Portrait of a Lady...Chef ! Hélène Darroze.

Yes, this is still a food blog...I will not lecture about Henry James...it just happens that thanks to support of my faithful readers and judges, here I am in Challenge 9 of Project Foodblog, organized by Foodbuzz, and our challenge this time is to write about a restaurant experience... And many people who knew about my project asked me: "Why Hélène Darroze"? It is true that in the Parisian culinary scene, there are so many chefs, étoilés or not, to choose from...so why Hélène?

There is excellence in her cuisine, that is undeniable! but maybe I chose her because behind or inside the two-starred Michelin chef (and mind you!! there are only two women in France to hold this distinction, and she is the only one in Paris!)  there is a woman, like you and me, that far from believing she is a kind of "cooking diva", she is engaged with the problems of our times...she does not live in the "golden cloud" of fame and popularity..She is (and this said with all my respect) just a simple girl, who probably shares with us, our dreams, and frustrations...she is courageous, daring...and yet she seems to be calm, "approachable"...she lacks this arrogance, many times typical of stellar chefs...

I will write about a restaurant and the chef behind it, as a kind of essay, trying to show, up to what extent, the signature dish that comes to us is the result of a chef's  personal history, his past, the place where he was born, his personality, his present, his problems....A complete amalgam, no place here for dichotomy...we cook what we are!!!

Here, the "he" is a "she" ...et oui!! she was the source for inspiration, for Disney Studio's "Colette" in Ratatouille.....Portrait of a Lady of our Times: Madame Hélène Darroze!! 

Photo kindly given to me by Mme Darroze's Press Agent, for publication in this post

And nothing better than to quote her own words...to get to know what crosses her mind and her heart!!

"I left the Landes, where I was born, breaking with a family tradition, to open my restaurant in Paris...My only baggage? The culture and the values I grew up with.."

There she is...born in the Landes, south-west of France..., fourth generation of cooks..."easy!" you might think.."cooking was in her blood and genes". Yes, you have a point there..but Hélène was born in the sixties..."rebellion" was in her blood probably more than "foie-gras", so after dreaming of being a doctor or an architect, she decides to study business administration, and determined lady that she is, she gets her diploma...First job, she goes to Monaco, to work at the Louis XV, one of Alain Ducasse's restaurants...but far from the kitchens, of course, a desk, papers, she even organizes the grand chef schedule, trips....but she withers at her desk...as time passes by, she finds this work unappealing, monotonous...She confesses that to M. Ducasse, who before actually starting, had made her do some months of training in the kitchen...Yes, four months of taking notes, and cleaning lettuce...but contrary to what you might think, Hélène found this experience " a turning point" in her career..!

After some time, Hélène decides to come back to her home land, to her father's Relais & Château restaurant, and to start from scratch there..She even envisaged to go to culinary school in the USA, but finally she stays in France! A fast learner, she dreams of a new way of cooking that "cuisine tradition" that her father had got a reputation for... She is terribly proud of the products of her native land: the foie-gras, cooking with duck fat, the "fleur de sel" and the "piment d'Espelette"...but she evolves into something new...using what her farmer friends proudly produce to take it far and beyond...to a new level...Result? Generation gap, conflict between father and daughter...I can imagine the young, inexperienced, audacious Hélène telling her one-starred Michelin dad, that his cooking is great but it has to be changed....

But fathers will always be fathers...M. Darroze decides to retire and leave her daughter at the helm of the family restaurant...Soon, she is awarded the prizes "Best young Chef of the Year", "Chef of the Year for the Southwest Region"and "Tomorrow's Great Chef" But not everything comes so easy!! Financial problems...The restaurant is sold, and Hélène bets high...she comes to Paris, leaving behind a tradition, a family name, to open her restaurant in rue d'Assas, in the posh St Germain des Près neighborhood.

Photo kindly given to me by Mme Darroze's Press Agent, for publication in this post

"I have been kneaded with the land and my ancestors' traditions..Then, meeting new people, friends, trips have made me what I am.."

