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Since its birth in Copenhagen, Cook it Raw has grown to become an amalgamation
of the greatest contemporary thinkers in the world of gastronomy.
for further information contact:
alessandro porcelli
info@cookitraw.org
what's raw Cook it Raw sees avant-garde chefs and traditional food producers come together to create a unique dining experience that explores social, cultural and environmental issues.
through the experience Cook it Raw hopes to encourage the exchange and development of skills and knowledge that not only leaves its creative mark on the participants but has a lasting effect on the cultural life of the host country.
brotherhood each time the brotherhood of the raw sets up a gathering, its delves into the fabric of some of the most sought after destinations on earth, and investigates its purest of traditions. after days of immersion and engagement, the chefs present their discoveries on a plate, allowing our guests, and worldwide following to have a different sensory perspective on a destination they may or may not be familiar with.
from the green pastures that surround the danish capital, to the frozen cold soil of the collio in italy and then far above the artic circle into finnish lapland, cook it raw is a mind blowing workshop, a food-land art operation where all the usual disciplines and expectations are turned upside down.
the future will take us to japan, australia and brazil and we will add to the brotherhood the involvement of architects, designers, film-makers, musicians, writers, poets and artisans along with scientists & philosophers.
in the shadows of the great Mount Haku-san, an expedition takes place to discover the sustainable fabric behind Japanese gastronomy. Cook It Raw for it's fourth instalment discovers the prefecture of Ishikawa, and immerses itself in ancient rituals and methods have been passed down from generation to generation, enriching the local cultural soil for centuries.
a culinary experiment where the chefs create a dish using only the products found in region of Japan, famed for its dedication to harnessing intricate flavour while respecting natures boundaries.
Ishikawa Prefecture is also an established artisanal hub in Japan, and each chef was teamed up with a local artist to collaborate on the creation of a dish.
each dish was presented on a plate made by a local artisans from the famed Utatsuyama Craft Workshop, in Kanazawa City. Fifteen artisans from Utatsuyama Craft Workshop, in Kanazawa City where selected, and each one created a dish using traditional Japanese techniques infused by the contemporary vision of the chefs.
the 4 day adventure saw the group immerse themselves completely in local traditions.
exploring the fish auctions of Nanao City in the Northerly Noto Peninsula.
foraging in the Satoyama forest of the Kaga Hills.
attempting to hunt duck's with the ancient technique of Sakaami Ryo.
tasting and matching the most emblematic sake's to their dishes.
sleeping and dining in the traditional Ryokans of Yamashiro and Yamanaka Onsen.
the chefs then meditated their experiences and presented their discoveries on a dish at a gala dinner on the final night. The final dinner was titled “Shoku-do”, which translates as “The way of food”.
the dishes where infused by their discovery of Japan, and anecdotal moments of their expedition were present in the naming of each chef’s creation.
Alex Atala presented a glittering plate called “Jewelousy”, a tartar of calamari served on a block of ice on top of a metal dish. Ben Shewry offered an emotional dish called “Dry your eyes, sweetheart”, with wasabi flowers, chrysanthemum petals and shrimp, and which was an ode to a phrase used often by a recently deceased fishmonger friend. "When Pigs Fly", by Sean Brock, was a comic reflection on the unsuccessful duck hunt that forced him to use pork in his dish.
the night ended with René Redzepi’s spectacular dessert called “Sake-Sake”, an ice cream based on the Japanese drink presented on a delicate glass bowl. For the Japanese diners present at the event it was a completely new interpretation of a flavour so familiar to them.
Cook It Raw brings the world's leading chefs together at a different location every year and has them exchange ideas and gain knowledge from local farmers, fishermen and artisans.
On the final night a dinner takes place, in which each chef creates a dish inspired by the people and region that have acted as their muse. Our chefs are the heart of Cook It Raw, the driving force behind this culinary expedition, and their recreation of the products and techniques that they encounter is what makes the experience unpredictable and magical.
At each event the dishes that are created on the final night are a result of the chefs immersion into the local culture. Their engagement with endemic sustainable ways, new raw materials and inspiration from local producers and artisans influence the final dinner.
Every Cook It Raw edition is a new challenge for the chefs, and they have to synthesize their experience on a plate. The dished are a testament to each journey Cook It Raw embarks on, and they introduce, through the senses a new vision on a country, its culture and traditions.
THE BEGINNING
the stage for the first chapter of cook it raw was the danish capital - a melting pot of cultures and cuisines - at the avant-garde of sustainable cooking - the 2009 nerve centre for the climate change conversation.
the theme was simple - making a dish that used as little energy as possible - a reflection on the future to come - where our energy consumption will be closely measured and monitored.
the chefs and guests experienced the early summer scandinavian wilderness outside copenhagen and experimented with wild herbs and endemic sea life
highlights of the dinner where the live fjord shrimps jumping around the tables. Massimo Botturas dish called pollution which was inspired by the state of the oceans in 2050, where all there will be left in the sea is jellyfish and giant squids. another critique on process was Davide Scabins steak tartare bc, which cost a 1300 euro a kilo to extract by scalpel from a cheap cut of the cow, money which could have been used to clean a river.
WINTER WAS HARD
when the title was conceived in the summer of 2009, no one could have predicted how accurate they would be. The winter on 2010 was one of the coldest on european record, and the stage for the second cook it raw event.
Italys Collio Friuli Giulia region was the stage. A region which straddles the border with Slovenia not just in geography. a place where the winter plays a key role in the creation of its produce, from the enchanting wines of Josko Gravner to the world famed rose of Gorizia, the worlds most expensive salad.
they extracted herbs from the cold dead earth
they fished on the banks of an island that was dear to the great Pasolini
three military like days of discovery ended with a dinner that made winter by far the most exotic of seasons. an ode to the forest, the sea, the essence of the earth in our diet ruled supreme. dishes like Nariwasa evolve with the forest, which turned the wilderness into a dish to be respected and preserved. Redzepis rendition to the family Jensens danish winter of 1941, one of the coldest on record and under the watchful eye of the nazi occupiers, proved that flavor can emerge from the darkest of times.
INTO THE WILD
as the eternal days of the Scandinavian summer came to an end, the brotherhood of the Raw met again at Helsinki Train Station and boarded the Borealis Express for the 12 hour train journey up and above the artic circle.
over 4 days the chefs discovered the effects that the endless summer has on one of the produce in this land usually covered in ice. They foraged
they hunted
they fished
they listened to what this last piece of European wilderness whispered to them in the form of Inspiration.
the result was magical dinner
that ended with the cosmic performance
of the northern lights