It Is Not What It Is: RAW by André Chiang

The glass front door is still deceptively heavy. The transparency of the material belies the effort it takes to open the door and enter restaurant RAW. The disconnect between perception and reality does not end at the front door but continues throughout the experience of the meal. Eating at RAW is not what it seems to be.

I haven't been back to RAW in five years. The main reason is it is simply too hard to make a reservation, arguably the most difficult in Taipei. Under the direction of Taiwanese celebrity chef André Chiang, the dining room at RAW is always full. Even the Covid-19 pandemic and the ban on foreign tourists in Taiwan have not slowed the business down. The other reason I haven’t returned is I am ambivalent about my previous dining experience. I don’t feel the strong urge to dine at RAW again. Recently at the invitation of a friend I have finally returned to RAW to dine for the second time. 

RAW of 2020 is a different restaurant from five plus years ago when it first started. Now the restaurant has two Michelin stars instead of none. Does the restaurant provide a two-star dining experience? The price of the menu has almost doubled since the restaurant first started. Is a meal there now twice as good as my last visit? The answers to both questions are, in short, not really.

Stepping inside I see the interior hasn't changed much. The space is well maintained and everything still looks new. I still like the design except for the text by George Calombaris on the concrete wall near the entry. The space at the front of the restaurant remains empty but recently has found a new purpose: for diners to sit down, fill out their travel histories, and have their temperatures checked. 

While RAW still looks and feels the same as when it opened in late 2014, the circumstances have changed significantly. Five-plus years ago, Chiang was still cooking everyday and chasing Michelin stars at his eponymous fine dining restaurant in Singapore. RAW was just an outpost in his home country and designed to be a bistronomy. In 2016 Restaurant André received two Michelin stars in Singapore’s inaugural Michelin Guide. At that time, there were rumors that Chiang was originally slated to receive just one star. The rating was changed to two stars at the last minute due to the lobbying of the Singapore authorities. The story is unconfirmed but certainly intriguing.

In October of 2017, Chiang abruptly announced he was closing his flagship restaurant in Singapore and “returning” his Michelin stars. Moreover he was leaving Singapore and moving back to Taiwan. To signal his complete disinterest in the Michelin stars, Chiang even asked Michelin to exclude RAW from the upcoming 2018 Taipei guide. This request was strange given Chiang’s entire career and reputation were built on the associations with the Michelin Guide. His personal library in Singapore contained a collection of Michelin Guide of France spanning decades. Was Chiang really breaking up with Michelin?

Chiang knew how to play hard to get. To no one’s surprise, when Michelin launched the guide in Taipei, they ignored Chiang’s request and awarded RAW with one star. Thumbing his nose at Michelin didn’t have any negative effect; actually just the opposite. One year later in 2019, Michelin upgraded RAW to two stars and decided the restaurant is just as good as Restaurant André was in Singapore. 

In Singapore Chiang was working in the kitchen full-time and got two stars. In Taipei, he gets two stars even when he doesn’t even want any. Instead of being on his feet all day in Singapore, he just cooks for his mom and wife at his home in Yilan, an hour drive outside of Taipei. Chiang is a smart man and must be laughing all the way to the bank. He is the most famous Taiwanese chef in the world. Michelin in Taipei needs him. 

Moving from Singapore to Taiwan means RAW has become the main signature restaurant of Chiang. RAW is also a restaurant he almost never cooked in and still doesn’t. Since the restaurant’s opening, the person running the day-to-day operation has been his trusted Chef de Cuisine Alain Huang. Chiang simply designs the menu and Huang executes the dishes on his behalf. However, I am surprised at how little input Huang seems to have on the menu. After I finish my recent meal, I ask Huang about some of the decisions on the dishes, he seems to suggest they are all made by Chiang. 

There used to be only one menu at RAW, NT$1,800 for 8 courses and everyone ate the same dishes. The socialist nature of the restaurant is no longer present. Now there are three choices: NT$1,850, NT$2,680, and NT$3,500. The pricier menus come with more courses and fancier ingredients. Since a meal at the restaurant is so hard to come by, my friend and I opt for the most expensive menu. I want the whole experience. 

Prior to dining at RAW I have already saw the pictures of the dishes on many websites and publications. Just about all of them simply regurgitate the press release from the restaurant: how the new menu is all about the celebration of spring and the increasing awareness on sustainability. Chiang is a master of publicity and he knows the media in Taiwan love and crave access to him. The media in Taiwan are essentially his mouthpieces. They don’t question or review his food.

The eleven-course spring menu starts with a nice and delicate green strawberry tart. However, the season for strawberry in Taiwan is not in spring but winter. Why start the spring menu with an unripe strawberry? The accompanying ice has a nice and subtle flavor but is too much in terms of portion. After the third bite I am bored and don’t want to finish it.

The second dish is very interesting, a salmon collagen with wasabi presented in a cocktail dish with chopsticks. It’s a pretty dish. A cup of fish soup is served on the side. The texture and flavors are very good. 

The third course is an escabeche which is served in a small rectangular tin with a bread on the side. I only wish the restaurant would provide a bit more bread. Why not be a bit more generous? Escabeche is a dish that originated from Persia and is now commonly found in the Mediterranean coast of Spain. It is basically a way to preserve fish or meat in vinegar. Eating this dish reminds me of my trip to Barcelona. This is another nice dish with great flavors. However, I don’t know why escabeche represents spring or Taiwan. It feels like a dish that Chiang just wants to make.

After we finish the course, a loaf of bread is brought to the table. Since we order the most expensive menu, the bread is included. The bread seems to be the same as the one on my first visit and remains quite nice. I still don’t know whether the bread is made in-house or not. 

