Pearl Toothpick

Chef Michel Guerard – One of the Fathers of Nouvelle Cuisine and the Founder of the Cuisine Minceur

Chef Michel Guerard is considered as one of the fathers of the Nouvelle Cuisine.  In a nutshell, this simply means a new approach to traditional French cooking and is characterized by the lightness of the dishes as it does away with heavy sauces and complicated cooking techniques.  Instead, it focuses more on enhancing the natural flavors of the ingredients of the dish by using less ingredients.  Chef Guerard is also the founder of Cuisine Minceur, which is somewhat similar to the Nouvelle Cuisine in that it is lighter than the traditional French cuisine but different in such a way that it is lighter still than the Nouvelle Cuisine and does not make the diner feel “heavy” when he finishes the course.  His culinary techniques and approaches to cooking French cuisine have earned him and his restaurants http://www.michelguerard.com/#/uk/ numerous awards and recognitions.  Right now, Chef Guerard has three Michelin stars to boast of.

Chef Guerard was born in Vetheuil, Val-d’Oise on the 27th of March 1933.  When asked about his reasons why he pursued a career in the culinary world, the first memory that comes into his mind was a time when he watched his grandmother prepare and bake a pastry dish.

His interest sparked, he then went on to become n apprentice in Mantes-La-Jolie’s Kleber Alix patisserie.  It was here that he furthered his knowledge on pastry making as well as traditional French cuisine.  Aside from this, he also found work at a variety of top restaurants in Paris, some of which include Maxim’s and Le Lido.  In 1958, Chef Guerard received his first award while he was working as the Hotel de Crillon’s pastry chef.  He was awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France Patisserie.

It was in 1965 that he decided to launch his first restaurant in Asnieres.  He bought a bistro and named it Le Pot-au-Feu.  Good and famous friends such as the Troisgros brothers and Paul Bocuse as well as Alain Chapel, among others, came to attend the opening of his first venture.  Two years later, Chef Guerard earned his first Michelin star in 1967, and in 1971, it earned is second star.  His restaurant was doing very well until a road-widening project made him close shop.

The next year, he met Christine Barthelemy, his future wife.  Her father owns the Biotherm chain of spas and hotels, and when they got married in the mid 1970s, he relocated with her to Eugenie-les-Bairns where she was managing and operating an ailing spa.  Together, they decided to completely revamp the spa.  The couple not only restored and refurbished the spa’s building, but Chef Guerard also made a totally new cuisine to suit the purposes of the spa, thus, the Cuisine Minceur.  It was like the Nouvelle Cuisine but much more lighter and much more healthier than the former.  Pretty soon, his cuisine began receiving the attention of Parisians who not only want to eat healthy foods but to also enjoy delicious meals at the same time.  In no time at all, people began trekking to their spa.  Three years after, he received his third Michelin star.

Chef Guerard opened other restaurants in the area with his wife, and they also subsequently received accolades and awards from numerous award-giving bodies such as the Michelin Guide.  As a chef, Chef Guerard also received numerous honors such as the Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur and Chevalier of the Ordre du Merite Agricole, among others.

Chef Guerard has written numerous books that have been well received by the culinary community.  Some of his books include Grande Cuisine Minceur and La Cuisine Gourmande.  Aspiring chefs from all over the globe also come to his restaurants to work under his tutelage.

Chef Michel Guerard’s Armagnac-Drunken Capon

Ingredients:

• 1 young capon, about 2.8 kg/6 lb.
• 2 large pig’s feet, pre-cooked and quartered
• 250 g (9 oz.) smoked bacon, in 16 thin slices
• 50 g (3 tbsp.) butter
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Marinade:

• 400 g (14 oz.) carrot
• 200 g (7 oz.) onion
• 750 ml (3 cups) red Madiran wine
• 1 large bouquet garni
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 large pieces of orange zest

Sauce and garnish:

• 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) Armagnac
• 1 liter (4 cups) chicken stock
• 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
• 50 g (2 oz.) flour
• Salt and pepper
• 16 balls of pumpkin, cooked in salted water
• 32 pearl onions
• 32 small white mushrooms
• 1 bunch of parsley

Procedures:

Marinating the capon – the day before:

1. Cut the capon up into 16 pieces.
2. Lay them out on a work surface and season with a few grindings of pepper; the salt will be provided by the bacon.
3. Wrap each piece of capon in a slice of bacon. Fasten each bacon slice with a toothpick to keep it in place.
4. Place the bacon-wrapped capon pieces in a bowl; cover with the diced carrot and onion, bouquet garni, garlic cloves, orange peel and Madiran wine.

