The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle: Mugaritz Chef Cooks at Coi for One Night

by  on  in On the Town
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A stunner in taste & presentation (and a real slice of Spain/The Mediterranean): marinated boquerones (anchovies) over caramelized onion puree, graced with subtle-sweet shavings of sundried tomatoes, fried, crispy anchovy bones/spine and liliceas (flowers). It was paired with a fantastic , crisp, floral Riesling from Nahe, Germany: 2010 Shafer-Frolich Felseneck Riesling Grosses Gewachs.

If you save up your funds to dine at Pellegrino’s World’s Best or Michelin-starred restaurants as you travel — or at home if you’re privileged to live in a city where you’re surrounded by them — S.Pellegrino Presents THE GRAND GELINAZ! SHUFFLE is a one-night-only event you geek out about. This year, it took place on July 9th.

37 international restaurants and chefs from restaurants of high caliber (every place I heard about being involved carries no less than 2 Michelin stars) swap restaurants. But not a direct swap. For example: Daniel Patterson of SF’s Coi cooked at The Willows Inn on Lummi Island in Washington. Magnus Nilsson of Sweden’s Faviken (who coincidentally cooked an unforgettable dinner with Patterson at Coi back in 2012) took over the kitchen at Spain’s famed Mugaritz in the Basque town of Errenteria just outside San Sebastián. And Mugaritz’ Andoni Luis Aduriz… was here in SF manning the kitchen at Coi.

I was privileged to dine that night, experiencing dishes from and meeting Aduriz, the chef-owner of Mugaritz, which opened in 1998. Like the great El Bulli (where Aduriz trained), Mugaritz has come to define the world famous cuisine of San Sebastián. Also in the Bay Area the same night: chef Claude Bosi of France took over the kitchen at SF’s Atelier Crenn and chef Jock Zonfrillo of Australia took over Manresa in Los Gatos.

We did not know who was cooking until arrival and what a thrill it was for me, as someone who has traveled to Spain more than once but sadly has not yet been to San Sebastián (though very near it in the enchanting region of Galicia). Though nothing equates visiting the birthplace of a cuisine and an actual restaurant itself, this was a welcome taste of Spain thoughtfully paired with cellared wines from Coi’s cellar.

Here were the 8 courses Aduriz cooked with the Coi team on July 9th for one exciting night.

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Almost rare and so tender it nearly dissolved: calamar a la plancha or squid cooked on a wood plank, stuffed with a burnt hazelnut puree and surrounded by toasted hazelnuts in a wheatgrass broth and paired with the ever-decadent, toasty Krug Grand Cuvee Champagne.
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Earthy roasted beets and a beet “cream” dramatically co-exist with almost chewy-tough burnt yuba (bean curd) skin.
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Under a vivid display of edible summer flowers (“flowers escabeche”) was a wildly tender cut of charcoal-grilled aged duck paired with a glorious, mineral 2010 Phillippe Colin Chassagne-Montrachet “Les Chaumees” 1er Cru from Burgundy, France.
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To track with all the other “shufflers” around the world this one night, we played a game at our table and the winner received this generous serving of caviar while all were given a bowl of freshly made tofu and a redwood leaf.
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Seared black cod sat under crisp peas and savory onion petals with sorrel and a celebratory pairing of lush, earthy 1995 Ceretto Barbaresco Bricco Asili from Piedmont, Italy.
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Silky, rosy salmon was nicely contrasted with crispy, shredded lamb and a charred plum in lamb jus.
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For dessert: the colors of the rainbow in the form of summer fruits and rhubarb sticks all under maple bubbles. The wine pairing was a complex, sweet 2003 beauty: Domaine Huet Cuvee Constance from the Loire Valley.