How Rachel Haggstrom is Changing the Culinary Industry
"That sense of zen permeates her current kitchen at The Restaurant at Justin. The dishes are a celebration of the locality of the ingredients coupled with Haggstrom’s creative thinking and plating. 'Once we come up with the foundation of flavors and components of a dish, we look at what plate it’s going to go on.' According to Haggstrom, if it doesn’t eat well, meaning easily for guests, then it’s back to the drawing board. 'That’s just a bad hospitality experience,' says Haggstrom who defines her creations as, 'restrained, focused, and feminine.' But she chalks it up to teamwork. 'My executive sous chef Stanley is brilliantly creative and together we come up with these renditions of how we want to plate things.' One successful standout that’s proven successful with guests and chefs alike is the Alba White Truffle course on the current menu. Composed of farro, chive, acorns, 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano, and shavings of white truffle, Haggstrom describes it as 'a farritto, like a risotto. There are a lot of oak trees here, and we take the acorns that fall and turn them into two formats, a puree and a tuile providing a crispy element.'" - Edward Barsamian
