This year, Nespresso Gourmet Weeks returns with a dynamic line-up of MICHELIN-starred restaurant chefs: Barry Quek of Whey, Danny Yip of The Chairman and Maxime Gilbert of Écriture to craft limited-edition menus incorporating coffee made from Nespresso’s latest brewing system—Vertuo.
Fusing style, functionality and technology, the Nespresso Vertuo Next coffee machine allows the user to prepare coffee in five sizes: Espresso (40ml), Double Espresso (80ml), Gran Lungo (150ml), Signature (230ml) and Carafe (535ml) with smooth and silky crema, all at the touch of a button. Behind the scenes, the Vertuo system combines revolutionary Centrifusion™ technology with barcode reading capabilities, recognising each capsule and adapting brewing parameters accordingly to create the perfect coffee, each and every time.
Nespresso Gourmet Weeks 2022, featuring Vertuo
In the eyes of culinary leaders, coffee is an ingredient—a refined spice that gives a major twist to their cuisines. Since 2012, Nespresso has been partnering with the world’s top chefs to explore the subtle harmonies between premium coffee and haute cuisine through Nespresso Gourmet Weeks, a series of creative, coffee-forward gourmet experiences showcasing the potential of coffee in gastronomy.
Impressed by his experience with Nespresso Vertuo, Yip comments: “The Nespresso Vertuo is more than a machine—it’s like a pre-designed coffee system, which can yield the best flavours of different coffee blends, from light roast to dark roast, espresso to long back.”
Starting from June 7, each chef’s coffee-inspired menu will run for two weeks at Artisan Lounge, K11 MUSEA’s all-day dining concept. Over the course of six weeks, diners will have the opportunity to experience Whey’s iconic dishes with a coffee twist, The Chairman’s coffee-meets-Cantonese fare, and Écriture’s technique-driven take on coffee. Read on to see what to expect and the inspiration behind these limited-edition menus.
June 6-19: Whey
Growing up in Singapore, Barry Quek is no stranger to coffee, a popular beverage served in shops ranging from traditional kopitiams to chain coffee shops across the country. Staying true to the modern European cuisine reimagined with Singaporean influences that Whey is known for, Quek has refreshed some of the restaurant’s iconic creations with new coffee flavours.
For this menu only, Quek has given Whey’s beloved buah keluak brioche a twist by replacing buah keluak with the Nespresso Hazelino Muffin coffee, leveraging its sweet and nutty notes to go with the rich, buttery brioche. Meanwhile, “Bak Kut Teh” made with New Territories pork rib and a signature dish from Whey’s previous menu, is paired with a sauce using roasted chicken bone and the fruity Nespresso Peru Organic coffee, which has a fine acidity to balance out the hearty dish. To celebrate the summer season, Quek has prepared a coconut latte ice cream finished off with a coffee sauce infused with coconut sugar and Nespresso Melozio coffee, which was selected for its honeyed sweetness and cereal notes.
“It’s been an amazing opportunity to work with Nespresso to create a special menu that incorporates coffee elements. The diverse range of Vertuo coffees sparked my creativity throughout the menu development process and fueled unexpected chemistry with the interesting combinations of food ingredients and coffees,” says Quek.
Menu
Paired with Nespresso Hazelino Muffin coffee
Paired with Nespresso Mexico coffee
June 20 - 3 July: The Chairman
The concept:
Coffee may not be a staple ingredient in Cantonese cuisine, but The Chairman is hoping to change that through Nespresso Gourmet Weeks. “It is estimated that there are more than 900 aromatic compounds in coffee. Our sense of smell plays the most important role in determining flavours as human beings have more smell receptors than taste receptors in the tongue. When coffee is paired with food, it will certainly result in a complex and interesting dining experience,” says Yip, the chef-restaurateur behind The Chairman.
Fittingly, Yip has chosen Longjing tea and chrysanthemum to smoke his baby pigeon, explaining that “coffee and smokiness are good friends.” To enhance the richness and complexity of the smokey baby pigeon, Yip shares that the Nespresso Scuro, a dark roasted coffee, has a “nutty, ashy and earthy taste” that completes the dish.
For the limited-edition Vertuo menu, Yip has prepared a Szechuan pepper chilli oxtail, which is best paired with a cold medium-light roasted coffee, like the Nespresso Ethiopia. “Spices warm up the taste buds and bring out the strong flavour of the coffee beans, resulting in an explosion of flavour,” he shares.
Menu
4 July - 18 July: Écriture
Embark on a voyage of sensory and gastronomic discovery with Écriture’s special menu curated by executive chef Maxime Gilbert. By uniting French culinary techniques with exceptional Japanese produce, Gilbert has created a menu that embodies the DNA of Écriture while evincing the possibilities of coffee in French cooking.
“Coffee is something that inspires me as an ingredient that can be added in the cuisine in many ways to enhance a dish. The Nespresso Vertuo Next machine offers different types of coffee, not just the provenance but also the level of volume and intensity as well as some Barista Creations, which has allowed me to experiment with new flavour combinations,” says Gilbert.
Diners will indulge in Gilbert’s technique-driven creations using ingredients that are making a debut on the menu of Écriture, such as tobacco leaf and passion fruit. The menu opens with a duck foie gras paired with a passion fruit jelly infused with roasted coffee beans and Hokkaido sea urchin—a perfect match with the Nespresso’s Mexico coffee.
Menu
Chef-led Experiences
Exclusive to Nespresso & You Ambassadors, Nespresso has prepared a series of private chef-led experiences to excite your palates. Discover the world of coffee gastronomy with a “Tasting Masterclass with Chef Barry Quek” to explore indigenous Singaporean ingredients and coffee pairings; and “In The Kitchen with Chef Maxime Gilbert” for a coffee-infused cooking course at Écriture.
For more details on Nespresso Gourmet Weeks 2022, visit here.
