28 mars 2007
Manresa-Passard (2): the way of the radish
The first episode of this saga of Spring 2007 rests on the frail
shoulders of our friend the pink radish, the first course
of the tasting menu.
No
comments will be added, in order to let the
radish express itself freely —from its nutritious patch of soil, where
the chef picks it himself, to the dinner table at Manresa, after it has
been groomed and pampered in the restaurant's kitchen. First picture:
Love Apple farm, 8 AM; last picture: the dining-room at Manresa, 8 PM.
In ramkin: whipped crème fraîche with fleur de sel and fresh tarragon.
25 mars 2007
This Spring's serial: Alain Passard at Manresa (1)
This gloved hand stroking young turnip greens belongs to Cynthia
Sandberg, gardener at the Love Apple Farm, in the Santa Cruz Hills,
California. The production of this spacious herb and vegetable garden
is entirely dedicated to the kitchens of the Manresa
restaurant (two Michelin stars), in Los Gatos. The posts of this early Spring will
revolve around everything this hand sows, nurses, picks and gathers.
And, of course, the subject will be food, great food. On March 9, 10
and 11, chef Alain Passard from L'Arpège was invited to cook for three nights by his friend David Kinch,
chef of Manresa. Both chefs joined skills and inspiration to compose a
tasting menu based on local products, primarily on vegetables produced
at Love Apple Farm.
"Vegetables" will ring a bell for those who are
already familiar with chef Alain Passard. They do know about his own
personal vegetable garden in Fillé-sur-Sarthe, a work in progress but
already a nearly perfect ecologic paradise. They certainly have heard,
also, of Passard's creative, poetical love of vegetables. It was only logical
that these two chefs should meet, appreciate each other and communicate through their adoration of the green stuff.
"I would like to bring all things
around me to a slow, gentle pace", says Alain Passard on the L'Arpège
website. Well said: there is plenty to tell about these few blessed
days, and I mean to tell it slowly, with proper attention to detail. So,
dear readers, be patient!
Before I begin, I would like to thank warmly my friends Pim Techamuanvivit
and David Kinch for their friendship, their hospitality and their
trusting; Alain Passard and his assistant Julie Coppé for letting me be
part of this experience; and everyone at the Manresa restaurant for
their welcoming and exquisite kindness. Not forgetting, of course,
Cynthia Sandberg and Gene Lester.
Purple kale and Chinese mustard plants at Love Apple Farm.
Manresa's stock, or concentrated vegetable poetry.
Why this blog?
This is the first post of a new — and not-so-new — blog. Not so new because it already exists in French, and recently celebrated its second year of existence. But as friends have told me repeatedly of their frustration from not being able to read it in French, I decided to create a long-overdue English version. Right from the beginning (February 2005), I had meant Chez Ptipois to be bilingual. I never had the time, or the courage, to do it. Now is the time.
For those who will discover this blog now and are not familiar with
the French version, here is a small description: basically, Ptipois'
blog is a food blog, but not in a pure, unmixed kind of way. Behind the
nickname Ptipois ("fresh green pea" in French) is Sophie Brissaud, a
French food writer and journalist who has gathered a relatively long
experience in — guess what — food writing, but also in translation,
photography, graphic design, food styling, recipe editing, teaching
cuisine and some restaurant
reviewing. I have written a dozen books in French, some texts in
English, translated a few English food authors, and I do not count the
books I have written, co-written or edited as a ghost-writer for French
chefs. That, in short, is my resume. Therefore, since I spend all my
life thinking
about food and writing about it, I feel happy to write about other
subjects when I sit down updating my blog.
Particularly about Paris, the city where I live — a constant source of
amazement and joy —, and my rather frequent
travels to close or distant locations.
However, for the very same
reasons — the strong presence of food and cooking in my life and the
interest I feel for them —, the subject is, quite often, well — food.
One more word of warning: although this blog is starting off as a
French version of Chez Ptipois, I already have a slight notion that it
will not completely stick to that definition. Some things are better
said in French, and some things are better said in English. In either of
the two languages, some things go without saying while the same cannot
be said of the other language, and that is true the other way around.
While most posts will be common to both versions, it is not impossible
that some posts remain exclusive of the French version or of the
English version, depending on how well they will fit either blog. So
they will not be quite identical, although I will make sure they do not
lead their lives too far apart.
Also,
it is definitely too much work to translate all posts as they get
written, so English and French texts will not be equivalent, since the
English will be written from scratch and not translated from the French.
Now I hope you will enjoy either one
of my blogs; and if you can enjoy both, then let me congratulate you:
it is indeed nice to be fluent both in English and in French. Sure helps with those restaurant menus, doesn't it?