Chef of the Day - Advanced Level Students

From the minute that I read the menu, I knew I was in for something special.  Sometimes you just get a feeling that your food experience will be almost a lesson in science.  When science meets food there's a definite reaction - YUM!
Advanced Level culinary students and their instructor, David Bakker CCC, created a menu for a student luncheon - Chef of the Day. The menu featured a Pork Belly Dish, a Tomato Salad and a Sea Bass entree followed by a dessert trio.  At a first glance, it seemed "normal" enough, however, the kitchen equipment in use was a sign for me that I was in store for something unique and anything but "normal".
To start we were served with a tomato salad.  The small heritage tomatoes were peeled and marinated and served with a syringe dropper of tomato water (made from hanging seasoned tomatoes from a cheesecloth sac and draining the "water" into a bowl beneath) and a dollop of tomato water cloud (made from whipping the tomato water into a merengue and frozen - turning it into a "cloud").  Delicious.

The next course consisted of an array of pork belly - not only the slow cooked belly, but also the crisps made from the fried fat and a "bacon consomme" - the pork was complemented by a 1hr poached egg (an egg poached in the shell at a temp below boiling for an hour minimum to create a yolk with the creamy consistency of peanut butter) and a smear of squash puree - the result was a flavourful plate of taste sensations combining the fatty with the acid in a perfect synergy.

The main entree was an extraordinary combination of Chilean Sea Bass served with veal cheeks and a savoury gnocchi along with beets.  The flavour combination is hard to describe - wonderful.

Saving room for dessert was not easy.  The trio presented a carrot cake, custard flan and house-made creme fraiche ice cream was colourful and delicious.  Just the right level of sweetness and tartness to finish the meal.