Valentine's Day is a day that celebrates love, both of the romantic kind as well as the Platonic. The holiday has a few specific icons associated with it including Cupid, red roses and not least amongst them, chocolate. I happen to love chocolate and it is my favorite icon of all those associated with Valentine's Day.
During my last visit to Lyon, I ate at some of the more well known temples of haute cuisine including Restaurant Paul Bocuse and La Mere Braziere. They provided an indelible glimpse into the world of French fine dining of the region. This time I opted to explore some of the less haughty dining possibilities of the area, some of the food and the spirit of dining that helped give Lyon the reputation it has as one of France's and therefore the world's best dining destinations. I, along with some friends and my son, sampled some of the bars, brasseries, bistros and bouchons of Lyon.
On the evening of my arrival in Lyon, I joined a group dining at Paul Bocuse's Brasserie Le Nord. In addition to his famed Michelin three star eponymous restaurant Chef Bocuse also owns and operates 4 more casual dining spots around Lyon. Based on their location, they are conveniently named Nord, Sud, L'Est and L'Ouest with additional description based upon their specific style.
At Brasserie Le Nord, located near the Hotel de Ville in the old center of Presque Ile, the island in the center of Lyon divided by the Rhone River, the fare was decidedly classic. Our dinner consisted of a set menu that started with a tasty terrine of foie gras with fennel and gelee. I was clearly in the heart of France. This was followed by a Supreme de volaille de Bresse over basmati rice with a not-too-rich (yeah, right) mushroom cream sauce. I received a thigh and leg, which was juicy and tasty in the best anachronistically guilt-laden way. As if that was not enough cream and fat, lusciously ripe and decadent St. Marcellin cheese followed. A successful interpretation of a tart tatin finished the meal. This was classic French food in a classic French environment – a perfect reintroduction to the center of classic French cooking.
With a taste of Paul Bocuse from both his haute cuisine restaurant from my previous visit to Lyon and the more casual bistro, I thought it interesting to try the same with the cooking of Matthieu Viannay. On my previous visit I had an unforgettable meal with the Bocuse d'Or USA organization and supporters at La Mere Brazier, the Michelin three star restaurant with humble beginnings now run by him. Viannay has since expanded his reach. At M, a sleek modern bistro located on the east side of the river on Rue Foch, Viannay offers a sleek take on the classic Lyonnaise bistro. Dining with my friend Lucy Vanel who lives in Lyon with her French husband and son and who publishes the wonderful Lyon-centric blog Lucy's Kitchen Notebook, we arrived for a late lunch. With the kitchen ready to close and prepare for dinner service, we gladly took what they had to offer us. A hearty foie gras and veal sweetbread ballotine with pickled vegetables was followed by beef cheeks topped with a very generous piece of seared foie gras. Having finished the foie gras, the short ribs were just too much for me at the time. Given the time and our remaining itinerary, we did not have dessert there. Instead, we opted to have chocolate, but that is a subject for another post.
Brasserie L'Est, another Bocuse spot is located not far from the Gare du Lyon Part Dieu. A rollicking spot, located in the beautiful old Brotteaux train station, that history is reflected by the model trains running along the walls of this busy place. Some fantastic olives, a little Jamon Iberico de Bellota, local red wine, a salad with crisp green beans and sharp cheese, perfectly cooked steak frites and a saturated baba au rhum made for a totally fun and satisfying evening.
The Bouchon Lyonnais is a legendary beast. Generally small, personal and notoriously with surly waitstaff, these small restaurants serving the classic dishes of Lyon, have been the backbone of that city's cuisine for years. Located in the oldest part of the city on the west side of the river, Chez Louise evokes an earlier time when the world may have been less or perhaps more complicated, but when the food was simple and hearty. Irresistible lardons arrived on the table along with wonderfully crusty and rustic French bread. The charcuterie platter, though not made in house, was very good as was the Salad Lyonnais. My Quenelle made with local river fish and a sauce flavorful with crayfish was deeply satisfying and the saucisson hearty and warming on a winter's night. Though more contemporary the desserts were well crafted and tasty. As for the surly and unfriendly waiters, alas, not here. No, the service was warm, friendly and inviting. So much for old times!
Thomas is a contemporary bistro located in the vicinity of Bellecouer on Presque Ile. Part of a mini-empire on the same street, the bistro offers a fine seasonal menu that is well crafted and artfully presented. The tourte de legumes oublies with foie gras and truffles and the scallop carpaccio were particularly attractive and tasty. The scallops were also delicious as part of a main course of scallops, monkfish and langoustine, though unfortunately if there was langoustine on the plate it was exceedingly small and the monkfish was a tad overcooked. Other mains were more uniformly satisfying, especially the Supreme de poulet noir and the rumpsteak of genisse Charollaise. Genisse, the female equivalent of veal, which comes from male calves extraneous to the dairy industry, is rarely seen on menus, at least not in the US. This also happened to be from the famed Charollaise breed. The cheese platter, presented for the table consisted of a selection of local cheeses. The dessert specialty , pain perdu, may be worth a trip to the restaurant in itself.
