Cook it Raw

Meal 2: Alex Atala, Hans Välimäki and
Frederik Andersson, Lappish Puikula potatoes
and béarnaise with maté
Photo, Erik Olsson

Stuff Crush • Publications

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Elite chefs turn hunter gatherers for avant garde research...

Rob Wilkes •

This escapade starts with a group of 15 chefs disappearing into a Nordic forest together, and what ensues is not a horror film or a reality TV show, but something that has been described as the most important event in culinary research happening today. Cook it Raw boasts a list of participants so impressive it’s hard to dispute the claim – I’ve even heard of some of them and I’ve eaten beans on toast for the last four days running.

A new book published by Phaidon chronicles what has gone down in the woods since the team, that includes the likes of Rene Redzepi, Albert Adria and Claude Bosi, first got together in 2009. Cook it Raw started as a secretive symposium looking at environmental issues such as sustainability, and has evolved into a free-thinking workshop where the elite chefs leave their egos at the cabin door to collaborate on avant garde dishes using the most unusual ingredients – all foraged, fished or hunted in the surrounding wilderness. It might take a while for some of these dishes to filter down into your local supermarket’s ready meals chiller, but with dwindling resources, it’s good to know the people who matter have got one eye on the culinary future.

Cook it Raw

Day 2, 12:00: F Magnus Nilsson
and Yoshihiro Narisawa identify their finds.
Photo, Erik Olsson

Cook it Raw

Daniel Patterson,
Imagining Collio from California
Photo, Pers-Anders Jorgensen

Cook it Raw

Day 2, 05:30: Massimo Bottura
gets up close and personal with his catch.
Photo, Pers-Anders Jorgensen

Cook it Raw

Day 2, Iñaki Aizpitarte,
Lobster, pigeon liver, chicken liver
and wood sorrel.
Photo, Pers-Anders Jorgensen

Cook it Raw

Day 3, 14:30: Alex Atala
celebrates after taking a successful shot.
Photo, Erik Olsson

Cook it Raw

Day 2, 14:30: Claude Bosi,
Massimo Bottura and David Chang
enjoy the atmosphere of the kitchen.
Photo, Pers-Anders Jorgensen

Cook it Raw

Yoshihiro Narisawa,
Evolve with the forest
Photo, Pers-Anders Jorgensen

Cook it Raw

Day 2, midday:
The chefs enjoy and informal lunch
before they start to prep the meal.
Photo, Pers-Anders Jorgensen

Cook it Raw

Cook It Raw, edited by Alessandro Porcelli, £35.00 / €45.00, Phaidon 2013, www.phaidon.com