Where do we find her land? Well, in the ham, that proudly presides her Salon (place in her restaurant for an informal, and cozy lunch/dinner experience) But it is not any ham...it's the ham from the pigs of Monsieur Oteiza...and  sea-food? Well, that comes from St Jean de Luz, from Dima...and the piment d'Espelette? You can buy that chez Isabelle, in Biarritz...In her book, "Personne ne me volera ce que j'ai dancé", she gives you the name, address, even the telephone number! of each of her suppliers...and this makes her cuisine more accessible, more real...

In her Salon, you can taste "her menu Tapas" for only 28 euros!! (€ 35 with a glass of wine) Don't be confused as I was the first time: her tapas are not exactly linked to what we eat in Spain...rather, each of her tapas is almost a signature dish...in miniature! But probably, remembering the days of her youth, when she used to go to Pamplona, Spain, to party,  influenced her choosing this informal way of cooking, with the Spanish philosophy behind it: one little bit of this, another little bite of that...friendly atmosphere, "décontracté" (casual)..As you see, the Salon d'Hélène is a place to indulge after Parisian shopping...It is refined yet unpretentious! Only a few tables...this gives you a quiet,  almost private "boudoir" atmosphere...also, seeing the cooks doing their job is great! Of course, you can eat in her "Salle à Manger", but there food and prices are different. 

Photo kindly given to me by Mme Darroze's Press Agent, for publication in this post

I visited Mme Darroze's restaurant for the first time in 2008...at that time, the menu Tapas was presented in porcelaine dishes...Why this change? Why this plastic, canteen-like tray? I asked the Head Waiter, Monsieur Nacer ( the most charming AND efficient person I have seen serving in a restaurant) about it...He told me it was a move to "democratize" fine dining! Yes, "the experience of a étoilé restaurant becomes here as inexpensive as having a hamburger or pasta in a normal place"....but new flavors and textures will dazzle you, leaving an impact on your memory!
I wondered if many Michelin starred chefs around the world did something like this...Some étoilé restaurants seem to be there only to be appreciated by  "a  privileged few". Is the fact that Madame Darroze is French (you know..."liberté, egalité, fraternité") the inherent drive to this "fine dining for all" experience....

This is what I had last Tuesday! (and mind you! the Tapas menu changes almost weekly!)

 1. Velouté de Crustacés (Seafood velouté): My opinion? Powerful to the senses, refined...You look at it and you think "just another velouté..." You will change your mind after the first sip...

 2. Tempura de homard et Crème Aigrelette (Lobster Tempura with a delicious "à l'ancienne" mustard)

 3. Saint Jacques poêlé, gnocchi de pommes de terre, et emulsion à la noisette du Piemont (sauté scallops with potato gnocchi and Piemont hazelnuts emulsion )

 4. Royale de potiron et châtaigne (pumpkin purée with cream and egg, sprinkled with crumbs of chestnuts) Frankly, "royale" in texture...!

My photos, with flash! Food was much better than this!

 5. Parmentier de Boeuf et Espuma de Pommes de Terre (Beef Pie with Potato Espuma) To think I was proud of my own beef pie....!!! Here they don't use minced meat...Meat is braised until it becomes threads, full of spices ! and the purée is so light....
 6. Foie Gras Confit au Epices douce et Chutney de Noël (Foie Gras from her homeland, sweet-spiced and a chutney made with figs, apricots and walnuts) 
 7. Mousse de citron vert, feuillantine chocolat, coriandre, et glace vanille Bourbon. ( An incredibly aromatic lime mousse, on the fine layer of chocolate parfumed with coriander, and Bourbon vanille icrecream) 


"A meal without chocolate is incomplete...It lacks something..."


Optional:- a Cheese Selection, from the Southwest of France: * Trappe d'Echourgnac (cheese made by women-priests, the crust is rubbed with Périgord walnuts) * Chèvre frais de Touraine (fresh goatcheese) * Tome au Jurançon (crust "washed" with Jurançon wine) with a Piment d'Espelette gélee * Cabrie Ariégeois (soft goat cheese, quite powerful in aroma) I really enjoyed this selection, "off the beaten path", and you know me...so the Espelette gélée...mouthwatering!
-Coffee and chocolate Financiers.


This "Menu Tapas" amuses me so much...I find it even playful...Every time I go there (confession? I go there quite often..) is like those daring games we played like children? As if I said: "Ok, Hélène...let's see if you can impress me this time"..and she always does!