No visit to Lyon is complete without a visit to the justly famed Les Halles de Paul Bocuse. Unlike the restaurants that bear his name, the market is not owned by Bocuse. It, like many other things in this city is simply named for him. The most famous of chefs in a city that values chefs and great food, it is no wonder that so many honors have been bestowed upon him. No doubt that even without Bocuse, Lyon would have been a city known for its fine local cuisine, but it was Bocuse who made the city world famous as a destination for food and elevated it to become synonymous with fine dining. Les Halles certainly does justice to the legacy of Paul Bocuse and is worthy of his name. Though not a gargantuan market, it offers extremely high quality product both for retail sale and also to be eaten on premises. Amongst the restaurants are a number specializing in oysters and other fruits de mar. Though the city of Lyon is located near the Jura and Alps not far from landlocked Switzerland, it has the luxury of obtaining the freshest seafood from the coasts of France. When it comes to quality product Les Halles de Paul Bocuse is second to none. At Maison Rousseau, a seafood bar in the market, we sampled a variety of large, briny oysters from the coasts of Normandy and Brittany. Can anything taste more of the sea than freshly shucked oysters? Perhaps, extremely fresh sea urchin right out from the body competes. The only place I can imagine oysters being better than here would be eating them direct from the ocean.
This visit just scratched the surface of what is available to eat in Lyon. From the most straightforward fresh seafood at Les Halles to the bouchons, brasseries and bistros scattered about the city to the temples of haute cuisine, the food in and of Lyon justifies its reputation as a great place to eat. The definition of a three star Michelin restaurant is one that is worth a special trip. On that basis Lyon is a three star city.
With Timothy Hollingsworth's strong, but ultimately unsatisfying sixth place finish at the 2009 Bocuse d'Or, the Bocuse d'Or USA organization was primed and optimistic for more in 2011. Hollingsworth had indeed tied the best ever finish for the United States with only about four months of real preparation (read Andrew Friedman's compelling book Knives at Dawn for the whole story). The energy coming off that finish was palpable. With more time and more money to prepare, it was indeed conceivable that the United States could improve and maybe even (why not?) make it onto the podium. With increased sponsorship from companies like All-Clad amongst others, the American effort did indeed have more money to work with and now with two years to plan, more time.
Triple Bocuse d'Or medalist Rasmus Kofoed at work at this year's Bocuse d'Or competition in Lyon, France. Kofoed won the gold medal to go along with his previously won bronze and silver medals.
This inky purple wine held its tannins tight when first poured, but they melted away in the decanter leaving a supple, rich, fruit laced and complex wine. Delicious!
Happy Easter!
Without a doubt Bordeaux and Burgundy are the two most famous wine regions of the world and for good reason. These regions have been making wonderful wines for many, many years and top wines from these regions remain world benchmarks for their varietals. I recently had some bottles from Bordeaux and Burgundy, that while certainly not fully representative of the regions, are illustrative of some traits that have become associated with them as well as some ways in which the regions contrast. While both regions make superb white wines, for the moment I am just discussing reds.
I am only including on Burgundy, but it was a good one, with traits common to many good Burgundies. The 2001 Veilles Vignes Gevrey-Chambertin from Domaine Denis Bachelet is a village wine, not even a 1º Cru, but at just over 8 years from harvest, it was showing quite nicely with a lot of finesse for a village wine. The tannins were soft and well integrated, while the fruit was forward, but not over the top jam. Predominant fruit notes to me were cherry and red berry, both of which are pretty classic for Burgundian pinots. At 13% alcohol, it is not a behemoth and a very food-friendly wine with a strong acid backbone, that paired very well with the wild duck I prepared earlier this month. While not overly fancy, the wine possessed the characteristics I was hoping for and represented the refined nature of Burgundy with aplomb.
I have always found Bordeaux to be easier to get a handle on and generally less finicky or hit or miss than Burgundy, though I find a top-notch Burgundy to be hard to beat and more versatile when it comes to pairing with food. While both regions match well with red meat, I tend to turn to Burgundy, red or white, when it comes to fish (but not shellfish unless it is a Chablis with oysters). For one recent dinner featuring porterhouse steaks from Mack Brook Farm, I opted to try my first bottle of Chateau Yon Figeac. At 13.5% alcohol, the Yon Figeac was still light enough to last through a meal without dragging, the way some higher alcohol wines can do. Fruit forward featuring dark berry notes, this wine was well balanced with noticeable, but controlled tannins without overt oak. As with most wines from St. Emilion, this wine was presumably comprised mostly of merlot and cabernet franc though I could not find confirmation either online or on the bottle.