The fourth course is a salad with various spring leaves, seaweed, and mackerel served on the side. I enjoy the dish. The vegetables are fresh and delicious and the dressing is very flavorful. I am ambivalent about whether I need the mackerels or not. They are served on an ice pack inside a styrofoam-like bento box. The presentation is unappetizing. 

The next course is a cold pasta inspired by the Italian Spaghetti alle Vongole. Chiang makes the kitchen braid the pasta and the vegetable for a great visual effect. I don’t understand the use of almond cream which clashes with the marinated cockles. The dish looks better than it tastes and is designed to be on Instagram. The temperature of the dish is also not appealing.

As if one dish of vegetables is not enough to celebrate spring, the kitchen brings out another dish of vegetables; this time lukewarm instead of cold. The vegetables are topped with a truffle cream sauce, which I don’t understand at all. If the menu is an ode to spring, why use an ingredient from winter? Putting aside the idea of representing spring, where does one get good truffle at the end of April? Not from France, Italy, nor Australia. The scent of the truffle seems artificial. Would a world famous two-Michelin star chef choose to use truffle oil for a dish? 

After six courses, I am hoping to finally get a dish that is hot. But my wish does not come true. RAW is a restaurant of cold and lukewarm food. You will never hear the phrase, “be careful the plate is hot” from the server. The only food that is hot to the touch is the bread. But bread should not be served hot as it disguises the quality. Also anyone who makes crusty bread knows that the bread needs to cool down for the crust to develop. If a diner is eating hot bread in the restaurant it is because the kitchen has reheated the bread. 

The last two savory courses are both done with fresh pork. I wish the restaurant would not repeat an ingredient for a tasting menu. I suppose we can’t expect restaurants to be like the French Laundry where ingredients don’t repeat over the course of a meal. Moreover, while fresh pork is a meat the Chinese like to eat, it is not an ingredient associated with spring. Before the ubiquity of refrigerators, pigs were slaughtered in the winter and mostly cured to preserve for later. If RAW is suppose to be all about being in tune with the seasons, why not serve lamb or chicken that is more representative of spring?

The first pork dish is essentially a meatball. Every component is well executed and the plating is beautiful and photogenic as always. However, by the time the dish arrives on my table it is not hot enough. This is a disappointment as it reduces the enjoyment of the food significantly. 

The second pork dish is a play on the three layers of pork belly. Instead of an outside skin, a thick layer of fat, and lower portion of pink meat, there is only a layer of pork made from the pigtail. The other layers are made with Chinese yam and mozzarella. The “crackling” on the top is made with peanut which isn’t as nice as a real pork skin and just sticks to my teeth. The sauce is made with peanuts. And there is a dollop of mediocre caviar which seems to be there just to pad the price of the menu. On the side is a “salami” made with fig. It is as if Chiang is just messing with us on purpose. He knows full well that spring is a season for cured pork but he purposely makes it with an inverted flower. Again, the “salami” is more interesting in concept and appearance than taste. This last savory course is the only dish of the meal that I fail to finish. I don’t like it at all. The server says this is a way to eat less meat. But how about making the dish delicious so I will finish the food instead of wasting it. 

After the disappointment with the last savory course, the two desserts that followed can’t come fast enough. The first one is a study on tofu. The server brings over a large house-made tofu to the table, but that’s just a show piece presented to all the tables in the room. The second dessert is Chiang’s take on the traditional red “turtle” cake. The cake is delicious. Both desserts are excellent and I enjoy them very much. The last time I was at RAW, the dessert was a disappointment. This time the desserts are the highlights of the meal.

While the food at RAW has some high and low points, the service is substandard. RAW should be glad that the Michelin Guide doesn’t consider service as part of the criteria for awarding stars. When one dines at a Michelin two-star restaurant, one expects a certain level of professionalism. For instance, the services at the two-star restaurants Jean Georges or Daniel in New York City are impeccable. The front of house staff are not only experienced but very knowledgeable. In contrast, the servers at RAW feel like they either just graduated from culinary school or they are interns. They cannot even set the cutlery properly on the table. They are not trained and simply memorized a script to repeat to the diners. They also have zero awareness of the diner’s needs.

The servers are lackadaisical. My friend’s napkin falls on the floor, the server takes it away but doesn’t replace it. My sparkling water is refilled with flat. The drinking glass for the beer is removed before the bottle is emptied. The server asks to remove the bread before the main course. What’s the hurry? Does the dishwasher need to go home early? What if I want to sop up the sauce when the main course is served? The runner brings the food on a tray, but there is no server to deliver them to the table. This happens more than once. At the second time I ask the the runner to not wait for a server and just bring the food to the table. I hate to see the food idling and dying due to bad service. 

When the warm vegetable dish is brought to the table, I ask the server where does the truffle come from given we are at the end of April? She says she doesn’t know but would get back to me. A while later, she comes to our table to serve another dish and I ask her again about the origin. She only says the restaurant uses truffle from France, Australia and China. So I ask again where do you get the truffle in spring? Again, she says she would ask the kitchen. Towards the end of the meal, I ask the server for the third time and she still doesn’t know. I suppose this question is not part of a memorized script or it is some secret. Eventually the Chef de Cuisine comes to our table and says the truffles are not fresh but preserved in oil from the winter. He doesn’t explain why an ingredient associated with winter is required to prepare a menu for the spring. I am also tempted to ask don’t you have pre-shift meetings? Why don’t you train your staff to know where the food you are serving come from?

