“EAT DRINK DREAM”

Launch of Jose Andres Catering with Ridgewells
Jordan Wright
Whisk and Quill
October 2009

This week saw the launch of Jose Andres Catering with Ridgewells.

No sooner had the genius entrepreneur Andres, who can’t seem to rest on his laurels, opened his wildly successful Bazaar Restaurant in LA, when he plunged into his newest venture. Andres, of PBS’s successful Made in Spain series, who has broken new ground in dining in Washington DC with Mini Bar by Jose Andres, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Café Atlantico and Jaleo, now offers his divine food to Ridgewells’ clientele.

The setting for this reveal was the stunning Georgian home of THINKFOODGROUP’s owner Rob Wilder, who cleared out all but the Directoire settees and Louis XVI chairs to accommodate the guests. “EAT DRINK DREAM” was the theme and its slogan illuminated the home’s facade at this posh affair, where a myriad of savory canapés like fattoush with sumac-cured salmon and cotton candy foie gras accentuated the theme featuring a varied Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine from Andres’ repertoire of traditional and avant garde flavors.

Under a pavilion three chefs stirred a giant paella pan nearly seven feet in diameter steaming and burbling with shrimp and clam paella. While indoor stations of salt-crusted red snapper with skordalia and parsley sauce and the world’s most tender lamb with rosemary jus and ladolemono, were served by Ridgewells’ staff.

Poolside found heavenly scallop crudo cradled in its own shell with guajillo chili oil and mixed citrus salsa vying for attention with sweet Kumamoto oysters on green olive puree touched by lemon.

Swirling servers with tiny pretty food tempted guests who wandered through the elegant silver-draped rooms sampling delicacies. Carved out cherry tomatoes speared with pipettes filled with a mousse of mozzarella that shot into one’s mouth like a pollinating spore…so very interactive…clear glass espresso cups contained delicate whipped potatoes sitting atop black caviar. Yet another plate was adorned with jicama pouches filled with tuna ceviche and flavored with coconut and ginger.

Drinks too, were part of the fun. Mojitos topped with clouds of mint-flavored cotton candy and Sangria Rojo that was ladled from a fruit-filled apothecary jar. Sweet saffron jellies showed the playful, elegant, taken-to-the-nth-degree nature of Andres’ presentations. Washington hostesses will be in seventh heaven…at last able to bring this extravagant cuisine to their homes and charitable events.

In the hope-to-see-you-there category: Next month Andres will join his friend and mentor Ferran Adria, to teach a course at Harvard University. Adria, acclaimed chef of what has been billed as “the world’s greatest restaurant”, elBulli in Roses, Spain, lectured there in 2008.

The two compatriots, invited by Harvard’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, will teach on the science of molecular cooking, an avant-garde concept of preparing food credited to Adria and practiced and promoted by the two chefs.

Later that evening I chatted with Andres about his LA experience. “There is a food cart phenomenon called “Kogi” that serves Korean BBQ on tacos”, Andres informed me. “You have to go on Twitter to find out where they’ll be that day. They change their location a couple times a day and hundreds of people show up to make the scene. It’s incredible.”

I wondered if this would become his next inspiration. Would there be “tapas-on-wheels”? It’s anybody’s guess. I’ll keep my quill sharpened.