We drank my one bottle of 1990 Chateau Lynch Bages - from the Cabernet Sauvignon rich Pauillac area of Boreaux- the other night, paired with seared lamb loin mushroom soup and roasted potatoes. My initial tasting was very heavy on oak, but fortunately that settled down with further aeration. The tannins remain strong though they weren't overpowering. The flavor profile was complex and deep without any particular fruit jumping out. I actually enjoyed this 12.5% alcohol wine more with food than without. At nearly twenty years of age, the wine remains strong and supple. I'm sorry that I don't have more of the 1990 to try further down the line.
Of all these recent wines, the Bordeaux I enjoyed the most was the 2000 Gruaud Larose from the St. Julien appellation. With a reputation of being a late bloomer with a long life, I was surprised at the finesse and the softness that it showed. I expected stronger tannins. Though they were clearly present, they did not overpower and the deep, complex notes shone through without obstruction. Perhaps the wine was acting relatively precociously because it was from a 375ml bottle. I had opened several previously at various times, but this bottle was the most advanced and most pleasing.
Clearly the regions of Burgundy and Bordeaux contain many great wines, many of which can be quite, quite costly even with what seems to be a recent correction of prices, particularly in Bordeaux. However, they don't need to be expensive to be good and enjoyable, as all but the Lynch Bages above illustrate. The best of the wines from these regions express some of the character of their specific locations, i.e. "terroir." For this particular series of wines, that was clearly more apparent with the Bordeaux's since I only had one Burgundy, but that Burgundy was exactly what I was hoping it to be when I chose it - a wine of finesse and character, subtle and delicious. The Bordeaux's, with the exception of the initial oakiness of the Lynch Bages were also right on point. They were strong and powerful, but somehow still resisted the usual high alcohol "fruit-bomb" characteristic of many wines from that region that followed the lead of the preferences of Robert Parker and globalization. Of that, I was glad.
Pierre Gagnaire is one of the giants of cuisine. Love what he puts on the plate or not, he is indisputably a master of his craft. My one meal at his hands at the Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire in Paris in 2005 shortly after his divorce was ultimately disappointing. The food was beautiful and technically flawless. I am sure it was presented exactly as he wanted. The problem was that I did not enjoy the balance of flavors on the plate. It focused on bitterness as the predominant flavor type. Had I been in a different mood that evening or had the bitterness not been so prominent throughout the meal, I might have enjoyed it more. As it was, the bitterness was too much for me that evening. Most restaurants in that price range only get one chance to impress me. His food was interesting enough though that despite that evening's bitterness, this is one restaurant and chef who continues to intrigue me. Watching him work on stage at Starchefs only reinforced that notion.
Culinary improvisation has achieved an unprecedented level of interest in the United States, largely through the popularity of television shows like Iron Chef, Top Chef and Chopped. Though these shows are contrived and not necessarily truly spontaneous, the usefulness of an exercise along these lines reflects a renewed interest in cooking from the market. An ability to cook spontaneously has become increasingly valuable and praiseworthy. This was manifested at the latest Starchefs ICC when Pierre Gagnaire was charged with creating dishes from a market basket that he was introduced to only 30 minutes prior to his demonstration.
Gagnaire's surprise basket included Wisconsin artisanal cheeses, Pennsylvania Asian pears, New Jersey bicolor corn, Long Island kale, New Zealand King salmon, California spot prawns, Rougie magret de canard and Kopert Cress micro-greens, all of the suppliers Congress sponsors, as would be expected for an event like this. In addition to these ingredients, others were also part of his pantry.
Gagnaire, speaking mostly through an interpreter said that he hoped that he would be able to show a couple of things, but this was a “nerve-racking experience.” He thought his first dish was to be a panna cotta with Wisconsin gruyere accompanied by red beets and Asian pears. Through most of his presentation, verbal silence reigned as Gagnaire was busy creating dish after dish, a blur on stage as he raced from ingredient to ingredient and technique after technique with the sounds of cutting, whisking, whirring and cooking predominating. He was truly a marvel to watch as he and his assistants put together various combinations and permutations of the allotted ingredients. At one point, he stopped to explain that he was still figuring out what he was going to do with some of the ingredients and that an additional part of the difficulty of the exercise was determining the right plates and platings of the dishes. He also explained that many of the products he was presented with were new to him, a challenge that he enjoyed. The panna cotta dish was vegetarian, but he told how meat or fish products like scallops could be added to it if desired. It took a while for Gagnaire to figure out precisely what he would do with everything, but once he did, the dishes started appearing quickly.
Additional dishes paired the duck with the prawns, and salmon done several different ways. As he formulated his ideas and began preparing them, even more ideas came to him. At one point he asked if he could have some paprika from any of the purveyors in the marketplace, a request which at least one was happy to oblige.
