Travel Dish spotlights Michelin-star chefs, master mixologists and global gourmet treats that you can recreate at home.
You might be a familiar fan of the Four Seasons hotels around the world but what you might not know is the Four Seasons chefs and mixologists rank among the best in the world. Collectively, they have a combined 27 Michelin stars and #10, #12 and #13 rankings on the prestigious 2021 “Best Bars in Asia” list. Creating some of the most iconic, innovative, and “Instagrammable” Four Seasons creations have earned them the title of ‘Masterdish’.
As we continue to reconnect with loved ones over a shared passion for food and drink, but might not be able to physically be in our favorite exotic locations, we have explored some of the top international signature menu items below and provided recipes for you to recreate at home.Or if you happen to be in Dubai, Hong Kong, Spain or Tahiti, now you know what to order when you pop-into the bar or book that special occasion table for two. One thing is certain, you will be inspired by these culinary gems and the sense of place they bring to the table. We start with the cocktails, main dish and then move onto a more complicated dessert for the aspiring pastry chef. Have fun!
The Aquarius cocktail from Luna Dubai, Four Seasons Hotel Dubai International Financial Centre
Crafted by Brigin Jose,Lead Bartender.
How about tasting your way through your star sign on your next trip to Dubai? Available at Luna (Latin for moon), mixologists and astrologists came together to craft a Zodiac cocktail menu featuring 12 drinks, each one inspired by an astrology sign and paired with a horoscope. Highlighted during Aquarius season, but available year-round, fresh honey, gin, lime and aloe vera juice are combined with a drop of blue colorant, then topped with a seashell and served with banana leaf for a highly photogenic and delicious drink.
Aquarius Cocktail
Ingredients:
- 30ml gin
- 15ml lime juice
- 30ml honey
- 50ml aloe juice
- Dash of food colorant(blue)
- Garnish:
- banana leaf
- Luna logo
- Shell
Da Hong Pao Sour from Caprice Bar, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
Crafted by Lorenzo Antinori, Beverage Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, and Beverage Ambassador, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific.
Fat washing your tea is probably not something in your daily culinary rotation but this play on a classic sour offers a nod to both France and Hong Kong, plus it’s served at the #10 Best Bar in Asia in 2021, adjacent to three Michelin starred Caprice. Vodka distilled from soft winter wheat grown and milled in France is infused with butter made from Da Hong Pao, a traditional Oolong tea found in local tea houses using a technique called fat-washing. Antinori shakes the infused spirit with Italian vermouth, French almond syrup, lemon, and pineapple to make this aromatic cocktail. Strained into a martini glass and garnished with a Nasturtium leaf, its sweet aftertaste combined with the tea’s orchid fragrance make it a drink to remember.
Da Hong Pao Sour Cocktail
Ingredients:
- 45ml Tried & True fat washed with Oolong butter
- 20ml Mancino Bianco
- 10ml Orgeat
- 10ml Fresh Pineapple Juice
- 20ml Lemon
- Garnish: Nasturtium leaf
Method:
Shake all the ingredients and strain into a cocktail glass
Poisson Cru à la Tahitienne (Tahitian Raw Fish) I’a ota from Fare Hoa Beach Bar and Grill, Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora
Crafted by: Eric Desbordes, Executive Chef
A staple of French Polynesia, Poisson Cru is a must-have menu item made from the freshest ingredients found on the islands of Tahiti. Similar in concept but distinctly different from Latin ceviche or Hawaiian poke, Executive Chef Eric Desbordes prepares the delicacy with raw ahi tuna and freshly handmade coconut milk. Clean and fragrant, the flavor profile will transport you the island’s local flavors but is best enjoyed as part of a toes-in-the sand dining experience with views of Mount Otemanu.
Poisson Cru
Ingredients:
- 1.75 pounds red tuna
- ½ cucumber
- 1 carrot
- 1 tomato
- 1 red onion
- 4 limes
- 1 glass of coconut milk
- Salt & black pepper to taste
1. Dice the fish into ½-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Refrigerate.
2. Squeeze the limes into a glass. Set aside.
3. Cut the vegetables into thin slices. For the cucumber, remove seeds but keep the skin, it will give green color to the dish.
4. In the bowl, add all vegetables to the tuna and mix. Add some lime juice with salt & pepper to taste. Mix again.
5. Five minutes before serving, add the coconut milk.
6. Present on a bed of lettuce, on individual plates, or best in a half coconut shell. Serve
Exotic Baba from El Patio, Four Seasons Hotel Madrid
Crafted by: Carles Codina, Executive Pastry Chef
A beloved boozy pastry, these brioche-like cakes swimming in a spiked citrus syrup are good for dessert or as a daytime tea treat, too. At Four Seasons Hotel Madrid, Executive Pastry Chef Carles Codina offers an elevated version of the European stable. The scratch-made baba dough is baked and smothered in bath of honey, orange and lemon peel, vanilla and rum, and further glazed with a mango, passion fruit and lime jam. Topped with vanilla Chantilly cream, there are no rules here for when to make this baba and indulge.
Ingredients of Baba Dough:
- 534g flour
- 5g salt
- 186g butter
- 23g yeast
- 666g eggs
- 50g multi-flower honey
- Procedure:
1. Place all the ingredients in the Kitchen Aid bowl except the eggs
2. Place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes
3. Put two thirds of the eggs in a sleeve and the other third in another sleeve, store the sleeves in the refrigerator.
4. Work the dough adding little by little the eggs from the sleeve of the two thirds and work quickly for 10min.
5. When the dough has taken strength, add the last sleeve of eggs little by little and work at high speed. the dough should be between 23 and 25 minutes.
6. Put the dough in a sleeve in the freezer.
7. Pour 35gr per mold
8. Place a non-stick silicone mat and a grid upside down on top of the mold and let rise about 30mins at 28°C.
9. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes
Ingredients of Baba bath:
- 1000g water
- 480g multi flower honey
- 4 orange skin
- 4 lemon skin
- 2 vanilla pods
- 120g rum alcohol
- Procedure:
- 1. Heat up all of the above ingredients except the rum (50 °C-60 °C)
Ingredients of glazed Baba / exotic jam:
- 3000g puré of mango
- 3000g puré of passion fruit
- 1125g lime juice
- 3000g sugar
- 90g NH Pectin
Procedure:
1. Heat up the purées and lime juice at 45°C, add the NH Pectin and sugar, boil for 2 minutes.
Ingredients Vanilla Chantilly:
- 1055g cream
- 2 vanilla pods
- 422g mascarpone
- 60g gelatin
- 127g sugar
1. Boil the cream, with the vanilla pods, sugar and gelatin
2. Infuse for one hour and strain over the mascarpone. Pass through the turmix until smooth and set aside
3. Put into a forcing bag with 24cm diameter
