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Ducasse Buzz
"Products, it's all about products, look at
these gamberoni, I bought them in San Remo early this morning", this is
Franck Cerutti, chef at the Louis XV, Monte Carlo. We have popped in to
say hello, in his subterranean kitchen the size of two tennis courts. A
forty-something Gene Wilder lookalike, Nice-born Cerutti has been
Executive chef de cuisine in Monte Carlo since 1996, "although I worked
here for two years from 1987-1989".
"I
met Monsieur Ducasse (they're very formal in this business, as the
staff come in they shake hands with each other, "bonjour monsieur",
they say, shake, shake, shake) when we were both at the Hotel Juana,
Juan les Pins", Cerutti explains. He also cut his mustard at the Lycée
Hotelier, worked with Jacques Maximin and at Enoteca Pinchiorri in
Florence. "Then I went off to open my own restaurant in Nice, the Don
Camillo". The bistro was a huge success, and when the call came from
Ducasse he kept it going for a while, but wanted to concentrate all his
energy in Monte Carlo.
"Sit
down, sit down", he says. And we're in the Aquarium, the mini
dining-room, adjacent to the cavernous kitchens, near the pass. It was
designed by Ducasse so he could invite friends and cook at the same
time (now everyone's copied the idea). Also when they're testing new
dishes, the equipe crowd into the Acquarium; and you can still see
what's going on throughout every inch of the shiny steel and glass
cuisines, with 6 closed circuit TV screens scanning every move they
make, every breath they take.
The
menu, which changes with the seasons, is Mediterranean music composed
by Cerutti and Monsieur Ducasse, played out by the 20 white-toqued
staff, working in perfect harmony; sharp knives slicing through fingers
and fish, oil sizzling in pans, you get the picture. There's even a
commis posted at a table folding napkins! Upstairs, in the Louis XV
dining-room, leave the table and the napkin is replaced, somebody has
to fold it; origami.
It's
lunchtime so Cerutti says "stay, watch, eat". No problem! The beginning
of the rush (and they're full every service; only enough room for 50)
is signalled with the arrival of a small piece of white paper: the
first order. As the bums settle above on the Louis chairs there will be
lots of bits of paper pinned up on the service hatch, which bears the
legend SILENCE AT THE PASS! They're all working furiously, the
assistant chef yells the orders: "Oui chef" "Straight Away chef" they
all reply. It's an opera. It's also amazing how it all comes together.
Cerutti is yelling at someone, then decides it's time to garnish,
season and serve…..off go heavy silver trays, heaved onto shoulders,
off to the dining room. Up there, in mini-Versailles, where the air is
perfumed with Monte Cristos, Chanel and beautiful flowers, on tables
which have taken 20 minutes to set, to perfection. There, where
captains of industry, local royalty and celebs select, from the
cellar's 300,000 bottles, a wine to match a dish of "Poitrine de
Pigeonneau des Alpes de Haute-Provence, foie gras de canard et pommes
de terre nouvelles sur la braise, jus gouteaux aux abats." Perhaps a
Domaine Tempier "La Tourtine" 1998 Bandol from Monsieur Peyraud (the
price? don't ask). If you're lucky enough to catch some of Cerutti's
morning caught gamberoni "du Golfe de Genes sautés, faux mille feuille
a l'artichaut, tomate et girolles, vinaigrette d'anchois et de citrons
piles au mortier", Chateau Margillière 2002 à coteaux Varois from
Monsieur Caternet will go down nicely thank you.
At
the Louis XV there's at least ten different breads, baked and created
by the in-house baker. Different butters, two cheese trolleys and, from
the patisserie headed by Olivier Berger, a stunning selection of
desserts, ice creams, chocolates, madeleines. Nothing is too much
trouble, and there's no budget. "Just the best", they all agree in
unison.
Cerutti lives in old
Nice, with his wife and two daughters. One's at Hotel School near Lyon,
so that must be good news for the culinary world. "It's noisy but I'm
so tired by the time I get home I just go straight to sleep", he
admits. Early in the morning you'll catch him in his garden, that's the
Cours Saleya market, where he knows all the little producers. "When I
go up to Paris to teach at ADF (Alain Ducasse Formation, the cookery
school at Argenteuil) I take huge boxes of produce. "How can you show
students how to cook courgettes de Nice or fresh peas, or artichokes
without the real thing?" he shrugs. "So you can hardly see me for
boxes", but it's worth it", he smiles. "Products, it's all about
products", he says shaking our hands and heading off in the direction
of a brilliant new olive oil producer he's found in the hills above
Nice.
Discretion means Cerutti
and Monsieur Ducasse don't name clients who eat upstairs or below
stairs, but you should know that you can book to eat in the Aquarium,
just ask when you call and book, and if it's available, you'll have the
experience of a life time.
Le Louis XV - Alain Ducasse,
Open from Thurs-Mon and Wednesday for dinner during July and August.
Lunch 90€ + A La Carte
Dinner 150€-180€ + A La Carte
Hotel de Paris, Place du Casino,
Monte Carlo.
T: +377 92 16 30 01
Open from Thurs-Mon and Wednesday for dinner during July and August.
Lunch 90€ + A La Carte
Dinner 150€-180€ + A La Carte
Hotel de Paris, Place du Casino,
Monte Carlo.
T: +377 92 16 30 01
I'm
sure Elton John and his partner David Furnish eat at the Louis XV, a
sort of home away from their elegant home(s). It was reported last week
that at home(s) they only eat from Gianni Versace china, "because his
spirit lives on in every plate!" How very zen.
Meanwhile,
over the border in Italy, where Cerutti finds his gamberoni, the
Italian Union of Fruit and Vegetable producers announce they're
bringing in Master Tasters for fruit and veg; really! The union aims to
introduce a fruit list and fruit and veg tasters in chic Italian
trattorias to work alongside the sommeliers. Onafruit is the name of
the National Association who will organize the training. This gives new
meaning to the "please don't squeeze me 'til I'm yours", notice on
display in my local greengrocers. Well I suppose it's a career
opportunity for a fruit and veg lover.
Watch out for Christian Constant who'll be opening his new Café Constant on the corner of rue Saint Dominique very soon.
Zoot
alors! Don't go rushing off to Gordes to see Michel del Burgo at the
stoves of his renovated Auberge. He's gone! Like a very angry bat out
of hell. The fiery former chef chez Taillevent, Paris, is rumoured to
be taking up a new post in Paris, seems he's packed up his poivrades
and left La Bastide de Gordes, Vaucluse. Odd, as he had plans to set up
a spa, boutique, a bistro and more rooms. Perhaps the locals were not
too keen on him transforming their quiet village into a Burgo-King type
location; look what happened to poor old José Bove.
More in our next……
