It's not Paris without Ducasse!
Do you remember this scene in one of the final episodes of Sex and the City?
My
last lunch for this vacay in Paris.
Well,
I didn't sleep in this hotel, as you might have noticed from my last post. And I had the jeje version of
"Hello, Tour Eiffel!!" - I gave out that little gleeful yelp when the
Eiffel Tower greeted me as I emerged from the subway, not on the Athenee
balcony.
But
I did have lunch at their lovely terrace restaurant called La Cour Jardin.
It's
a lovely setting and beautifully maintained, considering that the hotel just
celebrated its centennial!
The
menu is by no less than French culinary nobility Alain Ducasse, who also
doubles as the Master/Executive Chef of the entire hotel.
I
was urged by the lovely waitress to start with the Blue Lobster. And it was
everything that it promised to be: juicy, with the unmistakeable delightful
taste of lobster meat, yet light and also refreshing. Simply a great start.
I'm curious to find out though if indeed the French just served me something American! Apparently the Blue Lobster is found in Amerian waters but Wiki shows that it is absolutely royal and looks like this:
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| Source/Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_lobster.jpg |
My
date, Mahnaz Hatami, had "summer vegetables" - ah, the benefits of
seasons! - cooked and served in Alain Ducasse's famous cookpot.
Both
Mahnaz and Tricia Tensuan of Enderun Colleges, which houses the Alain Ducasse Institute Philippines - the first Ducasse Institute outside of France - have raved about this cookpot. Sadly, none available yet in Manila but Tricia says they are working on it! But in case you are in the mood or have the capacity to bring it in from abroad, this is how
it is described on Alain Ducasse's site:
Beautifully shaped and innovative, the Cookpot is a revolutionary implement created by Alain Ducasse to combine a variety of ingredients, vegetables first! A fixture on the menu of his restaurants across the globe, the Cookpot has become the great chef’s signature dish. Surprisingly simple to use, it allows you to let your imagination run wild. Meat curry, vegetable gratin, comfit apples - the Cookpot knows how to do anything!
For
our mains, I had the Veal Knuckle Osso Bucco. So I ordered this, thinking of the
lovely take on chicken feet I had in Lyon and anticipated a take on cartilage.
But alas! It's good ol' bulalo. Yun pala ang tawag nila: "veal
knuckle". Achoo-choo! May ganyan din kami sa Pinas! But hello it's as good as Bulalo can be.
Meanwhile
Mahnaz went the healthy way and ordered fish after the narration by the server of the various tomatoes
incorporated in the dish. "Ducasse likes the main ingredient to
shine," she emphasized. So all the tomatoes here have the role of lifting
or heightening the natural flavors of the fish.
Of course we had to leave room for dessert. I could not resist this chocolate surprise, a version of which i first had a taste of at the Mandarin's Tivoli. This is a really fun dessert! A hot syrup is poured on the chocolate cover which suddenly melts ... and voila! A chocolate surprise!
Mahnaz
opted for this version:
Before we left, I had the privilege of meeting the chef ...
Chef Romain Meder started out with Alain Ducasse in Monaco at the young age of 22. He
started out as a Commis but his last position, after five years in Monaco, was as Sous-Chef.
He shared that during his training, every season he was assigned to a different section. He loved the
training and says that the great thing about working at a Ducasse kitchen is
that you are really equipped with great knowledge, through experience, of the
kitchen. After Monaco, he worked as the sous-chef of The Dorchester in London before moving back to Paris.
If you are wondering what a Ducasse kitchen looks like, here are a few photos. I made my way before the lunch to the Ecole de Cuisine Alain Ducasse (ECAD).
They hold culinary lessons here and events. If you are just visiting Paris and would like to learn a few French recipes, you can contact them for either a cooking event or just to learn a few authentic French dishes. They welcome ladies who lunch, hehehe! Sophie of ECAD told me that the kitchens are designed this way to reflect a home kitchen. (And my how I wish my home kitchen was this pretty!)
Hopefully on my next trip (cross fingers!) I'll be able to learn to cook the Ducasse way.
If not, there's always Alain Ducasse Institute Philippines at Enderun at the Fort!
And PS, Alain Ducasse himself is scheduled to visit the Philippines this year, last quarter! That's something to look forward to!
Tres bien!
And to Tricia Tensuan of Enderun and Mahnaz of Alain Ducasse, merci beaucoup!
