A Seasonal Palette: Menswear AW17

New York-based chef Marcus Samuelsson is head chef at Red Rooster Harlem, a restaurant that celebrates American cuisine in one of New York City’s most culturally rich neighbourhoods. His Swedish upbringing and Ethiopian heritage have fostered an appreciation of fresh and local ingredients and he has opened several restaurants across the US and in Europe. Inspired by the richness and warmth of the new AW17 menswear collection, Marcus has created a dish of seared salmon with a honey red wine glaze, chestnut pumpkin succotash and rice.

Whenever I visit a city I make sure to talk to the locals and check out the spots off the grid, it’s a great way to see what everyone is talking about and discover the lesser known parts of an area. In New York, the variety is endless and I love visiting Chinatown, East Harlem, Central Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx to discover new tastes and ingredients.

The deep richness of the COS menswear collection made me think about the flavours of the season and inspired the red wine glaze and the fall succotash. The contrast between the deep colours and the highlights also really speak to me, so I tied the dish together with some bright white rice.

I wanted this dish to be seasonal, balanced and delicious. I like how the acidity in the red wine glaze works as a great pairing for the rich, hearty salmon. Then you have those autumnal flavours with pumpkin and chestnut, adding colour and texture.

London-based Dan Doherty is Executive Chef at Duck & Waffle, London’s first 24/7 gourmet dining restaurant. As well as focusing on classic British cooking, he also contributes to a number of publications and is the author of the cookbook, Duck & Waffle: Recipes and Stories. Inspired by the autumnal tones of our menswear collection, Dan has prepared a dish of beets, harissa, toasted seeds, pickled beets and yoghurt.

Travelling, eating out and reading are my main sources of inspiration. I guess the weather to some extent is too so I love the deep, rich burgundy tones of this season’s menswear and have used them to create flavours and colours that echo this. My chosen dish is earthy, fresh, light but with a subtle spice from the harissa and a slight smoky flavour from the smoked rapeseed.

During the winter months, I love all the roots—Jerusalem artichokes in particular. They are very versatile and sing comfort food to me.

A Canadian chef based in Berlin, Dylan Watson heads up Ernst, a 12-seat restaurant in Wedding, north west Berlin. The restaurant invites guests to enjoy a 3–4 hour experience using local produce sourced directly from farmers and winemakers. Inspired by the contrast found in our latest menswear collection, Dylan has devised a dish of purple carrots, beets, blackberries, nori seaweed and crème fraîche finished with a splash of sunflower oil and flower vinegar.

Speaking to farmers and spending time on their farms is really the best way to understand how to treat produce. At Ernst we work with a small group of growers and gardeners, which can be really inspiring. In a sense Berlin is a bit like a blank canvas where we can grow and improve without the pressures of an established food tradition; the multicultural vibe of the city also helps give us the space to create our own style. 

I’ve created a dish that reflects the end of summer and the beginning of the fall harvest. The darker red tones are reflected in purple carrots and the last blackberries of the year, and the contrast between light and dark is drawn out by the beautiful white of our in-house creme fraiche.

Marco Stabile is Head Chef and co-owner of Ora d'Aria in Florence. After working across Tuscany, he opened the Michelin starred Ora d’Aria with the vision of taking traditional Tuscan dishes and turning them into something modern, exciting and innovative. Marco also occasionally teaches at some of Italy’s best culinary schools. Inspired by the comfort found in the winter menswear collection, Marco has created a dish of Gnudi with pâté, nettle, ricotta cheese and porcini mushrooms.

Every dish I create originates from the Tuscan culture of food, history and art. These things are always present in my work in some way and I enjoy sharing food with people and seeing the smiles on their faces.

I’ve included a lot of colours from the COS menswear collection in this dish; the autumnal shades of the ingredients are warm and comforting. Gnudi, meaning ‘naked’ is typical Florentine cuisine, the dumplings are made like the filling of classic tortelli but without pasta and that’s where the name comes from. Nettle and ricotta cheese are the sweet part of the dish, the pâté is the aromatic part and the broth and roasted porcini are the flavoursome, savoury part. The blend of sweet and earthy tastes is just like walking in a forest.

As a teacher, I tell young chefs to believe in their hands and heart, to put culture at the heart of their work and not to forget: flavour is always the most important thing.

Barcelona-based chef Carles Gaig grew up in the city’s Horta neighbourhood and today is head of the kitchen at Restaurant Gaig and other outposts across the world. Known for blending avant-garde and market cuisine, Carles focuses on traditional Catalan recipes and draws influence from classic recipes devised by his mother and great-grandmother. Inspired by the classic nature of the collection, Carles has prepared Gaig’s cannelloni with truffle sauce, a dish his family has been serving up for over a century.

As a teenager I wanted to be a racing car mechanic but when my mother became blind she put me in charge of the family business and from then I was hooked. Even now at the age of 70 I’m still planning ahead and thinking about new ways to work with food. I love going to the market, finding different ingredients and thinking about how I can retain their essence by preparing them with minimal manipulation. The variety of products in Barcelona is so diverse and the quality is exceptional.

As the COS collection is so timeless, the dish I have prepared is an old favourite. It’s of Italian origin but we have been cooking it for almost a century in our restaurant and I actually first learned how to make it in the early 1960s, just the way my mother did.