While preparing his dishes, Gagnaire spoke to his philosophy of cooking in a kitchen on a daily basis. He said “Everything is simplicity, it is all about the flavors.” He went on to add that in the kitchen, “cooking is about emotion... the dishes will always reflect how the day goes, the years goes and everything around it.” I found this statement to be reflective of the meal I had at Gagnaire back in 2005. This sentiment on emotion is not a new one from Gagnaire. I had always heard that the food on his plate reflected the state of his emotions. That year was apparently a difficult one for him, with major change and turmoil in his life from his divorce . His wife had been closely involved with the running of his restaurant and she was no longer there and they were no longer directly involved in each other's lives. While I am not nor should I be privy to the details of that situation, it was obvious from what was on the plate, that he was affected by his circumstances and he had transferred them to the plate. With his statements at the ICC, he essentially confirmed this. It is, however, because life and circumstances change that I would wish to see and taste what he can do in happier and less stressful times.
It was fascinating to watch and listen to Gagnaire cook. The specifics of the dishes and the techniques used were really secondary in importance. They looked and sounded delicious and I am sure they were. The more important element was the process he employed as he viewed his ingredients and assimilated their characteristics in his mind, enabling him to transfer those properties to the plate in an appealing manner. This enthralled the audience. Gagnaire's approach appeared simple, emphasizing flavor as the primary element, building a dish from the ingredients out. Indeed, it may have been simple for him, but for everyone else, it was just plain fun.
While this is not the sharpest image of Chef Gagnaire, I believe that it captures his intensity and concentration as he prepared for his demonstration at the Starchefs ICC.
I do love Paris. I do love NYC. Paris in NYC? With the Le Fooding D'Amour at P.S. 1 Contemporary Arts Center in Long Island City this past weekend, I had the opportunity to find out. The whole process started with a particularly obtuse way of having to secure tickets. One had to keep an eye on affiliated websites and when they posted a code one could take that code to the Le Fooding website. For each posting there were only so many tickets allotted and of those only a very few $60 VIP tickets that would allow for early admission and unlimited Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne for that additional hour.
Just as I was about to give up and say to hell with it, I was alerted that a code was available. Once I retrieved it, I entered it and lo and behold there were still tickets available, although only the regular $30 variety. I bought a couple for the Friday night and my friend Joe managed to get a couple for the Saturday event.
At the beginning of the week, I received an unexpected email from Action Against Hunger, the organization that was the principal beneficiary of the event, offering a time sensitive upgrade opportunity for my Friday evening tickets. Though it cost an extra $30/ticket, it turned out that I had one a lottery of sorts. It was money very well spent.
Friday evening was cool and crisp, perfect for an outdoor event if one had a sweater or a jacket. I did. I arrived about 15 minutes before the scheduled 6PM opening and met my friend Joe. There were separate lines for the VIPs entering at 6 and the regulars who would enter around 7PM. We were surprisingly towards the front of the VIP line, which surprisingly never really got that long. It took a little while to check id's against a guest list, but the doors finally opened around 6:15 allowing the line of VIP's to stream in.
The courtyard of the Arts Center was filled with what looked like mohair covered tents that reminded me of a combination of Mongolian yurts and an oversized egg crate. The setting was pretty cool. For that initial hour we were free to roam through the space with minimal food lines and plenty of champagne to wash the food down. As an added bonus the champagne was served in cool, high quality plastic flutes that were quite collectible.
The event was a picnic. While none of the food absolutely wowed me, the reality was that most of it was quite good and for those of us lucky enough to score VIP tickets, the event was quite a bargain. It was cool to be served the Bo Ssam directly from David Chang, who commented on how simple they were to prepare. They must have been because they had no problem staying ahead of a line despite their popularity. simple or not, they were quite tasty.
Even at that early point of the evening, some of the other stands could not avoid developing a line. Christophe Pelé of Bigarrade in Paris served barbecued sirloin steak with some fish in a novel attempt at surf and turf, but it took him and his stuff enough time to put the dish together so that a relatively slow-moving line formed fairly quickly.
Wylie Dufresne offered "grilled chicken necks, yuzu marmalade, delfino," a somewhat messy, but delicious dish that rewarded those with enogh patience to gnaw the meat off the complex vertebral structure. Wylie enjoyed doing something completely different from what he would serve in the restaurant, doing so without a single modern flourish other than the combination of ingredients.
In the same courtyard as Dufresne, William Ledeuil of Paris' Ze Kitchen Gallerie made palate dancing "grilled marinated pork ribs, “Teriyaki Pineapple” lemon grass" with eggplant puree that proved to be one of my two favorite dishes of the evening. The pace of production was such that the supply matched the demand with ribs arriving hot and fresh off the grill before a quick finish by the chef. They were truly delicious.
