Drop Jean Paul Bondoux’s name in foodie circles in the Southern Cone and heads turn. No, he’s not a star on elgourmet.com, the South American version of the Food Network. Think more along the line of revered French chefs like Alain Ducasse. Chefs that take food from being a natural substance and fuel for our bodies to something that approaches art, is a creative expression, constitutes an experience and can produce temporary nirvana.
Jean Paul has been at the helm of the classic French restaurant, La Bourgogne, located in the Alvear Palace hotel in Buenos Aires. Now with locations in the jet set Punta del Este, Uruguay and wine country, Mendoza, he takes local Argentine ingredients and marries them with impeccable French technique to woo your tastebuds. And some pampering I may add with the primo service. Isn’t so much of eating in restaurants about being served and well attended?
I first got turned onto La Bourgogne in Mendoza when it opened at Carlos Pulenta winery in Vistalba before later visiting the “mothership” in BA. Once with sweeping views of the Pulenta vineyards, La Bourgogne has since relocated to Mendoza city to The Diplomatic hotel with a decidedly more refined menu. The clever chef, Federico Ziegler, took rustic, country-style dishes and refined them with European technique, clever flavor combinations, and presentations with serious style. La Bourgogne was one of those places that hit the right notes: creative, tasty, satisfying, and not pretentious. I quickly became a La Bourgogne groupie on my trips to the “other side” of the Andes.
Imagine my surprise when I kindly accepted an invitation from fellow (visiting) food writer, Ivy Manning, to accompany her to the Chef’s Table at Noso in the W Santiago, their flagship restaurant. Noso is under the meticulous command of Jean Paul. Dressed in a decor palate of warm colors with splashes of crunchy, contrasting textures like flashy metal and an imposing vertical glass case wine “cellar”, it reads sleek. However, we didn’t come to taste the regular menu. Special invite (note to self: perks of food blogging) to savor the recently launched Chef’s Table program.
A beautiful square table was set up for a couple dozen dinners in plain view of the open kitchen. Polished copper pots and marble counters were in plain view and the cooks hummed away as they effortlessly pumped out very complex dishes. The chef came to introduce himself and upon discovering who it was, why Federico from La Bourgogne in Mendoza, I was super stoked. Small world? Always, especially down here among foodies.
Off we set on a culinary odyssey, a series of “bites”. First a fresh, acidic Apple gazpacho with shrimp two ways in a type of carpaccio. The top had a crunchy polenta and sesame crusted shrimp that went perfectly with my favorite bubbly ever, the Cruzat rosé.
Next, we dug into Easter Island Tuna. The perfectly seared tuna had a crunchy brulee crust laced with a Provencal sauce (basil and olive sauce) along with a tomato tartare with tomatoes, ginger, calamari tubes and tomato glaze. I will admit to liking anything and everything raw when it comes to fish and even meat. Tuna, along with oysters and steak tartare, top the list. A Morandé Gran Reserva Chardonnay was a nice complement.
As an Argentine, he could not have missed a course without mollejas, sweetbreads. I will admit that as a meat (err, offal) they took me a while to warm up to eating. I simply do not really crave nor enjoy eating very rich food any more (sorry foie gras). A couple bites though were delicious (he had soaked them in milk) and they had been slow-cooked for hours and seared for a slight crunch. He served them on a silk sweet potato puree with a bitter chocolate and morel sauce. Holy flavor combination. This went with a nice, fruity, cherry-forward Morandé Terrarum Pinot Noir (which we stuck with through the next course).
At this point, after 3 tiny yet protein-laden courses, my appetite was getting, well, wimpy. Out of the kitchen came a prosciutto and almond-crusted Corvina, seabass, on fennel risotto. It was topped with a fennel confit in bouillabaise sauce. I loved the sauce and could have done a shot of that to wake me out of a pending food coma. By this time, I had been sucked into a rather spirited conversation with the very charming Spaniard sitting to my left (don’t be afraid to rub elbows with your neighbors, btw).
I rallied to taste one bite of the lamb filet along with the Morandé Gran Reserva Syrah (or so I think it was at this point). I can safely say my reason for being a carnivore is because of lamb. I never turn it down. This was perfectly rare, almost with a floral note, and the chef paired the dish with caramelized Shallots, pine Nuts and sherry reduction. I felt like we needed a half time break though. Even though these were “miniscule” portions, multiply anything times seven and it adds up. How do the French do it? More alcohol? Calvados? How do I hack it when I finally go to The French Laundry with a dozen of these courses? It became obvious my training was not sufficient.
Last round. Dessert, schmessert. Sugar and I really don’t tango much. I really can just skip it. Apart from berries and stevia in my smoothie for breakfast. Maybe I was diabetic in another life. However, the last course was so light and cleverly presented that I couldn’t help but try it (and it’s hard when a chef is standing there looking at you and waiting for your reaction…). The mango appeared to be cannoli. Genius! He must have been slicing those mango slices off the mandoline for a good 15 minutes. He then diligently wrapped them in plastic wrap to roll up the strawberries. Served with a drizzle of tarragon syrup and white chocolate sauce. I remember a late harvest but at that point, now entering the food coma, I just needed water and coffee.
The journey was over. I was really amazed at the freshness of the products, the creativity and thought in how each of the flavors and textures were composed, like notes of a symphony. While high tech in the sense of technique used to coax out the flavors, the dishes were simple and never covered the base ingredients. It was a fun evening. I felt like I had been walked through an edible art exposition.
Noso plans to make these chef tables a monthly experience the 2nd or 3rd week of every month starting June 22. The invited chefs will be those who work with Jean Paul in Argentina and Uruguay. Dinner runs around US$100 per person with the seven courses and wine pairings.
Reservations? Yes! Call 770 0082 (local call) . So if you’re in town on business or leisure and happen to be fortunate enough to be around, check it out. Your palate will thank you.
