Monthly Archives: June 2010

David Everitt-Matthias’ chocolate délice

Posted on June 26, 2010 by ben

David Everitt-Matthias’ Essence is a fantastic book showcasing modern British haute cuisine. I particularly love this book because, like him, I have a love of the hedgerow and I also enjoy drawing on traditional British ingredients and preparations. It contains … Continue reading →

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Cheesemaking: Feta

Posted on June 26, 2010 by ben

I love quality Greek feta. It’s not easy to find feta that balances creaminess, saltiness, acidic bite/piquancy, and a just-firm-enough texture; which are the qualities I look for. For me, it has to have what I call a “belly of … Continue reading →

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Water of life

Posted on June 26, 2010 by ben

On a particular day (actually, due to volume constraints it was completed over two or three days) back in February 2005, I again blessed the Italians. A simple peaty mash that was passed through twice (“double…”) and hit with some … Continue reading →

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Wine matching dinner

Posted on June 26, 2010 by ben

The menu for a wine matching dinner with fellow wine geeks (February 2006) comprised: White truffle custard with mushroom ragout Based on the French Laundry’s, but with a mushroom ragout instead of their black truffle ragout. I like it this … Continue reading →

Posted in Beef, Canapé/Hors d'œuvre, Dessert, Menu, Pheasant, Salad, Scallops, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The versatility of scallops

Posted on June 25, 2010 by ben

I love how versatile scallops can be with flavour pairings. I went through a bit of a scallop experimentation fad (“session working with scallops”) some years ago. The first essentially became a “signature dish” of mine, except below it looks … Continue reading →

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The beginnings of pursuits in haute cuisine

Posted on June 25, 2010 by ben

It started in Vancouver. I’d always been interested in food and cooking, but in 2004 I embraced haute cuisine, in the sense of food conceived as an aesthetic form of art. Focus on ingredient selection, interesting flavour/texture combinations, complex multi-component … Continue reading →

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The Analytical Kitchen is resurrected

Posted on June 25, 2010 by ben

Some time ago the original blog that resided here was hacked and deleted (yes, I had been lazy on the management front and not backed up the entries). This blog will document my ongoing culinary experimentation, as well as loosely … Continue reading →

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