Chef Darren Chin
What the most respected cognac house commands, it gets. And this year, Hennessy X.O Odyssey’s second edition taps into Chef Darren Chin’s culinary finesse, where in a lively little corner of Taman Tun Dr Ismail, at the three-storey DC restaurant Chef Darren founded in 2014, he has curated a seven-course menu that complements and articulates the tasting notes of the Hennessy X.O.
When the Hennessy X.O Odyssey winnowed its way to the hearts (and palates) of Malaysians last year, the then-newly introduced culinary platform did exactly what it could to serve up what the House of Hennessy and its most esteemed patrons would expect—an exclusive gastronomic experience that was unrivalled. Diners familiar with the Hennessy X.O culinary collaborations would see the shadows of the annual Hennessy X.O Appreciation Grows affair in Odyssey, and the Odyssey journey is as all-encompassing in its flavours as those of Appreciation Grows.
With a week left till Hennessy X.O Odyssey 2017 is done for the year, BAZAAR speaks to Chef Darren about perfect pairings.
Fresh ways to introduce versatility …
I was classically French trained when I was living in Paris for two and a half years, so for me, cognac is a digestif—something you only drink towards the end of the night. But with Hennessy X.O, it’s a different case scenario, not because of its global and prestige brand, but because of the versatility of the drink itself. It can be so smooth, so you don’t really feel the harshness of alcohol. With that in mind, it wasn’t really challenging to create the menu based on the taste notes that we’re looking at.
Wood Crunches: Spring Galician octopus, green gazpacho, and burnt leeks in dark rye crumbs, served with Hennessy X.O, with warm water
