Relae by Christian F. Puglisi - Excerpt

8/10/2019 Relae by Christian F. Puglisi - Excerpt

1/17


2/17
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781607746492?aff=randomhouse1http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?ISBSRC=Y&ISBN=9781607746492&cm_mmc=Random%20House-_-Rel%C3%A6-HC-Scribd-NA-relaescribd--9781607746492-_-Rel%C3%A6-HC-Scribd-NA-relaescribd--9781607746492-_-Rel%C3%A6http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607746492?ie=UTF8&tag=randohouseinc7427-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1607746492https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rel/id873968847?mt=11https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=isbn:9781607746492&gws_rd=ssl


3/17

Preface by Chad Robertson 10

Acknowledgments 12

Introduction 13

Chapter 1: The Groundwork 14

Te Initial Idea14

Jgersborggade22

Staff27

Locavorism: When It Makes Sense, and When It Does Not32

Organic: Is a Certification All Tat?36

Breaking Bread: Te Cornerstone of an Ideal Meal 40

Chapter 2: Ideas on a Plate 49

Liquids 51 Water52

Wine54

Fruit Vinegars58

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil59

Animal 63

Lamb64

Fat66

Chicken68

Hindsholm Pork70

Butter74

Buttermilk76

Contents


4/17

Land 79Jerusalem Artichokes80

Carrots81

Horseradish82

Celery Root84

Herbs86

Cresses88

Citrus90

Unripe Strawberries92Elderflower93

Crab Apple94

Nuts96

Seeds97

Olives98

Sea 101 Mussels102

Coastal Fish104

Mackerel106

Sea Lettuce107

Anchovy108

Sl110

Kelp112

Manipulations 115

Fermentation116 Pickling Fruits and Vegetables118

Pickling Fish119

Cooking in Butter Emulsion120

Cooking Salads122

Precision Cooking124

Barely Cooking126

Stocks128

Nut Milks130

Hiding on the Plate132


5/17

extures 137 Contrasting emperatures138

Crunch!139

Chewy140

Leathery142

Dehydrating/Rehydrating144

Vegetable Skins146

Salting and Brining Vegetables148

Salting and Brining Meats and Fish150

Juiciness, the Natural Sauce152

Flavor 155 Butter and Bitter156

Charred and Grilled158

oasted and Nutty159 A ouch of Umami160

Meat with Seafood164

Minerality166

Teory 169 Building onto a Dish 170

Evolving a echnique 172

Snacks176

Challenging the Guest178

Vegetarian180

Vegetables over Meat182

Intertwining Flavors184

Savory Desserts188

Nose-to-ail Cooking190

Leaf-to-Stem Cooking192 Acidity194

Creativity Is in All of Us196

Where Is the Cheese rolley?198


6/17

Inspirations 201 Italy202Denmark204

France206

elBulli208

Tailand210

Spring212

Summer214

Fall216

Winter218

Chapter 3: Dishes 225

Snacks 229 Herb Bouquet230

Celery Root aco232

Grilled Jerusalem Artichokes234

Grilled Corn236

Shallots and Nigella238

Kornly Cracker240

Oxalis Roots242

Herbivorous Starters 245 Unripe Strawberries, Cress, and Buttermilk246

Sheeps Milk Yogurt, Radishes, and Nasturtium248

Cucumber, Caraway, and Lemon Balm250 Smoked Beet Fish and Elderflower252

Beet, Crab Apple, and Sl254

Cooked Onions, Buttermilk, and Nasturtium256


7/17

Omnivorous Starters 259 Lumpfish Roe, Daikon, and Almonds260

Oysters, Cabbage, and Capers262

Mussels, Seaweed, and Allumettes264

Squid, Mussels, and Seaweed266

Raw Bee, Anchovies, and Ramsons268

Lamb, Shrimp, and Dill270

White Asparagus and Anchovies272 Pickled Skate, Mussels, and Celery Root274

Pickled Mackerel, Cauliflower, and Lemon276

Cod, Kohlrabi, and Skins278

White Onions, Crayfish, and Fennel280

Herbivorous Seconds 283 Turnips, Chervil, and Horseradish284

New Potatoes, Warm Berries, and Arugula286 Potato, Seaweed, and Pecorino288

Lettuce, Smoked Almond, and Olive Oil290

Asparagus, Sunflower Seeds, and Mint292

Jerusalem Artichoke, Quinoa, and Coffee294

Sunflower Seeds, Kornly, and Pine296

Baked Potato Puree298

Barley, Cauliflower, and Black Trumpet300

Herbivorous Mains 303 Carrot, Elderflower, and Sesame304

Charred Cucumber and Fermented Juice306

Romaine, Egg Yolk, and Nettles308

Enoki, Kelp, and Seaweed310

Fennel, Smoked Almond, and Parsley312

Dried Zucchini and Bitter Leaves 314

Fried Salsif and Bergamot316 Salted Carrot and Oxalis Barnaise318


8/17

