Since my first visit to Bloom almost 18 months ago, and also perhaps as a reflection of the current zeitgeist for an interest in provenance, I’ve become increasingly interested in discovering new flavours. Whenever I dine at Bloom, the arrival of each dish is like receiving a well-wrapped Christmas gift. Part of the fun is guessing the ingredients in each mouthful, poking, prodding and dissecting each component for clues. Next comes the joy of discovery as Igi reveals the origin of each flavour and colour. From woodland berries, to flowers picked by the shore, it’s amazing how unaware we can be of the bounty to be found in the nature that surrounds us.
I read an article in The Daily Telegraph newspaper about René Redzepi’s recent trip to London for the launch of the new Noma book. As a PR exercise, the chef was joined by fellow chefs Ben Greeno, Valentine Warner, and author Miles Irving to go foraging on London’s Hampstead Heath. Now, chances are that you if you’ve heard of the north London heath, you’ll know that it is more familiar as a gay cruising spot, frequented by celebrities such as George Michael. So it came as quite a surprise that the celebrity chose this spot for plucking cooking ingredients fresh from the ground. Personally, I don’t fancy the idea of eating anything from an area that is constantly littered with used condoms, but hey, I guess it’s one way of getting press. However, for once, the latest scandal involving a celebrity and Hampstead Heath was not of the sexual kind. The problem was that locals expressed concern that the chef’s foraging spree would inspire profiteer’s from selling the heath’s mushroom’s onto expensive restaurants for a profit, wiping out many varieties of fungi that grow upon the heath, or that the uninformed would mistakenly pick deadly species. Maybe Mr Redzepi should stick to collecting closer to home, as it seems that the residents of Hampstead are not such fun-gis after all!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8154563/Noma-head-chef-accused-of-illegal-mushroom-picking.html
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar