23rd April 2013 – I had the most eye-opening experience at a World Gourmet Summit 2013 event, in a Miele kitchen at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, the official venue for this workshop, featuring Masterchefs Bo Lindegaard & Lasse Askov from Denmark.

Background information:

Lasse Askov completed his culinary education in Funen, Denmark over a decade ago, and worked his way up to Head Chef at Restaurant Extra, a modern tapas restaurant. His first Michelin-star was awarded while he was at Restaurant Kokkeriet.

Bo Lindegaard completed cooking school in 2003, and worked at Restaurant Jacobsen, Restaurant Kokkeriet and Restaurant Den Gule Cottage, where he achieved the title of Head Chef. In 2006, he became Creative Director at Madeleine’s Madteater, a free form and experimental food theatre, which served up various performances that all revolve around food. Bo is also a passionate artist, and brings with him the techniques and skills from his handicraft background to the culinary scene.

Together, Lasse and Bo joined forces and formed I’M A KOMBO, hosting The Social Act, in Copenhagen.

More about I’M A KOMBO here: http://www.imakombo.com/information

The Social Act is a highly interactive and hands-on dining experience, which creates anticipation and builds expectations. Diners not only interact with each other at the table, but also with the chefs and the food. In a way diners get to ‘play’ with their food, which creates a sense of ownership.

More about The Social Act here: http://thesocialact.dk/wp/?page_id=12

Steering away from the conventional, innovation is their driving force.

World Gourmet Summit 2013 brings Masterchefs Bo Lindegaard & Lasse Askov to Singapore for the very first time. Their unorthodox views and creative display in culinary breakthroughs were intriguing and impressive.

The session commenced on a gripping note. To set the imagination going, we were provided an ordinary-looking passion fruit, a fruit knife and a spoon, and were told to slice it open and eat it as it is.

And I thought that was about it – that part of the hands-on workshop was to slice open a fruit and eat it with a spoon straight from the shell – until I sliced it open, and an unusual sight greeted me.

The pulp under its unimpaired shell mingles with a bluish jelly-like substance. How in the world did that happen? The Masterchefs then untangled our bafflement –a gin-infused jelly is injected into the fruit in its liquid form, using a clinical syringe, before allowing the jelly to set. What an ingenious technique. How can one not be inspired?

The subtlety of alcohol and the tanginess of the passion fruit meld together swimmingly. The aftermath is of course nothing but an empty shell, scooped out of its contents that are consumed with immense pleasure.

These are dehydrated pork fat, deep-fried to an ethereal crisp, without any greasiness. They are accompanied by a dip of Red Beetroot Wurtz (Scroll down for recipe).

For textural contrasts, the few components that are to be put together include: the emulsion of hardboiled egg seasoned with curry, pickled herring, and crispy rye bread crumble. We were to assemble this ourselves, as part of the hands-on session.

The final segment of our workshop –that’s when the fun truly begins. Attendees gathered at rectangular table, that’s been draped over with a white canvas tablecloth scribbled with labels, drawings and markings. What’s in store for us?

Ingredients were slowly brought out, and placed on their designated spots. Attendees began assembling the cake with the provided ingredients, and here’s our final product.

To host a dining experience like no other, do attempt some of their recipes:

Recipe 1: Red Beetroot Wurtz

Ingredients:
- 150ml red beetroot juice (fresh pressed)
- 15ml horseradish juice
- 130ml light sugar syrup
- 70ml lemon juice
- 3 gelatine leaves, soaked in ice water

Method:
In a heated saucepan, add the red beetroot juice, horseradish juice, light sugar syrup and lemon juice, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the soaked gelatin leaves and let the mixture set in the refrigerator. Just before serving, whisk the mixture on ice until stiff.

Recipe 2: Malt Sponge

Ingredients:
- 300g whole eggs
- 150g sugar
- 50g wheat starch
- 60g flour
- 40g malt powder

Method:
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar over hot steam until it reaches 45°C. fold in the wheat starch, flour, and malt powder, and pour the mixture into a baking mould lined with baking paper. In a pre-heated oven, bake the malt sponge for 9 minutes at 190°C.

Recipe 3: Lemon Crème

Ingredients:
- 250ml lemon juice
- 200g sugar
- 2 gelatine leaves, soaked
- 3 eggs
- 150g buter
- 1 ltr cream

Method:
In a mixing bowl, whisk the lemon juice, sugar and eggs. In a saucepan, add the mixture and heat it to 79°C and add the soaked gelatin leaves and butter. Pour the mixture into a mould and let it set overnight in the refrigerator. In a separate mixing bowl, whip the cream until firm and fold the whipped cream into the mixture.

Recipe 4: Salted Meringue

Ingredients:
- 200g sugar
- 100ml water
- 8g sea salt
- 100g egg whites

Method:
Heat the sugar, 100ml water, and sea salt over a low heat in a saucepan until syrup reaches 125°C. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside. Whip the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Gradually add in the hot syrup and whisk continuously until the temperature of the egg whites has cooled. Transfer the salted meringue into a piping bag with a nozzle attached and keep chill in the refrigerator.

Recipe 5: Logo Cakes (Dark chocolate with Salted Meringue)

Ingredients:
- 300g butter, lightly browned
- 330g chocolates
- 350g sugar
- 10g sea salt
- 5 whole eggs, lightly beaten
- 100g flour

Salted Meringue: (Refer to Recipe 4)

Method:
Heat the browned butter, chocolates, sugar and sea salt over a low heat in a saucepan until chocolates have melted. Add in the whole eggs and whisk until well incorporated. Reduce heat and add in the flour and whisk well. Remove saucepan from the heat and set aside the batter to cool. Once cooled, place a spoonful of the batter into each small round silicone mould and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C until golden brown. Remove logo cakes from the silicon moulds, and set aside to cool. Once cooled, pipe the salted meringue (recipe 4) on top of each logo cake. This recipe makes 20 logo cakes.

Recipe 6: Snobrod (twisted bread baked over open flame grill)

Ingredients:
- 60g butter
- 300ml buttermilk
- 25g yeast (fresh)
- 10g sea salt
- 37g caramelized onion purée
- 1 whole egg, lightly beaten
- 500g wheat flour
- Lumpfish roe and salted caramel for serving

Method:
1. Heat the butter and buttermilk in a double boiler (ensuring the mixture doesn’t heat above 40°C) until butter has melted. Add in the yeast and sea salt and stir until sea salt has dissolved. Add in the caramelized onion purée, whole eggs, and wheat flour and whisk well.
2. Pour the flour mixture onto a flat countertop and knead into a soft dough, for about 5 minutes. Place the kneaded dough into a mixing bowl, cover with a clean damp cloth, and set aside to proof until dough has doubled in volume, for about an hour. Beat down the proofed dough, and then cut into 30g pieces. Roll out each dough piece into a thin cylinder (15cm length); then twist around the end of a skewer or large brochette stick. Bake the snobrod over an open flame grill until golden brown.
3. Serve the snobrod with lumpfish roe and salted caramel. This recipe makes 30 pieces.

Creativity knows no boundaries; this dynamic duo is unquestionably the epitome of culinary creativity.

With this post, I conclude my experience with World Gourmet Summit 2013. I am thankful for all the wonderful memories and great insights into the culinary scene. I look forward to World Gourmet Summit 2014.

Pictures in this post are taken with the Sony NEX-3N and iPhone 4S.