I'm sure a few of you know I used to be a chef, and still work part time as a chef in a good standard of restaurant. I know that a lot of you are foodies. I predict that there must be a crossover at some point, where we all hate 'food ****s'. I present exhibit A; Thomas Bühner.
Here's a video of one of his dishes, followed by a short explanation (as far as I can imagine).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niE5Dvb24rE
The first bits that go on, I think it's pasta??? Then a sea veg of some kind, possibly Purslane. Then Lobster Bolognese, then I guess a seafood jus from the lobster. Then clams, cleaned in water for 3 days, and cooked in salty water for 10 seconds. Then I'm guessing a thick bisque, a sea herb gel, black olives, perhaps squid ink gel??? Then it looks like bits of Trompette, but it could be some mad modernist olive/squid ink gear. More Lobster bisque, sprinkled saffron on top. Lobster tail, Burrata, raw potato marinated with black olives. And after all that, they dumped some micro watercress upside-down on it...
This guy has three stars...
Please feel free to name and shame food ****s, for the good of us all!
Edit:
Oops, forgot the Sea Urchin foam... ...
Thomas Bühner inspires with modern, three-dimensional aromatic cuisine.
The first dimension – which acts as the basis for all of his dishes – constitutes each individual product’s natural flavour. Bühner is convinced there is no more authentic and intense flavour than the original, pure flavour of a product. Which is why he always places the natural flavour in the foreground, often experimenting for weeks with various techniques to create purist “taste bombs”. A striking example of this approach is his “pure venison”, which he refines from year to year. Instead of going down the classic route of lightly roasting the meat and vegetables together to create a gravy, he has chosen to develop a jus using the unadulterated juices of the venison meat. To create this jus, he first roughly minces the meat and then heats it, vacuum-packed, in a bain-marie. Bühner then boils down the pure juice released from the meat in a vacuum evaporator. The resulting essence is served as a sauce with the venison – without adding any spices, roasted aromas or tannins.
The second dimension of his cuisine describes how he prepares his dishes: Bühner’s cuisine is dominated by his penchant for low-temperature cooking. The superbly gifted Head Chef’s motto is “take your foot off the gas”, and by this he is not only referring to the time taken to prepare a dish but, in particular, to the temperature at which it is cooked. Rather than pan-searing a fillet of fish, for instance, Bühner prefers to braise it for a few minutes in homemade infused oil at no more than 55°C. Meat and vegetables are also cooked “sous vide”, i.e. in a bain-marie, bringing out the different aromas and creating a much more relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen.
The third dimension represents the extensive range of his cuisine: rather than viewing his set menus as a collection of disparate courses, Thomas Bühner likens them to a symphony. Sometimes the violin can be heard, at other times it is the oboe – but strong emotions are only ever aroused when the whole orchestra comes together. Bühner loves these supposed opposites, and knows how to skilfully compose them when assembling his set menus: purist dishes are juxtaposed with playfully arranged plates, creating a sensuous dramaturgy.
The first dimension – which acts as the basis for all of his dishes – constitutes each individual product’s natural flavour. Bühner is convinced there is no more authentic and intense flavour than the original, pure flavour of a product. Which is why he always places the natural flavour in the foreground, often experimenting for weeks with various techniques to create purist “taste bombs”. A striking example of this approach is his “pure venison”, which he refines from year to year. Instead of going down the classic route of lightly roasting the meat and vegetables together to create a gravy, he has chosen to develop a jus using the unadulterated juices of the venison meat. To create this jus, he first roughly minces the meat and then heats it, vacuum-packed, in a bain-marie. Bühner then boils down the pure juice released from the meat in a vacuum evaporator. The resulting essence is served as a sauce with the venison – without adding any spices, roasted aromas or tannins.
The second dimension of his cuisine describes how he prepares his dishes: Bühner’s cuisine is dominated by his penchant for low-temperature cooking. The superbly gifted Head Chef’s motto is “take your foot off the gas”, and by this he is not only referring to the time taken to prepare a dish but, in particular, to the temperature at which it is cooked. Rather than pan-searing a fillet of fish, for instance, Bühner prefers to braise it for a few minutes in homemade infused oil at no more than 55°C. Meat and vegetables are also cooked “sous vide”, i.e. in a bain-marie, bringing out the different aromas and creating a much more relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen.
The third dimension represents the extensive range of his cuisine: rather than viewing his set menus as a collection of disparate courses, Thomas Bühner likens them to a symphony. Sometimes the violin can be heard, at other times it is the oboe – but strong emotions are only ever aroused when the whole orchestra comes together. Bühner loves these supposed opposites, and knows how to skilfully compose them when assembling his set menus: purist dishes are juxtaposed with playfully arranged plates, creating a sensuous dramaturgy.
Here's a video of one of his dishes, followed by a short explanation (as far as I can imagine).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niE5Dvb24rE
The first bits that go on, I think it's pasta??? Then a sea veg of some kind, possibly Purslane. Then Lobster Bolognese, then I guess a seafood jus from the lobster. Then clams, cleaned in water for 3 days, and cooked in salty water for 10 seconds. Then I'm guessing a thick bisque, a sea herb gel, black olives, perhaps squid ink gel??? Then it looks like bits of Trompette, but it could be some mad modernist olive/squid ink gear. More Lobster bisque, sprinkled saffron on top. Lobster tail, Burrata, raw potato marinated with black olives. And after all that, they dumped some micro watercress upside-down on it...
This guy has three stars...
Please feel free to name and shame food ****s, for the good of us all!
Edit:
Oops, forgot the Sea Urchin foam... ...
Last edited:
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