Omnivorous Mains 321 Pork rom Hindsholm and Rye322 Lamb, Turnip, and Samphire324

Cauliflower, Veal Sweetbread, and Basil326

Chicken Wings, White Asparagus, and Anchovies328

Wild Duck, Elderberries, and White Onions330

Salad, Bee, and Bronte Pistachio332

Veal, Grilled Sauce, and Anchovy334

Cheese and desserts 337 Whipped Goat Cheese and Parsley338

Nordlys, Carrots, and Orange Zest340

Chanterelles, Apple, and Granit342

Mandarin, Buttermilk, and Egg Yolk344

Milk, Kelp, and Caramel346

Rhubarb Compote, Almond, and Vinegar348

Jerusalem Artichoke, Malt, and Bread350

Sheeps Milk Yogurt, Beets, and Black Currant352

Hokkaido Pumpkin and Mandarin354

Corn, Bread Crumbs, and Marjoram356

Elderflower and Rhubarb358

Jerusalem Artichokes, Coffee, and Passion360

Coffee Table362

Appendix: The Recipes 369

Index441


9/1713

Introduction

When I opened Rel in 2010, the last thing Iwanted was for it to be just another fine diningrestaurant. Our entire philosophy is groundedin the idea that conventional fine diningwithits big round tables, waitstaff showing you theway to the toilet and constantly scrapingthe crumbs off the thick tablecloth, jazz musicpiping through the speakershas little do

with the way people actually want to eat.Rather, we want the dining experience at Relto be simple and unpretentious, focusingsolely on gastronomy. Everything elseallthose unnecessary detailsis stripped away.We describe our restaurants philosophy ascut to the bone.

Similarly, when I sat down to write thisbook, I didnt want it to be a conventionalcookbook that readers were expected to page

through from cover to cover. I could havewritten it the easy way: line up fifty to onehundred recipes and scatter some picturesthroughout. But my goal was not just to giveyou an introduction to the food we do andmake it possible for you to cook it yourself.I wanted to show you the creative processbehind our work and the ideas that informthe fundamentals of our kitchen.

As I was thinking about this book, I realized

that all our dishes are interconnected bythe ideas behind themthe practical ideas,theoretical ideas, and technical ideas. Tedishes themselves are the most superficialexpression of our work. Rather than just listthe ingredients and step-by-step methods foreach dish, I felt it was more useful to actuallyarticulate the concepts that underlie them.

o be honest, I rarely read cookbooks, thoughI love to buy them. I have shelves and shelves

lined with colorful covers emblazoned with bigchefs names writing about everything fromnose-to-tail cooking to German fine dining.

Tat said, I rarely have time to read them,and whenever I do grab one, I impatientlyopen it up, flip through a few pages, and thenclose it again. Maybe Ill pick it up later andtake another peek. Admittedly, I never cookfrom others recipes; I want to put my imprinton everything I do. I might be interested inhow Fergus Henderson cooks trotters, but

ultimately I will use his work as inspirationand find my own way of cooking them.

I want you to use the recipes in this book in theexact same way. Feel free to look up a dish andcook it exactly as it is written on the page. ButI would be even happier if you plunged intothis book just to see how we pickle mackerel,how we plate that dish with cauliflower, andthen have a go at it yourself. I want you tograb this book, open it like a deck of cards,

and flip to whatever attracts you. Once adish has captured your attention, take a lookat the handful of ideas listed at the bottom ofthe page; hopefully thatsparks your curiosityand leads you to another spot in the bookwith another list of interconnected dishes andideas. Each dish in this book is grounded ona set of ideasand each idea is the basis forseveral other dishes, dishes you can then jumpto and have a look at. Everything is connectedin a sort of web in which one thing springs out

of another in a big hot pot of inspiration, hardwork, and craft. I want you to mix and matchall these ideas and thoughts. ake what youcan use, throw away what you dont like, andmake it your own. Tat is what the cooking atRel is about, and I hope that thats what thisbook inspires you to do.


