the best of culture, tr avel & art de vivre

W int e r 2 01 1-1 2

Celebrating 100 issues!

A special FOOD & WINE issue dedicated to Jean-Louis Palladin

$5.95 U.S. / $6.95 Canada / francemagazine.org

Rhubarbe et fraises lorange, pralines aux amandines by Alain Passard

France
magazine

100
Celebrating iSSUeS!
After perusing 99 issues of frAnce MAgAzine (oh the nostAlgiA!),

we finally arrived at issue No. 1, which featured a profile of the great chef JeanLouis Palladin. When we re-read that article (you will find it posted on our Web site), we knew we had found the inspiration for our 100th edition. As it turns out, Palladin incarnated the qualities common to so many of the people who would later appear in our pages: insane talent, fierce drive, wondrous creativity. But he also had something more, something rarea natural inclination to share, to help, to mentor. Agreeing to an interview in our fledgling publication It is therefore with great was just one example of his characteristic generosity. pleasure and gratitude that we dedicate this special food & wine issue to the bespectacled and beloved chef from Gascony, who left us much too soon at age 55.

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the 100th issue

the geniUS that waS Jean-loUiS

By Dorothy J. gaiter a n d J o hn breC her

When he came to America, Jean-Louis Palladin upended ideas about how chefs should look, how they should behave...and how they should cook.

Palladin was fearless in and out of the kitchen. Here he poses for an audacious ad for a blender. Right: One of the chef's handwritten menus.

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JeAn-louis pAllAdin wAs A chefs chef,

genius? Why is Jean-Louis Palladin so fixed in the minds and hearts of the elite of his profession?
Start with talent. In 1974, when he was

a genius whose instinctive, wildly creative and sensual approach to food changed Americas culinary landscape while freeing his native French cuisine of stodgy, ironclad traditions. During its 17-year run, his eponymous restaurant at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, won virtually every major culinary awardeven chefs in France sent their children and protgs to Palladin for training and inspiration. Gleeful and endearingly charismatic, he was invariably generous with his knowledge, skills and resources. Sometimes he traveled to other cities to share them, like Johnny Appleseed scattering ideas for innovation. His intuitive understanding of food and nearly maniacal commitment to fresh ingredients influenced a Whos Who of French and American chefs Boulud, Delouvrier, Ducasse, Keller, Nieporent, Richard, Ripert, Trotter, Vongerichten. Ten years after his death, at a time when celebrity chefs come and go with the speed of a prime-time television show, some of the worlds culinary greats still weep and laugh when they talk about how Palladin changed their lives and work. Which raises the questions: What was the nature of his

28, Palladin became the youngest French chef to win two Michelin stars, earning them for his astonishing takes on Gascon cuisine at La Table des Cordeliers, the restaurant he co-owned in his native Condom, in Southwestern France. Already at 12, he had become indispensible to Ren Sandrini, the owner of the restaurant where his mother, a nurse, worked on Sundays. At 13, he quit his studies to focus on the kitchen, training in Toulouse, Monte Carlo and Paris. At 22, he returned to Condom and with Sandrini renovated a Gothic monastery, which became La Table des Cordeliers. Palladin often told the story of an elderly woman who gave him a book of her old regional recipes and told him that if he could make them lighter while keeping the flavor, his food could become famous. He did, and it was. His two stars made him an international sensation. The owners of the Watergate complex, who hoped a famous chef would draw wealthy people to buy apartments there, lured him to Washington in 1979. Jean-Louis at the Watergate not only put Washington on the culinary map, it became such an influential temple of cuisine that some of Ronald Reagans friends threw the President a birthday dinner there. I remember as a young cook going to Jean-Louis once or twice a year as a sort of pilgrimage, says Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se. I ate alone because I couldnt afford to take a date. It was extraordinary food. Almost as extraordinary, he says, was the sight of a female captain in the dining room. Today its no big deal, but in the late 70s and early 80s, it was a very big deal, especially for a French restaurant. Palladin was an early, early adopter of many defining elements of modern American cuisine. Farm-to-table, organic, sustainable? He was there more than 30 years ago. If necessary, he would drive great distances to locate a specific type of egg or ham. When it

