We first wrote about Chef Jason Hook after an invite to the Glasbern Inn for a chef’s tasting. After that soiree, which you can read about here, it was evident Hook would be someone worth checking out again. He moved on from the Glasbern and has been doing guest chef gigs at the Fern Hall Inn way up near Carbondale and at the Jamison Publick House in Pennsburg. When we caught one of the dinners at Fern Hall last month, below is what ensued. Be sure to read on after the pics for info on his upcoming tasting dates.
Table arrangements
Wine for those who opted into the pairing
Garlic scape-truffle butter
Walnut-raisin ciabatta
Shrimp cocktail with sriracha and coconut milk
Guacamole, chipotle, kaffir lime and pulled pork, kumquat, welsh chedar
Manchego cheese puff
Chef Hook preparing the summer corn pudding
Plating
Summer Corn Pudding with corn, grits, duck confit, fuji apple, summer truffle, chantarelles
White sea bass shashimi with foie gras, watermelon ponzu
Day boat scallop, piave, rock shrimp, morels, summer truffle
Guinea hen, kohlrabi, kimchee, white peach, burnt onion
Blueberry, meyer lemon, along, corn, truffle ice cream
As you can see, everything looked (and tasted) extremely good. My favorite? Hands down the truffle ice cream. Never have I tasted such an intense truffle explosion. Truly amazing. Chef Hook’s next foray into tastings in this area will be on October 18th at the aforementioned Jamison Publick House , a short trip south of the valley. It will feature seasonal ingredients and focus on pumpkin as well as other seasonal ingredients such as white truffle, pheasant, sunchoke, kabocha, concord grape, sage, chestnut, and fuji apple. The menu is as follows:
kumomoto oyster
pumpkin mignonette, shiso
roasted rice wine
pumpkin flatbread
gruyere, broadbent’s country ham
rocket greens
sunchoke bisque
uni royale, pumpkin seed crisp
cocoa
pumpkin risotto
chestnut toffee, smoked pheasant
white truffle
arctic char crudo
compressed fuji apple, kabocha
white soy dashi
venison saddle
roasted over pine needles
sugar pumpkin-miso, salsify
espresso
pumpkin pie
candied foie gras, concord grape
sage ice cream
59 per person, dinner starts at 6pm.
Also in the future Chef Hook will be doing a cigar pairing dinner as well as a beer pairing dinner (which we’ll be helping with). We’ll keep you posted on future dinners.
Disclosure: this meal was provided complimentary.