The world of Michelin-starred fine dining often feels like a carefully guarded secret, a realm where culinary boundaries are pushed and every plate is a work of art. For many, understanding the sheer dedication, precision, and culinary innovation that goes into such an experience remains a mystery. However, as revealed in the accompanying video, establishments like Chicago’s Esmé pull back the curtain, showcasing a truly creative menu and the relentless pursuit of perfection that defines their acclaimed status.
At Esmé, the philosophy extends beyond mere sustenance; it’s about crafting a multi-sensory journey for each guest. This deep dive into their kitchen offers a fascinating glimpse into the intricate processes and artistic vision that elevate their gastronomy to extraordinary heights. From meticulously crafted canapés to avant-garde main courses and innovative bread service, every element is designed to surprise, delight, and challenge perceptions of what food can be.
The Art of the First Impression: Esmé’s Canapés
A fine dining experience at Esmé begins long before the main courses arrive, with an array of stunning canapés designed to ignite the palate. These initial bites are not just appetizers; they are intricate expressions of flavor, texture, and visual artistry. Each element, no matter how small, is a testament to meticulous preparation and a commitment to quality ingredients.
One such opener is the delicate rabbit consommé, served in a ceramic eggshell with a pea foam. This isn’t merely soup; it’s a statement of elegance and playful presentation. The ceramic eggshell maintains the consommé’s ideal temperature, while the pea foam adds a whimsical, earthy lightness. Furthermore, the Hassun tray introduces multiple sophisticated bites, each a miniature masterpiece. Consider the plum and fava bean tart, where a roasted plum skin is meticulously layered onto a fava bean puree, creating a harmonious balance of sweet and earthy notes.
Another highlight is the Kinmedai from Japan, expertly cured in kombu for six hours. This process, known as kobujime, imparts a subtle umami flavor and firms the fish’s texture, transforming it into a luxurious bite. The wagyu carpaccio tart, featuring Japanese A5 wagyu sliced razor-thin, is assembled just before service, ensuring peak freshness and an unparalleled melt-in-your-mouth experience. These complex canapés demonstrate a commitment to both exotic and local ingredients, all handled with exceptional care and precision.
Culinary Alchemy: Partridge in Clay
Esmé’s partridge in clay course is a signature dish, demonstrating the kitchen’s flair for the dramatic and its mastery of classic techniques. This course isn’t just about cooking a bird; it’s an elaborate performance that engages sight, smell, and taste. The process begins a full day in advance, ensuring optimal flavor and texture.
First, the partridges are meticulously butchered and then brined for 24 hours. Brining, a crucial step in advanced chef techniques, ensures the bird remains incredibly moist and flavorful throughout the intense cooking process. The birds are then stuffed with a rich sausage made from morel mushrooms and foie gras. This stuffing, an emulsified mixture of ground foie gras and spices, must be kept extremely cold—below 55 degrees Fahrenheit—during preparation to maintain its delicate texture and prevent fat separation. This temperature control is vital for a smooth, homogenous sausage.
What truly sets this dish apart is the clay encasement. Historically, roasting in clay has been used to create a natural oven, locking in moisture and flavor. Esmé elevates this by sculpting the clay into artistic forms that reflect the bird inside. While they now use molds to streamline the process, the artistry of forming these clay vessels remains. Noah Lorenz, a member of the kitchen team, highlights the problem-solving involved, noting how minor cracks must be “Band-Aided” with additional clay to ensure even cooking and presentation. After roasting for approximately 45 minutes to an hour, the clay sculpture is dramatically broken open tableside with a hammer, revealing a perfectly cooked, aromatic partridge. This theatrical presentation transforms a meal into an unforgettable sensory event.
Beyond the Standard Loaf: Laminated Cornbread
Bread service at Esmé is far from a mere accompaniment; their laminated cornbread has become a staple, celebrated for its unique blend of textures and flavors. Chef Jenner Tomaska describes it as a “love marriage” between traditional cornbread and a croissant, a testament to the restaurant’s creative menu development. The creation of this distinctive bread is a labor-intensive process, demanding precision and time.