The menu of RAW changes with the seasons. Every time the change takes place it is like a cultural event in Taipei. If you hang around with hipsters, you probably will hear the phrase, “Have you tried this season’s menu at RAW?” Eating at RAW is similar to attending a fashion show to see the latest trends. The clothes on the fashion runways are often times styled more for effect and the media instead of wearability and beauty. The primary concern of the cooking at RAW is also for concepts and publicity instead of deliciousness. Unfortunately the spring 2020 menu at RAW does not express a coherent set of ideas. The dishes don’t form a good story nor celebrate the season. The diners at RAW are just paying money to participate in Chiang’s whimsical experiments. 

Chiang has become the face of the Taiwanese food scene. Promoted by everyone, including himself, Chiang is the golden boy and can do no wrong. But eating at RAW, I cannot help but wonder if this is just like “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen. The only difference is Chiang is not just the emperor but he is also the weaver. He is one of the smartest chefs in the world. He seems to be knowingly parading nonsensical food to the public. Every season the people await his new creations, snatch up the reservations, and applaud after the meals. 

This doesn’t mean RAW is a restaurant to be avoided. If I am a tourist coming from abroad, I would certainly want to eat at RAW to see what all the fuss is about. While I don’t like every dish, I do appreciate the creativity. Experimentation always comes with the possibility of failure. If one doesn’t fail then perhaps one is not daring enough. RAW remains an interesting place to have a thought-provoking meal. RAW is just not a place to have a delicious meal that makes you want to come back the next day to eat it again.

Turban de Langoustines en Spaghetti

In 1997 NBC ran an advertisement campaign with the slogan: If you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you. The goal of the commercial was to get viewers to watch the reruns of the fall TV shows in the following summer. This was the pre-streaming era when shows were not on demand. The campaign wasn’t successful but the slogan always stayed with me.

Instead of television, the tagline might be more applicable to food and restaurants. Just like everything in life, food and restaurants are subject to fashion. Marketeers and journalists are constantly promoting new things, which encourages the general public to chase after the latest trends. From fusion to molecular gastronomy to new Nordic, every few years bring a new must-eat creation or a must-travel-to restaurant.

As we seek to taste the latest creations from the celebrity chefs of the moment, we forget there are more dishes from the past that we never had before. For instance, many people of my age or younger never had the classic dishes such as, Poularde en Vessie, Coulibiac, Canard à la Presse, Chartreuse…etc. Instead of foraging, pouring liquid nitrogen, or eating insects, why not seek out the greatest hits of the culinary world?

One of the classics that have fascinated me for the past year is Turban de Langoustines en Spaghetti by Joël Robuchon. My interest in the Turban began shortly after Robuchon's passing last summer. In an interview Robuchon gave last year, he referred to a proverb that said, “when an old man dies, a library burns down”. Robuchon said, “I have seen so many good chefs — some famous, some not — who have gone and, with them, a part of knowledge and tradition is lost and nobody can take it back.”

With his words in my mind, I flipped through the pages of Grand Livre de Cuisine de Joël Robuchon to see how many dishes of his that I have never tried before. The Turban caught my eye because it is not only a dish from Robuchon’s first three-star restaurant, Jamin, but also one of the ten recipes in the Best of Robuchon book. The dish is also included in Simply French, the book on Robuchon by Patricia Wells. Besides the importance of the dish in Robuchon's repertoire, I am also attracted by the architectural shape of the dish, a torus sliced horizontally in half. Or perhaps I am just intrigued by the peculiar nature of the dish: a French chef using an Italian pasta for his signature creation. I tried to find the history of the dish, but I didn’t have much success. Ever since last summer I wondered whether one day I would be able to try the Turban.

Last October when Philippe Braun, one of Robuchon’s longest collaborators came to Taipei to visit, I asked him why doesn’t L’Atelier make the Turban or some of the other classics from the days of Jamin. Braun said the Turban is not for L’Atelier, where the dishes are meant to be a bit more casual and simple. The classic dishes such as the Turban are for the gastronomy restaurants such as the one in Macau, Tokyo, or Las Vegas; they take a lot more work to prepare. However when I looked online at the menus of the three gastronomy restaurants, I didn’t see the Turban either. The Chef de Cuisine of Taipei at the time, Olivier Jean, told me later that the Turban is not on any of the menus at Robuchon restaurants but only made during special dinners.

I didn’t know when the next special dinner would take place in Taipei, thus I thought I would try to make the Turban at home. After all I have the recipe in my collection of cookbooks. In the Best of Robuchon, there are even photos of each step of the preparation. My thinking was since I make architectural models at work, I ought to be able to assemble a half torus at home. By chance I have a few individual savarin molds at home. I bought them on sale a long time ago at JB Prince in New York. They are bigger than the ones Robuchon called for. But I figured the techniques are the same. Instead of a tasting menu portion I would just make a main course.

The first step of the recipe is to brush the insides of the savarin molds with soft butter and then place them in the fridge to firm up. In the meantime boil a pot of water to par cook the spaghetti for about six minutes. Afterwards rinse the pasta under cold water, drain, and set aside; cover the pasta with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. Then line the inside of the mold with a single strand of spaghetti starting at the bottom. The process of lining the mold is not easy with my large hands. I couldn’t quite lasso the spaghetti into the mold so I had to use my two hands to slowly layer and pack the spaghetti in. While it is harder than I imagined, it is definitely doable. Once the mold is completely lined with spaghetti, they go back into the fridge to be chilled.

