Discovering Foie Gras
Foie Gras is that one famous ingredient in French Cuisine. Unfortunately, not many of us here in Indonesia know about it. Thanks to Classics Fine Foods and Rougie Sarlat, they started to introduce Foie Gras in Indonesia. And nowadays, you might able to see selection of this dish in some restaurant here in Jakarta.
Lucky me, I got the chance to be part of the event held by CFF and Rougie few months ago. It was held in Bosch Experience Centre.
Before I’ve been served with all the delicious Foie Gras, I had a quick tour around the Bosch Centre. Seriously, that’s what all I want for my kitchen! My eyes simply won’t shift from it. Take a look at their collections in my previous blog ‘My Dream Kitchen’.
Now, let’s the feast begun!
A short welcomed speech by Mr. Chairul Sugiharto, Bosch’ Director of Sales and Marketing, opened the event. Continued with a brief explanation about the Foie Gras from Mr. Thomas Pellegrini, Classic Fine Foods’ Manager, and also from the Chef Jocelyn Deumie, Rougie Culinary Advisor in Japan and Asia.
Foie Gras is a duck’s liver that has been through some force-feeding process. Am not an expert about this and I’m not going to talk about it here.
Through this event, Chef Jocelyn introduced us few choices how to use Foie Gras. Started with Two-Selection of Foie Gras Terine. He made a Japanese Style that consist Seaweed and Lemon. The other version was the sweet Gingerbread. The Foie Gras itself was very delicate and melted in your mouth. Both taste delicious yet gave a different sense in the palate. For a sense of something fresh, go with the seaweed and lemon. A nice balanced of saltiness, sourness and the softness of the foie gras. For a sweet tooth, you might want to try the gingerbread. It’s not a dessert yet it’s one fabulous sweet crisp layer of gingerbread in top of the softy foie gras.
A simple tips, you could enjoy it with a slice of baguette. It’s how to reduce the fattiness so you could still able to take a few more bites.
Before we went to the next dishes, let’s clean the palate with a Baked Oyster with Asparagus in Hollandaise Sauce. I found it interesting to mix and match these lovely ingredients.
Creme Brulee Foie Gras with Pumpkin Puree. Is it sounds wrong or is it sounds extremely gorgeous? I was a bit shocked once I saw it and even more shocked when I tasted it. It’s heavenly beautifully made. You could taste all the layers. The funny part about my dish, when it was prepared, Mr. Thomas who assisted, dropped quite a lot of amount of black pepper. There you go, the strong peppery flavor meets the sweetness of pumpkin and strong taste of foie gras, made it one beautiful delicacy. Somehow, I found myself like eating a soft boiled egg yolk. Alert! It’s so rich and I barely finish it.
At this point, I was already quite bloated with the richness of the foie gras. I need something fresh in my palate. Then, chef Jocelyn served the Duck Confit Salad. The salad was very light, perfect to balance my sense. The duck confit was very juicy and moist.
While, I was enjoying my salad, Chef Jocelyn was preparing another dishes. It’s the classic Pan Fried Foie Gras. This time, he served it with reduction of Aged Balsamic, Red Wine Salt and Raspberry. My curiosity hit its highest point, I then gave it a try the Aged Balsamic and Red Wine Salt itself. I uber love it. The balsamic was sweet yet you still able to taste the acidity in it. The salt mixture also superb. I’ve never thought how lovely salt could be. Then, I tried the whole dish. Perfectly balanced and nice twist. Sour, Sweet, Salty in one palate with the delicate foie gras.
Other than the foie gras, I also got a chance to taste the Duck Breast with Baby Potatoes and Porcini Mushrooms. It tasted good, however, I barely enjoy it, my tummy already full and couldn’t handle another fulfilling dish.
To close the perfect lunch, we were served with slices of mango and also Valrhona Chocolate. It’s really good to clean the palate.
Thank you Bosch, CFF and Rougie for the wonderful hospitality. I myself had a wonderful time treasured the culinary and the companies.
