Luxury Hoteliers Magazine 2nd Quarter 2019 | Page 43

SPOTLIGHT How can you not get excited listening to David talk about his passion for plant-facing cuisine and inspiring guests to take their recipes home? A trendsetter in the luxury hospitality food & beverage realm, he is dedicated to leading the way to wellness through the art of healthy eating. WHAT CULINARY I’m really tuned into food design as a way to decentralize proteins and allow plants to do the heavy lifting. An easy example of this would slow be cooking heirloom carrots in rich beef or vegan mushroom broth and featuring them proudly as the hero of a plate with a few slices of really special grilled bison strip steak. I would incorporate a bright clean carrot top salsa verde mixed up in a mortar and pestle with some raw garlic, preserved lemon, tahini, and anchovy. At that point, all you would need is a textural element like crunchy potato peels and another familiar component like wilted swiss chard and you’ve got a dish that would be familiar and wholly satisfying to anyone that frequents traditional restaurants where a huge hunk of protein is at the center of the plate. This design approach represents the future of great cooking from my perspective and everyone knows the best part of a stock is the tender carrots that usually end up in the compost! TRENDS ARE ON YOUR RADAR AT THE MOMENT? ILHA 43