“If we don’t have love, it’s difficult to work well, and in the kitchen it’s extremely important”. This was the opening line of Ana Ros’s episode on Chef’s Table (many years ago), and palpable in Tresind Studio’s kitchen this January the 7th, at the Hisa Franko x Tresind Studio dinner in Dubai. Spoiler alert: it was one to remember.
Both Ana Ros and Hisa Franko have been on my fangirl radar for years now, but realistically speaking, it probably would’ve been years before -if ever- I would make my way over to Slovenia. With all of 2020 (and from the looks of it, 2021 too) worth of travel opportunities robbed from me, I was beyond thrilled when I learned that Ana Ross and her team are heading to Dubai, to bring us a Hisa Franko x Tresind Studio collaborative dinner. Voco Hotel isn’t exactly in the remote and lush green countryside of Slovenia, but it’s only a Careem ride away so I’ll take it, and considering the fact that all seats sold out in under 24 hours, I clearly wasn’t the only one who felt this way!
The collaborative dinner featured alternating versions of each course from each chef, and it was a complete multi-sensory treat.
Here’s what we had:
The Breads. Quite possibly my favorite course of any given meal. Yes, I’m a carbs lover, but hear me out: the bread is a great indicator of what to expect and in my opinion sets the tone to the meal. The bread is what’s placed on the table before a hungry/hangry diner while they wait for the main event, and if what’s placed before me is a stale afterthought of a dinner roll, I’d be smart to walk out and spare myself of the soulless meal to follow. This won’t ever happen at Tresind Studio or Hisa Franko though.
At the former, you can expect a warm, moreish Misi Roti disc on which you’ll spread the (at perfect room temperature) butter only to see it instantly melt into the roti. This time, the butter was infused with green chili. The only disappointment you’ll feel as you pop this into your mouth is that you’ll want more, but the wise man will pace himself.
At Hisa Franko, and therefore the Hisa Franko x Tresind Studio collab, the bread course was taken a step further and given the respect it deserves and what I feel should be a norm everywhere. The bread course isn’t rushed, but in fact allotted 7 minutes, so that you can take your time tucking into the crusty, chewy, 25 hour fermented spelt sourdough with two kinds of cultured butters. One with bee pollen, and the other with buttermilk and beeswax.
The ‘Finger Bites’:
Hisa Franko’s fried buckwheat flour Rosette filled with Zemljanka cheese (that is aged underground in the Hisa Franko cellar), walnuts, rose jelly and slivers of Livek beans. This course paid homage to Slovenia’s Ottoman heritage, and featured ingredients so indigenous that they’re hard to find even on Google. This rosette was harmoniously floral, nutty, crispy, creamy and I really appreciated the uniqueness it brought to the Dubai table.
Tresind Studio’s Achappam with parmesan ice cream, caramelized fig and balsamic pearls. This for some odd reason reminded me of PB&J and I’m not complaining.
Tresind Studio’s Tempura Shiso Leaf Chaat. The Chaat Trolley was one of Tresind Studio’s most iconic features, and as the seasons have evolved, so have the versions of chaat, and this one is easily (my Japanese soul’s) favorite version.
Hisa Franko’s Corn Beignet with High Mountain Sour Cottage Cheese and Porcini Filling. Each of the main ingredients: the polenta, the ricotta and the mushrooms have a significance to Hisa Franko’s geographic location and its surroundings. The polenta is a nod to its close proximity with the Italian border (which is only 6 minutes away).
The ‘Small’ Bites:
Tresind Studio’s Black Rice ‘Congee‘ with yogurt whey, papadum, spicy tomato chutney and a very salty, spicy dried chili. This, ladies and gentlemen, is avant grade haute cuisine. This is how you reinterpret a dish and place it on a pedestal worthy of the Michelin and World’s 50 Best team. All the flavors of a South Indian classic, executed in a completely unique way that had the whole restaurant floored.
Hisa Franko’s Rosa Di Gorizia featuring the most expensive chicory on Earth, which needs 3 frosts followed by cow manure incubation before it’s ready to harvest and yields only a small lettuce heart. Utterly delicious and didn’t smell of cow manure at all, and it felt like an honor to be able to try this close-to-extinction delicacy pickled in hibiscus, served atop buttery grilled rinds of Cedro citron with pistachio and pumpkin emulsion.
Tresind Studio’s Morel Kebab and mushroom water meringue ‘sliders’ in every stage of it’s assembly, served with truffle broth. It’s like they couldn’t decide whether this tasted better open faced, with lettuce, or complete, so they decided to bless us and serve us each version! It was like eating the entire lifecycle and this dish was proof of why it’s so easy for so many Indians to be vegetarian!
Hisa Franko’s Different shades and shapes of chestnut and crab.
Tresind Studio’s Meat Kachori with green peas and goat curry.
Hisa Franko’s Bergamot risotto with almond milk, French uni and bay leaf powder. Another display of completely unique flavor combinations and I’m here for it.
Tresind Studio’s Tandoori foie gras, prune and chili curry was easily my least favorite course of the night. I actually quite disliked it, because I’m just not a fan of foie gras.
Hisa Franko’s 3 Alpine Rs: Roebuck, Rowan berry and rosehip on world tour.
Tresind Studio’s Dessert: Carrot aerated sponge cake on carrot halwa ice cream and a bed of burrata with basil oil. Very interesting and thankfully not too sweet. I think I would’ve appreciated some candied walnuts on this as well.
Hisa Franko’s Whey and Date Mole with caramelized Valrhona Oplays white chocolate, persimmon ice cream and compressed persimmon.
My main takeaway from this meal is what an absolute treat it was to experience new and unusual ingredients and flavor pairings in Dubai. Without getting into too much detail of why Dubai needs to calm down on the burrata, gold and truffles (I’ll leave that to the experts and by that I mean EatGoSee), I would just really love to see more restaurants bringing out the creativity and pushing the boundaries like Tresind Studio does regularly.
Tresind Studio has been put on World’s 50 Best Discovery List, and it makes complete sense. It’s only a matter of time before Tresind Studio becomes Dubai’s first restaurant to make it to World’s 50 Best, they’re most certainly well on their way to it. The only question is, will it be this year or the next?
