What's odd about pairing lamb tenderloin with chocolate merlot blueberry jam? Or prawns with orange chili chocolate mayonnaise?
Nothing if you are adventurous and talented chefs like Dominique and Cindy Duby of Vancouver. The couple are probably among only a few chefs in Canada and around the world to adopt the theories of molecular gastronomy, a term for a new style of cooking that explores the possibilities of food scientifically. The small but influential group wants to challenge traditional culinary methods in the lab instead of the kitchen.
Chocolate Nougatine, created by Vancouver chefs Dominic and Cindy Duby, from the book 'Wild Sweets Chocolate' is seen in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Whitecap Books
Another practitioner of this new-style cooking is Heston Blumenthal of England whose "culinary alchemy" has led to a bestselling cookbook and a BBC television series currently running on Food Network Canada. In the latter, he attempts to find the best way to prepare classic dishes using equipment adapted from scientific laboratories.
For Dominique Duby, the idea of molecular gastronomy is "to find ways to cook to get new tastes and textures and to use science to validate the new methods and debunk the myths."
Recently the pair were invited to several high-end restaurants in Toronto to demonstrate their scientific techniques with the chefs in these establishments.
"When we made the presentations, the chefs were just blown away because they loved the things we do and our approach to cooking," Duby says. "They have cooked in a certain way for 20 to 30 years and it is very difficult for them to step out of what they feel is their circle of comfort of the classical traditional style."
Duby says that he and his wife believe that this field of cooking is going to evolve because of ever-changing technology.
"Everyone in general these days wants every field of endeavour to move forward, but when it comes to the professional kitchen there is this idea that we should be cooking the same way it was two centuries ago," he scoffs.
Duby predicts that as more chefs acquire university degrees, it will soon be a prerequisite for advancement in their careers.
"Many top U.S. chefs like Charlie Trotter have university degrees," he says. Trotter is a famous award-winning Chicago restaurateur and chef.
And Duby adds at the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, N.Y., and in Napa Valley, Calif., "that's the way it is already going. You have to do either an associate degree or a bachelor degree in culinary arts."
Several post-secondary institutions in Canada offer degrees in their culinary programs, including Niagara College in St. Catharines, Ont., George Brown College in Toronto and the University of Guelph.
Dominique Duby was born in Brussels and Cindy Duby is a native of Richmond, B.C. They met in 1981 while working as hotel chefs and went to study under master pastrymakers and chocolatiers in Paris and Belgium.
While studying, they turned their attention to chocolate for its sensory characteristics.
The Dubys take their chocolate seriously and spend substantial time conducting research to discover new ways to provide their clientele with the most extraordinary taste experiences.
The Dubys cook, create and cultivate by adhering to the motto "a chef who stops learning is a retired chef."
Their second book, "Wild Sweets Chocolate: Savory, Sweet, Bites, Drinks," was just released by Whitecap.
-
Judy Creighton welcomes letters at 9 Kinnell St., Hamilton, Ont., L8R 2J8, but cannot promise to answer all correspondence personally. She can also be reached by e-mail at jcreighton(at)golden.net.
-
Chocolate key ingredient in unusual savoury presentations
Pushing the boundaries of food preparation is Dominique and Cindy Duby's stock in trade. It would be impossible to look at chocolate the same way again after trying the extraordinary savoury recipes that appear in the chefs' latest cookbook "Wild Sweets Chocolate: Savory, Sweet, Bites, Drinks" (Whitecap).
Nougatine Chocolate Nut Cream
100 g (3.6 oz) 70 per cent dark chocolate, finely chopped
15 ml plus 10 ml (1 tbsp plus 2 tsp) unsalted butter
30 ml (2 tbsp) peanut butter (or almond butter, hazelnut butter, etc)
125 ml ( 1/2 cup) whipping cream
15 ml (1 tbsp) corn syrup
Place chocolate, butter and peanut butter into a tall, narrow container.
In a saucepan, bring whipping cream and corn syrup to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate mixture. Blend with an immersion blender until well combined. Let cool at room temperature until filling has consistency of soft butter.
Chocolate Sucree
175 ml (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
150 ml plus 30 ml (2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp) icing sugar
1 large egg
175 ml (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
30 ml plus 5 ml (2 tbsp plus 1 tsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
In a bowl, mix butter and icing sugar with a rubber spatula. Add egg and mix well. Sift flour and cocoa powder over mixture and continue mixing with spatula until well combined.
Wrap dough in a piece of plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or paper. Roll Chocolate Sucree 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick and cut 36 rounds with a 5-cm (2-inch) cookie cutter. Place rounds on baking tray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes in preheated oven. Let cool, then store in an airtight container.
