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THE TOBACCO DINNER
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The stage is set at The Chef's Table in restaurant The Paul, in a winter-clad Tivoli Gardens in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Outside the children are whooping with delight on the swings and carousels, and Tivoli's guests are enjoying the myriad of lights, the music and the Christmas aromas wafting enticingly from the many booths and shops. In the restaurant we are preparing for an extraordinary food experience – composed with tobacco as an important new ingredient. |
Chef de cuisine and owner of the restaurant Paul Cunningham has earned his place in the Michelin guide to the finest restaurants in the world and is reputedly among the very best in Copenhagen. Almost a year ago he began experimenting with tobacco as a new way of adding a touch of mystique and fresh experiences to the restaurant menus. Paul Cunningham realised that the mild tobaccos from Mac Baren gave him the opportunity to broaden the taste spectrum in a way that is not possible with traditional spices. |
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“I try to imbue each course with a composition of impressions – bitter and sweet, hard and soft, heavy and light. Tobacco gives me a new tool to work with,” says Paul Cunningham as he presents the first course on the menu: scallops prepared with ewe's milk and celery topped with Original Choice tobacco. Served with a glass of well-shaken buttermilk mixed with a sweet single malt whisky. |
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Light up your pipes!
Normally smoking is not allowed in the restaurant, but Paul Cunningham proposes that on this particular day pipes be smoked between courses. The next course is cod with cauliflower spiced with dried Aromatic Choice. Served with a white beer - Weinenstephaner. All in all, a course that is at the same time mild and pungent with the piquant taste of tobacco. |
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”I dry, boil or bake the tobacco, as this makes it easier to control the taste impressions, none of which should dominate too much,” explains Paul Cunningham before the next course - foie gras terrine, nougatine cake and pain dépice – is served accompanied by the restaurant's own white gløgg, or Christmas punch, chilled in small glasses from the cellars of Henrik Yde. The ideal complement. This time the effect and contrast is provided by Mac Baren's new luxury tobacco The Cube. |
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Mac Baren has spent almost three years developing The Cube. A lot of work has gone into the tobacco's top flavour in particular, making it a pleasure to be in the same room with – and not only for the pipe smoker. And now we can also note that it is a pleasure to be in the kitchen with. |
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The Paul works with every detail, which is clear to the guests when a delicious aroma of Christmas cakes wafts through the restaurant as a Royal Stag in chocolate, quince purée and cranberries is brought in. The sauce is flavoured with tobacco – naturally, Cherry Choice for the royal stag – and they complement each other perfectly. A strong Californian red wine, Santa Cruz Mountain, completes the picture of wine, game, tobacco and background aromas. |
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For the finale, the table is decked with roasted coffee beans, vanilla and cinnamon before a Creme Brulee is served – delicately finished with prunes. The tobacco flavour – again The Cube – is to the fore, although subdued by a wonderful 32 year old sherry, Bodegas Toko Albala, served on the rocks. |
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Coffee, tobacco and English liquorice
Naturally, the guests concluded this exquisite dinner with an excellent pipe with the Mac Baren tobaccos that had complemented the culinary experience so admirably. While the guests enjoyed after-dinner coffee, a selection of the ingredients that Mac Baren works with in its tobaccos was presented: chocolate with an other-worldly cacao content, genuine English liquorice and maple sugar, which Paul Cunningham enthusiastically incorporates into his culinary compositions. |
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The culinary arts and the production of quality tobacco have many similarities. Both rely on having innovative ideas, being creative, showing respect for traditions and histories, and experimenting and forging new directions. Paul Cunningham with his exquisite menu and Mac Baren with The Cube in particular have shown that they are masters in the art of innovation that kindles.
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