A graduate of the California Culinary Academy, Wheaton honed his skills in fine dining in San Diego. In 2004, he moved to Washington, DC as sous chef for Todd Gray at the acclaimed Equinox restaurant. During this time, he was introduced to Sous Vide, and received sous vide training from Dr. Bruno Goussault – the founder of sous vide – himself. In 2010, he joined José Andrés and served on the R&D team working on ThinkFoodGroup’s full-service restaurant projects around the nation.
We caught up with Chef for a quick Q&A to get his thoughts on Aussie Lamb.
What do you like about Aussie Lamb?
Because so much of what we do at Cuisine Solutions is for high volume operators with very large national or even global footprints, the consistency is number one. The size, the flavor, the quality…all year round we know we’re going to get the same excellent eating quality. Flavor-wise, it’s so clean, mild and even slightly sweet. It still tastes like lamb, but the mildness makes it super versatile.
What are some of your favorite sous vide dishes with Aussie Lamb?
Almost any cut of Aussie lamb is going to excel in sous vide cooking, especially when you match the technique to the cut. Those classic slow braise cuts like shank or shoulder are amazing, when the sous vide locks in all that lovely collagen as it melts. The savory aromas and flavor are all captured in the bag, and only released when you’re ready to serve.
With rack, I like to do a middle-eastern style treatment, seared quickly for that Maillard reaction and then cooked to a perfect medium rare sous vide. Then we finish it in a hot pan with dukkah spices, and serve it with lamb jus, pomegranate molasses, and an incredible eggplant-kefalagraviera cheese gratin that’s also cooked sous vide and is out of this world.
What are the keys to getting American diners to try lamb?
First and foremost, serve Aussie lamb! That mild flavor is so approachable, it’s the perfect gateway to a new protein. I am seeing today’s diner being much more adventurous; lamb is even popping up at QSRs, and it sells. I remember doing a dish for a Greek Easter festival from Jose Andres’ food truck; we cooked lamb breast sous vide with gyro spices and then griddled slices to order for sandwiches with tzatziki and fries. Gyros all day!
We would totally crush that gyro right now. Cheers Mate!