The last stand in that courtyard belonged to Sean Rembold of Brooklyn's Diner who prepared the amazingly delicious "fried corn with scallop butter" using fresh corn from long Island. The corn received a quick dip in the deep fryer before being slathered with the scallop laden butter and some greens. The lines here were quite short early, but grew quickly once word got out.
My only real disappointment of the night was Yves Camdeborde's "Mini Henry IV casserole with creamed cow’s cheese," a soup that while decent, really was not that much better than a decent canned soup (decent and canned not ordinarily uttered in the same breath by me) I found the dish to be lacking in depth and flavor and was the only one that I did not return to for seconds. That this would come from the legendary Camdeborde, former chef of the groundbreaking Regelade and currently of Le Comptoir du Relais, was something I did not expect.
The vibe changed considerably once the floodgates opened and the rest of the crowd entered. No longer was access to the chefs, food or champagne so easy and in the case of the champagne, so cheap. Alcoholic beverages were now sold with a bargain of three drinks (a glass of wine, a glass of champagne and a cocktail) available for $30. Individually, each drink was now $12. Despite the crowd, the event maintained a sophisticated vibe with great tunes playing and hidden spots to sit, eat, drink and talk available for discovery.
As good a time as we had, it was apparent to Joe and I, that we would be unlikely to have as good a time the following night without the upgraded VIP access, so we were able to transfer our entry to a charming young blogger we met and chatted with for part of the evening.
As for Paris in New York, the event incorporated some of the more hip features of contemporary Paris as well as contemporary N.Y. to result in a unique and fun evening. Of course, it doesn't replace a real trip to paris, but then one wouldn't have the NYC blend. I went into the evening thinking that it would likely be great or a disaster. It certainly was not the latter. While I would hesitate to bestow the word "great", it was fun, unusual and a worthy way to donate $60 to a worthwhile charity.
One can't really eat history, but one can feel it and soak it up. Paul Bocuse is the living embodiment of French cuisine of the latter half of the twentieth century. There are no more than a handful of chefs living or dead who have had as great or greater impact on haute cuisine over that time period. Just being in his presence and in his temple of gastronomy made the evening special and worthwhile, especially as I got to share the experience with a number of other very interesting people. If only the dinner itself was as exciting as simply being there was.
We were a group of 30 people there for a dinner in honor of and as a benefit for the U.S. Bocuse D'Or team. Amongst others, the diners included Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Timothy Hollingsworth, Daniel Humm, Alain Sailhac, Gavin Kaysen and others. The first disappointment came when the group was split into two with the larger section consisting of the above notables moved into a private room. The smaller group including moi and a number of other interesting folk were shown to a table in the main dining room. Though I only knew one of my dining companions prior to that evening, the company proved to be excellent.
We had a set menu with wine pairings. We received an amuse, a gougere and a cup of reconstituted salt cod. The gougere was good, though not superior to others that I have had elsewhere. The cod, too failed to excite my taste buds. Our first wine was a bit of champagne, Alain Thienot Grande Cuvee 1999. This paired with the amuse as well as the first course, Soupe aux Truffes Noires V.G.E (plat créé pour L'Elysee en 1975. Quite hot and impressive visually, the soup arrived in a special bowl with the course description inscribed directly on it. Topped with puff pastry, the soup was basically a glorified pot pie. Though describe as a black truffle soup, I did not detect much truffle flavor despite the presence of truffles within. The soup was nice, it was rich, but nothing more.
I was beginning to question the foundation of Bocuse's reputation, but then the next course arrived and it was spectacular. This was the classic Rouget Barbet en Écailles de Pommes de Terre Croustillantes. The potato scales covering the red mullet were simply perfect. They were crisp and delicious. The mullet was moist and provided an outstanding foil not only for the crisp scales, but the rich sauce as well. This was clever, well conceived and well executed, the dish of the evening. This was paired with a 2007 Condrieu from André Perret.
Granité des Vignerons de Beaujolais was served as a palate cleanser after the fish. The wine granita was nice, albeit somewhat pedestrian.
If this food was one thing, it was rich. I was already being to be full when the meat course arrived, the legendary Liévre a la Royale, Sauce Poivrade. This intricate dish is one over which many have waxed eloquently over on the eGullet Society Forums. The preparation was the classic as put forth by Sénateur Couteaux taking a large (about 6 pound) male red-furred hare (related to but different from a rabbit), goose fat , pork fat, carrots, onions, garlic, shallots, bouquet garni, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, aged Chambertin wine and the hare's blood. Though I have come to understand that lievre a la royale contains foie gras and truffles, there was no mention of either in the recipe that the restaurant provided. The serving of the dish was a classic spectacle as the lievre was brought to the table in the copper pan with the appearance of it being intact. Chef Bocuse himself came to the table at this point to greet us and make sure that we were being taken care of. The meat and forcemeat were apportioned along with the rich, blood containing sauce. The reaction from much of the table was varied, with a number not taking to the dish. I liked its gamy flavor, though was already too full to fully appreciate its majesty. Much like the how the mere attendance at this fete surpassed the actual dinner, the mere fact of getting to try this legendary dish at this restaurant was a greater pleasure than the dish itself. The hare was paired with a 2002 Nuits-Saint-George 1er Cru, Clos des Forets Saint-Georges from Domaine de l'Arlot.
