This Monday Chef Pat is taking family meal to the next level, introducing a theme of classic French cuisine. Aside from being a damn good deal - $20 for 3 courses - there's a larger point to cooking with a theme.
This has been on our radar for a while and we finally felt it was time to explore one of the foundations cooking. There are a number of reasons that we've been thinking about exploring classic French food. The moment I saw the completed bar space at Trenchermen, it has this Parisian underground vibe to it that I felt like classic French bistro food would resonate very well with in its walls. As the weather cools, these are the dishes, as a chef, that I crave; warm, filling, deep and delicious.
The most compelling reason is to keep these foundations of cooking alive. Many young cooks want to run before they've learned how walk, even crawl. Not to get on the soap box, but so many young cooks haven't had the exposure to great home cooking and authentic foods of different heritages. The textures that we learned how to execute in classic cuisine are the end goal of a lot of modern cooking but there's a disconnect in how to reach it. These dishes are inspired by the dishes I was taught as a "commis" at Everest and a student at the French Culinary Institute. This gives us an opportunity to go back to the basics with our kitchen brigade and reteach the different fundamentals of cooking while offering a soul satisfying menu.
The Menu - Choose one dish per course, $20 per person, bar only
1st Course
- Salade Niçoise, albacore, garbanzo, haricot vert marines, cerignola olives
- Champignon Duxelle, Matsutake, egg, soya, whole grain bread, poitrine
- Creme du Barry, romanesco, vadouvan, wild rice
2nd Course
- Beef Cheek Bourguignon, pomme boulangere, legumes roti
- Skate Grenobloise, citron confit, tatsoi, grains
- Avoine et lentille, tofu, amandes fumees
3rd Course
- Apple Gallete, creme buerre noisette, glacee vanilla, cranberry
- "Gateau" au mascarpone et biere, cocoa nib
