white chocolate namelaka, compressed nectarines, vanilla bean meringues, lemon verbena ice cream....

and nectarine consomme

celebrated summer

the end of summer is hitting me hard.  walking through the farmers market i feel like i am in limbo. i see the ghosts of summer in the now flavorless strawberries, the blueberry vendor's empty stall, and the plump stonefruit that takes a little extra something to extract any flavor.
this dish should be off the menu in a couple of days (as soon as i think of what to replace it with).
continuing with the peach consomme, yogurt panna cotta is set in alginate to make spheres.  vanilla bean tapioca, compressed peaches, sliced plums, candied meyer lemon peel, various herbs and flowers, and that peach consomme poured at the table.
i do enjoy the concept because when the spheres are broken, the yogurt mixes with the tapioca to make a tapioca pudding of sorts. 
maybe something to look into more..............

fragrance

charantais melons have so much fragrance. the difficulty is how do you transport that ripe melon perfume to the table. when items idly sit on a plate they don't offer up much outside of flavor. through heat and motion does aroma travel. warm melon just doesn't work with me. so using a soup poured tableside gives motion, when it hits the bowl the aroma is spread into the air and gives the diners something tangible. the soup is made using gelatin clarification. compressed melon, lime parfait, royal icing tuile (thanks Chef Durfee), and a raspberry gel with a hint of tabasco round out the dish. it is cool and refreshing just for the summer.