Appeared on THE JOURNAL,
Chaîne dinner
Diners enjoy French flavours
Evocative images of the South of France were cleverly conjured up at the Chaîne’s latest dinner, with Guy Harvey’s Island Grill producing a feast for all the senses. Business Editor Lindsey Turnbull soaks up some Provençal flavours and reports.
Cayman managed to create its own slice of
The Côte d’Azur stretches along some of the most prestigious and costly coastline in the world, from Marseilles in the east all the way to the Monaco principality in the west, dotted along the way by such well known and sophisticated oceanfront cities as St Tropez, Cannes and Nice. Its geographic location therefore means a cuisine dedicated to fish and the Guy Harvey’s Grill menu was true to the region, displaying the chef’s masterly dexterity in producing an array of fish dishes to transport diners directly to a sunny patio overlooking the dark blue majestic
Amuse bouche consisted of three consistently good dishes – escargots en croute, crab cakes and brie in puff pastry, all artfully presented and brimming with flavour.
Diners were treated to a glass or two of Gerard Bertrand Blanquette de Limoux from 2001, as an aperitif. Chaîne Vice Chanson Ross Philips explains that finding the right wine pairings for the dishes was a challenge: “In order to find the right Mediterranean wines for this dinner we had to forage from a number of suppliers. The sparkling wine that we served with the canapés is the oldest sparkling wine made in
Once seated, diners were able to enjoy a typical appetizer of the region – Coquille St Jacques grilles à la Barigoule (grilled scallops with artichokes and fried leeks).
Chef Denis explains the dish, “Barigoule is actually the Provençal word for the orange- latex milky mushroom (Lactarius deliciosus), a firm- fleshed meaty mushroom with a fruity flavour. In
Paired with this dish was a glass of Clos Mireille, Domaine Ott, Cotes Provence Blanc from 2003. Founded by Marcel Ott at the beginning of the 20th century, Domaines Ott is a family owned operation involving three estates, Château de Selle (Taradeau), Clos Mireille (La Londe Les Maures) and Château Romassan (La Castellet).
Ross describes this particular wine , “ It’s made from 60 per cent Sémillon and 40 per cent Ugni- blanc (called Trebbiano in
I have to say I was initially a bit nervous about this pairing. As delicious as the dish was, the artichokes had an element of vinegar to them, which may have upset the wine pairing. However I was happily surprised as the wine did a great job of cutting through the richness of the scallops while its fruitiness simultaneously enhanced the vegetables.
Phew! Next on the agenda was a feuilleté de canard fumé au confit d’oignon ( smoked duck with onion confit and a foie gras glaze). A beautifully presented dish, the interesting variety of textures and flavours – crispy puff pastry, meaty and savoury duck and sweet caramalised onions ( cooked with white wine vinegar and honey) excited the taste buds from every dimension.
A Château Romassan, Domaine Ott, Bandol Rouge from 2001 was served alongside this dish. Château Romassan is located in the Bandol appellation known for its terraced landscapes built from the hard stone with vines which are planted into vast terraces with varying exposures.
Ross notes, “This bright ruby coloured wine is primarily mourvédre, which gives the wine a spicy character, which is complimented by a generous bouquet of blackcurrant and morello cherry. The wine is rich with tannins yet highly balanced making it an excellent choice for pairing with the duck dish.”
While mourvédre is the dominant varietal in this wine ( as required by the appellation), Cinsault also appears for its fresh, silky elegance, Grenache rounds off the wine and give it body, strength and bouquet, and Syrah in small quantities gives verve to the wine and slight hints of liquorice.
After a sorbet au citron à la lavande ( arguably slightly too heavy on the ‘ à la lavande’) the star of the show followed, an “ imitation” Bouillabaisse. Chef Denis described it thus as he stated that a truly authentic bouillabaisse should comprise of fish from the
Chef Denis included snapper, mahi-mahi, scallops, shrimp, calamari and mussels in a bid to diversify the textures and flavours of the fish as far as possible – a traditional feature of the stew. The base was a typically robust saffron, tomato and garlic broth and delighted the nostrils as well as the taste buds – just inhaling this dish brought the warmth of the
Sat atop the stew were croutons covered in an intensely garlicky cheesy mix. These needed to be gently immersed into the bouillabaisse to soak up the gutsy goodness of the soup and then scoffed before they got too soggy. Quite an art in itself and timing was of the essence.
Diners enjoyed a glass of Les Quatres Tours Classique Coteaux d’Aix en Provence Rosé from 2005 with the main course.
Ross describes this wine, “ This is a classic rosé made from Grenache grapes that create a wine with delicate fruitiness and a subtle hint at summertime in
While this wine was wonderful and every bit as fruity and delicious as described, I would suggest that it was just a little too subtle for the gutsy bouillabaisse, which perhaps required less subtlety and more in- you- face flavour.
To follow in the French tradition, Chef Denis then presented diners with a petite salade à l’huile de Noix ( a simple salad with roasted pecans) served with goat’s cheese on toast. Although this was a refreshing and neat course I felt it was unnecessary as stomachs were getting quite full at this point and simply required something sweet and naughty for dessert.
Although Chef Denis had up until this point excelled himself, I have to say that he saved the best for last. His chocolate soufflé served with crème St Cecilia was absolute heaven. Not normally able to even make a proper stab at dessert at such events, after watching the lofty heights of the soufflé sink to a squidgy chocolate delight, I have to say I scraped the plate clean and was only prevented from licking it even cleaner by the polite decorum of my dining companions.
A sweet port- like Chapoutier Banyuls from 2003 did an excellent job of making a great marriage of wine and food.
Ross details this wine, “ This is a deep rich red wine made in the Languedoc-Roussillon region near to the Spanish border from Grenache Noir grapes. The winemakers stop the fermentation process by adding pure alcohol to the wine, producing a sweet and alcoholic wine that is just made for drinking with chocolate.”
He concludes, “During the decision making process of pairing the wines with food we were fortunate to remember this wine from a previous dinner. Luckily we were able to obtain a couple of bottles for the dinner, as there are only around 30 bottles in the
It is devoted to promoting fine dining and preserving the camaraderie and pleasures of the table.
The Chaîne is based on the traditions and practices of the old French royal guild ( corporation in French) of goose roasters, birds that were particularly appreciated in that epoch.
Its authority gradually expanded to the roasting of all poultry, meat and game. The written history of “ Les Ayers” has been traced back to the year 1248.
In 1610, the corporation was granted a royal charter and coat of arms.
The arms consist of two crossed turning spits and four larding needles, surrounded by flames of the hearth on a shield encircled by fleur- de- lis and a chain representing the mechanism used to turn the spit.
The outer chain along with the legend was added in 1950 to represent the bond which unites the members of our society.
Today, the society has members in more than 70 countries around the world. In the
The
Chef Denis Seyer
Chef Denis started cooking in the Vosges region of
In 1975 Chef Denis moved to
Chef Denis did not look back from that point on and states, “I had at one point seven different business; from a retro diner to an Italian restaurant, from a steak house to a gourmet shop.”
One of his most prestigious restaurants was the French restaurant, Alouette’s, which was one of the South’s top restaurants for many years.
Chef Denis says, “I remodeled and changed the name after 9-11, when customers were boycotting everything French. My current restaurant’s name is Gypsy’s. My son started running the restaurant after I decided to move here and open
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