There’s more than corn… in Denver.
I few days ago, one of the Sous Chefs was in the kitchen completely dissecting this enormously beautiful halibut. A complete fish sat there on the cutting table, like he has just caught it and brought it in. It was laying there in its entirety from mouth to tail. It was about 3-4 feet long and he was cutting that thing up like he was a combination masterful sculptor and surgeon. So methodical, so precise and so passionate. His mind constantly thinking about what he could do with this and what he could make for that day’s special. I walked by wrinkling my nose at the halibut, telling him that was one of the reasons why I am in pastry. He smiled at me and responded, “I don’t trust anybody that doesn’t eat fish.” After the presentation of the daily special, being the halibut, both he and Chef Jenn were tasting and discussing the dish. I was standing there off to the side and all I heard was, “This guys doesn’t like seafood. Can you believe that?” Before I could respond, Chef Jenn crammed a fork full of the fish in my mouth. It was this beautiful, wonderful, and unbelievably flavorful. I about fainted because it tasted so good. All I heard was, “See, I told you it tastes good.” I agreed and said thank you very much. He has now made it somewhat of a challenge to convert me to a seafood lover. I am not so sure about that, but we shall see. Today was all about the obscure and hitting me hard. I was working away, and he walked up to me and said, taste this. It was this odd creamy yellowish thing. It wasn’t all that bad. What was it? Uni. Uni? Yes, Uni. Uni are the eggs of a sea urchin. They are almost like caviar, and at almost $100 a pound, they weren’t all that bad.
I am really enjoying tasting new and exciting foods at Rioja. As for becoming a seafood lover, well, only time and tasting will tell. So far the acorn fed pig has got to be my favorite, but then again, it is only the beginning of week two. I can only imagine what great foods are on the horizon.