Lovely cheeses both fresh and mature from the affineur "La Mere Richard" followed, but I was still too full to appreciate them.
Desserts were classic as well including a lovely Tarte Tatin with vanilla Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce as well as a Crepe a L'Orange. Unable to finish either dessert, I couldn't even look at the Petits Fours. At the end of the meal, we all reconvened in the private dining room for conversation and frivolity. The room itself was a shrine to Bocuse's mentor, Fernand Point, with photos of that larger than life chef dominating the decor as well as the imaginations of many of the guests.
While the food may not have set off the gustatory fireworks I might have expected, it was certainly good. The evening's price tag was not light and were the experience just of the food and drink, I might have felt the value was lacking. However, given the overall context and experience, the reality is that the evening was priceless.
From Les Halles in Lyon:
Chef Paul Bocuse
Team USA drew the sixth spot on the second day of the competition. With twenty four teams entered into the finals, each day permitted competition for half the squads. Most of the favorites including France, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Spain, Canada along with the U.S. were also slated for the second day. That left day one for the U.S. team to observe and learn.
Day one was spent soaking up the ambiance of the crowds cheering on their respective teams and watching the teams cook in their cubicle kitchens racing against the clock to prepare two platters of food, the first fish based with Norwegian cod, scallops and shrimp as featured ingredients and the second meat based featuring Scottish beef. Supplementary ingredients could be brought by each team as desired.
Tim Hollingsworth, the American contestant selected through a difficult and rigorous competition in Orlando several months before, watched closely as the day unfolded. Hollingsworth who along with his commis, Adina Guest, work at The French Laundry in Yountville, California, had a paid leave of absence from the restaurant to prepare for this competition. He and Guest appeared focused, even and anxious for the competition to commence. While Hollingsworth and Guest were to be the competitors for the team, they were by no means alone. Team USA President was none other than Thomas Keller himself, a rock star in this food obsessed nation of France as he is back home. He had spent part of the previous day autographing his newest book, Under Pressure, at a booth at the SIRHA show besieged by a mob of fans. The coach of the team was Roland Henin, known as a mentor to Chef Keller and other chefs, who also has plenty of experience in International cooking competitions. Gavin Kaysen, 2007 Bocuse D'Or Team USA candidate and current Executive Chef of Cafe Boulud, was the assistant coach of the team. Additional support led by Jennifer Pelka included 2009 Bocuse D'Or runner-up Richard Rosendale and a number of others who came to Lyon to root the team on. Lyon native and New York chef, Daniel Boulud, completed the contingent from the U.S. in his role as Honorary President of the 2009 Bocuse D'Or. He would sit at the President's table along with Paul Bocuse and Fabrice Desvignes, the winner of the 2007 Bocuse D'Or and current President of the Jury. Previous Honorary Presidents have included a who's who of internationally renowned chefs including Heston Blumenthal in 2007, Ferran Adria in 2003, Michel Bras twice, Frédy Girardet and others.
The President's Table
With their day of competition facing them on the morrow, the American team and key support people had a low-key night, while most everyone else joined Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud for a wonderful dinner at La Mere Brazier under Chef Mathieu Viannay in Lyon. The evening proved to be another late one as I didn't make it back to my hotel until about 1:30AM. Unfortunately that meant little sleep for me as I determined to join the US Team to photograph them and document the complete day of competition.
I met Gavin Kaysen and Andrew Friedman, a NY based writer doing a book on the team and the competition, at 5AM. We then walked to meet the rest of the team along with support vehicles that were used to pick up the team's supplies that had been stored at Paul Bocuse's catering facility outside of Lyon. With a lot of equipment and ingredients needed for the competition, this element was not as easy as one might imagine. Given that the day everyone had been waiting for was finally there, a level of tension was palpable as the team swiftly and efficiently loaded up their vehicles then drove off to the Exposition Center where the competition would take place.
I stood off to the side out of the way as the team unloaded their all-important cargo and placed it where it would be safe until needed. Some of the more important pieces of equipment, the specially designed and constructed platters that would be used to display the finished dishes, were very carefully removed from their crates and polished. In addition, given their modern pedigree, the electronics were carefully checked and tested. Fortunately they were found to be in good working order.
