Moshik Roth
Moshik Roth is head chef at restaurant &samhoud places in Amsterdam
What a worldly menu!
`Yes, the dishes are inspired by the many trips. There’s a dish from Cartagena, Colombia, one from Kyoto and there’s an amuse with the flavors from South-Thailand: Phuket. It’s a crispy shell made out of coconut containing tom kha kai-soup. There are also pad thai ingredients: mini paksoi, shiitake, carrots, mango, small fresh shrimps and a marinade of fishsfauce and lime.’
What is your dish ‘The gift of nature’?
‘It’s a dish with over 20 different kinds of mini vegetables, of which each one of them is cooked in its own broth. the smaller they are, the better. From the smallest tubers to fresh herbs and everything in bloom. From angelica to elderberry blossom; all that is colorful. It’s actually a very simple dish, just not in preparation…’
Such a big man, such small ingredients…
‘I hear that more often. Apparently, that’s just me. Those special herbs and flowers can be found thanks to Rungis. Why i work with them is very simple: because of their reliability, quality, availability and our friendship. Everything that’s important for a ‘connection’ you can find in this company. That’s why they’re so successful.’
What direction are you heading to next time?
‘I won’t be away that often the coming months. Cause my daughter just born. On the other hand, i’ve been traveling so much… the inspiration remains. I can draw upon that. What else is on my culinary bucket list is South-Africa. Not because i’m looking for a particular ingredient. I travel to meet people, to meet other cultures. I was very inspired by a meeting with artist Damien Hirst in New York. I also dedicated a dish to him: Butterfly. The vegetarian version is with beetroot, elderberry, pineapple, radish and winter radish.’
Which (Dutch) products do you like?
‘Especially beets, but my choice depend entirely on the season. later on we get the stone fruits: peaches, apricots… And for vegetables at this time, of course the white asparagus. But i also like sweet corn, prepared in different ways. like cooked on the barbecue. slowly cooked for two or three days, made to a cream, as a crisp or fermented or to even using the juice.’
You’re on a vegetable mission…
‘A few years now, we’ve been developing ready-made vegetable meals for the Albert Heijn with a technologist. With &samhoud food we hope to achieve to make more people enthusiastic about vegetables. Our best seller at the moment is the bakmi made out of vegetables. Without allergens, that means without peanuts, but with the typical taste that belongs to it, including satay. In May we’re also going to sell our vegetable ice cream. As a healthier alternative, especially for children. It was pretty hard to get the right balance between the fruit and vegetable flavor.’
