No more celebrity chefs, no more foam, and the growth of haute barnyard cuisine are just some of the current trends that have been identified by food writers and chefs. WOM takes a brief look at these international trends and how they are impacting Hong Kong diners.  

Restaurant critic for New York magazine, Adam Platt, created the term “Haute Barnyard” in late 2006. He wrote, “All Haute Barnyard restaurants are ‘Greenmarket’ establishments, of course, their menus more or less dictated by the rhythms of the season.”

Further explaining, “A true Haute Barnyard restaurant, for instance, strives to have at least three varieties of artisanal mushrooms on the menu…The most prized variety of meat at a Haute Barnyard establishment is not beef but pork. Often the pedigree of this unfortunate hog is printed on the menu in loving detail. Also displayed in loving detail: the restaurant's farm suppliers.”

Two well-known New York restaurants, Thomas Keller’s Per Se, and The Craft Room were given as prime examples. The executive chef for The Langham Hotel in Boston is also a fan of the new cuisine, using local, often artisanal, suppliers as much as possible, with a totally locally-supplied gourmet Sunday buffet.


A sampling of dishes available at The Langham’s Sunday buffet.

Jay Rayner, a food columnist for The Guardian wrote in a recent article, “The trend that defines this period (up to 2010), which will most accurately capture it for future generations is the restaurant trend Haute Barnyard.” Describing it as a commitment to ingredients, be it “their locality, their seasonality, or the organic free-range, touchy-feely nature of their rearing”. 

Megu’s Hon Magro Chu Toro

The term took a while to take hold but is now appearing with increasing frequency in restaurant reviews and articles beyond the US, and unintentionally on our plates in Hong Kong. While it may be difficult to find artisanal suppliers a substantial number of restaurants are boastfully promoting the use of imported “fresh seasonal ingredients”. Japanese restaurant Megu has a map of its 40-plus purveyors in the menu.

While others, such as The Intercontinental, The Peninsula and Life Café have menus featuring organic dishes, and in the case of the last often from Fairtrade suppliers.


The InterContinental’s Organic Rack of Lamb

On an enterprising note, a search and directory listing company has called its website hautebarnyard.com! 

Keep it Simple
Inline with the growing trend for seasonal, local produce many are also predicting the reintroduction of simple fuss-free food, and a move away from foams, molecular creativity and strange setting agents. However, these predictions may just be the musings of chefs that can make to-die-for fish and chips or steak and salad but would be confused by the presence of nitrogen and syringes in the kitchen.

Respected UK trade magazine Restaurant ran an article late last year that featured 10 international chefs that it referred to as “…doing crazy-ass stuff at the culinary vanguard”. Some of their favourite kitchen tools are liquid nitrogen, a Gastrovac (deep-frying under vacuum), a siphon, and a water laser.


An example of a plate from Ryugin

One of these chefs is Seiji Yamamoto from Ryugin in Tokyo. His cuisine is being called “techno-gastro-wizardry”, and he is known for printing detailed restaurant reviews and dish description straight onto plates in squid ink or miso. He is currently working on creating a floating dessert using helium.

Another is Daniel Puskas, of Oscillate Wildly in Sydney who can’t describe his new cuisine. He is best known for his way around foam and while foam is not new or cutting edge Puskas is doing burnt and frozen foam, something different altogether.

In Hong Kong, Opia’s talented and creative executive chef Dane Clouston is continually developing unique dishes that feature unusual pairings that work, such as his foie gras, chocolate mousse and caviar dish. A recent creation is his Pressed Octopus with Salami Spices, Olive Oil Potatoes, Toasted Lemon, Baby Celery, Chorizo and Hazelnut Praline. The octopus is tightly rolled and when sliced resembles a flower because of the arrangement of tentacles. Dane said that it is a very textural dish with hot, sweet, smoky and sour components and is currently on the degustation menu.

 
Dane Clouston’s innovative Seared Foie Gras served with Osetra Caviar and Milk Chocolate Mousse

The Mandarin Oriental’s Uwe Opocensky is another chef doing interesting dishes. Putting his El Bulli experience into practice he creates dishes that are wonderful surprises for the palate and the eye. For example, a tomato salad that resembles a mini garden in bloom, olives that appear normal but are a complete liquid explosion in the mouth, through to the use of rough-cut slate as plates.


Creative offerings from Uwe Opocensky. Photo courtesy of Inside Luxury Travel with Varun Sharman (www.canvasmag.co.uk/insideluxurytravel)

My prediction for Hong Kong is that we will continue to be tempted by both the high-level comfort food that does not surprise, instead sublimely satisfies, and for the is-it-food-or-is-it-art offerings of the maverick chef. 
  
I’m Just a Chef
Finally, the other journalists term that will be associated with the “noughties”, as this decade is often referred to, is “Celebrity Chef”.

It is a term that many chefs shun, feel irritated by or indifferent about. For example in a recent interview, well-known chef Paul Kahan, owner of Chicago’s Blackbird restaurant said that in 2008 he would like to see less of "The words 'celebrity chef' and my being misrepresented as one."

In Hong Kong, talented chefs with celebrity potential such as Opocensky and Zuma’s Rainer Becker have said that they would not call themselves that and “do not want to be referred to as one”. Aqua’s Martin Benn is “not comfortable with the term”.

Even some bonafide celebrity chefs shy away from being referred to as such. In an interview with WOM Nobu said “I would not call myself that”. Of course there are exceptions, with his mind firmly set on being known as a celebrity is Bo Innovation’s Alvin Leung, who loves being called “The rock and roll chef”!