Skrevet af Lan Thuy Pham, 31. august 2010

Linda Suzu Kawano is Vice President at New Business Development in Cantu Design - a company owned be chef Homaro Cantu of Moto Restaurant fame. She talks about the chef and his history.
Homaro Cantu was a weird kid. He used to ask his mother if he could eat the hamburgers on billboards - not the hamburger, but the actual paper of the billboard. He also used to eat paper bills. Coming from a poor and often homeless family, food was an issue for him.
Cantu decided to pursue a career within the culinary industry. When he attended culinary institute, chef Charlie Trotter appeared at the institute as a speaker. Cantu was immediately hooked and later knocked on Trotter's door in Chicago. He got a try-out for two days, got hired and rose up the ranks quickly to sous chef.
After working in an intense and stressed atmosphere at Charlie Trotter for four years, Cantu left the restaurant. He spent one year researching new food technologies while waiting for his own restaurant, Moto Restaurant, to open. He had a lot crazy ideas, but all his dishes had to have a common denominator: It had to taste good as well.
The result is peculiar dishes that expand the definition of food. The dinner is served an ashing Cuban cigar in an ash tray. It is a Cuban pork sandwich made with white bread, pork and collard greens, a common lunch for workers in cigar factories. The ashes are made of black and white sesame seeds.
Another dish served in the summer is the Snowman, a little fella that sits on a bed of ahi tuna. He is made of lime foam and at the table, the diner pours margarita on him so he melts. Cantu emphasizes that the diner should be able to laugh while eating - food isn't just about filling the stomach, but an experience in itself.
All the waiters and chefs at Moto Restaurant are wired and connected to a wireless system that control the ordering and timing of the meal - a 10 or 20 courses tasting menu. They call the big main screen in the kitchen The Matrix because it monitors everything: table 6 are vegetarians, table 1 has been served the Rainbow sprinkles (foie gras cupcake with cherry gastric icing and pistachio sprinkles) and so on.
One of the things Cantu is most famous for is his edible paper. The first course at Moto Restaurant is actually the menu, printed on edible paper and served on a piece of bread. Paper is no longer used at Moto: The waiters are using the wireless system to take down orders and the menus are edible.
Cantu Design is currently looking into a way to improve life for cancer patients with their edible paper. The radiation affects the taste buds and diminishes the cancer patients' incentive to eat. Especially elderly patients don't feel like eating after cancer treatment. Cantu Design has customized the paper to suit their needs by adding nutrients and flavors. The edible paper has applications in health and medical areas and is not just a gimmick on a fine dining restaurant.

Linda Suzu Kawano ends her presentation with handing out edible paper to the audience. The paper is the size of a small match box and has a picture of candyfloss printed on one side. It definitely smells like candyfloss; burnt sugar with a hint of something artificial. The initial taste is exactly like candyfloss, but then the texture becomes like wet cardboard before it lightly dissolves on the tongue. It's a novel feeling and it's not hard to see how much Cantu emphasizes the childish play in his work.

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