At Chicago’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant Ever, chef Curtis Duffy delivers his guests creative dishes throughout the entire eight-to-10-dish tasting menu.
“Anytime we put a dish on the menu, we try to explore as many different ideas as we can,” says Duffy. “Utilizing that single ingredient, especially when it comes to vegetables, where there’s multiple pieces of a vegetable that can be used, we try to use that in its full entirety. The corn you’ll see in three or four different varieties, and it’s always changing.”
The first dish that gets served at Ever is called a sweet summer corn canape which Duffy says “sets the tone” for the rest of the night.
“Essentially you get three different bites [of corn],” says sous chef Richard Farina. “Obviously the midwest is known for corn, so why not start with one of the best products it can produce?”
One of the included “bites” is actually a corn ball dipped in white chocolate. Ever’s chefs make it by putting kernels through a juicer and cooking the liquid till it becomes thick. The thicker liquid gets frozen in a mold into little balls, before they are dipped in white chocolate and covered with a drizzle of charcoal powder syrup to add some color.
Watch the full video to see what the other two bites are on the corn canape as well as how the chef utilizes hay and dry ice in the dish.