Meet the chef: Josh Blumenthal's plates are local and hyperseasonal
Credit to Author: Randy Shore| Date: Sat, 29 Feb 2020 19:00:17 +0000
Chef Josh Blumenthal has dedicated his career to local, sustainable cuisine and exploring the wild, edible landscape of the Pacific Northwest.
Josh began his kitchen career as a porter in Edmonton before moving to the West Coast, where he attended cooking school. He has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in the UK, Scandinavia and Northern California and some of Vancouver’s finest restaurants, including West, Wildebeest, and Bishop’s, as well as co-founding Elementa a group that pioneered the city’s gastronomic pop-up scene. After moving to the Southern Gulf Islands, he founded his first solo venture The Trincomali Supper Club.
Q: What motivates and inspires you as a chef?
A: I am inspired by the cultivated and natural abundance of coastal B.C. and desire to nourish people through delicious interpretations of the surrounding landscape.
Q: How would you describe the type of food you like to cook?
A: Ingredient driven, sustainable, and hyperseasonal.
Q: What might diners not know about you?
A: In a former life, I promoted punk shows in my hometown which surprisingly draws a lot of parallels with putting on pop-up dining events.
Q: Describe a couple of your most recent creations.
A: One of my favourite flavour combinations I discovered over the winter is roasted sunchokes paired with medlar paste.
Q: What’s your favourite local product and how do you use it?
A: My favourite local product is seaweed and kelp. It is very abundant and adds a depth of flavour that’s unparalleled to almost any dish. I use it as a seasoning when dried and ground up, serve it as a vegetable, make a umami rich infused oil, pickle certain varieties and use is for a flavour base in soups, stocks and sauces.
Q: If there’s one important piece of advice you might have for home cooks, what might that be?
A: The most important thing a home cook can do is source the best ingredients possible from as close to home as possible. That and season and taste your cooking throughout the process!
Stinging Nettle Soup, created by Josh Blumenthal of the Trincomali Supper Club.
2.2 lbs (1 kg) Yukon gold potatoes
1 medium-sized sweet onion
3 tbsp (45 mL) grapeseed oil
2 quarts (2 L) water
16 oz (500 g) fresh stinging nettle
Kosher salt to taste
Wash nettles and dry in salad spinner. Peel and thinly slice potatoes and onion. In a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, sweat the onion and potato in grapeseed oil until translucent. Add water and let simmer until potatoes and onion are fully cooked. Add nettles and stir to fully submerge Bring the pot to a boil and cook until the nettles are soft, usually a couple minutes after it begins to boil. Season with salt as each ingredient is added ensuring proper integration. Puree the soup and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a metal bowl set over ice. Stir the soup constantly until it cools down to ensure the vibrant green colour is retained. Reheat soup and serve as is. Garnish with freshly steamed clams or kelp oil, if desired.
Makes 6 servings.