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| Gôut de France |
| By Rajiv Singhal and Ravi Joshi |
| Gôut de France translates to “Taste of France”, and this invariably invokes drooling images of haute cuisine and fine wines to gastronomes around the world. In 2015, this generic phrase took a new meaning as Laurent Fabius, the French Minister for Foreign affairs and International Development and Alain Ducasse, the world renowned 3-Michelin-starred chef launched a special initiative that celebrates French gastronomy worldwide, with over 1300 chefs serving a “French-style dinner” on Thursday 19 March 2015, on all five continents. |
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Residence of France ready to host the guests |
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| The Genesis |
| Gôut de France has its roots in the “Epicurean Dinners” devised in 1912 by the famous French Chef Auguste Escoffier who started “one day one menu” in cities around the world. These not only helped popularize French cuisine but also made it possible for patrons to sample the best of authentic French cuisine without having to travel all the way to France. In today’s context, the number of participating cities has obviously increased manifold, courtesy technology enablement and evolution of the global village. |
| Behind the Scenes |
| The culinary magnum opus was structured by Alain Ducasse, who evolved the guidelines that were issued to restaurants worldwide that were desirous of participating in Gôut de France. The candidate restaurants were classified into Bistro, Modern Cuisine and Fine Dining. Each participating restaurant was required to propose a menu that adhered to the following format: |
| • Traditional French aperitif: Champagne and Gougères; or Iced Cognac and Foie Gras. |
| • Cold and hot appetizer. |
| • Fish or shell fish. |
| • Meat or poultry. |
| • Vegetables to represent values of healthy eating and environmental responsibility. |
| • Selection of French cheese. |
| • Chocolate dessert. |
| • French wines and French liqueur. |
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Chef at work |
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| A selection committee of international chefs headed by Alain Ducasse unveiled the final list of participating restaurants based on their submissions. In India, 48 restaurants were selected to participate, and this makes India the 4th largest participation in the world after Italy (96), Japan (61) and Brazil (55). Click here to make your choice. |
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| The Curtain Raiser |
| A very special curtain raiser dinner for around 50 media professionals and select food lovers of Delhi, was hosted by H.E. François Richier, the Ambassador of France in India at the lawns of his beautiful residence. The stunning lights led to the aperitif area in the centre of the lawns through the water channels where Champagne Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial was served with Gougères au Fromage.
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French Ambassador to India, Mr François Richier with guests |
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| The dinner was prepared by the team of chefs at the Residence in accordance with the Ducasse guidelines. Fine dining at its best – crested plates and cutlery, crystal glasses, embroidered napkins and linen – magnificent setting matched only by the delicious food and impeccable service. |
| Ambassador Richier highlighted the diversity of French cuisine and said "Gôut de France gives us an opportunity to present French food to the adventurous Indian palate." He thought this initiative would bring a totally new style of cuisine (definitely not "Fusion") to a certain segment of food lovers, and assure vegetarians that options do exist in French cuisine. And maybe, maybe it will help in increasing the offer of French restaurants in India. |
| The dinner had both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. We share the non-vegetarian experience: |
| Entrée: Tartare de tourteaux, concombre et salade de soja (Crab tartar with cucumber and soya salad) and Coquille Saint-Jacques, Carpaccio de betterave rouge (Scallops with beetroot carpaccio) |
| Both the hot and cold entrée plates had fresh and delicate flavours. The wine, Chateau Tour Léognan 2010, a Bordeaux (Pessac Léognan) white, embodied this freshness further. The wine and food were hand in glove. |
| Main Course: Pavé de saumon, emincé de poireaux, pomme anglaise, tomate à la persillade (Salmon steak with minced pears, English apple, tomato and parsley) and Filet d’agneau aux herbes, trio de champignons, bouquet d’asperges (Lamb fillet with herbs, trio of mushrooms and asparagus bunch). |
| The first plate showed better with the continuing Bordeaux white in the glass. The lamb plate with a vrai ami in the Saint Clementin 2013 (Chateauneuf du Pape) wine, where the rustic and smoky character of the wine complemented the lamb, savoury mushrooms and asparagus. |
| Cheese platter: Plateau de Fromages affinés (Fine cheese platter) |
| The assortment of cheese with various textures were good to experiment with both the wines that had their moments of sunshine. The cheese selection, served with crisp leafy greens, covered a wide spectrum of textures as creamy, blue, firm and hard. |
| Dessert: Charlotte au chocolat, perle de poire caramelise, crème anglaise au rhum
(Chocolate dessert with caramelised pearls of pears and rum custard)
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| A mélange of very rich and varied flavours made the dessert quite amenable to the dry medium bodied Chateauneuf du Pape. It was one of those rare occasions, wheer a dry red wine complemented the dessert well. |
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The Curtain Raiser |
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| The Curtain Raiser was a brilliant expression of the traditions of French gastronomy – it is not just about the food but the ambience, the table setting, the people, and of course the wines. All the boxes were ticked, and a spectacular soirée came to a close with Ambassador Richier introducing the team of chefs at the Embassy led by Davender Patney to the guests to a huge round of applause. |
| The guests left, probably looking forward to make best of the opportunity, and join one of the 48 partner restaurants that had "specials" in store for diners on the 19th of March. |
| If you have not made your choice, why don’t you do it now – before you rue the lost chance. Click here. And when you do, please share your experience with us. |
| Bon Appétit! |
| Rajiv Singhal is sometimes considered too close to French food and wine! A Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Merite, he revels in his wine adventures which are enhanced only by his company and the food. Bouquets or brickbats, please let us know what you think and do tell us where vino india could improve. Email us at info@vinoindia.in |
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