Daring and innovative chefs such as Mitsunobu Nagae, owner and Executive Chef of Tribeca’s warm, sophisticated, and elegant French restaurant in New York City, l’abeille, have found new and artistic ways to use coffee in savory and fine dining applications. That's right -- there could be coffee in your meal when dining out at a signature restaurant. To learn more about why coffee and tea are becoming more popular on fine dining menus, I asked Chef Nagae to share his thoughts on why this trend has taken off. Here's what he shared.
How Chef Nagae uses coffee in his dishes
When I heard Chef Nagae used coffee in savory dishes, my mind immediately wandered, wondering what method of coffee he used in his dishes. I asked him to describe how he uses coffee in savory meals, such as ground coffee, liquid coffee, coffee beans, or other coffee beans.
"I don't have a particular brand [of coffee] I use [when cooking], but I usually prefer dark roast coffee when I create dishes. The beans infuse flavors in the sauces, so they're present yet subtle. When I want stronger flavors, I would add ground powdered coffee directly. When I use coffee in savory ice cream, we normally infuse the mixture with coffee beans; otherwise, it becomes too overpowering," he shares.
"We use coffee as an additional flavor component in our dishes to add complexity. Coffee works well in dishes with a dairy component (e.g., we use ground coffee in our potato purée, which has butter) or red meat. When grilled, the caramelized flavors we get in red meat work very well with coffee as they echo each other and work in tandem to provide layers of depth."
"For example, at my restaurant, l'abeille, we’ve offered a Roasted Venison dish that uses coffee cream infused truffle and Madeira sauce to bring out deep earthy flavors, with additional ground coffee in the hazelnut crust that enhances the nutty aroma. For a sweet and savory coffee crossover, we’ve even served a Pea Velouté with Coffee ice cream, providing adventurous guests with a fresh flavor combination using sweet green peas combined with complex coffee ice cream that also plays with temperature difference."