FINE DINING - Issue 1

FINE DINING - Issue 1
EDITOR’S NOTE
SEPTEMBER 2014 - Issue 1
Welcome to The Salmon, a quarterly publication from AfroditiKrassa HQ.
Our purpose is to showcase significant movements in different categories within the hospitality
industry. I am delighted to send you our first issue, the focus for which is the changing face of
fine dining.
It is September and, here in London, we have been busy checking out the world’s finest eating &
drinking establishments. It sounds like fun, and it is, but behind all this frolicking about, there is
serious business to be done.
Our generation has witnessed the most phenomenal cultural shift in dining focused experiences,
with the last two to three years being the most intense. I still remember my first visit to a British
supermarket as a young student in 1992. There was just a single brand of olive oil on the shelf.
Much is said of the rising cult of celebrity chef and new interpretations on what we eat & how
we drink, but the conversation surrounding restaurant, hotel and bar interiors remains largely
the same.
As a studio fortunate to sit ‘backstage’ at these places, we are seeing design playing a much more
considered role in the fine dining experience, one that goes far beyond cushions, curtains and
colours and reaches into product design and storytelling.
This is an Eating Revolution, and I for one cannot stop thinking ‘like a salmon’ and asking myself,
my studio and our clients, “how can we continue to innovate and stand out in a river full of other
fish?”.
I hope you enjoy this little trip upstream; your thoughts are truly welcomed as my greatest hope
for The Salmon is that it starts a discussion between my studio & you, the reader.
Editor
1. Cover: Escoffier (seated) at the Baur au Lac in Zurich in 1930
2. © Afroditi Krassa
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AFRODITIKRASSA FOR
HESTON BLUMENTHAL
CATEGORY-DEFINING DESIGN
We believe whatever the status quo is in your area of business, challenging it gives you the chance to be remarkable. We call what we do
‘category-defining design’. Our clients come to us because they want the
design of their restaurant, bar, hotel or place of entertainment to be
regarded as ‘best-in-class’.
AFRODITIKRASSA FOR
DISHOOM
AFRODITIKRASSA FOR
4
CURZON
We work with some of the world’s most ambitious hoteliers, entrepreneurs and brands. Recent projects include the design of the Curzon Cinemas flagship venue and Heston Blumenthal’s Perfectionists’ Café at
Heathrow.
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CONTENTS
8 - 9
INTERVIEW WITH PAUL LIEBRANDT
10 - 21
THE STEREOTYPES
A SEA OF WHITE TABLECLOTHS
GAZILLIONS OF CUTLERY
ELEVATOR MUSIC
STUFFY STAFF
WHITE BOX
26 - 27
INTERVIEW WITH DOUGLAS BLYDE
22 - 57
FOOD IS THE NEW MUSIC
BACKSTAGE ACCESS
DRESSED DOWN FRIDAYS
FOLLOWERS NOT PATRONS
ALTERED STATE
FIRST NAME BASIS
AUTOGRAPH
FRONT ROW
SMOKE & MIRRORS
RAW
FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY!
SOUND & VISION
SEX, DRUGS & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
THE BLACK BOX
SHOW IS ON!
1. Luncheon in honor of the late Auguste Escoffier, given by Oscar of the Waldorf. © Waldorf Astoria
INTERVIEW WITH PAUL LIEBRANDT
CHEF, THE ELM/NEW YORK
Chef Paul Liebrandt’s food melds the tradition of classical cuisine with a contemporary
and personal approach to ingredients, technique and a unique visual style.
EDITOR: You are known for your daring cuisine and creative style. What motivated you to do
things differently?
PAUL LIEBRANDT: There isn’t one thing that motivated me to be different per se. I would say
having a sense of curiosity is the main motivating factor to doing things differently and not to
accept the status quo.
EDITOR: Has it been easy for you to challenge the status quo?
PAUL LIEBRANDT: No, it has not been easy. These things never are. People generally take time
to warm up to new ideas, so patience is a virtue in this regard.
