GETTING MOLECULAR
A Farm to Finger event harnesses the imagination and origins of Witt advanced cookery students. Writer Virginia Winder gets a taste of things to come.
Modernist techniques and molecular gastronomy are the buzz words in the Witt kitchens leading up to a tasty outing. Yes, it does sound like a combined science and art class, and in many ways that’s exactly what the Level 5 hospitality students have been learning about in preparation for a Farm to Finger event featuring ethical food on April 13.
Tutor Craig Ludlow says the goal is to extend the students on the advanced New Zealand Diploma in Cookery course. ‘‘The whole idea is giving these guys the opportunity to play around and develop their own dishes.’’
The students are encouraged to generate ideas to produce their own creations using as much locally sourced, cruelty free and sustainable produce as possible.
Some have looked to their origins for inspiration and others have entered the science fiction realm, where no man (or not many) has gone before.
Aashan Khatri has conceived a dish involving compressed eggplant with red pepper relish and labneh, a soft Middle-Eastern cheese. This is where the ‘‘molecular gastronomy’’ enters the picture via the vacuum-packed aubergine.
Ludlow says compressed food is big in the United States right now and is basically food that has had its molecular structure changed.
Khatri’s experiment with eggplant has produced a plate of delicacies rich with intense flavours and he’s also made a Fijian version of ceviche, called kokoda, involving fish marinated in lemon juice.
The former New Plymouth Boys’ High School student has been around foodies all his life but says his own interest in cooking was heightened when he lived away from home.
He went to university to study music and psychology and discovered how much he enjoyed cooking for his flatmates. So, he returned to his hometown to study cookery at Witt.
His whole family is into cooking. ‘‘My dad’s the Indian chef at the weekend; my mother is more experimental and loves baking – she cooks Western food; my grandmother was an amazing Indian cook, so we’re a big foodie family.’’
Now he is a commis chef at the Governor’s Eatery + Bar, in the Novotel New Plymouth Hobson Hotel. ‘‘I really enjoy it – it’s the path for me I think.’’
Harshal Sokhal from Punjab in India has called on his background for his finger food offering. He has made Chicken 65, which is a marinated and cooked dish, packed with spices.
‘‘I have used 65 different spices and I have kept them for a day to get the flavours,’’ he says.
While the recipe doesn’t appear to have that many spices, the secrets are hidden in the Kashmiri chilli powder.
However, part of this challenge is to use local ingredients, so the chicken is produced in Taranaki and the mint for the accompanying chutney is grown in the region too.
For Sokhal, his motivation to become a cook began far away in northern India. ‘‘Cooking was my childhood hobby – that was from my grandmother. She likes to cook.’’
He then decided to become a chef by studying at Witt and following his brother, who did the same course.
‘‘It’s awesome here. The students are friendly and all that, and the tutors are kind and they teach really good.’’
Ludlow says the students are taught to drive themselves on this course, which prepares them for higher industry positions.
‘‘They get a lot of time to play around and they have a grumpy man like me,’’ he laughs. ‘‘I push them really hard and they get really good results.’’
Praveen Thomas from Kerala in India has made sesame fish with tartare sauce, which uses black and white sesame seeds in a breadcrumb crust. He has also made smoked salmon cucumber cups.
Jomit Babu, also from Kerala, has cooked chicken lollipops, accompanied by a yoghurt dipping sauce called raita, and Akshay Parange from Mumbai has made macadamia chocolate truffles. Also on offer are potato champs with mint sauce and macadamia tarts.
The Farm to Finger event will be a creative culinary occasion. To book for the after-work outing, please call Robyn Trowern at Witt on 06 7573100 ext 8940.