First-Ever Almond Innovation Project Explores the Culinary Frontier

Last month at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Napa Valley, nine of the country's most creative chefs participated in the California Almond industry’s first-ever Almond Innovation Project. Challenged to develop inventive recipes using a variety of almond forms, techniques and cooking applications, the group put inspiration to use in the kitchens to help shape the future of almond innovation in food.

Participating chefs included Top Chef runners-up Richard Blais and Stefan Richter, Bocuse d’Or Team USA coach Gavin Kaysen of Café Boulud, and popular Food Network pastry chef Will Goldfarb.

A host of innovative, almond-centric recipes portrayed the many ways almonds can be featured across the menu in both sweet and savory applications. Chefs created their dishes in the CIA kitchens and then performed individual recipe demonstrations that were captured on film for the almond industry’s extended use and inspiration. Similar to the chefs’ cooking styles, recipe demos ranged in creativity from molecular gastronomy (almonds "fried" in liquid nitrogen) with Chef Blais, to a piano sonata accompaniment for an artistic plating by pastry chef Jordan Kahn, who utilized fourteen different applications of almonds in a single dessert.

At a roundtable discussion moderated by the California Almond industry's culinary representative, Chef John Csukor, the chefs and other industry experts met to discuss almonds' role in the fine-dining realm and how current trends could be translated into practical ideas for volume foodservice. While much of the discussion centered on the role of almonds in the kitchen, there was an impressive amount of interest in the farm-to-fork story of how almonds are produced and supplied.

The limited-time availability of fresh green almonds—a form not available with any other nut—was of particular interest to the chefs, who compared their rarity and appeal to caviar and truffles.

Some of the Almond Innovation Project dishes have already made their way onto their creators’ restaurant menus. Lola Restaurant in Cleveland now features Chef Cory Barrett’s modern Marzipan and Apricot Sundae, a marzipan-prosecco sorbet with chamomile, apricot almond chip, sour apricot and almond cream. And, Chef Kaysen’s Almond-Crusted Foie Gras Torchon can be found at his restaurant in New York City.