EDITOR: Do you see the way fine dining is being done changing in New York? If so, how?
PAUL LIEBRANDT: Yes I do see it changing as I also see it changing around the globe. Fine dining
used to be for an older generation that has money and now is accessible to a younger generation.
I don’t think fine dining itself has changed in that people still want personality, creativity and
high quality. These fundamentals never change in the discipline of the creative arts. What has
changed is the approach to how they deliver those fundamentals. To use an analogy, a hundred
years ago, people went to the opera where they wore top hat and tails. People still attend operas
but perhaps they don’t wear the same outfit. The approach has changed not the content.
EDITOR: Which restaurants are leading the change?
PAUL LIEBRANDT: Glen Ellen Star [Sonoma]and Benu [San Francisco].
EDITOR: What inspires your creative process?
PAUL LIEBRANDT: It isn’t one particular thing. More and more these days travel, culture and
history seem to be the driving force behind ideas and inspiration.
EDITOR: Your cooking style has been described as “eccentric”. What do you take that to mean?
PAUL LIEBRANDT: I have no idea what that means as I have never heard that word used to describe my cuisine. My guess would be that my cuisine is hard to pigeonhole, neither classical nor
avant-garde but somewhere in between!
“A hundred years ago, people went to the opera
where they wore top hat and tails. People still attend operas but perhaps they don’t wear the same
outfit. The approach has changed not the content.”
Paul Liebrandt
1. © Paul Liebrandt
FINE DINING.
CLOSE YOUR EYES.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
A SEA OF
TABLECLOTHS
1. Previous Page: Auguste Escoffier, © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis
2. Restaurant, Grand Central Terminal, ca 1912. © Library of Congress
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ER
Y
Z
GA
IL
L
LIO
T
U
C
NS OF
ELEVATOR MUSIC
1. Previous Page: Seafood cocktail with cocktail fork served in a cocktail glass w/ice liner and dry sherry
2. Old Fashioned Elevator at the Story Hotel, ©OSI Femmes
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STUFFY STAFF
1. ©Йа Kapтинко
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WHITE BOX
IF CHEFS ARE THE NEW
ROCKSTARS,
WHY IS FINE DINING
SO UN-ROCK ‘N’ ROLL?
AFRODITI ASKS
DESIGNER, LONDON
I do love my good food. I do love my cooking too. And like so many of us, I do believe that culinary
art is one of the greatest of all art forms. So experiencing the work of top chefs in restaurants
should be just tons of fun, right? Well, so often it is not. “Chefs are the new rockstars.” “Food is
the new music.” I have heard such comments repeatedly. And it is true, you get people tattooing
themselves with a portrait of Gordon Ramsay. If this is not the sign of the times, then nothing
else is. So, why is fine dining design, so un-rock ‘n’ roll? Is there still space for the endless rows of
tables, all lined in pristine table clothes, the waiters in uniforms and a space which is hushed and
intimidating, like a museum; where people are too scared to laugh or talk normally.
I want to see an element of rock ‘n’ roll taking over restaurants all over the world. It is happening
and the move is being led, to a large extent, by the exciting and innovative Scandinavian chefs
who have wowed us with their inspired cooking and completely changed the concept of what going out to eat should be like. I am convinced that a more theatrical element to restaurant design
will gradually be introduced in the next few years, especially since younger diners are the new
followers of the God-like celebrity chef.
Communal tables, as well as a variety of seating layouts, will be commonplace. Just as the casual
dining market has embraced the idea of all of us sitting together, fine dining too is moving on to
more conversation-conducive spaces, all anchored in front of the spectacle of the open kitchen,
“the stage”. It is more a sense of being part of something, rather than a spectator. All over the
world the Chef’s Table has become a hugely popular concept. At one restaurant in Sweden the
guests can number no more than 12 and there are no waiters. The chefs cook and serve the food
in the kitchen and then join the customers at the table, just like a backstage pass. It is this experience that becomes more important than the food itself.
