experiment #43 - Cobayapalooza! at Shikany

Seven chefs. Nine courses. One night. Cobayapalooza! We finally made it happen. A huge thank you to Chef Michael Shikany and all his crew at the recently opened restaurant Shikany in Wynwood, for serving up three of those courses (plus a dessert from Shikany's pastry chef Jill Montinola), and for opening up his dining room to nearly fifty of us guinea pigs, and his kitchen to five other great chefs – David Sears of SushiSamba Coral Gables, Diego Oka of La Mar in the Mandarin Oriental, Mathias Gervais of the Setai on Miami Beach, Timon Balloo of Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill in Midtown, and Danny Grant of 1826 Restaurant & Lounge on Miami Beach.

Sorry for the delay in providing this quick recap, but it's taken a little while to recover. You can see pictures in this Cobayapalooza flickr set, and we'll update when more complete recaps are posted a recap from Chowfather here plus another at Food For Thought. Here's the menu, with each course featuring a different spice blend from the renowned purveyor Lior Lev Sercarz's La Boîte.

Course 1

(Galil N. 13)

Fresh Diver Scallop Crudo

Pickled watermelon rind, sour gooseberry, creme fraiche sorbet, white truffle oil

Michael Shikany, Shikany

Course 2

(Coquelicot N. 24)

Oysters & Salmon

White sturgeon caviar, sweet heirloom tomatoes, pickled pearl onion

David Sears, SushiSamba

Course 3

(Luberon N. 4)

Wild Quahog and Madai

Fermented bean broth, crispy sprout petals, Tosaka seaweed, Okinawa sweet potatoes, Coke syrup

Michael Shikany, Shikany

Course 4

(Vadouvan N. 28)

Yellowtail Snapper

Peruvian potato stew with chocolate, Vadouvan, aji panca, black Andean mint

Diego Oka, La Mar

Course 5

(Cancale N. 11)

Foie Gras Terrine & Apple Cured Duck Breast

Sage/parmesan gremolata, candied asparagus, blackberry, pernod

Michael Shikany, Shikany

Course 6

(Ararat N. 35)

Organic Slow Poached Farm Eggs

Jabugo Iberico broth, harlequin bell peppers, marjoram, Ararat chocolate spice

Mathias Gervias, The Setai

Course 7

(Apollonia N. 29)

Veal Breast

Sweetbreads and tongue, burnt peaches, summer beans

Timon Balloo, Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill

Course 8

(Tangier N. 23)

Roasted Lamb Loin Crepinette

Pig skin, chanterelles, ras al hanout

Danny Grant, 1826 Restaurant & Lounge

Course 9

(Lula N. 41)

Tupelo Honey Cremeux

Fennel, apple crisp, Lula seaweed snow, raspberry, cilantro sponge, green apple sorbet

Jill Montinola, Shikany

It was a blast seeing everyone working together in the kitchen to turn this big production out right. Thanks again to Chef Shikany and all of his team at the restaurant, to all of the chefs who pitched in, to Rockaway PR for helping herd all these cats, and as always most of all, to the guinea pigs whose interest and support make these events possible.