METHOD

1. Combine garlic, lemon juice and salt in a blender or food processor and let sit a minute or two. Add eggs and blend until combined. With the blender running, slowly add the olive oil in a thin, steady stream. You can use a mortar and pestle if you prefer.

2. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and lemon juice if needed.

METHOD

1. Combine the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat together using a handheld mixer or a large whisk until thick and pale yellow, about 6 to 8 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the buttermilk, kefir, cream and lemon juice and zestuntil well combined. Chill the soup in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

2. To serve, pour the soup into 4 bowls and top each bowl with biscuit pieces. Garnish with strawberries and serve immediately.

Christian Puglisi, Relæ, Copenhagen, Denmark

METHOD

1. Rinse the cucumber and remove the seeds, then cut it into segments of 0.5 x 2 cm.

2. Marinate the cucumbers with a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp of vinegar and 1 tbsp of omija syrup and put aside to rest.

3. Cut the dried persimmon into bite-sized pieces. If the persimmon feels too soft let it dry in the oven to the right consistency.

4. Proceed with the persimmon in the same way as the cucumber: mix it with a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp of vinegar and 1 tbsp of omija syrup.

5. Mix 3 tbsp of gochujang, 1 tbsp blackberry syrup, 1 tbsp vinegar, and 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds.

6. Squeeze the cucumber segments slightly to get rid of excess liquid. Transfer them together with the persimmon in a mixing bowl and the dressing to generously coat everything. Mix evenly and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle black sesame seeds over the top.

Ven. Jeong Kwan

METHOD

1. PLACE unpeeled potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or until tender. Drain and peel. Transfer to a bowl and let potatoes cool slightly.

2. TURN potatoes through a food mill on the finest setting, back into the cooking pot. Heat pot over medium heat stirring until heated through and steam begins to come off the bottom of the pot. Add butter in 5 additions, allowing each addition of butter to be almost melted before adding the next until it all has been incorporated.

3. STIR in warm milk until combined. Using a whisk, vigorously stir potatoes until fluffy. Season with salt.

4. SMOOTH the top of the potatoes with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula.

Joel Robuchon, The Complete Robuchon, 2008

METHOD

Combine all the ingredients except the salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt and simmer over moderate heat until the onion is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and coarsely mash the salsa with a potato masher. Let cool completely, season with salt and serve.

Enrique Olvera, Pujol, Mexico City

METHOD

1. Portion the pork mix into 4 oz balls. Using your hands, carefully flatten out each portion into a pancake, making sure the thickness is even all around. Place one of the soft-boiled eggs on top of the sausage and wrap it around the egg. Continue with the remaining eggs and refrigerate until they are cold.

2. Place all the breading ingredients into separate bowls.

3. Take each farce wrapped egg out of the refrigerator and proceed with the following steps:

4. Dredge the egg first in flour, then coat with an egg wash, and cover the egg with a layer of the fine breadcrumbs.

5. Next repeat the egg wash and then coat a second time with a layer of the course breadcrumbs.

6. Refrigerate again until cold.

7. Fry in a 350F fryer for 9 minutes and let it rest for one minute. The yolk should be runny but warm inside.

April Bloomfield, the Breslin, London, UK

METHOD

1. Make The Crème Mousseline. In a saucepan, heat the milk, vanilla seeds and half of the butter, until the butter is melted. In a bowl, add 3 T sugar, the flour and egg yolks, and whisk in 1⁄4 of the milk mixture, then pour back into the saucepan. Bring to a boil, whisking, and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a shallow dish and apply plastic wrap directly onto the mixture. Let cool. Transfer to a bowl and blend in the remaining butter. Chill.

2. Make The Syrup. In a small saucepan, combine the water, 1⁄2 cup sugar and kirsch, and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes and chill.

3. Assemble The Parfaits. Cut the pound cake into one-inch-thick slices and punch out 12 circles using a rocks glass. Roll the almond paste into a thin layer and cut 6 circles with the glass; set aside. Push 1 disk of pound cake down into each glass and spoon 1 T of the syrup over the top. Line the sides with halved strawberries, pressing them against the glass. Spoon 1⁄4 cup crème mousseline into each glass. Arrange 4 or 5 strawberry halves in the center and top with mousseline, covering the berries. Add a second disk of pound cake to each glass and spoon on 2 T syrup. Top with the almond paste disk and garnish with powdered sugar and thinly sliced strawberries.

Sébastien Bouillet, Pâtisserie Bouillet, Lyon, France

METHOD

1. Make the starter: Mix white bread flour with whole-wheat flour. Place lukewarm water in a medium bowl. Add 315 grams flour blend (reserve remaining flour blend), and mix with your hands until mixture is the consistency of a thick, lump-free batter. Cover with a kitchen towel. Let rest in a cool, dark place until bubbles form around the sides and on the surface, about 2 days. A dark crust may form over the top. Once bubbles form, it is time for the first feeding.

