Last night the Sample Circuit gathered in the swank dining room at Cosmos Restaurant and, as has been my habit this year, I was there to document it.

As I’ve reported in these very blog pages, what Executive Chef Hakan Lundberg does with ingredients is unique to Minnesota. Hakan really gets a kick out of opening a window on to the process for his diners, and last night he and his #1 sous chef were in the dining room creating fois gras lolipops and fruit ‘explosions’ for the crowd. Cool for foodies to be able to see the magic in motion and interact with the chefs.

Fruit explosion magic being perpetrated by sous chef Shawn

Team Cosmos’ version of the Sample Circuit was unique in relation to the others so far this year: much higher degree of difficulty on all the dishes, lots more variety, but no banquet table service, only passed trays.

The Cosmos shrimp cocktail

For those in attendance on their first trip to Cosmos, I’m sure the sample they received has them intrigued and definitely wanting more.

Plenty more photos from the night on the Sample Circuit Flicker stream (supplied by yours truly).