As the molds are being chilled, I made the mousse. Instead of langoustine which is hard to source, I used shrimp. Simply brush the shrimp with soft butter and blend them with cream in a food processor. Once a mousse-like texture is achieved, brush the the mousse onto the chilled spaghetti in the mold. Then put the deveined and shelled shrimps in the mold. Cover the molds with a buttered aluminum foil and return the molds to the refrigerator again.

The recipe is tedious, but many of the steps can be done separately and beforehand. When it is time to serve the dish, simply take the molds out of the fridge and place them in a steamer and steam for around three minutes. Then quickly remove the aluminum foil and unmold onto a plate. When the turban of spaghetti is unmolded it is quite a sight. I cannot help but marvel at the dish. I don’t know what inspired Robuchon to line a savarin mould with spaghetti strands. It’s just an incredible creation. I asked my two daughters to try the dish and they loved it. Will they remember the dish when they grow older, I don’t know. Unlike me who has met Robuchon, they are are even further removed from the dish. I hope they will learn to love the classics.

Last March the team of chefs from the Robuchon group, headed by Robuchon’s righthand man Eric Bouchenoire, came to Taipei for their annual visit. They prepared a special dinner honoring Robuchon’s legacy. One of the dishes Bouchenoire chose to make was the Turban of Spaghetti. I finally had a chance to eat the dish. He said good langoustine wasn’t available so the filling was made with scallop instead. Nevertheless the dish was everything that I expected and more. There’s a delicacy to the flavors behind the architectural construction of the dish. The sauce for the dish was delicious, full of umami, or as the Chinese would say, xian-wei. The slices of truffle elevated the dish to another level. It was perfect.

After the dinner, I showed Bouchenoire the picture of my attempt at making the Turban. He looked closely and said it was good but I used too much butter. I didn’t think there was ever the possibility of too much butter in French food. I did use a lot of butter because I was afraid the spaghetti wouldn’t unmold properly. Bouchenoire said too much butter may make the spaghetti less stable. I know the reality is even with enough practice I probably cannot make the Turban as well as the restaurant. And I can make two or four nice turbans at a time, it is hard for me to imagine making 50 of them perfectly under time pressure like at the restaurant.

Looking at and eating the Turban I could feel Robuchon’s presence. While he may be gone, he has passed on his knowledge to his numerous collaborators. However, it is not enough to just retain the knowledge. For Robuchon’s DNA to truly live on, the diners need to demand to eat the classic dishes at the restaurants. We need to realize that we always stand in a timeline where the past is farther away from us than the future. The future may be unclear, however, vast parts of the past are just as fuzzy. While it is interesting to be part of the experimentation of the present, a classic is actually an experiment in the past that worked and lasted. If you never had it, it's new to you.

Cooking with Olivier Jean and Reflets de France

"Hello, Michael, this is Olivier. Reflets de France invited me to do a demonstration next month, will you have time to come to the event?" Normally I don't get invited to food-related events. After all, I am not in the business of food and beverage, nor am I a journalist or a real food blogger. However, chef Olivier Jean of L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon Taipei knows I like to dabble in cooking and kindly called to extend an invitation. I am always keen to learn some new techniques, thus I was happy to make the time to attend the event.

Reflets de France was started in 1997 by Promodès, which later merged with Carrefour. Reflets de France seeks out small producers across France to make local specialties for the brand. Under Carrefour, the brand has steadily grown and has now expanded to Asia. The Carrefour in Taiwan started selling Reflets de France products in September of 2013. Reflets de France is a high-end supermarket brand, rather than a luxury brand. However, what separates Reflets de France from some of the other supermarket brands is Carrefour has enlisted chef Joël Robuchon as a consultant.

While Robuchon is the chef with the most Michelin stars, he also endorses products and acts as a consultant to other brands. For instance, Robuchon has formed a partnership with Veuve Clicquot to promote the champagne. His name can also be found on a beer by Sapporo. Recently Robuchon renewed his consultancy with Air France to design the menus for the first and business class passengers. Of all his endorsements, Reflets de France is probably the most curious one as it is the most value-oriented of Robuchon's endorsements; furthermore, Robuchon doesn't use Reflets de France's products in his restaurants. Yet, Reflets de France is one of Robuchon's longest relationships with a brand, an association that started in 1996.

In his role as a consultant to Reflets de France, Robuchon holds monthly meetings at his kitchen laboratory in Paris with the executives of Carrefour. Together they taste and discuss the quality of the old and the new products. Last November, the French television show Capital on M6 was provided access to one of these meetings. Chef Robuchon was seen with his right-hand man chef Eric Bouchenoire discussing the cheese and the new kouign amann products with Carrefour's director Richard Vavasseur and his staff. The products are scored from a range of 0 to 10 with 6 as a passing grade. Products that don't pass the taste test will be reworked based on the comments provided in the meetings.

Carrefour in Taiwan now carries around 80 Reflets de France products, ranging from juices to jams to duck confit. For this holiday season, Carrefour has asked Robuchon and Jean to create three dishes using Reflets de France products: Foie Gras Terrine with Sweet Potato, Duck Confit with Kabocha, and Caramelized Apple with Crepe. To promote the products of Reflets de France, Carrefour held an event at ATT 4 Fun in the Hsin Yi District of Taipei. When I arrived at the venue I thought I was just going to watch Jean cook the dishes. Instead Jean handed me an apron and said we will be cooking together.

The top floor of ATT 4 Fun is a cooking studio with cooking stations setup along two sides of a long counter. Each station has two induction burners and a small work area. Earlier in the day Jean and the staff at the venue have already set up the equipment and the mise en place for cooking the dishes. Jean stands in the middle of the counter and demonstrates each step along with verbal instructions.

