traditional Chirashi or Donburi of Japan, it is the epitome of The Thinkers Balcony, and all our more elaborate dishes have a foundation in this simple beauty.
Beyond the fact that everyone loved the food, it was really great to see it evoke the philosophical spirit in many of our dinners. With conversations touching on the symbolism of Salmon as well as the spatial arrangement of noise.
Quote of the Evening: “I had a great time, but what is Time? Time is only noise”
Next came our famous chocolates:
Mint and Hazelnut chocolates, scattered with rose petals.
And of course to round of the night, as always each guest had a special gift to take away with them. This time it was a small bottle of Argan Oil, supplied by the wonderful Dana from Arganic:
“The gramophone and argan oil were perfect finishing touches………. I feel totally inspired. Looking forward to many more inspiring dinner”.
All in all it was a fantastic evening, made great by such lovely people, all full of passion and curiosity, it makes the work of chef a total joy. Thank you to all that came.
“Wonderful evening with great food, amazing company and a superb host”
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Last Friday we held our very first dinner. After selling out in less than 48 hours to guests we had never meet before, we had no idea who or what to expect. It turned out to be a wonderful evening, made great largely by the enthusiasm and excitement of our new friends. They loved the food, the concept, the ambiance and the whole idea, and they were a pleasure to delight.
The Theme for this evening was Lightness and Weight, inspired by the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. The idea was to get people to begin to explore themselves and their cravings through food. The way we distilled such an idea into an array of nutriment was by taking one ingredient for each course and splitting it in two. One dish representing Lightness - a fragrant, floral, airy version of the ingredient, and the other representing Weight - a pungent, spicy, wholesome version of the ingredient. For Starter we served: 2 ways Beef, for Main: 2 ways Duck, and for Dessert: 2 ways Bergamot:
MENU
——- Japanese steak tartare ——
Vs.
——- Shochu Chipotle Beef with Daikon Radish ———
*****
— Salad of Smoked Duck, Crispy Sharon Fruit and orange blossom —
Vs.
——- Duck and Tamago Chirashi ——-
*****
——- Bergamot Granita ——-
Vs.
——- Bergamot Chocolate ——-
So equipped with poetry and chopsticks our dinners embarked on a Kunderian expedition of taste and texture.Whilst some were really taken by the Weighty dishes, others were more confused as to what was most gratifying. And what was really great was that some people began to find elements of intensity within the lighter dishes and fragrance in the heavy ones. The idea of this dinner was really to explore the ideas of duality and non-duality; Can Good ever really be separate from Bad, can Lightness ever be separate from Weight? Or does every person contain and element of Good and Bad, does ever dish contain an element of Lightness and Weight?
“Along the way we learnt about light dishes that were heavy, and heavy dishes that were light”.
Weight: Shochu Chipotle Beef with Shredded Daikon
Everyone got on magically, and there was rarely a moment of silence. The conversation moved from brief moments of Philosophical Intensity to the Lightness of Comedy. In the end the greatest topic regarded the removal of certain body parts in a humorous amalgamation ethics and comedy.
Next was the main, starting with the Lightness of Duck:
Salad of Smoked Duck, served with a side of Happy Indian.
The weight portion of the Duck was based on a traditional Japanese style dish; the Chirashi, or Donburi. This is the sort of dish that could be found in a Japanese home, but rarely in London restaurants. It is simply a bowl of rice served with something delicious on top, typically Kabayaki (grilled eel) or salmon roe. Ours however featured spiced Duck, and Tamago (a sweet omelette)
After everyone had delicately stuffed their faces with thought, food, comedy and philosophy we moved on to the dessert.
Whilst the starter was primarily dominated by Lightness and the main course by Weight, the dessert had the two combined in equal portions. For the Lightness there was a refreshing Bergamot Granita. Using earl grey tea it was a play on Ice Tea or Tea Ice (as one of our guests remarked). For the Weight there were Homemade Dark Orange and Bergamot Chocolates. All served with flowers and a burning essence of Bergamot which filled the room with fragrance.
