Not only a beverage to be enjoyed with or after a meal, coffee can provide an added flavor profile to savory foods.
That was proven time and again last Friday night when Nespresso asked a half-dozen acclaimed Old and New World chefs to create a menu that incorporated coffees from around the world in every dish.
With San Francisco’s historic Ferry Building serving as the backdrop for this event, Nespresso’s Grand Chef Rendezvous featured an exceptional six-course menu of coffee-infused creations. Atop the 1898 landmark’s grand staircase, the glorious Grand Hall was an impressive setting for the gastronomic gathering attended by 200 guests.
Among the chefs invited to take part was Thomas Keller, executive chef/proprietor of the French Laundry in Yountville. As Napa Valley is the official wine sponsor of America’s Cup, taking place on the San Francisco Bay, the wines of the Napa Valley were paired by master sommelier Andrea Robinson with every course.
Coffee has been an integral part of at least one Keller classic offering for more than two decades — the French Laundry’s “Coffee and Doughnuts,” the chef’s take on the morning ritual inspired by Los Angeles’ S & W Donuts.
Prior to the event’s cocktail hour, Keller took a few minutes to address “coffee’s complexities — it has richness, fruitiness and a whole host of flavors … it can be the backdrop for so many things. Coffee can be a condiment, a spice or a flavoring agent. We, as chefs, need to rethink what it is. It’s not only a beverage. If you think about all the flavor profiles of coffee, you can use it as you would peppercorns, or any other spice or flavor you’d like to impart to a dish.”
For Friday night’s dinner, chef Keller turned to a classic recipe from the late ‘90s, a butter poached lobster with figs that was featured in “The French Laundry Cookbook.”
“It was summer in the Napa Valley and we had a lot of figs,” Keller said, describing the inspiration for the dish. “At the time, we used to top the lobster with foie gras … not anymore.”
Keller’s dish was Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobsters With Black Mission Figs, Cipollini Onions and Nespresso Rosabaya Chocolate Sauce. The chef said the “fruit forward flavor (of the Colombian coffee) works well with the chocolate and figs.”
The varieties that make up this Grand Cru espresso are cultivated by small coffee growers from the highest altitudes of Colombia. The aromatic and flavor profiles of this particular Nespresso roast are similar to the fruit notes of red wine — red and black currants and cranberries.
Robinson paired a 2005 Saintsbury Brown Ranch pinot noir with the dish, showing that an aged Carneros pinot noir can easily complement poached lobster as well as underscore the fig, chocolate and coffee flavors of the dish.
New York chef/restaurateur Marc Forgione also used the Rosabaya de Colombia coffee for his dish, a pastrami-style swordfish with fennel kraut, mustard and wild juniper smoke. The wine with this dish — Domaine Carneros Cuvée de la Pompadour Brut Rose — brought out the coffee component of the dish.
To demonstrate that Napa Valley cabs do indeed age gracefully, Robinson chose Stags Leap Wine Cellars 1993 SLV cabernet sauvignon to complement New Zealand chef Josh Emett’s Seared Venison Loin With Black Grapes (infused) With Nespresso Arpeggio, Celeriac and Enoki Mushrooms.
Celebrating vintner Mike Grgich’s triumph at the 1976 Paris tasting, Robinson chose Grgich Hills 2010 Paris Cuvée chardonnay to go with Michelin three-star Paris chef Yannick Alléno’s intriguing plate of butternut squash, flavored with vanilla and Nespresso Indriya from India, served with a nutty rye bread foam and toasted pumpkins seeds. It was a dish that displayed complex flavor and texture, complemented by the rich, round Grgich chardonnay.
Trefethen Family Vineyards 2010 Oak Knoll District cabernet franc played beautifully off the flavors of chef Mauro Colagreco’s dish. The Menton, France, chef offered slow-cooked pigeon with Nespresso Crealto polenta and coconut sauce.
Miami chef Michelle Bernstein’s dessert was Chocolate Chorizo Cremeux With Cherry-Pedro Ximenez-Nespresso Decaffeinato Intenso Sauce, paired with Prager 2009 Family Royal Escort Port-style wine.
The evening concluded with Nespresso coffee to order and optional digestives on the deck so attendees could take in the Bay Lights display on the Bay Bridge.
