How 2 chefs represent the elements in their dishes

Are chefs scientists? There are certainly those chefs for whom whites represent lab coats of sorts. Recently, chef Mike Bagale, founder of Super Food Concepts and former Executive Chef of Chicago’s legendary Alinea restaurant joined chef Daniele Sperindio at the latter’s Michelin-starred Art di Daniele Sperindio restaurant at the top of the National Gallery in Singapore for a four-hands collaboration entitled, Abstract Elements. 

The collaboration saw the two chefs take a fun and innovative approach to representing chemical elements across a multi-course menu (Bagale was, it should be noted, the creator of Alinea’s famous floating and edible green apple balloon, so he has form). 

“As a whole, we specifically decided to not place any limitations on this menu. Any flavour or cuisine was fair game. The only parameters were to stay true to the elemental theme and that every course needed to be inventive and delicious. This approach allowed us to explore new flavour combinations and push the boundaries of what is typically seen in traditional dishes,” says the pair.

Here’s how the two chefs brought their abstract ideas to life. 

Calcium  – Bread and butter pearls

“The triumph of the dairy world,” says the pair. “Bread and butter 2.0 – homemade Japanese milk bread, toasted, and coated with a layer of whipped cultured alpine butter and freeze-dried yoghurt, topped with pebbles of 25-year-old parmesan essence.” 

Potassium – Banana nectar, peas, caviar 

“This dish was showcased in a play on the ais kachang with banana nectar and Kaluga caviar. These two  ingredients were chosen as they are both rich in potassium; the combination of the slightly  sweet and acidic banana nectar shaved into refreshing snow and paired with the richness of the Kaluga caviar resulted in a unique and harmonious blend of flavours that elevated the dish to  another level.”

Iron – Jackfruit leather, chutoro siam 

“Both jackfruit and tuna are rich in iron. We served a ‘taco’ made of jackfruit leather, layered with a  shiso leaf and a Siam-inspired chutoro tuna mix, [with] chilli, peanuts and palm sugar. 

Sodium – Uni raviolini, carrot curry  

“Sea urchins are the ultimate essence of the sea, therefore we chose them as the representation of the sodium element. Homemade ravioli, stuffed with a liquid explosion of bafun uni, served in a curried sand carrot emulsion. This is topped with nori seaweed stripes, and served on a bed of scented hot salt.”

Gold – Paella, soccarat, dry-ged squid, firefly squid, ham aioli  

“In this dish, the inspiration is historical. The first association that came to mind was the Inca empire and its extermination at the hands of the Spanish; hence, the idea of playing with the elements typical of paella, with squid ink rice, Iberico ham aioli, firefly squid, fried bronze fennel, socarrat chip and of course, gold leaf.”

Copper – Shiitake tart, cashew nut butter, spinach, pickled shallot, hanahojiso, kinome 

“Both the shiitake and cashew tart are rich in copper. However, other complimentary ingredients were included for a balanced flavour. This creates a resilient yet delicate tart shell to serve as a vessel that allows for a liquid component and still remains crispy.”  

Zinc – A5 wagyu striploin, seven sauces, cabbage, mountain yam, celeriac, smoked egg yolk mayo, kefir blue pea, green goddess  

“Red meat is considerably rich in zinc, hence the wagyu striploin. We also selected a variety of other zinc-rich elements for the assortment of dressings such as smoked egg yolk, blue peas,  mountain yam, etc. As a side dish, a raw bok choy stem was topped with avocado and pumpkin seeds (also rich in zinc).”

Chromium – Gemstones  

“Chromium (among others) is one of the key elements found in precious stones. Following such a roadmap, we created various hydrocolloid-based gemstones to be enjoyed as pre-dessert, flavoured with a combination of fruits and flowers.”

Nitrogen – Frozen chocolate, milk & rhum  

“In this case, the element has been used in the technique. We created an aerated and nitro-frozen chocolate meringue, served with a stabilised milk froth and Barbados flaming rhum.”

Helium – Yuzu balloon  

This element was used as a medium to execute this dish. This dish is a signature of (chef Mike’s) helium-inflated edible balloon (yuzu flavoured in this case) with green apple string.