Competition link

Check out the action on ICEX TV. Just remember I haven't slept for two days yeah!
http://www.icex.tv/
Enjoy!

The Final Post.......pipped....etc

Well here she is people - 'Bajo Las Olas' in all her glory. Gotta tell ya, if there is one thing I would like to again, it is compete internationally - SO MUCH FUN!!!
Just for the record, Ivan from Russia took first place with a Ferran Adria inspired investigation of the all-mighty Chipironi, Daiki from Japan snagged second with some beautifull chargrilling, and Cheong from Singapore came in at third for no other reason than he looked like Mr T from The A Team.

In fact here he is, about to introduce me to his friend PAIN, after which he will introduce me to his other friend LOTS OF PAIN. Ha ahaa.
This shot is taken after the comp where the whole place deteriorated into absolute shenanigans - leftover 'cooking wine' and plate cleaning gin were to blame!
But for now let us rewind........
Mum came over to visit for the few weeks leading up to the comp. One hot sunny day we hired a bright red mini and took a thrill ride up through the laweless hillside highways of the Basque countryside to a small town called Axpe.

This is the view from Plaza San Juan, and the front door of Asador Etxebarri; probably Spain's most famous non-famous restaurant. The food here is as clean, simple, honest, and absolutely awe-inspiring as the setting.
Unfortunately we couldn't stay long, as I had to get back to Arzak to prepare my dish for the revered ones.
Well, as I mentioned earlier, I was a little nervous - probably more so than in the comp, but geez - what a result!

This is Juan-Mari after he ate 'Bajo'. At first he was intrigued with the bright colours and abstract composition (well once he got off the phone that is) and then he started with a slight nibble and the associated enquiries - "what's this?...crunch crunch crunch... and this?... crunch crunch crunch..... oh yes..."
Soon enough the strong flavours and complex boquets had him reaching for his knife and fork, and once he hit the scallop and salsa he was pretty much sailing, and I was absolutely chuffed with how much he was enjoying it! By the time the last of the sauce was being mopped up he was waiving his arms around, bothering the Head Chef Pello for details of produts, and asking me for the recipe! How. Awesome. Is. That. The old boy was beside himself! Ha!
So the next night Mum and I went in for dinner, and we got the royal treatment - and I very proudly handed over my recipes. We sat at our table at nine PM and I warned Mum "watch out, theyr'e going to hit us with everything they have" and boy, it was intense! Three hours of non-stop cullinary assault, with wine. Round about twelve we rolled out the door - Mum was falling asleep at the table, and I was hammered. I said farewell to the Arzaks, but I will be seeing them again; my other family.
The next day disaster struck. I was loading my surfboard onto the train (to Madrid) when the doors suddenly shut and the train pulled away while my lugguage was still on the platform. Along with all my personal belongings was my comp plates, uniform, tools, and specialty products. I was beside myself with anguish and actually tried to smash the train window, but it was made of really tough plastic and all I did was convince the other passengers that I was a complete maniac. After calming down I managed to convince myself that everything would work out. Nope. Two days later, just hours before the comp, there was still no sign of my lugguage. I hadn't slept in days, and I had no clean clothes either - I was a wreck. I had decided to forfeit the comp, but as monday morning rolled around I resolved to compete using borrowed gear, and make a new plate up on the spot; an idea that seemed more and more attractive!
As the bus rolled into the hotel carpark to take us to the comp, so arrived my lugguage, and just like that I was back on track.
Here is me in the final moments:

Using black stone plates rubbed with olive oil, I put down circles of Salsa Roja con Huevos de Erizo de Mar.
That is a red sauce (tomato, thyme, onion, pepper) slowly reduced over two hours, then flavour-boosted with Sea Urchin roe, and coloured with Cochinilla.

Next up is Tempura de Espuegeti de Mar.
Sea spaghetti is a type of seaweed from Galicia, and I love it. The tempura batter is pretty basic, bit of lemon and parsley; a nice dramatic touch that is happy to play second fiddle in the flavour profile.

Here come the other 'crujientes' - crunchies.
The yellow twisty things are actually these crazy goats cheese creations; really tight flavour and organic appearence. I sprinkled em with this black powder that is actually eggplant ash.

The other thing in the corner is a Salpicadura de Tinta - Squid Ink 'SPLASH'
It is made out of a plastic like substance called Obulato. Derived from potato, obulato is the plastic substance that covers tablets (like cold & flu for instance) Rub it with squid ink and bake it and you have a really dynamic and crunchy little number - hello!

You can see the Scallops and Jamon finishing the composition there, and the orange powder I am sprinkling on top is Coralin de Viera - Scallop Coral.
Not gonna share the method on this one folks - all about the IP these days. Sorry.
Needless to say I made it to the judges in one piece (despite smashing my head on the range hood as I rounded the final corner) where I apparently delivered my spiel with "personality, esteem, and confidence unsupassed".
Unfortunately I had to settle with fourth place, as did many others ha ha. The judges tracked me down after to tell me how amazing the plate was....but.... reminiscent of so many girlfriends before.....sorry, not this time.
On the bright side!!!! I am back home in Tasmania now, and looking forwards to my unnoficial title of Ambassador of Spanish Cuisine. The air here is fresh and clean, the colours in the sky bright and vibrant, the produce superb and overpriced, and the people kind and loving. Welcome home.

