Chef Sven Elverfeld – Highlighting His Restaurant On The Culinary World Map

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The addition of Aqua into the S. Pellegrino’s Top 50 restaurants of the world is cause for celebration, and the restaurant and its staff has much to thank the culinary skills of its head chef, Chef Sven Elverfeld, for placing them on the culinary world map.

Chef Elverfeld was born on the 3rd of November 1968 in Hanua, Germany. He started out as a pastry chef and even completed his apprenticeship, but he took a different route and apprenticed to become a chef. He worked at the Hessler restaurant as a sous chef and as a chef de partie in Dieter Muller. Chef Elverfeld also became a chef in the Johannisberg Castle where he worked at the Gutsschanke under Dieter Biesler. His culinary career also took him to Crete as well as to Japan.

In 1998, he completed his formal education in Heidelberg’s hotel management school and received his restaurateur and chef certificates. Soon after his graduation, he found wok at The Ritz-Carlton. For two years, he managed the kitchens of The Ritz-Carlton’s La Baie gourmet restaurant in Dubai; and in 2000, he went back to Wolfsburg, Germany to become the head chef of The Ritz-Carlton’s restaurant, Aqua. He has been the head chef of Aqua for more than a decade now.

During his culinary career as its chef de cuisine, he earned numerous awards and titles for himself. In fact, Gault Millau named him as the Newcomer of the Year in 2002 and as Chef of the Year in 2004. Under his superb leadership and excellent culinary skill, Aqua earned three stars from the Michelin Guide. The first star was awarded in 2002, the second in 2006, and the third in 2009. Chef Elverfeld’s Aqua has also earned a spot in one of the most prestigious lists in the culinary world, the S. Pellegrino’s top 50 World’s Best Restaurants landing on the 57th spot in 2009 and the 34th spot in 2010.

There are other awards and titles that Aqua and its head chef have received, but the one thing that stands out is Chef Elverfeld’s cuisine. He loves to take a traditional cuisine and reinvents it but makes sure that his dishes do not lose its traditional feel. He is a master at combining aromas, flavors, and textures, ensuring that the natural flavors of the ingredients are brought out and highlighted by each other. It can be said that his cooking style gives a perfect balance between simplicity and elegance, creating a truly independent cuisine.

He believes that the only way wherein one can achieve his goals is to pay close attention to details and be committed and focused in going after your goal. His philosophy has brought him to his pinnacle of success, and it is sure to bring him to new heights.

Chef Sven Elverfeld’s Cod with Mixed Pickles, Fried Potatoes, and Bacon

Ingredients:

Cod loins:

4 cod loins (70 g each)
80 ml potato stock
40 ml liquid clarified butter
Lemon juice, fine sea salt

Potato espuma:

325 g boiled potatoes with firm flesh
150 ml potato stock
20 ml rendered bacon fat
185 ml cream
30 ml liquid butter
1 tbsp smoked oil

Fried potatoes:

4 potatoes, e.g. “Roseval”
Clarified butter Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tbsp finely diced, rendered, smoked bacon

Cucumber gelee:

150 ml sieved juice from approximately 3 unpeeled cucumbers and 3 gherkins
4 g vegetarian gelatine powder
1 tsp finely chopped dill
2 tbsp very finely diced cucumber (without peel or seeds)

Beetroot gelee:

250 ml beetroot stock (150 g grated beetroot, 40 g sugar, 200 ml cider vinegar, 200 ml water)
250 g unpeeled beetroot
4 g vegetarian gelatine powder

Mixed pickles:

50 g diced celery
80 g diced onions
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
100 ml vegetable stock
1 kg ice cubes
2 sprigs of dill
8 crushed juniper berries, 8 crushed allspice berries and 8 white peppercorns
8 g salt
20 g sugar

White balsamic vinegar:

4 strips (3.5 cm x 1 cm) each of gherkin (pickled with mustard seeds), mini corn on the cob, swede, white radish and carrot
4 small, peeled cocktail onions

Sweet and sour sauce:

100 ml potato stock
200 ml spiced stock from the mixed pickles
30 ml liquid beurre noisette
1 tsp finely chopped dill

Directions:

Cod Loins: Season the cod loins with salt, lightly drizzle with lemon juice, place in a vacuum bag, add the butter and the potato stock then seal. Poach in a bain-marie for 6-7 minutes at 60 °C. Season again with sea salt before serving.

Potato Espuma: Boil the potatoes until tender, allow the steam to evaporate, then mix in a Thermomix food processor on level 4 at 80 °C until thick and creamy. Gradually mix in the potato stock, cream, fat, butter and smoked oil. Season with salt, a little sugar, pepper and white balsamic vinegar. Sieve finely and place in an “ISI” espuma dispenser. Place in a bain-marie at 50 °C.

Fried Potatoes: Wash the potatoes and boil in their skins in salted water. Remove the potatoes from the water when they are still firm to the bite. Peel and slice (0.5 cm thick). Cut the slices into 4 cm x 4 cm squares, then make a hole in the centre using a round cutter. Fry in clarified butter before serving.

Cucumber Gelee: Mix the cucumber and gherkin juice with the gelatine. Heat to 95 °C, add the diced cucumber, bring to the boil, stir in the dill, pour into small silicon moulds and keep in a cool place. When cool, press out of the mould.

Beetroot Gelee: Wash the beetroot, wrap in aluminium foil and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours at 220 °C until very tender. Peel and dice the beetroot, then mix with the warm beetroot stock to a thick consistency. Sieve, then mix 150 ml of the stock with the gelatine, bring to the boil and pour into silicon moulds straight away. Allow to cool, then press out of the moulds.

Mixed Pickles: Sweat the celery and the diced onions in the grapeseed oil, add the poultry stock and steam briefly. Add the ice cubes and the seasonings. Reduce the spiced stock by 1/4, sieve and season with balsamic vinegar. Blanch the cocktail onions, mini corn on the cob, swede, white radish and carrot until firm to the bite, then plunge briefly in ice-cold water straight away. Put each food ingredient into a separate preserving jar, pour in the boiled, seasoned spice stock, seal immediately and steam for 35 min. at 85 °C. Keep in a cool place and allow to infuse for at least one day.

Sweet And Sour Sauce: Reduce the spiced stock and the potato stock to 150 ml and stir in the beurre noisette. Season again with salt and vinegar and add the dill just before serving.

To serve: Arrange the slightly warm mixed pickles, beetroot gelee and cucumber on a plate. Pile three slices of fried potato with hole at the centre of each serving. Squirt the potato espuma into the holes and sprinkle with the rendered bacon. Arrange the cod loin on the plate and coat with the sauce.

Servings: Serves 4.

Image Credit: elle.de

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