La MaisonTroisgros- Un Jour de Septembre

Posted on May 16, 2016 by missamateurchef

It’s been 8 months since my visit to Maison Troisgros. The restaurant has been running since 1930, with three generations of the family as chef. It is the only Michelin 3 star restaurant situated in the unlikely setting of Roanne, a town with glorious history as a trading centre due to its situation on the Loire, but now a rather quiet and modest place. The restaurant is truly an oasis amongst such blandness.

I had chosen the menu ” A day of September” and every dish was a delight…

The precision and ease with which Michel Troisgros uses and judges flavors in his dishes is in my experience second to none, the chef is clearly at the peak of his powers. Delicious flavors, elegant presentation and innovative combination of flavors. Troisgros is a culinary dynasty run entirely by family, where tradition is in the making, and perhaps one of the last of its kind in France!

A gemstone amongst the granite

Tomato caramelised with sesame and ginger, Puff pastry with fresh white cheese and Egg with safron jelly

Laminated cornbread with Salted butter from Normandy

Artichoke pasta, Smoked Mackerel with Orange Zest and Nut Oil

Oyster, Apricot and Rice, beautifully seasoned with warm Soy Sauce

Monkfish loin, Sakura blossom, White wine cream sauce with dashi

Lobster, Coriander, Carrot and Red fruit sauce with Beefheart cabbage

Cheese served with fruit bread, Tomato jam and Orange marmalade

Almond and Sabayon Ice Cream

Shortbread, Rhubarb, Cardamom, Celery ice cream

Strawberry and fennel arlette, Meringue with coacoa and ginger and Lemon sesame tart

La Maison Troisgros

Address: 1 Place Jean Troisgros, 42300 Roanne

Tel: +33 4 77 71 66 97

My Délicieux Adventure in Roanne- Deux

Posted on September 27, 2015 by missamateurchef

As cliched as it sound, I dreamed about living in France ever since my first visit to Paris in my childhood. Since then I travelled regularly to Europe and Paris was always part of the itinerary. Unlike many childhood memories revisited, Paris didn’t disappoint. But part of me just wondered… how would it be like to be living in the less touristy part of France. I mean to actually become part of the neighbourhood… to know all the best local boulangeries… to have the lady at boulangerie prepared my favorite baguette pas trop cuite without asking… to commute home by walking all those secret shortcuts and to greet neighbours with a “Bonjour”…. While quitting my job and living in France is a dream both abstract and impractical, at least in the near future, I instead signed up for an one-week immersion program. This time ditching the usual tourist trail and hit the French countryside.

It had been a dream come true to immerse myself in the language that I have come to passionately love, which sounds echo in my ears like musical notes. During the one week time I spent at l’Ecole des Trois Ponts (meaning three bridges school) on the outskirts of Roanne, I had three hours of instruction every morning on grammar followed by pastry class in the afternoon, and mealtime where only French is spoken. In the pretty campus, which is a recently renovated 18th-century chateau, I did not have to worry about anything but learning French. My room was cleaned by a maid everyday, a talented chef prepared lunches and dinners for us and good local wines, cheese always accompanied them. I had the opportunity to sample 25 cheeses in a week. They were so irresistible that I gave up any thought of dieting and tried every single one.

The afternoon pastry class was equally engaging… I learnt French classics such as croissant, fruit tarts and macrons. Unlike cooking, where you can follow your own taste. Patisserie is a science, weighing your ingredients and careful calculation are in most cases absolutely essential. I was in awe of a country that has developed bread and pastries so divine out of nothing but flour, sugar and butter.

I still remember the day I had my croissant class. Shattering the shell to reveal supple number of layers, there is no croissant as crispy and fluffy or as buttery as the one you eat, still warm from the oven.

And I went to bed that night with a big, fat satisfying grin on my face and my fingers smelling like butter =)

My Délicieux Adventure in Roanne

Posted on September 25, 2015 by missamateurchef

So there is that place that you have always wanted to… you even had the perfect itinerary planned out… but somehow you can’t seem to convince anyone else to go with you. What can a girl do? Um… wait? Pray that her perfect travel companion with come along one day?

I inhaled deeply, booked the flight and train ticket online after staring at the computer screen for 15 minutes. Finally took the plunge and travel sans accompaniment, and i ended up having one of the best trips in my life =)

Roanne- a little town located northwest of Lyon on the Loire River. It is a commune in the Loire department in central France. For many years, it has been known as a mecca for gastronomy (largely because of the famous Troisgros family, and I will write more about that on my next posts…). After 13 hours of flight and another 5 hours travelling on train, I finally arrived in the little picturesque town. While my mind dizzy with jet lag and excitement, I took a quick shower and couldn’t wait to go out and explore…

I walked around town aimlessly… and so my edible adventure in France began… There were open-air markets that flooded with bright, late-summer produces- soft-skinned peaches, zesty herbs, delicate asparagus, bakeries that enticed me with the aroma of freshly baked croissants, fromageries that lured me with perfectly ripe Brie…