ABSTRACT
The “Forest Floor” dish was created under mentoring by Pauline Danaher and Roisin M. Burke for the 4th International Note by Note Competition, which was held in Paris in 2016. The competition brief required the use of cellulose and/or derivatives of cellulose and also trigeminal compounds. Note by note cooking requires a different approach than traditional cooking. Instead of recreating conventional foods, it was decided to create a dish that captured and represented a place and time in nature. In order to achieve this, the odours, textures and feeling of the dish had to evoke a sense of the chosen concept: a forest floor in autumn. The creator used familiar flavours and unfamiliar ingredients to make a dish that was both recognisable and challenging. This chapter focuses on the creation of Forest Floor dish by using methylcellulose and the trigeminal compound allyl isothiocyanate. Allyl isothiocyanate is a constituent of mustard, horseradish and wasabi, and certain other vegetables.
