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Johnnie Walker and Chef Juna collaboratively push boundaries in whisky pairing dinner
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(Courtesy of Johnnie Walker )
Pairing wine with foods is common, right? But how about pairing whisky with food?
It should be noted that in the past having whisky with food was considered weird. But not today.
The idea of pairing the spirits with food is growing in popularity in many countries.
Recently, the idea of pairing the water of life was realized in an event called ‘Celebration of Pushing Boundaries’, a whisky-pairing dinner. The event, held in Raffles Jakarta featured the best collections of blended Scotch whisky Johnnie Walker®: Johnnie Walker® Gold Label Reserve, Johnnie Walker® Aged 18 Years, John Walker and Sons® XR 21 and Johnnie Walker® Blue Label.
The collections were paired with a series of food prepared by adventurous, daring and enthusiastic Chef Junior Rorimpandey, best known as Juna.
Juna, who often appears on TV as a judge in cooking competitions, is a perfectionist who continues to learn to deepen his understanding and perfect his cooking technique.
His extensive cooking experience includes 13 years of living in the United States where he worked in different well-known restaurants such as Oceanaire Seafood Room, Uptown Sushi di Houston, Laidback Manor, Lola or Lolita In Ohio and The French Laundry in Napa Valley, a highly popular three-star Michelin restaurant. His instinct and hard work have earned him position as a chief chef there for five years.
He returned to Indonesia in early 2010 and retains the habit of having a high sense of discipline, working hard, paying attention to details, having a strong will and being dedicated to life in a true professional kitchen.
This time, Juna collaborated with Johnnie Walker to celebrate his journey, rife with the spirit of pushing boundaries, and shared his story through four luxury menu items, replete with surprises, paired with Johnnie Walker® Super Deluxe collections.
“The Johnnie Walker® spirit of pushing boundaries is a spirit that I will continue – learning new things, learning better cooking techniques, diligence in enhancing cooking quality and creativity in serving customers. What I’ll serve this evening is the celebration of what I have achieved in pushing my boundaries. I hope you’ll enjoy it,” said Juna prior to the event.
Unprecedented gastronomic experience
The 120-minute, unheard-of gastronomic experience exploring amazing flavors in the Johnnie Walker® whisky-pairing dinner was comprised four courses.
It started with an amuse-bouche featuring spiced slices of tuna, cucumber acar (a type of pickle) favored with Johnnie Walker® Double Black, followed by the main course, comprising duck meat mushroom tortellini with John Walker® and Sons Walker XR 21-duck sauce.
“For the amuse-bouche, I’ve prepared something that can please our tongues by using luxury and quality protein. For a culinary lover, a game dish as the first course is often considered too intimidating,” Juna said.
“I try to push the boundaries by creating something familiar and ‘hiding’ the presence of duck, by which I make it more beautiful. I prepare the duck and mushroom tortellini and combine them with other elegant components, which support the elegance of the food,” he added.
The second course consisted of a crab cake, a remoulade and a Frissee-Sorrel with vinaigrette sauce mixed with orange and Johnnie Walker Gold Reserve.
“The second course overturns the taste experience, as I serve the lighter food, with the salad becoming an option. I want to present an out-of-the-ordinary salad, and I serve roasted jumbo lump crab cake as the appetizer, which was very popular when I worked at the world’s number one fine dining seafood restaurant.
After several experiments to create light but bold tastes for this course, Juna prepared a gummy candy from Johnnie Walker® Gold Label Reserve as the salad dressing.
In the third course, Nishiawa Japanese Ribeye A5 mb10-11 and beef-au-jus sauce blended with Johnnie Walker® Blue Label were the stars.
“This is the big bang. Velvety Johnnie Walker® Blue Label, which has a very soft taste, pairs well with perfectly cooked, high-quality meat,” the chef said.
“The blend gives a luxury, long smoky finish. This is a special food for the special evening.”
The dining experience closed with apple compote with lemon sponge and caramel sauce mixed with Johnnie Walker Aged 18 Years.
“A taste of soft vanilla cream from Johnnie Walker® Aged 18 Years truly elevates the closing course dining experience, and it really fits well with the caramel that I made.”
“We prepare cashew butter crumble to match and elevate the almond aroma from Johnnie Walker® Aged 18 Years, which gives a surprising taste of complex but delightful peanut,” he said.
Johnnie Walker Indonesia Marketing Manager Danies Hendrato said, “Johnnie Walker® Super Deluxe is the embodiment of pushing boundaries in the whisky world. This is the best collection – a bend of scarce and incredible whisky from several regions in Scotland where Johnnie Walker® was first created.”
