Heston's Feasts Heston's New York eating buddy

Date Published:

16/03/2009

New York restaurateur, Ed Schoenfeld, fixed Heston up with an ingredient that had him hopping with excitement - fresh frogs

What was it like working with Heston?

It was kind of like a great day doing science experiments in high school chemistry class.

Did you know who Heston was before he came to New York?

Sure, most serious foodies do.

What did you make of his Tudor frog blancmange creation?

The euphemistic 'interesting'. It was fun to make the blancmange from fresh-pressed almond milk - unfortunately the finished dish with the ground frog mixed in was not something that would appear on my 'can't-wait-to eat-it-again' list, though it did make the 'unforgettable' list. I did like the frog dishes that Joe Ng, our chef at Chinatown Brasserie made: a frog-shaped dim sum, a frog lollipop and a classic Chinese sauté of frog's legs and ginkgo nuts.

Are you a frog fan?

I do like to eat frogs when they're well prepared using high quality product. I learned to eat them in France.

Is there anyone creating similarly spectacular molecular gastronomy in the States?

We have our molecular stars: Grant Achatz at Alinea in Chicago, Wylie Dufresne of WD50 in New York City and Jose Andres in Washington, to name a few.

What other unusual ingredients could we find in a market in New York?

Well in a New York City Chinese market one could find live soft-shelled turtles, frogs, armadillo, black-skinned 'silky' chickens, live abalone, live crabs (snow, Alaskan king and spider crabs from the Pacific North West, and live crabs from China). In a pork butcher you could buy every part of the animal including pig's ears, snout and tail, bung (asshole), and pig's uterus.

What's the strangest thing you've ever eaten?

Bull's penis; snake blood. Weird foods are not an obsession.

Is there anything you wouldn't eat? Why?

Monkey brains: barbaric and dangerous. And bugs: gross

Are you keen to try the food at Heston's restaurant?

Very. I am an unusually serious foodie. It's been my good luck to visit many great restaurants all over the work and I'd love to get to know Heston better and a get a sense of his trip. I found him to be a very likeable and interesting guy. In fact I'd love to invite him to my Brooklyn kitchen and feed him some terrific Asian food.

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