Chef Joel Robuchon – Who Hasn’t Heard of Him?

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Anyone who doesn’t know chef Joel Robuchon must be living in the dark ages. He got two of his restaurants into the El Pellegrino World’s 100 Best Restaurants list. The first one is L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon of France; although it did fall four places from its spot last year. It only ranked 18 this year. The second one is L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon New York. These are the babies of Chef Robuchon. He is indeed an outstanding restaurateur aside from being an exceptional chef. In fact, he is one of the world’s greatest chefs. He certainly deserves all the adulation he is receiving from the culinary world.

Now, let us first take a look at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon New York and let us discover why this restaurant has managed to grab the 82^nd spot in this year’s list.

Let’s Get to Know One of New York’s Finest Restaurants

This is the playground of the world-renowned and formerly-retired chef, Joel Robuchon. Unlike other restaurants, it’s the chef and his kitchen staff who says if the restaurant is ready to serve. If this happens, diners need to wait – yes, even if the doors have been actually opened – until they get admitted into the restaurant. Often, the restaurant would only accept a certain number of customers that they can handle. If one intends to eat at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon regardless of the length of time he or she must have to wait – he or she should sit outside the entrance and wait for his or her turn. The dining room is sparsely populated and it does take forever before one can secure a seat at this world-class restaurant. If one wants to meet the chef, he or she must really have to learn to grit his or her teeth.

Joel Robuchon Who?

He’s one of the highly acclaimed chefs today. His creations are certainly something else. And although he doesn’t work in his other restaurants, his influence can be greatly felt, seen or rather, tasted. The exceptional talent of Robuchon lies on the fact that he can make magic out of any dish. He can elicit all the charming and interesting flavors from any kind of dish. Unlike other chefs, he is very particular with taste. He picks out a flavor or two and he plays with these flavors. He makes sure that the ingredients he would use would emphasize these flavors. Ironically, he has a certain reputation for simple techniques, but this is not entirely accurate. His methods, unknown to most, can be quite complicated. Perfection does not come easy – and perfection is something that Chef Robuchon always aspire to give.

Joel Robuchon’s Creamy White Bean Soup Recipe

Recipe via Recipes

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh small white (navy) beans or red (cranberry) beans in the pod, shelled; or 1 pound dried small white beans (such as cannellini, Great Northern, or marrow beans), soaked (see Note) carrots, peeled and halved

1 onion, peeled and stuck with a clove

4 cloves garlic: 3 peeled, 1 very finely minced

1 bouquet garni: several sprigs of parsley and thyme, and several bay leaves, tied together with cotton string

3 ounces smoked bacon, in one piece

Sea salt

2 cups Homemade Chicken Stock

1 cup heavy cream

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Freshly ground white pepper

1 small fresh black truffle (about 1 ounce), cleaned and minced (optional); or several teaspoons best-quality hazelnut or pistachio oil (optional)

Equipment:

A 6-quart stockpot; a food processor; a food mill; 12 demitasse cups or other very small bowls.

Methods:

In a 6-quart stockpot, combine the fresh or soaked dried beans with the carrots, onion, garlic cloves, bouquet garni, bacon, and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and cover the pot. Simmer gently over low heat until the beans are very tender, about 30 minutes for fresh beans, 1 to 1 1/2 hours for dried beans. (The cooking time will vary according to the freshness of the beans.) Add additional stock or water if necessary.

Drain the beans. Remove and discard the carrot, onion, garlic, bouquet garni, and bacon. Transfer the beans to a food processor and purée. Pass the purée through the finest grid of a food mill. (The soup can be prepared ahead of time up to this point. Cool and refrigerate.)

At serving time, reheat the purée. Add the chicken stock and cream, stir to blend, and bring just to a simmer. Stir in the butter and the minced garlic. Add sea salt and white pepper to taste. Serve piping hot, in very small warmed soup bowls or in demitasse cups. Sprinkle with minced truffles or drizzle with hazelnut oil, if desired.

NOTE: To prepare dried beans, rinse them, picking them over to remove any pebbles. Place the beans in a large saucepan. Cover with boiling water by 2 inches. Cover and let stand until the beans swell to at least twice their size and have absorbed most of the liquid, about 1 hour. Drain the beans in a colander, discarding the soaking liquid. Proceed with the recipe.

This is delicious with a floral white, such as a Condrieu or a Viognier from Domaine les Gouberts.

Image Credit Pastry in Europe

Image Credit NY Mag

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