Western Living

Fete Accompli

Holiday entertaining in Whistler with one of the world’s great chefs, Daniel Boulud
of Vancouver restaurant Lumière.

By Shinan Govani| Photograph by Shannon Mendes

P.DIDDY AND JAY-Z were having dinner together,” Daniel Boulud says, matter-of-factly enough for someone used to feeding celebrities on any given night at Daniel, his celebrated Manhattan restaurant. “P. Diddy was in a sweat suit,” he continues, unspooling the tale of tracksuits and truffles (“You know, white truffle is almost three thousand dollars a pound?”), captivating the guests at the Whistler vacation home of David and Manjy Sidoo, co-proprietors with chef Boulud of Vancouver’s Lumière. By the time he describes shaving lavish amounts of the funghi over pasta, the small crowd is as enraptured with Boulud as the hip-hop moguls were with his food. Voilà! A legion of Daniel devotees is christened in the mountains of British Columbia.
There are no buried truffles to be found clinging to roots of venerable oaks here, but nonetheless, Boulud says, “We went into the woods” for a chic back-to-the-land cocktail-party feast he prepared for the Sidoos’ pre-holiday gathering, held annually during Whistler’s Cornucopia food and wine festival. Had the assembled glitterati shown up a few hours earlier they would have found the great chef, clad in a black parka and sturdy boots, wandering Blackcomb Mountain’s northern slopes searching out leaves and botanicals to arrange on chic, rustic-looking platters of fennel risotto balls and tuna tartare in cucumber cups. “When in Rome,” he laughs, shaking my hand with an acorn.

To those who know him, neither of these two scenes is out of character for the chef, whose Gallic charm is only surpassed by his mastery of Gallic cooking. He bounces from bons mots in the living room to the expansive kitchen, where all around us is the tremor of party prep: The monosyllabic sound of knives chopping. The hush of reverent sous-chefs. The rhythmic rasp of a blender. Boulud consults with Lumière executive chef Dale MacKay over the rolling of an elaborate ballotine of squab.

When a chef reaches the level of acclaim Boulud has, it’s easy to think of him first and foremost as a brand and forget about the formidable culinary skills that brought him there. His apprenticeship began at the age of 14 in the kitchen of the three-star

Michelin restaurant Nadron in Lyon, near the village where he grew up on his family’s farm. The Bouluds grew produce, raised turkeys, kept cows and even ran a roadside café, founded by Daniel’s great-grandparents. Boulud learned the art of the omelet at his grandmother’s knee. “I will always be a child of Lyon,” he says.

A series of culinary postings—each more prestigious than the last—followed, but it was not until 1987, when he took over New York’s Le Cirque, the most famous restaurant in North America at the time, that he began to receive global accolades.

While contemporaries Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Wolfgang Puck, and later Mario Batali and Gordon Ramsay, quickly embraced the lure of TV appearances and chain restaurants, Boulud instead chose to leave Le Cirque to open his jewel, Daniel. His goal was to create a fine neighbourhood restaurant; today it’s one of the pre-eminent dining experiences in New York and, by extension, the world. Daniel remains one of only a handful of contemporary restaurants to be awarded four stars by the New York Times and Boulud’s personal awards—Bon Appétit Chef of the Year, James Beard Outstanding Chef, even a UN Culinary Humanitarian Award—keep on arriving.
Boulud did, carefully and eventually, begin to introduce complementary restaurants to Daniel, in New York, Las Vegas, Palm Beach, Beijing and, luckily for Western Canadians, now in Vancouver. Compare the announcement that Boulud was coming to Vancouver’s Lumière to Bobby Hull joining the WHL: suddenly the entire game changed. But anyone expecting a French offensive was surprised. Boulud has shown tremendous respect for not only his fellow chefs in Vancouver, but for Lumière’s take on West Coast gastronomy. “The transition has been seamless,” marvels David Sidoo. “From day one Daniel was committed to working with Dale [MacKay] in
re-interpreting the restaurant in way that suits Vancouver’s more relaxed culture.”

Tonight in Whistler, between the river-rock and deep red walls of a mountain home as cozy as it is well appointed, the party gains momentum. Boulud circulates festively, discussing Portuguese sea salt with one guest, local skiing with another. Bottles of his private label Champagne are poured and the hum raises to that perfect party murmur. After the half-dozen canapés have been sampled, servers begin circulating more substantial small plates, including the gorgeous squab ballotine, slow-baked halibut, duck à la campagne with winter vegetables, arctic char wrapped in bacon and carefully quartered wedges of Boulud’s famous DB Burger (ground sirloin stuffed with braised short rib and foie gras). Even the wines being served are a Franco-Canadian fusion: the red, a grenache from the south Rhone; the white, a chardonnay from the Okanagan Valley’s Mission Hill.

