Delight all the senses with edible flowers, as masterfully displayed by Vicky Lau, Asia’s Best Female Chef for 2015
On the dining table, flowers are often arranged in vases and relegated to the task of mere decoration. With the advent of foraging, however, chefs are increasingly using edible flowers to dress up dishes visually – and to add different dimensions of flavour.
Chef Vicky Lau of Tate, who was recently named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2015 by Veuve Clicquot and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, doesn’t view flowers as just ornaments to spruce up a table setting. “A lot of times a dish can be heavy – adding flowers, herbs and leaves balances things out. Flowers can also function like a salad and give dishes volume, texture and colour.”
Sourcing a plethora of flowers from nearby farms, Vicky incorporates them beautifully in her plating while making the most of their distinct tastes. To welcome spring, she created five dishes exclusively for Home Journal, each of which shows the myriad ways that blooms can be used in the kitchen. For those who want to experiment at home, she suggests starting with the shiso flower. “I love its sweet taste; it has a beautiful flavour that goes well with seafood,” she says. Vicky also recommends pansy, which is available year-round and comes in a variety of colours to help decorate and elevate your plate.
ROASTED PURPLE ROOT VEGETABLES WITH LAVENDER GLAZE
Say lavender and one automatically thinks of Provence, but instead of referencing the rustic French association, Vicky focuses on the flower’s rich hue. “It’s interesting how there’s a lot of purple vegetables, so I thought of bringing them together in this tart.” The roasted vegetables include eggplant, beetroot and radicchio, interspersed with dried lavender, purple pansy and borage. The result is a deep and earthy vegetable tart, finished with a layer of floral flavour.
CHERRY BLOSSOM WITH SHISO SORBET AND CHERRY MOUSSE
A single glance and one is immediately transported to a serene path lined with cherry blossom trees. The dish certainly draws inspiration from Japan’s hanami (“flower-viewing”) tradition, incorporating subdued hues from sakura flowers and carnations, as well as adding a quintessential Japanese taste through the shiso sorbet.
ALASKAN KING CRAB WITH LOTUS ROOT AND CAVIAR
Set on a clear glass plate, the dish mimics a pond – the natural habitat of the lotus flower. Fresh flavours from the sea meet with the crisp texture of lotus root, and are enhanced by a jolt of colour via nasturtium flowers and leaves as well as white roses.
HONEY ICE CREAM WITH WHITE TEA MOUSSE AND DARK CHOCOLATE
Vicky’s background as a graphic designer is evident in the artful plating of this honey-themed dessert. Using local honey from the Wing Wo Bee Farm in Sha Tin, honeycomb-patterned accents and a primarily golden palette – fennel flower, marigold and yellow pansy – this dessert is a visual medley of
bright hues and graphic shapes.
Produced by: Kissa Castañeda
Art Direction: May Lau
Photography: Jason Quibilan | At East Jed Root
This story originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of Home Journal
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