Somebody Special
I’ve spent much of the day cleaning up my Movable Type templates and it’s getting late. I’ve still got work-related stuff to do so in lieu of an blog entry, here’s a wonderful piece by Brendan Sodikoff that was published in the San Jose Mercury News on Nov. 28, 2001.
Somebody Special Dines Tonight: Me
Through the months that I worked in the kitchens of Michel Guérard in Eugénie-les-Bains in the Pays Basque region of France, I always planned that when my apprenticeship was finished I would have dinner in the main dining room at Les Prés d’Eugénie.
On my last night, I put my room in order and packed my things to be ready for the early morning train. I put on my best clothes, set my suitcase by the bed and arrived for my 8 p.m. dinner reservation for one.
I suppose some of the staff I had worked with thought it peculiar I would spend my money this way, but I had seen so many plates make their way into that beautiful dining room that I wanted to see the other side.
I didn’t have much money, however. As soon as I was seated in the candlelit dining room, which was three-quarters full, Christophe brought the wine cart and I explained I wanted only one glass of red wine and one course, the foie gras de canard des Landes.
“Bien sûr, monsieur,” he replied. It was strange to hear him speak so formally to me, as we had known each other since working together in Paris. But after all, I was now a client.
A young couple was escorted to the table next to me. He had a bored expression, two days’ worth of stubble and stylishly unruly hair, and he wore no socks with his expensive Parisian loafers. He set a silver case on the thick linen tablecloth, removed two cigarettes and lit both. He handed one to his date, an oddly pale, slender woman in a delicate silk frock, who set the cigarette into a long holder. They took deep drags, staring at the silver candelabra between them, its 10 tapers flickering. It seemed too much money was wearing them down. They glanced at my slightly cheesy suit with such disdain that I
thought they were going to ask that I be removed. As their menus arrived, Christophe set a tall glass of champagne in front of me. He accompanied it with a plate of thin strips of lobster, ripe figs and blood oranges surrounded by cumin tuiles.
“I ordered something simpler.”
“Oh?” His eyebrow arched. “For now, eat this.”
The lobster was sweet and succulent, the tuiles crisp with spice, and the champagne cold and full of only the smallest bubbles. Before the young couple ordered, Christophe returned. “Monsieur Guérard has other plans for you,” he said as he whisked away my
first course and replaced it with a crab salad in mille-feuille. My fork sliced through the pastry as if it were melted butter.
The couple glanced my way at the mention of Monsieur Guérard, then returned to their menus. I heard her call him Thierry.
My champagne glistened in the light. The crab was full of the flavor of the Mediterranean. I thought of my friends, working since 7 a.m., moving in a fury behind the stove. Just as I took my last bite, the kitchen door flew open and Monsieur Guérard leaned out, calling across the room, “Ça va, Brendan?”
The room went quiet. Thierry’s cigarette dropped to the tablecloth, scorching the linen. I nodded, unwilling to call out. Everyone was looking in my direction.
Monsieur Guérard, apron tied around his middle, continued to wave until I called back, “Ça va, Monsieur Guérard.”
The door swung shut and, after a pause, the room returned to its normal hum. Thierry ordered a bottle of champagne. I heard him call her Mireille.
The sommelier poured me a glass of Juranon, a Sauternes, one of the sweet wines from the region of des Landes. “Monsieur Guérard wishes you to try this,” he said.
Thierry, champagne glass poised in midair, looked at me more carefully. Two waiters brought sliced lobster in smoked shells for Thierry and Mireille, while another brought me the foie gras des Landes . This is duck liver pan-grilled in butter, set on a bed of bread crumbs to soak up the oil, and surrounded with a ribbon of orange marmalade. Another plate arrived with potatoes roasted in a reduced jus of duck, a sauce that leaves them so crisp and silky that they are deep mahogany outside with a warm, savory, buttery middle. Thierry and Mireille ignored their lobster and watched my two plates.
The kitchen door swung open again. I didn’t have to look: “Ça va, Brendan, a va?” I was getting into the spirit of things. I raised my glass. “Oui, Monsieur Guérard, a va.”
The other diners raised their glasses. Thierry and Mireille looked at me. Their lobster was getting cold.
For dessert, Christophe brought me a warm wild strawberry tart with fresh lemon cream. This was followed by coffee and a dish covered with macaroons, financiers (tiny sponge cakes with ground almonds), wild cherry and almond tartlets, tiny Bundt cakes, tiny chocolates and fresh fruit jellies.
I popped one last fruit jelly in my mouth and sat back, savoring the evening. After a final glance around the room, I asked for my bill. “Oh no, you have been the guest of Monsieur Guérard tonight,” Christophe said. “He thanks you.”
Just as I pushed back my chair to leave, another glass of champagne arrived. “Ah no, please tell Monsieur Guérard . . .” Christophe interrupted me and said, “No, no,” indicating that the glass had come from Thierry and Mireille, who were watching me with interest through a veil of smoke. “I told them you were American. They think
you are someone very special.”
That night, I guess I was. I held up my glass. We toasted each other, the silver bangles ringing on her wrist, his oversize watch catching the light. The three of us finished our champagne. I nodded, said merci, and left.
I had said my farewell to Eugénie-les-Bains.
Here is a recipe from Eugénie-les-Bains
Filet of Beef (Grillade de boeuf aux appetits)
Serves 4
For the garniture:
1 shallot, peeled and finely minced
1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 freshly grated nutmeg
4 beef filet steaks, about 6 ounces each
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Small (about 4.5-ounce) tin of foie gras (optional)
Combine ingredients for garniture and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour. Bring steaks to room temperature, brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Cook as you usually would to desired temperature over grill or in a skillet, using a small amount of butter and olive oil.
Eugenie is a health spa as well as a three-star restaurant. For those who wish, steaks are cooked brushed with olive oil, but without oil and butter in the skillet. To do this: Completely cover the bottom of a cast iron skillet with a thin layer of coarse salt. Put the pan in a 500 degree oven until salt crackles. Carefully remove skillet from oven. Put steaks in skillet (they will not stick) and cook on stove, turning once.
When meat is ready, spoon half of garniture over steaks, place a slice of foie gras, if using, over garniture so it melts slightly, and spoon remaining garniture over that. Serve immediately.
Per serving: 479 calories, 29g protein, 39g fat (14g saturated), 1g
carbohydrate, 270mg sodium, 114mg cholesterol, 0g dietary fiber.
Normandy fruit and artichoke gratine (Gratin de pommes du pays de Caux)
2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 apricots, pitted, poached, cut into 1/2 inch dice OR use canned
unsweetened apricots
2 artichoke bottoms, cooked, cut into 1/2 inch dice
For custard:
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a heavy saucepan, cook apples in olive oil for 4 minutes, still a little firm. Add apricots and artichoke; cook 2 more minutes. To prepare custard: In a bowl, beat eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Put cooked fruit and artichokes in bottom of 4 individual baking
dishes with an inside diameter of 6 inches. Cover with custard mixture. Bake for 15 minutes. The gratin resembles clafouti, a fruit and custard dessert, but is savory, not sweet.
Per serving: 150 calories, 7g protein, 5g fat (2g saturated), 21g
carbohydrate, 983mg sodium, 113mg cholesterol, 4g dietary fiber.