But Hélène does not nourish her cooking only with French products..We feel also the influence of Asiatic cultures.....there is "tobiko", wasabi, foie gras "dim sum"...lemongrass, ginger...


"My cooking follows my heart, my emotions...and it is in constant change..Change is necessary to keep only what's essential" 


The link between Hélène and Asia has been sealed for life...Hanoi has seen her arrive one day, to adopt her first daughter, and once again, to adopt a "little sister" for the first one...
What happened first? Did her love for Asiatic flavors lead to her decision of adopting in Vietman? ...or having a Vietnamese daughter arose her interest in oriental spices and cooking? Who knows...?
How does a celebrity chef manage two restaurants (the one is Paris, and the more recent one, at the Connaught Hotel in London) being the single mother of two daughters? One imagines Hélène, after late nights, getting up early to take the girls to the kindergarten...dealing with suppliers....oh, rush to the stationer's!! My daughter told me to get her "crayons" (pencils)...what? the sous-chef is sick? ...parents' meeting at 6pm!! Yes, decidedly, a woman of our times!!


"Even the smallest detail in my dish evokes a "souvenir"(memory)...a feeling I once had...!

"My cooking reflects my personality and what I value most: independence and freedom"

Her commitment with her beliefs and social issues led her to accept participating in a campaign for awareness in breast cancer early detection...and France has seen Hélène ,  together with some other stars of French cinema or television showing their naked breasts..And do you know what I thought? I said to myself "this woman has guts!!" It is much easier to appear like that when you have the body of Claudia Schiffer, or you have had surgery...but to be a normal woman in her forties...with a normal body...Brava, Hélène!! 


Why do we, clients, prefer one restaurant over another? If you ask me...I want to "see" the personality of the chef in my dish...Also, I hate restaurants where the chef is "the show"..This is why I love Mme Darroze's cuisine...because the stars are the ingredients, one way of cooking, faithfulness and pride for her home-land, emotions, beliefs...she chooses the low profile for her image...you see her walking in Paris, making the line at the bakery on Sunday mornings, to buy her croissants!


"What do I have in common with Colette (Ratatouille)? Discipline, setting the bar high for myself...yet, staying open to others.."


When one has a passion for cooking, like you, like me...one tends to consider these starred Michelin chefs as "demi-gods", unreachable, too perfect to have things in common with us..Thanks to research, and interviews on French television , I discovered this lady chef, that is also a mother, and a daughter, a lady that adores designer clothes, that has done great things but maybe also mistakes..that has problems or dreams unfulfilled...and there, when she steps down from the pinnacle where WE have put her, she becomes more human, and by this, an example for us..of a dream that can become true...Thank you, Hélène ! You've become a source of inspiration!!




I have noticed that many restaurant reviews nowadays come with a recipe by the chef...We all want to reproduce at home a "masterpiece" by a famous cook!! So, I looked for a recipe in Hélène's book, suitable for the Holiday season....This ice-cream is part of a more complicated recipe...but I think, for us is more than enough ;D


 Marrons Glacés / Whisky Ice-cream, with Chocolate Sauce ! 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post, that was meant to show you not only what to expect in a restaurant (culinary speaking) but also "the human being behind a signature dish"....If you consider that this real-life story was worthwhile...if it set you thinking, or just gave you pleasure!, please vote for me...as from Monday 6th!
A million thanks!!

For the recipe, see below...

 For the Marrons Glacés / Whisky Icecream, you will need:

 * marrons glacés, 200gr * whisky, 100ml * milk, 500ml * whole cream, 500ml * sugar, 180gr 

For the Chocolate Sauce

 * water, 100ml * brown sugar (cassonade), 40gr * cocoa powder, 26gr *butter, 10gr

Put in a saucepan, the milk, the cream and the sugar, and take it to a boil. Let cool and add the whisky. Put it in the icecream machine, and churn  for 20'. Cut the marrons into not so small pieces. Combine the icecream with the marrons. 
For the chocolate sauce, put in a saucepan, the water, sugar, and the cocoa powder. Take it to a boil, whisking vigorously. Add the butter. Let reduce for some minutes.