To end the evening everyone was given a small gift, to continue the culinary journey and keep the tastebuds alive, as they ventured home on the tube. A small bottle of Coconut and Macademia Popcorn.
We had a wonderful evening, meeting new people and having the pleasure to cook for them. I can’t wait to host our next event, and hopefully we will see our new friends again sometime soon.
“Overall it was a fantastic evening with a great host and hostess”
Past Events
Last Friday we held our Impermanence dinner in the Beautiful Flow Gallery - a uniquely tranquil space that seems to inspire a state of contemplation. With a certain Japanese essence running though it and walls that seem to have collected thought through the years, there could be no better place to hold a such a thought provoking event.
The theme for this dinner was Impermanence; The Buddhist notion that everything is in a constant state of transience. To distill this idea of change into food we sculptured a Menu that explores the idea of Impermanence on 4 different scales; Sub-atomic, Aesthetic, Structural and Environmental.
Japanese Tuna Tartare
Prawn Ceviche, Shitake Cream, Hens Yolk, Ruby Chard, Potato Soba served with a Konbu Shrimp Broth.
Pistachio and White Chocolate Ravioli with Freeze Dried Raspberry, served with a cup of Matcha.
Woodfire Chocolates
Each course was served on beautiful handmade Japanese ceramics curtsey of Akiko Hirai, Kaori Tatebayashi and Rie Tsurata.
The First Course was the Sub-atomic: A Japanese Tuna Tartare with Nasturium Leaf, Oxalis and Seasonal Flowers; served on plates by Akiko Hirai. This represented the quantum idea that all particles are in constant state of vibration and so the structure of a physical object can never remain in a fixed state. To illustrate this the tuna was cured in lemon juice and vinegar just before service, so that without knowing it the dish was cooking and evolving right in front of our guests eyes.
Throughout the dinner our guests were served Japanese tea by LalaniandCo in Akiko’s Teapots. To show the impermanent nature of the leaf the guests got to try each tea in two different infusions to see how the tea can change.
For the Main we served Aesthetic Impermanence: Prawn Ceviche, Shitake Cream, Hens Yolk, Ruby Chard, Potato Soba served with a Konbu Shrimp Broth. This was served in bowls by Kaori and represented changes that are visually very apparent to us (i.e. ageing) when the broth was poured the noodles separated, the yolk cooked and dissipated, and an intense shittake cream was released from within the prawns flavouring the broth and transforming it from a spicy hit to a smooth and mellow consomme.
For dessert came Structural Impermanence; illustrated by our White Chocolate and Pistachio Raviolis dusted with Powdered Raspberry and served with a cup of Matcha tea. Our guests dipped the little pockets of sweetness into the Matcha and watched as it began to drip and fall apart before quickly gobbling it down with a slurp of Matcha.
To finish we had our famous Woodfire Chocolates, to display Environmental Impermanence. Smoked over firewood and then served in a cloud of smoke under Rie Tsurata’s beautiful Cloche, these chocolates showed that for every element of impermanence they may exist a certain permanence; whilst the smoke dissipated and filled the room the chocolates themselves still held a reminiscence of the smoke that once was.
Environmental Impermanence: Woodfire Chocolates
All in all it was a fantastic evening made great by our guests and the wonderful Yvonna of Flow Gallery - I am so happy to have heard such incredible feedback. And of course a big thank you as ever to the amazing Muna Mazlan who has been an immense help and backbone of many of these events. I had such fantastic evening and can’t wait to be visiting Flow gallery another time soon.
Til Then Good Night.
Ilyas.
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Last Saturday Melba (a network for social chefs and diners) held their Launch Party. I was asked to cook a dessert for the event along with 3 other extremely talented Chefs. To be honest I was a little nervous; this was the first time I had cooked for so many people out of a professional kitchen, and being intolerant to sugar and diary desserts have never been my forte. But I was up for the challenge. And as always I decided to make things more risky for myself by doing a complex dish I had never served before. Yet I am happy to say that it completely paid off, I had an amazing time, the night went so well, the diners were thrilled by every course and I received some unbelievable feedback:
“Hands down the best dessert I’ve had in my life! Awesome experience”
The event was held at Salvation Janes, a beautiful Australian restaurant and coffee house in Shoreditch.
