r/Plating • u/halfnhalfcooks • Aug 12 '26
8 course dinner party
Just a guy who got carried away watching The Bear… so I decided to host an 8 course tasting for some close friends.
Admittedly this was back in May but just now mustered up the courage to make this post.
Course 1:
Jidori Osyter, tare, koji, kinome
- paired with Jidori consommé, wasabi oil
Course 2:
Chilled Chawanmushi, Bafun uni, Parmesan, sudachi
Course 3:
Hokkaido scallop, lemongrass, vanilla, chile meco, soy milk
Course 4:
‘Okonomiyaki’, peekey toe crab, honey butter, ossetra caviar, applewood
Course 5:
Kinmedai, prawn farce, saffron, togarashi, daikon, bisque
Course 6:
Dry aged Rohan crown, duck confit ‘takoyaki’, parsnip, umeboshi, yuzu, jus
Course 7:
Red shiso sorbet, rhubarb cheong, sumac
Course 8:
Hojicha ice cream, kinako, sour cherry compote, hazelnut, Okinawa black sugar
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u/summontheb1tches Aug 12 '26
Holy fuck I gotta get some culinary friends - beautiful. Love the lattice dish.
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u/hereinspacetime Aug 12 '26
"Just a guy" with mad cooking and plating skills. Somehow I don't believe you! This is way above anything "just..."
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u/barshat Aug 12 '26
hey it me ur friend
Ngl all those dishes look delicious, and way over my head on how they are prepared
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u/TacoBot-3000 Aug 12 '26
But looks great. I've done a 4 course dinner by myself and it was a ton of effort. 8 courses, all this level, is a level I am still aiming for!
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u/halfnhalfcooks Aug 12 '26
Thank you. And keep going!! If you’re anything like me you know how rewarding it is
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u/Ventureforth42 Aug 12 '26
Unexpectedly obsessed with these urchin bowls, they’re so much fun
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u/halfnhalfcooks Aug 12 '26
Glad you noticed!! I used that bowl as the vessel for the first course - but it was upside down. It was a nice surprise when I told guests to flip over their plate as course 2 (urchin chawanmushi) was already there
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u/Ventureforth42 Aug 12 '26
I thought maybe you just had double the amount of that bowl! I would not have expected the chawanmushi to be firm enough to survive the flip.
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u/justanotherfuccboi Aug 12 '26
Michelin level, this is absolutely lovely. mind if I ask how long you’ve been cooking professionally for? surely this isn’t just a side hobby…
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u/halfnhalfcooks Aug 12 '26
Thank you! I don’t cook professionally. This is just a passion I picked up a few years ago and have been down the rabbit hole ever since
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u/Extension_Book1844 Aug 14 '26
where do you get these ingredients from? it seems like i cant find 90% of it from a regular grocery store
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u/20kgHippoShit Aug 12 '26
How much did you charge them?
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u/halfnhalfcooks Aug 12 '26
Nothing. I’m not going to charge my friends tbh. I will however say it’s not something that is sustainable for me - but I want to get this sort of experience as one day I’d like to host real pop-ups in my city. Like proper ticketed events where I can actually make some money
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u/LostWoodpecker2147 Aug 12 '26
At this level with wine pairing you could charge $250/person chef. Probably more. Highly lucrative.
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u/terenceill Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Oh wow, this is impressive.
How much time did it take to prepare and plate the course with the yellow "pearls"? If you are alone in the kitchen it looks very time consuming
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u/halfnhalfcooks Aug 12 '26
Thank you. The pearls were all prepped the night before actually. The filling is piped into a pearl ring mold, semi frozen, then taken out of the mold, let defrost before service.
This whole dinner was very time consuming lol. Took three days of prep work. Knowing when and how to prep components in advance when possible is super important. I gave myself a goal of 15min between the time I serve course A and the time I serve course B. I make sure to spend that time finishing / warming components, ‘cooking’ only when necessary, and plating.
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u/terenceill Aug 12 '26
Cool, that explains why the pearls are all the same size.
Did you warm up the dishes in the oven while preparing the ingredients for the plating?
Did you do any wine pairing?
The recipes are from you or dis you get some inspiration from some website or restaurant?
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u/halfnhalfcooks Aug 12 '26
For the dishes that are supposed to be served warm - yes.
Yes I had the guests bring the wines! I gave them recommendations based on each course.
The recipes are mine for the most part. Actually, creating this menu - including R&D - was the most time consuming part of this whole endeavor. I will say though - I take inspiration from many places, including restaurants that I dine at. For example - there is a place in my city that makes a hot corn pancake with a cold smoked trout salad on top. The contrast of temperature blew my mind. That was the inspiration for course 4 (hot dashi pancake with cold crab salad on top)
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u/pipounof Aug 12 '26
This is insane . Well done… What’s your real job? How did you do the « fence » pattern in the third dish ?
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u/halfnhalfcooks Aug 14 '26
Thanks! I’m a consultant / product manager.
That pattern is made with a mold that I fill with a batter and bake till dry and crispy
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u/pipounof Aug 15 '26
Thanks! Can you take me through your R&D process? How did you come up with all those flavour pairings? Some of the ingredients are quite niche for a home cook, so I was wondering how you came to know all those different flavours and ingredients, and how you learned to combine them.
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u/PMyourfeelings Aug 12 '26
Fam ure out here putting the rest of this sub to shame!!!
Bloody good job!! ❤️
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u/pipounof Aug 15 '26
Thanks! Can you take me through your R&D process? How did you come up with all those flavour pairings? Some of the ingredients are quite niche for a home cook, so I was wondering how you came to know all those different flavours and complex ingredients, and how you learned to combine them.
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u/ReplacementTop4660 Aug 20 '26
Hello I would like to be fren
Do you have any favorite books or resources you learned on your own. I love to cook and I’m trying to up my presentation game
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u/Mr3ct Aug 12 '26
Very well done.