I strongly believe that the chef should be the star of the show. We have seen how television programmes have catapulted talented chefs into the arena of celebrity and many of them now enjoy
the status of pop stars. For diners, the idea of a really special night out is the chance to be cooked
for and then to talk to one of their hero chefs. This personality-driven restaurant is definitely the
way things are going to go in the future.
There’s a thrill to eating great food in an unusual location, and especially one in a really dramatic
setting or one that somehow captures the moment during an event or Festival. I loved the way
the Chefs Club in Aspen, USA, has decided to change the menu every four months and bring in a
different celebrity chef to ‘perform’. The design of the interior space is not chef specific anymore,
it is a vessel for a temporary performance.
I have experienced first hand the magic of Heston Blumenthal and what he has done with food
– he’s taken the sense of theatre to amazing extremes. Alain Ducasse has 21 Michelin stars to
his name but at the new Rivea Restaurant at the Bulgari Hotel, London, he has chucked out the
starched linen table cloths and dressed his waiters in cardigans and trainers. Why spend thousands of pounds keeping white table clothes pristine every year when you could be spending that
money on buying fabulous ingredients and making wonderful dishes?
I believe that the secret of success, in the future, is for restaurants to offer a defining moment in
someone’s life: the fun, the buzz, the sex, the drugs and the rock ‘n’ roll! I think that, in 30 years’
time, we will be describing this place to our grandchildren with a cheeky smile on our face.
Bring it on!
1. Page 20/21: The Ledbury, London
2. Previous Page: Trust. iCON
3. Heston Blumenthal’s Perfectionists’ Café by Afroditi Krassa
INTERVIEW WITH DOUGLAS BLYDE
SOMMELIER & WRITER, LONDON
Douglas Blyde has written for international media on food, drinks, travel and design for
a decade. He is also a private sommelier. intoxicatingprose.com
EDITOR: What’s getting you excited about the way people are experiencing food and drink right now?
DOUGLAS BLYDE: Rather than the increasing tally of killjoys who masochistically delight in imposing a
checklist of debilitating dietary irks upon themselves out of choice, stymying fun for everyone else, what
excites me both as a drinks professional, gastronomy writer and human being is meeting people who are
warm to trying ingredients which are new to them. London 2014 is an orbit of venues purveying almost
every genre of international cuisine (you can, for example, eat food from all of the Eurovision countries)
as well as exciting fusions. They afford diners a luxurious, not-to-be-missed opportunity to travel via the
vessels of plate and glass. I thoroughly approve when diners within show a willingness to explore more
of a venue’s menu too - leading to tables laden with a tableau of dishes which should be shared, Chinesestyle: so much more entertaining than slavishly adhering to three courses in three acts.
EDITOR: How important is the space in overall culinary experience?
DOUGLAS BLYDE: Considered design provides the stage for the experience. It both cossets and enchants the diner, almost serving as a visual amuse bouche. However, in addition to aesthetics, acoustics must be well judged, while lighting must literally be cool. Who wants to sit under hot lamps at
the counter of a seafood restaurant, for example? And I’ve little respect for tragic, skin-deep operators who immediately cuts costs behind the scenes: if their staff are treated well then they are able to
value their environment, and thus, their guests.
EDITOR: What is your ultimate luxury dining experience?
DOUGLAS BLYDE: I liked the idea posed a few years ago by a prospective re-developer of Battersea
Power Station for a one table restaurant in a glass cubicle atop one of those iconic chimneys. Above
all, I relish the idea of incongruous luxury, like that offered by Abercrombie & Kent, the first travel
operator to offer cubes of ice in drinks at remote desert camps. So far, my greatest meal occurred in
a remote bothy in the Highlands of Scotland on the Glorious Twelfth of August. I shot a grouse, was
blooded by it, then ate it with polished cutlery and pressed linen alongside a heavy crystal glass of
Dalwhinnie. A Damascus bite.
EDITOR: What interesting things are other countries doing in the world of fine-dining?
