Executive Chef at The Restaurant, The Legian Bali
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As a young man, Australian Luke MacLeod took a leap of faith into the culinary unknown when, leaving the Sunshine Coast behind, he packed his bags and headed off to France in search of gastronomic salvation. Taking advantage of the new working holiday visa he embarked on a journey that gave him an exceptional education in the culinary arts and defined him – both man and chef. With layovers working under the guidance of the celebrated nouvelle-cuisine chefs Alain Senderens, Michel Guerard, Alexandre Bouras and Pierre Gagnaire, Luke honed his considerable talents and developed his own take on sourcing, presentation and flavours as well as appearing on TV in both France and Thailand – the former in a chef challenge beating celebrity TV chef Sophie Dudemaine hands down even though he was a total unknown and not even French!
Today he helms one of Bali’s most stylish beachfront restaurants, The Restaurant at The Legian Bali, a luxurious resort in the very heart of Seminyak, from where his passion and farm-to-table philosophy, creativity and desire to go the extra mile constantly impress his discerning guests.
www.lhm-hotels.com/legian-bali/en/dining/the-restaurant
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Seared Scallops with Smoked Cashew Cream
“I don’t really have a forever signature dish” Chef Luke explains, “It’s more about concept to me and nothing says it better than a dish currently on my menus, the seared scallops served with smoked cashew cream, preserved lemon, radish and dashi.”
Using the best and freshest local scallops, the best local cashew nuts, this beautifully plated dish is a feature of the chef’s new degustation menu, Evolve, where the multiple courses guide diners through his seasonal culinary adventures, as well being available separately on the à la carte menu.
Smoked cashew cream:
- 300g cashews
- 500g water
- 40g meliponnia nectar
- 8g palm sugar
- 10g Bali salt
Blend in a thermomix at full power until super smooth and then pass through a fine sieve. Transfer to a tray and place in the smoker for 20 minutes. Season with salt and coconut nectar and transfer to chiller.
Pickled Radish:
- Watermelon or radish
- 250g rice vinegar
- 150g mirin
- 100g sugar
Pickle the watermelon or radish in the rice vinegar, mirin and sugar.
Dashi Radish:
- Purple radish
- 250g dashi stock
- 10g salt
- 10g salted chopped kombu
- Scrub the purple radish and slice into slices smaller than 1cm.
- Keep whole, small pieces of radish peel for decoration.
- Mix dashi stock, salt and kombu. Leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
- Put the radishes separately into vacuum cooking bags with some of the dashi infusion.
- Cook in a waterbath at 70°C for one hour; leave to cool in the dashi then transfer to a container.
Scallops:
Season Lombok scallops with salt and cook in a hot pan with pommace olive oil on one side to get a good colour, then slice in half.
To serve:
Plate four Lombok scallops with three tablespoons smoked cashew cream and decorate with:
- Moshio powder
- Brunoise of preserved salted lemon skin
- Butterfly leaves
- Heart flowers
- Dashi radish
- Pickled radish
