At The Modern, the Chef Is a Maestro

CODA DI ROSPO: Monkfish and caper berries in a white wine and lemon sauce (Nadia Ghattas/Epoch Times)

To my surprise, harmony and quiet emanated instead of loud, bustling noises. As if a conductor facing his orchestra, executive chef Garbriel Kreuther prepares a signature dish, Chatham Cod Crusted With Chorizo White Coco Bean Puree and Zeres Vinegar Jus. The pan in his hand serves as a baton in the kitchen of The Modern, another one of celebrated Danny Meyer’s additions to Manhattan’s restaurant scene.

Each ingredient is thoughtfully placed like notes on music sheets, the ingredients assembled on a platter one note at a time, yielding an elegant, delicate, and flavorful meal, like the sweet sound of music heard for the first time.

The first oeuvre of my concert night at The Modern was a perfect arrangement of lettuce on thin-sliced, red-circle beet salad looked simple enough—but with its light creamy dressing, it was a culinary masterpiece.

Hesitating only briefly, my fork speared bite after savory bite—light, refreshing, and crisp with the perfect amount of dressing.

The second piece, befitting an event I had attended earlier that day, was a memorable mound of cous cous with stewed lamb and dried dates. The lamb was bathed in a vibrating, zesty, aromatic sauce and melted in your mouth. Such food preparation is an example of perfect execution of culinary skills.

Executive chef Gabriel Kreuther heads the venue. He exquisitely blends modern American and French Alsace cuisine, delivering menu offerings that are a feast for the eye and thrilling on the palate.

Each previous visit to the restaurant with friends during private events was truly an occasion to remember. The meals reminded me of listening to an opera for the first time, a delicious discovery. This should not surprise, for Kreuther lends to each dish his impeccable culinary skills, with focus on classical influences. He had garnered Michelin Star ratings and has worked with the best-celebrated chefs in Europe and in New York.

We agreed to meet one afternoon. Engulfed in a book, I waited patiently in the casual dining area next to the bar. Waiting was understandable since the chef manages two kitchens with two cuisine styles and 70 employees. Then he appeared and said, “Now I am ready. Would you like to stay here or go to the other dining area?” I preferred the latter since it was quieter and I wanted to get his utmost attention.

Leaning across the table with his arms crossed, the man with silver streaks in his blond hair spoke in his charming French accent, “I think the people that stay in the business and become successful are people who are really passionate about it. To get a great result, you have to keep on going without counting. If you count, you won’t get anywhere. Do I have any regrets? No regrets at all … because I always loved what I do.”

The Modern is unpretentious, but chic and sophisticated. It has two dining areas: the barroom section, and the formal dining section. Food in the barroom is much more what Kreyther grew up with. ”It is Alsace style, but modernized and changed. Alsace’s cooking style—basically peasant cooking—is influenced by famers. Most dishes are based on pork, sauerkraut, sausages, and a lot of fish.

“What I have done is I take the basics from the old-style cooking and rework and reactualize some of the dishes in a more modern way, in a lighter way. It is flavorful and more suited to modern environments and also for the American palate.” While the formal dining area leans toward French and modern American cooking that is full of vibrancy without forgetting the flavors.

He leaned back in his chair, smiled, and his eyes reflected his passion for cooking. His family was in the hospitality business. He said that ever since he can remember, “I always wanted to be in the kitchen. I always wanted to be a chef.”

Kreuther studied with the renowned Jean Drouant at the Ecole Hoteliere in Strasbourg, France, for four years. He then worked in different places in Paris. In the summer of 1997 he came to New York.

He worked with Jean-Georges Vongerichten at his Jean George for five years here in New York, “I worked with a lot of different people and learned a lot of different points of view on cooking. … Being in a foreign country and he [Jean-George], like me, comes from the same Alsace region. He was here in the early days, and he was part of that whole new movement on the way people eat here in New York. So that helped me understand what was going on with somebody who is involved in bringing to diners a raised level of cooking.”

We both looked up at the server who was pouring water in our glasses and smiled at him as Kreuther proceeded to tell me that the greatest challenge a chef faces is making the whole team cohesive, to have it run like a well-oiled machine but letting the staff have fun together. A sense of satisfaction came over his face when he said, “I feel very lucky to have a great team. We are in a highly competitive, difficult business and its people can make a big difference.”

