Dishes that Passed the Test of Time

[lxt]

“Neo-Gothic or Neo-Baroque,” was my first impression as we entered the compact lobby of Lucas Carton, until curly heads of cheeky cherubs, emerging from the wood-carved leaves supporting elaborate wall lamps in the main room, caught my eye with their distinctive Art Nouveau motifs of the vitreous interior incarcerated in an elaborate scenography of wood.

Somehow the “sweet” vulgarity of Art Nouveau, expressed in a perennial preference for forms with sinuous floral ornamentation, and which more often than not represented equally lugubrious examples of petrified Classicism with heavy Symbolist overtones, was smoothed by the restrained equilibrium of good taste, lacking the overblown rhetoric of the Grand Palais. I will not elaborate further on the décor of Lucas Carton and its smooth transposition of a court-mannered theme into the stout bourgeois if not decadent character, reviving the age of the sipping of absinthe, the smoking of cigars, of silk gowns and the coming of the Ballet Russe, but rather concentrate on the matters of another eternal – the art of gastronomy.

Is personal expression of the inner world, influenced by the spirit of the current age – “personality” and “style,” those periodic, transitory characteristics – enough to bypass the boundaries of constantly changing times? Do we not appreciate the culinary achievements of chefs of a certain historical period for their influence on the future development of the culinary art, though we prefer to examine these chefs’ dishes on paper not on our plates? How many dishes survived through the frenzy of different times constantly changing in fashion, tastes, forms, rules, demands and conventions?

“Simplicity is an exact medium between too little and too much.” (Sir Joshua Reynolds). Indeed, the minimalism of the “Duck Foie Gras in Savoy Cabbage,” its congruent baldness and visual modesty, featuring two large, perfectly round foie gras “packets,” with small mounds of coarse salt and pepper on the side, which only slightly disturbed the geometric unity of these voluminous “burgers,” residing in their priestly solemnity and wrapped in a swathe of wrinkled drapes of the soothing and buttery-moist cabbage leaves, represented a thread of harmony and figurative order. No gallant elaborateness, no artful pomposity, primitively naïve, this dish, differing strikingly from other more intricate entrées, promised no special worth until the first bite awoke the tremor of elation, and for a moment heaven knelt to earth.

Thirty five years ago, Senderens applied cabbage -- known for its ability to absorb fat without losing its own textural consistency -- to foie gras, creating a unique dish, which still pleases the minds and stomachs of connoisseurs. To prevent foie gras from rendering its fat, the concentration of which is considered to be central to grading the flavor and richness of the final product on the plate, not only did Senderens steam the foie gras (the best method to preserve fat), but, not to lose a drop of precious juices, he also wrapped it in cabbage leaves preliminary boiled in slightly salty water for about thirty seconds to soften the leaves’ texture and unlock their pores for fat absorption.

The magnificent, bulbous foie gras from Landes (in the south west of France, a place famous for its foie gras and ortolans), freed of veins and refrigerated for 24 hours in a cheesecloth wrap, is then draped in cabbage leaves and steamed for twelve minutes. The dish, the leafy exterior of which looks essentially integral, sealing us off from what we are given to behold, when tasted, disintegrates this illusion into self-consciously expressive evidence of the finest foie gras, with a texture neither overly firm nor overly soft, lavishly rich, creamy and pale, free of any bruises or blemishes, augmented by the soft texture of the wrinkled leaf and its concentrated taste from the absorbed foie-gras essence.

When the perspective of time renders style and personality irrelevant, and we can view a work purely as an expression of eternal artistry, as an Egyptian carving speaks to us today more subtly than it did to its chronological contemporaries who judged it with the hampering knowledge of the period, we can identify those who believed in their own impulse to find a suitable form for their creations – whether or not disengaged from the traditions and preconceptions of their own time, using the outer form (i.e. style) for their inner spirit as a springboard to further expression –admiring their works, appreciated by generations across borders and times, the success of which amounted to special exemptions from the verdict of history.

I’d like to hear not just a recount of signature dishes of famous or less-so chefs, but your experiences and thoughts on dishes, perhaps as old as you are, which still provoke the fervor of pleasure and are as contemporary now as they were 10, 20, 30 or more years ago.

[bleudauvergne]

What a lovely description, lxt! I so enjoyed reading your experience.

I wish I could contribute to this discussion with a dish from a restaurant I tried years ago and then today, to be able to compare and contrast. It's difficult for me to do because my main French culinary experience centers around preparing the food at home.

One thing that I have remarked in general is that many of the recipes for tried and true classic dishes don't change with time. I was recently struck by the number of dishes in a 100 year old French cookbook I recently bought, are almost exactly the same as recipes for the same dish in contemporary cookbooks. Yes, the recipes have changed in format, i.e. the old ones incorporate the ingredients in the description of a dish, without the list at the top, and they have basic technical differences, but they really are the same formula, varying little.

