Saturday, August 27, 2011

Manresa Welcomes Australian Chef Dan Hunter for "Cooking with Friends" Series

Dan Hunter

Manresa welcomes Chef Dan Hunter from the Royal Mail Hotel in Western Victoria, Australia for its annual “Cooking with Friends” series. On September 10 and September 11, Chef David Kinch and Royal Mail Hotel Chef Dan Hunter will collaborate on a 10-course menu with wine and cocktail pairings.

Chef Hunter’s philosophy is similar to that of Kinch’s as he works closely with his kitchen and garden team to produce a unique style of food that blends his understanding of modern technique with an immense respect for nature, produce, and seasonality. The collaborative menu will illustrate their similar experiences in working with farms and emphasize ingredients from Love Apple Farms, Manresa’s exclusive farm partner. Additional ingredient highlights include Matsutake mushrooms, Santa Barbara sea urchin, Australian winter truffles, baby lamb and abalone.

Chef Dan Hunter started his career in Melbourne and later moved to Spain to further explore the region’s culinary offerings. He worked at the Michelin-starred Caelis in Barcelona and later arranged three-month stage with Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz at Mugaritz, a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Basque Country. His stage turned into roles including head chef. In the time Hunter was at Mugaritz, the restaurant was named tenth best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine UK and has been featured as a top five best restaurant in the world since 2008. In 2007, he returned to Australia as Executive Chef of the Royal Mail Hotel.

The 10-course collaborative menu is $195 per person, exclusive of wine pairing, tax, and gratuity. Classic wine pairings are $95 per person and premium wine pairings are $195 per person.

To make reservations, please call Manresa at 408.354.4330. Please note that the regular menus will not be available on these evenings.

Dan Hunter

Sunday, August 07, 2011

In This Issue

Dan Hunter to Cook at Manresa
Love Apple Farms-to-Table
Manresa on Newsstands Now
San Francisco Magazine Loves Manresa
"Nectar From Cane" Cocktail Recipe

Dan Hunter to Cook at Manresa


Join Manresa for two special evenings of "Cooking with Friends" dinners on Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11. David Kinch welcomes Chef Dan Hunter of Australia's Royal Mail Hotel to join him in the kitchen to collaborate on a 10-course menu with wine and cocktail pairings.

“We are honored to have Dan Hunter representing the Royal Mail Hotel and the Victoria region of Australia,” says Chef Kinch. “We have a lot of similarities from our approach to food to our unique relationships with farms. I’m very excited to finally work with him in the kitchen to craft an unforgettable dining experience.”

Chef Dan Hunter started his career in Melbourne working in a number of culinary roles, learning the importance of produce and their seasons as well as exploring the creative side of menu conception. In 2003, Hunter became interested in what was happening in food in Spain and moved to Barcelona to work at the Michelin-starred Caelis restaurant to explore the style and quality of cuisine coming out of the region. While in Barcelona, he was introduced to Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz at Mugaritz, a two Michelin-starred restaurant located in the Basque Country. He arranged a three-month period of work experience at Mugaritz which later turned into roles as Chef de Partie, Sous Chef and Head Chef. In the time Hunter was at Mugaritz, the restaurant was named tenth best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine UK and has been featured as a top five best restaurant in the world since 2008.

In 2007, Hunter returned to Australia and moved to Dunkeld, Western Victoria to take up the position of Executive Chef at the Royal Mail Hotel. This move has allowed him access to his own kitchen gardens, fruit orchards, egg laying hens, and a green house for herb production. He works closely with his kitchen and garden team to produce a unique style of food that blends his understanding of modern technique with an immense respect for nature, produce, and seasonality.

The “Cooking with Friends” dinner featuring Chef Dan Hunter will feature 10-courses for $195 per person, exclusive of wine pairing, tax, and gratuity. Wine & Beverage Director Jeff Bareilles will offer two different pairings, featuring a selection of Australian wines. Classic wine pairings are $95 per person or you can choose premium wine pairings for $195 per person. Reservations are available by calling Manresa at 408.354.4330. Please note that the regular menus will not available on these evenings.

Love Apple Farms-to-Table


Cynthia Sandberg of Love Apple Farms announces a new collaboration with The French Culinary Institute in Campbell, California for a new class called Mastering the Art of the Tomato. Love Apple Farms takes the classroom into the garden at their Santa Cruz education center for hands-on lessons in planting, pruning, fertilizing and staking for the best-tasting tomatoes. Students finish their classes at the Campbell campus, only 30 mintues away, for an afternoon of preparing and enjoying hot and cold dishes from Love Apple Farms heirloom tomatoes. The experienced chef-instructors from The FCI will guide students through a favorite tomato recipe from David Kinch of Manresa, the dean of The FCI. The all-day class Mastering the Art of the Tomato takes place on Saturday, August 20. More collaborative classes at Love Apple Farms and The FCI include Exotic Herbs on September 10, and Vegetables of Asia on September 24. For more information and registration visit The French Culinary Institute website.

Manresa on Newsstands Now

Manresa and Love Apple Farms are featured in the August issue of Bon Appétit magazine online and on newsstands now. Read about the inspired partnership that is leading the way for a new California cuisine.


 

The Michelin Garden
Plenty of chefs start their day at the farmers' market, but now the truly-obsessed are micromanaging their own microgreens—none more so than Manresa's David Kinch, who selects every seed
By Daniel Duane / Photographs by Peden and Munk

Love Apple Farms owner Cynthia Sandberg

"It's about having 110 to 130 tomato varieties," says Kinch. "And that's not an exaggeration, by the way."

 Just picked herbs, green coriander seeds, micro chard, and other delights.

Kinch's inspiration comes not from the ethics of sustainability but from the relentless hunt for great ingredients.

Kinch, Nicolas Delaroque, and John Paul Carmona compose a course.

Try four of Kinch's best recipes:
Intro to the Garden Beignet How-To story
Beginning of Garden Beignet How-To slideshow
Garden Beignet recipe
Recipe for the Roasted Cucumber Sandwiches
Recipe for the Shizuka cocktail

Recipe for Melon Soup

San Francisco Magazine Loves Manresa


"Kinch calls Manresa his 'idea laboratory.' Fair enough. It's also an art project, grown into a masterpiece." —Josh Sens

For the first time in his nine years as a restaurant critic, Josh Sens awards four stars to Manresa in the August issue of San Francisco magazine. Sens awarded fours stars to the French Laundry in 2004 and to Cyrus in 2005. Read the full four-star review on page 110 of the digital edition or pick up the August issue at your newsstand.

"Nectar from Cane" Cocktail Recipe


Try this elixir of rum and summertime nectarine from Manresa's artisan cocktail collection, recipe courtesy of Jeff Bareilles, Manresa's Wine and Beverage Director.

Nectar from Cane
1.5 oz Diplomatico Exclusiva Reserva Rum
1 oz Nectarine Consommé (recipe below)
5 Mint leaves
1 large ice cube

• Muddle mint in Nectarine Consommé
• Add Diplomatico Exclusiva Reserva Rum
• Stir and strain into glass with a large ice-cube
• Garnish with a mint sprig

Nectarine Consommé Recipe
• Load the top basket of a steam juicer with four nectarines cut into quarters (pits included)
• Bring the bottom water-filled pan to a boil
• Juice rolls out the tube from the middle pan

Tip: To make your own large ice cubes, use a Tovolo King Cube Jumbo-Ice-Cube mold.