Cocoa Nibs Nougatine
125 ml ( 1/2 cup) butter
45 ml plus 5 ml (3 tbsp plus 1 tsp) milk
30 ml (2 tbsp) corn syrup
2 ml ( 1/2 tsp) powdered pectin
250 ml (1 cup) icing sugar
300 ml (1 1/4 cups) cocoa nibs
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter, milk and corn syrup. Keep warm.
Mix pectin and icing sugar together. Add to milk mixture on the stove and cook until it reaches 106 C (222 F). Remove from heat and add cocoa nibs. Let cool.
Spoon about 5 ml (1 tsp) of the mix into 4-cm (1 1/2-inch) non-stick muffin tins or silicone moulds. Bake in preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool and store in an airtight container.
Assembly
36 fresh raspberries
36 edible flowers (optional)
Spoon or pipe some Chocolate Nut Cream into the centre of a Chocolate Sucree round. Sink a fresh raspberry into the cream. Place on a plate and lean a Cocoa Nibs Nougatine over fresh raspberry. Decorate with an edible flower, if using. Serve immediately.
Makes 36 bite-sized servings.
Note: Cocoa nibs are roasted, husked cocoa beans broken into bits. They are used to add texture and a subtle chocolate flavour to baked goods, as well as some savoury dishes.
-
Cherry Ancho Truffle
250 ml (1 cup) whipping cream
1/2 dried ancho chili pepper, seeds and stem removed
200 g (7 oz) 70 per cent dark chocolate, finely chopped
Bring whipping cream to a boil. Remove from heat, add ancho chili pepper, cover and allow it to infuse until chili is soft (about 1 hour).
Place chocolate in a tall, narrow container. Reheat cream/ancho mixture and pour over chocolate. Blend with an immersion blender until well combined. Set aside to cool.
Wonton Crisps
9 8-cm (3-inch) square wonton wrapper sheets
Olive oil, for brushing
Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F). Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or paper. Cut wonton wrappers into 4 equal squares. Brush both sides with oil, then lay them flat on the baking tray.
Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Let cool on a paper towel.
Balsamic Cherries
18 dried cherries, cut in half
30 ml (2 tbsp) balsamic vinegar (aged 12 years or more)
Place cherries in a container fitted with a lid. Place balsamic vinegar in a saucepan over low heat. Once warm, pour vinegar over cherries. Cover and soak until cherries are soft and plump. (This step can be done a few days ahead.)
Assembly
6 slices smoked bacon (maple cured preferable)
Small bunch of fresh radish sprouts
15 ml (1 tbsp) vegetable or olive oil
Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F). Cut bacon slices into 4-cm (1 1/2-inch) long strips. Place on a baking tray and cook in preheated oven until crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
Toss or spray spouts with oil.
Place Wonton Crisps on a platter and pipe some of the Ancho Truffle onto the middle of each one. Top Ancho Truffle with half a Balsamic Cherry, a piece of bacon and a few sprigs of radish sprouts.
Makes 36 bite-sized servings.
-
Chefs devote attention to sensory characteristics of chocolate
Some quotes from chefs Dominique and Cindy Duby, owners of DC Duby Wild Sweets, a chocolate atelier and virtual boutique based in Vancouver:
-"Preparing fish, shellfish or meat dishes with chocolate may seem unconventional, but once it's understood how to incorporate its exclusive taste profile and characteristics, chocolate is an equally incredible component in savoury preparations as it is in sweet."
-
-"When designing and presenting savoury chocolate dishes it's best to think of chocolate as a spice rather than a main ingredient - an underlying element rather than an overtly bold one."
More Consumer Headlines »
- Sears Canada tops CBC News customer service survey
- A CBC News survey evaluating telephone-based customer service has ranked Sears Canada first in a field of 40.
- EU says China making 'significant effort' to improve product safety
- The European Union is backing off on a threat to ban certain toys and products from China over health and safety concerns.
- Federal auto 'feebate' program is flawed, study says
- The federal program that gives cash grants to buyers of fuel-efficient cars is a first step to cutting fuel use but it has several defects, according to a study by the C.D. Howe Institute.
- Fuel requests heat up Sally Ann phones
- The Salvation Army says it's getting more than a dozen calls a day from desperate people who cannot afford to heat their homes.
- Farmer evicted after spraying pesticide near school
- P.E.I.'s Eastern School District is taking back land it had been leasing to a local farmer after pesticide was blown on to a playground by high winds.
