Divine Intervention

A former Romanian Orthodox church-turned-playhouse in Cleveland’s Gordon Square Arts District served as the perfect venue for “Sacri-licious”, a little theater of the palate presented by Touch Supper Club Chef Jeff Fisher. As if any validation were necessary, Chef Fisher’s creations generated more than their share of deity-oriented responses. Fisher, who hails from Kingston, New Hampshire, learned to revere cooking with fresh ingredients from his mother, often using the family’s garden as a source. He began working in restaurants when he was 12 and eventually came to Ohio’s Ashland University to play basketball and football. Following college, Fisher worked at Cleveland’s Johnny’s Restaurant along side many top chefs where he began to appreciate ingredients from around the world. Chef Fisher has also been executive chef at Sushi Rock, Johnny’s Snickers, and Martini’s and was also a partner in a restaurant in Tremont for a short time. In addition to his duties as executive chef at Touch, Chef Fisher is also involved with the Chef’s Garden & Culinary Vegetable Institute in Huron, Ohio. There he assists in planning menus and preparing private dinners for exclusive events while having the opportunity to work alongside some of the best chefs in the country such as Charlie Trotter and Ferran Adria. Cleveland is fortunate to have him.

Communion

Wafer + House made wine

Chef Fisher began the evening by thanking his wife in true theatrical fashion. He hand-warmed a heart-shaped balloon that had been cooled in liquid nitrogen until it had expanded to full size and presented it to his wife. Then, wishing those in attendance “a religious food experience” he invited all to come to the front of the church for “communion” consisting of chicken foie gras with kumquat marmalade on a crostini served with a shot-sized glass of wine. It was aptly named and an apropos beginning to the upcoming shared-in-common meal.

Course 1

Hot tomato water with mini gnocchi, grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, Spanish cured chorizo, and a poached quail egg + El Diablo Ketchup Martini

Quoting Genesis, Chef Fisher intoned, “God said, ‘Let there be fowl to fly free across the land and let them live freely,’ which prompted the discussion of which came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, I think it was the egg.” Another noteworthy passage from Chef Fisher on this dish: the Pilgrims considered tomates to be the fruit of the devil and thought they were deadly poisonous, so juice of the devil serves to combine with the egg of the fowl in a decadent cocktail served up with an equally decadent beverage. If you’ve not had tomato water and you love tomatoes like I do, this was a treat. Tomato water is easy to make and serves as a base for Bloody Marys, a flavoring for beer or vodka, a base for gazpacho or cocktail sauce, a poaching liquid for shrimp, calamari or lobster, a dressing for fresh oysters, a marinade for white fish, a vinaigrette mix-in, or drunk chilled and over ice with basil. Sweet tomatoey goodness with exploding grape tomato flavor bombs made this a heavenly dish. Coupled with the Touch-made ketchup and infused-pepper vodka Martini, it was a lycopene lovers dream.

Course 2

St. Germain cured salmon tartar, with squid ink tweil, savory lemon curd, caramelized sweet Maui onions & créme fraiche + St. Germain Lime Soda

“At the Last Supper, Jesus dined on fish and if I were having my last supper this is one of the courses I would have,” preached Chef Fisher from his culinary pulpit. It was a fitting intro to a wonderful dish. The squid ink tweil was the lynch pin of this offering and I was surprised at how it brought the entire dish together. I’d heard descriptions of squid ink as tasting inky or iodized, but the taste that I think best describes it is umami, sometimes described as a pleasant “brothy” or “meaty” taste. However you describe it , it definitely added a pleasant, savory element to the salmon. St. Germain was bishop of Paris and was canonized in 754. In modern times he is known as “Father of the Poor”. As far as I’m concerned he’s also known as “Father of some pretty good cocktails”. The St. Germain Liqueur is made from wild elderflower blossoms that are collected by hand every Spring. It was very refreshing, in a decidedly Kramer sort of way. The company describes it as “neither passionfruit nor pear, grapefruit nor lemon, the sublime taste of St-Germain hints at each of these and yet none of them exactly.” Exactly. This was my favorite cocktail and dish of the evening. Until…

Course 3

Lamb carpaccio, tempura battered egg yolk, crispy fennel and shallots, Parmesan cheese and truffle oil + Catcher In The Rye

“The protector of the Israelites was the Lamb of God, so with that in mind I thought to do a lamb carpaccio,” evangelized Chef Fisher. He explained that he butchered a lamb ending up with about 15 pounds of meat that he would into a sausage style, froze it, and shaved carpaccio style. He also added, “I’ll never do that again!” Believe me Chef, it was worth it! Served with a fresh baguette toast point, capers, and a Moroccan salt-cured olive, the lamb was velvety soft and almost melted in my mouth. This was an inspired combination that evoked the words “Iron Chef-like”. Every bite was a perfect mélange of flavor and texture. I feel fortunate to have been present for this little slice of culinary enlightenment. The Cather In The Rye cocktail consisted of rye bourbon with a little balsamic fennel bitters which complemented the lamb wonderfully.

Course 4

Asian braised pork belly, with forbidden rice and blood orange star anise sauce, five spice cotton candy + Grapes Of Wrath

For this course, Chef Fisher played on the fruit of the vine and forbidden fruit mentioned in the Bible. “It’s never been precisely determined what that fruit was, but we believe it was grapes,” he said. The Grapes Of Wrath cocktail reminded me of fall in Northwestern Pennsylvania, where the aroma of Concord grapes wafts through the air hinting at the fresh juice and jelly that is to come. With an ingredient list including grape vodka, sake, frozen grapes and Litchi syrup fulfilled the forbidden fruit role beautifully. As for the dish, the succulent, juicy pork belly and the forbidden rice–a lemon grass ginger sushi rice–along with the blood orange star anise sauce would have resurrected pure dining satisfaction in anyone all by themselves. The pasta cross was a playful touch, but the real surprise was the five spice cotton candy. It was unexpected, counterintuitive, out of context. And delicious. Taken together, this was another truly inspired combination that solicited praise from the pews.

Dessert

Beet foam with angel food cake, devil’s food cake, passion fruit coulis, with raspberry teardrops +Right of Passage

“There’s always an eternal struggle between heaven and hell. You’re either going to go to heaven or you’re going to go to hell. If you don’t go to heaven or hell you’re stuck in purgatory. Sometimes when you feel like there’s absolutely no love in your life, things seem to break. There needs to be an equilibrium.” And throwing a frozen rose into the middle of the church, shattering its tender petals, thus spake Chef Fisher as an introduction to the final course of the evening. The beet foam was sweet and earthy, the angel food cake light and delicious while the devil’s food cake was rich and decadent. The “stigmata raspberry teardrops” signified the pain that the angels deal with in the “tyranny between heaven and hell”. The Right of Passage cocktail consisted of two espresso-sized drinks signifying heaven and hell. The first, a warm plum brandy with caramelized sugar. The second, cold Grappa and Limoncello. Both were fitting bookends to the Biblically-themed dessert.