Hours later, just before the party reluctantly begins to wind down, Boulud addresses his guests from the dramatic curved staircase in the centre of the room. He gives all the credit for the evening’s culinary triumphs to a blushing Dale MacKay. So humble is Boulud that, after he steps out of the limelight and back into the kitchen, he confides: “At my own home, I never cook—in fact, I store beer in my oven.”

It’s hard to believe that he’s being serious. But the quiet sincerity in his voice is undeniable as guests don their coats and, smiles on their faces, reluctantly say goodnight. “I love doing this: making people happy,” says Boulud. “It’s why I do what I do.” wl

RECIPES
Crispy Parmesan Baskets Filled With Goat Cheese
1 1/2 cups Parmesan, finely grated
6 oz fresh goat cheese, softened
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large shallot, peeled, finely choppedand rinsed
2 tbsp fresh herbs (chives, cilantro,parsley, tarragon), finely chopped
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
Pine nuts and fresh herbs, for garnish

Centre a rack in oven and preheat to 350ºF. Keep an empty egg carton handy. Place a 11/2- to 2-inch bottomless ring mould on a nonstick baking sheet and fill with a thin, even 1/8-inch layer of Parmesan. Repeat, leaving 1 inch between each, until tray has a dozen circles. Bake for approximately 4 to 5 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly golden brown. Remove from oven. Using a small spatula or a butter knife, quickly and carefully lift hot Parmesan circles off of baking sheet and shape into an egg carton divot. Once cooled, use the same day or store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place overnight.

To make filling, in a medium bowl mix together goat cheese, milk, shallot, fresh herbs, olive oil, sherry vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Fill a piping bag with goat cheese mixture and pipe mixture into baskets, or fill baskets using two small spoons. Garnish each basket with a pine nut and fresh herbs. Makes about 40 canapés.

Tuna Tartare with Lemon Coulis in a Cucumber Cup
7 lemons (preferably Meyer)
1 cup water
1 pinch saffron threads
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground white pepper
12 ounces sushi-quality tuna loin, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
2 tsp grated wasabi or horseradish
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2-3 small English cucumbers

To make lemon coulis, using a vegetable peeler, remove zest from 6 lemons, avoiding white pith below skin. Place zest in a small pot and add enough cold water to cover. Boil over high heat. Drain and repeat 4 times. Discard water and reserve zest.
Combine lemon zest, water, saffron, sugar and salt in a small pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until zest is tender (about 5 to 7 minutes). Drain and reserve liquid. Place lemon zest, grapeseed oil and lemon juice in a blender; purée until smooth. Put in small bowl. If coulis is too thick, add reserved liquid as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.

To make tartare, finely grate zest of one lemon then squeeze enough juice to equal 1 tbsp. In a medium bowl mix together tuna, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, chives and wasabi. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice small cucumbers into 1/2-inch slices. Using a small melon baller, scoop seeds out of middle of cucumber slice, making sure to not puncture bottom. Fill cups with a small spoonful of tartare and drizzle with lemon coulis. Makes 40 appetizers.

Potato latkes with smoked salmon and crème fraîche
1 1/2 lbs Idaho potatoes, peeled and grated
1 medium white onion, peeled and grated
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp Italian parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp chives, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb sliced smoked salmon, cut into 1-inch squares
3/4 cup crème fraîche

Squeeze grated potato and onion to remove excess water and place in a medium-size bowl. Add beaten egg, parsley and
1 tbsp chives. Season with salt and pepper and toss well to combine.
Form 40 patties from potato mixture, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Warm olive oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over high heat and cook latkes in batches, browning them for about 3 to 5 minutes per side, until golden brown and tender. Drain on paper towels. Season with salt and keep warm. Curl salmon pieces into rosettes and place one on top of each latke. Garnish with crème fraîche and remaining chives. Makes 40 appetizers.

Vodka and Beet-Cured Hamachi with Horseradish Cream
1 fillet of hamachi or yellowtail (approximately 12 oz or 3/4 lb), trimmed and sliced into 3/4-inch square logs
3 large red beets (approximately 3/4–1 lb total)
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vodka
Olive oil
1 bunch fresh chives

Horseradish cream (recipe follows)
Caviar and microgreens, for garnish

To cure the fish, peel beets and cut them into a rough chop. Juice beets using either a vegetable juicer or by puréeing them in a blender with a small amount of water. Strain juice, and set aside 1/2 cup.

Combine remaining juice with salt, sugar and vodka. Coat fish with cure mixture and place in refrigerator to marinate for 40 minutes. Remove fish from mixture and rinse, discarding remaining cure. Slice fish into 3/4-inch squares.

To make chive oil, purée green chive stems in blender with enough olive oil to make a smooth paste. Transfer paste to a small sauté pan and simmer on high heat until bubbly; remove from heat when bubbles begin to subside. Drain oil through a fine mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter and chill immediately over ice.

To serve appetizers, place a piece of hamachi in centre of an Asian cocktail spoon (won ton soup spoon). Brush lightly with olive oil. Garnish each spoon with a small dollop of horseradish cream, caviar and microgreens. Drizzle with chive oil. Serve cold. Serves 8.

