Spanish chefs Chele Gonzalez and Alberto Lozano Avilés of Huset came together for a unique collaborative dinner that blended Southeast Asian and Nordic flavors.
Two Spanish chefs living on opposite sides of the world worked together to create an unforgettable meal that is reflective of their shared culture and their common inclination of using local ingredients. Chef Chele Gonzalez of Gallery by Chele collaborated with Chef Alberto Lozano Avilés of Huset Svalbard for a one night only dinner at Gallery by Chele.
Huset is the northernmost fine dining restaurant in the world and is located in Svalbard, Norway. To understand the cuisine of Huset, one must appreciate its unique location, which is one of the most northerly inhabited areas in the world known for its remote and rugged frozen terrain. With a human population of about 2,500, Svalbard is home to creatures that thrive in extreme cold such as polar bears, seals, Svalbard reindeer, and arctic foxes. Due to the unique location and severe weather conditions, sourcing ingredients entails partnering with the local hunters as well as foraging for herbs and greens on high altitudes and steep mountain sides. To these local ingredients, Alberto and his team apply Nordic cooking techniques and flavor combinations, delivering innovative interpretations on dishes indigenous to the arctic.
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Despite the remoteness of this destination restaurant, it is well-renowned for having one of Northern Europe’s largest wine cellars with over 6,000 bottles of wine, garnering recognition from Wine Spectator with a “Best of Award of Excellence.” This kind of prestige opens doors for the talents in the restaurant, wherein Alberto gets invited to highly esteemed gatherings of his peers such as Madrid Fusion and Encuentros De los Mares.
Madrid Fusion is a globally renowned gastronomic congress that is held in Madrid, Spain, gathering some of the world’s top chefs for demonstrations and conferences where they are able to share their skills and ideas with one another. Encuentros Delos Mares (Meeting of the Seas) is a conference which also takes place in Spain and brings together the thought leaders of different industries to share their best practices involving marine life and ocean biodiversity. Chele and Alberto were participants and presenters in both these events, sharing their knowledge in preparing dishes using what they have learned from their adopted countries and their distinct cultural gastronomy.
For their collaborative dinner in Gallery by Chele, they both drew from their vast knowledge of the ingredients and techniques from their respective locales, combining their styles for a cohesive tasting menu. “We need to match his Nordic type of cuisine with our very tropical, Southeast Asian techniques and flavors,” Chele explains. “They are definitely very different, but our principles are very similar because they are both about the terroir, utilizing the local ingredients and showcasing them the best way possible. Alberto will be bringing in his very unique style which will be a lot of curing and ferments, and we will try to match that style with ours for one night.”
Chef Alberto stayed true to his style and techniques while being open to using newly discovered ingredients, as well as adjusting to the peculiarities of our tropical environment. He says: “In the spirit of our collaboration, perhaps I will use certain proteins in a different way, or maybe I can use a citrus that is available here, but I do not have where I am from. Also, because of the humidity here which we do not have in the North Pole, there are some things that are difficult to make, such as caramel. So, because of these things, we need to adjust.”
Gallery By Chele And Huset
Dinner started with Arctic Chorizo made with reindeer meat, Peas and Lengua Tartlet (using reindeer tongue, and Rype Anchovy. Rype is a bird also called the ptarmigan. They eat seeds that are stored somewhere in the grouse’s oral orifice. Alberto ingeniously uses these seeds to garnish his unique anchovy, since it is legal to hunt these birds, but collecting some seeds or plants is not.
Cold cuts served were not the typical ones we are familiar with. These were Reindeer-Veal-Duck. Seafood dishes Tuna Kinilaw and Crab Soup followed. Alberto prepared a very popular dish that night — Scallops in Textures where he made a “bacon scallop” atop a whole scallop cured in amazake (a low alcohol Japanese drink made from fermented rice). Chele’s Lobster Inasal was another popular dish that night.
Two excellent dishes followed – Plankton, a dorado (or mahi-mahi) served with fish collagen and a wonderfully smoked ikura or salmon roe; and the Carabino Arroz Caldo, a warm, hearty dish with scarlet prawn broth and slipper lobsters that had the perfect level of spice, giving a very comforting feel. Duck Gravad with port wine and mushroom garum (fish sauce) rounded up the meal.
Desserts called “Northern Chocolate” with pine nuts, seaweed, and fermented orange and Chele’s Tradition of their famous bibingka were delicious sweet endings for an incredible meal.
For one night only, a handful of people experienced a multi-course tasting menu journey. Truly one of the most memorable they had.
Visit www.gallerybychele.com and www.huset.com.
Photos courtesy of Gallery by Chele.
