paul cunningham, the paul (dk)
crave, sydney international food festival 2010,
contemporary creative showcase program
sunday, 10th october 2010 written by sally t. ridden
“Anyone that says their job is their life, it’s bollocks! Cooking is still a job, I love my job. My family and my wife are my life, I love that I have been flown over to show Australians how to cook!”
The non-conforming “modest” British chef Paul Cunningham lives in Denmark with his Danish wife Lene, where he is TV Chef Royalty. The Paul, his eponymous restaurant in Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens showcases his contemporary modernist artistry within its kitchens for it’s 8th consecutive year. Welcome dear delectable ones. Prepare yourselves for “c” & “f” words; we definitely saw no hint of his famous silent treatment.
The dynamic dishes manifest from changing seasons. His high profile restaurant is both taste revelation and revolution, having two decisive elements – field to table and lightness in cooking aka raw-natural. Technology works together with the humble kitchen equipment, developing side by side, not replacing. His kitchen staff currently sits on 6, it used to be 11 now staff just has to work faster, thinking smarter, this way the kitchen has been trimmed to be ready, the shields and guards are up, prepared, for whatever comes.
The trend for cheaper cuts in restaurants was apparent throughout all demonstrations at this year’s event, such as cheeks, rumps and “lamb bum”. For everyone, it’s no longer about expense due to the financial crisis backlash. Is this why he does not use bowls or boards unless necessary, only the stainless steel bench top instead?!
Paul believes in taking the edge off fine dining. Lay out your business cards and purposely spill coffee all over them, rip and tear the edges or sides off your menus, splatter and lose the pretense. Paul doesn’t like his dishes to look orchestrated, nothing designer, a natural plating presentation. Modern techniques are used for control. 
Apparently Princess Mary eats at The Paul, and not yet made it to his bestie’s (Renè Redzipi) haunt, Noma. Ten years ago chefs used to steal each others customers, nowadays they recommend each others restaurants or work together in respective restaurants. Pretty much gone are the days of ego driven society of chefs at this level they are decent and respectful of each other.
Be inspired by technology and techniques to evolve and stay excited but know your classics and basics first and foremost, sauces, bouillabaisse, consommé. To start his Red Snapper, Protein Emulsion Piment L’espelette demonstration Paul had a vacuum tight plastic bag filled with red snapper thyme, bay leaf & lemon marinated overnight. If you don’t have a vacuum apparatus just use a freezer bag, suck the air out quickly and tie, extracting the air and impurities, just do NOT breath into the bag! Using the sous-vide low temperature water bath technique for control and saving on washing up time, he drops the bag in at 45˚C raising the bath temp to 50˚-60˚ C. If you don’t have a water bath, steam in oven, cooking for 10 minutes with a thermometer until fish pearlescent to white. Remove fish from bath then rest allowing fish to be “taken down”. Always rest everything after roast, relaxing the food. “It’s the land of relax here in Australia, anymore you’d be asleep”.
His fish stock of filleted red snapper, washed snapper heads with insides and eyes removed, as both full of impurities causing bitterness and a cloudy stock. For 20 minutes boil and skim, reducing stock so overnight it sets until a gelatinous lump of pure natural protein forms. (You can do this with beef or chicken).
For the fish mayo or protein emulsion, use neutral flavoured grape-seed oil, placed into a blender with the gluten fish stock, acting as egg would in a mayonnaise. Add red wine vinegar, lots of garlic and mustard. Season with salt, add more water and lemon to reduce the stock and blend. Finally add olive oil at final blend for rich flavour and some smokey pepper paprika pimentos.
He used yet another plastic bag (you can use a glass jar) to create his infused oil overnight, filled with grilled peppers/capsicum, roasted whole chilies, garlic and (Joseph’s) olive oil.
His final demonstration, Macleay Valley Rabbit, Crystal Bay Prawn, Fennel & Sultana, Mussel Emulsion was entertainment as its squeamish best, assisted by Sean Connelly who had just arrived from the “Picnic on the Bridge” event who served as “his bitch”. Start with a marvelous mussel reduction stock with crystal bay prawns and a whole lot of butter.
“In this wobbly-gooly-land you cannot get langoustines” so next he grabbed a live Marron, which instantaneously bit him, placed a knife in the back of the “little sods” head, he made a cross and chanted “Now you are going to die,” and, “Teach them for biting me,” and, “F-bom me”. With the nerve endings quite clearly twitching away he comments “Oh he’s still moving”, all the while being filmed live, he then states, “Let’s go get his little brother…” Finishing with, “Now I am going to pull his bum off, no don’t turn off the camera, don’t be so squeamish!”
Rabbit Saddle was tenderized and again marinated overnight then grilled rare over coals. Paul considered what rabbits eat, so naturally he served the rabbit with these items - lavender and fennel. A chutney of apple, tomato, sultana, eschalot and fennel seed. A lemon fennel aioli with its enhancing aromas, lastly a simple rocket and raw fennel bulb sliced just like a coleslaw for crunchy salad.Paul currently has 5 books published, the 6th will ave a part of Australia in it and as Sue Bennett moderator of this demonstration said, “You are fun and you’re funny, we loved having you here”, I could not agree more.
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