Brad Kilgore — Ask A Chef

Hunter Vanderpool • March 28, 2022

Chef Bradley Kilgore | Henkelman Boxer

Video Transcript:

I'm Brad Kilgore and the chef/owner of Alter here in Miami.

Alter is to alter your perception so we wanted to take fine-dining and all the great aspects of it like creative food beautiful presentation and then the philosophy was to change people’s minds that you can get an approachable price point and a relaxed setting rock and roll music and still get a multi-course (you know) beautiful meal.

I chose Winwood to put the restaurant because it’s an art-focused neighborhood. There are galleries all over and here at the restaurant instead of having the art on the walls we wanted ours on the plate.

This Henkelman machine allows me to elevate one of my signature dishes and take it to another level.

I came up with a dish of the fallen tree about six years ago when ideas started (flowing).

The main components were the heart of palm. Its been seared in a shiitake and kombu butter. After that, it is compressed and poached in the mushroom dashi.

Then you have a stump, or a tree stump, that’s carved out of a royal trumpet mushroom and vacuum sealed with walnut oil and gently steamed like a confit. So, under pressure it allows it to absorb that nutty flavor.

Smeared on the plate is a play on mud. It’s toasted in a black garlic, and finished with a little bit of tamari soy sauce. Then other elements to create that visual fallen tree in the forest are twigs made out of mushrooms, moss made from herbs, roots under the swamp made from crispy leaks. I even sprinkle little puffed wild rice on top to look like grubs that would be crawling around in the forest. It’s definitely one of my favorite plates.

I really understood the capabilities of the Henkelman vacuum machine when the first time I put the heart of palm into it with mushroom dashi I watched it right there, I mean you can see it expanding and compressing and pulling the juice into it.

I went through the same process I had done in the past but the final result was like, “wow”.

You could taste the difference immediately. You can see it. You could feel it. The texture was better, the flavor was better, the earthiness came out.

I mean you could tell that the vacuum sealer machine really really made a difference and it’s because of the special programming and the control settings that it has.

The Henkleman machine really allows me to elevate the techniques that I have here in the restaurant.

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