The good oil on fish dish art
Infusing salmon with a drizzle of Disney, Irish megalithic art or a homage to late chef Anthony Bourdain were some of the mouthwatering creations at an international culinary challenge with a difference.
Yesterday New Zealand King Salmon announced the winners of its supreme O¯ ra King Awards to leading chefs from New Zealand, Australia, North America and Japan.
Now in its sixth year, the event recognises culinary excellence across the world, using New Zealand’s best-of-breed O¯ ra King Salmon.
This year’s brief was to take inspiration from a piece of art, across any¯medium, and interpret this as an Ora King dish.
Auckland private chef Mark McAllister was named the New Zealand winner for his Salmon Solstice creation – inspired by Irish megalithic art and made with Irish whiskey-cured salmon.
Michael Demagistris of Polperro Winery Restaurant in Red Hill took out the Australian award for his cannelloni of O¯ ra King salmon, bisque, burnt hay, red hill truffle, finger lime and smoked caviar.
The North American award went to Johnathan Granada of Otium in Los Angeles for Legacy, inspired by a photo collage in homage to Paul Bocuse and Anthony Bourdain, while Naoki Nagai of All Day Dining Remone, Rihga Royal Hotel in Osaka won the Japanese award for the Anna Pavlova-inspired De´ clinaison de O¯ ra King.
NZKS marketing manager Gemma McGowan said it was important to host the event in the top of the south to show some of the world’s best chefs where their favourite salmon came from, while showcasing the region and New Zealand as a premium tourist destination.
In the last year, more than 350 restaurants had added O¯ ra King to their menus, she said.
An executive chef at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington DC, O¯ ra King ambassador Michael Ellis has made the fish a fixture of his menu, which caters to the city’s political elite.
‘‘I learned how much better food tastes when it’s grown properly – that’s how I ended up with this,’’ he said.