Dinner with Georges
And Ken, and Bill. And it would be more correct to say ‘Dinner at Georges’ except that the man himself (Georges Blanc) was in fact there and was in fact in the kitchen (Yes Chef!).
But first a little background. Long ago and far away, I formed an acquaintanceship with Ken who was, and is, an extremely accomplished wine guy responsible for the wine department at a very prestigious store. Bill was already a friend of many years. The three of us, over a quite lovely bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin, cooked up a trip to France where Ken promised us private audiences (and products) with his many suppliers. We focused on Burgundy, probably because that was what we were drinking; made our plans and a few months later were pleasantly ensconced in the town of Beaune as being fairly central to the areas we wanted to visit.
I’ll spare you the individual experiences of our travels, but will tell you that Ken was true to his word and we visited many distinguished vintners and tasted absolutely magnificent wines. Was this expensive? Indeed it was but I had come into a little money at the time and Ken’s company paid for his trip, it being fact-finding and relationship-building after all. And we all knew this was a once in a lifetime trip so we stepped up to the costs and built some wonderful memories.
Of course, in addition to the wines there was food which even in the sidewalk bistros was awesome. You can say what you like about France, but their produce is superb and it seems like everyone can cook. Food in France is so important that ‘appellation d’origine controlee’ status is conferred on special breeds raised in specific areas. Bresse chicken (poulet de Bresse) is one example and it is an amazing bird I can tell you.
Which brings us to George Blanc and his fantasy village. His premier restaurant is located in his own town (Village Blanc) which in turn is near Vonnas some 90km from Beaune. But what’s small logistical problem to three guys determined to have dinner in a three star Michelin restaurant!
We made reservations. We made arrangements. We entered the restaurant, walking past the (very large) glassed-in kitchen. Eventually we were seated by Madame who was definitely not ‘wait staff’. The menus were distributed, as was the wine list, which is non-trivial and which we immediately handed to Ken. This where we all decided to order the chicken in cream sauce, also known as ‘G7 Chicken’ because Georges Blanc served the dish at the 1996 G7 Summit in Lyon.
Ken avoided some obvious wine choices such as Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (which we had recently visited), instead opting for a Clos de Vougeot that was so ancient and delicate that he refused to have it decanted. Ambrosia.
G7 chicken is a ‘simple’ dish (no, it’s not) made with Bresse chicken, of course, and I believe, but am not certain a Champagne foie gras sauce (there’s heavy cream in there for sure), maybe mushrooms, maybe artichokes, maybe garlic maybe onions. And pureed at the end, then poured over boneless and skinless chicken breasts – at least that how it was served to us. The dish is the ultimate combination of culinary masterpiece and good old fashioned comfort food. It is easily one of the top ten entrees that I have ever had.
I’m pretty sure that I will never get Georges Blanc version of ‘chicken in cream sauce’ recipe, but if one is willing to sacrifice an order of magnitude in taste and texture, I can recommend simply finding a good recipe for Chicken Fricasse and giving it your best shot.
And you won’t even need to puree the sauce!
Take care everybody!
Steve
