Travel With Carnet - Weblog

Yesterday, December 23, 2008, my wife and I had lunch at Paul Bocuse’s.

At quarter to 10 AM from our Paris hotel we took a 20-minute taxi ride to Gare de Lyon, then a 2 hour, 10 minute TGV train ride to Lyon, and another 15-minute taxi ride. At 1 PM, we arrived in front of the 3 star Michelin Paul Bocuse Auberge du Pont de Collonges, in Collonges au Mont d’Or.

My wife and I held hands. There’s nothing better than fine dining in France with the person you love most. The experience is escalated by the anticipation. We kissed in front of Daniel the bellhop, then climbed a few steps and walked toward the Statue of the Commodore standing at the door of the extravagantly kitsch building.

The living statue was another site. Cross-armed, chin slightly up and moving slowly, the 82-year-old Paul Bocuse greeted us with a familiarity as if our last dinner at his restaurant had taken place on the previous day. Actually, our last meal at his restaurant was 25 years ago.

Twenty-five years ago my wife and I had the perfect meal at Paul Bocuse:
ENTRÉE: Truffle Soup VGE
Created for Valery Giscard d’Estaing the French President who, on February 25, 1975, decorated Paul Bocuse with the Legion of Honor, as Ambassador of French Cooking. Monsieur Paul accepted the decoration, but insisted he personally cook the reception lunch banquet. It was at this occasion that Bocuse created this incredible Truffle Soup.

PLAT PRINCIPAL: Filet de Sole aux Nouilles–Fernand Point.
Fernand Point was the greatest Chef of the first half of the century. In his restaurant, La Pyramide in Vienne, he trained several generations of French chefs. The last one, Bocuse, later reinvented classic French cuisine into Nouvelle Cuisine. Some of the other noteworthy apprentices include Alain Chapel and the brothers Troisgros.

After the sole, I remember we had skipped cheese and had chosen among the opulent “chariot de desserts” two simple babas au Rhum. The sommelier had recommended a Puligny Montrachet with our meal and also served us the unavoidable bottle of Evian.

We were driving back to Paris from Italy, and, as always when I am behind the wheel, had one or two coffee cups before we hit the road. I had found the coffee 1 star, not 3. I remember paying for that fabulous lunch with what the French called a Pascal, a FF 500 bill.

So we were back after 25 years for the perfect meal. This day I was so nostalgic that all five of my senses were heightened.

ENTRÉE: Truffle Soup VGE
With your spoon, break the flaky pastry dough, then inhale the truffle aroma rushing to your nostrils. The combination of truffle, consommé, Noilly Prat, and foie gras is pure perfection.

Monsieur Paul does not cook anymore (I wonder if he also did 25 years ago when he was traveling nonstop between his 3-star restaurants, Japan, and the French pavilion at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center in Orlando. Not to mention the private dinners he orchestrated for millionaires in all four corners of the world). The same back then is the same as today; Monsieur Paul is in the kitchen and does not let any dish pass his service counter without his seal of approval.

PLAT PRINCIPAL: Filet de Sole aux Nouilles-Fernand Point
Amidst all of the changes in fine cuisine, Bocuse has returned to a traditional preparation. Henri Gault from the Gault et Millau Guides considers Paul Bocuse a traitor to Nouvelle Cuisine. Bocuse was one of the first Chefs to refrain from crème fraiche and butter, to slightly undercook fish and meat, and it is even said that he was the first to pronounce the words Nouvelle Cuisine when he did the menu of the Concorde inaugural flight in 1969. Filet de Sole aux Nouilles Fernand Point is at the antipode of Nouvelle cuisine. It is over three quarters of a century old.

The fish is thick, perfectly cooked—not dry nor undercooked.

The nouilles are actually tagliatelle noodles slightly al dente.

The sauce … The sauce is totally decadent: for 2 people, 1 glass of white wine (Pouilly-Fuisse), 75 grams of butter, 100 grams of crème fraiche and 1 big shallot, 100 grams of champignons de Paris, a bouquets garnis and two soup spoons of olive oil …

Once, Fernand Point was asked the secret behind his recipes: “du beurre, du beurre et encore du beurre.” I think we can all vouch that butter is the key ingredient to the most decadent dishes.

Is it that cooking is akin to politics? The older you get the more traditionalist you become?
We loved the sole as much as the first time … and I have to admit that I finished the butter-based sauce with my spoon.

We once again skipped the cheese and went for the Baba au Rhum. That Baba was way better than Proust’s little Madeleine. And thanks to the generous serving of Guadeloupe Rhum, it took me back to the exact experience I had in 1983.

And the coffee encouraged that feeling. It was as mediocre as the first time!

Only the wine was different. Twenty-five years ago, White Burgundies were de rigueur. We then had a splendid Puligny-Montrachet. This year, John Euvrard, the sommelier, recommended a 2007 Condrieu, fleshy and at the same time dry and intensely fruity. Perfect with the soup, perfect with the sole. Condrieu comes from a small district 50 kilometers south of Lyon; less than 260 acres, some 20,000 bottles per harvest. The only authorized grape variety to make this exceptional white wine is viognier.

It was time to go back to Paris. I paid the check with a 500 bill, not Francs this time but euros.

We were back in Paris on time for dinner, but the return to the future made us order a bottle of Dom Perignon 2000 and a club sandwich from room service.

A few facts about Paul Bocuse:
Born: February 11, 1926
Birthplace: Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or, France in his father’s restaurant

1944: Wounded in action and treated in an American field hospital
1954: Started working at his father’s restaurant
1958: First Michelin Star
1959: Death of his father Georges Bocuse
1960: Second Michelin Star
1965: Third Michelin Star
1975: French Legion of Honor

Paul Bocuse is the chef who has held 3 Michelin Stars the longest.
The Bocuse constellation consists to at least a dozen restaurants and brasseries, the cooking school Ecole d’Ecully, the French pavilion at Epcot Center, scores of cookbooks, the most prestigious cooking competition worldwide, the “Bocuse d’Or” held every 2 years in Lyon: a total turnover of more than 50 million euros a year.
Best known apprentice in the US: Jean Georges Vongerichten.

TravelwithCarnet.com features magazines with more articles like this.