10/1714

Chapter 1

The GroundworkTe Initial Idea

I had been sous che at Noma or about two

years when I dropped the bomb on RenRedzepi. I wanted to quit so I could go out

and open my own restaurant. Since I was

basically running the kitchen, I knew itwould take time to find the right person to

replace me, so I was giving him about ourmonths notice. I knew it wouldnt be good

or any o us i I kept my job at Noma whilesecretly nailing down a location, investor,and concept. But still, I dreaded telling him.

Tere was nothing to dread about Rens

reaction, though. As he had oten done

beore and would continue to do ater I lethis restaurant, he surprised me. You know

what, I cant even get mad at you, he said. Ijust know your restaurant will be great. I am

looking orward to it. Good luck.

I elt the relie o someone who finally revealed

his greatest secret. Believe me, Noma was agreat restaurant to work in. I learned so much,

but it just wasnt my project. My heart was

not in it anymore, and my mind was headingsomewhere elsesomewhere I could create

my own little universe. I wanted to influencenot only the kitchens organization, the

cooking, and the menu, but everything else as

well. I wanted to release mysel rom the world

o fine diningthe huge staff, ancy linens,and long tasting menus. Coming out o thecloset allowed me talk openly about my own

ideas or the uture with everyone around

me. Ren proved to be a great ambassadorand soon began pushing journalists in my

direction, saying, You know, Christian is

opening his own restaurant. I was pitchingjournalists rom all over Europe beore I even

got a bank to finance me, ound a potentialinvestor, or had a location. Tis all helped me

get closer to what I really wanted. As I talkedabout it again and again, I ound myselgaining a better understanding o what my

ideal restaurant would be.

My goal was to serve inventive, intelligent

cuisine based on simple, high-qualityingredients. But I wanted to serve it in an

environment that made guests eel welcomeand relaxed. I couldnt understand why

a creative kitchen should be a slave to a

luxurious dining room and its oppressivestyle o service. As a young apprentice,

I occasionally went to the fine diningrestaurants that were considered the best

in the country at the time. Believe me, I was

impressed. I was in awe. But as I grew as ache, going deeper and deeper into cooking

itsel, I realized I was losing interest in allthe things surrounding the plate. I can pretty

much take care o finding the toilet, at least

the second time I go, and I preer pouring my

own water, thank you very much. It elt likeeveryone was putting an array o extraneousthings on top my dining experience, not to


11/17

15

The Initial Idea

mention increasing my bill. I didnt wantthose things and I sure didnt want to payor them. I dine out to savor the ood, thequality ingredients, the techniquesnot thechandeliers or the plush towels neatly rolledup next to the bathroom sink.

It really started to bother me when I realizedthat I elt more comortable in a bistro. While

I still wanted to try the cuisine o fine dining, Igrew tired o sitting or hours with waiters allover my back. In my own restaurant, I wantedto combine that eeling o sitting in a crowdedrestaurant filled with laughter and joy withthe cuisine o the greatest kitchens. I wantedto cut to the bone, strip away everything butthe most essential, and put all our effort intocreating great ood in a relaxed atmosphere.

Without really knowing how to get started, at

least financially, I sought advice rom a riendwho connected me to Ulrik Mikkelsen. A slick

businessman with a heart that beats or therestaurant industry, Ulrik had always wantedto open a ca or a restaurant but had neveround the right opportunity. Ten I ound outthat my ormer colleague, Kim Rossen, hadquit his job as assistant restaurant managerat Noma. Kim and I quickly ound commonground. He was even more tired o fine diningthan I was, and the idea o serving great ood

to guests in a small restaurant without all theuss had him hooked within a ew weeks. Hesoon joined our partnership.

I elt that the irst and most importantcriterion or the restaurants success would betotal liberty. I needed us to be ree rom thefinancial constraints o investors, and the onlyway to do that was to be humble, to start offsimple and small. We wanted to get away romthe long tasting menunot only because its

expensive, but also because I wanted gueststo be able to experience great gastronomy in

less than two hours. We settled on a our-course menu, which allowed us to turn thetables twice and get the largest number oguests, especially on weekends. o keepprices down, we opted to make vegetablesthe unifing theme o the menu, and wealso offered a vegetarian menu. It madetotal sense to me to have vegetables as ourocus. Teir great variety would make or

an interesting base to work with, and ona personal level I wanted to eat that waymyselmore veggies and less meat. And themeat I did want to eat must be o a higherquality. Its a philosophy that should makesense to most people in the Western world inthe beginning o the 2010s.

We needed a small spot where we could seatabout orty diners around an open kitchen,

but finding such a spot was nearly impossible.

