It gave me a great pleasure to host this year Cook-a-Book: Dining with Marcel Proust as a part of Melbourne's Food and Wine Festival 2010.
Nearly 30 people gathered at Le Bistro, 121 Greville Street, Prahran, on Sunday, 14 March 2010, Thursday, 18 March 2010, and Sunday, 21 March 2010 for this intimate dinner.
It has become one of my personal highlights of the year, as it celebrates French food and literary tradition in which gastronomy plays a significant role.
The menu for Cook-a-Book: Dining with Marcel Proust was inspired by dishes and ingredients described by Marcel Proust in his immortal A la recherche du temps perdu.
The dinner was hosted by myself and Antoni Jach, the distinguished Melburnian novelist, playwright, lecturer in creative writing at the RMIT, and a Proust connoisseur.
Antoni introduced each course with a short passage from Proust’s famous novel, relating the book to the night’s culinary and gastronomic adventures.
The Menu:
Apero:
"Frozzie Madeleine" and a glass of Laurent-Perier Champagne
Entree:
Feuillette of Lobster and Scallops a l'Americaine with a glass of Etienne Boillieu Chablis
Plat Principal:
Duck with champignon mushrooms and Bordeaux red wine sauce with a glass of Domaine de la Dauphine
Fromage:
French Chevre (goats cheese) with a shot of Pommeau de Normandie (fortified cider)
Dessert:
Creme au Chocolat, Coffee & Pistacchio Icecream, Madeleine a la Proust, Macaron, and Berry Creme with a glass of Chapoutier Muscat de Rivesaultes
I would like to thank everyone who had joined us; Kobi and his team in the kitchen for coming up with this inspired menu; Boris and Claire for their help with the service; Sarah for reading Proust's immortal lines with Antoni, and Eugene for helping me to host the event and taking these pictures.
We look forward to cooking another book in 2011... - your suggestions for our next book are always welcome!
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