Markus Glocker, Austrian-born executive chef of New York’s Gordon Ramsay at The London, began his culinary career working summers at his uncle’s hotel. Glocker attended culinary school in Linz, Austria, and eventually found his first post under the Gordon Ramsay umbrella at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s. The next several years of his career found Glocker going from London back to Germany, where he worked at the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Eckart Witzigmann in Berlin, in Chicago at Charlie Trotter’s, and at the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Steirereck in Vienna. Glocker finally returned to the States, and back to the Gordon Ramsay group, where he brings sophistication and a melodic imagination to the menu at Gordon Ramsay at The London. Glocker has been recognized as one of New York City’s rising star chefs and additionally, Gordon Ramsay at The London maintained two stars in the Guide Michelin during Glocker’s first year leading the kitchen as executive chef.
RecipeEating light is what summer is all about, and this indulgent fish dish brings the flavor without feeling heavy.
I love this turbot dish. This concept goes back to a classic idea—egg ravioli with spinach, celery foam, and white truffle. The dish has amazing flavors but is just a touch too rich for my taste. What I tried to do is lighten things up by skipping the pasta and using fish instead, and then using champagne sauce instead of celery to have the same flavor profile without being too heavy. The white truffle and egg are one of my favorite combinations, as well as turbot being one of my favorite fish.
Try this classic turbot recipe for your next summer’s eve dinner party:
Fillet of turbot with organic hen egg, candied pumpkin seeds, oxtail jus
Oxtail jus5 lbs. oxtail1 white onion1 carrot5 pieces celery1 head garlic1 Portobello mushroom1 qt. red wine1 qt. red port1 qt. veal base1 qt. chicken stockThymeBay leaf15 peppercorns
In a large pan, roast off the oxtail bones until evenly caramelized, remove and strain the fat through a colander. In the same pan, roast off the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and mushroom. Then add in the roasted oxtail and deglaze with the red wine and port. Reduce the alcohol down by two thirds along with the peppercorns, thyme and bay leaf. When reduced, add in the veal base and chicken stock and cook the sauce out for approximately 1.5 hours and strain through a chinois. Reduce the finished sauce down to the consistency of a glaze and season.
Candied pumpkin seed
1/2 pt. pumpkin seeds1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup waterOil
Season the sugar and water with a little salt and pepper and cook the pumpkin seeds in this until the seeds are glazed by the sugar/water combination. Then put them straight into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, remove, spread flat and leave to cool on parchment paper.
Spinach and parsley purée
6 shallots1 bunch parsley1/2 cup spinach25 g butterSweat out the shallots until soft with no color. Blanch the spinach and parsley in boiling salted water until completely tender and then cool in ice water. Add the spinach, parsley and shallots to the blender and puree until smooth adding in the butter a little at a time during the blending process, pass through a chinois and season with salt and black pepper.
Turbot assemblyFilet and skin the turbot, portion into 175 g and then on one side of the filet make an incision with your knife to create a pocket in the fish. Separate an egg and season the yolk with grated long pepper. Carefully place the egg yolk into the pocket that has been created in the filet and seal with a wooden skewer.
To finish the dishPlace the fish in a warm non-stick pan with a little canola oil and butter, a sprig of thyme, season with salt and place the pan in the oven set at 350 degrees and cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, for the garnish heat up a little of the purée and sauté a little fresh spinach with some butter and season with salt and long pepper. On the plate add the sautéed spinach and along side that a spoon of the puree, sit the cooked fish on top of the sautéed spinach and sauce over a little of the oxtail glaze. Finish with a small piece of the candied pumpkin seeds.
Restaurant Those looking to dine alongside Chicago’s own chefs must make a stop at this sleek eatery.
I highly recommend Avec because it reminds me of one of the best times in my life when I was living and working in Chicago. It’s a very welcoming, warm space with excellent food, and we would often stop by after working dinner service. Every once in a while you meet other chefs there and share amusing stories about the night’s service. When I go back to Chicago, it’s a must for me to have dinner at Avec.
Cookbook This book written by the chef of the century is definitely not one to leave out of your collection.
You must pick up Highlights by Eckart Witzigmann. The chef of the century and former chef-owner of Aubergine in Munich changed the food scene majorly in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany in the 1970s. The book Highlights reflects exactly what Eckart’s cooking is all about. He is a master in flavor combinations, techniques, and leadership. To this day, his recipes and flavor profiles are still relevant to many chefs all over the world.
Food Destination The beer is only half the fun in Germany, but will no doubt go perfectly with your adventures in this jovial country.
Pay a visit to Munich for a food scene that is a mix of tradition and innovation. It doesn’t matter what you do or where you’re from, people always meet up in the same spots to enjoy Bavarian delicacies and of course freshly brewed beers. One of those places is Andechser am Dom. Tradition in Munich is that you don’t eat white sausage, or weisswurst (the customary sausage of Munich), after 12 p.m. So when I used to live there, one of the highlights of the day was going to Andechser am Dom with a group of chefs around 11 a.m. and enjoying weisswurst with a freshly baked pretzel sitting outside in the sun and watching the people on the lively streets. After this, we often went down to the Viktualienmarkt to see the local farmers and place orders for the next day.