At acclaimed Fork Restaurant, 306 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Executive Chef Eli Kulp is reinventing the classic bread basket by turning this simple accompaniment into its own special course.
Chef Kulp and his culinary team now offer daily-changing house-baked bread varieties paired with unusual house-made butters and cheeses. The artisanal bread course, served with Chef’ Kulp’s “House Menu” or “Whole Animal Feasts,” is an avant-garde creation that has guests wanting more. Incorporating elements from the sea, vegetables, and meat, Fork’s bakery has created a range of traditionally baked and naturally fermented breads that are setting new standards for the contemporary bread basket.
“In most restaurants, bread is an afterthought, but we believe guests should enjoy every last bite of their dining experience,” notes Chef Kulp. “Each day at Fork we’re baking everything from our dinner rolls to our croutons.”
Fork’s artful approach to bread begins with a special course served to each table. While guests are perusing the menus, they will enjoy Bialys, served with Philadelphia cream cheese infused with Green Meadow Farm hay & sea salt; and Chef Kulp’s signature Genzano-Style Bread, served with shipped salted butter.
To accompany his house menu, a four-course $65.00 prix-fixe option, guests receive a playful amuse bouche of Philadelphia-style soft pretzel with “Cheez Whiz” and mustard. In addition, guests are served a special course of standout bread-and-butter combinations, including: Beet Vokornbrot, a pumpernickel-rye sourdough with sunflower seeds, dehydrated roasted beets, and soaked rye berries with smoked beet butter; Squid Ink Sponge Bread, a naturally fermented bread that physically resembles a sponge and is jet black in color thanks to the squid ink served with toasted seaweed butter; and Dry-Aged Beef Brioche made with butter and dry-aged beef fat served with carrot and salted butter.
In addition, Chef Kulp’s decadent “Whole Animal Feasts,” shareable whole-cooked fish, meat, or game dishes that are served with seasonal accompaniments, arrive with a customized bread service, consisting of Kummelweck Rolls with caraway seeds, baked to partner with his legendary Wagyu Short Rib Feast, and light-as-air Pita Pockets served with the decadent Lamb Feast.
“Bread and rolls lend depth to a meal, accentuating the flavors of the dishes and – perhaps best of all – offering the opportunity to mop up every delicious morsel from the plate,” notes owner Ellen Yin, who worked with Chef Kulp, Pastry Chef Jonathan Saliba, and Baker Sam Kincaid to reinvent the restaurant’s bread program, a menu that has evolved since the restaurant added its own bakery in 2004.
At Fork:etc., 308 Market Street, the adjacent market-café, Chef Kulp’s house-baked breads provide a fresh canvas for popular sandwich creations or as take-home items. Prepared-to-order items include: Roast Beef with Vermont cheddar cheese on Pumpernickel; Turkey BLT on Levain; Mufaleta on Foccacia; Duck Cubano on Pullman Loaf; and Grilled Cheese on Genzano. In addition, whole loaves of everything from French-Style Baguette to Cocoa Nib Batard to Rustic Loaf with olives to Fruit and Nut Bread are available for guests to purchase and serve at home.
For more information, or to make reservations at Fork Restaurant, please call (215) 625-9425 or visit www.forkrestaurant.com.
Bon Appétit!
TAD
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