The dough, initiated with active dry yeast and a touch of sugar, undergoes a meticulous mixing process for about 20 minutes. Crucially, it incorporates cornmeal that has been hydrated overnight, which helps soften its texture and reduce chewiness. The choice of butter is paramount here; European butter, with its higher fat content and lower water content compared to most American varieties, is essential. This distinction makes the butter less brittle, allowing it to be uniformly distributed during the lamination process without cracking, creating the signature flaky layers.
After bulk fermenting overnight in a cooler, the dough is rolled out, and a block of butter is carefully folded in. This lamination, much like that for croissants, involves multiple folds and rests, building hundreds of delicate layers. The final touch is braiding the dough before proofing, an intentional choice to exaggerate and showcase the intricate work that goes into each piece. As the bread proofs and bakes, these layers expand, creating an exquisite texture and visual appeal that perfectly complements the overall fine dining experience.
Reinventing Classic Cuts: The Dover Sole “Tomahawk”
Gustavo Mejia Alfaro’s innovative butchery transforms a whole Dover Sole into a “tomahawk” rack, a truly unique presentation that showcases profound skill and respect for the ingredient. This technique pays homage to pioneers like Peter Luger, who introduced the fish chop in the 90s, and Thomas Keller, famous for his salmon chop. However, Esmé’s Dover Sole takes it a step further, presenting a cut that is both visually stunning and highly functional.
The process involves careful skinning and deboning, leaving specific side bones attached to form the “rack.” The delicate fan at the end of the fish is removed, as its bones become too fragile. Once the rack takes shape, the inside is seasoned before a vibrant mosaic of zucchini and yellow squash is meticulously shingled onto the fish. This mosaic, a display of intricate food artistry, not only adds visual appeal but also contributes subtle flavors and textures. The mosaic-adorned fish is then gently wrapped in plastic and cryovaced. Cryovacing, a vacuum-sealing technique, helps the mosaic adhere perfectly and ensures even cooking, contributing to the fish’s tender texture.
The fish is then cooked sous vide, a method that ensures precise temperature control for a medium-rare finish. Before plating, the remaining bones are blanched for a few seconds to loosen the meat, allowing for a cleaner product. The bones are then meticulously cleaned, often yielding four to five portions per fish, with cuts made through the membrane, not bone, to prevent chips. This entire process ensures that the guest receives a beautiful, bone-in fish that is easy to eat, celebrating both the artistry of butchery and the delicate flavors of the Dover Sole, often with a French influence reminiscent of Sole Véronique.
A Canvas of Flavors: Esmé’s Salad Course
The salad course at Esmé is a vibrant celebration of seasonality, local ingredients, and artistic collaboration. Chef Tomaska emphasizes a consistent partnership with local artists, rotating their work every four months. This integration transforms the dining room into a gallery and inspires the culinary team. For this course, Esmé collaborated with Chicagoan artist Meghan Borah, whose color palette for the plateware directly influenced the design of the salad.
Sourcing from local farmers like Mike Murphy is central to this dish, ensuring the freshest herbs and flowers are available daily or weekly. This commitment to local produce guarantees peak flavor and allows the kitchen to adapt its menu development based on availability. The salad itself is a delicate bouquet built upon a hearty base like romaine, layered with three different types of pea tendrils (Kelvin, verde, and yellow) for textural and visual complexity.
Chef Tomaska’s philosophy for salad is simple yet profound: it must always balance sweetness, acidity, and herbaceousness. These three elements are presented not just within the greens but also through accompanying purees—blanched chive, orange, celery-aged carrot, and fermented honey. These purees are strategically placed on the plate to riff off Meghan Borah’s color scheme. Guests are encouraged to interact with the dish, picking up the bouquet, swiping it through the purees, and tasting the elements separately before combining them, creating a truly interactive and personalized sensory experience. The artistry in assembly is likened to floristry, highlighting the scientific precision involved in binding elements for both aesthetic and gustatory appeal.
