Jody Dentons' Alchemy
(continued)
|
Crispy
Shrimp and Sweet
Sausage Noodle Bundles |
The
style and direction of the menu at Azie is the brainstorming
collaboration of Jody Denton and his Chef De Cuisine, Donnie
Masterdon. Over the course of a year a privileged group of tasters
were feted with their independent experiments. Denton is firm
believer that the product of two minds is better than one. "This
is definitely true of my cooking relationship with Donnie."
"In the beginning, Donnie's food and mine were night and
day, completely different styles and completely different flavors.
They were in different directions." Over the year's time
the two chefs found common ground. "The interesting thing
was, it really didn't bear any resemblance to what either one
of us had started with. It was a metamorphosis into something
new."
|
Beef
Carpaccio with Sprout Salad,
Peanuts and Lime |
Denton
and Masterdon play with dualities and perform in unison. Their
French based cuisine reflects a pronounced Japanese influence,
a predominant Chinese influence from Hong Kong, Szechwan and
Cantonese, and one subtler from Thailand. Denton's passionate
interest in Asian cooking has been consistent throughout his
career.
"Authentic
Asian food is fantastic. The flavors are just phenomenal. There's
not a lot to improve on in a perfect Chinese steamed fish. What
I find some chefs trying to do is to recreate these authentic
Asian dishes and they throw in a little butter, foie gras, lobster
and different things that are more associated with western cooking.
They are trying to do this authentic thing with a little bit
of western influence. I went at it from an entirely different
angle and took a very solid French/Western base and threw in
some subtle Asian influence. I approached it from a different
foundation."
Inspiration
also flowed from Denton's travels through France with managing
partner, Rowena Wu. A turning point was reached somewhere between
stops in Nice, Provence and Paris. "We had some really
phenomenal meals in French Three Stars that blew me away. Really
floored me." says Denton.
The
partners had originally conceived an Asian supper club next
door to Denton's classic French restaurant., Lulu. Finding that
zoning prohibited live music forced a reforming of concepts.
They intended to retain the French/Asian theme in a much more
casual, downscale way. But that was not to be. The project,
already in progress, was further impacted by Denton's dining
experiences of Le Cirque and Jean Georges in New York City,
both of which left lasting impressions.
