Monaco Royal Wedding Chooses Local Cuisine

It was in the kitchens of the Louis XV in the Hôtel de Paris, along with the executive chef of the kitchens of the hotel, Franck Cerutti, that Alain Ducasse received the confirmation from the Palace.

«H.S.H Prince Albert IIand Miss Wittstock’s decision honours me. It honours also Mediterranean cuisine,a sincere and fair cuisine that pays tribute to a rich and generous land. A cuisine that is respectful of its environment. Prince Albert and his future wife have thus expressed their attachment to nature and to the attentive work of the men and women who wisely nurture it. On this very special day, I cannot help myself remembering with emotion the tasty moments the Prince spent with his family at our table.

Monegasque since 2008, it was in 1987 that Alain Ducasse discovered Monaco,when Prince Rainier III called upon him to take over the direction of the kitchens of the Hôtel de Paris, Monte-Carlo SBM’s prestigious establishment, with the mission to make the Louis XV the first hotel restaurant awarded three Michelin stars, a distinction that was granted in 1990. Located between Nice and Liguria, it is at the Louis XV that Alain Ducasse brings cachet to Mediterranean cuisine. A cuisine of freedom, of emotions and of passion but also of rigor, sobriety and method; it gives the best role to each ingredient -from the modest vegetable garden plant to the most sumptuous crustacean- for the greater pleasure of the senses. At the very heart of this Mediterranean soil that so inspires him, he has found, in twenty-five years of professional partnership and personal implication, a staunch support. Today, Monaco is the essential anchor point in his profession as chef-creator. From the Louis XV, he trains most of his chefs, the very same ones who then carry his work across the globe.

The Princely wedding dinner, held on the terraces of the Salle Garnier, will be executed from the kitchens of the Louis XV at the Hotel de Paris, with the 

support of a temporary kitchen located on the site. As for the theme of the dinner, Alain Ducasse simply states that he will work along side his team in the highest respect of a nature that today, we realise is weakened. It will combine the essence of taste -with emphasis on local produce- with the sober elegance of the tableware. On this subject, he notes with a smile, that the garden and the cows of Rocagel, Prince Albert’s property, will be involved in the menu. Indeed, the former will supply the vegetables, while the latter will provide milk for the dessert. The dinner prepared by Alain Ducasse with the full commitment of the employees of Monte-Carlo SBM establishments, will contribute in making the event a simple and warm moment for all the guests, as was requested by H.S.H Prince Albert II and Miss Wittstock. [Press Release]

 

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Los Angeles First Taco Festival Sunday

LFAW Question:What is a good wine pairing for East Side Tacos? : ) 

Los Angeles First Taco Festival Sunday Thousands of people are expected at the first annual LA Taco Festival where they’ll enjoy the best flavors Los Angeles has to offer – all to benefit non-profit organization serving homeless youth in Boyle Heights and East L.A. LOS ANGELES (June 24, 2011) – This Sunday will mark the inaugural L.A. Taco and Music festival at famed Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights. This event will run from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and offer a number of variations on L.A.’s favorite Mexican cuisine, as well as live musical performances, including Mariachi, and arts & crafts and clowns for the children. Tacos of all types will be offered, including carne asada, carnitas, pastor, birria, fish, shrimp and more. Mexican musical sensation Jenni Rivera is one of the featured taco truck artisans with her Tacos La Gran Senora truck scheduled to serve up delicious tacos. All proceeds from the First Annual L.A. Taco Festival will benefit Jovenes, Inc. (Youth, Inc.), whose mission is to bring opportunities to at-risk populations in Boyle Heights and East LA. Jovenes, Inc. fulfills that mission by providing housing and supportive services to youth between the ages of 18-24 who are experiencing homelessness. Who: State Senator Kevin De Leon; Andrea Marchetti, Jovenes, Inc.; El Tepeyac Café; La Barca Restaurant; Tacos el Gallito; Tacos La Gran Senora, and others. What: First Annual L.A. Taco Festival When: Sunday, June 26, 2011, 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. Where: Mariachi Plaza/First Street and Boyle Ave., Los Angeles, 90033

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Château HAUT-BRION Hosts Dinner, Conseil des Grand Crus Classés of 1855

Sunday, June 19, 2011 (Château HAUT-BRION, Bordeaux)  Since 1983 the Conseil des Grand Crus Classés of 1855 (Médoc & Sauternes) have hosted a dinner honoring the International Press to open the world’s premier wine and spirits exhibition, VINEXPO Bordeaux. The event, always held at a first-growth château, continued this tradition when 350 people gathered at Château HAUT-BRION on Sunday, June 19, 2011.

