The internationally acclaimed La Colombe, won the Best Tasting Menu award at the 2017 Condè Nast House & Garden Gourmet Awards. The iconic restaurant recently underwent a major revamp and boasts a fresh and chic new look. Renowned chef James Gaag, who's taken over as executive chef, shared how delighted he was to finally realise his dream of running La Colombe. 'My team and I are excited about this new and exciting chapter. We’ll be keeping some signature dishes on the menu and I can’t wait to introduce everyone to the new dishes. I believe food should be delicious and inviting, and not overthought, overworked or overcomplicated,' he said.
Try out chef James Gaag’s amazing passionfruit and mango cleanser recipe below:
Passionfruit and mango cleanser
Cocktail
2 sticks lemongrass
12g ginger
90g mango puree
300g orange juice
150g sake
60g palm sugar
20ml strained passion fruit
Method
Flambẻ sake until it doesn’t ignite
BEAT lemongrass with rolling pin
Chop lemongrass and peeled ginger
Add to sake with palm sugar, and simmer until reduced by half
Remove from heat the add orange juice, mango puree and passionfruit and leave overnight to infuse
Strain and use for service
Tequila foam
180g tequila
120g triple sec
90g lemon juice
300g sugar syrup (150g water 150g sugar)
Salt
Soya lecithin
Method
Dissolve sugar in water for simple syrup
Add triple sec, tequila, lemon juice and salt, heat through soya
Stick
Blend in the soya lecithin until a stable foam forms
To Serve
Cut the tops of some passion fruits and scoop out the seeds and flesh. Freeze them overnight and use the serving vessel for the cocktail.
Buzz up the foam with a hand-held stick blender and scoop over the top of the cocktail.
Images: Andrea van der Spuy