We have arrived in Pauillac, Bordeaux safe and sound.
We are staying at Hotel de Paris which is 1km from Chateau Coredillan Bages.
Its a 15minute walk to the chateau and all you can see is vineyards on the side of the road. Pauillac is a beautiful little town, locals are really friendly and helpful but we do need to get used to business hours over here, except for cafe's/restaurants everything is closed between 12 and 2pm, but everything is open until 7:30pm.
We arrived at the chateau on sunday and met Jean Luc Rocha - head chef and the rest of the brigade. The brigade cooked dinner for Kate and I - a 14 course degustation in which we were quite full by the end of it...
I cant rememba every single course so il talk about the ones that im still salivating ova...
Our first rendezvous with foie gras - a combination with passionfruit and chocolate -this is my favourite dish and was absolutely amazing! the garnish was a passionfruit crisp with cocoa nibs on it, it was like eating passionfruit wizz fizz!!!
green apple and smoked herring - green apple sphere with smoked herring suspended in it was a fantastic cleanser - fresh, acidic, smokey...
pidgeon,rocket,fennel ravioli - beautifully cooked pidgeon sous vide, rocket puree made in the thermomix, it is so smooth that it was painted onto the plate, beautiful dish that married all the flavours well.
truffle,soya risotto - one of marx' signature dishes, chopped bean shoots in the bottom of a bowl, poached oyster, a slice of black truffle, and truffle air all ova the bowl. the spoon had been dipped in white truffle oil also. this one was one of theose dishes that you didnt want to end, and i usually dont eat oysters. Jean luc called it 'italy meets asia'
eggplant, star anise, basil - this dessert course was absolutely fantastic! Eggplant crisps, quenelles of star anise cream,and a lovely basil sorbet. Balsamic reduction on the plate just brought everything togethor.
The most sensational bread is made in this pastry section, we tried a sundried tomato facaccia, sourdough, and olive and oregano bread that almost felt like brioche(really buttery). The pastry also loves using liquid nitrogen!!! Something i will look into - all the glassware and cutlery were all incredibly light, crockery was heavy, and their were fantastic uses of little jars, glass bowls etc which all had a purpose and brought something different to each dish.
We where then in the kitchen watching the remainder of service... The dining room holds 25 people and it was booked out for the night. Watching the kitchen was a really good experience of what we where to expect in the weeks to come. All that was heard was the bamix(handblender), opening/closing of oven doors, Jean Luc calling orders and Mikhale the soux chef who was plating up. There was no dragging of the feet by anyone, the control and discipline of everyone was unprecedented to what i have seen before. There where no raising of voices, no bullockings, no smart ass comments, no one having a laugh or taking the mickey out of somebody else... it was strictly business. Mikhail was amazing to watch plate up, no hesitations, if he didnt like something he just re plated it. You could recognise very easily the emphasis on prefection and teamwork. If something was dropped the chef behind them would pick it up, no hassles, no questions asked, no scoffs or remarks either. Everyone was moving but service ran smoothly.
At this stage we havnt asked any questions, just watched and took photos werever we could get a good shot.
I promise i will find out what a GASTROVAC is used for in the kitchen... its this statinless steel pot with handles and a lid with a hose attachment attached to rest of the apparatus... i figure it either sucks or blows... il keep u posted
Looking forward to meet Thierry, we start in the kitchen on wednesday... im starting on the meat section and il be revising my french until then.
A Bien tot!
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Dear Readers,
ReplyDeleteI have arrived in France and am excited to get into the kitchen at the chateau Cordeillan Bages, with Tierry Marx and his team.
Petros and i ate a degustation dinner selected by the head chef Jean-Luc, and it was absolutely delicious. The presentation of every dish was impeccable, and the flavour creation fantastic.
After we ate we were able to watch the sunday evening service in the kitchen. The team of chefs and waiters all work very efficiently and with professional dedication. There is no chatter in the kitchen, only that of orders and answere. The teamwork is great between the kitchen members with everyone helping one another if needed.
The service runs smoothly with the tables coming in at a consistant pace and the communication between the front of house and the kitchen seems to reflect the organised service.
Every plate is polished clean and not touched during the plating stage, and is then carried to the waiters with paper towel.
The kitchen is broken up into a couple of different sections and rooms. Some of the equi[pment is different to what i haave used and so i can't wait to learn how to use the different cooking apparatis. The gastronomic creations are amazing to see and having not practiced too much in this feild of cooking my experience here will be one of great learning, and i am looking forward to filling my knowledge bank with as much information as i can.
I will be spending my first week in the kitchen in the pastry section.
Thats all for now, Kate Nieuwenhuizen