“In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport.” So said the woman who taught North Americans the joys and pleasures of cooking French food at home. August 15, 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Julia Child.
To honour this remarkable ambassador of the French table, Bistro Pastis owner John Blakeley will be celebrating the centennial all summer with a series of special three-course prix fixe menus (valued-priced at only $39) based on her magnum opus Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The paperback version of the 40th Anniversary Edition runs an impressive 684 pages and includes hundreds of recipes.
Executive Chef Tobias Grignon has combed the book’s pages to create tasty dishes inspired by Ms. Child’s recipes. Each dish is annotated on the menu with the page number from the cookbook in case guests are tempted to replicate the dish for themselves.
Menus will run for two weeks and then change, so there will be four different menus featured between the beginning of July and the end of August. As menus change, they will be posted to Bistro Pastis’ web site and facebook page.
The first menu, which runs July 3 to 15, includes such classic Child favourites as Artichauts avec Sauce Hollandaise (p.426), Thon à la Provençale (p.219), the iconic Boeuf Bourguignon (p.315) and Cherry Clafoutis (p.655).
Menu #2 runs from July 17 through August 5. On it, your taste buds will be tempted by the wonderful flavours of dishes such as: Vichyssoise (p.39), Oeufs en Meurette à la Bourguignonne (p.121), Blanquette de Veau à l’Ancienne (p. 362), Sole à la Dieppoise (p. 214) and Pêches Cardinal (p.630).
“In 2009, we presented a Julia Child-menu which was very well received. When I heard that this would be the 100th anniversary of her birth, it seemed like the perfect occasion to celebrate her again – she did so much to popularize French cooking,” says Mr. Blakeley.
Bon Appetit!
2153 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC 604.731-5020
www.bistropastis.com
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