Sweet Corn Soup, Coconut, and Charred Corn Husk Oil

The coconut dome is made by dipping the bottom of a large ladle, frozen in liquid nitrogen, into coconut cream. This creates a thin immaculately white coconut hemispheric island to be surrounded by golden sweet corn soup, once it is poured table-side. Lightly tapped with a spoon, the dome collapses into shards that meld seamlessly into the silky soup.

The Jackson Pollock-esque effects on the top of the coconut dome are not exactly premeditated; the free-hand splashing of ink-black charred corn husk oil onto the white canvas is, in fact, quite extemporaneous -- a result of whim initially. One could indulge endlessly in all sorts of philosophical musings revolving black and white and what they represent. Then there's the story of the benevolent corn husks who, after having spent the entire span of their existence protecting the corn kernels from germination to maturation, still continue to sacrifice themselves -- in their posthumous ash form -- to the task of supporting the fresh corn ...


All of those things aside, the smoky scent and flavor of the charred corn husks, delivered via the medium of grapeseed oil, work beautifully with fresh corn and coconut.

This cold sweet corn soup is my tribute to summer's bounty.


The elements of the dish include:

Sweet yellow corn soup

Corn sponge cake

Dinosaur egg plum purée

Raw sweet corn

Popcorn

Golden and green corn shoots

Frozen coconut milk half sphere

Charred corn husk grapeseed oil

Raw ginger slices

Ginger purée

Ginger jelly

Coconut powder

Charred corn husk powder

Cilantro

Coriander blossoms