Recently, Madrona Manor chef Jesse Mallgren (@madronachef on Twitter) hosted a dinner with Chef Scott Anderson of Elements Restaurant in New Jersey. It’s not often that you get two amazing chefs cooking at the height of Dungeness season, pairing 9-plus courses with incredible wines, sake and a pear cider than nearly made me weep.
If you haven’t been to the Manor, you’re missing out. Mallgren is one of my very favorite chefs in Wine Country, and has quietly been turning out some of the most creative, forward-thinking food for several years.
Just to torture you, the following food porn…
Q&A
how did you arrange the dinner?
it started on twitter and moved to email. I have followed Scott of a couple of years on twitter and have read a few blog posts about Elements. I think most chefs are introverts so social media is a good platform for us
I sent Scott a list of all the available produce from our garden and the farmer’s market as well as a list of local fish and meats. He then wrote a menu utilizing things he thought would be nice to work with. I wrote a menu with the remaining ingredients. We both like food that becomes bolder as the night goes along so it was easy to fit them together.
were there any special techniques you used in any of the dishes?
Scott crusted the duck breasts in a mixture of salt and citrus leaves. He the cooked them sous vide for an hour to impart the flavor. After the duck was cooled he took the meat off the bone and grilled it over apple wood. When Scott and his sous chef showed up we walked thru the garden and changed the menu. When you are working with products you are unfamiliar with you have to adjust. Scott and his sous chef did an amazing job taking what I gave them and making beautiful dishes.
The Producers?
The smoked black cod was trap caught just off of the Golden Gate, The duck was Liberty Farms, most of the produce came from the Madrona Garden, Mix Gardens in Healdsburg and various people form the Santa Rosa farmer’s market. I love Liberty Farms duck. Jim is a great guy who delivers an amazing product. He is a local treasure. His ducks are shipped all over the county to some of the best restaurants