A
friend who has a discerning palate and who is a
serious wine critic
once said that the Chez Panisse philosophy is akin
to the best producers of Bourgogne. That is, some
legendary wine makers try to do the least possible
to influence the wine and instead let the wine make
itself as much as possible.
It It is true that the hallmark of Chez Panisse
cooking is to spotlight the ingredients and not the
chef. This is the gist of Alice Waters’ philosophy
who is inarguably the most influential person
shaping the course of the farm to table movement in
America.
There is nothing like success that breeds its
discontents. There are basically three criticisms
leveled against this Berkeley CA institution. Some
people allege that the cooking is “too simple too
safe”. Others contend that albeit Chez Panisse led
the “quality of the product first” revolution, there
are now so many restaurants throughout the United
States which have adapted the same motto and one can
find equally good products elsewhere. Finally there
are those who claim that the restaurant is now
“démodé”, that is, it is no longer a harbinger of
culinary trends.
There may be some fragments of truth in all of these
claims. However, I disagree with all three.
Let me start with the third. It is true that Chez
Panisse does not follow the culinary trends. Just
like a Romanee Conti which is not interested in
reverse osmosis or overextraction because it is
“trendy” in some Napa wineries or Bordeaux chateaux.
Those who are seeking purity and harmony will always
appreciate Chez Panisse and concur that the
restaurant has never abandoned the search to reach
these goals. On the other hand, those who are after
“flash” and “molecular gastronomy” will never be
satisfied by a meal at Chez Panisse.
I agree that, in the last 20 years or so, and
especially in the 2000s, restaurants in America have
progressed a great deal in upgrading the quality of
the products that they serve, i.e. fresher fish,
hormone-free meat, and seasonal fruit and
vegetables. However, having been in virtually all
great American restaurants at least once, and
usually many times, I will contend that there is
still a considerable gap between Chez Panisse and
others on two counts. First is the consistency.
Throughout a meal in a leading restaurant, say, the
French Laundry or Alinea, one can find some very
good ingredients, but also others which leave a lot
to be desired. This is not the case with Chez
Panisse. For somebody who has dined at Chez Panisse
downstairs at least 200 times since 1982 (when I was
a student at Berkeley), I would contend that there
is not a single restaurant which can boast the same
record for overall consistency in terms of
ingredient quality.
Secondly, I would also add that one finds in Chez
Panisse ingredients of exceptional quality.
Nowadays, only Manresa and Quince, both in
California, sometimes offer ingredients on a quality
on par with Chez Panisse. In my experience, nothing
in New York, since the demise of Ducasse at the
Essex house, comes close.
This said, I should say that I have some sympathy
with those who claim that Chez Panisse’s cooking is
too simple and safe. But this argument has to be
qualified.
The analogy with terroir driven wine can again serve
us. La Tache, for instance, is a great wine, but in
some years one can see that because the winemaker
did not try to manipulate the wine, it is not hiding
some flaws due to the weather conditions that year.
Likewise Chez Panisse is committed to cooking almost
exclusively (truffles being an exception) with local
ingredients and letting them speak, instead of
spotlighting the chef.
This strategy is like walking a very tight rope.
Only a single set menu is offered at Chez Panisse,
and the menu typically consists of three dishes and
a dessert. On some of the days they can err in the
direction of playing it too safe. They still
highlight ingredients, but, if there are not
sufficient great ingredients to be had, one can
leave the meal dissatisfied. This can be especially
the case if the chef that day does not work hard to
calibrate tastes to bring about overall harmony and
purity.
This last remark brings me to the central importance
of the chef at Chez Panisse. It is probably Alice
Waters’ intention to relegate the chef to the
background, and I sympathize with this. However,
over the years I have noticed that “who is in the
kitchen” is making as much of a difference as what
day of the week you hit the lottery of dining there.
I will only name the chef I find to be turning out
consistently great dishes: JEAN PIERRE. He is
unquestionably a world class chef who can compete
easily with all of the Michelin three star chefs.
When he cooks he is achieving what is hardest to
achieve, that is he makes things look “simple,” but
this simplicity is misleading as it hides the
overall perfectionism. The perfectionism lies in the
ways maximum taste is extracted from the ingredients
given very precise cooking and in the way the tastes
are calibrated to achieve overall greatness.
Consider my last meal there on New Year’s Eve. It
consisted of three dishes, dessert and fruit.
SMOKED BOLINAS COD SALAD WITH SALMON CAVIAR AND
CHICORY LETTUCES.
This was an excellent appetizer. Lightly smoked cod
and bitter chicory interact beautifully, and the
steelhead salmon caviar imparts a subtle sweet taste
and textural contrast.
DUNGENESS CRAB CONSOMME WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND
GARLIC
This dish was absolute perfection. The consommé is
akin to a great dashi prepared by a world class
Kaiseki chef. One thinks that they have used a
perfect water with minimum solids to achieve this
level of clarity. The name of the dish is also
misleading because, apart from the local crab, there
are excellent bay scallops and herring combined with
sweet, non-briny sea urchin. The combination of sea
urchin and herring works, and it reminds me of
Manresa’s abalone sea urchin combination (different,
based on a Japanese idea and also great). The first
green garlic of the season and the very fresh
hedgehogs and chanterelles complement the overall
harmony. Certainly this is one of the top ten best
of 2009 and the best consommé in recent memory.
ROULADE OF PAINE FARM SQUAB BREAST WITH BLACK
TRUFFLES, POMME ANNA AND GRILLED CHINO RANCH
VEGETABLES.
This was almost perfect. It would have been perfect
had they used a little more of the firm, aromatic,
mature melanosporum (black truffle) from Vaucluse.
There is also just the right amount of duck mousse
(probably local and not fattened duck, so one can
not call it foie gras) which is not written on the
menu. IMHO the quality of Paine Farm squab is akin
to the best of the squab dishes I have had, like the
squab at Le Louis XV in Monaco. I have seen other restaurants,
such as Oliveto and Quince, getting squab from the
same farm, but it is possible that the youngest
birds go to Alice Waters, and Jean Pierre is expert
in the optimum ageing before serving. Both the
potatoes and Chino Ranch vegetables (turnips,
carrots, mache lettuce) are equally impressive. This
is the best meat main course I have had in the
States in 2009.
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ ROTHSCHILD, SWEETS AND FRUIT.
This is an excellent soufflé. It is very light,
airy, and non-eggy. It came with nice home made
sweets and very good marzipan. We were also served
remarkably good tatsuma mandarins which may be the
perfect ending to such a meal.
I should add that the service at Chez Panisse is
very warm, accommodating and no nonsense. The style
of serving and the warmth exuded by the likes of
Noel and Robert and others perfectly blend with the
style and the unique place of this restaurant in the
US.
On the Gastromondiale scale I have ranked this
restaurant on the basis of the two meals there last
December when Jean Pierre was cooking.
GASTROMONDIALE RANKING: 18/20
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