Two days ago I got an email from my advisor here saying that there was a "degustation" (meaning where you go and try a bunch of different french foods) at a restaurant that would be filmed, and the first few to email back got to go. Luckily, I was on my computer at the moment she sent the email, so not knowing any information than that, I emailed back in capital letters: COUNT ME IN, and I had no idea if I would get to go or not. I also had no idea what this really meant.
Yesterday afternoon I got a call from a french girl saying to be at a restaurant in nice clothes, and also bring a change of clothes, at 12:30. I was also emailed a release form to sign. Cool, right?
When I got there today, there were about 30 people in a little restaurant, all French except for one other CA girl in my program named Kelsey. I started talking to some French people and one man was really nice and I asked him if he liked to cook and he said he did, and that he had a restaurant not far from where I live (turns out I run by it everyday and I have always wanted to check out this particular place). He gave me his card and we parted. A minute later a lady walked up to me and asked me what I thought of him, if he was nice, and if I was SO excited to meet him. Wait what? It turns out, he is incredibly famous in France, and last year he WON a Culinary TV show in France called "Un dîner presque parfait" (An almost perfect dinner), a show that is equivilent to Top Chef. That was the beginning of my awesome experience.
Soon, everyone was quieted down, and they began to announce the day's journey. We were to be guided to a restaurant not too far away, where we were to order TWO different plates, and we would also be given a third called "Canelle". "Canelle" is a Lyon specialty, which is like a dinner soufflé made with a lot of flour mixed with fish and spices, and then topped with a cream sauce with a hint of tomato. To me, it tasted like fish gnocchi with a thick clam chowder topping. And after spending an hour and a half eating at this restaurant (THREE FULL PLATES), we would again walk to another restaurant down the road and do the same thing again, with again, another Canelle. We would be comparing our experience and the food at both the restaurants, as well as compare the traditional Canelle. WOW.
Good thing I was STARVING from running the half marathon in Lyon yesterday. (But also not a good thing because boy did I eat. Sitting on my bed right now, I feel like someone could roll me down the hill below.)
I was paired with Kelsey and 4 other French people, on girl my age, one lady in her 40's, and two men in their 40's and 60's. We spoke French all day!
And there we began our gastronomic journey with the most Lyonnaise food that I have tried here yet. At the first restaurant, I ordered écrevisse, which I thought was shrimp, but turns out was actually crawdads! Ou la la! They were cut in half long ways, breaded, and covered in a sauce (with terragon I think?). The sauce was amazing, but I couldn't tell you much about the crawdads - I couldn't really find the meat.
I also ordered a chocolate cake with strawberry sauce. It was a lighter but very rich dark chocolate circle, topped with whipped cream, and the whipped cream was thicker than the American whipped cream and had vanilla bean in it. Both weren't too sweet, which made the flavor of the dark chocolate jump out in my mouth. This was the first time in my life that I have been satisfied after just a few few bites and I didn't need to eat the whole thing. It was one of the most beautiful food moments ever, because I was so happy with just a few bites, and I realized that eating was not about engulfing the things that I enjoyed, but just the experience of every bite. Also, on top of the whipped cream was a perfectly ripe strawberry and half of a perfectly ripe fig. And around the edges was a home-made strawberry sauce. Absolutely magnificent.
I also got a Salad Lyonnaise at the first restaurant for free, as did the rest of my table, because we waited much longer than everyone else for our food. We had no complaints, but they wanted to win the competition! And the reason I bring up this salad is because it is found in EVERY restaurant in Lyon, and all Lyonnaise people think it is the bee's knees. This salad is lettuce topped with a poached egg, "lardons" which are like a smoked ham that tastes a lot like bacon but more chewy, and croutons. There is a little bit of a dijon dressing, but mostly the egg yolk is your dressing. I didn't like it when I first got to Lyon, but now I adore it almost as much as the Lyonnaise.
Of course, we finished with a café (espresso) and a piece of dark chocolate to add to the café to make a mocha. Ah j'adore.
At the table we were then interviewed by the camera crew about our experience, the food, etc. They had the huge microphones coming from the roof (that you see in movies!) and like 5 $100,000 cameras surrounding us. And guess what else? I was the translator at my table for all the French people I was sitting with! And guess why they needed a translator?...
It turns out, this degustation we were doing is for an American TV series that will start next summer on national TV in the US! It will be on the channel: Bravo TV. There is a group of chefs that are traveling all over the world right now to cook traditional foods in traditional restaurants in a variety of countries. Supposedly, each country someone is eliminated, and they are challenged to see who can make the best menu for a restaurant, make the best food, create the best ambiance, and of course, make the best traditional recipe!!! So I might be shown on Bravo TV next summer for having tried the traditional French food IN FRANCE! Ah! MY COMPLETE DREAM COME TRUE!!! (And one day that chef on the TV show will be me!)
Next, we went to the other restaurant. I was separated from the French people and so it was just Kelsey and I at a table. But that was actually pretty neat because we spoke French almost the whole time without problems, even though we are both from CA. C'est cool! Also, we made friends with the camera crew (of course). We were the only other people there who spoke their language...being from LA and NY.
At this restaurant, we started with Canelle just like we had at the other restaurant. The canelle was amaaaazing here, and was topped with fresh long and skinny mushrooms that I have never seen before. I much preferred this Canelle sauce too, because it was a bit spicy and it is hard to find spicy foods in France! I ordered Foie Gras, thanks to Tord who told me that it is amazing and there is no way that I tried a good Foie Gras here (considering I thought it tasted like cat food). And ou la la was he right. It was creamy and tasty and not too salty or meaty. And it came with a sweet sauce, caramelized onions, and pickled apples! For my third course, I had "Pot de crème café chocolate", which turned out to mean chocolate coffee pudding. This was my favorite of the day. It came in a little espresso mug on a long rectangular plate that also had a slice of blue cheese, caramelized almonds, and a slice of a plum with a fruity sauce. Ahhh I was in heaven, and even though I had no room in my stomach, I devoured the whole thing. So, so so so so so good.
You hungry?
After 6 and a half hours of Lyonnaise cuisine and filming and smiling from ear to ear non-stop, I exchanged numbers with all of my new French friends and parted for home. I have never been so happy to bike up a hill.
And THEN after all of this, I got home just in time to make my family here dinner! YIKES! I had a whole meal planned not realizing the experience I would have before! But it was still fun to cook because I just pretended like I was on TV!
For them I made Thai Forbidden Rice Salad, but INSTEAD of rice, I used black beans! Sylvie found black beans at the market the other day!!! I have been searching and have not been able to do so! I also added avocado to this salad, so it was tangy from the lime and sesame oil, crunchy from the bell peppers, sweet from the carrots, salty from the cashews, and mild from the avocado. Totally satisfied with my creation. I also made pumpkin mixed with cranberries, sage, and onions (tasted exactly like my butternut squash recipe). And for more protein we had a light white fish with a honey/paprika mixture on top. The fish was a little overcooked but everything else was just right. Once again, success! My family here loved it all. (Pictures will be posted of what I made shortly, but unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures during the filming today, so I explained everything as well as I could!)
Don't worry Mimi, I am not starving. Right now I feel like well-fed royalty sitting on top of the hill overlooking my kingdom in lights (literally out my two big windows).
La vie est grande!
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