Quince S.F. Chef Tusk Explains Their Plating Truffles On iPads
San Francisco Michelin-star restaurant Quince has been serving up their truffles on a very pricey plate. No, it’s not Bernardaud, it’s Apple. You see their dish, “A Dog in Search of Gold,” is plated upon an actual Apple iPad featuring a video.
Quince iPad-Plated Truffles
The dish is part of Quince’s price fixed menu and consists of a white truffle fritter with salt roasted celeriac and roasted porcini mushroom. The fritter is dusted with a dehydrated porcini powder as porcini mushrooms and truffles are in season at the same time and eat well together. Another component to the dish is a crisp of chestnut puree and roasted chestnut.
above: the prix-fixe menu at Quince with the truffle dish
Lou Stejskal took this video of the iPad-plated starter dish at the BOKA truffle dinner at Quince:
While some are scorning it as unhealthy and others as a silly trend, there is a method to their madness as Chef Michael Tusk explains on the restaurant’s Facebook page. The video is that of a truffle hunt, revealing the moment when the truffle is detected by the Romagnolo dog.
We often get a lot of questions about white truffles; where and how they are harvested, the trees they grow under, is it a pig or a dog…. There is a lot of mythology that surround them and given their cost and rarity, it sparks many a conversation in the restaurant and piques the curiosity of our guests and staff alike.
Quince Chef Michael Tusk cleaning White Truffles for Tartufo Bianco Week at Quince (image courtesy of @quince_sf)
The current presentation has proved to be a humorous and playful albeit unconventional way of engaging in that conversation.” – Chef Michael Tusk of Quince restaurant
The video displayed on the iPad depicts the scene of a truffle hunt revealing the moment when the truffle is revealed and detected by the Romagnolo dog. You can see several videos of truffle-sniffing dogs at work in Italy and the UK on You Tube.
Below is part of the video used on Quince’s iPads.
According to Tusk, the iPad and the custom walnut box it rests in combine a little bit of gastronomy, technology, education and whimsy. As to the construction and design of the box they commissioned local wood worker and friend Luke Bartels to create a housing for the iPad – a simple frame with a plexi glass cover that protects the screen. The food does not directly sit on top of the iPad. The removable plexi sheath is washed and sanitized after every use in keeping with all other plate ware.
While much thought goes into the ingredients and composition of any given dish, as much thought will go into the service and presentation of these dishes. And Quince is no stranger to using unconventional pieces in collaboration with ceramists and woodworkers to give the food a broader context. Another example would be a “mattarello” (a traditional wooden rolling pin) that we serve a pasta in. All of this can add an unexpected and fun dynamic in the service of fine dining. – Chef Michael Tusk
