Still stumped as to how to create a "ta-da!" moment at the festive table? You could still pick up some hints from British gastronomic artist Heston Blumenthal. Or maybe not. The man described as a culinary alchemist has spent years perfecting unusual food combinations with a wow-factor beyond aesthetic appeal. This year he set out to create a Christmas dinner. But forget a trip down the mall or the farmers' market. As part of his latest BBC TV series, just aired in the UK, we saw Blumenthal in search of his perfect Christmas ingredients in Oman and Siberia. Returning from his errands with gold, frankincense, myrrh - and a host of other not-off-the-shelf ingredients - he then played with the food in a kitchen laboratory (the one where he came up with his restaurant favorite, snail porridge).
This quest, and subsequent snow-speckled dinner, produced surprising results - and great TV. In her review for the Guardian Nancy Banks-Smith captures the moment Blumenthal's celebrity guests realised dinner Chez Blumenthal might tick all the traditional Christmas boxes, but probably not Martha's or Nigella's. Decorated tree? Sure. Feed the pine-needles to the duck, and the baubles to the guests. The infant child ? That'll be the "taste of baby" encapsulated in a wafer biscuit. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire? An aroma contained by an exacting scientific process, then released on the "ooh!" of dish presention. Reindeer? Way too obvious to simply roast Rudolph. Instead use reindeer milk for scrambled egg. Ice-cream.
Mixing his sensory metaphors, Blumenthal is less about mash and more about mash-up. Source your seasonal Blumenthal in the YouTube clips, and hope tidbits of his inventive Christmas chow-down also make it online. Meanwhile, here's the trailer to the series.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=&rel=1
