Moto Chef for a Day Experience – Part 2

Be sure to read the background on our once in a lifetime experience!

Amy and I were right on time for our reservation and did not eat all day so that we were ravenous for the 15 (yes, 15) course meal we were about to enjoy.

I apologize for the quality of the photos.  I took most of them on my phone in the dining room and did not want to use a flash.  I was lucky enough to snap some shots of a few of the courses in the kitchen during the day.  You won’t have any problem figuring out those shots!

Also, I will try to do my best to remember the components, but I know I am missing some major details.  I wish I had a recording of the waiters giving the descriptions.  They were so descriptive and eloquent.

Moto is known for presenting the menu on an edible piece of paper which is then adhered to something.  The first time we ate there it was on a delicious cracker.  They have since changed things around and now your first course is a visual menu, or a Tasting Menu. Each item on this plate represented one of our courses starting from the far left.  Everything was edible except for the coffee bean sachet.  Amy and I were so proud to see our hard work sitting there on the plate! 

Dim Sum – Included a steamed bun, jicama wrapped bundle, and a spring roll.

Crudité – Beet meringues and a dill flavored twist cracker.  Amy was a little obsessed with the crackers!

Reconstructed Corn – This was one of my favorite courses.  I don’t even know how to explain it! The popsicle looking thing is actually corn ice cream with freeze-dried corn kernels stuck on to look like a corn cob.  Each kernel had to be placed on with tweezers.  Below is a photo of the chefs working on the corn earlier in the day.  Also on the plate is a squash blossom and a corn flan, at least I think it is a corn flan.

Ocean View – Soft shell crab on a bed of sea beans, and oysters prepared two ways.  Are those some good looking sea beans or what?!? 

Zen Garden – I am so glad that I got a shot of this course earlier in the kitchen.  The “rocks” are camembert cheese rolled in cocoa powder.  Everything is edible, including the crumbs that looked just like sand and the peach rocks.

Kentucky Fried Pasta – Oh buddy, was this good.  The pasta tasted just like fried chicken and it was served with potatoes and a little biscuit.

Forest Foraging – Again, so glad I was able to take a picture of this in the kitchen.  Morel mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns were served on a beautiful piece of wood with a dusting of spring pea dust.

Cassoulet – Inside the bone was a bone marrow butter that you spread on the toast.  Wow.

Spring Lamb - I wish I could tell you more about this dish.  I blame the amnesia on the wine.  I remember it being delicious.  The amazing presentation definitely left an impression on me!

At this point Amy and I were congratulating ourselves on a job well done!

Coffee Service – This was our first dessert course.  You have to love multiple dessert courses.  This looked just like coffee, milk and sugar cubes, but it was actually a coffee gelee over some other delicious goodness.  You may remember this course was represented by our coffee sachet on the first course.  We felt a special bond with course 11.

Bourbon Barrel and Cocktails – Amazing.  Four mini desserts that all had something to do with bourbon, all served on an actual slab from a bourbon barrel.  The waiter poured our bourbon cocktail at the table from those flasks I so lovingly filled.

Egg Drop Soup – This looked JUST like a raw egg but it was actually a mango concoction over a sweet soup with what tasted like marcona almonds.  It was delicious.

Smell the Glove – For the record, I am not making up these titles, they are the official course titles from Moto.  I don’t even know where to start with this course.  They brought out a glass orb that had a black leather glove inside that was encircled by a weather system of smoke and steam.  You could really smell the leather.  Then they serve a chocolate hand over a scrumptious crumble.

After Dinner Menu – Our adorable waiter, Zane, prepared the final course tableside.  It was the menu written out on a marshmallow slab that was then somehow combined with dry ice.  There was lots of smoke.

We were happy diners!

After dinner Zane brought us back downstairs to the kitchen.  We had a nice chat with Richie and told him how absolutely amazing the meal was.   I could not imagine how tired that staff must be after a dinner service!

We had an amazing day and night at Moto!  The food was out of this world.  It was unlike anything you have ever tasted in your life.  Everyone that worked at Moto was extremely professional and friendly.  Their skills were beyond reproach and Amy and I were in awe.  If you happen to be in Chicago you should add Moto to your bucket list.  Tell them chef Lindsay sent you.* 

*They will have no idea what you are talking about.

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Moto Chef for a Day Experience – Part 1

At a charity event a few years ago I bought a silent auction package with my friend, Amy, which included a chef for a day experience at Moto restaurant.  After much deliberation on what we were willing to spend, we decided on a number and we won!  We are both huge foodies so this was very exciting. 

To give you some background, Moto restaurant is known for their avant-garde cuisine and use of molecular gastronomy.  They just received a Michelin Star, which is a huge deal.  The chef, Homaro Cantu, is very well-known and has appeared on the cover of Gourmet magazine, competed on Iron Chef America, and has dozens of patents on some mind-blowing food related technology.  He even had his own show with co-host Ben Roche called Future Foods. 