The Menu was as follows:
Kaffir Lime and Hake Fishcakes with Nahm Jim dipping sauce
by TIM DORMAN
Salamagundi in the 21st century
by IAN BALLATYNE
Duck Soup
by JAMIE HAZEEL
Kunderian Lightness and Weight
Bee’s Galangal Ice Cream v.s Woodfire Chocolates
by ILYAS KASSAM
To start there were some delicious Asian style Fishcakes courtesy of Tim Dorman. They may just have been fishcakes, but they were the best damn fishcakes, and the Nahm Jim chilli sauce was bang on.
Next was Ian Ballatyne’s Salamugundi. This was a very intriguing many component salad. I didn’t get to try this dish properly but had a little nibble on a few of the elements, and they were simple and delicious. 4 types of beetroot, and interesting herbs i had never seen. I have heard nothing but excellent things about this dish. Will definitely be going to one of his supper-clubs soon.
The Main course was no ordinary Duck Soup. It was an elaborate array of duck eggs, confit duck leg, cured duck breast, duck skin, rice noodles, duck stock, mushroom hoison sauce, and a variety of exciting herbs. Again I didn’t try this all together but separately every element was perfectly cooked…. the duck breast was so delicious, I couldn’t fault a thing.
Last of all was my course. This was an exploration of the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera. The idea was to serve two dishes one of Lightness and one of Weight, in order to allow our diners to discover what facet of existence they find most gratifying.
Representing Lightness was a deconstructed Galanagal Ice cream consisting of: Comb-honey, grated galangal and kaffir cream, honeycomb, bee pollen, freeze dried lychee and lime zest.
“Deconstructed Ice Cream. GENIUS.” - May Chong
I am extremely proud of this dish, but at the same time I was overly aware of how risky it was as I was using a lot of unfamiliar ingredients and displaying them in a unconventional way. Part of me was expecting it to be a Love it or a Hate dish. But so far I’ve heard nothing but words of Love.
To finish were my famous chocolates representing Weight. Served on a piece of Fire-wood they had been smoked over a woodfire to in part a rich smoky flavor. And as always they went down a treat.
If that wasn’t enough everyone was given some of Alexandra’s delicious homemade Perviuan Amisqi Alfajores. Delightful.
All in all it was a fantastic evening, made great by the Diners, the Chefs, all the wonderful people at Salavation Janes, and of course Melba. I have had such fun working with the guys from Melba and owe them a big Thank you. It is a great initiative fueled by handful of dedicated and passionate foodies. Thank you Duncan, Santi and Elco.
“Adventurous thrilling launch. Better than best”
for more wonderful feast head over to http://www.melba.co/users/94
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THE MAYAN CHOCOLATE APOCALYPSE.
“Fabulous Night! Fabulous Chocolate! ” Suzanne
On the calm eve of the winter solstice and the foretold end of the world we held a Chocolate tasting to celebrate what could have been the end of a wonderful civilization and the beginning of a new…….. or just another day made great by the accompaniment of chocolate. But this was no normal chocolate tasting, it was a true Apocalyptic explosion of chocolate that took our guests on a journey through Mayan Civilization, cocoa production and an array of bizarre chocolates. And as always it was all tangled up in an assortment of philosophy - with a series of conceptual chocolates, and Mayan delights that fed the mind as well as the stomach.
As the Guests arrived they were greeted with a large selection of exotic chocolates flavored with some of my favorite forest pickings. These were scattered around and there to be enjoyed throughout the evening………………… And enjoyed they were, I was thrilled hear so many mmmmmm’s, and wowww’s and to meet so many people who shared my passion for chocolate.
