I just had to post a photograph of the new vegetarian dish at Le Canard, the Wellington restaurant of which I am a silent but hungry partner.
Chef Pascal Bedel has taken inspiration from René Redzepi’s stunning book, Noma. Named after his highly acclaimed restaurant in Copenhagen, the book showcases Redzepi’s interpretation of Nordic cuisine with dishes that redefine those overused words, seasonal and local.
At Le Canard his ‘vegetable field’ becomes ‘le jardin potager’ – a garden of vegetables served in a flowerpot, complete with edible ‘dirt’. The flavours are intriguing, the presentation, fabulous.
A vegetarian friend of mine from New York was the first customer to order the dish. She dug into her flower pot with great gusto, devouring the whole garden from the tops of the carrots to the pomme purée at the base. She recognised a hint of horseradish in the mash but couldn’t figure out what gave the soil its tasty crunch.
Ask the chef.
Pass the Salt 
That is beautiful (even if I feel that diners at Le Canard should leave their vegetarianism at the door).
Yep. Le duck, not normally top billing for vegetarians!
Beautiful indeed. Just back from Melbourne’s Food and Wine Fest, and saw another interpretaion of the Edible Garden – this one from the Diggers’ club, who grow the most phenomenal range of heirloom cucurbitas. Have a look at http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/australia/4746532/The-world-on-your-plate.
Wow! how may pumpkins can you fit in a fiat? Melbourne food festival reads beautifully. How come you get all the good jobs? I’m doing the food of Pukekohe – great vegetables but it’s not Melbourne. No long lunches. No time for lunch at all come to think of it.