THE OUTSIDE WORLD THORSTEN SCHMIDT'S ICE CREAM WITH WOOD SHAVINGS At the
Paris des Chefs exhibit held in (naturally) Paris a week ago, Danish Chef
Thorsten Schmidt wowed the crowd with this dish of oak flavoured ice cream garnished with fir tree shavings.
Was this taking regionalism too far?
To be fair, the fir shavings were only meant to be an arty garnish, echoing the designer wood serving platter created by artist
Eric Benqu, however the taste of the ice cream truly was courtesy of the oak trees that grow near
Malling and Schmidt, the chef's restaurant in Denmark.
Schmidt is considered to be one of his country's coolest young chefs (and Denmark can be a pretty cool country.) The avant garde nature of his dishes make no herring bones about what school of cooking he adhers to, but it is interesting to note how he hitches that edgy, creative style to one that is also determinedly localvore. His menus boast such items as juniper-smoked potato chips, vegetable flakes and kipper emulsion, and they change frequently according to the season. However, what we find most interesting are his tasting menus themed solely around the concept of Aroma -- each designed so that the eater is whisked away on a trip around the surrounding fields and woodlands via the sensations of his or her own nose. Smell, although an essential element in the success of the dining experience is seldom ever highlighted and framed in such an intentional fashion. (Schmidt remarked that the ice cream dish above was crafted from his memories of his high school woodworking shop.)
Yes, this kind of avant garde cooking is often accused of being an affectation, and it's time under the trend spotlight may have already played out. But then again, we seem destined for a mass restaurant conversion to lookalike plates of inexpensive noodles and slow-braised brown dishes, it's already refreshing to cast an eye over something that exists not solely for the business bottom line, but for the mind's delight alone ... even if only on an exhibition stage.
