ionic01 featuring Shaun Quade (25/10/2014)

Date Posted:27 October 2014 

ionic01 featuring Shaun Quade, held at Melbourne Food Depot October 25, 2014 ionic01 featuring Shaun Quade, held at Melbourne Food Depot October 25, 2014

The event
Ionic 01 was the first in a series of events to be held at The Colours & Numbers Lab (Melbourne Food Depot). The name ionic is borrowed from a term used to describe a type of chemical bond. In this bond one or more electrons from one atom are removed and attached to another atom, resulting in positive and negative ions which attract each other. This analogy is a perfect way to describe the bond between ingredient supplier and chef, the choice of which chef to launch the series was easily made. The talented now Melbourne based chef Shaun Quade has been involved with the Melbourne Food Depot for over eight years. Through that time our ingredients have been pushed to the extremes of culinary adventure through a variety of hatted establishments Shaun has worked for. Below is what forty lucky patrons sampled on Saturday October 25, 2014.


ionic01 with Shaun Quade and Philip Vernon

The menu

First Course
Salt & Vinegar chicken skin, candied yolk and marjoram served with a chicken heart doughnut, tomato and turnip kimchi

salt & vinegar chicken skin and chicken heart Doughnut


Second Course
Hapuka cod ham, wild harvested sea blite & chlorophyll

Wild foraged sea blight by Shaun Quade for ionic01 at Melbourne Food Depot ionic01 2014

Third Course
Cauliflower Tofu, camembert and toasted garlic & smoked croissant

ionic01 Cauiflower tofu, Camembert and toasted garlic 

smoked croissant and cauliflower tofu

Fourth Course
Carrot Ice Cream, cheese & marmalade

carrot ice cream at ionic01, melbourne food depot 2014

crowd at ionic01 at Melbourne Food Depot, Melbourne, Australia

Fifth Course
Fossilised Apple Core, Jerusalem artichoke and white chocolate

example of using fossil powder on an apple and Jerusalem artichoke

Sixth Course
Our own Brunswick East honey straight from the hive 3 hours earlier served with a blue cheese foam. It was the first time for many being confronted with a frame of honey straight from our hive. This frame has since been returned to the hive where all the damage has been repaired by our wonderful bees.

A frame of honey from the Melbourne Food Depot bees, minimal food miles maximum flavour Melbourne Food Depots very own honey being enjoyed at ionic01 

Seventh Course
Rhubarb vanilla bean.
Each bean is hand carved from a single length of rhubarb, it is then dehydrated over many days while being brushed with our vader carbon. The intense taste was very enjoyable way to finish the night.

All is not what it seems

 

The Science
After each course Katherine asked questions regarding general chemistry and food science. The patrons battled it out to win one of the five prize bags.

science takes over ionic01  One lucky patron is about to try the green solution

One lucky patron took the challenge of drinking the dihydrogen oxide solution. He selected the green high strength variety as the crowd stepped back waiting for the results.

science takes over ionic01


Katherine proving that you do not require heat to boil water.
Katherine explains it like this "Put simply, the boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which bulk of the liquid changes into a gas. In order to do so, the vapour pressure of the liquid needs to equal that of the external surrounding pressure. When we decrease the external pressure we therefore decrease the vapour pressure of the liquid required to support the change in state. As a result, the temperature required for the liquid to 'boil' is also reduced."

 

Event Time laspe

Credits

Big thanks must go to the team Shaun assembled for the night, working hard in the kitchen upstairs and looking after all the patrons needs. Many patrons visited the team in the kitchen to take in some of the action. Our MC for the night Neil also did a sterling job keeping one eye on the clock the other on proceedings.

 JR filling the chicken heart doughnuts  Shaun working his magic on the kitchen aid delivering fossilised ingredients at ionic01


the MC at ionic01 Neil

 

Photo Credits
Philip Smith from Photosmith
Lisa
Jasmina
Philip Vernon