Life on the Line #4--Tasting Menus

     Tasting menus are a way to impress the diners at a restaurant.  They are a way to show your guests that the kitchen can do much more than what's on the regular menu.  Depending on the restaurant that you go to, tasting menus can follow a particular cuisine, seasonal flavors or something off the wall that is a drastic deviation from the regular fare.
     The last restaurant where I worked, we created a tasting menu every Saturday night.  Sometimes they were well thought out during the week leading up to Saturday, the other times they were written just the night before.  We tried to write our menus inspired by product that's seasonal and readily available at the local farmers market but it didn't happen every time. 
     There were a few menus that we created that we weren't completely happy with but yet again, we were our biggest critics.  There's so much involved in writing a special tasting menu. Since it's supposed to showcase what you can do as a chef, the last thing we wanted to do was disappoint people and develop a poor name for ourselves.  Reputation is everything in the food business.  When visiting a high-end restaurant, tasting menus tend to be rather expensive if they even offer one.  I cannot say that it's always worth the money but you'll never know until you try it. 
     I find myself writing tasting menus on my own time.  It keeps my culinary brain charged and gives me ideas to try.  This is why I keep a food journal of all the past things that I've done and the future.  This is what inspired this blog entry and here is the menu that I created today.

Course One

Roasted Beet & Arugula Salad
Candied Walnuts, Roquefort Blue Cheese, Pickled Red Onions, Sorghum Vinaigrette

Fig & Goat Cheese Tart
Fennel Preserves, Mixed Greens, 10 year Balsamic Reduction

Course Two

Mavrodaphne Glazed Ribeye
Thyme Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Parsley Sauce, Olive Oil

Grilled Arctic Char

Lemon Braised Kale, Fried Capers, Tarama Caviar, Avgolemeno Emulsion

Course Three

Butterscotch Bread Pudding

Coffee Buttercream, Dulce De Leche Sauce

Apple Tart Tatin

Housemade Pistachio Gelato, Triple Cream Brie Sauce