Te open kitchen was crucial or me: I wantedtotal control o the restaurant, even when Iwas in the kitchen, and I wanted to integratethe ches into the service as much as possible.Te problem was that no establishmentswith an open kitchen were ever or sale,and buying a place and remodeling it wasfinancially out o reach or us. I draggedUlrik, Kim, and my girlriend, Cecilie, tonumerous locations without even knowinghow to pay the security deposita worn-out

Chinese restaurant, a sushi place, and evena smelly old bodega were candidates. It allseemed a bit impossible, until one day whenI went or a bike ride with Ulrik around theJgersborggade neighborhood, close to myown apartment.

Jgersborggade, or non-Danish readers,is the most amous street in Copenhagensmulticultural Nrrebro district, previously

best known or drug deals. I had heard that

signs o gentrification were slowly startingto appear there, as creatives were taking over


12/17

16

The Groundwork

small basements to live out their dreams.On our bike ride, we saw a woman puttingup posters for a street party. She put us incontact with Jonas Steenstrup, who backthen was in charge of coordinating the leasesavailable on the street. My background withbig-name restaurants like Noma and elBullipiqued his interest, and we got to see thebiggest lease available, a corner spot that wasall of 163 square meters.

At this point, my desperation to find a locationwas making me restless, and I saw potential injust about everything. Even this former bikersclub, with its stained yellow walls, brown tiledfloor, and dilapidated pool table, had appeal.Te place had to be completely redone, but Irealized that even if the place looked like crap

now, this was the opportunity to build theopen kitchen that would be so crucial to ourstyle of service.

Tere was only one problem: Jgersborggadewas struggling to move on from its past asa drug-infested nest of criminals, and thedealers were selling hash on the doorsteps ofour future restaurant. Tat specific corner hada strategic value for the dealers, serving as alookout for spotting police and rival gangsfrom all directions. It was doubtful they wouldlet their spot go.

It wasnt my job to take care of drug dealers,but I certainly didnt want to piss them offeither. Most people around me suggestedlooking elsewhere, but whether I wasbeing naive or just totally desperate, I wasdetermined to make it happen.

Next came the agonizing planning phase. We

must have made dozens of pencil drawingsof possible layouts of the establishment tobe. After all, 163 square meters is not a lot ofspace. Te first priority was the open kitchen,


13/17

17

The Initial Idea

then the forty seats that would make ourbusiness viable. We also wanted a few seatsat the counter, so we could serve directly fromthe kitchen. We decided to make the heartof the kitchen a small deck oven; I wanted tolive out my dream of baking fantastic breadfrom Day One. We positioned the kitchen sothat it was the very first thing that you sawwhen you walked in the door, letting us chefswelcome the guests, seat them at the table,and eventually even bring them the bill.

With Ulrik we approached the bank and theyfinally, after a lot of convincing, approved aminuscule credit of about 300,000 Danishkroner, or about US$55,000. Te initial start-up costs, deposits, and so on left us with verylimited funds for the interior of the restaurant,and that was very much in line with ourphilosophy. Kim and I ransacked flea marketsand secondhand sales for furniture, until wefinally realized that the small, irregular roomcalled for custom-made tables.

We chose an oak veneer for the tables,which was cheap and had a clean look, andmade sure they measured 70 centimeters

by 70 centimeters. We wanted there tobe enough room so that the table wouldnot feel as if it was crammed with plates;we preferred reducing the space betweenthe tables rather than the size of the table

itself. A crowded restaurant would give us abustling ambience, while a crowded tabletopwould just be uncomfortable.

At this point both Kim and I were withouta job, and we focused on those details likeengineers building the space shuttle. Iremember bringing the carpenters sample ofthe table to my apartment for the first of manyvirtual restaurant sessions. Was the table

big enough? What if we used these glasses?

How big will the plates be? I remember thenumerous cookbooks we stacked high inorder to simulate the perfect table heightfor the cheap stool we had bought. We wereworking full-time on every single detail.

During this period I attended an auntsfuneral in Norway with my mom, and westayed at the house where my grandparentsused to live, which was built in 1729. I wasamazed by an old table that had a drawer in

it. My mom explained that the traditionalGudbrandsdal flatbread was kept there, andthe idea struck me to build drawers under thetables for our bread at Rel. Maybe wecould even put the cutlery in there! Kim and Ieventually dismissed the idea of putting breadthere, but we did want to make full use of thelimited table space. What better way to do thatthan by putting the cutlery under the table?

Table 0

At Rel, we have Table 0 instead of a classic

chefs table, which, at fine dining restaurants,

sets a tone of exclusivity, with its extra servings

of caviar, more truffles, and older vintages of

wine. Since our regular menu is only four

courses, when we have colleagues or friends

coming in, we often want to share more with

them. We set aside this table near the kitchen

for them to try the new dishes we are working

on and give us feedback.

