Western Cooking

My first visit to France was in 1984. I remember with fondness many wonderful meals at three-star restaurants and drinking some fabulous old bottles of Grand and Premier Cru wines. Who could forget their first taste of foie gras, wild mushrooms, spring lamb and fraises des bois, and their first poulet de Bresse? On returning to Australia, like so many other chefs who had had the same experiences, I went about trying to get produce of such calibre grown here.

All three-star experiences are hard to forget, but one of my most memorable would have to be at L’Archestrate in Paris, under chef Alain Senderens. The meals I’ve had there have been stunning from start to finish: a salad of lobster, mango and duck confit served slightly warm, the flavours clean and luscious. Or a piece of foie gras wrapped in cabbage, steamed, and served with sea salt and cracked pepper, which was crunchy, earthy, creamy and rich all at once - perfection. Or roasted spring lamb married with little vegetables and no sauce, with just the pure flavours of the ingredients in complete harmony. This was cooking at its very best.