A Foodie's first trip to France - PART II

Simple, farmland - inspired French cuisine. Everyone can do it. However, there is another side to French cooking that is not so easy to master - the high end, professional French cuisine. To try and get a handle on this side of the French food spectrum, I visited the kitchen of Jacques Chibois at La Bastide Saint Antoine in Grasse, just outside of Nice. This hotel/restaurant, formerly the summer home of one J.F. Kennedy, is now a high end establishment, with 2 Michelin stars to match. It was there that I had a pastry lesson and the most ridiculous lunch - ever. It is official: I am a spoiled brat.

My mom and I were not expecting the day that lay before us. To us, this was just going to be a simple cooking lesson that a travel agent had set up in advance. My family has never traveled with the help of travel agents before, so we were just going with the flow, expecting nothing yet subconsciously everything from our planned week in France. So when I was handed an apron in a 2-Michelin star industrial kitchen, surrounded by about 20 French-speaking chefs preparing for the lunch rush, my expectations were beyond fulfilled. And yes, I was super-intimidated.

the outside of La Bastide Saint Antoine. SOOOO pretty!

We were introduced to the Pastry Chef, who immediately put us to work. While there was a slight language barrier, we both knew enough of each others' languages to get by. While clearly professional, he had the attitude of "let's just screw around in the kitchen", putting my mom and I at ease allowing us just to have fun in the high-stress environment.

We started with chocolate mandolins, a particularly shaped cookie that is very popular in France. High in cocoa and low in sugar, they had a rich chocolate flavor with the added bonus of dried apricots and pistachios, making them texturally interesting. What I found interesting was that he used a combination of all purpose wheat flour and potato flour, which made the cookies denser and gave them a really moist crumb. Ours looked more like footballs than the traditional elegant shaped cookie, but they tasted good none-the-less.

I also learned how to make marshmallows in a new way. I had always learned that the best way to make marshmallows or fluff was to cook egg whites to a certain temperature and then beat them until stiff peaks form. However, Chef told us that he thought that egg whites could be fickle, thus gelatin was his go-to method. Flavored with green tea and piped into decorative molds, I wanted to throw a bunch into hot cocoa. However, Chef told me that would not be very French. Oops.

We continued with other desserts that I had some experience with - pastry cream, souffles flavored with lime zest (Chef was impressed with my folding in egg white skills), and frozen mousse. But there was one huge highlight during my pastry lesson. I conquered my nemesis: the caramel sauce. For the first time in my life, I made a caramel sauce that did not burn, did not harden immediately, and actually tasted delicious. I was so proud!

All the while that we cooked, the other chefs ran around, prepping vegetables, huge chunks of foie gras, reducing sauces, and baking breads. With so much going on at once, I could see how much work goes into preparing each dish. Each plate that would be going out to a customer was a puzzle with several pieces - the meat, the side, the sauce, the garnish - and each piece had to be thought about and prepared separately with such proficiency. That way, each puzzle could be completed smoothly and in sync with the other dishes going out to every table during the rush. It was daunting, and I could not help but just stare in complete fascination.

We were having so much fun, so as lunch time approached mom and I were disappointed that our lesson was about to come to an end. I felt as though we had become a part of the kitchen, joking with the other chefs, tasting different ingredients, even washing the dishes (which I think made Chef very happy). What we did not realize, is that they had planned a special lunch for us.

As we were cleaning up, the maitre d' came over and asked if we were allergic to anything, and showed us a potential list of courses they were going to serve us. He asked us if we liked scallops, turbot, and calamari, which we told him we did. Then he gave us a funny look and said "and how do you feel about sweetbreads?". I am not kidding, the entire kitchen STOPPED what they were doing and stared at us. Everyone was so curious about what the Americans were going to say about brains. It was almost cartoonish. I had never had sweetbreads before, so of course I was not about to pass up the opportunity to have them at such a good restaurant. So we responded - "oh yeah, of course we like sweetbreads!"

After a 10 course lunch menu was finalized, they showed us to our table. It was in the corner of the kitchen. While we were feasting, we would be able to watch the chefs prepare every dish going out during the lunch rush. I felt like I was Anthony Bourdain, getting the inside scoop and exclusive treatment of the world's most exclusive food havens. [Insert cynical witty sarcasm here]. Really though, it was amazing to see such masters of their craft at work. I also saw why restaurants love prix fix menus. Every time a table was about to receive a new course, all the plates would be laid out, and anywhere from 6-10 chefs would gather around the plates, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. One would place meat, someone else would delicately ladle sauce, and someone would garnish with finesse, often times decorating plates with the use of a medicine dropper. The waitresses would then cover the dishes with silver lids and quickly bring them out to the hungry customers. It made me realize how much of a team effort it takes to run a successful kitchen. Everyone has to do their part, or the dish fails. I have to say, I think kitchen teamwork puts teamwork in some sports to shame.

Unsurprisingly, everything was delicious. A Mediterranean calamari salad, a perfectly seared scallop, delicate gnocchi with truffles, and even flavorful creamy sweetbreads were just a few of the courses that perfectly demonstrated an area influenced by both French and Italian cuisine. A cheeseboard with at least 50 cheeses from all over France was presented to us, and I think the waiter would have put every type on our plate if we had not told him to stop after about ten. My favorite was a cheese from a small village in the north, a cow's milk flavored with beer, herbs, and several spices including paprika and a large amount of black pepper. I had never tasted anything like it. Finally we were given three different desserts incorporating pieces of the puzzle we had created that morning. A chestnut molten cake with our frozen mousse and caramel sauce, our lime souffle, and an assortment of hand-made sorbets, we were almost crying because we were so full. Never before have I ever eaten so much food in one sitting, not even at Thanksgiving. We were treated like celebrities, and yes, I certainly felt like one.

Among all the extravagance of our meal, I did take note that a lot of the ingredients were fairly similar to those I had seen in the rustic food of Provence and the brasseries of Paris. Yes, Nice has influence from both Southern Italy and France, so pastas and use of ingredients such as tomato and fish are more common, yet I saw the mushrooms, the foie gras, the reduced wine sauces, the olives, and the cheeses and breads associated with the other side of the French food spectrum. These fancy chefs even practice the art of using every part of an ingredient, such as the brains of a cow! The difference however, is the preparation and presentation of the ingredients themselves. While I was blown away by my meal and experience at La Bastide Saint Antoine, I was equally impressed by my experience with Marc Heracle and the small cafes of Aix such as Le Tomat Verte (an excellent little restaurant if you are ever in the area). There is not one that I prefer over the other, because every part of the spectrum is so special and culturally rich in its own way. However, I will say this: I love French food.