I was really excited when I heard from them that they are organizing a follow up dinner with the competitors as well as some of the judges and members of the Singapore Junior Chefs’ Club. When we arrive at GourmetPlus, we found the place very cozy and homey. There were many products from France around, like their red wine vinegar and what really surprises me was that the place even had a wine cellar of their own. It really exudes a very homey and comforting French bistro kind of feeling, where people would come here after a long day for a nice hearty meal and get together with friends. It was definitely a right place for the gathering!
Once we sat down, we were served some Cremant and home made gravelax on blinis orange and dill sauce. It was like small pancakes with smoked salmon on top, accompanied with dill sauce. The taste of the salmon together with the dill sauce merged so well together with the taste of the chives and the soft yet surprisingly fluffy blinis. It truly was a delightful way to start of the evening together with the Cremant d’Alsace.
Shortly after, Chef Mus gave us a short summary on French Cuisine and how it has evolved from Classical French to Nouvelle French and till Modern French cuisine, the differences and the people behind this food evolution, such as Paul Bocuse and Auguste Escoffier. I was really interesting getting to learn about the rich history of French cuisine and the many part of France that has different ways of doing different dishes and the history that goes behind those dishes and up till this day, these many dishes are still being served and in many different forms due to different intepretations by many different chefs but using almost the same classical techniques.
While we were enjoying our wine and blinis, we also had a talk on wine and the art of wine appreciation by Ms Jenny Tan, a wine journalist. It was like a 101 on how to drink and appreciate wines. For example the steps on appreciating it like swirling the wine globe so that the flavor of the wine would come out and how to coat your palate with the wine, which is to make sure that you can actually get to taste the actual flavor of the wine. She was also talking about wine from France, particularly wine from Alsace. We were also taught the importance of wine pairing. Like how wine could actually affect the way food tasted. It made us realize how important wine is in the culinary world and it is something that we have to take note of when we are creating a dish that has wine in it or when we want to pair a dish with wine. It is definitely not something to be overlooked.
We had wine that was made in France served to us and we also got to know a little history of the wine. That really gave us a much better appreciation of the things that we were drinking. While drinking, we were served our second course of Light Lobster Bisque, saffron emulsion tortellini of blue prawn. The first mouth full of the bisque was simply wonderful. It was really very flavorful and rich. All of us on the table shared the same thought as well. It had that rich lobster taste that really stayed in your mouth together with the tortellini, it was a perfect match. Coincidentally I was thinking to myself “that were the same ingredients I used in my competition and he actually created something so soulful from his own repertoire.”
The third course was Pan seared Cod Fish Carrot and Cardamom Emulsion and Tempura of Enoki mushroom. The cod fish was really well cook and went well the emulsion that it was sitting on. Chef Jean Rene’s cod fish dish had an absolute balance that would leave you craving for more.
After the cod fish was served, we were served with French Duck Breast Glazed with Honey and Raz El Hanout and Thyme Sauce together with a French red wine. The duck breast was really juicy and I really enjoyed the skin that was on top of the duck. It was crisp and sweet. And the best part was that the red wine really brought out the flavor of the duck.
To round the whole meal off, we had Home made Nougat Ice cream with Raspberry coulis. Wow, the difference between home made ice cream and factory made ice cream is really apparent. There was a crunch in every bite of the nougat ice cream, with loads of nuts and nougat in it. My sweet tooth could not resist finishing up the whole plate.
This was definitely a night that started and ended great. With soulful French food, wonderful French wine and delightful companies, what more can anyone ask for?
By Poh Lay Hwee, candidate of the Concours Cuisine 2009, and member of the Singapore Junior Chefs' Club
