Simple to the sublime

SINGAPORE — In a bold effort driven by its typically non-conformist spirit, the house of Krug — one of the most feted makers of fine bubbly — has decided to celebrate an often overlooked foil to its Grande Cuvee: The humble potato.

Like the fine wine in question, the potato’s range of flavours is a true expression of terroir, said Tippling Club’s Ryan Clift. He, along with JAAN’s Kirk Westaway and Stellar’s Christopher Millar, is one of three chefs from Singapore featured in Krug’s latest book titled I Say Potato, You Say Potato, which spotlights 15 of the world’s finest chefs from Krug Ambassade restaurants. This is the fourth book in an ongoing series: Previous editions have highlighted the tomato, truffle and crab; and it is the first time three Singapore-based chefs are featured.

Some might call champagne and potatoes an audacious pairing; but it is really a great way to appreciate how the cunning simplicity of a good ingredient should never be overlooked.

In the book, Clift affirms the qualities of the potato, describing it as an extremely complex ingredient, but one that also lends itself to most flavours. “My favourite flavours to excite the potato are smoked notes from dashi or a subtle truffle infusion,” he added.

Their compatibility becomes more evident when one considers the Krug Grande Cuvee’s own unique versatility — the result of a blend made from more than 120 wines from 10 or more vintages, rested for at least another six years in the cellars. The resulting wine is vibrant with a creamy quality and famously tiny bubbles.

For his ode to this shared attribute, Clift created a dish of Ratte potatoes baked in damp soil, which he pairs with a gel made from parsley and “reclaimed” algae. The oak and truffle dressing elevates this celebration of terroirs, garnished with freeze-dried algae, wild herbs and edible flowers from the restaurant’s garden.

For something with added complexity, JAAN’s dish showcased three varieties of the spud: The restaurant’s new head chef Kirk Westaway has updated former chef de cuisine Julien Royer’s ensemble of smoked puree of Charlotte potatoes, confit of Grenaille potatoes and crispy Ratte potatoes. This time, the Ratte potato is cooked in warm beeswax for subtle honeyed notes; the rosemary-smoked Charlotte potatoes are blended with cream and butter to make a puree; and Charlotte potato is also used to make edible “gravel”. Tying the elements together are foam that is flavoured with Carrasco pork bone, finely sliced Iberico ham and dollops of a mushroom soy dressing, all topped with freshly sliced Australian winter truffles.

The third Singapore-based chef to feature in this year’s book is Christopher Millar of Stellar (1-Altitude) who sees potatoes as the “ultimate comfort food”. Millar’s dish takes the notion up a few notches, pairing creamy Russet potato puree blended with fresh cod roe and egg white to create “potato clouds”, served with seared Hokkaido scallops (another natural complement to champagne). The smoky components that bind the two main ingredients are two cold-smoked items, squab pigeon and uni (sea urchin) “ash”, used to create a powdery hit of umami. The dish is finished with a garnish of wood sorrel, which Millar explained is similar to adding a squeeze of lemon.

Of course, these dishes complement a style of champagne many have described as delicate yet versatile — “layered but not overtly rich”, as Millar puts it. The dishes will be available at their respective restaurants from now until the end of the year — it is a complimentary dish with every order of a glass of Krug Grande Cuvee. You also get a copy of copy of I Say Potato, You Say Potato.

Click to eat

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