Valentine's Day Degustation Dinner

[ironchef]

$120 per person without wines. With wine pairings it was $160. Probably 90% of the tables were parties of two:

Amuse Bouche
Crispy Springroll of Slow Roasted Kurabuta Pork
Micro Herb Salad, Pesto, Chili Oil, Saffron-Bernaise




First Taste
Carpaccio of Seared Kobe-style Wagyu Beef Tenderloin
Micro Sprouts, Grated Cantal Cheese, Black Pepper and Truffle Aioli




Second Taste
Provencal-style Soupe au Pistou
Pancetta, Vine Ripened Tomato, Root Vegetables, Mint Pistou




Third Taste
Roasted Beet Salad with a Spiced Walnut and Goat Cheese Tian
Truffled Micro Greens, Beet Reduction, Blood Oranges, Blood Orange Foam


Entree
Choice of:

Pan Roasted Double-cut Colorado Lamb Chops
Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Grilled Maui Gold Pineapple, Sauteed Big Island Mushrooms, Pinot Noir-Lamb Jus Lie



Slow Braised Kobe-style Wagyu Short Rib of Beef
English Pea and Pea Shoot Polenta, Haricot Verts, Sauteed Big Island Mushrooms, Natural Demi Glace



Pan Seared Tasmanian Salmon
Fresh Buckwheat Soba, Pickled Japanese Vegetables, Grilled Scallions, Ponzu-Sesame Vinaigrette



Dessert
Valentine's Day Sampler - Fraise 'n Chocolat
Stawberry "Consomme", Chocolate Gelato, Kula Strawberries with Mint Syrup, Strawberry and Anise Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Brownie

[jkath]

Beautiful as always, IC!
Just gorgeous.
(bet you're tired today, eh?)

[Toots]

IC, you had me at "Carpaccio"

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by jkath

Beautiful as always, IC!
Just gorgeous.
(bet you're tired today, eh?)

Yeah pretty tired. I try to put out something different for each holiday. LOL it's getting harder and harder each year to think of new stuff.

[Katie H]

Will you adopt me? I'll even wash dishes.

[mudbug]

I'll wash dishes AND the car!

[LEFSElover]

Originally Posted by ironchef

Yeah pretty tired. I try to put out something different for each holiday. LOL it's getting harder and harder each year to think of new stuff.

lovely presentation.
wondering if Marcel works for you now, noticing the blood orange "foam"

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by LEFSElover

lovely presentation.
wondering if Marcel works for you now, noticing the blood orange "foam"

I think that if I worked with Marcel, there would've been foam on every single dish. He probably would've found a way to foam the demi glace. Actually, it's not that hard to foam the demi glace as long as you have the right stuff, but a demi glace should be thick and rich, not light and airy.

[jkath]

I'll wash your dishes, your car and your cat.
Just let me have that dessert, please!

[lulu]

That looks absolutely gorgeous, a beautiful menu. The lamb particularly intrigues me, as I would never have considered pinapple. mmmm, I wish I could taste it!

[Flourgirl]

I love reading your menus! The lamb with pineapple seems like a wonderful and original combination, and the sweet potato gnocchi seems like a perfect accompaniment.

[elcameron]

Beautiful presentation, nice combinations. Everything hods together. No wacky combinations that don't quite hold together like one sees often these days. Looks like a huge amount of food.

New to this site, so forgive the Questions, Where do you work, do you have a website? and if you don't mind me asking, How many did you sell, or was it exclusively Degust?

[ironchef]

The pineapple actually went well with the natural flavor the of the lamb and the lamb jus. A little bit of sweetness to balance everything out. Guests were encouraged to eat a little pineapple with the lamb and sauce together.

We did 140 covers with two seatings (1st seating: 5:30, 6:00, 6:30; 2nd seating: 8:00, 8:15, 8:30). It was purely degustation because of the holiday, and also for efficiency and speed. We did substitutions only for dietary purposes (vegetarian, allergies, etc.). The amuse, carpaccio, soup, and salad were decent portions but small enough to where most guests could finish their entrees and dessert.

Elcameron, I PM'd you the other info.

[lulu]

I'm sure it did IC, I might try making a clumsy approximation of it, but of course, mine won't touch yours! I also feel I have to say that I just showed this to DH and he pointed out that he thinks it looks like excellent value for such beautiful food.