As a restaurant reviewer I am constantly critiquing the work of chefs, sometimes via reviews and other times directly to the chef. The latter is often a daunting prospect. Some chefs genuinely want an honest reply to the question, "so how was the food?", while others don't. Many chefs appreciate the feedback as often diners choose not to give honest comments, instead they tell all their friends how awful it was and never go back. Then there are the chefs, (some with an overinflated ego), that are so sure of themselves and their food that they look down upon the reviewer, with the attitude of "you are not a chef, what do you know". This attitude is never made clear until my honest comments have been made and I have experienced a tense moment or two as a result. 

Mark Bannon, executive chef of The Langham, Hong Kong, is a chef that belongs to the first category. After a recent lunch to try the sustainable seafood dishes, on the revamped a la carte menu at The Bostonian, he asked me what I thought and I offered him my comments (the good and the critical) and he gracefully took them onboard. 

I was excited to receive an invitation from the hotel a few days later to spend an evening in the kitchen with Mark (along with some other food writers) smoking salmon, and icing chocolate truffles.

Chef's Whites and Sharp Knives

In true Langham style the evening began with champagne and canapes. Mark dropped by to say hello and you could see the excitement in his eyes, this was payback time. He was the one with the upper hand, instead of listening to journalists, we had to listen to him and follow his instructions.

Following several glasses of bubbly and some superb oysters we were whisked down to the kitchen. This was when the first surprise of the night became clear. In my mind I had thought we would take a prepared piece of salmon and do whatever was then needed to smoke it. From the equally shocked looks on the faces of my fellow journalists so were they. How wrong I was. In the centre of the prep area were two large containers of whole salmon, each weighing around six kilos. A sense of slight (maybe more than slight) panic hit, I have never filleted a fish of any size, let alone a large one with glistening eyes. I thought for a moment I had entered a portal to an episode of Hell's Kitchen and this was today's challenge!

After donning our chef's whites and hats and choosing a station with our own chopping board, gloves and extremely sharp knife (we were instructed not to attempt to catch the knife if we dropped it, but to jump back!), we were given a quick demonstration by Mark. I took a moment and said to myself, "you can do this", and picked up my knife. I think I must have channeled the spirit of my inner chef for as soon as I had made the first cut I had a sense of calm and it became a somewhat meditative process.

Then, after making a cut between the head and the body, we had to fillet the fish...with the aid of the sharp knife this for me was fairly easy. Once done we then had to remove the skin, this is harder than it looks and I didn't do a perfect job. We then removed the bones and trimmed a piece (that we got to take home), seasoned it and it was put in a cold smoke oven for thirty minutes. I felt a genuine rush of excitement and adrenaline after I had finished, a real sense of achieving something new, and a new found respect for the hard work of chefs.

The second surprise was the icing of the truffles, this was hard! Most of us (with the exception of a few naturally talented choc making journos) found this much harder to do than the salmon. I did find piping the ganache into the moulds incredibly relaxing and could have piped away for hours. The dipping and rolling of chocolates I found frustrating, only because I found it a tricky procedure, and wanted to finish as quickly as possible, which showed in the final product. A friend later commented that they looked like a present that a dog would leave on the pavement, but appearances can be deceptive as they tasted wonderful.

Salmon Two Ways

The third surprise came later when I tried my salmon at home. I usually avoid eating salmon, its ubiquitous presence and mediocre taste normally leaves me cold. This salmon however was outstanding, buttery, with a clean flavour and just the right amount of smokiness. A result of coming from a quality, sustainable source, and perhaps a little of the love I had infused into it.

It inspired me to invite a friend over for dinner the following night. I prepared the salmon two ways. An appetiser consisting of rounds of steamed young potato, topped with a generous drizzle of creme fraiche, to which I had added Murray River salt, lemon juice and fresh dill. On top of this I added a slice of cucumber and a thick slice of salmon, with fresh dill to garnish. They were delicious, even if I do say so myself. 

For main I did the classic smoked salmon with poached organic eggs, and a salad of butter lettuce, rocket, dill and capers, with a lemon and olive oil dressing. It was a dish we lingered over, simple yet decadent at the same time, we didn't want it to end. I paired this with a 2008 Riesling from California's oldest family winery Mirassou, a heavenly match.

Truffles and coffee rounding out a wonderful meal. 

Mark's Review

Vicki was in control of her salmon at all times. Despite filleting from the tail to the head (perhaps an Australian thing?!), her salmon was well executed and she easily managed to remove it fully from the bone - no easy feat. Vicki showed great potential with the truffles, however, I would like to point out that in most kitchens drinking champagne whilst working is not encouraged!

With a little guidance I think Vicki would make a wonderful chef, and it would be one less critic for us to worry about!

Overall score for the evening: 8.5/10

In the Kitchen

This event (thanks Katie) was the inspiration for my column In the Kitchen. The reviewer becomes the critiqued and the chef becomes the reviewer. In each article to follow I will be one-on-one with a chef as he puts me through my paces and reviews my efforts, honestly and perhaps even brutally. I am ready for whatever the chef wants to throw my way, except for food and knives.