could not be found, he would cajole farmers into cultivating it. Growing up in the countryside and lacking a home refrigerator conditioned Palladin to insist on the freshest ingredients. Being ingredients-obsessed, he never wrote his menu before 3 P.M., never before he knew what he would have from the market that day, says Daniel Boulud, who met Palladin while working in Washington in the early 80s. He simply took the way he had worked in France and translated that to the way he worked here. It was farm-to-table before anyone had a name for it. Initially, working the way he had in France was anything but easy. He arrived in Washington with his wife, Rgine (they later had two children), and three young men from La Table des Cordeliers: Sylvain Portay, who later became chef at Le Cirque; Larbi Dahrouch, now the award-winning executive chef at Agua restaurant at the One & Only Palmilla resort in Los Cabos, Mexico; and Jean-Franois Taquet, who eventually left his Restaurant Taquet in Wayne, Pennsylvania, to raise lambs in New Zealand. At the time, only Palladin spoke a little English. Dahrouch recalls that their first foray was to buy fresh bread. We went to Safeway, he says, his voice still incredulous all these many years later. It was very bad quality, so we had to bake bread ourselves and find a good bakery. Palladin was also aghast to find fresh frozen produce, flavorless chickens that bore little resemblance to the great roast chickens of Gascony, even canned snails in garlic butter. The only good thing about them was the garlic butter, he ruefully recalled in JeanLouis: Cooking With the Seasons, one of the first oversized, luxuriously photographed coffee table-style cookbooks. He soon learned that other French chefs were flying in produce from France, but he believed America could do better. It was a daring position for a French chef to take at that time, says Chicagos Charlie Trotter, who often cooked with Palladin at charity events. So he set about looking for what he needed. In Portland, Maine, he found fisherman Rod Mitchell and persuaded

Palladin was an early, early adopter of many defining elements of modern American cuisine. Farmto-table, organic, sustainable? He was there more than 30 years ago.

Right:

Palladin chats with Rod Mitchell, who at the chefs request became the first U.S. fisherman to gather diver scallops.
Above:

A dish featuring Louisiana crawfish, one of the many American foods showcased on Jean-Louiss menu.

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Locally sourced, seasonal ingredients inspired Jean-Louiss cooking long before they became trendy; a fall menu featured this cream of pumpkin soup with squab and black truffle quenelles.
Right:

President Ronald Reagan, celebrating his birthday at the famous Watergate eatery.

him to harvest diver scallops (he also asked him to find lamprey eelshe did, but it took three years). Palladin tapped Lee Jones of the Chefs Garden in Huron, Ohio, to grow baby vegetables, and he ordered lamb from John and Sukey Jamisons farm in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Once he asked if they would bring him three young lambs for a dinner for some congressmen. In a book hes writing, John Jamison describes Palladins reaction upon receiving them: I noticed his eyes were moist. He said, I am so happy to meet you. You have to excuse me because these lambs are so beautiful. They remind me of the ones I bought when I was an apprentice. These are a souvenir of my youth. He also guessed how old the lambs were and was right within three days. Later, Palladin taught Sukey to make lamb stew. He and Julia Child who praised Palladin on her public TV show for forging a path between French culture and modern American cuisineoffered Sukey suggestions until Palladin said she had gotten it right. The Jamisons still sell it online. Palladin was also the first chef, Jamison says, to feature the names of growers on his menus. Palladin encouraged other chefs to patronize these special, small producers, many of whom still thrive today. Alain Ducasse, who had already racked up a constellation of Michelin stars in France, asked Palladin to introduce him to producers before he opened at the Essex House in New York City in 2000. Jean-Louis was wandering around the country for 20 years. His knowledge of each and every farmer, stockbreeder, mushroom picker, fisherman was just unbelievable. Keller puts this into perspective: Alice Waters is credited for enlightening everybody on the consumer side to eat the freshest, most natural ingredients; Jean-Louis did just as much on the professional side. When you get the professional side involved, it trickles down to everybody. Before him, chefs werent developing relationships with farmers, gardeners and fishermen. We dealt with suppliers. He influenced me in that.

Palladins energy and imagination were a magnet for ambitious young chefs, who clamored to train with him.

alladin has been described

as the Elvis of Cuisine and as looking a bit like a Rolling Stoneor, less flatteringly, like Weird Al Yankovic. He was an incurable flirt and in 1999 became the first chef to pose naked behind a strategically placed blender in a national ad campaign for Vita-Mix. Other chefs followed. He was so buff that the New York Times reported a rumor that his head had been placed on a younger mans body. Not true, it affirmed. He was, in a word, fearless. He introduced Americans to every part of the animal, letting nothing go to wastea concept he famously demonstrated at his Tue Cochon parties, a sort of Southwestern pig roast where guests eat everything but the squeal. He knew so many cuts, Portay says. He even served hanger steak common in France but virtually unheard of in American restaurants. Jimmy Sneed, who trained with him and later owned a restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, says, Jean-Louis would slice it, he would taste it raw, he would season it, he would saut it, and he would create a dish with it. He also integrated favorite local ingredients into his French cuisine. He was especially fond of corn, which he called one of the glories of American produce. In France, it was used only to feed farm animals. But there was one risk he would not take: mushrooms. He wrote that when a hopeful grower presented a new variety, I make him eat one and tell him to call me in a few hours. Then I decide