DOUGLAS BLYDE: In Shanghai, Ultraviolet aims for a “fully immersive environment” where each
course is served to a calibrated mood board of lights and sounds: something I expect we will be
seeing more of, executed to various levels of success and failure. I’ve noticed more tinnitus about
restaurants offering calorie-counting cuisine, which suggests their clientele is eating out a little too
often for their own good, frankly. And, although I don’t agree with it unless the diner has a doctor’s
certificate, there is certainly a rise in gluten-free and dairy-free dining across the board, as well as
low-to-no carbohydrate dishes. And, sadly, there seems to be a trend for ever more savoury desserts,
which defies the point of a sweet resolution/reward. I also expect to see more specialism. And a refinement of the supper-club trend, albeit at the very top end, where chefs draped in accolades invite a
very moneyed, influential clientele to dine at their home dinner tables. Finally, I’m wondering which
country will be first to develop a computer application to give the prospective diner a preview of the
aroma of a dish in advance of the actual experience…
EDITOR: Is the role of sommelier relevant in a fine-dining experience today?
DOUGLAS BLYDE: Yes, although a sizable number are kamikazes, risking their livelihood by alienating the consumer from wine altogether by prescribing them erroneously-titled “natural” wines,
many of which are barely-potable witches brews. Good ones however will steer the diner away from
the hallowed turf of old school regions into other and emerging territories on occasions. And great
ones will also strive to bravely introduce the gamut of other quality drinks with their chef’s creations, although absolute precision matches are becoming less important. I believe craft beers, finelypolished sakes and copitas of barrel-aged tequilas and boutique vodkas, as well as caringly mixed
cocktails, are as deserving a place at the table as wine.
1. © Douglas Blyde
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BACKSTAGE ACCESS
1. Dried herbs and hanging meats in the dinning area - Fäviken, Sweden
2. Fresh potatoes cooked with autumn leaves that have been decomposing under the snow during the winter - Fäviken, Sweden
3. The chefs’ at Fäviken spent time sourcing the very best produce the region has to offer. The fish comes from a nearby mountain
lake - Fäviken, Sweden
4. Magnus Nilsson serves his food to the customers - Fäviken, Sweden
www.favikenmagasinet.se/en
www.nordicnibbler.com/2012/12/faviken-magasinet-jarpen-restaurant_12.html
www.foodstudio.no/column/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-at-faviken
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DESIGN
&
DEFINE
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“At the soon to launch Coast in Pembrokeshire,
former Michelin-starred chef Will Holland wants
to do brilliant, affordable things with cheaper
ingredients (mains, £12-£20), rather than
falling back on fine dining's truffles and technical
wizardry. ‘I can hold my hand up,’ says Holland,
‘and say, sometimes, you forget who you're
actually cooking for.’”
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1. Eat in the kitchen - Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, USA
www.brooklynfare.com/pages/chefs-table
2. Increasingly more young people are interested in fine dining - Noma, Denmark
www.noma.dk
3. Chef’s table - Marcus, UK
www.marcus-wareing.com
4. Open kitchen - Spice Market, UK
www.spicemarketlondon.co.uk
5. Bar dining - Marea, USA
www.marea-nyc.com
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DRESSED DOWN FRIDAYS
2
1. Converse shoes for uniform - Rivea, UK
www.bulgarihotels.com/en-us/london/bar-and-restaurant/rivea/rivea
2. Tiny plates to eat at the bar - Marea, USA
www.marea-nyc.com
3. Prairie Oyster - Savoury cocktail created by molecular mixologist Tony Conigliaro. Twist on a Bloody Mary. - 69 Colebrooke Row, London
www.69colebrookerow.com
www.findeatdrink.com/Index/Drink/Entries/2014/6/4_creative_cocktails_london.html
4. Unexpected bar design - 41 Grados, Spain
www.41grados.es
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FOLLOWERS NOT PATRONS
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1. Food is the new music
www.lostincatering.com/lostincatering/Food_the_new_music.html
2. Mario Batali’s Twitter Followers
3. Bone Martini - Cocktail created with roasted chicken bones by molecular mixologist White Lyan
www.bartend.com/news.php?id=92
4. Ceiling of Le Jules Verne Restaurant, Eiffel Tower, France