Château Haut-Brion’s Prince Robert of Luxembourg, and Philippe Castéja, President of the Conseil des Grand Crus Classés of 1855 (Médoc & Sauternes), Alain PASSARD (L’Arpège, Paris), Anne-Sophie PIC (Maison Pic, Valence), and Yannick ALLENO (Le Meurice, Paris)

Some 220 journalists from 33 countries were welcomed by Château Haut-Brion’s Prince Robert of Luxembourg, and Philippe Castéja, President of the Conseil des Grand Crus Classés of 1855 (Médoc & Sauternes). Following a tasting of Médoc and Sauternes Grand Cru Classé wines from the 2005 and 2008 vintages there was a “9-star” dinner created by a trio of three-star chefs: Alain PASSARD (L’Arpège, Paris), Anne-Sophie PIC (Maison Pic, Valence), and Yannick ALLENO (Le Meurice, Paris). The food was accompanied by a selection of Grand Crus Classés with commentary on each vintage offered by the Best Sommeliers of the World.

Médoc Grands Crus Classés from the 2003 vintage accompanied an entrée of Field-dressed purple beets with semi-sweet vinaigrette, cocoa and acacia honey by Alain Passard. Next, vintages 1996 to 1985 were tasted with the main dish, Gently roasted blue lobster in shellfish butter, with a lobster and red fruit consommé lightly flavored with green pepper by Anne-Sophie Pic. Then Haut-Brion 1975 in double magnum was presented with a Hearth-roasted rack of lamb, golden risotto-style spelt, and fricassee of chanterelles prepared by Yannick Alléno. To finish on a sweet note the guests enjoyed a “nine-star” dessert course, with each chef matching their creation to the 1990 Château d’Yquem: a contemporary vacherin of raspberries and Blue Mountain coffee from Pic; a soft, lemon sponge cake soufflé by Alleno; and strawberries with olive oil and lime by Passard).

The evening was also the occasion to offer each guest the latest book from ABRAMS, “Grands Crus Classés—The Greatest Wines of Bordeaux—with recipes from TOP CHEFS of the WORLD”. Published in October 2010, this unique work brings together for the first time the world’s greatest chefs such as Ferran Adrian-El Bulli, Jean Georges, Noma, Joël Robuchon, Paul Bocuse, Eric Ripert, Nobu Matsushisa, Marc Haeberlin, Thomas Keller, André Chiang, Alex Atala, Hiroyuki Hiramatsu, Pierre Gagnaire, Chan Yan-Tak, and many others, as well as the three chefs who prepared the evening’s menu. 87 chefs representing 27 countries around the world have each created a recipe for the Grand Crus Classés of 1855, with commentary by seven of the Best Sommeliers of the World (Oliver Poussier, Markus del Monego, Andréas Larsson, Serge Dubs, Franck Thomas, Youichi Sato, Virginia Philip, and Eric Beaumard).

The Conseil des Grands Crus Classés of 1855 (Médoc & Sauternes) is the official organization dedicated to the advancement and presentation of wines listed in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. It manages all aspects of promotional, technical, economic, and legal questions relating to the 1855 Grands Crus Classés (Médoc & Sauternes), the administration of their affairs and the enhancement of their prestige. The 1855 Classification was established at the request of the French Emperor, Napoléon III, who wished for the finest products of the Empire to be presented at the Universal Exposition at Paris in 1855 (the first universal exposition organized in France).

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Gwyneth Paltrow's Book Of Recipes

Gwyneth Paltrow's book of recipes for "Family and Friends" was released by Marabout Books in May. It is a delightful book filled with basic dishes, healthy and flavorful, that will gather your friends around you as you putter in the kitchen.