Finally very thing was in its place as judges started to come by and examine the space for organization and cleanliness. With their presence an increase in nerves was palpable, though Tim and Adina
remained looking cool and collected. Slowly, the contestants changed into their chef's whites. In addition to the candidate, Tim Hollingsworth and the commis, Adina Guest, the team as is the case for all teams, was given a helper from the Bocuse school. The helpers are divided by lottery, though this under appreciated component of the process could go a long way towards making or breaking the final result of a team. A more proficient helper is clearly more valuable than a stumbling, bumbling one, but it is also important that that individual can communicate well with the team and follow direction. Tim and Adina were paired with a young man, who appeared to do a good job, though I am unable to say how good or how well he compared to some of his school mates. In any case, from my vantage point it did not appear that he hampered the team.
At 8:50AM precisely the day's competition got underway with Norway leading off. At ten minute intervals an additional team started with Denmark, Spain, Malaysia, and Japan preceding the United States and the Czech Republic, Canada, Singapore, France, Estonia and Mexico following. The previous day saw competitors from Brazil, Finland, The UK, South Africa, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Luxembourg, South Korea, Sweden, Uruguay and Iceland. The US team got formally underway at 9:40AM.
Tim Hollingworth jumped immediately to breaking down the Aberdeen Angus beef fillet, while Adina Guest opened a can of cream and began slicing a honkingly large black truffle on a mandoline. Neither
remained idle as they quickly sorted through a variety of techniques and ingredients in their quest to complete the required plates in the
allotted time. Each time had five hours from their start time in which to send out their fish platter and an additional thirty-five minutes to send out their meat platter. Each team was required to utilize a fresh Norwegian cod weighing 5kg, Norwegian king-size scallops and 3kg of wild Norwegian prawns for their fish platters and in addition to the 2+ kg of beef fillet, a whole oxtail, 2 beef cheeks and three ribs for their meat platters. Other ingredients and special equipment could be provided by the teams as desired.
Though each team had a coach, once the competition ensued, the coach could only stand outside the kitchen offering advice. They essentially had the same access to the teams as the media during the morning cooking phase of the competition. no one but the team and judges were allowed into the kitchens themselves once the cooking started.
It was fascinating to walk around in front of the kitchens and peer in and observe the variety of techniques and ingredients employed. While the Danes drilled holes in the centers of carrots to stuff them, Adina Guest painstakingly stamped out uniform carrot hearts for the US effort. The Spanish squad sliced frozen cepes and laid them out like flower petals before stuffing them with additional ingredients for their meat platter, while David Wong and the Canadians were busy making a puree.
I focused on the American team throughout the day, occasionally glancing at the progress of the other teams. A number of teams such as Malaysia, Estonia, South Korea and the Czech Republic were competing at the Bocuse D'Or for the very first time, while others such as France, Norway, Belgium, Sweden and Denmark are perennial powerhouses. Countries, such as Spain and Italy, with very strong culinary traditions, have never made it to the podium. The best the United States had ever done was sixth place. It was with great hope that they would fare better this time around even daring to dream of a place on the podium.
BY 1PM all the teams were well into their preparations. It was also time for the judges to come out and be seated at the table in anticipation of the parade of platters to come. It also meant that media and support staff were asked to leave the staging area. I was able to retreat to the press box directly in front of the staging area, where I still had a decent view of the action both in front and from the cacophonous stands behind. Cacophonous was not an exaggeration, particularly as it related to the many vocal and loud French fans singing and chanting for their team and the rhythmic and amusing Japanese fans urging their team on. While not as many nor as loud as the fans from France, Japan, Norway or Denmark, the U.S. fans were spirited as well in support of their squad. With flags waving and tattoos on their cheeks, periodic chants of "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" and "Yes we can!" rang out with energy, passion and conviction.
At 13:50, five hours after they started, Norway sent out its fish platter. The Norwegian candidate, Geier Skeie, was no rookie, having already beaten Denmark, France and all the other European nations in winning the Bocuse D'Or European qualfier in 2008. He and his commis prepared loin of cod with lightly smoked scallop and cod belly, green pea spheres and brandade, a construction of peas, prawns and onions and a number of other sides. After the platter was paraded in front of all the judges and around the stage, it was divided and plated for half the judges by Skeie. Each competing country's team President served as a judge. With 24 judges all together, half tasted the fish dishes while the other half tasted the meat dishes. Given that many if not most or all of the judges had eaten a lunch prior to the competition, it would not be an easy job to sit, taste and analyze twelve different platters of food. As much as I would have loved to eat any of those platters for any given meal, the thought of having to go through so many at one time made me queezy just thinking about it. I did not envy the job of the judges. At 2PM the Danes sent out their fish platter and the Spaniards followed 10 minutes later with a beautiful and colorful geometric elements. When the Japanese sent out their platter, the intricate design included a small "suspension" bridge holding two beautiful rolls that appeared to come from the trendiest sushi bar.