The Modern is located at 9 W. 53rd St., New York, NY 10019.
212-333-1220
Themodernnyc.com

Bar open 7 days a week.
Dining room closed Sundays.

The recipe below is complements of chef Gabriel Kreuther. It is a bit complicated but worth the try.

Chatham Cod Crusted With Chorizo,
White Coco Bean Puree, and Xeres Vinegar Jus
Chef Gabriel Kreuther
(Serves 4)

Main Ingredients:

4 pieces of cod (5 ounces each), skin removed
8 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed                                
3 ounces olive oil

Fish Mousseline:

3 ounces cod scraps            
2 ounces heavy cream, for making chorizo adhere to cod
Salt and pepper

Puree Ingredients: 

1 pound coco beans
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut in half
1 stalk celery, peeled and cut in half
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf      
1 sprig thyme
8 ounces chicken stock
4 ounces Xeres vinegar  
5 ounces butter, cut into small dices
3 ounces whipped cream, to finish the puree
1 bunch chives, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Sauce Ingredients:

0.5 quart chicken stock (reduce by half to create a richer flavor)
3 ounces fresh butter, cut into small dices     
2 ounces Xeres vinegar
1 ounce whipped cream
Young basil, to garnish (a small sprig on each plate)
Salt and pepper

Prepare Mousseline:

Place cod scraps in a food processor with a pinch of salt and blend until smooth.

While blending, slowly add in the cream.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Reserve mousseline over a bowl of ice.

To Crust the Fish:

Slice the chorizo on a Mandoline into thin slices and set aside.

Spread a thin layer of the mousseline on the skin side of the fish with a small spatula.   

Arrange the chorizo slices in overlapping layers on top of the fish, to look like fish scales or shingles on a roof and press them down lightly with your fingers, to make them adhere to the fish.

Flip the fish over carefully onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and press down gently to ensure the coating adheres completely. 

Refrigerate the fish and allow coating to set for about 45 minutes to one hour. 

Before cooking and while still on the parchment, trim the edges of the chorizo straight with a knife along the sides of the fish.

Prepare the Puree:

Soak the beans, fully submerged in water overnight, to rehydrate them before cooking.

When ready to cook, drain the beans and transfer them to a pot. 

Add sufficient cold water to fully submerge and cover them with about 1 inch of water. 

Add the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaf, and thyme and cook until beans are tender, about 1.5 to 2 hours. 

Add hot water as necessary to keep the beans submerged and taste the beans to test their doneness. 

Strain the hot beans and remove the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaf, and thyme. Reserve one quarter of the cooked whole beans in the cooking liquid for the garnish. 

Pass the remainder through a food mill to puree. 

Add the hot chicken stock and the vinegar to the pureed beans, little by little, until completely blended. (Note: All this should be done while ingredients are hot.) 

Incorporate the butter into the puree and mix until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Set aside.

Prepare the Sauce:

Reduce the chicken stock approximately by approximately half; then add the butter and the vinegar.

Season with salt and pepper and mix with burr stick blender.

Set aside. 

At the last minute, just before serving, bring the sauce to a boil and mix in whipped cream. Beat with a whisk to make it frothy and serve.

Cook the Fish:

Heat a non-stick frying pan with olive oil.

Place the fish with the chorizo side down into the pan, season with salt, and cook until golden brown. 

Carefully flip the fish over, remove the pan from the heat, and add 2 oz. of water. (Note: the pan will sizzle when adding the hot water, so make sure to either turn off the flame before adding the water or do it away from the burner) 

Place the hot pan into a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes to finish cooking. 

Check for doneness; fish should be cooked once the water has evaporated. 

Reserve the cooking oil to drizzle around the fish upon plating.

To Finish the Dish:

Reheat the bean purée in a pan and blend in a spoonful of whipped cream when just about to serve. 

In another pan, heat the reserved whole beans with a bit of olive oil and butter.

Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped chives just before serving. 

To Plate the Dish:

Place one large spoon of the bean purée on one side of the plate, place the fish with the chorizo side facing up in the center, and scatter some of the whole beans around it. 

Drizzle the plate generously with the sauce and add a sprig of basil for garnish.

Drizzle some of the residual red oil from cooking the chorizo-crusted cod around the plate as a final touch.