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Leave France to step
back. It's exactly what the Pascal Aussignac did when he left
France and created 5 years ago, next to Smithfield, Le Club
Gascon with Vincent La Berry. " What we wished was to defend our
South-West origin abroad, in a spirit which was both traditional
and modern. Londoners, because of their cultural melting-pot,
are much more sensitive to all foreign influences, and much more
receptive to new things than the French who often have some very
strong pre-conceived ideas about French cuisine." The
originality of the "Club" is principally its small dishes,
served like tapas. Customers choose from a wide variety of
dishes going from the classic `Toulouse Cassoulet' to the more
surprising `Foie foie gras fumé au Cigare' (Foie gras smoked
with Cigar), beer and Armagnac Sorbet'. Four or five dishes are
enough to create a meal. The waiter will advise you about the
order in which they should be served, their format according to
their taste and how they marry with each other. " The basis of
the idea was that although we wanted to offer South-West dishes,
our market was mostly business men who were not likely to eat
very rich food. The solution therefore was to serve very small
portions." By re-inventing the way in which these traditional
dishes are served, Le Club Gascon was awarded its first Michelin
Star in 2002.
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Could it be possible that the cuisine of the Ancient Kingdom of
Aquitaine has taken some interesting new directions on English
soil? The affinities between the two regions, we know, are part
of history. La Trouvaille is another example of what can
happen. Situated near Carnaby Street, La Trouvaille's menu
emphasises South-West dishes. Its secret however is based on
local produce. The Chef, Sébastien Gagnebé, is keen to
stop this idea that we don't eat well in England: "What makes me
angry are the chefs who only swear by French produce. All my
produce is English but my cuisine is French." Sébastien Gagnebé
is originally from Sarlat. He trained first of all at The Petit
Blanc in Oxford and at Loafers in Clapham. He has succeeded in a
very short period of time to establish for himself a network of
small producers, mostly from the Lake District. If "La Bavette
Sauce Savora" (Undercut with a Savora Sauce) is 100% Galloway,
`Le mouton à la lavande' (Lavender Lamb) is Herdwick, the wine
is most definitely from the South-West vineyards."We didn't want
to serve Bordeaux or Burgundy because everybody knows them. The
spirit of La Trouvaille is to offer new things without being
completely mad, summarises Thierry Bouteloup, ex La Poule au Pot
ou created La Touvaille with Jean-Charles Adam. The restaurant
was opened in 2001 and with a very inventive cuisine and very
good value for money has rapidly succeeded in getting a good
reputation for itself amongst the `connoisseurs'.
Let's now think cassoulet but not the usual one, this time, with
a touch of India or more precisely with a Pondichéry sauce.
La Porte des Indes, situated at Marble Arch, offers a range
of dishes inspired by the French Indian Cuisine. `Le cassoulet
de Fruits de mer' (the Sea food cassoulet) is something of a
bouillabaisse with hints of cocoa and Indian spices. The careful
elaboration of the menu has taken le Chef
Mehernosh Mody, a number of times to Pondichéry, a French
colony until 1954. There he went to meet the last Franco-Pondichery
ladies who both lived and cooked during this colonial period.
Amongst them, Lourde Swamy who has bequeath to him her "Magret
de Canard Pulivaar' (duck Pulivaar) recipe with Indian spices. "
Given that most of these women did not really keep a recipe
notebook, I had to spend a lot of time trying to re-create the
taste of some of these dishes or at least a certain amount of
time to get as close as possible to what they must have tasted
like, explains Mehernosh Mody. For instance, to re-create the `Vadovan',
which is made with about ten different spices, it took me about
4 years experimenting before getting there". The menu is truly a
journey in itself. It takes you on a voyage and of makes you
discover an unknown Exotic French cuisine.
La Porte des Indes, 32 Bryanston Street, W1
Tel: 020 7224 0055
Approx. 300 seats.
Menu: £38 excl.wine
The little extras: The decoration of this old ball room is in
itself enough for you to want to go: Fresco similar to Douanier-Rousseau,
Jaïpur stone banister, marble staircase, antiques all of which
have been directly imported from India. A waterfall links both
levels whilst on the ceiling three glass domes give natural
light to the whole place. Not to be missed: `The Governer's
room', directly inspired from the colonial era: Ocre, a very
popular colour in Pondichéry, dominates. On the wall, a portrait
of Charles de Gaulle and some French flags don't leave any room
for any ambiguity about the spirit of the place.
Yet to come: In the autumn, Chrysalis publishes a book on La
Porte des Indes recipes. La Porte des Indes opens in Paris,
after Brussels in 1991 and Londres in 1996. Paris should perhaps
get inspired by the Indian influence. |