2. With each feeding, remove 75 grams; discard remainder of starter. Feed with 150 grams reserved flour blend and 100 grams warm water. Mix, using your hands, until mixture is the consistency of a thick, lump-free batter. Repeat every 24 hours at the same time of day for 15 to 20 days. Once it ferments predictably (rises and falls throughout the day after feedings), it's time to make the leaven.

3. Make the leaven: The night before you plan to make the dough, discard all but 1 tablespoon of the matured starter. Feed with 200 grams reserved flour blend and the warm water. Cover with a kitchen towel. Let rest in a cool, dark place for 10 to 16 hours. To test leaven's readiness, drop a spoonful into a bowl of room-temperature water. If it sinks, it is not ready and needs more time to ferment and ripen. As it develops, the smell will change from ripe and sour to sweet and pleasantly fermented; when it reaches this stage, it's ready to use.

4. Make the dough: Pour 700 grams warm water into a large mixing bowl. Add 200 grams leaven. Stir to disperse. (Save your leftover leaven; it is now the beginning of a new starter. To keep it alive to make future loaves, continue to feed it as described in step 2.) Add flours, and mix dough with your hands until no bits of dry flour remain. Let rest in a cool, dark place for 35 minutes. Add salt and remaining 50 grams warm water. Fold dough on top of itself to incorporate. Transfer to a medium plastic container or a glass bowl. Cover with kitchen towel. Let rest for 30 minutes.

5. The dough will now begin its first rise (bulk fermentation), to develop flavor and strength. (The rise is temperature sensitive; as a rule, warmer dough ferments faster. Robertson tries to maintain the dough at 78 degrees to 82 degrees to accomplish the bulk fermentation in 3 to 4 hours.)

6. Instead of kneading, Robertson develops the dough through a series of "folds" in the container during bulk fermentation. Fold dough, repeating every 30 minutes for 2 1/2 hours. To do a fold, dip 1 hand in water to prevent sticking. Grab the underside of the dough, stretch it out, and fold it back over itself. Rotate container one-quarter turn, and repeat. Do this 2 or 3 times for each fold. After the 3 hours, the dough should feel aerated and softer, and you will see a 20 to 30 percent increase in volume. If not, continue bulk fermentation for 30 minutes to 1 hour more.

7. Pull dough out of container using a dough spatula. Transfer to a floured surface. Lightly dust dough with flour, and cut into two pieces using dough scraper. Work each piece into a round using scraper and 1 hand. Tension will build as the dough slightly anchors to the surface as you rotate it. By the end, the dough should have a taut, smooth surface.

8. Dust tops of rounds with flour, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest on the work surface for 20 to 30 minutes. Slip the dough scraper under each to lift it, being careful to maintain the round shape. Flip rounds flour side down.

9. Line 2 medium baskets or bowls with clean kitchen towels; generously dust with flour. Using the dough scraper, transfer each round to a basket, smooth side down, with seam centered and facing up. Let rest at room temperature (75 degrees to 80 degrees), covered with towels for 3 to 4 hours before baking.

10. Bake the bread: Twenty minutes before you are ready to bake the bread, preheat oven to 500 degrees, with rack in lowest position, and warm a 9 1/2-inch round or an 11-inch oval Dutch oven (or a heavy oven-proof pot with a tight-fitting lid).

11. Turn out 1 round into heated Dutch oven (it may stick to towel slightly). Score top twice using a razor blade or a sharp knife. Cover with lid. Return to oven, and reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes.

12. Carefully remove lid (a cloud of steam will be released). Bake until crust is deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes more.

13. Transfer loaf to a wire rack. It will feel light and sound hollow when tapped. Let cool.

14. To bake the second loaf, raise oven temperature to 500 degrees, wipe out Dutch oven with a dry kitchen towel, and reheat with lid for 10 minutes. Repeat steps 11 through 13.

Chad Robertson, Tartine Bakery, San Francisco

METHOD

1. Cut the vanilla beans in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a knife. In a large bowl, combine the vanilla seeds and beans with the milk.

2. In a saucepan, bring the cream, sugar, glucose, and the milk mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, approximately 15 minutes.

3. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, pour a few splashes of the hot cream mixture into a bowl with the egg yolks, and stir well. Continue to add small amounts of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks and stir until the egg mixture slowly becomes warm.

4. Once the egg mixture is warm, pour the rest of the hot cream mixture in.

5. Transfer to a Thermomix and blend in the milk powder, carob flour, and butter.

6. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl.

7. Freeze the ice cream mixture in 2 Paco beakers for at least 24 hours until completely frozen, then process in the Pacojet. (Note you will have more ice cream than you need for this recipe.)

Christian Puglisi, Relæ, Copenhagen, Denmark