Follow me, follow your nose!

Well guys we kick off in a few hours, I can tell you that absolutely nothing is going my way these last few days - long story - but I can tell you I am wearing the same clothes for the third day in a row ha ha!
Safe to say I am probably not going to win this one - but I am posted right in front of the live feed camera so you can watch me try.
Here are the links:

Icex: http://twitter.com/ICEX_ (pleas pay attention to the undescore at the end)

Wines from Spain: http://twitter.com/#!/winesfromspain

Vinos de España:http://twitter.com/Vinos_ICEX.

 

You don't need to be registered to follow the posts through this sites

 

However, if you are Twitter users you can write your own posts using the next hashtag:  #gastroicex

 

See you all very soon

Yeeeeehhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

CONTEST? WHAT CONTEST?

This afternoon I am cooking my comp dish for team Arzak, that is Elena, Juan Mari, and the creative squad. Yep, preparing high cuisine for the nerve centre of one of the worlds culinary powerhouses. Nervous anyone?????????? eek.

IV Concurso Internacional ICEX de Alta Cocina Espanola.....

Well folks, it's been almost eight months and my training is nearly complete. As the the last few days at Arzak pass me by, the final test looms on the horizon; three hours, four plates, twenty chefs. Game on.


I have spent the last few weeks putting the final touches on my dish, and I have really enjoyed the support I have been getting at work. Juan-Mari graciously extended to me free reign in the stores, so I have been doing a lot of testing with foie gras ha ha!
He also said I can plagiarise one of his new dishes if I want,.... "thank's man" but no. The formula for the recipe is quite specific - and there are a few compulsory ingredients. They are:


 - Jamon
 - Queso de Espana (Spanish cheese)
 - Conservas de Pescado (canned fish)
 - Conservas de Verduras (canned veges)
 - Vino de Espana (Spanish wine)
 - Azafran (saffron)

So, obviously that is a lot of variety for one plate, and my first priority with the testing was to establish ingredients that I thought were cohesive in unison. Have a look at the list and think: what would you do????
Happily though, I found products that were really really good and also symbolic of my trip through Spain. Actually, the plate has taken on a life of its own - I have given it space, time, sustenance,.... actually it's kinda like living thing, and I have enjoyed watching it grow!!
It is called 'Abajo Las Olas' and it is a reflection of my time here in San Sebastian. It is very colourful, and true to the nature of Arzak, nothing looks like what it actually is.....
Oh - Abajo Las Olas - Under The Waves. 
Here is some pics..

Salpicadura de Tinta.......
super tasty......
super freaky......
it is not actually food......
but you can eat it.......

Copos de Naranja.......
not orange......
super super tasty......
actually sea food.......
.........

Crujientes.......
nice little tasty stroke of accidental genius.....
like "hmmm, what is that in the bottom of the pan?.....oh, would you look at that!"
Love it!


So as you can see, lots of colour and whacky shapes. The creative team at work kindly offered their services up in the laboratory at Arzak, but actually I haven't had to take them up on the offer - haven't needed to so far.
The comp is on the 12 of Sept in Madrid, and the the judges are going to have a lot on their plate (excuse the pun), imagine judging twenty plates of food - hard work!


In other matters - I went to Biarritz today, over in France. Amazing place, would love to spend some time there. At the end of the week I am heading off to Germany for a couple of days to unwind before the comp, the last few weeks have have been a little stressful, with the program coming to an end, and the comp looming....
I am virtually beside my self with grief at the prospect of leaving SS, I really love this place. I will miss my butcher, my barista, my local pub, the beach, the sea air........


To all you ICEX gangstas out there - good luck with your dishes, I hope you find your zen and master your chi. To all you Varins, Chippys, Huseyins and Daikis...... to all you Yanks, Poms, Brazilians and Mexicans..... Good luck on comp day, bring the heat! Lets shine like setting suns baby!
Over and out.
Jahan

IT IS TIME.........

    concurso 2011.......................................................

MUNDAKA MONDAY YEEEEAAAAAHHH!!!!

