The Chef's Table at Euro

The other night we had a real foodie highlight - a 10 course degustation at Euro at the Chef's Table.  This would definitely be a top 3 experiences for me to date - it was an awesome time.

Euro's Simon Gault is a household name in NZ as one of the judges on Masterchef but he is also known for his love for molecular gastronomy (think Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria, from whom a lot of his ingredients come) and The Chef's Table at Euro is his attempt at showcasing some unique and experimental dishes for 8 people at a time seated around a kitchen bar.

Apparently he started The Chef's Table a few years ago but for publicity he recently did a half price deal which we got a couple of seats for.  It sold out very quickly, but the chef told us to watch this space - they'll either do another 'grab one' deal or give details on their Facebook page.

So on with the show:  (it's referred to as 'entertastement' on the Euro web site!)

1. Spanish Bellota ham with creme fraiche and shaved fresh NZ truffles.  We were asked to roll this into a cigar and eat. Only 3 ingredients but honestly, this was a taste sensation and a true example of what can happen if you have the best ingredients.

2. Smoked Caprese Salad.  The first of the 'gastro' dishes.  An array of gastro ingredients such as olive oil which was in the form of little caviars, which was then subjected to smoke under a dome to infuse with the ingredients.

Adding smoke to the caprese salad

3. A deconstructed shrimp coctail.  Probably the most normal dish of the night.
4.  The risotto was to die for. Well, there was half a kilo of butter in the risotto alone, so 'to die for' has a dual meaning!  It was done with an anchovy butter (more heart attack material) and calamari rice.

5.  Favourite Dish: Fois Gras ice cream with sherry vinegar candy floss. The sherry vinegar was freeze dried in a powder form and sprinkled over a candy floss nest. The sweet and savory and textural combination was absolutely mind blowing.

6.  Ravioli.  Ok, in case you thought this was a healthy degustation, the ravioli was made with 300g of flour and SEVENTEEN egg yolks!  Your average home recipe calls for 1 egg / 1 yolk per 100g of flour, and of course this extreme amount of eggs is for the richness (read fat content) of the yolks. The Beurre Noisette had another 1/2 kg of butter....

Some 'crowd' participation

7. Wagyu beef with a venison jus and........  fries cooked in duck fat!  I could feel my arteries bracing themselves but this was certainly good.

8. Freeze dried mandarins and raspberries in liquid nitrogen.  As soon as you put it in your mouth the smoke comes out of your nose and mouth! (OK Curt, we may have to discuss the 'puff' thing!)
9. Deconstructed Pavlova, warm sauce, liquid nitro Pav and fizzy sherbet strawberries.
Hot, cold, fizz, crunch, yum.

The Chef making sorbet with liquid nitrogen

10. Grappa hot chocolate with a a chocolate fig truffle.  Oh my goodness.  I could have drunk a cup of this, not just the pipeful, but once again, an explosion in your mouth.  Definitely a grand finale.

Well,  this is not something we would do every weekend, but as far as foodie treats go, this certainly was worthwhile.  I will have to wait for the butter and duck fat to work their way through my system before the next time!