“the most perfect way to end the world” Selina Peri Peri
Chocolate really is the greatest social Lubricant. A room full of foodies brought together by the curiosity of their taste buds:
But there were not just a few flavours to try, much much more was to come, as the evening progressed various chocolate courses were brought out, from chocolate by origin, to beans to pulps, nibs, soba noodles, and a range of uniquely obscure “Thinkers Chocolates”…….
Flavours: Sweet basil, Salted thyme, Saffron, Lavender and Cinnamon, Saffron, Vetivert, Palmerosa, Hazelnut, Mint.
1st course: Burning Wisdom Chocolates
Beans: Madagascan, Venezuelan and Cuban
2nd Course: The Transcendentalist’s Chocolate
Noodles: Cocoa Matcha Zura Soba
3rd Course: Wood-Fire Chocolates
The flavors that surrounded the space throughout the evening included:
To accompany the chocolates we had a selection of chocolate based drinks that included xocolātl - a spiced Mayan bitter chocolate drink, White Chocolate Matcha, Chocolate Orange Mate, and Mint and Cocoa Roobios. And if that wasn’t enough our friend and Wine specialist, Gus Danowski had recommended a series of Wines to complement the Chocolate.
Our first conceptual chocolates were The Burning Wisdom Chocolates, of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh. Inspired by the gifts of the Wise Men, these were served on a piece of slate with burning Incense - creating a visual spectacle that spread excitement and deliciousness around the room.
Burning Wisdom Chocolates. - of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh
Next to come was a small introduction into the production of chocolate where everyone got to try cocoa from each part of the process, including rare and delicious cocoa pulp as well as its Liquor. It is amazing how common chocolate is and how few people know where it comes from.
Happy Indian With Plate full of Chocolate: Pulp, Nibs, Liquor, Butter and Chocolate.
Following that our guests got a chance to try chocolate from a variety of different countries including: Cuba, Madagascar and Venezuela, as I took them through how to taste the chocolate and identify the different notes.
After so much rich Chocolate, it was time for a little break but I didn’t want the experience to stop. So our next dish was a conceptual chocolate: The Transcendentalist’s Chocolate - The transcendentalists are concern with the essence of the Universe that lies beyond the form. In chocolate terms I wanted capture the essence of the chocolate without the chocolate. This was done with a very lightly smokey Cocoa Nib and Clementine Shisha.
Cocoa Nib and Clementine Shisha.
To break up this Marathon of Chocolate, and to fill up the part of the stomach that chocolate itself just cannot reach we had Noodles: Cocoa Matcha Soba with cocoa Nibs. Dipped in green tea and cocoa butter they had the taste of chocolate without the intensity.
Making of the Cocoa Matcha Zura Soba with Cocoa Nibs
And to finish of the evening we had a theatrical chocolate which is probably the one I am most proud of: The Wood Fire Chocolates. The idea of this was to recapture that feeling of sitting by the fire on a winters eve and drinking a cup of tea with some friends. The way this was distilled into a piece of chocolate was by creating a woody smoked chocolate that had the sweet taste of a woodfire without the harshness in the throat. This was served in a cloud of smoke, and left our guess with a sense of warmth as they left off into the night.
Woodfire Chocolates Served in a Cloud of Smoke
Finally if people wanted to buy gifts for their loved ones or carry on their Christmas Indulgence of Chocolate, then there were many on offer, including Mayan Chilli chocolate, Voltaire Coffee bean, Foragers Chocolate Boxes and Smoked Hazelnut Bars.
All in all it was a fantastic evening, made all the more fantastic by our wonderful guests, and the amazing help of Muna Mazlan. I have heard nothing but great reviews since, and can’t wait til the next Apocalypse.
“What an Amazing Feast…. AND the world didn’t come to an end after all” Getia
A Happy New Year to you all. I will see you in the 2013 where there will be many more culinary delights to grace your palette. til then, Peace, Love and Chocolate.
Ilyas.