We start first with prepping the kabocha of the main course as it takes some time to cook in the oven. Split the kabocha in half lengthwise; scoop out the seeds with a spoon; drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper; wrap in aluminum foil; and bake in a 150 degree Celsius oven for around 45 minutes or until soft to touch.

While we wait for the kabocha to cook, we begin on the preparation of the starter. The first step is to take the foie gras terrine out of the jar: lower the jar into boiling water for a few seconds; stick the knife along one edge of the jar to allow a little air to enter; and finally flip the jar over onto the cutting board to release the foie gras. The second step involves scraping off the fat on the outside of the foie gras; splitting the foie gras in half; and placing the foie back into the refrigerator to harden for around 30 minutes. The third step of shaving the foie is perhaps the most challenging. When Jean demonstrates the technique it looks easy.

While I know the theory – the foie needs to be quite cold and the peeler needs to be dipped in hot water before peeling – it isn't that easy to execute. Even when one manages to successfully shave the foie in one large piece, it isn't easy to shape the foie into an arch-like form. Nevertheless, Jean says that it's fine if the foie breaks. Just try to assemble it back in pieces; the garnishes will cover some of the cracks in the form.

The second component of the starter is the sweet potato, which Jean has already cooked earlier in simmering water for 30 minutes. Jean instructs us to peel off the skin of the sweet potato with a spoon. The sweet potato is then thinly sliced crosswise,  cut into calisson-shape with a cookie cutter, and placed on a plate. Diced shallots, thyme, salt and pepper are added. Everything is covered in cling film with as much of the air squeezed out as possible. The sweet potato is set aside to marinate for two hours at room temperature.

When the sweet potato is ready, the dish is ready to be plated. This is actually the easy part because Jean has already prepared all the other components: thin slices of radishes, toasted baguette, shavings of parmesan, slivers of arugula, and vinaigrette. The three pieces of sweet potato are first transferred to a plate and then topped with foie gras shavings. The garnishes are added, then drizzled over with vinaigrette, and finished with some Reflets de France fleur de sel and espelette pepper. While I know my foie gras shavings and plating techniques are not up to Jean's standard, I am pretty happy with my plate; looks more like a plate at a restaurant rather than my usual home cooked dishes. I like this dish and it is reminiscent of the dish Robuchon serves at his restaurants. The combination of shaved foie gras with parmesan, bread chips, and vegetables is a classic in the Robuchon repertoire.

With the starter plated, we start to work on the main course. The first step is to take the kabocha out of the oven, scoop the flesh out with a spoon and slather it on top of a tamis. The next step is to use a scrapper to push the kabocha through the tamis. This requires a little strength and patience. I suppose one can use a potato ricer or food mill instead, but the result will not be as smooth. Scraping through the tamis is one of the basic tasks at Robuchon's kitchen since it is the technique used to make the famous mashed potato. As I am scraping through the tamis, Jean says the commis at L'Atelier does the same task twice a day everyday and for at least 45 minutes each time. Afterwards, the kabocha purée is transferred to a pot over low heat and combined with some milk. Whisking constantly, butter is gradually added into the mixture to finish.

To prepare the duck confit, we first scrape off the duck fat, which is not used in this recipe but can be saved for other uses. Jean shows us how to take the skin off the duck using the edge of a spoon. We then clean off the fat on the underside of the skin and place the skin on a pan with low heat. The goal is to crisp the skin so it will be like a chip. Jean says it is best to cook the skin on a low heat for a long duration. High heat and overcooked skin will make the taste a bit bitter. I find the cooking of the skin to be the most tricky step in the recipe. It is not easy to achieve a crispy skin. The duck skin I prepare is crisp when I cut it into small pieces. However, by the time I assemble the dish and eat it, the skin has gone a bit soft. I believe part of the reason is the humidity of the room. I probably also should cook the skin a bit more. However, I don't have enough experience to know how to cook the skin to the edge of overcooking but not beyond. The precise control of heat is one thing that separates a home cook from a professional. The rest of the duck confit is deboned and cut into bite size pieces and set aside.

Next, we prepare the vegetables that will be served with the duck. Jean first demonstrates the cutting of the scallion. Here is another case where the home cook differs from the professional. The technique Jean uses with the pulling of the knife after the cut produces a very clean cut. I don't have the knife skill nor the correct motion. Therefore, while my scallion pieces may look okay, they are not as good as Jean's. The same can be said about the dicing of the mushroom, which we did after the scallion. To cook them, a little butter is first added to a gently heated pan. The scallion is tossed in to be soften but not colored. Then the diced mushroom is added to the pan. This method produces a more stew like dish. As a variation, Jean says one can sauté the mushroom first at high heat and then add the scallion, which will give a more roasted flavor. A few coriander seeds are added and toasted to provide some additional flavor. The duck meat is then folded into the mixture follow by some chicken stock to deglaze the pan and moisten the meat. After a few minutes in the pan, the ingredients are ready to be plated.

The ideal dinnerware for the dish is a shallow bowl. First, spoon the duck meat mixture into a bowl and roughly shape into a mound. Second, add the kabocha purée on top to completely cover the meat. Jean instructs us to gently tap the bottom of the bowl to let the puree settle around the meat and spread out on top. The garnishes include a lightly dressed frisse salad and the crispy duck skin. I must say my final result is pretty good. The little touches on the top really elevate the dish not just in terms of taste but appearance as well.

This main course is quite interesting to taste. Normally at L'Atelier the purée is served on the side of the protein. Here the two are mixed together, thus every bite of the dish is a combination of the purée and the duck meat. The occasional bite of the corriander seeds do add a nice elegant flavor profile. I only wish the duck skin is a bit more crisp to provide more contrasting textures.