whether to put it on my menu. Palladin usually featured three tasting menus dailyhere too he was in the vanguard. Each included soup, which for most French chefs meant onion or vichyssoise. But not for Jean-Louis, who not only had an amazing repertoire but also a presentation that is much imitated today: Waiters would serve guests quenelles or duck or lobster or vegetables beautifully arranged in bowls, then ladle the hot liquid at the table. Some have suggested that Palladins Spanish mother and Italian father gave him a pioneering spirit that helped him push culinary traditions in new ways and relate to people of different races and ethnicities. He was in love with the American puzzlethe potpourri of Italian, French, Japanese, Indian, etc., etc., recalls Michel Richard of Washington, DCs Citronelle. Palladins energy and imagination were a magnet for ambitious young chefs, who clamored to train with him. And how high some of them have soared. Jean-Louis was the first restaurant in America where Eric Ripert, co-owner and chef of Le Bernardin, worked. He arrived there in 1989 straight from Pariss renowned Jamin restaurant, where chef-owner Jol Robuchon had been a demanding teacher. Robuchon taught him excellent technical skills, but Palladin freed him to be creative. It was not easy. Early on, I was not performing at the level I wanted to nor up to Jean-Louiss expectations. I ended up having a fight with Jean-Louis, and I said I was going to quit, Ripert says. However, the negative transformed itself into positive. Shortly after that fight, I became his sous chef and, more importantly, we became dear friends. Michelle Bernstein, co-owner of Michys in Miami, worked at JeanLouis in 1993, the year the James Beard Foundation gave Palladin its Outstanding Chef Award. The things that came out of his head, and the way he loved to play with peoples expectationsno ones ever going to be like that again, she says. I believe he was the first chef in America to do truffle sauces, caviar sauces, wrapped

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t
Above:

me over, plunked his suitcase on the table and opened it with a great big smile on his face. I found the ingredient for the entre course! he shouted. His suitcase was filled with a dozen black-skinned chickens packed in ice. In true JLP fashion, he had left all his clothes behind so he could carry these chickens back to Washington, DC.
he life of the professional

Palladin rarely cooked lobster at his restaurant in Southwestern France, as it wasnt native to the region. That changed when he came to the U.S. and discovered the American passion for Maines prized shellfish. Here he combines it with mango ginger sauce.

sweetbreads, morels filled with crawfish, savory crme brle. His food was crazy labor intensive, exuded passion. Even a salad took 10 to 15 minutes just to plate! For a young chef, it was awe-inspiring. During their last phone conversation, Palladin told Bernstein to go work for a chef by the name of Ferran Adri, now famous for his recently shuttered molecular-food masterpiece El Bulli in Spain. He said that I probably hadnt heard of him, but that I would soon. This was in 2001. Jean-Louis could see what was coming down the road. Palladins passion was, at times, just this side of obsession. Jacques Van Staden, who worked at Jean-Louis from 1994 to 1996 and is now vice president of culinary operations for Celebrity Cruises, recalls the lead-up to a memorable seven-course black-tie dinner. Suddenly, JLP decided that every dish had to be black. Well, you can use squid ink only so many times, and we were struggling to come up with some of the courses. Palladin had been visiting Thailand, and he returned just two days before the dinner. He was so excited, almost like a scientist who had found a cure, says Van Staden. He called

chef is not all glamour and can at times be lonely, with long hours leaving little time for friends and familya fact that perhaps explains the great camaraderie among chefs when they get together after hours for late-night dinners. Palladin always had a special knack for nurturing these friendships. He organized game hunts, foraging expeditions, motorcycle road trips, hang-gliding exploits and skydiving picnics to blow off steam with other chefs, writes Kit Wohl, author of the Beard Foundations Best of the Best: A 25th Anniversary Celebration of Americas Greatest Chefs, due out in March. He famously parachuted while his former wife screamed, Dont do that, dont do that! He made it a point to pull local chefs together into a tight restaurant community, encouraging people who were struggling for recognition. His range was remarkable, says Phyllis Richman, the retired restaurant critic for the Washington Post. JeanLouis was as close to a genius as Ive come across. He was one of those guys who could have excelled in any number of fields. And he was an important part of my careerhaving such a great chef in Washington made whatever else I wrote about more important. In time, though, the ownership of the Watergate Hotel changed hands, and Jean-Louis closed in 1996, rarely if ever having been a financial success,

