La Semaine du Gout or simply "Taste Week" is an annual affair in France with objective to expose young children and the general public to taste (gastronomique), starting from the primary school. Result: a public that's more aware and "educated" and of course better quality of general consumption when it comes to the dining table. It takes place every year in France a week in October since 1990 and the practice even found a place in faraway Japan!
Take a tour:
http://www.legout.com/
Nathalie's Gourmet Studio is a gastronomique restaurant, meaning a restaurant that specialises in a certain flavour profile and offers tasting menus to its client on a rotation or season basis. The restaurant is nested on a quiet corner at Publika and is relatively easy to access. I was invited for a tasting menu to fête the arrival of a French collaborative partner and voila the adventure...
The setting is quite spartan which is fine by me but I personally would prefer better service, especially changing of the forks and knives especially if it is a tasting menu...also by any standard, waiters working in a gourmet kitchen have to know their menu beyond the name of the dish...
amuse-gueule (tasters): a selection of 3 canapés which were a tomato terrine, a mushroom soup and a salmon bite. Served with champagne - white for the homme and pink for the mademoiselle (so sexist).
First course: Hokkaido Scallop Royale, Marinated Scallops Leek Vinaigrette and Crispy Curry Melba Toast. The scallop was finely pureed into the terrine. Liked it but apparently was disappointing for my friends because they couldn't taste the "bite" of scallop.
Second course: Pan-seared Foie Gras in A Truffled Brioche, Roasted Apples and Apple Cider Emulsion. Everything was fine except for the oversized brioche which for a small eater like me means a full course before even the 3rd one...BTW can't taste the truffle.
Third course: Brittany Blue Lobster Tortellinis, Lobster Bisque Cream. The cream was intense and the lobster well poached. There is a few tortellinis admist the dish which I find too heavy. One very well prepared tortellini with the lobster would be even better but this dish was a crowd pleaser. Balancing value for money must have been a difficult choice for many restaurants because paying customers would definitely expect value for their money, often translated with quantity served...a confident chef would probably go for the quality.
Main course: Slowly cooked Revised French Veal Blanquette, Porcinis and sweetbreads. Hated the sweet breads and the veal had a strange perfume to it. Internal organs are not my thing and blanched veal is a delicate and difficult meat to handle, even for professionals.
Cheese selection: Gorgonzola Crispy Cromesqui, Wild Rocket salad, Hazelnut Dressing. There was actually no selection of cheese although this stage of the dinner in a typical gourmet restaurant would entail the waiter coming out with a plateau of cheese: the gorgonzola was infused into the heart of the deep fried cromesqui ball.
Dessert: New Age Strawberry Amandine Tart, Almond Ice Cream. Desconstructed by means of putting them in parts together but not in flavour nor presentation. Crowd pleaser though. Sweet things always get people going at the end of a meal.