5. A webbed presentation plate that matches the ceiling of the restaurant - Le Jules Verne Restaurant, Eiffel Tower, France
www.lejulesverne-paris.com
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ALTERED STATE
1. Food presentation for the “El Somni” multi - sensory dining experience - El Celler De Can Roca, Spain
www.cellercanroca.com/index.htm
2. Tiny raviolo served with a cup of water. When dunked in the water, the envelope of pasta disappears. - El Bulli, Spain
www.elbulli.com
www.stayatstovedad.com/stay_at_stove_dad/2011/07/review-of-el-bulli-cooking-in-progress.html
3. Kinetic sculpture that you can eat - Alinea, USA
www.alinearestaurant.com
4. Above & Beyond cocktail. An inflated pillow as a garnish, that releases eucalyptus vapours when it bursts and also contains a small bag
of Guatemalan worry dolls. - Artesian Bar, UK
www.puretravel.com/blog/2013/12/05/inside-the-worlds-best-bar-artesian-at-the-langham
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1
2
FIRST NAME BASIS
“After 10 glorious years as Marcus Wareing at
The Berkeley, the restaurant underwent a major
renovation, and a name change, to reopen as a
more relaxed and contemporary environment.”
1. Walnut orgeat cocktail - Pollen Street Social, UK
www.diffordsguide.com/class-magazine/read-online/en/2012-11-27/page-4/diy
2. The Sonic Cake Pop, served with a telephone number. Depending on the sound you choose, you can change the taste from bitter to
sweet. - House of Wolf, UK
www.messi-palate.com/house-of-wolf-n1/#sthash.dCqUEkd8.dpuf
www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/the-5-senses-of-flavour-how-colour-and-sound-can-make-your-dinner-taste-better/
article9957597
3. Food presentation in a birdcage - Zakuro, Japan
4. Even the names of the restaurants is becoming more casual - Marcus, UK
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/09/fine-dining-identity-crisis-end-of-posh-food
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AUTOGRAPH
1. Forever young cocktail inspired by the novel “The Picture of Dorian”. A mirror reflecting your image completes the overall experience.
- Artesian Bar, UK
www.artesian-bar.co.uk
www.findeatdrink.com/Index/Drink/Entries/2014/6/4_creative_cocktails_london.html
2. Autograph from the chef on the menu card - The Fat Duck, UK
www.thefatduck.co.uk
3. Gordon Ramsay Tattoo
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FRONT ROW
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1. Magnus Nilsson saws through the bone to extract the marrow from its core in the dining area - Fäviken, Sweden
www.favikenmagasinet.se/en
2, 3, 6. The waiter is serving butter which is made in house with a Miele butter churn - Vue de Monde, Australia
www.vuedemonde.com.au
www.ministryofgluttony.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/vue-de-monde-melbourne-victoria-alissa.html
4, 5. Dark Chocolate Dessert - The waiters spreads sauces and crumbles around the entire surface of the table before cracking open the
chocolate spheres right in front of the diners - Alinea, USA
www.alinearestaurant.com
www.refinery29.com/2014/08/72698/alinea-chicago
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SMOKE & MIRRORS
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1. Peach snow, ‘multi-sensory’ fireworks - Food scientists Bompas & Parr, UK
2. Giant ‘zesty orange’ bubbles, ‘multi-sensory’ fireworks - Food scientists Bompas & Parr, UK
www.bompasandparr.com
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2521417/London-2014-multi-sensory-firework-display-Bompas--Parr.html
3. Pheasant tempura-fried with apple cider, impaled on a flaming oak leaf - Alinea, USA
www.npr.org/2011/03/03/134195812/grant-achatz-the-chef-who-lost-his-sense-of-taste
4. Fireworks you can smell and taste - Food scientists Bompas & Parr, UK
5. Creating ice cream with liquid nitrogen in the dining area - Dinner, UK
www.dinnerbyheston.com
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RAW
1. Edible green-apple helium balloon - Alinea, USA
2. Kinetic pieces spear bites which are to be eaten without hands - Alinea, USA
3. Soup of nitro-frozen sorrel and tea, blueberry brownies, buttermilk cream and macadamia sucked up through a stainless steel
straw - Alinea, USA
www.alinearestaurant.com
4. Using your hands to pick the olives from the small olive tree - DiverXO, Spain
5. Historic dish of the restaurant served on the top of your hand. - De Librije, Netherlands
www.elizabethonfood.com/content/1381/2/De_Librije_-_3_Michelin_stars_%282013_review%29.html
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FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY!
