Fall 2023

162 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 3 A fter spending childhood vacations on the Monterey Peninsula golfing with his father at Pebble Beach, Chef Michael Chang developed happy memories of the local area.When living in Denver with wife Caroline Singer, the two decided that Carmel would be the perfect location to open a new restaurant, Foray, and locally source produce, seafood and wine.They created a space with a large kitchen to best suit their modern California cuisine and have quickly become a local favorite. Q: You are getting close to your one-year anniversary of opening Foray! Congratulations! How have things evolved since you first opened the restaurant? A: A year sounds like a long time, but it’s truly been a blur. Caroline and I operated restaurants for years before moving to Carmel-by-the-Sea to open Foray, but owning your own restaurant comes with many more responsibilities…As we approach one year, we have a lot more time to focus on the finer points of our service and cuisine. Q: Foray focuses on coastal California cuisine with some French influences from your back- ground. Please explain in more detail your cooking style.What are some examples on the current menu that standout and reflect the best of your techniques? A: Foray is an ingredient-driven restaurant. My most important task is sourcing sustainable West Coast ingredients that are of the highest quality. I spend hours each week on this task—both in the woods with Caroline and our truffle dog, Falco, and in the office researching and speaking with our suppliers. After I’ve found an interesting ingredient, we’ll try several different modern preparation techniques before heading towards a finished dish. Our new scallop dish highlights this approach: a large, wild Mano de León scallop (hand-dived in Baja California) is grilled over binchotan and paired with a grapefruit beurre blanc, trout roe and a pea tendril salad from Carmel Valley.We plate it in the shell and on a bed of Big Sur salt. Q: I know the two of you are a team effort in the kitchen. Please explain a little more about how you test and plan menu items along with the wine selection. A: Caroline has the superior palate between the two of us. I think that comes from her years of wine knowledge and her ability to pick out the subtle nuances of a wine.Therefore, I lean on her a lot when I’m creating new dishes. I’m often walking around the dining room with a spoon of sauce or a bite of a component part of a dish so that I can have her try it and get her feedback…As for Foray’s wine list, that’s entirely her domain and I’m lucky to have her expertise in crafting our unique combination of recognizable and less well-known vineyards and varietals. Q: Your dog, Falco, is a truffle finding champion! Has he found any truffles that have made it onto the menu? In that regard, have you done any foraging after all the rains we had this past winter and spring? A: Falco is always looking for truffles! He’s found three varieties of truffles in Carmel, but the majority of native, culinary grade truffles in America are found in Oregon andWashington. Before opening Foray, we made it up there several times per winter to train and hunt with him. However, with running Foray tak- ing up much of our time, we receive fresh shipments of Oregon black, white and brown truffles throughout the winter and spring from Falco’s four-legged foraging friends. As for locally foraged ingredients, we had an amazing winter hunting golden chanterelle and oyster mushrooms. And Falco is adapting his nose to find these mushrooms for us, too. Even though warmer weather has finally arrived, I am still able to forage bay leaf and spearmint for ice creams, nasturtium leaves and flowers for gar- nish, and three-cornered leek for pesto. Also, Foray’s foraging partners are providing wild morels and nettles from Santa Cruz and wild pom- pona vanilla from Mexico. Foray Celebrates One Year in Carmel-by-the-Sea Chef Michael Chang’s Coastal Cal i fornia Cui s ine B Y B R E T T WI L BUR “Foray’s customer base is still mostly locals, and the majority are thrilled to have us as a new addition to Carmel’s bustling culinary scene.”