At 14:25 while most of the competitors were still sending out their seafood platters, Skie and the Norwegians sent out their meat platter, which consisted of beef ribs with foie gras, tenderloin with black truffles and oxtail with celeriac. Glazed beef cheek with spinach and parsley completed the principle anti-vegan elements.
The US team's seafood platter went out at 14:40 consisting of olive oil poached cod loin within a scallop mousse covered by preserved Meyer lemon and Sicilian pistachios, prawn and avocado tarts. The platter was accented by a potato and bacon millefeuille and Sacramento Delta osetra caviar amongst other elements. The platter was laid out beautifully for its parade around the room. Hollingsworth then had to leave the kitchen to slice and plate the various elements, leaving Guest in the kitchen to continue to work on the meat platter.
By this time with platters of seafood or meat coming every five minutes, the stage was hive of activity with judges straining as they carried the heavy platters around the stage and cooks sweating as they tried sometimes in vain to plate their dishes without disaster. Difficulties became apparent as various chefs sliced into their creations, on occasion witnessing the disintegration of elaborate elements under the hot and pressure-packed glare of the judges and the deafening roar of the audience. Hollingsworth appeared to survive his process without too much difficulty, though it seemed to take perhaps more time than he and the team had planned. As such, the pace appeared slightly more frantic as he re-entered the kitchen with less than 35 minutes to complete their meat platter.
Hollingsworth and Guest needed every second of that time and perhaps a little more to get their meat platter out in an acceptable time. They may even have been a little late in the process potentially losing precious points off their total score. Nevertheless they did get their meat platter out to the judges. The platter held rib-eye wrapped in bacon with prune-enriched oxtail jus, beef fillet rosettes with perigord truffles, celeriac and oxtail-endive marmalade, glazed beef cheeks a l'etouffée served with French Laundry grown vegetables and truffled pommes Dauphinoise amongst their offerings. Glass domes were lit from below and smoke was added to these for one of the dishes just prior to serving.
With their platters served and the remainder of the teams still to go, the competition was not yet over for the U.S. as an important element of the judging involved an inspection of the post-production kitchen clean-up. This part was largely done behind closed curtains as each team pulled the curtains closed on their kitchens once their presentations were completed.
Watching the platters pass by, it was impossible to predict who would or would not win the competition. While some were clearly inferior in their presentation, the vast majority of them were beautiful and difficult to distinguish based upon their visual appeal. Taste, would, of course play an important role as would other elements of the judging, none of which were apparent to the vast majority of the audience.
With the competition ended, the hall was packed in anticipation of the results. The excitement level was high with each team's fans offering nationalistic chants. Even so, their was a good feeling in the air as fans of different nationalities bantered back and forth good-naturedly with the Japanese at one point taking up a friendly chant of "USA! USA!"
Before the main awards were given, a few special awards were offered. The best commis went to Grace Pineda of Canada. The maximum age for a commis in the competition is 22. It would appear that Ms. Pineda has a bright career in front of her. "Best fish" was awarded to Denmark. Once they also won "best meat," it appeared that their initial disappointment at winning what is generally considered a "door prize" seemd to change into hope. The Danes had been runners-up to Norway at the European competition and now seemed to have a good chance at victory. This was abetted with the shocking announcement that pre-competition favorite, France, had taken the bronze position. The looks of disappointment on the French faces both on stage and in the crowd were moving. When Sweden was announced in the silver position, the tension mounted further. Would Denmark pull it off. Could the Americans upset? What about another team? In the end, the podium's top spot went to Norway for the fourth time in the history of the event, second only to France. With fireworks blazing and confetti falling, Skeie and the Norwegians basked in their glory and new found prize money. Their efforts had paid off in full.
That should not diminish the efforts and accomplishments of any of the other teams including the Americans, who gained valuable experience undertaking this overwhelming event. Some saw sixth place a a disappointment and a failure given the monies raised and the star power dedicated to the effort. While no one involved was satisfied with the result, the reality is that the team performed quite well and made a great showing. The reality is that no matter how much people like Paul Bocuse himself may have been pulling for them and no matter how much effort and money went into the program, they remained underdogs, in this decidedly Euro-centric competition. Much as the Spaniards have a hard time here continuing with a vanguardist approach, the Americans with an American mindset to their food will have a hard time overwhelming the majority of judges who remain conservative and traditionalist based upon classic and nouvelle French haute cuisine. It will be difficult in the future to break through any higher from what I have seen. That however, doesn't mean that it is not fun nor worthwhile to try. USA 2011 - Yes we really can!
For a recap of the results of the Bocuse D'Or and more of my photos, please see Starchefs.com.
I'm a practicing Anesthesiologist and family man who enjoys all things culinary.
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