There are points of excellence where only the greatest experts in the field are able to appreciate the subtleties that make something extremely exquisite. When you sit down to eat a menu designed by two chefs with a combined total of eight Michelin stars, it is difficult to be objective; the numbers are impressive. So it is best to be guided by the most basic criterion: I like this more than that, a conclusion you reach after having eaten all 20 dishes.
The menu designed by Quique Dacosta and Richard Ekkebus was only served on two days, January 28 and 29 at Deessa, as the grand finale of Madrid Fusion.
It all begins with the diners standing at one side of the entrance, where, amid a backdrop of moss, mushrooms, and dried peppers, they explain their version of migas. A small bite that sums up this tremendous dish from La Mancha, accompanied by a consommé even better than Lhardy’s.
Editorial credit: Elena Francés
The next appetizer is a restaurant classic: it looks like a slice of tomato, but when you pick it up and bite into it, you realize it’s a crispy filling of sun-dried tomato mayonnaise with a touch of vinegar. And this is where the dance between the two ways of understanding cuisine that have managed to come together begins.
Ekkebus’ signature dishes strike a balance between Asia and Europe—Amber, with three Michelin stars, is in Hong Kong, but he is Dutch—and his panna cotta with soy milk and peppers, followed by the foie gras lollipop and sea urchin with lobster jelly, which elicited sighs and passion, was his way of introducing us to his expertise.
Dacosta, for his part, knew how to combine all of the above with his Mediterranean touch with a crème brûlée with pork jowl and white truffle, a red prawn from Denia, accompanied by a seaweed consommé, and Albufera rice with octopus. All accompanied by bread, almost a Valencian coca, with oil from Castellón that deserved a mention as another dish.
Ekkbus finished with one of his best-known dishes, scallops (in this case Galician) in coquille lutée, with garum and black truffle. Meanwhile, the Extremaduran-born and Valencian-adopted chef finished with roasted veal sweetbreads with a pine nut risotto.
Only 30 diners (60 if we count both days) were able to sample these marvels that the Mandarin Oriental Ritz brought together under the gilded ceilings of Deessa, with a pairing as worthy as the food itself. The price of the menu was €255, just for the food, which, considering current prices and the opportunity to have a chef who is normally based in Hong Kong, was not unreasonable at all.