When we are working on a new dish, having to

put it on the table for someone really pushes us

to finalize it. I really like that pressure because

it forces us to come up with new and often

unexpected ideas, especially when weve

overthought things.

We realized that regular guests might also enjoy

Table 0, so we opened it up to the public so they

could experience our creative process too.


14/17


15/17

21

The Initial Idea

When we seat our guests at the table, weimmediately ask them i they want to start offwith a snack and a glass o sparkling wine.As they get settled, we ask them to pull outtheir drawer to find their menu and napkin.Everyone smiles at this element o surprise andit help breaks the ice, so much so that it hasbecome a crucial part o the meal at Rel. Wealso let guests pour their own water and wine.

Our bare-bones style o service and cookingand their reedom rom conventionsresonated very clearly with our first twosommeliers, Ul Ringius and Anders F. S.Hansen, both o whom were also ormercolleagues at Noma. Tey wanted to ocus onall-natural wineslow-intervention wineswith little or no added sulfitesmade bylesser-known wine makers rom sometimesunknown European wine regions. Libertywas our mantra, so we started off with a list

consisting o only a handul o wines wewould like to drink ourselves, not necessarilythe wines our customers expected. Ill admitI didnt think a lot about pairing wine withood prior to opening, but those guys talentsproved that we needed to handle the winewith the same care and passion as we did theood. Pairing natural wines with our oodbecame part o the culture o our restaurant,and weve even gone so ar as to start our ownwine import business so that we can bring

in wines previously unavailable in Denmark,educate ourselves, and work more directlywith wine makers.

Our cooks bring almost all the dishes outto the tables themselves, and I am so proudthat the guests can receive their ood romthe people who make it. I a guest ever has aquestion about the ood, we want someonethere who knows the answer.

Te restaurant was roaring rom the very firstday, with hype and good reviews filling up the

place. It made me so happy to be somewhereI could smile and have un, all while servingood that was prepared at a very high level. Inthe first ew months, the drug dealers reusedto move even an inch, but nobody seemed toreally care. We got great eedback rom ourpeers in the industry. Fellow ches and ormercolleagues praised the act that we servedgourmet ood in a place with the vibe o a localjoint. It was satisfing to show that we could

serve clever ood with a paper napkin in a tinyrestaurant with incredibly simple bathroomacilities. I elt we were antifine dining. Andbecause a meal at Rel was less than US$50,we had a pretty young, mixed crowd.

Rel has evolved a lot since our first days.Ater about three or our years, we sort ogrew up. Rather than define ourselves by whatwe dont do, constantly reacting against theexpectations o fine dining, now we ocus on

the things we wantto do.

Rel, which is Danish or relay,was inspiredby the electrical component and the idea omaking a place dynamic and powerul, andthe restaurant was indeed electric rom thevery first day. But the lesson I learned is that arestaurant is not ready-made prior to opening.No matter how much you dig into the detailsand polish your ideas, no matter how muchtime you prepare, the beauty o running a

restaurant is in the daily work o improvingyour menu, your staff, your surroundings, andyoursel. When we opened Rel, it was not likebuilding a bike rom scratch or finishing themanuscript or a book. Once you send it in, youare not done. You cant just ride your bike intothe sunset. We had only built the rame o theplace where we would realize our dreams anddo things exactly as we wanted. And once thatrame was in place, thenthe real work couldbegin, work I enjoy as much today as I did thefirst moment Rel opened its doors.


16/17
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781607746492?aff=randomhouse1http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?ISBSRC=Y&ISBN=9781607746492&cm_mmc=Random%20House-_-Rel%C3%A6-HC-Scribd-NA-relaescribd--9781607746492-_-Rel%C3%A6-HC-Scribd-NA-relaescribd--9781607746492-_-Rel%C3%A6http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607746492?ie=UTF8&tag=randohouseinc7427-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1607746492https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rel/id873968847?mt=11https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=isbn:9781607746492&gws_rd=ssl


17/17

Copyright 2014 by Christian F. PuglisiPhotographs copyright 2014 by Per-Anders Jorgensen

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprintof the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House

LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

www.crownpublishing.comwww.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are

registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file

with the publisher.

Hardcover ISBN: 9781607746492eBook ISBN: 9781607746508

Printed in China

Design by Homework

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

First Edition

Relae by Christian F. Puglisi - Excerpt

Documents

Transcript of Relae by Christian F. Puglisi - Excerpt