Needless to say we were over the top excited for our day in the kitchen.  When the day finally arrived we showed up at the back door right on time decked out in our comfortable shoes.  When Chef Cantu opened the door we were both a little star struck, to say the least.  Chefs are serious celebrities to us. This is kind of like a Bears fan interacting with Urlacher.

Anyway, he told us they were filming in the kitchen that day so we were not able to cook with them, but he invited us to come back for dinner that night.  We were both disappointed that we were not able to cook but THRILLED that we got to actually dine there. 

Our meal was absolutely amazing.  The menu that night included an edible menu (they are famous for their edible paper), a Cuban sandwich that looked just like a cigar (it was even served in an ashtray), a few courses that included dry ice, and many other spectacular items.  We loved every single bite.

Fast forward a couple of years and Amy and I were at another charity event with the same package.  We loved our meal at Moto so much, but we both still wanted to experience the kitchen.  So we bid (competitively) and won! 

Once again we arrived at the back door full of anticipation.  This time we were greeted by the adorable Richie Farina.  You may recognize him from Top Chef, Season 9.  Again, we were both a little star struck. 

Source:  Bravo

Richie gave us a tour of the restaurant and provided us with some very stylish aprons and chef’s coats. 

Amy chatting it up with Richie.  Notice she is trying to act like this is a normal occurrence. 

Then they put us to work!  My first job was to stem sea beans.  I knew nothing about sea beans but I was about to become very familiar with them.  That container held a LOT of beans.  They were actually really tasty.  Crunchy and salty!

Amy got to work cleaning ramps.

After I finished my sea beans I moved on to filling flasks with a bourbon infused cocktail. 

I was totally geeking out at this point.

Amy was given instructions by Ben Roche on how to make coffee bean sachets.  Every diner would get one of these in their first course.  Just wait until you see what actually goes into the first course….

Here are some action shots around the kitchen.  Fascinating stuff.

We even got to have lunch with the staff.  It was around this point that Amy and I decided we absolutely must come back for dinner that night to enjoy our efforts.  I am so glad we decided to do this because it was out of this world!  Even better than the last time we had eaten there.

We also got a tour of their indoor hydroponic garden.  They harvest microgreens from this for every meal service!

Here we are with Richie after we finished cooking.  He pretty much told us that he didn’t know how they got that Michelin star without having us in the kitchen.  Maybe he didn’t say that exactly, but I got the gist. 

Read about our amazing dining experience here.

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L2O Restaurant Experience

Oh where do I begin??  Last weekend I had the most extraordinary dining experience of my life at L2O restaurant in Lincoln Park.  I had heard that this restaurant was amazing and it totally lived up to its reputation. 

L2O says they are a modern seafood restaurant.  Modern indeed.  Each course was fascinating, but still delicious.  The décor was minimal and elegant, and the staff was lovely.  So much thought was put into every tiny detail. 

Last year my parents purchased a silent auction item at a charity event that included a “VIP Night” at L2O.  Included was champagne on arrival, extra courses, and a tour of the kitchen.  I was thrilled to be included in the special night and to be able to bring my handsome date.  Granted…. I may have STRONGLY encouraged the purchase at the auction!

Now for the fun stuff….

The chef at L2O started the night with a selection of canapés that were a play on Fruits de Mar (or fruits of the sea).  Three variations of perfectly formed hollow balls filled with goodness.  The orange one was cantaloupe filled with foie gras with a sprig of orange zest, the back one was cucumber filled with a fish mousse (I think), and up close was honeydew filled with….well, I can’t remember, but how cute??

I can’t even imagine how long it takes to create three of these for each diner every single night.

Next up was the amuse bouche, a mussel tart on a pastry shell with a hint of bacon.  To be eaten in one bite.  Crazy good.  You can read about how chef Matthew Kirkley came up with this on his blog. 

I love the details.

The bread was ridiculous. This one was filled with bacon and whole grain mustard.  How could that be bad?  The butter in the background was formed into a perfect dome on the lid of the dish.  They would bring it to the table flipped upside down.   How do they do that?? I am easily amused.

My first course was scallop, foie gras, hon-shimeji (AKA the cutest little mushrooms I have ever seen), and Argan oil.  I googled Argan oil and apparently it has cosmetic benefits.  Who knew?  I think this was my favorite course.

Mom had ahi tuna tartare with avocado and tomato water, all dotted with caviar.  The presentation was just stunning in person.  Again, you can read about it on the chef’s blog.

Dad had hamachi and uni in a shiso lime vinaigrette. 

Rob had a beautiful sashimi platter with citrus salmon, fluke-hojicha, and ahi with avocado.

Can we discuss this adorable crab cut out of daikon radish? 

We were happy diners!!!!

For the second course Rob and I had black and white fettucine with a lobster-uni emulsion, topped with Osetra caviar. 

Notice how the pasta is double sided.  I can’t even wrap my mind around how that is accomplished.  My dad and I have a tradition of making pasta on Christmas and it is quite the event.  I don’t think we will be attempting double sided noodles anytime soon. 

Mom had a ridiculously good lobster bisque with apple pearls and calvados (apple brandy).

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