On the 10th Feb at Pots pans and Boards Tom cooked with super chef from the middle east Mohammad Orfali where they created a four hands dinner together. The aim of the dinner was to infuse the flavours and tastes of East and West into one harmonious menu.
We had a fun interview together up the flying cup which is an elevated flying cup & saucer that is positioned at the very beginning of the Walk on JBR where pots pans and boards is located. We were testing each other on their own style of cooking and about their own regional specialities. The views up here were pretty impressive all the way down the beach, I tripped up on a couple of questions, but I gave mostly correct answers.
Mohammad used lots of interesting spices and ingredients that are well known in the middle east. Flavours like cinnamon in the Labneh a hazelnut Muhammara that has a base of roast red peppers and nuts. A citrus tahini that is a base pureed sesame that is lifted with lime juice & zest and mixed herbs, this was a very delicate sauce to have with the baked salmon. Finishing off with the very classic Baklava, this had an unbelievable amount of pistachios on it, which made it look and taste truly decadent.
My take in the West was some very classic yet simple British dishes that were given my own particular twist. The classic Waldorf salad I served with pickled & charred mackerel with spiced walnuts and pickled grapes and celery leaves.
The very well known coronation chicken, that’s been made with a reduction of apricot jam and curry powder. I also add to this a little coconut puree to sweeten it a little further, this is then mixed with a little mayonnaise to bind the chicken together. Then my next course is the classic beef wellington, seared beef fillet with wrapped in spinach, mushroom duxcelle and then encased in crepe and puff pastry.
It was a great event and all the customers that attended really got into the spirit of east meets west, with pictures of us in service at PP&B ,with a short clip of the days & evening service.
Roots of My Backyard Forest (M.O)
Labneh Cream, Hazelnut Muhammara and Caramelized carrot, Nasturtium.
Mackerel (T.A)
Charred mackerel, Waldorf salad, celery & pickled raisins
*****
Coronation Chicken (T.A)
Mild curried chicken ballotine, piccalilli, Baby Gem lettuce
*****
Salmon Tajin (M.O)
Pan seared salmon topped with citrus tahini sauce and herbs
*****
Beef (T.A)
Classic beef Wellington, mushroom Duxelles and red wine jus
*****
ORF Baklava (M.O)
baklava dough, salted pistachio, cream flavored with orange blossom
The next day we had more PR and Social Media events, with a radio interview on the Dubai Eye 103.8
The show is call Afternoons with Helen Farmer and can be heard here https://omny.fm/shows/dubai-today/the-chefs-table-tom-aikens with pictures of me at the radio station with Helen Farmer.
East meets West Menu
