Earlier this week we caught wind that Quince had started serving a truffle dish atop iPads displaying a video of the dogs used for truffle hunting in Italy. Though this was not the first time a restaurant had employed the tech gadget as an animated plate for food, the photo was tweeted out by local chef/Twitter pundit Richie Nakano and subsequently made the rounds of Laughing Squid, the Daily Dot, and others, drawing some laughter on the internet. Now, Quince chef Michael Tusk has responded with some clarification about the dish, and why he decided to incorporate this piece of tech in the service at his Michelin three-star restaurant.
Chef Tusk says that first and foremost he was looking to educate people about how truffles are found and harvested, to bring diners closer to the ingredient itself, and to provide "a humorous/whimsical start to the meal." And, "At the end of the day it is a little bite to get the meal started and tell a story and put the guest at ease."
He also explains that no food is served directly on the iPad itself. The device slips into a custom made wooden box made by local woodworker Luke Bartels with a plastic sheath upon which the food sits, which gets washed after each use.
The dish, dubbed "A Dog in Search of Gold," has been on the menu two years, and began without the use of the iPad, featuring both white and black Perigord truffles, along with other elements including an edible "soil' made with Jerusalem artichokes. There's is also a croquette of ricotta, chickpeas, and Parmigiano Reggiano that's dusted with an edible ash and meant to look like a black truffle and other elements and garnishes have been used for the dish depending on the season.
The idea for the iPad video, he says, came in part from want to give a playful nod to "techie" San Francisco, as well as to show people how the modern truffle hunt occurs. "The idea was simply about taking the guest on a voyage to being out truffle hunting and then having a moment when the truffle is dug from the ground." And, he adds, "A lot of both my staff still have visions of large pigs hunting for truffles in photos from decades past, not small and nimble dogs."
And when the dish is put in front of guests, he says, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from dog owners. "We have actually had multiple guests who have Lagotto Romagnolo dogs and they love it."
The iPad boxes have been used as well for a potato dish, when it's not truffle season, with a video showing potatoes being pulled from the ground. "It’s as if you dug the potato and then were able to rub its skin off and have it at your table with that sense of immediacy that makes it so exciting to bite into," he tells us.
And, as Chef Tusk Instagrammed earlier this year, they used the screens to show frogs beneath a dish of frog's legs with watercress and sorrel.
The traditional plate, as Tusk is also quick to point out, has kind of fallen by the wayside in fine dining establishments as chefs continue to try to wow diners with new and different modes of presentation. (It's a phenomenon that has, of course, spawned a mocking Twitter account called We Want Plates.) "If you dine out at restaurants around the world, the days of eating on a certain style of plate are over with," Tusk writes. "Plus during a meal at Quince you will have plates made locally, from Spain, France, and as far away as Kyoto. So throwing in a local touch was very appealing to me."
Previously: Peak San Francisco: Michelin Starred Quince Is Now Serving Food On An iPad