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- An Existential Adventure of the Stomach -
Last weekend we held our Mystery and the Unknown Dinner. This event was slightly different to our usual dinners. Like all our others it did involve an exploration of a philosophy. However this time the philosophy wasn’t reveal until the end of the meal, leaving our diners on quest to decipher the menu and find what philosophy underlay the coming arrangement of Food. The idea of this was to allow our guests to venture through the meal and analyse the food in a manner that parallels the philosophers quest for meaning and obsessive deconstruction of the Universe. Whilst none of the guest managed to guess the philosophy or the philosopher, I am happy to say that they and their stomach all thoroughly enjoyed the culinary journey.
“It was a Veritable Feast and I loved every bit of it”
MENU
Bergamot Ponzu Oyster with Ikura and Camomile Leaf
Japanese Tuna Tartare
Cognac Smoked Chipotle Beef and Tamago Donburi
Black Truffle Ice Cream with Argan Baked Fig
Homemade Saffron Chocolates
So to kick it all off we had Bergamot Ponzu Oyster with Ikura, Camomile Leaf Oil and Oxalis Blossom.
Luck for us one of the guests was a really Oyster Lover and exclaimed that they were among the best Oyster she had ever had.
I was really chuffed to have Ale Wilkinson of Dim Sum Diaries join us straight from her flight in from Hong Kong: a Truely Dedicated Gastronome. As well as many other interesting food loving epicureans. In hours of eating and talking there was never a moments silence, everyone got on fantastically and bonded over the shared delight of the food.
Following on from our fellow Aphrodisiac of the Sea, was another light and refreshing dish, and a specialty of ours at The Thinkers Balcony: Japanese Tuna Tartare. It seemed this was the hit of the night, everyone gobbled it right down……elegantly of course.
Japanese Tuna Tartare with Nasturtium Blossom and Violas.
For the Main Course we had a wonderfully warming and smoky beef dish served with rice. Each diner was served a bowl of rice with Sesame Tamago (japanese scrambled egg with a delicate taste of sesame and konbu). And in the Middle was a large plate of flank steak that had been marinated in Cognac and served in a cloud of smoke with a Chipotle sauce:
Cognac Smoked Chipotle Beef and Tamago Donburi
For desert came one of my most recent creations, and one that I am most proud. A dish that is a true reverence to the seasons, and takes advantage of the 2 golden months of truffle forgery. - Black Truffle Ice Cream, with Argan Baked Figs served on a Pumkin, Date and Hazelnut Crisp Sand. This Dish really seems to be a Love it or Hate it kind of thing. The people who love it go completely nuts for it, they just devour it and I have had people wanting to place orders. And others just think it is way too barmy to be having mushrooms for desert. Luckily most of our guests were of the former category, and between the lovers and haters they managed to polish it all off without a single crumb to spare.
Black Truffle Ice Cream, with Argan Baked Figs served on a Pumkin, Date and Hazelnut Crisp Sand
And to finish of, in the usual custom of our dinners were the famous Homemade Chocolates. This time with the humbly opulent flavour of Saffron. “A delicious end to an Amazing Meal” exclaimed Ale.
As the Evening came to a close it became time to reveal the Philosophy that everyone had been waiting for. Unfortunately I can not reveal what it was in case we decide to repeat this dinner, and are fortunate enough to have you join us. But I can assure you it was suitably absurd, And left our guests pondering their lifes as they wondered of into the night, Argan Oil in hand.
Thank you again to all of those who came, and to the wonderful Natasha Piper for all her help….. As always I had a fantastic evening, made so by the enthusiasm and enjoyment of our guests.
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- A Culinary Exploration of the Theory of Eternal Recurrence. -
Last Night we held a special event, in Association with Action Against Hunger all the money raised went to fight hunger around the world. The Theme for this special occasion was the philosophy of Mister Frederich Nietzsche. Probably our most challenging and adventurous dinner to date. Exploring the idea of eternal recurrence we strived to serve the same dish 4 time but all in different textures and aesthetics. Luckily we managed to pull it off and our guests were stunned.
