Almost Heaven - Personal Harborside Artist-chef comes to cook

I love people who are chasing their dreams. I try to live with them, hang out with them, and chase them down when I overhear them talking in the street.  They always need help, and always have some help to offer. Dreamy people are like jigsaw puzzle pieces, with surpluses here, and with lack there, giving us a reason and a way to click together, to make something bigger than what we can do alone.

There is a high concentration of dreamy people at the Apple Store, a 10 minute ferry ride from my house, and my spiritual home in Sydney.
Today a food-artist brought in one of the cakes that featured on the website he is creating, to share with his supporters at Apple - a charcoal-infused, Gothic Wedding cake, seeped in red wine.

I looked over at the cake-sharing with round eyes, and got offered a bit.
This is an essential life-skill I learned from the cat in 'Shrek'

Hearing the cook was from Korea, I uttered 'jai mokke sumi da' before popping cake in my mouth, and that sent me straight to the good books.
"I've never heard a Westerner say that".
It must have been the magic words, because a few minutes later it was decided he would jump on the ferry and become my personal chef for the night. 

Hungson is a Chef from Aria, the 'Master Chef' restaurant opposite the Opera house, with food that will astonish you.

Melt-in-the-mouth Salmon at Aria, from last year's visit

In his spare time (from 20 hour work-days) he sells his off-the-planet imaginative cakes at the Paddinton market, and works as a personal chef.

His website spun me out with the unthought-of beauty he puts into his work. Work that gets eaten almost as soon as it comes into existence.

Anyone who makes things more ephemeral than gardens is someone doing an impressive job of living life for life's sake.

After whipping up a fantasy personal menu (in pink and green, my colors), and a dash to the supermarket for missing ingredients, and a 10 minute ferry ride home,  three-course meal was on its way.

The first course used the herbs I had picked visiting 'Tending', a permacutlure Art Project in the gracious grounds of the Sydney College of the Arts.

For mains he used the sweet potato that I always have sitting in the fridge to make gnocci. A sweet lemon a gorgeous Italian family had given me went into a lemon butter sauce.

Desert ran into a technical hitch. I didn't know how to turn the oven on, so the uncooked chocolate souffle mixture is still in the tuppaware. If you live near Balmain and have a working oven, we will bring it over for a delayed desert party.

If you are near the city center, and grow unusual edible flowers, please keep some aside for Hansung and his creations. I'm still looking for my next harvesting garden, so no edible flowers yet.
We need to help each other in this big scary world.

Salad Violas from my Canning street garden, one year ago.