You often hear about people coming to France, ordering a dish at a restaurant, and then coming back 20 years later to find that it's just not the same, or that the chef has changed and the dishes have changed with the chef. This tells me that method and choice of ingredients play a huge role in the end product. I suspect that this the type of experience you are asking about.

Can anyone share other dishes they've enjoyed in their favorite French restaurants, signature dishes or not, that they continue to come back for and enjoy as much as the first time they've experienced them? If your experience has been just the opposite, that things just aren't the way they once were, can you shed some thoughts on why you think this could be?

p.s., lxt, please give me an idea of the size of the lobes you had at Lucas Carton. 200 grams? More? L

[milla]

please give me an idea of the size of the lobes you had at Lucas Carton. 200 grams?  More?

Alain Senderens' book "Atelier" has the exact recipe with defining technique photos every step of the way. Fascinating in the simplicity of the dish.

If I remember correctly from the book the blanch time for the cabbage approached 2 minutes.

I remember the exact dish was on the menu at Maurice at Parker-Meridien Hotel in NYC as early as 1983 when Senderens was the consulting chef for the restaurant and Chef Delouvrier was in the kitchen.

ixt, would you consider Senderens' Lobster with Vanilla or the Duck Apicius in the same category (and did you have either on your sojourn) as the Foie and Cabbage for your inquiry?

[lxt]

bleudauvergne, thank you for your kind words and for keeping this subject alive. You and I are on the same wavelength. To my recollection, the size of each piece of foie gras was around 100 grams, which is quite generous for an appetizer.

manresa, during our visit, the cabbage leaves seemed to maintain their relative textural firmness and color (which also could’ve been achieved by draining the leaves in cold water right after taking them off the stove), being only slightly wilted, which suggested to me that the information provided by one of the servers regarding the overall blenching time as 30 seconds could’ve been right. However, I am intrigued by your recounting the official version of the recipe (2 minutes for blenching) and would be curious to conduct an experiment, though after my return from Spain.

The reports I heard from people whose opinion I respect were not very favorable regarding the current execution of Duck Apicius, and I decided to bypass it. I believe Senderens serves Foie Gras in Cabbage only for lunch now and only as part of the fixed menu (please verify), to which we limited our choice this time. However, both dishes you mentioned are on my next-visit list.

It is interesting how many chefs were inspired by the Senderen’s dishes over the years. A dish, inspired by Senderen’s Lobster with Vanilla is currently served at Bouley (NY).

Edited September 21, 2004 by lxt (log)

[robert brown]

lxt, I have had hundreds of dishes created by the great French chefs during the 1970s and '80s. There are precious few left to try. Michel Troisgros, someone told me, altered the salmon in sorrel dish of his uncle Jean and father Pierre. It may no longer be on the menu. One dish I see quite often that other chefs have picked up is Alain Chapel's mushroom soup "cappucino". I had it last year as an amuse-gueule at the Miramonte l'Altro restaurant near Brescia. Philippe Rochat continues to offer the passion fruit souffle that his mentor Fredy Girardet created. It's pretty close to the original, as I recall; but the version Michel Troisgros makes (he apprenticed with Girardet) was rather different. Michel Guerard changed his scrambled egg with caviar dish eight years ago, turning it green somehow. Of course some of the older cats who are still around must make some of their classics the same: Marc Meneau; Guerard; Senderens, of course; Bocuse (who still offers his soupe de truffes VGD). bleu d'augergne has a point: Ingredients and approaches change, and I bet one's palate does too over 15-20 years.

Let's not forget, however, all the great classics in France and elsewhere. These will still be around in recognizeable form long after the new dishes of today that come and go like the recordings on the Billboard 100.

[milla]

ixt, i will research the foie/cabbage dish at length this evening with regard to cooking times and weights and post it.

My first reaction to the topic was the salmon with sorrel and Troisgros though as mentioned earlier by Mr. Brown I don't think it is even available now. I do remember from a menu in the mid-90's that Troisgros offered a salmon/sorrel "classique" and a salmon/sorrel "nouveau" right next to each other on the menu which i assume presented a great opportunity to try firsthand "a table" the progression of an idea over time. great topic...

[Bux]

Before there were signature dishes about which to wonder if they passed the test of time, there were classic dishes which at one time seemed timeless. Coq au Vin might well be a featured dish in a multistarred restaurant at one time.

[ahr]

Bux, my reading of the question (bolding added)...

• I’d like to hear not just a recount of signature dishes of famous or less-so chefs, but your experiences and thoughts on dishes, perhaps as old as you are, which still provoke the fervor of pleasure and are as contemporary now as they were 10, 20, 30 or more years ago.
  

...does not preclude discussion of the classics. (Actually, some of our elders may even have witnessed their creation. ::joke::)

Might a related question perhaps concern which modern dishes are most likely to enter the canon?