In order to exhibit this idea we served four courses of Duck and Pistachio. The biggest challenge was to create a sense of newness and wonder, whilst staying true to the repetition of ingredients. Thankful none of our guests felt a sense of boredom or tedium that can often accompany such repetition, rather they experienced a deep sense of intrigue. The array of Duck and Pistachio included:
Cognac Smoked Tartare of Duck and Fillet with Fennel and Crushed Pistachios.
Pistachio Risotto with Smoked Duck and Beef Onglet
Crispy Duck Ice Cream
Duck and Pistachio Chocolates
After spending a tearful morning of just cutting onions I managed to make a beautifully intense smoked onion and cognac jus to marinate the tartare. It was then served in a cloud of smoke with sliced fennel, crushed pistachios and a pumpkin seed toast.
As a chef the preparation and execution of such an event was a great learning experience. Confining myself to certain ingredients, allowed me to explore the versatility of an ingredient and release a depth of flavour that was otherwise unaccessbile. And what was greater was that our guest managed to explore these ingredients and their tastes in a way they had never done before.
For the Main Course we had an intensely rich Risotto of Pistachio and smoked duck, served with Beef Onglet, and drizzled with a wonderful Argan oil form our friends at Arganic. This was a marvelous success and was flattering to have our guests all trying to coax the recipe and “secret to such depth of flavour” out of me.
Risotto of Pistachio and Smoked Duck served with Beef Onglet and Fennel Leaf.
Throughout the enjoyment of a rich array of food, our guests enjoyed hours of philosophical, gastronomical and comical conversation. With our guests originating form Austria, Hong Kong, Austrialia, and boat in Knightsbridge It was great to have such a diversity of people all dine together and get on so well.
Next came the desert. And i think its is fair to say this was our most creative and obscure exploration of Duck and Pistachio, and what seemed to be the highlight of the meal…. Our Famous Crispy Duck Ice Cream:
Crispy Duck Ice Cream Rolled in a Pistachio Sand.
And of course like every one of our meals we ended with our creamy dark chocolates, this time we had the Bizarre combination of Duck and Pistachio. A crunchy nutty creamy delight.
Duck and Pistachio Dark Chocolates.
At the end of the meal our guests were given a small gift of fresh pistachios, still with their skin on they were fresh from their trees.
“A Beautiful Evening of wonderful culinary delights and philosophical musings”
All in all it was a fantastic evening, made wonderful by the help of our amazing suez chef Muna Mazlan, and extremely adventurous and inquisitive guests. Thank you so much to all those who came, we hope to see you again…….. and again and again.
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THE THINKERS BOWL OF FOOD FEAST
28TH Sept 2012
“What a brilliant idea….. turn up at a new place, meet a bunch of cool people, have some great food and chat away. You have to do this”
Last friday we held our thinkers bowl of food feast. The idea of this dinner was to showcase the very first dish I created and cooked. The dish from which The Thinkers Balcony grew and from which my love for cooking began. It was a dinner about simplicity, beauty, meditation, authenticity and the deliciousness of sharing. Luckily this was all communicated in the essence of the event, and as a result our guests had a fantastic experience.
When the guest arrived they were greeted with edamame and of course our amazing co-host Fran.
It was really amazing how well everyone got on; with hours of nattering it was as if everyone had known each other for years.
It was a real pleasure to have the guys from Epicurely come round; true foodies with a real passion for what they are doing. There is no-one more gratifying to cook for. So flattered that they enjoy the food.
THE MAIN EVENT: Ginger Salmon and Avacado Donburi served with Roasted Nori and sesame Furikake.
This is a simple but delicate bowl of food. Carefully balanced, this is about homely, wholesome, meditative, yet delicately refreshing food. Inspired by the traditional Chirashi or Donburi of Japan, it is the epitome of The Thinkers Balcony, and all our more elaborate dishes have a foundation in this simple beauty.
Beyond the fact that everyone loved the food, it was really great to see it evoke the philosophical spirit in many of our dinners. With conversations touching on the symbolism of Salmon as well as the spatial arrangement of noise.
