It’s the most basic form of cooking but at In Bloom, food prepared over an open flame is taken to another level.
The new anchor restaurant inside Keg and Case in St. Paul opened its doors late last month to a very eager public -- marking the end of a years-long process to bring this concept to fruition.
PHOTOS: In Bloom in St. Paul
"To open this beautiful space, this restaurant has been a dream of ours," said co-owner and chef Thomas Boemer. "Going back almost five years ago, when we really decided that we wanted to do a concept cooking over live fire. And we saw this beautiful building in this great community, we knew that it had to be here."
The space and concept is the brainchild of Boemer and his partner, Nick Rancone – the masterminds behind Corner Table and Revival. But unlike their previous ventures, the menu at In Bloom is prepared solely over open flame. No oven. No stove. Just classic wood-fired cooking.
"I love cooking over fire," Boemer said. "For me, it’s this very elemental discipline, and way of cooking that is very unique."
The technique allows for incredible flavors and perfected charring – from grilled trout and uni to summer sausage and a full butter-basted Poussin, cooked in a wood-fired oven, placed over highly tasty potato rosemary stuffing and topped with black truffles.
The menu is heavy on protein, which makes sense for guys who live and breathe BBQ, and devotes an entire section to Minnesota's ultimate game: venison.
"Our work with the venison on this menu, with our local meat company, Market House Meats, which really developed this incredible sourcing of fresh venison that defines food in our region," Boemer said, "and to bring that on a menu and have it represented in the highest fashion, these are things I think people can look forward to as they come into the restaurant and come eat."
The preparation of those dishes utilizing natural heat generated from crackling fire is something Boemer has been fine-tuning for more than 10 years.
"When you take a piece of meat, or some beautiful mushrooms and roast it over open flames and coals, there’s a dimension of flavor that comes in that you just can’t get any other way," he said.
And now, to have an entire restaurant and menu that focuses on that concept in a place that’s truly become a gem for the city, he said it’s a dream come true.
"For us now, it’s just to honor that and to make sure we’re here for that community and for Minnesota and St. Paul," Boemer said. "We couldn’t be happier to be here."
In Bloom is open for dinner seven days a week. For more information about the restaurant or to make a reservation, click here.