Our friends at Kids Table Food (Jesse & Haley Jane) continue to be two wonderful humans & equally wonderful creative geniuses who love food & wine as much, (probably) more, than we do. The duo has introduced another Japanese/Cascadian locally sourced pop up dinner series called the "Salty Series". We knew when they first announced their second series (see their first one here), that we had to come out, document and experience their genius!
The menu for "Salty Series" featured more locally sourced seafood and other ingredients straight from and/or around Buck Bay Shellfish Farm. If you don't already know, Buck Bay is on Orcas Island, just a (not so) quick ferry ride from Anacortes. From Buck Bay Shellfish's website, “Buck Bay is a beautiful and special area with a freshwater mountain stream running into the bay from Mountain Lake. Come by for fresh Buck Bay oysters, cooked Dungeness crab, fresh local caught fish, fresh homemade salads, ceviche, and baked goods while you enjoy the incredible view and the friendly service. Or pick up some seafood and other great items for your own home feast.”
Jesse and Haley Jane have been with Buck Bay Shellfish Farm since about June, right around when the ouster season started. Every morning when the tides are low (which can be as early as 4:00 am) Jesse and Haley Jane will sort through the oysters to determine when they are ready to enjoy or need more time in the waters. They also do a lot of other cool stuff on the farm that we didn't mention, but we luckily got to watch them sorting oysters this Monday!
Below is a photo & slideshow of our gracious hosts, our table settings, and the delicious food. The descriptions are below the slideshows for each dish. Scroll further down to read the list of wines featured + a mini interview!
The Menu
Innies and Outies
Oysters, borage, nori
First course was a duo of oysters, harvested either at low or at high tide for the purpose of comparing the varying flavors. The oyster on the left side of the picture was the innie oyster and it was robust in flavor and saltier which was complemented by the nori. The oyster on the right side was the outie, and it was slightly bigger and had a significantly cleaner and tamer taste which was complemented by the borage flower. Overall the simplistic plating and flavors were a fresh and welcoming start to our 12 course seafood adventure.
Great Weather for Ducks
Geoduck, filbert, shiso
The second course featured the cyphon part of the geoduck. It was prepared as thinly sliced pieces with hazelnut (aka filbert) oil, sherry vinegar and garnished with shiso. It was strategically plated on locally sourced flat rock (don’t worry it was washed and cooled before using). The dish was delicate and thoughtfully prepared. Each ingredient incorporated, brought out the best in each other.
Jewish Deli
Salmon, sea lettuce, kvass
The thirs course was created in honor of Jesse’s Jewish heritage. It was described “our version of bagels and lox”. The broth was made from kvass, a fermented bread, and the homemade dumplings were filled with white king salmon and milt and then wrapped in sea lettuce. Hint: look up what milt is if you are feeling very curious. This dish was well balanced and gave us an opportunity to try ingredients we have never tried before (hint: milt).
MSG
Tomato, kelp
For the fourth course, the chefs wanted to recreate the taste of MSG and wanted to use organic material (it’s super science based if you care to look that up). This was the only dish with out any seafood as the featured product and instead was solely based on the flavors of vegetables. It was fresh, light and crisp.
San Juan Sanitation
Crab, corn, courgette
This fifth course was inspired by using parts of ingredients that typically aren’t used, and for this dish it was the crab "drippings". When cleaning crab, some of the innards are thrown away, but the chefs challenged themselves to use this as an amazing flavor component. The crab was on top of grilled courgette, on a bed of grits with lacto fermented corn as a garnish. This dish was simple in concept but provided a lot of unexpected flavor.
More Duck
Geoduck, daikon
Prepared on a pine branch, this sixth course featured the natural flavors of two ingredients. Lightly grilled geoduck topped with grated daikon radish, seasoned simply with salt. It was an incredible explosion of flavor. This course featured the inner part of the geoduck that was surprisingly different than the cyphon, slightly chewier and it had a meatier flavor. Overall, it was an incredible course and made us completely fall in love with geoduck.
Barnacle Carnival
Prawns, crab
If you ever wondered if you can eat those baby crabs you find on the beach, well the answer is yes. Just dust them in cornstarch, fry them, and enjoy! How could you not love fried local shrimp and crispy crabs? These fried delicacies were served along side homemade pineapple weed mustard and a homemade rhubarb ketchup.
Fish Outta Water
Black cod, pine, blackberries
In this dish the pine flavor was lightly imparted into the black cod meat through a unique cooking technique in this 8th course. Served alongside hazelnut oil dressed mixed greens and freshly picked (thanks to Haley Jane’s cousin) blackberries. The dish is a surprising combination of fruit, vegetables and fish and it all managed to work together harmoniously. Fresh, light, and flavorful.
Lorie’s Nugget
Crab, fig leaf, spice
This a dish for in honor of and for, Haley Jane’s mom, as her favorite dish is crab cakes. This was the chef's version of a traditional crab cake but with traditional Japanese ingredients added. The daikon was a lovely crisp flavor and texture to cut through the soft, fluffy crab cake.
