Pullman Hotel | Crafted Creations

Avocado Toast

avocaco toast

We recently decided to restart breakfast service at the restaurant so we did a couple of tastings to see what exactly we would put on the menu. Over the past few years we have seen the rise of the avocado toast everywhere from restaurants to hipster coffee shops. The trick is to find your own unique version and run with it. Because we are a California brasserie, I decided to use a kale pesto. For the bread, we chose to use brioche toasted and seasoned with the pesto. Then topped with a fresh ripe avocado, sliced and seasoned simply with sea salt, pepper and lime juice. Next, a perfectly poached egg with a beautiful rich liquid gold center. The whole thing is finished off with a roasted chili oil and pumpkin seeds. The only challenge now is to go to work everyday and try not to make this my daily breakfast. The avocado makes it healthy, right?

Smoked Haddock Carbonara

24 Jan

At FRAME, we change our formula menu every week. This gives me the chance to try out new ideas and even use new products. Sometimes it is a learning process, especially when ordering and receiving something you were not expecting. Last week I ordered haddock, which for me is a species of fish from the North Atlantic, but in France it always refers to the product of smoked aiglefin fish. It proved to be a very nice surprise though.

For this dish I used fresh tagliatella pasta. You may use whatever size and shape you wish, sometimes I prefer papardelli. Start the dish by cooking your pasta in salted water to al dente (firm to the bite). It is best to under cook the pasta as it will continue cooking when you add it to the sauce.

For the sauce, start by sautéing chopped onions and garlic. After the onions are soft, add part of the fish and deglaze with white wine. Reduce the wine by half and add cream and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. You can also add vegetables. I prefer adding roasted tomatoes because it goes well with the cream, smoke and fish.

To finish, toss the pasta with the sauce and stir in a raw egg yolk. The raw egg yolk will add a glorious texture to the dish. Top with a cabbage slaw dressed simply with olive oil then thinly sliced haddock with olive oil and black pepper.

Didn’t I tell you? I moved to Paris!

22 Oct

It has been awhile since my last post in February. I wanted to fill you in on what I’ve been doing. Last February, I accepted a position as Head Chef of FR/AME restaurant in Paris, France. I somehow convinced my wife to make the big move and we made the journey across the world to our new home in Paris. I moved there in March and she joined me later in May.

When I arrived in late March, I had a lot of work ahead of me. There were numerous tastings, the kitchen and restaurant were still in the process of renovation, there were interviews to conduct, etc.

The restaurant opened on April 10, 2014.

FR/AME’s concept is California cuisine with a French twist. The very name of the restaurant itself is a combination of France and America. The restaurant is located within the Hotel Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel which, as you can guess by the name, is very close to the Eiffel Tower. The following picture was taken from the 10^th floor banquet space we have in the hotel.

Our restaurant is very unique because we have our own garden on the rooftop next to the restaurant and while the garden doesn’t supply all of our produce, we do use items from there to garnish and create special dishes. The following pictures show the garden at the beginning and as it has grown. We also have six chickens and bees!