Horseradish Cream
1-inch piece of fresh horseradish, finely grated
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, combine freshly grated horseradish and cream. Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove, cover, and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, chill cream and discard horseradish. Once chilled, season cream to taste with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, whip to stiff peaks.

Fennel Risotto Balls
8 tbsp butter
1 small onion, diced
2 fennel bulbs, diced (reserve fennel leaves)
2 cups Arborio rice
7 cups unsalted vegetable stock or store-bought low-sodium vegetable broth
1 bunch parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
1 tbsp fennel seeds, toasted
1 tbsp pastis or anise liquor
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 pound fontina cheese
1 tbsp mascarpone cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour stock into a large saucepan and bring to boil. Keep stock at a slow, steady simmer.

Over medium heat, melt butter in a Dutch oven or a large sauté pan. Add onion and fennel and cook, stirring, just until onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Add rice, salt and pepper and cook, still stirring, for about 5 minutes more. Add 1 cup of hot stock. Cook, stirring often, until rice absorbs most of liquid. Add another cup of hot stock and cook and stir as before. Continue cooking, stirring regularly and adding stock 1 cup at a time, until you’ve added 6 cups of stock. At this point, taste rice. Normally, rice will need another 1/2 to 1 cup stock and a few more minutes to cook to al dente doneness or to taste. Stir in cheeses, parsley, finely chopped fennel leaves, fennel seeds and pastis. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Let risotto cool.

Form risotto balls about 3/4 inch in diameter. Dip each ball first into all-purpose flour, then eggs and finally breadcrumbs. Place risotto balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake risotto balls for approximately 15 minutes or until a golden brown. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Makes 30 appetizers.

Crab Salad with Apple Gelée
4 Granny Smith apples, cored and halved Pinch of vitamin C powder (to prevent browning; available in health food stores)
1 lime
1 sheet gelatin (or 1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin, softened in 1 tbsp cold water and then dissolved over high heat)
1 lb peeky-toe or other high-quality fresh crab meat, all shell removed
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Friseé or escarole lettuce

Cut 1/2 apple cut into tiny dice and set aside. Coarsely chop the remainder of the apples andput chunks in a food processor and whir, scraping down sides of container as needed, until apples are finely puréed. Add vitamin C powder to purée and blend to mix. Line a strainer with a double thickness of damp cheesecloth, set strainer over a bowl and pour in purée, allowing it to drip through strainer. Press solids to extract remaining liquid. Pour 1 cup of juice into a small bowl; reserve the rest and set aside.

Peel lime, using a paring knife to slice off bitter white pith and a very thin layer of fruit. Cutting against membranes, release each segment of lime. Remove any seeds, cut each segment into tiny dice, and set aside.

If you are using sheet gelatin, drop gelatin into a bowl of cold water to soften. Warm 1/4 cup of strained apple juice in a small saucepan. Lift sheet gelatin out of cold water, then stir it into warm juice. When gelatin is incorporated, mix it into remaining 3/4 cup apple juice; stir in diced apple and lime. Chill until gelatin sets and gelée is syrupy. (The gelée can be kept, covered in refrigerator, for up to 2 hours.)
To make crab salad, toss crabmeat very gently with a little lemon juice and olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Do same with frisée or escarole. Fill lettuce cups with crab and dot with apple gelée. Makes 40 appetizers.

Apple Tarte Tatin
1 frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-ounce package), thawed
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
6 tbsp sugar
8 medium gala apples, peeled, cored and quartered
Juice of 1 lemon
Vanilla ice cream, for garnish

Center a rack in oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Roll puff pastry sheet into an 8-1/2-inch square on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Brush off excess flour and cut out an 8-inch round with a sharp knife, using a plate as a guide. Transfer round to a baking sheet and refrigerate.
Spread 4 tbsp butter on bottom and sides of an 8-inch skillet and sprinkle 3 tbsp sugar evenly over bottom. Arrange apples, rounded side down, on sugar, packing them tightly. Dot with remaining 3 tbsp of butter and sprinkle with remaining 3 tbsp of sugar. Cook apples over medium-high heat, undisturbed, for 15 to 20 minutes, until apples begin to caramelize. Sprinkle lemon juice over top and lay pastry round over apples. Place skillet into oven, and bake for 30 minutes until puff pastry is golden brown. Remove and cool for at least 10 minutes.

Invert a platter with a lip over skillet and, using potholders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto platter. Replace any apples that stick to skillet. Brush any excess caramel from skillet over apples. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Makes 4 servings.

Lumière and DB Bistro Moderne, 2551 W Broadway, Vancouver, 604-739-7115, dbbistro.ca; 604-739-8185, lumiere.ca
Daniel, 60 E 65 St., New York, 212-288-0033, danielnyc.com

OUR SISTER PUBLICATIONS