I got to know Mark Edwards back in my days at the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St.Moritz, the infamous ski resort located in the Swiss Alps. In 2002 we opened the restaurant Nobu at the Palace. Roland Fasel, was Hotel Director at the time (and is currently the GM at the InterContinental London) and was the initiator and visionary in bringing Nobu to this exquisite mountain resort. Needless-to-say it was a match made in heaven and an immediate success.

In the seasons pre-opening phase we received the first food market list with all products required for Nobu to operate and immediately began sourcing the items desired. We realized quickly that this would be an extraordinary task trying to locate these products domestically. The fact that Switzerland is not part of the EU made matters worse. We were able to obtain a majority of the items from JFC (Japan Food Company, who import all products from Japan) who have depots in the UK and Germany.The main challenge was then to convert the codes for the food items from EU to Swiss codes for import and taxation purposes. We were able to achieve this with through our connections and with the help of many of our suppliers.

The day before Nobu was scheduled to open we had most of the ingredients we needed to operate apart from rice and a few additional specialty items. The remaining missing items had just arrived from the UK and were waiting to be picked up at Geneva Airport on the other side of Switzerland. I organized a DHL courier to drive it to St.Moritz where it was snowing heavily. The courier phoned late in the evening and informed me that he wouldn’t take the risk of driving over the snow loaded mountain roads of the “Julierpass.” So I got in my car and drove in the middle of the night to the other side of the mountains to take over the freight. We made it back to St.Moritz by 3am where Mark and his team were preparing the mise en place for the opening on the next day. The Nobu team were anxiously awaiting the last items to arrive.

In the beginning of this year we met over a vodka tonic in the hotel bar and discussed the opening of the Cookbook Cafe and the launch party. I asked Mark if there was any chance of honoring us as a guest chef for this industry event. (Mark, thanks for your great support on the night of the launch!!). The event was a huge success thanks to Mark’s contribution. Following is our foodie interview with Mark Edwards, the genius Head Chef of Nobu London and partner of Nobu Matsuhisa.

(Above: Image of the South ramp of the Julier Pass road on a sunny day)

(Below: Mark Edwards with Executive Chef Michel Gehrig at the CBC launch)

Here is the interview:

Why are you in London? It’s one of the top gastronomic cities in the world
What is your favorite neighborhood restaurant that you would recommend to a friend? Hot Stuff in 9 Elms
What is the best dish Hot Stuff puts out there? Menu changes every day
What do you always keep in your fridge? Champagne, quality cheese, smoked salmon
What is your favorite cook book? Roman Cookery by Apicius
What is your favorite dish? A dish that someone else has prepared for me with their heart and soul
What do you never eat? Monkey Brains
What is your most important kitchen tool? My hands
What is your all time favorite drink? Vodka tonic (and we had so many of them already!)
What inspires you? Researching the history of regional peasant dishes
What do you cook for someone you like to impress? Something very simple
What would be your last meal? The executioner slowly braised over an open fire

Would you share your favorite recipe with us?

Steamed John Dory with Wild Garlic, recipe for 4

Steamed John Dory with Wild Garlic

Serves 4

400g John Dory fillets skinned
4 each Shitake mushrooms
8 Asparagus spears
50g Wild Garlic Leaves (ramsons or bear garlic)
80g Oyster Mushrooms
60ml Sake
60ml Soy
Shichimi Togarashi
40g Butter
Sea Salt, Freshly Milled Pepper
4 Circles of parchment paper 40cm in Diameter

1. Make sure you have all the ingredients to hand before you start this dish, you will need to have a steamer big enough to cook the 4 parcels and an oven preheated to 150f when ready for cooking.

2. Cut Parchment paper into circles and lay each one a flat surface.

3. Place fish neatly in the center of the 4 parchment circles.

4. Next divide the mushrooms, chopped asparagus spears and roughly cut Wild Garlic leaves on the top of each of the fish parcel.

5. Place 10g of butter on each, Season with Black Pepper and a pinch of salt and shicimi Togorashi.

6. Fold over the parchment paper in to a half moon taking care that the contents remain inside the centre of the bag.

7. Fold one of the corners up so it is at right angles to the flat side of the half moon.

8. Now fold over the rounded edge of the parcel with little tight folds each one overlapping the next until you are two thirds of the way round.

9. Holding the last fold tightly pick up the bag (making sure the sealed end is pointing downwards) and pour the sake and soy into the opening.

10. Fold up the last corner again at right angles to the base, and continue folding round the top in tight little folds until you reach the end.

11. Tuck the end round into the last corner and stand the parcel up on its flat end (should like a Cornish pastie with the ribbed end standing up) and repeat the whole process for the other three.

12. Place in the steamer and cook for 10-12 mins, place on a baking tray and put into the preheated oven for 1 minute to dry the parchment paper and allow the bag to puff up a little. Take that the parchment does not burn whilst in the oven.

13. Serve immediately and cut open the top of each parcel at the table