Monday, October 11, 2010

Taste The Difference! I didn't....

Surprise, surprise...
As I was reading the Times a couple of weeks ago, I found myself wondering as why on earth our Louis XV Crunchy Pralin with gold leaves was on a full page spread!
I thought that our PR company had managed to pull an amazing trick.: Full Page in The Times free of charge!
That is when I realised that Sainsbury's had just released their new line :
Taste The Difference
The Times was not showing a great picture of our Louis XV Crunchy- Pralin; no! they were advertising the DOUBLE CHOCOLATE & PRALIN CRUNCH.
A very close cousin of our star dish here at Gauthier Soho.
And to make the resemblance even more pronounced, they added a magnificent piece of Gold Leave on the top of their PRALIN CRUNCH. Just like us!
I could not wait to try this new "original" product from the new "original" line of Sainsbury's.
I called Clive and asked him to rush to our nearest Sainsbury's and get one as soon as possible; I would try it as soon as I got home at night.
I spent the day wondering how awful this copy could be. I was certain that they would have messed up the entire pudding. I had the feeling that it was going to be a disaster- and I was quite happy about that.
How on earth could a chain of supermarket like Sainsbury produce such an exquisite and refined classical French patisserie.
When Alain Ducasse created this dish, he thought about the crunchiness of the praline topped by a very light and intense chocolate mousse- and to round the whole things up a Glacage Paradis would take everything together under a very slight Resistance of the reduce chocolate sauce. The osmosis would be perfect....
IMPOSSIBLE TO REPRODUCE- unless you are a Patisserie genius with God gifted hands....
I spent the night in the kitchen tasting every single dishes that was going to be served to your guests- so I wasn't particularly hungry or willing to be impressed with food by the time I reach home.
Everyone was asleep and I rushed to the fridge to discover this little box stuffed with 2 very ugly chocolate dome topped with the smallest piece of gold leave you could think of!
It started well.
My spoon went in the soft glacage- I said: Merde, this is perfect texture.
Then my mouth felt covered by the unctuously of the chocolate mousse- it was a very high quality chocolate mousse- I was dreaming.
Then the crunchiness of the Pralin came right thrue my mouth- the balance of crunch & softness was just perfect- YES fucking perfect!
I had one; and the other one. Didn't want anybody else to have one.
I didn't want to risk my 5 years old son Arthur saying : Papou, this chocolate Crunch is better than yours!!
I would have answered: "Pfuuf...Not me who created it anyway- Call Ducasse and tell him if you want....."
So as far I am concerned I saw the Difference but didn't taste any Difference!
Brilliant Louis XV at £2.30 for 2!

Monday, October 04, 2010

Festival Food

So the restaurant festival has just started and we couldn't have kick start the celebration better than with a tube strike! Quite a lot of restaurants had to close their doors tonight in Soho- staff & costumers alike couldn't get here or couldn't go back home.
Having a restaurant in France, I can tell you that a strike day is wonderful for restaurant owners. Everyone take the streets, protesting from 10am and then at 12, take a long boozy lunch before starting the afternoon march.
Only when the day finishes, they all meet again in restaurants for long arguments on how the day has been or what will be the next day of strike!
Early September when striking was on everybody lip in France we made our best day ever at the Voyageur Nissart (taking wise). Today with a massive tube strike we did our worst day ever at Gauthier.
We need to educate British Tube Strikers.
I wonder what Bob Crowe had for lunch today?

Veganisteria 111

Deep Problem If there was one thing that has seriously amazed me since becoming a vegan chef is the fact that I am still not connected ...