The last dish of the day is dessert: caramelized apple wrapped in crepe. The first thing to do is peel and dice the apple. Second, we use our hands to crumble the cookies into large and small pieces. We sandwich the crepe in between two plates and place them over a bain-marie to soften and warm the crepe. I believe one can do this with the microwave as well, but Jean says the bain-marie method provides more control. In the mean time, we add some confiture du lait to the pan to heat and caramelize it. Apples are then added to the pan to cook. Once the apple is a bit soft and caramelized we pour in some Kinmen rice wine. One can almost immediately smell the fruit flavors of the alcohol. Jean says the more adventurous cook can also flambe the alcohol to make the dish even better. While there is still some liquid in the pan, we add some of the cookie crumbles and cook them with the apple mixture.

To plate the dish, we first lay the crepe flat with the lighter side up, spoon the apple mixture onto the middle, and topped with a dollop of whipped cream. I brush the edge of the crepe with some more jam, which helps the crepe to stick together as I fold up the sides of the crepe like a soup dumpling. Afterwards the crepe is transfer to a plate and topped with a little more whipped cream. A little cookie crumble is added to the side to anchor the ice cream. I spoon the ice cream as best I can as a quenelle and pretend to be like a professional, by rubbing the bottom of the spoon to release the ice cream onto the crumble. The result of the dish is quite nice. With more practice I am sure I can fold the crepe into a prettier shape. This is a nice and fast dessert to make. The products of Reflets de France allow one to save some time since one doesn't have to make the caramel and crepe from scratch. I can also imagine using other fruits such as pear or pinapple, in lieu of apple.

After the dishes are made we all sit down at a table to taste our own creations. As I taste the dishes I cannot help but be critical of my own work. I suppose this is just part of my training as an architect. Every time I visit my own buildings I just see the faults and think about ways to improve. For the dishes, I start to wonder whether I should have made the shallot brunoise finer for the starter, crisp the duck skin more for the main course, and cook the apples longer for the dessert. To be fair to myself, I probably shouldn't judge my dishes based on the criteria that I judge a restaurant. However, since the dishes turn out to look like restaurant dishes, one starts to be a bit more ambitious. Cooking is very much about technique and refinement. All the little techniques that Jean uses to make the dish, even with the simple tasks such as peeling the skin off of a sweet potato, all contribute to the refinement of the dishes. While a home cook may not need to be so self-demanding, it is important to have a high standard to strive towards.

I am very glad that Carrefour invited me to the event. It is a privilege to cook along with Jean. I benefit a great deal from simply watching Jean work. Besides learning from Jean, I am also able to try the recipes that he designed. After the session I can say the recipes by Robuchon and Jean are not difficult to execute, and they are ideally suited for a nice family dinner or even a large dinner party. I can easily imagine doing the recipes for a party for 8 guests. The use of Reflets de France products make the dishes look more complex than they really are. While each dish contains several components, most of them can be done hours before the meal. The dessert can even be done à la minute after the main course is finished. Jean is very keen to allow the cook to not be stressed at the dinner party and to spend some time with the guests or family instead of being tied up in the kitchen. Now I just need to invite my friends and family over for dinner. Perhaps I won't tell them upfront that I am using the products from Reflets de France. Maybe they will think I work very hard and appreciate my cooking more.

"Hello, Arthur, this is Michael, do you have time next month to come over for dinner? I am going to make a foie gras terrine, duck confit, and apple with crepe."

“你好，Michael，我是Olivier。下個月Reflets de France禾法頌邀請我示範幾道菜，你有空來參加嗎？” 食品相關的活動通常不會邀請我參加，畢竟，我不在餐飲業，也不是一名記者或是美食部落格作者。然而，台北侯布雄餐廳的主廚Olivier Jean知道我喜歡涉足烹飪，所以來電邀請我。我當然很高興挪出時間來參加這個活動，因為我總是熱衷於學習一些新的烹飪技巧。

 Reflets de France由Promodès於1997年成立，後來併入家樂福集團。Reflets de France在法國各地尋找小型製造者來為它做當地有特色的產品。這個品牌在家樂福管理之下一直穩定的成長，並且已經擴展到亞洲。家樂福去年九月在台灣開始賣Reflets de France的產品。Reflets de France並不是一個奢侈品，而是一個高端的超市品牌，但是Reflets de France與其他超市品牌不同的是，家樂福聘請了Joël Robuchon擔任顧問。 

雖然Robuchon是世界上擁有最多米其林星星的廚師，他也有幫產品代言和當品牌的顧問。例如，Robuchon目前與Veuve Clicquot合作推廣香檳。Sapporo 也有一瓶以 Robuchon為名的啤酒。最近Robuchon與法國航空公司續約，為頭等和商務艙的乘客設計菜單。在Robuchon所有代言的商品之中Reflets de France可能是最特別的，因為Reflets de France是一個平價商品，此外，Robuchon的餐廳並不使用Reflets de France的產品。然而，Reflets de France卻是Robuchon合作最久的品牌之一，源起自1996年。 

作為Reflets de France的顧問，Robuchon每個月在他巴黎的主廚實驗室與家樂福的主管舉行會議，他們一起品嚐舊的和新的產品，討論它們的品質。今年11月，法國M6電視台Capital節目跟隨了Robuchon拍攝了一個會議的過程。節目中Robuchon與他的左右手Eric Bouchenoire廚師和家樂福主管Richard Vavasseur代領的團隊試吃了乳酪和兩種布列塔尼蛋糕。會議中所有的產品都會獲得0到10之間的分數，6分以上為及格。不及格的產品將基於會議中提出的意見進行改良。