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1. Ephemeral design. A combination of food, drink and entertainment styles - Sketch Restaurant, London
www.aajpress.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/martin-creed-sketch-restaurant-london
2. Dinner created by Eindhoven restaurant Avant-Garde van Groeninge and designer Maarten Baptist for the Dutch Design Week
- Netherlands
3. Temporary restaurant inside a greenhouse during Dutch Design Week. Designers team up with leading dutch chefs to create a dinner
for guests - Netherlands
www.dezeen.com/2007/10/23/eat-drink-design-a-temporary-restaurant-in-a-greenhouse
4. Pop-up Restaurant with a rotating roster of guest chefs. Chef Didier Elena - Chefs club in Aspen, USA
5. Pop-up Restaurant with a rotating roster of guest chefs. Chef Thomas Riordan - Chefs club in Aspen, USA
www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/dining/chefs-club-in-aspen-has-plans-to-expand-to-new-york-and-san-francisco.html?_r=0
6. Sky Dining (The Dinner in the Sky concept) over the Vaal River, South Africa
www.hotelandrestaurant.co.za/tourism/dinner-in-the-sky-at-emerald-casino
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SOUND & VISION
1. Multi-sensory dining experience called “El Somni”. An opera unfolding over 12 acts/courses. - El Celler De Can Roca, Spain
www.elsomni.cat/en
www.cellercanroca.com/index.htm
www.cntraveller.com/news/2013/april/el-celler-can-roca-el-somni-restaurant
2. Use of technology to achieve a multi-sensory experience. - Ultraviolet, Shanghai
www.uvbypp.cc
3. Scentee, Mugaritz app that lets users recreate one of the restaurant’s dishes before a device attached to the bottom of the phone kicks
out the actual smell of the dish.
www.finedininglovers.com/blog/news-trends/scentee-mugaritz-smell-food-phone
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SEX, DRUGS & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
1
1. Ball-shaped spoons used to enhance taste - Jinhyun Jeon in collaboration with De Treeswijkhoeve, Netherlands
2. Cutlery with a rough surface to change the perception of salty, sour, sweet and bitter - Jinhyun Jeon in collaboration with De
Treeswijkhoeve, Netherlands
3. Serrated cutlery to stimulate the sense of touch inside the mouth - Jinhyun Jeon in collaboration with De Treeswijkhoeve, Netherlands
www.treeswijkhoeve.nl/wb
www.jjhyun.com
www.dezeen.com/2012/11/18/tableware-as-sensorial-stimuli-cutlery-by-jinhyun-jeon
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IS THE BLACK BOX
THE NEW WHITE BOX?
1
1. Zoning, Private dining - Noma, Denmark
2. Zoning, Dining area for smaller groups - Noma, Denmark
3. Zoning, Communal table - Noma, Denmark
www.noma.dk
www.dezeen.com/2012/11/01/noma-restaurant-by-space-copenhagen
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SHOW IS ON!
1
1. “Black Box” - Vue de Monde, Australia
www.vuedemonde.com.au
2. Dark interior design to showcase the food - Attica, Australia
www.attica.com.au
3. Dark materials in the interior - Noma, Denmark
www.noma.dk
4. Page 58/59: Quality Hotel Expo, Norway, © Trine Thorsen
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