Breakfast
Salmon, oyster, clam, durum
The 10th course featured a whole spread of the chef's interpretation of a traditional Japanese breakfast. Starting from the bottom left going clockwise: grilled local oyster, simply prepared, hearty durum, chilled chawan mushi (savory egg custard) with tomatoes and clam, white king salmon on shiso. All the dishes had their own unique flavor profile but all were very complimentary of each other. If we could have this for breakfast everyday we totally would!
2nd Breakfast
Fruit, amazake, woodruff
This second breakfast and 11th course was best described as a crepe. The crepe was made out of woodruff and topped with fresh, local fruit and amazake (sweet sake) soaked durum. It was hearty, sweet and a lovely dessert to end an incredible meal.
Tea Time
Candies, tea
For dessert we had peach shiso fruit leather, candied bull kelp and Madrone bark tea. Getting the chance to see the bark out on our hike after trying this tea was a cool full circle food experience. The tea was a lightly sweetened and the tea was light in impact. It was a perfect finish to the dinner. The peach leather was addictive and honestly could we have more? And lastly, the candied kelp was a new experience and kind of threw us off at how close it looked like a green bean.
Overall, this dinner was so delicious and it was incredibly inspiring to see so much creativity and talent in one meal. It was so amazing to see how much growth these two chefs have done in the last year since there last dinner series. They've been busy traveling the world and learning more about farming, agriculture, and accruing more experience every day. From the techniques used, flavor profiles presented, ingredients incorporated and using all their knowledge, these two talented chefs are an amazing duo and should absolutely be on your radar for anything food and wine related.
We were able to catch up with Jesse & Haley Jane for a couple quick questions!
What was your favorite dish to make this time around, and can you tell us a little more about it?
Barnacle Carnival! We got to really play with our food, which is what we love to do. We took seriously delicious flavours and played with unusual ingredients and structure. As oyster farmers for the summer we spent a lot of time on the bay looking at all of the critters and potential ingredients that crawled across our path. One thing that caught our attention was the penny sized shore crab. We did some research and tested and tested them and figured out how to eat them whole. We fried them and put them in a newspaper cone next to a spot prawn that we battered with a very yeasty dough. We wanted it to make you think of the festive delight of a corn dog. We served it with a pineapple weed mustard and a rhubarb ketchup. What are your future plans for Kids Table?
We're heading to Portland and New Orleans to do a few stints of working learning experience from some friends of ours. Specifically Nodoguro and Mosquito Supper Club. They're really great people and you should check them out. Then we're off to New York to do a study in Jewish Delis. After that we're planning a few dinners in Camp Sherman, Oregon, where Haley Jane grew up and then potentially a New Years event on Lummi Island. After that, it'll be 2020, which is crazy to think about. Holy moly. I remember thinking about how far away 2020 was back in 2008 when Weezy dropped the Carter III. Yikes.
Thank you so much for reading & engaging in our content. Thank you to Jesse & Haley Jane for being such rockstars & taking time to share their passions with everyone. Thank you to the other diners who made Sunday night a blast! Below are the featured products & wine listing.
Haley Jane's Wine Pairing Menu:
2011 Can Mayol Loxarel "MM" Gran Reserva Brut Nature Classic Penedes
This was the deep amber bubbles of nutty funky love from a responsible and wonderful farmer. This is truly one of the highest value bottles of deep earthy celebration you can get your hands on. Probably retails between $30 and $40
2018 Field Recordings Blanc de Franc Paso Robles
Really stinkin' well done Pet Nat of direct press Cab Franc (?!?! your socks should already be knocked off ?!?!). Bright and smashable with frilly edges of torn crusty breads and barefoot feet on sun baked dust. And they seem like really lovely folks doing a good thing.
2017 WT Vintners Chenin Blanc Upland Vineyard
Jeff is a very talented winemaker and a very kind man. He built my base in winemaking and I am wildly grateful to have learned under such a talented winemaker. His Chenin is all yellow melon flesh in you mouth with your feet in a cold, rocky stream. Go see him in Woodinville. His Syrah's are (I think) the best in Washington.
2018 Mount Edward Gamay Central Otago
GAMAY GAMAY GAMAY. This wine is sought after in NZ. No one can get their hands on it. It's a small production and a quick drinker and it just seems to slip through our fingers like water. No added sulfur keeps this wine a young, funky fruit bomb. Messy, charming, energetic.
Kamara Estate "Nimbus" Retsina Greece
Skin Contact Retsina. It's an idea abrasive enough to make most people break out in cold sweats. Pine resin. White grape tannin extraction. Who the hell would do this? I don't know but I think it's bloody genius. The texture and structure from the skin contact carry the pine flavour into your mouth like a whole suckling pig at a game feast. All together it's rich and strong and well integrated. Thank you for doing the abrasive thing.
2014 Beckham Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir Amphora Lignum A.D.
Good people making good pinot. Structured like a cathedral made of toothpicks. Grand but delicate. Fruity but DEEP. Cavernous. Well worth poring over.