目前家樂福在台灣，有販賣大約八十個Reflets de France的產品，包括果汁，果醬，油封鴨腿。因為聖誕假期的來臨，家樂福特別請Robuchon和Jean使用Reflets de France的產品打造三道新菜: 精選鴨肝凍綴甜薯，香料南瓜泥與油封鴨肉，焦糖蘋果可麗餅。為了促銷Reflets de France的產品，家樂福在台北信義區的ATT 4 Fun舉辦了一場活動。一開始我以為我只是去看Jean煮菜，沒想到當我到達會場時，Jean遞給我一件圍裙說我們會一起烹調三道菜。 

ATT 4 Fun的頂樓是一個烹飪工作室，場內有一個長檯，兩側均是料理台，每個工作站有兩個感應爐。Jean和工作人員當天早上已經幫我們把工具與食材準備好了。Jean站在櫃檯的中間，一邊示範一邊解說每個步驟。

我們先開始準備主菜所需要用的南瓜，因為它需要在烤箱中烤上一些時間。將南瓜緃向劈成兩半;用勺子挖出種子;淋上橄欖油;灑上鹽和胡椒;緊緊包在鋁箔中;放入攝氏150度的烤箱約45分鐘或直到柔軟。

當南瓜在烤時，我們就開始準備前菜。第一步就是要把鴨肝凍從罐子拿出來：將瓶子放入沸水中煮幾秒鐘然後取出;用一把小刀插入瓶子邊緣，讓少量空氣進入瓶中;最後把瓶子翻轉過來讓鴨肝凍釋放出來。第二步是將鴨肝凍外的油脂刮掉;切成兩半;把鴨肝凍放回冰箱大約30分鐘使其硬化。第三歩是要用削皮刀將鴨肝凍刮成片，也是這道菜最有挑戰性的步驟。看Jean示範這個技巧好像很容易。雖然我知道此技巧的理論 – 鴨肝凍需要是冰冷的，然後削皮刀在切割前需要浸在熱水中 – 實際操作這個動作並不容易。即使可以成功削下一片完整的鴨肝凍，也不容易將鴨肝凍塑造成拱型。然而，Jean說，就算鴨肝凍在削的過程破裂也沒有關係，祗要盡量嘗試著把鴨肝片重組回去;另外，其它的配菜也將會把一些不好看的裂縫隱藏起來。

前菜的第二個原料是地瓜，我們做菜之前Jean已經把地瓜在水中燜煮了三十分鐘，Jean教我們用勺子來剔除地瓜皮，橫向切成薄片，然後用模子切成類似calisson的形裝，並放置在盤子上。接著將紅蔥末，百里香，鹽和胡椒灑在地瓜上。用保鮮膜蓋住一切，並且盡可能的擠出所有的空氣。讓地瓜在室溫中醃上兩小時。

當地瓜準備好了，就可以開始擺盤了。實際上這倒是比較容易的部分，因為Jean早已準備好所有其他的配料：櫻桃蘿蔔薄片，法國麵包，帕馬森乾酪，芝麻葉，和沙拉油醋醬。首先將三塊地瓜放在盤子中間，上方曡上鴨肝凍片，再用配菜裝飾，之後澆上油醋醬，並灑上一些Reflets de France的鹽之花和espelette辣椒。雖然我知道我的鴨肝凍片和擺盤的技術達不到Jean的標準，我還是對我的成品蠻滿意的;看似一盤在餐館的菜餚，而不是我平日做的家常菜。我很喜歡這道前菜，它很像Robuchon餐廳的一道前菜。鴨肝片，帕馬森乾酪，麵包片，和蔬菜是一個Robuchon的經典組合。

前菜完成後，我們開始準備主菜。第一步就是要把南瓜從烤箱取出，用勺子挖出南瓜肉，放在篩網上。第二步是使用刮板將南瓜過篩。這需要一些力量和耐心。我認為簡單一點的方式可以使用食品粉碎機，不過口感也會相對的比較不柔順。過篩的動作應該是Robuchon餐廳廚房的基本工之一，因為Robuchon有名的馬鈴薯泥就是這樣製作的。Jean說在L’Atelier的年輕廚師每天都有做與我們同樣的動作，每天兩次，每次至少45分鐘。過篩後的南瓜放入一個鍋子，用小火煮，加入一些牛奶，拿一個打蛋器不停的攪拌，逐漸加入一些奶油直到完全混合。

接下來我們製作油封鴨，首先刮去鴨油，這個食譜不需要用這些油，但是油應該保存下來用於其他菜的製作。Jean先教我們如何用勺子取下鴨皮。刮起鴨皮下的脂肪，然後放入平底鍋用小火煎。目地是要得到一片脆的鴨皮。Jean說，煎鴨皮最好慢慢用小火。大火煎或煎過頭的皮會有一些苦澀味道。我發現煎鴨皮是主菜食譜中最具挑戰性的步驟，要成功的完成一片脆皮並不容易。我的鴨皮當要切成小塊時還挺脆的，然而，到了我在吃的時候，皮已經有點軟。我相信一部分的原因是來自房間的濕度。但是我大概也應該將鴨皮煎的久一些。不過，我沒有足夠的經驗，不知道如何將鴨皮煎到過熟的邊緣而不超過。火候控制的精準度是專業廚師和家庭廚師最大的不同之處。其餘的鴨腿則需要去骨，切成小塊，然後放置一旁。

