StudioKitchen #1

The power of Twitter… That’s how I heard of Shola Olunloyo’s Sweet Corn Modernista Dinner. I started following more food-related accounts on twitter and I somehow came across @StudioKitchen. I was browsing his blog to look at his incredible pictures and I saw the post for the Corn Dinner.

I then consulted my partner in crime Sandy and we decided to go try Shola’s food. The dinner was rescheduled and the nights offered went from two to a single night event.

Hosted in his (new) StudioKitchen, the dinner was taking place at a communal table of 12 guests. I could tell you how great the kitchen looks and how impressive the spice rack was, but I like visual support, and so I won’t describe how amazing it was.

Unsurprisingly, Sandy and I were the youngest at the table (by far except for another couple in their early 30′s maybe). Everybody had brought what seemed to be great wines. The gentleman sitting next to me happened to be a Wine Instructor at PhillyWine. Another guest was talking about her upcoming trip to Spain to go drink wine as we were starting to open a couple of bottles.

Shola then explained to us what he was trying to do with this corn dinner and went over the menu with us.

Soon after this introduction speech by our host, we were served our first course:

Chilled Corn Soup. Lemongrass. Ruby Grapefruit. Peeky Toe Crab. Kaffir Lime Gelée

Very, very nice way to start our meal. The Chilled Corn Soup was very subtle and not too creamy. The Lemongrass complemented the Crab superbly while the Ruby Grapefruit gave it some acidity. I’d have to say that the Kaffir Lime Gelée stole the show though. It had just the right consistency and the Kaffir Lime added another Southeast Asian dimension on top of the Lemongrass.

Silver Queen Ice Cream. Sake Cured Trout Roe. Sansho Shortbread. Sorrel

Another Asian influenced dish to follow. Sake Cured Trout Roe and Sansho (Japanese name of Szechuan Pepper) Shortbread. I think Roe is always a tricky component because it has such an intense flavor. But here, it seemed to work well with the Ice Cream and the Shortbread.

Scrambled Corn. Santa Barbara Uni. Iceplant. Lemon

Simple Scrambled Eggs with Corn, no seasoning. Beautiful piece of Uni with a small piece of Sansho sitting on top. Zest of Lemon. That’s it. It sounds simple, and it was. You could really taste every ingredient, unaltered and fresh (Uni shipped Next-Day Air from Santa Barbara). Could’ve gone for seconds here.

Sandy's smiling = So far so good

Wine sampling while Shola plates the next dish

Sandy and I both enjoy drinking wine (especially her) but we were in presence of some people that really meant business when it came to wine. It was a little overwhelming at times but still interesting.

Back to the food:

Corn Juice Polenta. Ginger. Truffle. Castelmagno Cheese

My favorite of the night. Delicious Polenta with the right amount of Truffle, topped with some exquisite grated Castelmagno Cheese. I really don’t know how to describe it. It was just that good. I really could eat this one all day because there’s no way I could ever get tired of this dish.

Scallop. Marcona Almond. Corn Miso. Salicornia

Yet another Asian-influenced dish here with this Corn Miso. Perfectly seared Scallop with some Marcona Almond dust on it. Nice touch with the Salicornia (green) as it added texture and color to the plate.

And the wine sampling continues...

At this point, I’d like to say that all the pictures were taken from my seat. Shola has a photograph station set up with the white background and nice lighting and I did get up every time to go and shoot it from that spot, but I feel like that doesn’t represent my dining experience. So all the pictures posted here were taken from my seat.

Shola also asked me not to post any pictures of him preparing the food or of his kitchen. I’m keeping those for myself then.

King Salmon. Grilled Corn Broth. Matsutake. Onion Sprouts

I never order Salmon when I go out to eat. Never. But I might have to reconsider after this one. Beautiful King Salmon served in a flavorful Corn Broth. That Broth really let the Corn’s flavor through.

Cavatelli. Corn Carbonara. Meadow Run Egg. Grated Benton's Ham

Homemade Cavatelli pasta served in a creamy Corn Carbonara and a beautiful poached Egg on top. But the real treat of this dish was the Grated Benton’s Ham. Shola explained to us as he was plating that he had come up with the idea of grating the Benton’s Ham as a play on Ham & Cheese. He froze the Ham and then just grated it over our plates. My first time having that Ham (everybody else knew about it…) and it certainly won’t be my last.

Grass-Fed Lamb. Shisito-Corn Relish. Yellow Watermelon. Yuzu Kosho

Cooked sous-vide, the Lamb kept its color and tenderness. The compressed Yellow Watermelon added a nice sweet touch to the Corn Relish. Good overall but maybe not my favorite way of preparing lamb. I do enjoy a nice grilled lamb chop…

Epoisses. Corn "Yoghurt". Caramel Corn. Corn Shoots

Very cool first dessert. The deliciously pungent running Cheese (Epoisses) was really strong but the Corn “Yoghurt” did a good job balancing it. The Caramel Corn was the sweet touch that also gave it another dimension texture-wise.

Luckily for all of us, one of the guests had brought this bad boy to pair with it:

Château Rabaud-Promis 1988

Corn Bread "Perdu". Sweet Corn Sorbet. Chocolate. Orange Liquid + Crispy

Classic cold/hot, soft/crunchy, and Chocolate/Orange combos in this dessert. Good, sweet, but nothing to really rave about. The Corn Sorbet was great in itself though, as the Corn flavor wasn’t too weak. Now that I think about it, maybe an Ice Cream instead of a Sorbet might have worked better…

Overall, this was a fantastic dining experience. I felt privileged to attend this dinner that in which Shola Olunloyo showcased his cooking skills, his creative mind, and his ability to host a fun dinner. I am fully aware that Shola’s approach is quite polarizing but after this Corn dinner, I am clearly a fan.

I titled this post StudioKitchen #1 because I am planning on going to future dining events and/or go to Shola’s upcoming restaurant when it opens (couple of doors down from Kong). Hopefully StudioKitchen #2 will be sooner rather than later!

I’d like to thank Shola and our fellow diners for a great evening.

Sandy, Shola, Me