The beginning...

Thursday night I rubbed duck breasts with smoked paprika and maple sugar, I pureed parsnip and celery root sparingly with sweet cream butter and nutmeg,  I peeled baby beets and sliced dark red carrots in long strips so their orange hearts were visible, I julienned rainbow chard leaves, reserving the stems, which I cut to the same length of the carrot spears. I scored the breasts and seared the fat, I blanched the chard, I rolled the carrots and beets in duck fat before laying the duck over them and blasting them in the high heat of my oven.

I drained the fat from the pan, I squeezed lemon of the chard, I stirred a final knob of butter in to the puree before spooning it on to a white plate. Slicing the breasts on a bias, I lay them over the puree, I ladled pan jus, red from the carrots and beets over them, I carefully placed the carrots and beets next to them, I piled the chard and I set a sprig of fresh thyme across the duck.