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• Umami Concepts

  Saturday, Jan 2, 2010 2:54PM / Standard Entry / Members only
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  So one of the most common questions I get these days is, "So Chef, what are you doing these days??" Ok, not everyone calls me 'Chef', but the questions remains : what does a chef do if he doesn't have a restaurant?!?!

  
  
  In 2009, after I opened M1NT Shanghai, I formed a company with another chef and good friend, Nolan Ledarney. We transformed his recruiting/consulting company Umami Solutions into Umami Concepts, a boutique culinary consulting firm. Which begs the question : What the hell does that mean?
  
  
  Well... we do a variety of things for restaurants and other culinary ventures, but to make it plain... I've got some photos of course.
  
  
  Last year we were contacted by a company that was hired to take over the management of a restaurant. They were to rework the bar menu, service standard, market position and of course the menu. But not having any chefs on staff, they hired Umami Concepts to do the food. After a few talks we created a menu that we thought would work in this restaurant in Beijing.
  
  
  http://www.domusbeijing.com/
  
  
  We decided that a simple French Bistro menu would be the most effective solution. I got up there for 16 days, created recipes, trained chefs, calculated food costs and launched a fantastic bistro menu that has made the guests happy... here a few of the dishes we did : 
  
  
  
  
  
  Vegetables 'a la greque' - these are just some house-made pickles we put on the table complimentary. I love pickles and they are a way to start a meal. Certainly gets the appetite going.
  
  
  
  
  
  This is just a really simple salad of Bibb Lettuce salad with fresh herbs and a vinaigrette. I try to get fresh herbs into everything I make. I guess I should work on a salad with 24 Herbs!!!
  
  
  
  
  
  You can find a Salade Nicoise at just about any bistro... it always has tuna, eggs, potato, green beans & Nicoise olives. This one is a deconstructed version with Olive Oil Poached Tune, Tomato Confit and a 6-Minute egg. Very tasty and fun to eat.
  
  
  
  
  
  I just love this one... Smoked Trout Salad with Potato, Endive and a Lemon-Caper Dressing
  
  
  
  
  
  These are two different Tartare or chopped raw meat... :) We did a salmon tartare and a traditionl beef.
  
  
  
  
  
  of course no French menu is complete without Foie Gras (fattened goose liver). This is a Foie Gras Torchon, my favorite way to prepare and eat foie. This preparation takes 3 days to make. First I soak the liver in milk for 24 hours to remove the blood. Then marinate with salt, pepper, sugar and Sauternes wine for 24 hours. Then I poach it in a bath of wine and seasoning, roll it in cheese cloth and hang for at least a day... Actually, I should just write a whole blog only about a Foie Gras Torchon! This one we served with fresh brioche toast, prune puree and French salt.
  
  
   
  
  
  another difficult, but rewarding preparation is my Crispy Pied de Cochon... pigs foot! It takes a long time, but we braise the feet until they fall off the bone and then roll them in cloth. The pigs feet have a lot of connective tissue that breaks down into jelly when you cook for a long time, so they really hold together nicely. Then we slice into portions and lightly bread them. To finish, we fry in a pan with butter until crispy. They disks of boneless pigs feet stay firm, but get warm an gooey on the inside while staying nice and crispy on the outside. This one is served with a Fava Bean Stew... Makes me happy just writing about it!
  
  
  
  
  
  For the seafood lover its Bouillabaisse! A traditional French staple with dozens of variations. This one has a really classic taste with fennel, Pernod and saffron... I have to say that the Chinese chefs at Domus really nailed this one. I was impressed how well they could get the flavor spot on!
  
  
   
  
  
  My mom is crazy for scallops, so I have always had a scallops dish on my menu... just in case she makes a trip from Boston to come eat! This one has got great big scallops in a browned butter sauce with raisins and capers... all sitting on a lovely bed of cauliflower puree. This is the kind of delicious, comforting dish I can just eat over and over again.
  
  
  
  
  
  Whole Fish Baked in a Parsley Salt crust... Simple, healthy even and so good!
  
  
  
  
  
  I love chicken and this is a great one. I brine the chickens in a salt, spice & sugar solution so they get nice and crispy and brown. Brining also adds a lot of flavour and keeps the birds juicy.
  
  
  
  
  
  Beef Bourgignon - Beef Short Ribs braised in Red Wine... need I say more?
  
  
  
  
  
  And no bistro menu is complete without Steak Frites... the fries are not pictured here, but we do handcut fries ourselves. The steak is a fantastic cut called a Flatiron which has a lot more flavor and marbling than your average tenderloin or sirloin. We simply topped this one with a slab of garlicky herb butter... :D
  
  
  We also made several side dishes and desserts which I can post later, but I wanted people to see what bistro cooking is all about and what Umami Concepts does. We did all this an more in less than two weeks and trained the local head chef to keep up the pace. Now I go back to Beijing once a month for 2 days to follow up and make sure that the level of quality is maintained... and I have a great time doing it! 

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