26 May 2011

A REAL MASTERCHEF

Tetsuya. He’s an old friend as we met at a private dinner party about twelve years ago here in Auckland...he didn’t have to cook. He was there, like me, to taste some exquisite Japanese food and even more importantly drink some very special wines including Providence from Matakana and Cheval Blanc from Bordeaux. I have eaten at his restaurants, first in Rozelle and then in Sydney’s central city area, and run into Tetsuya in a few unlikely places, including one spectacular dinner in Minneapolis a few years ago.

So I was thrilled to emcee his Electrolux Masterclass last night at the Seafood School in Auckland’s Fish Market for an audience of food and design editors. Tetsuya now has two restaurants; his flagship in Sydney, and Waku Ghin, just named best restaurant in Singapore. But we weren’t there to observe the complexity and work that goes into the food of those temples of dining. Rather we were treated to two hours of incredibly simple cookery that we could all replicate at home. (Well, some might!)

He cooked eggs, and there’s no connection at all to the scrambled eggs we usually think of. These were ever so gently moved over heat and served with butter, ricotta, cream and chives. Yum! He cooked crab, simply flavoured and stirred. A paua, writhing and live one minute, then placed over the lowest possible heat from the induction cooktop until it gently cooked for two hours, was the most tender thing you can imagine. As for the thick wagyu steaks, seared over high heat (no salt and pepper) and then placed in a very low oven for at least 90 minutes; tasty , juicy and meltingly tender.

The final act was a tagine of chicken. Spices, raisins, dates, vegetables, tomatoes, well marinated chicken thighs and more, served over couscous. Inspiring! And then dinner at the French Café. I did not really need that, as delicious as it was, but who would give up the chance to dine with the Master?

Pic: Tetsuya with his head chef Luke, originally from Wellington, and assistant Nicole.