之後，我們準備主菜所需要用的蔬菜。首先Jean示範如何切蔥。刀工也是專業與業餘廚師不同的另一個例子。Jean的刀法可以切出非常精確的蔥末。相對的，我沒有同樣的工力，因此，雖然我的蔥末看起來還不錯，但是沒有Jean的好。蘑菇的切割也是一樣，Jean切的每一塊都一樣大,而我的則沒有那麼準確。先將少許牛油加入平底鍋，用小火炒至蔥軟化，但不著色。然後加入蘑菇塊。這個比較如同燉的做法。Jean說，我們也可以嘗試另外一個方法，先用大火炒蘑菇，然後再加入蔥末，這將產生類似烤物的味道。接著Jean建議加入一點莞荽籽來增加一些額外的香味。最後把鴨肉加入鍋中，翻炒，倒入一小杯高湯，用小火慢慢收乾。此時就可以準備好裝盤了。

這道主菜最理想的餐具是一個碗或是湯盤。首先，將鴨肉放入碗中，並塑成一個土堆狀。第二，覆蓋一層南瓜泥，同時用手掌輕輕拍打碗底，這個動作可以讓南瓜泥滲透到肉中的空隙。最後在上面放置菊苣和香脆的鴨皮，主菜即製作完成。我必須說，我做的結果看起來還相當不錯。

這道主菜是蠻有趣的。通常在L’Atelier馬鈴薯泥與肉是分開的，這裡將兩者混合在一起，因此每一口都是南瓜和鴨肉的組合。另外莞荽籽也的確提供了一點優雅的風味。假如我的鴨皮可以更脆一些，口感會更好。

這一天的最後一道菜是甜點：焦糖蘋果可麗餅。第一步準備蘋果：淸洗，削皮，切成二公分的小塊。其次，用手將餅乾捏成大與小的碎塊。接著將一張薄餅夾在兩個盤子中，放在一個有熱水的鍋子，隔著水將餅加熱和軟化。在做的時候我在想，可能在家裡也可以用微波爐來熱可麗餅，不過Jean説，微波爐比較不好控制火候。與此同時，我們放了一匙焦糖牛奶抹醬到平底鍋中加熱，加入蘋果塊後攪拌翻動，直到蘋果軟化顏色呈焦糖狀。接著倒入一小杯金門高粱酒。酒一入鍋即可以聞到美好的水果風味。Jean說，比較有經驗的人可以先點火燃燒酒精,口味會更好。在還沒有收乾前，將餅乾碎片加入，一起均勻攪和。

裝盤的第一步是將加熱好的可麗餅放在盤中，淡色的面朝上，然後把混合好的蘋果和餅乾放在餅中央，淋上半湯匙的鮮奶油。之後用焦糖牛奶醬塗在可麗餅的週邊，這有助於餅粘在一起，折曡的方式如同做小籠包一般，可麗餅粘好之後再淋上少許鮮奶油。另外將一些餅乾小碎片放在盤子的一角以固定冰淇淋。我用勺子挖冰淇淋，盡我所能將其型成一個quenelle，學著專業的廚師，用手撑摩擦勺子的底部來釋放冰淇淋至盤中。我這道甜點的成果還不錯，若是有機會多練習幾次，我相信可以把可麗餅折的更漂亮。製作這道甜點很快。使用Reflets de France的產品可以更省一些時間，不必自己做焦糖和可麗餅。另外我想應該也可以使用其他比較結實的水果，如梨或鳳梨，來代替蘋果。

菜完成之後我們一起坐到一張長桌品嚐自己的作品。邊吃著我不禁要批評我自己。我想這是我做為一個建築師的本性。當我每次近入我自己設計的建築物，我都只看到一般人看不到的各種問題，並一直想如何可以改進。對於眼前的三道菜，我開始懷疑是否應該將前菜的蔥切的更細，將主菜的鴨皮煎的更脆，將甜點的蘋果煮的更久。不過我也應該對我自己公平一些,我不應該用批評餐廳的標準來評判自己做的菜。  但是當我的作品開始像似餐廳的菜餚，我的野心也變大了。烹飪的重點在於技巧和追求完美。所有Jean使用的技巧，即使是很簡單或是基本的工作，像是剝地瓜皮，都有助於菜餚最後完成的精細度。雖然一般家中的料理並不需要達到米其林餐廳的水準，不過內心有一個目標或是知道一個標準還是有其必要性。

我很高興家樂福邀請我參加這場活動。有機會與Jean一同烹飪是我的榮幸，單純看著Jean工作，我已經學到很多技巧。此外，能夠當場嘗試著做，得到Jean的指點，更使我受益匪淺。活動結束後，我可以說 Robuchon和Jean的食譜並不難執行，而且非常適合一個周末的家庭晚餐，甚至一個大的晚宴。使用Reflets de France的產品可以讓簡單的菜餚看似複雜。Jean非常了解在一個家庭晚宴，主人不應該整個晚上都困在廚房中，重要的還是要能夠與家人或是朋友共同用餐。因此，雖然每道菜中含有許多個原料，大部分其實都可以在餐前幾小時先完成。甜點甚至可以在主菜吃完後再開始做。所以現在我應該邀請我的朋友到我家來。我想我先不告訴他們我會用Reflets de France的產品。他們或許會認為我工作的很辛苦和費時，因而更欣賞我做的菜。

“嗨，Arthur，我是Michael ，你下個月有空來我家吃晚飯嗎？我會準備精選鴨肝凍綴甜薯，香料南瓜泥與油封鴨肉，和焦糖蘋果可麗餅”。