Team Australia has entered the Bocuse d’Or Asia Pacific 2022, with a stunning tofu dish created by Chef Alex McIntosh.
The dish was required to be vegetarian and feature tofu as the main protein. Team Australia needs to place in the top five entries in the Asia Pacific region to qualify for the Bocuse d’Or Grand Final in Lyon, 22-23 January 2023.
Here is the dish:
Australian Black Truffle & Macadamia Tofu
with flavours of the coast and forest
Pictured from the top:
Wild mushroom ragout wrapped in savoy cabbage on a bed of warrigal greens and pine needle purée, topped with a fermented mushroom caviar
Pickled baby pine mushroom
Australian black truffle and macadamia tofu garnished with a pine mushroom tuile, seasonal herbs and flowers, on a slice of smoky celeriac roasted over red gum embers
Teardrop of Jerusalem artichoke purée with macadamia miso, filled with maple braised salsify, topped with petals of fresh Australian black truffle and pear, on a base of crispy tempeh
Pickled onion tart topped with dome of chamomile and edamame purée, garnished with braised kelp, soybean tendrils and chickweed
Served with sauce of salsify and pear with coastal saltbush ash oil.
Alex explains, “In creating this dish, I took a traditionally Asian ingredient and reinvented it to highlight Australian produce – including native macadamia nuts and black truffle from Victoria that takes on the terroir of its Australian bush setting.”
“Although a familiar ingredient in Asian cuisines, tofu is not as prominent in our western-based cuisine here in Australia,” he added. “This gave me the freedom to experiment with new techniques to create the tofu’s texture, and to incorporate exciting and complex flavours.
“The garnishes complement the main dish with the use of mushrooms found on the forest floor, native and wild herbs foraged from the bush, and warrigal greens and seaweed picked at nearby beaches to reflect the coastal environment where I live and work.
“I am inspired by this land and the produce it offers, and my culinary philosophy is to honour the main element of the dish – in this case tofu – and create supporting elements that display elegance, precision and cutting-edge techniques.”