‘We do not develop in a bubble’
Villa Eyrie Resort’s Gross says working with other creative chefs is how he gets his inspiration
DUCK BREAST WITH GINGER HONEY, WASABI MASHED POTATOES AND WOK VEGETABLES
The stars seem to follow Chef Marion Gross.
He started his culinary apprenticeship at the Michelin-starred Relais & Chateaux Hotel Dollenberg, in the Black Forest of Germany. Then, he joined the kitchen at Der Alpenhof, which earned a Michelin star during his tenure. Gross fine-tuned his palate and skills under the guidance of three-star Chef Helmut Thieltges and finally assumed command of the one-star Waine & Tafelhous in Edmonton.
And, today, you can find him at the Summit, the dining room at Villa Eyrie Resort on Vancouver Island’s Malahat summit.
Q
What motivates and inspires you as a chef?
A
One thing that always motivates me is working with other chefs and seeing their ideas for new dishes, especially the challenging ones because I want to be able to put my own spin on it. As a chef, just like any other profession, we do not develop or grow in a bubble. We have to be working together, experiencing new things, learning new recipes to get our inspiration.
Q
How would you describe the type of food you like to cook?
A
It has to be delicious. I don’t want to put food on a plate simply because it is a cool ingredient or something I foraged from the forest. I prefer simple, not overworked, solid flavours, and something that just makes sense.
Q
What might diners not know about you?
A
Can’t a chef have any secrets? What most of my diners won’t know is that I work long hours to ensure that my kitchen runs smoothly, and I do it because I love it. There is a lot to manage in a kitchen, and I am not one to walk away after eight hours and say my shift is over. Producing the level of food I want to produce takes a lot of investment and the building of a very strong kitchen team.
Q
Describe a couple of your most recent creations.
A
To showcase our tomatoes as well as our Oceanwise seafood, I was envisioning a dish with halibut, tomatoes, basil. Sometimes it takes me a few days to have that “a-ha” moment when it clicks, I remember a dish I have tasted in the past and I find my inspiration on how it should come together. So the dish developed into a sun-dried tomato basil risotto with a tomato gel, microgreens, grilled marinated octopus, pan-seared B.C. halibut, and finished with lemon-infused olive oil.
Q
What’s your favourite local product and how do youuseit?
A
At the moment, it is our B.C. mushrooms. But I also love our locally farmed greens — our arugula from Hoffman’s Farm, and our mobetta greens from Paul Plenti. The mushrooms add umami and texture to everything. I use them to stuff meats, as well as just to be enjoyed as a side. The arugula makes a wonderful pesto for our Caprese salad, steak sandwich, and breakfast steak and eggs.
Makes: 4 servings
4 duck breasts
1/3 cup, plus 1 tbsp (100 g) honey
2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely diced, peeled
1lb (454 g) Kennebec potatoes
1 cup (250 mL) whole milk
1/3 cup, plus 1 tbsp (100 g) butter
2 tbsp (30 mL) whipping cream
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) fresh grated nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mL) wasabi
1 large carrot
2 bell peppers of different colour
1/2 lb (250 g) oyster mushrooms
1/4 lb (114 g) bean sprouts
1 celery stalk
1 small zucchini
1/4 lb (114 g) snow peas
1 medium red onion
1/4 lb (114 g) pea shoots
3 tbsp (45 mL) Sesame oil
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh grated ginger
3 tbsp (45 mL) Thai chili sauce
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven at 325°F (160°C).
Cut duck skin into a cross hatch and lay to the side. Mix honey and finely diced ginger. Leave for the end. Peel potatoes and rinse. Cut into equal size pieces and place into lightly salted water. Let cook at a low boil until potatoes are soft. Sieve off the water and let potatoes cool. Once they are done releasing steam put potatoes through a potato ricer.
Heat milk and bring to a boil, add the butter and let the butter melt. Then stir this under the potatoes. Add whipping cream, wasabi, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Cut all vegetables into equal size pieces. Gently heat up a frying pan without oil and season the duck breast on both sides. Place duck breast into pan with skin side down. Slowly allow for the skin to turn a nice golden brown. Then flip, place into the oven and bake for 4-6 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat up a wok on high heat add sesame oil. Toss as you add the vegetables each one minute apart. Add carrots, then bell peppers, snow peas, celery, then zucchini, oyster mushroom and onions, lastly the sprouts and pea shoots. Finish with grated ginger, salt, pepper and Thai chili sauce. Turn vegetables down on low.
Remove duck from the oven and glaze with the ginger honey. Place under broil just to crisp up the skin and then remove. To plate, place the vegetables into the middle of the plate in a nice line.