Quote of the Evening: “I had a great time, but what is Time? Time is only noise”
Next came our famous chocolates:
Mint and Hazelnut chocolates, scattered with rose petals.
And of course to round of the night, as always each guest had a special gift to take away with them. This time it was a small bottle of Argan Oil, supplied by the wonderful Dana from Arganic:
“The gramophone and argan oil were perfect finishing touches………. I feel totally inspired. Looking forward to many more inspiring dinner”.
All in all it was a fantastic evening, made great by such lovely people, all full of passion and curiosity, it makes the work of chef a total joy. Thank you to all that came.
“Wonderful evening with great food, amazing company and a superb host”
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Last Friday we held our very first dinner. After selling out in less than 48 hours to guests we had never meet before, we had no idea who or what to expect. It turned out to be a wonderful evening, made great largely by the enthusiasm and excitement of our new friends. They loved the food, the concept, the ambiance and the whole idea, and they were a pleasure to delight.
The Theme for this evening was Lightness and Weight, inspired by the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. The idea was to get people to begin to explore themselves and their cravings through food. The way we distilled such an idea into an array of nutriment was by taking one ingredient for each course and splitting it in two. One dish representing Lightness - a fragrant, floral, airy version of the ingredient, and the other representing Weight - a pungent, spicy, wholesome version of the ingredient. For Starter we served: 2 ways Beef, for Main: 2 ways Duck, and for Dessert: 2 ways Bergamot:
MENU
——- Japanese steak tartare ——
Vs.
——- Shochu Chipotle Beef with Daikon Radish ———
*****
— Salad of Smoked Duck, Crispy Sharon Fruit and orange blossom —
Vs.
——- Duck and Tamago Chirashi ——-
*****
——- Bergamot Granita ——-
Vs.
——- Bergamot Chocolate ——-
So equipped with poetry and chopsticks our dinners embarked on a Kunderian expedition of taste and texture.Whilst some were really taken by the Weighty dishes, others were more confused as to what was most gratifying. And what was really great was that some people began to find elements of intensity within the lighter dishes and fragrance in the heavy ones. The idea of this dinner was really to explore the ideas of duality and non-duality; Can Good ever really be separate from Bad, can Lightness ever be separate from Weight? Or does every person contain and element of Good and Bad, does ever dish contain an element of Lightness and Weight?
“Along the way we learnt about light dishes that were heavy, and heavy dishes that were light”.
Weight: Shochu Chipotle Beef with Shredded Daikon
Everyone got on magically, and there was rarely a moment of silence. The conversation moved from brief moments of Philosophical Intensity to the Lightness of Comedy. In the end the greatest topic regarded the removal of certain body parts in a humorous amalgamation ethics and comedy.
Next was the main, starting with the Lightness of Duck:
Salad of Smoked Duck, served with a side of Happy Indian.
The weight portion of the Duck was based on a traditional Japanese style dish; the Chirashi, or Donburi. This is the sort of dish that could be found in a Japanese home, but rarely in London restaurants. It is simply a bowl of rice served with something delicious on top, typically Kabayaki (grilled eel) or salmon roe. Ours however featured spiced Duck, and Tamago (a sweet omelette)
After everyone had delicately stuffed their faces with thought, food, comedy and philosophy we moved on to the dessert.
Whilst the starter was primarily dominated by Lightness and the main course by Weight, the dessert had the two combined in equal portions. For the Lightness there was a refreshing Bergamot Granita. Using earl grey tea it was a play on Ice Tea or Tea Ice (as one of our guests remarked). For the Weight there were Homemade Dark Orange and Bergamot Chocolates. All served with flowers and a burning essence of Bergamot which filled the room with fragrance.
To end the evening everyone was given a small gift, to continue the culinary journey and keep the tastebuds alive, as they ventured home on the tube. A small bottle of Coconut and Macademia Popcorn.
We had a wonderful evening, meeting new people and having the pleasure to cook for them. I can’t wait to host our next event, and hopefully we will see our new friends again sometime soon.
“Overall it was a fantastic evening with a great host and hostess”