Harmonizing Sweet, Savory & Refreshing: The Watermelon & Crab Dish
As guests move halfway through their creative menu, a bright and refreshing course is introduced to cleanse the palate. This innovative dish, featuring watermelon and crab, is a masterclass in balancing sweet, savory, and acidic components. It begins with the meticulous preparation of a clear tomato gelée. Heirloom tomatoes are processed to extract their pure essence, which is then boiled with agar and gelatin. This mixture requires an hour to two hours to set properly, transforming into a translucent, flavorful jelly that forms the base of the dish.
The watermelon component is equally sophisticated. A sidecar of roasted watermelon, meticulously trimmed and portioned, accompanies the main plate. What’s truly unique is the use of a hollowed-out watermelon piece that acts as an edible lid, covering a delicate crab salad. This salad provides the dish’s primary acidic element, complemented by a crunch and heat from an XO sauce and a unique dressing made from roasted watermelon scraps blended with mustard. The liquid extracted from the roasted watermelon is also repurposed into a syrup, showcasing a commitment to zero-waste restaurant kitchen practices and maximizing flavor.
Another impressive technique is the creation of roasted watermelon sheets. Watermelon slices are roasted for two hours, caramelizing their natural sugars and transforming them into a texture resembling tuna. This advanced technique creates an unexpected and delightful mouthfeel, further cementing the dish’s playful yet precise nature. The final touch is a tableside pour of a complementary broth, enhancing the aromas and flavors, and delivering a truly immersive dining moment.
The Unseen Labor: Mise en Place and Kitchen Discipline
Behind every perfectly plated dish at Michelin-starred Esmé lies an immense amount of unseen labor and rigorous kitchen discipline. The concept of “mise en place,” meaning “everything in its place,” is more than just an organizational principle here; it’s a way of life that dictates the rhythm of the entire operation. The team arrives at 11:00 AM, with a full breakdown of tasks at 2:30 PM, followed by a brief staff meal at 3:00 PM, allowing them to prepare for service.
A critical daily ritual, held at 4:00 PM, is the tasting session for all sauces, purees, and menu items. Chef Tomaska emphasizes the importance of having multiple palates beyond just the head chefs involved in this quality control. This collaborative tasting ensures that every component is perfectly seasoned and consistent, addressing any “out of whack” elements immediately. For instance, instructions like “the rose needs acid” or “your melon doesn’t taste like anything” highlight the constant refinement and pursuit of perfection.
The intensity of the kitchen is palpable, with staff constantly communicating and problem-solving. Noah Lorenz, for example, shares the physical demands, humorously noting he lost 30 pounds working in this high-energy environment. He also recounts fixing issues with the clay partridge sculptures on the fly, demonstrating the need for adaptability and quick thinking in a high-pressure setting, especially when preparing for 29 guests across 8 tables. This relentless dedication to precision cooking and operational excellence is the bedrock upon which Esmé’s culinary innovation and stunning creative menu are built, making every dish a testament to human effort and artistic vision.
Mise En Place: Your Esmé Culinary Q&A
What kind of restaurant is Esmé?
Esmé is a Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant located in Chicago, known for its innovative and artistic approach to culinary experiences.
What makes Esmé’s menu unique?
Esmé’s menu is unique for its wild creativity, artistic presentation, and dedication to crafting a multi-sensory journey for each guest, pushing the boundaries of what food can be.
Can you describe a signature dish from Esmé?
One signature dish is the partridge in clay, which is meticulously prepared and cooked inside a clay sculpture, then dramatically broken open tableside for a theatrical presentation.
What does the term ‘mise en place’ mean in Esmé’s kitchen?
‘Mise en place’ means ‘everything in its place,’ and it’s a critical philosophy at Esmé that ensures rigorous organization, precision, and discipline in all kitchen operations before service begins.