The night started with the ever-inventive sous Chef Amy and her focus on expanding the mind and super foods. To get the creative juices flowing, the chefs were all provided with a shot of Lions Mane Elixir... #earthy #NoOneDied. For the hors d'oeuvres, sous chef Amy served a platter of crostini topped with fresh artichokes, marinated artichokes, parmesan and gruyere. The ice cubes of her gin-cherry juice were infused with the brain enhancing Goji berries, which were released as the ice melted.
To the table with our Mexican beer for sous chef Dallas and her deeply flavoured mole. Inspired by the morning pleasure of a hot cup of joe, sous chef Dallas created a coffee-infused mole sauce. We drenched the fresh corn tortilla stuff with peppers with the mole #Ihadseconds and added extra freshness with side of lime and cilantro. Delicious.
Next up was sous chef Leah and her dish focused on the sleep technique of gray rain. The mono-chromatic dish of braised sage cannellini beans were served with a fried potato and goat cheese cake, sautéed mushrooms and cauliflower, finished with a seedy oak cracker. To wash it down, a Spanish prosecco was enhanced with muscat grapes and sprinkled with camomile tea.
Sous chef Abe brought a bit of theatrics with his cloud inspired candy cloud cocktail. It started with a ball of blue cotton candy and when he added the mixture of wine and gin, it left behind a delicious strawberry. For the soup, each sous chef started a bowl of cotton candy with their letter in whipped cream. Sous chef Abe added roasted tomato soup to the dish, and served with parmesan toasts. Very delightful!
For the main, Master Chef Vanessa delighted the chefs with her dreams of the tropics. The roasted duck/tofu coated with toasted coconut was so tender and enhanced with a side of homemade ricotta ravioli and blueberry sauce. The bundles of salad served with a coconut infused dressings brought a lovely freshness to the dish. A personal favourite, the meal was topped off with a colourful, tropical Mai Tai.
Last but not least, sous chef Christine delighted the chefs with a tower of dark chocolate cake. Topped with tasty vegan frosting and fondant glasses, we worked our way through the layers of chocolate cake with delight. The richness of the cake was balanced with a minty tequila cocktail.
A big thanks to Master Chef Vanessa for a lovely evening, thought provoking theme, and take home eye masks. It is not often enough that we hang out in our pj's.