French Chef Featured in Top 50 GREAT Restaurant Ideas
FRENCH CHEF Featured in Top 50 Great Restaurant Ideas St. Augustine Restaurateur Makes Restaurant Business News!
Restaurant Business News (January 2009) chose 50 restaurants in the U.S. for their great ideas as trend setting as well as a personality profile of the chef. According to journalist Patricia Cobe and a team of six other writers “This person we’re examining, this industry has a hardwired, almost pathological need to please”.
Among those chosen is Chef Jean-Stephane Poinard, owner of the Bistro de Leon in St. Augustine, Florida. Poinard is so passionate about bread that a special dinner featuring house baked artisan breads with each of four courses (instead of wine) was one of the magazine’s picks!
Bread is a very important part of French cuisine. “Bread is not meant to interfere with the enjoyment of your meal, rather as an enhancement” states Poinard. It’s not that wine pairings aren’t popular at the Bistro de Leon, but this particular dinner event was ‘About the Bread’ and Restaurant Business News recognized its cleverness. There will be special event dinners throughout 2009 when the Bistro de Leon plans to present another ‘bread pairing’ menu.
At the Bistro, the heartbeat of Poinard’s restaurant menu is about ‘market fresh’, creating recipes that are uncomplicated and authentically French, including the daily baked breads. A member of Les Toques Blanches Lyonnaises, Chef’s ‘bread pairing’ dinner menu included:
~Traditional French Baguette~ Served with Asparagus cream soup
~Bacon Bread~ Served with Tomato stuffed with snails Flamed in absente, garlic reduction
~Provencal Black Olive Bread~ Served with Saint Augustine Bouillabaisse –Aioli Crouton
~Walnut Bread~ Served with Honey "Brie" cheese Crusty
The Bistro de Leon’s Signature Lava Cake ~ Served with homemade ice cream or sorbet
As a member of the exclusive Les Toques Blanches Lyonnaises, Poinard is one of the honored chefs invited into the rare fraternity of only 100 members. The organization is led by Paul Bocuse, recognized as the finest chef of the 20th Century and ambassador of modern French cuisine. During their lifetime, these chefs have been held in high regard for their contributions to the culture of the country.
BISTRO DE LEON 12 Cathedral Place St. Augustine, Florida www.BistrodeLeon.com # # #
|
|