One of our most popular dishes is the Bishop Sessa scallop ceviche with ginger beer sorbet. We had a chat with chef Paul Cooper about what inspired this dish.
The inspiration for this dish came from a journey about three years ago to a restaurant in Holland called Oud Sluis (3 Michelin star) where they served us an amuse bouche of lobster with ginger beer granita. It was simply stunning – so refreshing and light.
My wife Jaclyn and I sat outside and both had a great time eating it. This was one of our last days living in Europe, so we did a ‘day trip’ to Holland. If I remember correctly, it was a Eurostar to Brussels, then train to Belgium and a taxi to Oud Sluis for lunch, and then back again that night.
With this dish, I really am trying to pass that experience on to the customer – that light refreshing dish that I was happy to travel six hours to and from to experience.
As I don’t really like to copy other chefs, I have done my own interpretation, using MSC certified sustainable scallops, refreshing cucumber juice, avocado for a bit of richness and mouthfeel, and an intense ginger beer sorbet to excite the palate.
Any dish I create is always evolving, both in appearance and in taste. This dish has grown to be what it is now, and will hopefully continue to evolve.
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Want to see our ginger beer sorbet being made? Here’s an hypnotic video from Erez…