The executive chef of Ikarus, Roland Trettl, has a long wish list of top chefs that he wants to bring to the kitchens at Hangar-7, Salzburg. Somewhere near the very top of that list is US chef Grant Achatz.
Now his dream has come true – and promises to be one of the highlights of the year for Alpine gourmets. Achatz’s food is complex and creative. A menu might include such classics as smoked air and explosive ravioli, all served on a silicon table cloth. “Grant’s food philosophy is by far the most complicated to understand,” said Roland. “All in all his cuisine is quite abstract, but also quite delicious.
“We’ll have to work hard to meet his estimations – and our guests can help us: just eat what’s on your table cloth!”
The story begins in 1996 when a young cook handed his notice to America’s über-chef Charlie Trotter. He had only taken him on six months earlier and Trotter was not happy: "Don't ever call me,” he raged. “Don't ever use me as a reference. Don't put me on your resumé. As far as I am concerned, if you haven't worked here for a year, you haven't worked here.”
Achatz quit anyway. Within five short years, he wouldn’t be needing references from Trotter or any other top chef because in 2001 he was appointed head chef at Trio in Evanston, Illinois. Under his guidance, the restaurant picked up four Michelin stars and five stars from the Mobil Travel Guide.
It was the latest in a series of steps that led him to the very top. Grant cooked at such diverse locations as his dad’s hamburger joint, the CIA (no, that’s the Culinary Institute of America in New York), Thomas Keller’s West Coast foodie temple French Laundry and La Jota Vineyard, where he got a degree as an Assistant Winemaker. In 2005, Achatz opened his first restaurant, Alinea, in Chicago's Lincoln Park and never looked back.
'In my book, what smells well together, is going to taste well together' – Grant Achatz
With 10 months of opening, Alinea was the hotspot for bon vivants throughout the US. It was nominated Best New Restaurant in America in 2005, in 2008, Achatz was named Best Chef in America by the James Beard Foundation and won the coveted Ivy Award.
The reason for all the accolades? The concept behind Alinea is nothing short of a new culinary philosophy.
“We want to establish an emotional connection with our guests, to tap into their reservoir of memories,” said Achatz. For example, the aroma of the Alinea classic, duck with chestnut, nutmeg and orange, is so strongly evocative of Christmas that apparently guests burst into tears when the oven was opened.
But just as Achatz was reaching the height of his powers, illness threatened to end his career. In 2007, with the cruellest of irony, Achatz was stricken with tongue cancer. Even if he beat the disease, the chances were it would still rob him of his sense of taste – a nightmare for a cook. Thankfully, he made a full recovery and set about his work with a fresh zeal.
He busied himself with experimenting in molecular gastronomy clearly under the influence of the world’s greatest chef, Ferran Adrià. It was more than the food, though, even the table service was revolutionised. At Alinea dishes arrive on tiny scaffolds of wire or are simply served on silicon table cloths. And experimenting, is all part of the joy of food for Achatz. “In my book, what smells well together, is going to taste well together.”
European foodies can judge for themselves at Ikarus throughout November.
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