It shouldn't come as a surprise that the annual gathering of Germany's greatest chefs takes place in the shadows of a car-manufacturing complex. The Volkswagen power plant, a brick structure breathtaking in its rough romanticism, is directly visible from the window of Sven Elverfeld's kitchen, which is the kitchen of the Michelin-three-starred Aqua Restaurant in The Ritz-Carlton, Wolfsburg. Since 2000, when he became Aqua's chef de cuisine, Elverfeld has invited a select group of fellow chefs to participate in his autumn "kitchen party," an informal name for what has become one of the culinary events of the year. Its ascent mirrors the progression of German cooking over the past decade and the arrival of the Neue Deutsche Schule, the new school of young German chefs who turned away from the formality of French cooking, and the excesses of Spanish modernist techniques, to examine their own heritage. The new-school cuisine isn't purely German, though it might playfully reference such old-school staples as sausage, sauerkraut and spaetzle. Its ingredients are both local and international, but at its core is a sensibility and technique that is quintessentially Germanic: precise, creative and unflamboyantly excellent.
For the 250 diners who are lucky enough to get reservations, the kitchen party is an opportunity to not only meet Germany's greatest chefs, but to hang out in the kitchen, look over chefs' shoulders and, if they are brave enough, offer some advice from their own cooking experience. For the chefs, it's a chance to share camaraderie while also quietly checking out the competition. …
Click here to read more in the Summer 2012 issue of The Ritz-Carlton Magazine
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Wolfgang Puck is hungry. “Can you bring me something sweet?” he asks Cassie Ballard, the pastry chef at WP24 Restaurant & Lounge, Puck’s latest restaurant, perched on the 24th floor of the gleaming modernist glass tower that is home to The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles. “You know dessert is my favorite course,” he says. Ballard comes back with a plate on which vivid orange Wong Farms mango, sweet sesame rice crackers and lemon sorbet are stacked architecturally, layer upon layer. Puck takes a bite and nods with approval. “You can add one more layer,” he suggests. When Wolfgang Puck has a say in it, life can always be sweeter.
That single, conscious bite — the deft assessment, the elevating decision — is the sort of moment on which Puck has built a vast and successful empire of restaurants. And the culmination of those moments is WP24 by Wolfgang Puck, a modern Chinese restaurant that combines every lesson Puck has learned in his nearly four-decade career as a restaurateur: It is convivial like the seminal Spago; it is Asian-inflected like Chinois; it uses artisanal meats and produce like his modern steakhouse CUT. And, as all of his restaurants are, it is in a neighborhood that is thriving. Right now, that neighborhood is downtown Los Angeles. …
Click here to read more in the Winter 2012 issue of The Ritz-Carlton Magazine
Mongolian Style Grilled Lamb Chops Adapted from WP24 by Wolfgang Puck, The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles Chef de Cuisine Sara Johannes Cilantro-Mint Vinaigrette 1/2 cup pickled sushi ginger 2/3 cup ginger flavored vinegar 2 tablespoon Chinese mustard 1/4 teaspoon sambal chili paste 2 egg yolks 1 tsp chopped garlic 2 cups cilantro leaves 1 1/4 cups Mint leaves 2 cups peanut oil 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 tablespoon salt Blend ginger, vinegar, mustard, chili paste, egg yolks and garlic in a blender until smooth. Add cilantro and mint, blending quickly, until leaves are incorporated and mixture is bright green. Emulsify oils into mixture in blender. Season with salt and sugar. Kochujang Aioli 2 cups mayonnaise 1/2 cup Kochujang Korean Pepper Paste 1 tablespoon Red Miso Paste 1/2 cup honey 2 tablespoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 clove garlic, finely minced Salt and Pepper to taste Mix all ingredients together. Lamb Marinade 4 cups mirin 4 cups soy sauce 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1 tablespoon dried chili flake Lamb chops Combine ingredients and whisk to incorporate. Pour over lamb chops and marinate for one hour. Hunan Style Eggplant Glaze 1 cup Shaoxing rice cooking wine 1 cup rice vinegar 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoon sambal chili paste 2 ounces blanched garlic In a hot wok, caramelize the garlic and deglaze with the shaoxing. Cook off the alcohol and reduce by half. Add rice vinegar and sugar. Reduce until sweet. Add soy sauce and sambal. Adjust sugar as necessary. Hunan Eggplant 5 Japanese eggplants 1/4 cup snow peas, cut into thirds Deep fry oblique cut Japanese Eggplant till golden. In a hot wok, add cooked eggplant and a pinch of blanched bias snow peas. Add prepared Eggplant Glaze and toss in wok to coat. Serve immediately. To serve Grill marinated lamb chops to desired level of doneness. Place a small pile of seasonal bitter greens (arugula, mizuna, chicory, etc.) in middle of plate. Place the prepared Hunan Glazed Eggplant on top of the greens. Stack chops in center of plate. Drizzle with Cilantro-Mint Vinaigrette. Finish the whole plate with a drizzle of Gochujian Aioli.