A total of eight chefs met on the Yucatan Peninsula at the invitation of the Guatemalan Licorera Zacapaneca to jointly develop a menu, present products from their respective home countries and exchange ideas in a culinary think tank.
The resulting menu is carried by the chefs to their home countries. In Hamburg, with Kevin Fehling, there will be a total of two dates, on each of which 20 guests will be able to enjoy his interpretations. And: There will be an exclusive ticket for one evening that I can raffle here via Kochfreunde.com. More on this in an upcoming report.
Kevin Fehling was particularly fascinated by the people of Guatemala: he describes them as incredibly friendly and positive, even though many of them are not exactly blessed with wealth. And also in the kitchen, he reported, he has been able to work fabulously with the team that has been put at his side.
Kevin Fehling has already given me a glimpse of his imported miracle product and the recipe for a dessert based on it: einkorn. A very ancient cereal that used to be widely grown together with other ancient cereals such as emmer and spelt, especially in Northern and Central Europe. For a long time, they were displaced by the higher-yielding durum and soft wheat, but the ancient grains have now made a respectable comeback.
The result is the chocolate ganache Maya. With Ron Zacapa, Avovado, Tomatillo Chutney, Taco Crumble and Tortillas made from this very Einkorn. Not only conceptually a fitting blend of Guatemala’s local influences, its imported product Einkorn and of course Ron Zacapa rum.
The team’s combined creative efforts then flowed into the following eight courses, which were tasted together with the entire team during a social evening. It remains to be assumed that in the course of this festivity one or the other bottle of rum was emptied – however, nothing more precise has been handed down…
Mario Campollo from Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua
Sphere of beetroot and ceviche with avocado mousse, coconut and plantain
Daniel Engellau from Aveqia, Stockholm
Smoked lobster with sea buckthorn juice, Crispy rice, samat and cucumber
Jacques Pourcel from Relais & Chateaux, Montpellier
Cream of shellfish bisque, prawns flambéed with rum, Truffle “croque-monsieur” and cream of “gruyère
Abel Hernandez from Eloise, Mexico City
Bass with mushrooms in a vanilla sauce
Diego Rossi from Trippa, Milan
Roasted hanger steak with ayote cream, hazelnut, miltomate and chiplin leaves
Maria Marte from El Club Allard, Madrid
Jamaica rose with Zacapa rum and pistachio with saffron crumble
Mark Rausch from the Criterion, Bogota
Guanabana meringue with raspberry balsamic, reduction and panela
Kevin Fehling, The Table, Hamburg
Maya chocolate ganache with Zacapa, Avocado and Urkorn taco chip
In this case, Fehling originally discovered the typical shape as a belt buckle on a flea market platform. Of course, this fits perfectly. This was then first made into a plaster mold, which was then used to make several silicone molds, into which the ganache is then filled and cooled down during the production of the dish.
I am already very excited to be able to taste this re-import from South America more intensively here in Hamburg in the coming weeks.All photos by Ailine Liefeld. Thank you very much!