He went on to say, “So, I asked Chef Juna to prepare the best gastronomical experience. Juna is known for being all around and borderless in the world of cooking. He is the embodiment of the spirit of pushing boundaries that inspires us.”
Unprecedented gastronomic experience
The 120-minute, unheard-of gastronomic experience exploring amazing flavors in the Johnnie Walker® whisky-pairing dinner was comprised four courses.
It started with an amuse-bouche featuring spiced slices of tuna, cucumber acar (a type of pickle) favored with Johnnie Walker® Double Black, followed by the main course, comprising duck meat mushroom tortellini with John Walker® and Sons Walker XR 21-duck sauce.
“For the amuse-bouche, I’ve prepared something that can please our tongues by using luxury and quality protein. For a culinary lover, a game dish as the first course is often considered too intimidating,” Juna said.
“I try to push the boundaries by creating something familiar and ‘hiding’ the presence of duck, by which I make it more beautiful. I prepare the duck and mushroom tortellini and combine them with other elegant components, which support the elegance of the food,” he added.
The second course consisted of a crab cake, a remoulade and a Frissee-Sorrel with vinaigrette sauce mixed with orange and Johnnie Walker Gold Reserve.
“The second course overturns the taste experience, as I serve the lighter food, with the salad becoming an option. I want to present an out-of-the-ordinary salad, and I serve roasted jumbo lump crab cake as the appetizer, which was very popular when I worked at the world’s number one fine dining seafood restaurant.
After several experiments to create light but bold tastes for this course, Juna prepared a gummy candy from Johnnie Walker® Gold Label Reserve as the salad dressing.
In the third course, Nishiawa Japanese Ribeye A5 mb10-11 and beef-au-jus sauce blended with Johnnie Walker® Blue Label were the stars.
“This is the big bang. Velvety Johnnie Walker® Blue Label, which has a very soft taste, pairs well with perfectly cooked, high-quality meat,” the chef said.
“The blend gives a luxury, long smoky finish. This is a special food for the special evening.”
The dining experience closed with apple compote with lemon sponge and caramel sauce mixed with Johnnie Walker Aged 18 Years.
“A taste of soft vanilla cream from Johnnie Walker® Aged 18 Years truly elevates the closing course dining experience, and it really fits well with the caramel that I made.”
“We prepare cashew butter crumble to match and elevate the almond aroma from Johnnie Walker® Aged 18 Years, which gives a surprising taste of complex but delightful peanut,” he said.
Johnnie Walker Indonesia Marketing Manager Danies Hendrato said, “Johnnie Walker® Super Deluxe is the embodiment of pushing boundaries in the whisky world. This is the best collection – a bend of scarce and incredible whisky from several regions in Scotland where Johnnie Walker® was first created.”
He went on to say, “So, I asked Chef Juna to prepare the best gastronomical experience. Juna is known for being all around and borderless in the world of cooking. He is the embodiment of the spirit of pushing boundaries that inspires us.”
“Chef Juna experimented with taste, combining Johnnie Walker®’s outstanding blended Scotch whisky with the best food materials and the art of cooking technique to deliver the unprecedented dining experience.”
In response to the invitation, Juna said, “I accept the challenge from Johnnie Walker® to bring the spirit of pushing boundaries on the dining table in a whisky dinner pairing.”
“I translate the spirit of pushing boundaries into serving favorite menu items and making them more special with Johnnie Walker® Super Deluxe. Several cooking techniques and sauces that use blended whisky Johnnie Walker® complement each other and elevate the sensational experience. This is good to enjoy as a special celebration for those driven to make good things,” Juna said.
Following the dinner, Juna shared his favorite recipe, a Johnnie Walker® Highball called Johnnie & Ginger: one part Johnnie Walker® Double Black, three parts ginger ale and a squeeze of lemon.
“The Johnnie Walker® Super Deluxe collection sparks my imagination to prepare food and beverages that I’ve never done before,” he said.
“Apart from the whisky-pairing dinner menu that we have this evening, Johnnie & Ginger is the selected highball that will make you want make it repeatedly. You can make it by yourselves at home and enjoy it with your friends and relatives to celebrate a special day or just to enjoy a calm evening. Cheers and enjoy,” he said.
The rare event was sponsored by Diageo, a global leader in alcoholic beverages with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits and beer, which include Johnnie Walker®, Crown Royal, JεB, Buchanan’s, Windsor, Smirnoff, Cîroc, Ketel One, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.