The dishes are good go-to recipes for "Mothers of The Family," as well, as there are no refined sugars used. Following the foreward by Mario Batali, Paltrow lists two full pages of essential ingredients to have on hand and stocked in the refrigerator. These include: Dark Agave Syrup, Light Agave Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, Maple Syrup, Honey...

Illustrations include beautifully photographed prepared dishes alongwith family photos of Gwyneth as a child and a baby, and then as a mother herself with her own children. Wonderful summer dessert recipes await you at the end of the book such as Seasonal Fruit Crumble and Fresh Red Fruits With Caramelised Cream.

Paltrow founded the site Goop.com and also wrote another foodie book, co-authored with Mario Batali, Spain, A Culinary Road Trip. Read More on Local Food And Wine. 

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Bordeaux Nibbles And Fresh Markets

by Paige Donner

Bordeaux is the ideal-sized city to just wander around. In this sense, it is a bite-sized city that still offers enough funky and charming little neighborhoods to give you the feeling that you are exploring.

Chartrons is the traditional wine district of Bordeaux where, during the city's height of its centuries of wine trade with England, the wines were warehoused before being shipped out via La Garonne. Chartrons is now a charming district known for its many antique shops, lovely cafes' and trendy boutiques. Soon, it will sport a pedestrian zone as well.

Chartrons Market, Bordeaux, France

Central now to the Chartrons District is the Chartrons Market Square and the covered market. About a 5-minute walk from the city's expansive gardens, if you turn off the main street and wind your way along smaller, norrower ones, you will stumble onto this covered Chartrons Market made of stone, iron and glass and restored in 1998 from its 19th c. original building.

Its walls are flanked with outdoor chairs and tables to enjoy afternoon and evening drinks and its perimeter is surrounded by delightful choices of Salon de Thes and lunch restaurants, many of which serve dinner as well.

La  Bocca was recommended to me and when I saw the line going out the door for its Takeaway Sandwiches, 5 Euro which included a drink, I thought that was a good sign. I ordered a marinated artichoke and "Copa" sandwich (fine italian sausage), both of which were generously heaped onto a whole half baguette. About 10 diners were enjoying their lunch on premises, which is about all this Epicerie Fine can accommodate. With the business school just around the corner from its rue Notre Dame location, it does a roaring takeaway business for lunch. I took my sandwich and softdrink and walked the block down to the riverfront where there was plenty of open space and seating to enjoy my deliciously seasoned sandwich with other brownbaggers on this particularly sunny Spring afternoon.

On Sundays, if you feel like getting some goodies from the fresh market, the Chartrons Market is closed, but just walk down to the riverfront where the Sunday Organic fresh market begins from Rue Raze and along the river for a good several hundred meters. You will find the delightful French cheeses, pastries, roasted chicken and roasting pork, vegetables and crepes if you want a readymade hot lunch to eat on the spot. The other choice includes fresh oysters served with local Bordeaux white wine and crusty fresh, French bread.

The Chartrons District has lots to offer and some of the fellow American travelers I met had the notion that it was outside the city! Back in the 16th c. it was outside the walled city but it has been a bustling local neighborhood of Bordeaux for several hundred years now.

Other corners of Bordeaux city are equally as delightful and if you wander around the streets just past the Opera House you will find lots of beautiful little squares, most of which are lined with fabulous dining options. Just be sure to adjust your inner clock - after all, you are now in the South of France and you are in wine country.

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L'Avant Comptoir, Odéon, Paris

Small plates are a Spanish thing. They're known as Tapas and they're a great way to share a meal with friends. It's also a great way to do wine tastings when you can share the bottles with a group or taste by the glass.

French "small plates" dining wasn't heard of in Paris until L'Avant Comptoir opened its doors next to Le Comptoir du Relais, a restaurant that boasts a 6-month waiting list for reservations. But no reservations are needed here at L'Avant Comptoir. It's the place to come before lunch or dinner to get an "appetizer." 

Hors d'oeuvres, however, is not what I would call these small plates. Out of respect for Chef and Proprietor Yves Camdeborde, I won't call them French Tapas but I do think of them that way.

