Cook it Raw –The forest within us | The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

Cook it Raw –The forest within us | The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

Cook it Raw –The forest within us

Luciana Bianchi, September 12, 2010
(Travel diary – day 3)

Claude Bosi and Pascal Barbot

The members of the expedition spent a day foraging and learning about the nature of Lapland. Local farmers, fishermen and very knowledgeable ladies who live in the area helped us to find edible treasures for the dinner. The chefs had another particular challenge: to become inspired by a previously unknown environment.

There was a deep philosophical aspect in that foraging activity, which was as important as the act of finding food for ‘survival’. The chefs had to set aside their fears of being outside their terroirs and leaving their prejudices and cultural barriers behind. They had to trust their instincts and the wisdom of the locals. In the woods, Michelin stars, awards and international recognition were irrelevant. There was only nature, and we were part of it.

René Redzepi and David Chang

Davide Scabin was fascinated by the gentle and powerful nature of the woods, chopping slices of bark from dead trees with an idea for a dish already in his mind. This was a day about learning from nature, and getting inspired by sounds, smells and finding depth in simplicity. Only with the right state of mind, would this be a successful expedition.

Frederik Andersson and Petter Nilsson

One of the local food experts told us that there are 50 different types of berry in the region, of which some 35 are edible. There is a period of continuous sunshine in summer (approximately 70 days and nights), and only the toughest species are able to survive in the woods. Like the plants, the local people had to adapt to their environment, and to find nutritious alternatives in all seasons.

The final result, abundant and unexpected types of food, was contained in baskets and bags, and a bond between man and nature has been established, almost like a new love affair! For René, Fredrik, Magnus, Atala, and some other chefs, this was another foraging trip, similar to those experienced in the past, but for many of us, it was the first real encounter with ‘raw reality’. We began to think that perhaps our own environment had many wonderful wild foods which we had never realised were there.

The end of the expedition saw us sharing a wonderful hot fish, fish roe and potato soup prepared by our hosts, and admiring the peaceful and majestic nature of beautiful Lapland. We were filled with a sense of happiness and completion.

Back at Levi Spirit, it was time to Cook it Raw with Massimo Bottura, Pascal Barbot, Inaki Aizpitarte, Frederik Andersson and Petter Nilsson.

‘Improvised kitchen’ at the Levi Spirit

Barbot’s dish was a wild mushroom cream with a tartar of hare, wild herbs and flowers – an earthy though delicate dish expressing the colours, powerful flavours and intrinsic values of the local produce.

Bottura had embraced the task with the idea of a nature dialogue between Italy and Sami Land. His ‘Raw experience’ produced two astonishing dishes, one solo, and another in partnership with Pascal Barbot. Bottura’s reindeer tongue was marinated in beer, with wild herbs and flowers such as ‘Lappi mint’ and a touch of pine-musky flavour from the larch tree. Cooked sous-vide for approximately 26 hours, it achieved perfect texture and balanced flavours.

Massimo and Yoji

Pascal Barbot prepared a vegetable brunoise with fish roe to accompany the tongue. The dish was one of the highlights of the event.

Bottura’s second dish began with the nature of Lapland distributed inside a bowl – thin slices of fish (a type of zander) with a drop of his signature smoked oil, made with local raw materials; wild flowers, blueberries, herbs and wild mushrooms were displayed between the pieces of fish with some black dust from the burned aromatic wood made for the oil. A risotto was prepared in the classic way ‘mantecato’ – but with a twist, using yoghurt and Lapland cheese.

Andrea Petrini and the risotto action

The resulting creamy risotto was placed over the first stage of the dish, which was brought to a conclusion with a foam of reindeer milk infused with garlic, larch, pines, and wild herbs. As we ate we removed this ‘snow’ to discover the nature beneath.

Inaki Aizpitarte and Petter Nilsson prepared a smoked fish soup with beetroot, wild mushrooms, wood sorrel, wild berries and lichens.

Frederik Andersson presented a minimalistic dish, which symbolised the purity, simplicity and perfection of Nordic nature: Root vegetables marinated with pines, dried fish, wild berries, cream of salted fish, lingonberies and brown butter.

Albert Adriá finished the day with an ice cream made with pine flavours and bread, served with apple crystallised with honey, balsamic and cep caramel, and honey bread crumbs. It was a deconstruction of the ancient bread of Finland which is made with pine bark (pettu) flour, and the four seasons of Lapland with Adriá’s unique touch.

After the dinner, it was time for a ‘Raw discussion’, where questions, opinions and views about the meaning of each individual experience could be shared. The great John Lanchester, writer of the fabulous book ‘The Debt to Pleasure’ was the moderator. One of the major topics of the discussion was the impact of Cook it Raw on the chef’s life.

It was clear that some of the participants were not prepared to leave their egos behind, while others were completely open to the new experience. This difference in attitude could be clearly observed in the dishes, based on the experience of each chef. Status and fame were suddenly not relevant, and while all chefs were very skilled and masters in their own cuisines, they now had to adapt to the new environment. Awareness, emotion and humility became more important than technical precision and experience!