Cooking the capon:

1. The next day, drain the capon pieces and pat dry with a cloth.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. When it begins to smoke, brown the capon pieces for 5 minutes on each side.
3. Drain the capon pieces and transfer to a preheated Dutch oven containing 50 g (3 tbsp.) of heated butter. Add the drained diced carrot and onion from the marinade (4); continue sautéing, sprinkling the sugar over top, then the flour, and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spatula. Place the quartered pig’s feet on top of the mixture.
4. Pour on the Armagnac, flambé, and add the wine from the marinade (4) with the bouquet garni, garlic and chicken stock.
5. Bring to a boil, cover and cook in a low oven at a bare simmer for 1 3/4 hours.
6. A half hour before the end of the cooking time, add the pearl onions and mushrooms, sautéed until golden brown, to the pot.

Finishing and serving:

1. Once everything is cooked, remove the capon pieces, pig’s feet, pearl onions, mushrooms and bouquet garni with a skimmer. Remove the toothpicks and keep everything hot.
2. Pour the cooking liquid into a blender with half the diced carrot and onion and the orange peel. Purée to make a smooth sauce.
3. Return the capon, pig’s feet and remaining diced vegetables to the Dutch oven (or a more elegant serving dish, if you wish) .
4. Strain the sauce through a sieve and pour over the capon. Sprinkle the pearl onions, mushrooms and coarsely-chopped parsley over top.
5. Garnish with 16 little pumpkin balls.

Image Credit: france5.fr

theworldwidegourmet.com

About the Author

Chef Matthew, the owner of ProChef360 Blog, is an expert in culinary arts. 
He is after all an outstanding chef, having had worked in some of the finest resorts, hotels and restaurants in the world.

His interest, however, in social media was awakened when he started his own websites. 
Over the years, he took it upon himself to learn everything he can about social media.

He endeavored to discover the secrets behind generating huge traffic and leads for his websites.

He studied the secrets behind generating sales by piggy-backing on high-traffic social media sites.

Over time, he has developed 77 techniques on how to generate huge amount of traffic through the use of social media.

Sicilian Toothpick Spring Assisted Knife

Grasslands Road Coastal Life Square Sea Shell Handle Aqua Blue Tray with Toothpick Holder, 2 piece set $23.00 Grasslands Road Coastal Life Square Sea Shell Handle Aqua Blue Tray with Toothpick Holder, 2 piece set…

Case Cutlery 910096WP White Pearl Corelon Toothpick Pocket Knife with Stainless Steel Blade, White Pearl Corelon $50.45 Case Knives – Small Texas Toothpick Pocket Knife with White Pearl Corelon Handles: Model CA-910096WP. 3″ closed. Stainless long clip blade. White Pearl Corelon handles with nickel silver bolsters and inlay shield. Master blade features series etch. Limited edition of 500 produced. Made in the USA….

Case Cutlery 11916 Case Small Texas Toothpick Pocket Knife with Stainless Steel Blades Small Mother of Pearl $99.25 Case Knives – Toothpick Pocket Knife with Genuine Mother of Pearl Handles: Model CA-11916. 810096SS pattern. 3″ closed. Stainless long clip blade. Genuine mother of pearl handles with nickel silver bolsters. The cap end bolster features Case XX laser engraving. Made in the USA….

Bear & Son Cutlery KO919312 Old Glory Kodiak Series – Small Toothpick Pocket Knife with Red, White & Blue Swirl Mica Pearl Handles $43.79 Bear & Son Cutlery – Old Glory Kodiak Series – Small Toothpick Pocket Knife with Red, White & Blue Swirl Mica Pearl Handles. Model: BCKO919312. 3″ closed. 440 stainless clip blade with Old Glory flag etching. Red, white and blue swirl mica pearl handles with nickel silver bolsters and Kodiak inlay shield.”…

Buck 385 Toothpick Traditional Compact Folding Pocket Knife (Wood) $12.84 ATTRIBUTES Blade Detail: Plain Edge Blade Length (inches): 2.25 Blade Material: Carbon Steel Handle Material: Woodgrain Lock Style: Slip Joint Overall Length (inches): 5.25…