Magnus Ringmans Dinnerparty

Not long ago, I did a fabulous menu for thirteen CEO's hosted by a major newspaper, Aftonbladet. The setting was in the majestic and colorful rolling hills of Skåne in southern Sweden. The location was a classic Swedish farmhouse, now completly restored & goes by the name of 'Three Lily Buds'. The interior is wonderfully designed with South African art, much of it created by the very talented South African artist Sally Arnold. They have delicious SA assorted olive oils, vinegars & wines. My recommendations, the Reyneke Cornerstone -06, a delicate fruity flavor, much like a fleurie, with hints of red fruit. Another favorite is the Reyneke Reserve -05 Shiraz, a full bodied bouquet, with hints of  blackberries &  pepper. Outside in the fields, a runway is cut out of the grass for light aircraft to land and taxi in. They have a wellness herbal spa in a greenhouse & a fabulous open air kitchen (my favorite), centered around a AGA stove for conferences or dinner parties. A unique experience!

So this was the environment for Magnus Ringmans dinnerparty. The customers have cocktails while I flame scallops in a starched white chef coat. The scallops recline on a bed of spinach florentine and are drizzled with a white wine cream sauce, served in their shells. The flavors of lemon, shallots & cream meld together with the seared scallop under a gratin. Second course is a warm blue cheese tart, served with crunchy sliced fresh pear, baby greens & vinaigrette. I like to use Bleu d'Auvergne, for a rich yet subtle flavor & the result is a perfect marriage of texture & flavors....rich & salty, crunchy sweet, peppery greens & tangy vinaigrette. As a young chef training in the 1980's, I was greatly influenced by two Masterchefs-Wolfgang Puck & Jeremiah Tower. The next course- Seared yellowfin tuna (raw in the center) with a 5 peppercorn crust with a julienned root salad & a Thai style lemongrass sauce. This dish was right out of the California cuisine genre, creating a fusion of cultures with Asian, seafood & fresh locally grown products. We cleansed the palette with cactus sorbet and went to the main course....a fresh Irish lamb chop, I pull out every other bone on the rack, I sear it & roast it and then cut a fat double chop, roll it in fresh herbs and lean it with one roasted bone standing straight up on the plate. The lamb was complemented with a Grand Venuer sauce, black cherry chutney, celery-root mousse with a touch of saffron and my ever-decadent pomme dauphine potatoes with a golden gratin. For dessert I created a cylinder of white chocolate-anise mousse, filled with fresh raspberries on a pistachio genoise soaked with cognac syrup and served with a fresh raspberry coulis. By the time the dessert was finished I had them on their feet cheering. Magnus told me thay all agreed it was the best menu they had ever had at a conference and many thought it was the best menu they had tasted ever! These are people that travel the world, stay in fine hotels, eat in fine restaurants. It was, simply put, the ultimate complement!

Reflections on Inspiration

My culinary talents today are a direct accumulation of all my experiences throughout my life. One of the most profound was shopping on the Rue Mouffetard in Paris. I first heard of it while living in Colombia, reading Hemingways 'A Movable Feast'. He lived on the Place de la Contrescarpe, and would often stroll down the Rue Mouffetard for espresso or shopping. Then when I had my flat on Rue de Poissy in Paris, I learned I was only a few minutes walk to Hemingways old neighborhood. I was fascinated with open air markets of Paris. It was busy & bustleing, you had to push and elbow your way into a cloud of cigarette smoke to buy something while the vendors shouted out their wares. Le poissonnier would be holding a trout in one hand and a crayfish in the other, with a cigarette butt smoking from the corner of his mouth, while he yelled why his fruits de mer were absolutly the best you could possibly buy. Then a old women would push a greasy folded newspaper filled with salty pomme frites in your face while she smiled next to her vat of boiling oil. Strolling amongst the chaos, I was filled with hundreds of ideas, the possibilities were endless. My infinite inspiration and creativity was truely challenged. Back at the Hotel Ritz, I would spend hours discussing, examining & dissecting my culinary inspirations with the brilliant minds of Masterchefs Philip Moreau & Christof Bellet. There are moments in life when you experience a awakening, a profound enlightenment that changes the way you conceptualize the life that moves around you. For me, my morning walks down the hill of the Rue Mouffetard was definitely that experience. From then on I got to experiment with gastronomic delights on my friends with several courses in a dinner party, carefully matching wines with each course. It was a time to perfect my skills to excellence. My biggest problem was that after usually staying up late on friday nights, I would wake up late and halfway through my coffee have to run out the door, because in Paris all the markets close at 2pm and if you miss that, you can't shop until monday morning.

Custom Menus

I often design a special menu for my clients, using fresh & local products, seasonal berries or wild mushrooms for example. I like the the idea of using natural, locally grown fresh ingredients to produce my dishes. I try to mostly prepare traditional french-international cooking on available ingredients including abundant seafood. Fresh vegetables, lightly cooked, and fresh fruits, berries, and herbs characterize my cuisine generally. I was influenced less by grand Parisian restaurants that served a predictable menu than by more modest establishments whose chefs visited the markets each day and invented the meal on the spot. La cuisine du marché, market cooking, relies on improvisation and experimentation and puts shopping on an equal footing with technique. While I worked with Dominic Fonseca at the Hotel Ritz, everyday we would look through the cellars of The Ritz kitchen and create a menu with whatever we had. Take a look at other menus I've done in the past.