given the cost of ingredients and labor. Divorced and looking for a new project, Palladin became one of the first chefs to open a fine restaurant in Las Vegas, taking his consulting chef role at Napa restaurant in the Rio Suite Hotel and Casino so seriously that he moved there for a time. But, of course, many chefs, like other artists, want to know if they have the chops to make it in New York City. In 1999, he lent his name and served as consulting chef to Palladin, near Times Square, but it closed the next year. His plans to open something more luxurious, similar to his restaurant in DC, also fell through. Soon after, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and the chef community that he had built came to his aid, throwing dinners to help with his medical costs. When he realized he didnt have much time left, he went back to his ex-wife, Rgine, and their children in McLean, Virginia. Palladins close friendsMichel Richard, Alain Ducasse and others continued to visit him. A couple of weeks before he passed away, two of his chef buddies who had known him since his days at La Table des Cordeliers, Jean-Marie Amat and Jean-Pierre Xiradakis, flew in from Bordeaux to say their goodbyes. As dusk fell, the hospital bed and medical paraphernalia seemed to recede into the shadows, leaving only old friends who were suddenly twentysomething chefs again, laughing and teasing one another. We talked about what we always talked about, Xiradakis recalls fondly. About food. About pranks. About girls. About pranks with girls. He and Amat had arrived with all the ingredients for chicken stock, which they made in Rgines kitchen so that the smell would waft through the house. Jean-Louis was able to take a few sips, and his pleasure seemed profound. Perhaps because the aromas, in ways impossible to express, took him home. f

We met when we were both 20 and worked at Michel Gurards, in Eugnie-les-Bains. There are so many things that frequently remind me of him that it is hard to find one in particular. I do remember that he was the first to have me taste Lillet, this French apritif from Southwestern France. We are both from there, but I had never tasted it. Since then, I cannot drink Lillet without immediately thinking of Jean-Louis. ALAin DucAsse
y in Monte CArlo At CrAig ClAiborne's birthdAy pArt dAniel boulud And grArd boyer. with bruno Cirino, AlAin duCAsse,

I try not to swear (obviously in English now), but when I do, I always remember Jean-Louis. He loved to curse in English just for the sport of it. I will also never forget that he taught me that ingredients are beautifulso why hide them or decorate them in excess? That translated into a mantra we have at Le Bernardin that reflects the philosophy of JeanLouis and Gilbert Le Coze, and that is mine too: The fish is the star of the plate.
eric ripert

Friends and colleagues remember Jean-Louis Palladin, sharing how he is still present in their lives.

livre dor
in lAs VegAs, Cooking For A FundrAising eVent with dAniel boulud.

My chestnut soup is a rendition of hisit was the most incredible soup id ever had. he made quenelles of chestnuts, squab and duck confit and poured a thick pure of all the other ingredients over the quenelles. He influenced the way I cook fish, too. i reduce the broths and stocks heavily and always cook it with respect. i use the bones, scales, every part imaginable.
MicheLLe Bernstein

with eriC ripert At A long islAnd ChArity dinner Fo r the the perlMAn MusiC progr AM.

The Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation

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The great chefs legacy is kept alive through work-study grants offered by the Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation, now administered by the James Beard Foundation. Since its inception in 2003, more than 30 young chefs have learned about ingredients by working with farmers, fishermen, cheese makers, vintners and others. The Beard Foundation also hopes to resume its master classes in his name for veteran chefs. The James Beard Foundation, 6 West 18th St., 10th Floor, New York, NY 10011. Tel. 212/627-1111; awards@jamesbeard.org; jamesbeard.org/JLP/.

I think of him when I cook game. it was one of his specialties, being the true child of the Southwest that he was. anything he did that had a connection to his roots took on a special dimension. i also cant pick up live sea scallops, fresh sea urchins or live baby eels without thinking of him. he loved his piballes, which he knew from Southwestern France, and convinced rod Mitchell to help him find them up in Maine. they were a total discovery for rod at the time.

I fell in love with his way of cooking, and I changed my profession from pastry to savory cook because of Jean-Louis. He was a smoker, and he always added too much salt. So when I think I may be oversalting my food, I think about JLP, and I laugh and put the shaker away. Actually, I think about him all the time. I think he is in heaven and looking down on all the great chefs.
MicheL richArD

Fishing with MiChel riChAr d on puget sound.

Jean-Louiss brioche recipe is in my French Laundry Cookbook. Who knew brioche could be like that? i also do a version of his lobster, beet and leek dish; it was pure genius, really compelling. Can you imagine if he could still be evolving today? Look at his menus, the complexity of them, the size of themfive to 13 courses. And to be able to produce them daily at a very, very high level! Genius.
thoMAs KeLLer

DAnieL BouLuD

Jean-Louis had this obsession with how foie gras and lobster should be cooked. Ill never forget the time my poaching liquid was too hot for the lobster, and he said, The lobster is dying, youre killing it, your bouillon is too hot! One of his favorite sayings when you messed up food was, Are you brain damaged? That will forever stick in my head. But what I remember the most is that he always believed that you should listen to the food, it will tell you how it wants to be cooked. As strange as that might sound, it made sense then and still does now. JAcques VAn stADen

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