Producer To Plate
We have a range of culinary adventures awaiting us at Anantara New York Palace. Part of the venue is New York Café, one of the planet’s loveliest. They also have a top-rate bar, called The Poet Bar. Hotel guests are treated to a choice of dining options, including a grandiose breakfast buffet, room service, and menu catering in the lobby. Last but not least, there’s the hotel’s crown jewel, the White Salon.
These present a diversity of settings, and yet here’s New York Café’s executive chef Zsolt Abrudán, a mainstay of the Anantara team, who has an definite overview of the entire complex.
He is in touch with vendors as well as employees and guests. And though he often works on Excel sheets, or behind the kitchen counter, there are special days when he can go check up on ingredients personally.
Chef’s Garden owner György Pálinkás was there to greet us, and show us around the place.
Back in 2010 when György and his partner Tihamér Németh kicked off their business, only a handful of Budapest restaurants were serving microgreens at all. Today, these miniature greens are gaining more widespread recognition, but mostly reserved to high-end catering.
Yet these young vegetables, with their concentrated vitamin and amino acid content as well as distinct flavors, are the perfect complement to almost any dish.
György first took us to the germination room. This is where peat-planted seedlings are grown at a contorlled temperature. They are treated even at this early stage to plenty of light by lamps.
Plants are kept under foil throughout the year in all seasons. In the summer they will need shade and airing, and for winter lighting is supplemented with gentle heating too.
Steady temperatures are necessary for a more predictable yield. Because their clients are in the restaurant business, György and company need reliable plannig.
From the germination room, we moved on to see and taste the developing greens.
It only took about three samples to convince us that these plants are indeed very diverse, and offer a wide range of flavors.
Chef’s Garden custom cultivates greens to their client’s needs. There are trays of single plants, and also mixed trays. They keep testing new combinations as chefs develop a taste for novelty.
Customer feedback also shows that most hotel guests are already familiar and satisfied with these healthy additives to their meals.
We embarked on a mission for microgreens, but having got this far, we stopped to admire the edible flowers.
The chef and gardener soon work out their deal for the day. Mizuna, wild parsley and basil are loaded in a crates.
Grilled foie gras with apple, celery and salt almonds
Anantara’s kitchens are going green, and not just with microgreens: seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, along with a bid toward zero waste, are all actively pursued.
They work with a number of Hungarian suppliers, and aim to use every part of each ingredient. Their menu features a zero-waste roast potato cream soup, which is also vegan, a real ecofriendly treat. Chicken is also delivered whole, and every morsel is put to use.
The tart taste of apple was balanced with a round sweetness of celery, and the texture of salt almond was brought brilliantly into play. Aromatic basil was a really harmonic fit to the mix. And Hungarian foie gras… is just perfect to begin with. Great ingredients, great food!
If that piqued your interest, give it a taste at the White Salon!
Photos and text: Adrienn Vass
English translation: Dani Dányi
