Gaggenau x SCANPAN Cooking Class by Chef Stephan Zoisl
Today’s special culinary adventure brought me to the Gaggenau Experience Center where SCANPAN collaborated with Gaggenau to invite Chef Stephan Zoisl (Chef’s Table at 61 Tras Street) to conduct a special cooking demonstration to showcase SCANPAN’s latest commercial grade TechnIQ cookware and Gaggenau’s premium appliances.
I love the warm cozy atmosphere of the Gaggenau Experience Center where visitors are able to take part in cooking demonstrations to try out the latest innovative kitchen appliances in a real home setting.
Today’s menu featured the following scrumptious dishes specially curated and personally prepared by Chef Stephan Zoisl: Frittata, Porterhouse Steak, and Kaiserschmarrn (Emperor's Souffle / Pancake).
1st dish of the day: Frittata with octopus, charred red peppers, semi dried tomatoes, parsley, tomatoes, spinach, topped with rocket leaves, parmesan cheese, and nasturtium leaves.
The key ingredients (including onion, garlic, peppers, and octopus) were fried in the pan before the free-range eggs mixture was added, mixed, and sent into the oven for baking.
After baking, the frittata was left to cool down for a couple of minutes to allow the dish to set properly before serving.
The frittata was firm and custardly with the same consistency as a perfectly steamed chawanmushi. Fresh parmesan, balsamic vinegar, rocket leaves were great garnishes for the dish, elevating its appearance and its flavors. The stars of the dish were the octopus and semi dried tomatoes which took approximately two hours to prepare individually. The semi dried tomatoes were prepared by layering a bed of halved cherry tomatoes on a baking pan and covering it in olive oil, pepper, salt, and topped with icing sugar before placing it in the oven to dry for two hours. The octopus was also slowly cooked in the oven for two hours to sufficiently soften the seafood to a smooth texture. This dish is the perfect weekend brunch to relax and recharge after a long week of meetings and emails.
2nd dish of the day: Potterhouse steak featuring pan seared porterhouse steak, celery in textures, thyme jus, mustard leaves and seeds, and potato gratin.
The porterhouse steak featured prime T-bone steak from USA with a great fat distribution, creating a beautiful composite of tenderloin and top loin steaks.
The Potterhouse steak is served with a delicious potato gratin containing a generous portion of nutmeg to balance the heavy cream. The celeriac root and celery provides comforting, earthy flavors to round off an amazing steak feast that rivals some of the best steakhouses in the world.
3rd dish of the day: Kaiserschmarrn (Emperor's Souffle / Pancake) with a unique texture that is a cross between a souffle and a pancake. Since this dish requires 20 minutes to prepare on the spot just before serving, Chef Stephan Zoisl will only serve this dish on special occasions.
Egg white is beaten stiff and folded into a thick dough before cooking in the pan with a generous amount of butter and marinated raisins.
The raisins were specially soaked in Stroh '60' Austrian Rum to add the fragrance of rum without the strong alcohol content.
Kaiserschmarrn (Emperor's Souffle / Pancake) is served with apple compote, cranberries, and icing sugar. The apple compote is light and crisp, and can be easily prepared by boiling fresh apple slices with cloves, cinnamon sticks, and star anise. The souffle pancake is fluffy and flavorful, making it a dessert that is best savored in moderation after a meal filled with various delicacies.
“What is dessert without ice cream” as Chef Stephan Zoisl surprises his guests with strawberry sorbet popsicles covered in a thin white chocolate crust containing white chocolate bits and freeze dried strawberries.
Special thanks to SCANPAN and Gaggenau for organizing this special culinary treat on a beautiful Saturday morning.
Looking forward to catching up again with Chef Stephan Zoisl at his restaurant (Chef’s Table at 61 Tras Street) to savor his Western omakase feasts featuring specially curated fresh ingredients of the day.
Check out the full recipes for the dishes featured in the cooking class below:
