On 28th June 2010, French Chef Manu Feildel, welcomed our members and their guests at his L’Etoile restaurant for an extensive French bistro dinner, accompanied by a generous selection of French wines. For me personally, it was an experience tinged with nostalgia of Brittany, Paris and Haute-Savoie.
The restaurant is nestled in the heart of Sydney’s Paddington, an area called Five Ways. The Victorian terrace house turned into a bistro style restaurant, has a little bit of a Parisian feel to it, even though having a minimalist decor. Both art prints of posters of the Belle Epoque, featured at the entrance and next to the bar, attracted my attention and reminded me of the décor of some of the Parisian cafes or restaurants, I went to, when I was living in Paris for few years.
We congregated in the enclosed courtyard, and were offered a glass of Gosset Excellence Brut, NV Champagne, from France, by the lovely French waiters and waitresses.
It is a blend of, mainly Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, in which the malolactic fermentation has been blocked, and which subsequently heightens the acidity and gives its own characteristics to the Champagne.
With it, the first set of amuse-bouche, arrived, cleverly and artistically displayed on a tray:
The salmon tartare in cucumber cups: cylindric pieces of cucumber have been scooped out, rolled into some aneth (fennel), then refilled with a mixture of smoked salmon, echalotes, olive oil, and lemon…very refreshing!
The wild mushrooms mousse millefeuille (Millefeuille de crêpes bretonnes et mousseline de champignons), were made out of 12 thin layers of crêpes (Ah, la Bretagne..!), accurately cut into little rectangles, topped with a spoon of wild mushrooms mousse, with a layer of the same mousse in-between. The mushrooms chosen were: cepes, morilles, to which have been added some button ones.
But when Manu mentioned the morilles, to me it brought back the memory of a delicate omelette made of fresh morilles picked by a friend and myself, while holidaying in Haute- Savoie, many years ago.
Although I enjoyed the crêpes and the delicate mousse, the tastebuds didn’t quite react to the wild mushrooms.
The second set of amuse-bouche featured:
The Jerusalem artichoke veloute with crisp bacon (Velouté de topinambours et croustillant de bacon), served in long elegant slim glasses.
The topinambours, these strange-shaped tubers left me indifferent in Paris, when I used to go to the street markets. But when I had the opportunity to taste them, I really liked their subtle after taste of the real artichoke heart. And it is what I found here at l’Etoile. The veloute was unctuous, velvety, a pleasure on our tastebuds.It reminded me also of a veloute of the same type “Potage Dubarry �(except that the vegetable used is the cauliflower). It is exactly the same process, which has been confirmed to me by Manu.The differently textured bacon, added a light touch of crispiness to it.
The goujons of John Dory with aïoli (Goujons de St Pierre et son aioli), which are long strips of fish, rolled into flour, egg wash, breadcrumbs, and then fried. Served with an aïoli mayonnaise, this dish is rather evocative of South of France.
The small beef sirloin skewers with a béarnaise sauce were very tender and perfect with the chosen sauce.
Then we were invited to the dining room for the meal, which started with an entrée of Terrine of rabbit with prune jam, and toasted brioche. The terrine was nice but a little bit dry. It was paired with a 2007 Denis Pommier Petit Chablis (Chardonnay grapes) fresh wine from the Burgundy region.
The second course was outstanding: Silky sausage of scallops with a crustacean bisque (Boudin de St Jacques, bisque de crustacés) It is the equivalent of a quenelle. It was served on a bed of spinach, surrounded by a sauce bisque. We all took delight in eating this dish, which as its name indicates, had a silky smooth texture to it. Although familiar to me, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and made the pleasure last!
The wine served with this dish was a 2008 Reverdy Sancerre from the Loire Valley, The acidity of the wine was counterbalanced by the delicate hint of sweetness of both the scallops and of the bisque, and it was a good match.
The Pork Belly stuffed with black pudding, was presented in a circular shape with a piece of black pudding in the middle, and served with braised baby gem lettuce. This is a recipe that Manu Feildel adapted from the late famous Chef Fernand Point.
It was not a favourite amongst some of our members, but personally I was not averse to it. The boudin noir was mellow as it should be, although different in composition to the traditional one (made out of blood, pieces of fat and onions) I am used to. It challenged my adventurous palate!Served with this dish was a very nice wine: 2006 Château Nandou from Bordeaux.
We concluded the list of main-courses with a Pan-roasted rump of lamb, with flageolets beans and baby winter vegetables. It was served with a jus, and was wonderfully tender and succulent.
The wine paired with it, was a 2006 Château La Bastide “L’Optimée �de Corbières, which complemented the dish.
Then individual cheese plates were served, with a beautiful wine: 2007 Metrat Chiroubles Beaujolais. Coffee and tea came after.
And the dessert? Well..! Manu decided not to include any.
The charming French Chef Manu Feildel took time off his busy celebrity TV schedule, to mingle with us and to talk to us, which more than compensated for the lack of sweets!
Since our society, La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, is French in origin, we had organized this special French dinner to celebrate the upcoming Bastille Day. It would be a bit mercenary to say it was costly, but it was a feast we don’t experience too often, authentic, diverse and generous French cuisine, outstanding champagne and wine, all explained and presented by a most charming Chef and a competent staff.
Vive la France! Vive la Chaîne!
Yolande Lebreux
Vice-Chargée de presse, Bailliage of NSW.