When I'm in Paris on assignment, there's often no time to sit down to a meal. So I've gotten into the habit of popping into the closet-sized, standing-room-only boudoir of Basque-and Bearnais -inspired deliciousness where I can eat a couple plates like seared fois gras on a skewer, a wooden cutting board covered with amazing Carpaccio de Boeuf, wash it all down with a glass of Saint Chinian - or whatever the chef recommends to me that day - and am out the door in under 10 Euro and less than 20 minutes. (I even ate Boudin there once - and liked it!)

Of course, when I had a friend visiting recently, a pal who can't pronounce Si'il Vous Plait to save his life but knows good food and has the charm to get what he wants, always, I had to drag him there. Compared to several sit-down, expensive meals, after an evening spent eating at L'Avant Comptoir, squashed between the elbows of our fellow gourmands-on-a-budget and up against the long pewter counter laden with fresh bread and the best butter in Paris, my Food Dude buddy couldn't stop raving. We would have been back there for lunch and dinner and snacks every day if he had had his way. Every day!

The great thing, too, for Non-French speakers is that there are pictures of all the small plates hanging right above your head, in addition to the day's specials, that you can mutely point to and you're still sure to get what you want. 

A Franco-American we chatted up there one evening confessed that L'Avant Comptoir is his favorite place in Paris because it's the only place, he said, where people will talk to you openly and unreservedly. 

This place just plain rocks. Once you go there, you will keep coming back AND it will always be on your Top 5 Paris Picks. Bon appetit!

L’Avant Comptoir, 9 carrefour de l’Odéon, 75006, Paris; 011-33-8-2610-1087. No reservations. Open daily.

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La Table du Lavoir

by Paige Donner

Read Full Article on Bordeaux Food And Wine

La Table du Lavoir is built on the 19th c. site of an old vineyard wash house the wives of the vineyard workmen would use on laundry days. It has been re-built, just across the road from Château Smith Haut Lafitte, stone by stone. Its roof beams are recovered from the 18th c. cellars of Château Lafite-Rothschild.

Photo c. Paige Donner

Its lovely glass doors - "French Doors" - are opened during the warmer Spring and Summer months to accommodate terrace dining overlooking the famous Bordeaux vineyards. During the colder months, or on rainy nights/days, the roaring period fireplace serves two functions: to heat the room and to roast the delicious-smelling meats.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Photos c. Paige Donner, Local Food And Wine

This is the "Bistro" restaurant of Hotel Les Sources de Caudalie and is run by Michelin starred Nicolas Masse. When he joined the team in 2010, on the 10th anniversary of the Small Luxury Hotel, he brought with him his philosophy of focusing on flavors concentrated in the local specialties of the region. For this, Bordeaux offers a range of both meats and seafoods, because of its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean as well as its country terrain. And, in addition, of course all the fresh produce and miraculous cheeses that the Gironde region, France is known for. 

Photos c. Paige Donner, Local Food And Wine

The menus, printed on antique wooden laundry beaters, hold delights such as Roasted Duck with Stewed Apples and Red Cabbage, a feather-light Cauliflower Puree Soup, Home Made Lemon Tart - whose meringue topping is so picture perfect that your tastebuds can't believe that it can also taste so good! Chef Masse practices seasonality in his cuisine which allows for a rich and varied menu at any time of the year. 

For Local Food And Wine lovers - Two Saturdays a month Chef Masse offers cooking classes at the restaurant. And every Saturday night, Head Sommelier Aurélien Farrouil hosts Wine Tasting Courses in the on-premise La Tour Degustation or Wine Tasting Tower. The Tower that has a part Cuban, with rich latte colored leather chairs, and part English feel to it, drawing on the Aquitaine's regal heritage, overlooks the vineyards. 

Photo c. Paige Donner, Local Food And Wine

The French Paradox Bar is a cozy place to enjoy your pre-dinner (or pre-lunch) aperitif, either facing the 1200 bottle cellar that opens up from the bar or facing out towards the terrace that overlooks the delightful pond, inhabited by swans, and the vast vineyards in the background. The bar serves white and red AOC Graves by the glass which gives you a good opportunity to taste some of the appellation's prestigious wines before continuing on with your Oenotourism.  La Table du Lavoir

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Beka's 100% Chef Eco Logic

by: Paige Donner

 After taking a series of cooking classes in Paris last Winter, I realized that it was time to have some dinner parties chez moi to show off my new masterful (!) cooking skills. So when I realized that my one pan large enough to fry one egg in wouldn't suffice for my dinner guests, I went shopping for new pots and pans.