Never never in all my wildest dreams........MUNDAKA!!!!!!!
The fabled Spanish river mouth left hander, mundaka.
Let us backtrack.
Last sunday a new swell arrived, and, once again, it was a monster - the isobars on the news showed a low pressure system fetching from as far away as the coast of America. I spent the day getting washed around in the fresh swell, by late evening it had organised itself into decent mountains of water and I decided to take the train up the coast in the morning in search of the wave Mudaka. It's been a while since I went on a genuine surf mission, and I was so excited I could barely sleep. Images of mysterious waves in far away places rattled around my head, and when my alarm went off at 6 the next morning I sprang out of bed like a man possessed. I dressed lightly in thermals and light summer clothing, packed my travel bag with a few biscuits, money for the train ticket and a bottle of water. The plan was to take the Eusko train up the coast towards Bilbao, then transfer on to the Bermeo line. Sounds good in theory eh?
Well, the train was cold, but it was a spectacularly pristine morning, and I took that as a good omen - I was sure I was gonna score. The train twisted and weaved along the coast, and I knew without a doubt that my home break was firing all-time, and I bet the whole coast was firing, and I was hoping that, with so much swell the river mouth would be picking it up too. I had no idea about tide, and wind, but with a four hour train ride ahead of me, all I could do was hope. Come on baby, come on....
True to the nature of exploratory missions of this nature - something went wrong. I missed my transfer and ended up on the outskirts of Bilbao. F##k!!!
I got on to the right train and the colourful chap at the ticket booth assured me it would take me exactly to where I wanted to be, but the sun was starting to get high in the sky - the wind would come in soon. Let the race begin. At each stop I anguished in my seat as passengers drifted in and out of the cabin. "HURRY UP" I wanted to scream "COMMMEEEONNNNN!!!!" 
The train weaved it's way down from the hills and started to trace the edge of a lagoon, then a river, and then I could see ocean glimpses and wow I was really starting to tingle, then the voice came over the P.A and announced the next stop......Mundaka.
Yes. I swear the top half of my head was floating on it's own accord, because my face was split in half with a crazy grin, like a cheshire cat. Bing.
I got off the train and made for the water, I found a place to look down on the coast, and I could see heaps of swell lashing an island about five k's out to sea, and heaps of swell hitting the beach on the opposite side of the river mouth, but I couldn't see any left-hander breaking down below. I jumped a fence and ran down to the rocks where this lovely old stone church looks out over the sea, and as I passed through this carpark I could see some surfers waxing up their boards, and I thought, stay calm, stay calm. I followed a trail through some grass around the church and came to  hedge, I jumped up onto this rock and peered through the shrubs and.....

There she was, in all her glory. 
MUUUUNDAAKAAAAAA....
Needless to say, I was beside myself with glee, I stripped off and stashed my bag in some bushes, and a helpful stranger informed me that to enter down the cliff in front of me was dangerous, and that there was some stairs leading down to the water just around the hill. Thanks!

As you can see from this photo, taken from the stairs, it's a pretty easy take off - due to the channel running past the rocks in the foreground, but don't be mistaken - there is a lot of fast moving water there, and you can see from the guys stance that he is getting ready for party time, because in a few moments that lump of water is going to hit the sand in the river mouth, and about half of the wave is going to surge and fly through the air in a big sandy slab, and if that guy gets it right he is going to be under that slab of angry water, and for the next 500 metres the whole crowd is going to be hooting and cheering as he careers down that wave, turning and smashing the lip - so much power and speed in that wave! 
Such a cool vibe too - no hassles despite the heavy crowding, everyone living the moment and happy for it. Incredible.

Actually in this photo you can see the channel a bit better. Nice off shore breeze holding her up. Back to the story: the on-shore breeze did eventuate, but by that time I was sitting on the shoulder in a trance - my mind was fully blown and I felt sick from I don't know what - I had got a few waves, got worked inside a few times, satisfied my ambitions, and seen some incredible surfing, some real power surfing like I have never seen before - guys who knew the wave intimately and just how to harness the incredible power and transfer it through their boards, amazing, and it just blew my mind, and it was just more than I could take - I was shot. 
I got the train home and I could barely keep my eyes open, I was totalled. Arriving in San Sebastian around seven, I realised I was in no condition to play goalie in the scheduled Arzak V Mugaritz football match, so I called that off, went home and had a few beers, cooked up a massive pot of stew and ate it all - I hadn't eaten since that croissant at the train station twelve hours earlier. Man, oh man.
Slept like a devil, and I still haven't come down from that high - just quietly awaiting the next swell to arrive so I can head back - unfinished business I have with senior M.
Moving on..... BIG FESTIVAL on the beach this weekend - sick!

This is Melbourne electronic quintet Cut Copy doing there thing on Zurriola beach. F##k yeah! 
Trust me when I say: there is no better place for a music festival than a beach. So comfortable, lying in the sand with my 750 ml plastic beaker of beer, watching the big M represent! Sound quality of the show was im-pek-able, perfect, probably because it is actually a jazz festival, but then again the night before BB King smashed it out to 40,000 punters. So maybe a bit of everything festival it was. Anyway, Cut Copy - most of their music sounds like what you would expect from a bunch of bi-sexual art school students from North Fitzroy, but a few of their songs really cranked out, in particular Hearts On Fire, which carried really well live and had me on my feet and moving. oh yes. 
So that wraps up another week in Donostia (san seb) and gee whizz, how good does it want to get? I mean really, ridiculous! 
J