My daughter treated us to a wonderful 6-course degustation lunch on New Year Eve to celebrate her cousins 18th b’day. We had just landed back in town and reached home at 5pm and she had about 18 hours (including the night sleep) to conceptualise and create a meal for 7. How she managed that in such a short time, given some of the complicated elements in the meal, beats me.

The cheese jalapeño sphere was made using the molecular gastronomy reverse spherification process. Start with goats cheese, chopped jalapeño, red chilli powder and salt. Put in a pan and stir in fresh cream to a thick consistency. Bring to a simmer after adding Calcium Lactate, cool to room temperature, pour into hemispherical moulds and freeze. Prepare an alginate bath with distilled water and place the frozen hemispheres in it gently. Allow to sit for 5-10 mins till you can gently lift the spheres from the bath with a slotted spoon and can see a thin membrane covering the sphere.

I really have to learn how I can photograph food better. These iphone pics really do not do justice to the outstanding meal.