December 8th 2018. We agree on the date and theme in early November, to give us time to think about a menu and to keep the date in reserve. One app, one entrée, three judges. An hour and a half of time.
The wager? Loser bears the shame of losing and is the certified Sous chef. Winner is crowned Head Chef, and all it’s glorious honor until the next battle.
We shake on it. And then it’s serious.
The next month would lead to many scratched menus on the page, from far flung ideas to simply letting ingredient shine. I wanted to showcase flavor, technique, simplicity and depth. I wanted to play with texture and tastes. I was also ambitious, wanting to cover a wide variety of cuisines, and draw from many inspirations.
Even until the last minute, I had changes to accommodate the produce that looked best, including having Peter swipe nearly all the scallops from the grocery store. I cancelled plans that seemed to require too much work or distracting to the highlight flavors.
In the end, I was really proud of the product. My fish stock was exquisite, a huge depth of flavors that worked in balance, drawing deeply from the huge, fresh salmon head I had put in, the miso, the bonito flakes, the daikon, and celery stalks. The right combination of spice and sauces gave a sweet tone and just a touch of spice to the fish umami and lemon/vinegar tartness.
My buckwheat soba noodles were cooked perfectly, a testament to my practice. Rapidly boiling lightly salted water, simmer for 6 minutes exactly, 7 is overcooked. They gave a hearty earthy base to the broth, and gave a resting place for the lemon-miso-mirin marinated black cod, first fried skin side down, then braised in the remaining marinate. It was tender fish, just cooked through, and it did pick up the marinate flavor, just light enough to taste but not so strong as to overwhelm.
My salad also emphasized that balanced taste profile. The dressing was lemony and salty and spicy, working really well against the bite of the arugula, the crunch of celery and bok choy, the chew of the braised octopus, and the crunch of the fried Porchetta.
A just cooked through scallop rested on top, and sprinkled on, a few bonito flakes for added unity, flavor, and umani. Plus, more seafood ingredients.
Overall my plates had a great flavor unity, utilizing similar but distinct flavor profiles. This gave each piece of the meal a uniqueness, but also painted a coherent picture. I’m most proud of the result of the salad, due to its balance in both textures and flavors, while being just delicious. But the fish stock/cod/buckwheat soba combination might have been my most complete bowl.
The race was tight. Peter hand wrapped shrimp-scallion-lime zest wontons in a delicate shrimp-and-bacon stock. The plating was exquisite, garnished with thinly sliced scallions and roasted garlic chips. The wontons really popped, the firmness of the shrimp meat and the zest of the lime. The stock was a little rich, too much bacon not enough shrimp.
His main was also delicious. Scallops on a bed of mushy peas topped with watercress. The mushy peas were addictively good, I ate spoonful after spoonful, straight from the pot. The scallops were cooked very cleanly.
His biggest failure was time management. I was able to move through and serve both plates within 5 minutes of the time requirement. But Peter needed an extra 20 to finish, and he did not succeed in getting the pan sauce. This definitely was a reflection of our preparation. I had spent many days planning the meal, planning my cooking strategy, and practicing the soba timing and the stock flavor profile. That work gave me the edge in finishing just past the time frame.
A final tally of 102-98 sealed my victory, and I have the full score sheet below. I won points for taste in both categories, with a minor edge for Peter in plating and creativity. It was a great battle, I very proud and happy I won that. I’m looking forward to the next battle. Chicken? Potatoes?