The first thing I noticed was that since I'd last scoured the market, a whole new line of cookware had made its presence known on the store shelves. The most intriguing of these are the ceramic-lined cookware. I first did some window shopping in various department and specialty cooking stores and then placed my order with Beka whose Eco Beka line of 100% "Chef Eco-logic" line of ceramic-lined pots and pans had merited the 2009 prestigious Design Plus Award.

To really test the efficacy of the both products, I ordered one pan the identical size of the one pan I already had. My old pan was teflon-lined steel - not a cheap version but just last generation pan. The new shiny white pan from Eco Beka came lined with a beautiful slate gray ceramic. 

It heats super fast, the hollow handle, metal, stays cool when cooking, I use a tiny drop of oil for non-stick and to steam vegetables I only use a 1/3 of the water.

What makes Eco Beka so efficient not to mention aesthetic? 

• 100% environmentally friendly and worldwide exclusive treatment of eco hardened aluminum surfaces.
• PTFE and PFOA-free thanks to the water-based ceramic coating.
• No release of toxic substances - neither in production, nor when overheating.
• Natural color of the pan is preserved: no chemical dyes used
• Hollow, thermal handle: Fewer materials used which benefits the environment (this keeps the handle cool, unless used in the oven).
• Beka makes a whole range of Eco Beka. Take a look at the line of pots, pans and casseroles online.  

And two more things:  Super easy cleanup of the nonstick surface. Also, I swear that the fact that they sponsor the Top Chef  TV show had no bearing on my decision to purchase Chef Eco-logic 100%. After all, I'm not a Top Chef, I just pretend to be one when I'm cooking at home.

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Bordeaux’s Musée du Vin et Du Négoce

By Paige Donner

Read Full Article on Bordeaux Food And Wine

Bordeaux's Musée du Vin et Du Négoce is resplendent in its devotion to the history of this region's cause celèbre; it is humble in its presentation; and it is welcoming in the way it greets its guests.

A good combination when it comes to museums that, for many of us, can just feel stuffy. The word Wine coupled with the word Museum could simply signal Pretentious Stuffiness.

Not so with Bordeaux's Museum of Wine and Wine Merchants. In fact, it really lays out just how formative the region's trade with England was not just for Bordeaux but for the business of wine as we know it today.

The museum is housed in Louis XV's former Royal Broker's building located in Bordeaux's Chartrons district, the city's traditional wine district. Inside,  you will discover three centuries of wine history.

For example, you will learn that it is only relatively recently that wineries began labeling and marketing their wines under their own branding. For many centuries, and certainly at the height of Bordeaux's wine trade with England, it was the merchants, in French the "Négoces," who bought the wine in bulk from the growers, warehoused it in barrels in these big buildings in Chartrons, and only when they deemed it ready would they put it in bottles, label it and sell it.

This is how the wine merchants traditionally had so much say and sway over the wine markets. They could say whether a vintage was good - or not. Often, too, they would sell to England directly in the barrels. This is how convenient Chartrons was for trade - from the old cobbled streets they could simply roll the barrels out of their cellars and down to the riverfront, where they would put the oak barrels on ships sailing up La Garonne, out to the Atlantic and finally to make port in England.

For three centuries Bordeaux wine had protected commercial trading rights with England. In certain instances it was against the law in England to buy or sell any wine not originating from Bordeaux. This is how a region that was originally marshland, mostly, became one of the world's greatest wine-growing regions.

You will learn all about this, about the 1855 designation, and even see lots of cool old wine and grape harvesting paraphernalia in this museum that charges only 7 Euro as entrance fee. And that includes two complimentary tastings after your museum tour. Signs are all in English as well as in French. They even have a decent wine and gift shop on premise. A definite Local Food And Wine MUST!

Bordeaux's Musée du Vin et Du Négoce  41 rue Borie,www.mvnb.fr

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