Just the thing for a case of high-class munchies

[FungalFractoids]

Just the thing for a case of high-class munchies - a smoking hot bowl of trout a la bong

Miki Perkins

February 10, 2008

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IF YOU order a smoked trout broth with sorrel oil, pork crackling and red radish shoots at Melbourne restaurant Attica, it comes with "fresh smoke".

But what diners in this high-end eatery don't know is that head chef Ben Shewry uses a bong to produce the smoke that permeates the ocean trout.

Yes, a bong, a water pipe used for smoking marijuana - usually the domain of addled teenagers and the scourge of the suburban garden hose.

Born and trained in Taranaki, on New Zealand's west coast, Shewry, 30, worked in Nahm in London and Circa in St Kilda before striking out on his own at his Ripponlea restaurant.

A fondness for smoked cuisine drove him to experiment with a charcoal burner in the restaurant's backyard, which staff used for curing and smoking bacon.

But when Shewry bought an electric bong in a marijuana paraphernalia shop, he says it was a culinary epiphany.

Unlike the traditional water bong, Shewry's unit runs on batteries.

Since buying his first unit eight months ago, he has burnt out so many bong motors that the shop gives him a 10% discount.

The staff even order them specially. "They find it hilarious (that) I'm using it for cooking," he says.

To smoke a dish he lights chips of hickory or cedar wood in the cone of the bong. These produce a pungent smoke that pours out of a side funnel.

The smoke is captured in a plastic bag with food, usually fish, free-range eggs or goat curd, which is left in the fridge for 20 minutes.

To serve, smoke is trapped inside a stemless wine glass that is placed over the final serving dish.

"This works on three senses: they see the smoke in the glass, they smell it as it wafts out and then they taste it," Shewry says.

Bong smoke can even be used to infuse water or used for Thai desserts with the addition of rose or jasmine petals.

But this culinary experimentation is not something Shewry has previously revealed to his discerning clientele.

"Who wants the word 'bong' on a menu?" he asks.

Necia Wilson, co-editor of the The Age Good Food Guide, suspects most patrons will be intrigued. "In molecular gastronomy they use all sorts of weird contraptions," she says.

"I'd much rather have my food cooked with a bong than a microwave."

And despite what you might assume, Shewry is staunchly anti-drugs.

"I don't want to tell people how to live, but in Taranaki all people cared about was taking drugs; it was terrible," he says.

"And I hate that stereotype of the drug-crazed chef."

Avant-garde restaurant Alinea in Chicago uses bongs in a similar way, Shewry says.

The idea came to him from a friend, who'd heard about the concept overseas.

He will reveal some of his secrets in a masterclass alongside New Zealand chef Martin Bosley at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

But for now he's the only Melbourne chef to bong on.

"And now it's in the paper I'll know if anyone copies me," he says, with a grin.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/jus...2234227945.html