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As a traditional standalone French restaurant, la Madeleine is a novel experiment. What does it offer?
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STANDALONE FRENCH restaurants, if they exist at all outside Pondicherry, are a rarity in India. Gourmet French food is largely the preserve of five-star hotels, designated for pricey and exclusive restaurants that invariably dish out fare in the style of nouvelle cuisine. Nouvelle may have gone somewhat out of fashion in France, but the cuisine — with its accent on lighter sauces and its reduced dependence on animal fat, butter and sweet cream — still finds a great deal of acceptance around the world since it was given a label in the 1970s.
In contrast, la Madeleine, the recently opened French restaurant at Kasturi Estate, is unabashedly traditional — well almost. A handful of Italian dishes, primarily in the form of a variety of pasta, soups (example: gazpacho) and desserts (example: tiramisu) have been factored into the menu as a concession to popular taste. Another concession, of course, is the absence of such things as tripe, blood sauces and tongue — foodstuff which are exotic to outsiders but which are completely natural or unexceptional, in the context of a French menu.
On the whole, though, la Madeleine is French with a capital F, it is difficult to think of many places in the country where you can start a meal with the rich and traditional fish bisque (a combination of pureed vegetables flavoured by wine and fish bones). And while regrettably the Moule Mariniere is unavailable on the day (being part of another day's fare in this restaurant's variable menu card), the chef obliges with a mildly flavoured hors d' oeuvres of mussels wrapped in a tender flaky pastry case.
J.C. Celibert, who has worked with the Paris International hotel and trained at the celebrated Ecole Superieure de Cuisine Francaise (Ferrandi), represents a new trend in the standalone restaurant business, which has begun to look abroad for chefs. The hugely popular Tapas bar (Zara's) is overseen by a Spanish bartender and the charming Mediterranean restaurant (Cedars) at Kotturpuram employs a Lebanese chef.
Celibert says that the biggest challenge was to come to terms with the flavours and strength of Indian ingredients (even basic things such as butter and cream), which are dissimilar to those in France. "Once I understood where this difference lay, there was no problem in preparing the dishes," he says.
The Bisque and the other soups, which include a just as rich cream of white mushroom, can be had for Rs. 90. As one might expect, seafood dominates the entrée section. Celibert recommends the Lobsters (Rs. 295) but this reviewer opts for the trilogy of salmon (grilled, marinated and smoked), served with a delicate green sauce of broccoli, basil and butter (Rs. 395). The black and white pilaf with vegetables is an interesting surprise; the `black' is made from local puttu rice and the vegetables are grilled to a crunchy satisfaction. While it is gratifying to note that the pesto is freshly made and not taken out of a tin, the lack of such things as pine nuts renders pesto-making in this country an exercise in approximation.
The desserts are highly recommended. The fondant heart chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream (Rs. 160) is worth killing for, but the pride of the Les Desserts section must surely belong to the homemade ice cream. Celibert conjured one up that possessed that exact hint of earthy roughness needed to distinguish it from the acquired smoothness of the mass-produced variety and that was flavoured — in a fragile and almost vulnerably delicate manner — with a suggestion of Rosemary. At Rs. 40, this is a steal.
The interiors leave a lot to be desired, but the uninspired decor is compensated by the adjacent open air space, where dining al fresco ought to be both possible and pleasurable in cooler climes. As French food goes, la Madeleine is light on the pocket. Two set menus, both of which work their way from starters to desserts, are priced at Rs. 298 (grand menu) and Rs. 248 (petit menu). The restaurant's challenge will be to hold its own and retain its traditional character in an environment where a cosmopolitan or world cuisine is both purveyed and accepted as French.
MUKUND PADMANABHAN
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