• Gateaux Cala Montjoi
  • Gateaux Cala Montjoi

    Inspired by Truitt's visit to famed El Bulli restaurant in the mountainous region of Spain. Pinenut Cremeaux – Sable Breton Presse White Chocolate Spray Pinenut puree Candied Pinenuts Pine Honey Cassis Sorbet Frozen Blackberry cells Green apple dice Fennel confit brunoise Fennel chips Fennel Gel Whipped Green Pine Violet meringue – wet and dry Lemon Preserve + Sel Gris Rosemary flowers Vichey Catalan espuma

  • Bob Truitt

    Critically Acclaimed Executive Pastry Chef of the Altamarea Group, Bob Truitt

  • ombre_lumiere
  • Geisha-Inspired Desert

    Frozen Hollow Coconut sphere Coconut powder Caramelized Black sesame Black Sesame Sabayon Black Sesame “Glacage” Fresh Raspberry Raspberry Meringue Raspberry Espuma.

  • Mexicana Linda

    Inspired by Truitt's wife and their marriage that took place in Mexico. Guanabana Sorbet Jalapeno Oil Candy corn Hibiscus fluid gel Crystallized watermelon rind Watermelon brochette Gold leaf Lime zest Grated Combava Fresh Chamomile Sugar cane- soaked in tamarind water, mescal and agave syrup

  • ECC

    Pastry Chef Robert Truitt and Brian Sullivan, demonstrating one of their bizarre culinary experiments at Monday night's ECC Workshop.

Emotions, Experiences, Mistakes, and Beers with Friends: Ingredients for Creative Cuisine

By Mikaela Flynn on April 25, 2012 / No Comments / Categorized Celebrity Chefs, Experiments in Food, Good Reads, Photos

On April 23rd a group of eager-to-learn food enthusiasts gathered at Lighthouse Restaurant in Williamsburg for this month’s Experimental Cuisine Collective workshop.  As part of the Umami Food and Art Festival, the night’s theme was “Elemental> Shaping Our Process for Culinary Evolution” and was presented by Altamarea Group’s acclaimed executive pastry chef Robert Truitt and pastry cook Brian Sullivan of Ai Fiori.

Presenting on the process of designing and creating new culinary concepts, the two friends discussed the importance of gathering inspiration from our emotions and personal experiences.

After being inspired by a a trip to El Bulli in the mountains of Catalonia, Truitt wanted to pay tribute to his experience by creating a scale-model desert of the mountaintop restaurant.  After using a topographic map and a styrofoam mold, he was able to re-create the beautiful landscape as a delicious and artistic desert.

The desert duo went on to explain how many of their greatest ideas typically start with what you might expect…two friends chatting over a beer after work.  From there, they weed out the bad ideas from the good.  Admitting to making (many) mistakes as they experiment with ingredients and design.  Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes years, but eventually these two creative minds reach their goal of something unique, beautiful, and most importantly, yummy.

 

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