Michael Ginor's Foie Gras Poached Lobster

During the World Gourmet Festival held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Bangkok, the much-awaited Gala Dinner featured a seven-course wine and food pairing dinner, which included the dishes of most of the participating world-class chefs.

Cocktails at the charity dinner started with a Stony Peak Brut Reserve from Australia paired off with canapés from the statuesque South American Chef Paola Carosella of Arturito restaurant in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The dinner started with Deconstructed Caesar Salad with a whole head of bay romaine embraced by fillets of freshly-marinated white pickled anchovy with a parmesan fluff and brioche Twinkie. It was paired with a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

Personally, I believe that the flavors and seasoning of Chef Graham Elliot Bowles’ salad were exact and accurately tasty. But I guess, as a matter of culture, I felt that a Caesar’s salad with a creamy dressing is really much preferred by us Filipinos rather than the lighter American style. I felt that the concept could also have been expanded better. But the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand was upfront, juicy, and bursting with luscious tropical fruit and had a light hint of flavors that was truly a treat especially with the anchovies.

The next course was by Aussie Chef Christine Manfield who presented a variant from her dinner the night before. She dished up an apple salad and served it with mustard and radish sprouts. As before, it was a runaway hit as the toppings of golden globules of salmon eggs burst in the mouth with ever bite. This was paired off with a Georges Duboeuf Pouilly-Fuisse 2007 (not one of the specialties of George Duboeuf…). It was a little hot on the palate because it was rather young and closed.

The second chardonnay, a Wolf Blass 2007, seemed to make up for the first wine because it had the richness of ripe apple and lots of buttery, vanilla, and wood. Served with this was a delicate and white-fleshed pike oyster that was been pan-roasted with a filling of foie gras by Chef Sawada. The foie gras seemed to enrich and put a creamy note on the fragile flesh. It had a very green chrysanthemum leaf sauce that was pureed and was used as such so the small roulade would not dry out.

Next was Michael Ginor, a multi awarded protégé of Thomas Killer and one of the owners of Hudson Valley Foie Gras and New York State Foie Gras, the most comprehensive foie gras producer in the world. He served Foie Gras Poached Lobster in Citrus Butter, which was placed on the table with a generous grating of fresh foie gras. It was another dish that made a mark. A smoky, leafy, dusty South African wine reminiscent of red peppers called Firefinch Rip Red 2004 was paired with it. I am still in a quandary up to now on why it was matched with the dish.

Anyway, a unique entremet was presented by David Kinch of Manresa Restaurant of Los Gatos, California. David made the light Brown Butter Ice Cream, which he flecked with caramelized popcorn. This cold quenelle was half drawn in a lightly-seasoned hot pumpkin cream soup or veloute. By now a Catena Alta Malbec 2006 from Argentina was being served to everyone’s seeming enjoyment. This wine had flavors of very black cherry, saffron, and freshly-shaved white pine wood.

The last wine, the Sagratino di Montefalco 2004, which was paired off with the main course, was an Italian lungarotti that was a sturdy spicy wine with red berries and licorice.

This stood up to the adobo-like glaze made of caramelized vinegar that was sourced over the Leg of Goose and Braised Endives. I suspect that the meat of the main course was marinated or brined to counter its gaminess and was oven-braised to accurate tenderness. The meat just separated from the bone when swept with a knife.

This showed the rustic style of Italian Chef Fulvio Siccardi from Monticello de Alba, Italy where rustic ingredients such as goose became second nature to him. The caramelized vinegar sauce sends a note of familiarity to my being Pinoy as it was parallel to our adobo.

Finally, a structural masterpiece of a dessert that uses layers of hot and cold flavor variants of chocolate that were cleverly placed on a shot glass were placed on the table. And, served at the same time was Chef Francois Payard’s Chocolate Hazelnut Cake masterpiece, which had bits of croquant. It was an ultra shiny disc covered with deep, dark chocolate mirroire adorned with sculptural coils of delicate Valhrona chocolate secured together by gold leaf.

And as a final note of chocolate artistry and talented braggadocio, which impressed each and every table, tulip-shaped pralines with wooden stems were brought out. Each tulip flower was stuffed with globes of creamy sago and, as many on the table discerned, a mild whip of anisette.

As a digestif and to cap a wonderful evening, generous “pouring” of Yamazaki single malt Japanese whisky were offered to the much impressed diners.