So in my previous kitchen we had the space to house a band saw that we use mostly for bone in shell steaks and splitting marrow bones. The nice thing about a high speed saw is the precise cuts you get with little bone fragment. However it gets to be a bit more personal with the animal if you do it the old fashion way. Here we are separating a venison saddle for a menu about a month ago. Key is clean even cuts. Sometimes it takes two in order to be sure the saddle does not move. We have a lot of fun at VOLT working with the raw products at its most pure state, whether it is a ruby beet from up the road or a bunch of kale from Gwen’s farm. There is more respect for the animal once you have put some effort into removing the chine bone and using the whole product. We are lucky and proud to have the opportunity as cooks to work with pure ingredients where we can make the decisions.

This is a look at our new table in the kitchen. Here we offer a 21 course menu, small bites, snacks, and composed plates. A way for us to express creativity in technique, flavor combination’s, and showcase area produce. The menu has been fun and exciting to develop. We will post dishes daily to keep a log of our menu.

Table 21

I have been introduced this past month to Catoctin Mountain raised lamb. We are lucky to have a lamber, Mary, who connected with us in November, so close to VOLT. She has a certified organic farm in the Catoctin Mountains, she raises her lamb and also farms garlic. We got our first 59# lamb this week. We have already started preparing new dishes with the lamb. Under vacuum and in the circulator as I write now is the hind legs, both stuffed with merguez sausage. We plan to prepare a dish for our lunch menu with the leg. For the loins and offal, a dish that will be on our weekend tasting. As the dishes come to fruition we will post more descriptions.