When Erwan Heussaff and his fiancée (now wife) Anne Curtis were looking for places to hold their wedding, they narrowed down the choices to Tasmania in Australia, and New Zealand.

“Both are similar in terrain,” Heussaff says, “but once we landed in Queenstown, we knew that it was the place.”

It also sparked his love affair with New Zealand. “It has one of the most beautiful airports in the world,” he recalls. “You land in between hundreds of mountains, most of them snow-capped. It’s the most gorgeous thing.”

New Zealand’s produce

Apart from viewing magnificent landscapes such as the Franz Josef Glacier and Ben Lomond, what excited him the most was sampling New Zealand’s fresh produce and fine wines.

“When I started tasting the produce in South Island, I was absolutely blown away,” the foodie says. “The simplicity of it, how beautifully tasting they were. All the farms we’ve gone to have been there for 40, 50 years, so you know they were driven by love and passion. It’s a place I want to visit again.”

Heussaff recently hosted an intimate dinner in his office studio in Makati using the best of what New Zealand offers. On the menu were salmon with arugula puree; lamb with a tart cherry demi glace, garlic confit and toasted curry leaves; and a dry-aged Savannah striploin seasoned with salt to highlight the beefiness.

It came with two sides: corn with onion crisp and atsuete garlic oil; and roasted beets with pumpkin, feta cheese, almonds and a citrus-tahini sauce.

The meal was complemented with Allan Scott wines from the northernmost tip of South Island. “The pinot noir was jammy and tart, while the sauvignon blanc was juicy and fruity,” he says.

“Food in New Zealand is very seasonal, simple and easy to read,” says Heussaff. “They focus on the star products. Like Filipinos, Kiwis serve food family-style.” That’s exactly how the guests enjoyed Heussaff’s meal.

Akaroa salmon is sustainably grown in the east coast. “It’s quite astounding because they are naturally oily and fatty,” he says.

He brined the fish, cooked it in low temperature, then solidified it in the fridge for a tender and extremely soft texture. It was served with horseradish cream, pickled onions, arugula puree and garnished with micro amaranth.

Salmon Mi-Cuit

400 g skinless salmon loin
1.4 liters water
150 g salt
80 g sugar
2 tbsp olive oil

Mix sugar and salt in water until dissolved. Chill mixture to 5°C. Pour mixture in pan and submerge the salmon completely. Brine for one hour.

Take the loin out and place it in vaccum bag, using the olive oil to help it slip through. If you don’t have a vacuum bag, a Ziploc bag will do. Use the water displacement method.

Cook at 40°C for one hour.

Place the bags immediately in an ice bath and in the fridge for eight hours.

Open the bags and slice the fish.

Tip: Make sure the salmon is as fresh as possible. If it has been frozen and defrosted multiple times, it will be too mushy to use.

Horseradish cream

50 g horseradish root or canned horseradish

350 g heavy cream

1 tsp lemon zest

Salt to taste

½ pack unflavored gelatin

2 tbsp warm water

If using fresh horseradish, grate and mix with cream. For canned horseradish, just mix it in. Place in pot. Season with salt to taste. Cook down in very low heat, never letting it boil, for 20 minutes.

Bloom the gelatin in warm water. Transfer to the pot. Whisk thoroughly. Take off the heat and let cool, before leaving it in the fridge for an hour.

Right before using, strain the mixture.

Arugula puree

100 g arugula
½ c extra virgin olive oil
50 ml lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced

Place arugula, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic in a blender and mix for about
five minutes.

Red onion pickles

1 l water
2 red onions, sliced with a mandolin
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp black peppercorns

Boil water and cover the onion slices. Let it stand for two minutes then drain.

Boil vinegar with all the other ingredients. Remove from heat and cover the onions with this mix, leave them in for at least 30 minutes. Strain when ready to use.

To assemble the dish, place the salmon slices on top of the horseradish cream. Dress with arugula puree and pickled onions. Garnish with mix of greens and aromatics like orange peel, fresh dill, micro greens. —CONTRIBUTED