Trends – Having it All – Classics Return & Nouvelle Tastings

When former White House chef Rene Verdon described his doctrine that “there is no new cuisine, no matter what everybody says about nouvelle,” I have to digest how this statement is as true today as it was over 30 years ago.

His preference for true French classicism often took precedence in his gourmet cooking, while the resultant masterpieces evoked a very familiar new trend we now work with – fresh from farm-to-table cuisine.

The relevance in today’s hospitality kitchens reveals the trends currently employed by the chefs de cuisine at the Natirar Resort (the epicurean Ninety Acres Culinary Center). Homage is due to the excellence in their dining concept as it is to diversifying the menu categories (and) dividing the restaurant into dining categories:  finger food served at the bar, traditional a la carte menu with entrees served in the main salon, and a chef’s tasting menu where diners will put their trust in the chef to prepare a meal from the day’s ingredients (set to a private “tasting room and options for interaction with the chef).

Recollect the classic recipe for Sole a la Meunière, as prepared by Chef Verdon at his Trianon Restaurant in San Francisco, where celebrities found fulfillment in style and presentation, and where tradition marks the restaurant.

Reconnect with nouvelle tastings showcasing at hotel/spa resorts and quaint B&B (i.e., such as The Inn of Little Washington, or The Inn at Blackberry Farm) where farm-to-table presents an equally representative tradition.

I envision a sampling from these varying levels of cuisine, prepared in conjunction with the style of your hotel patronage, to present itself as a popular dining choice to your hotel guests and local patrons vying to order “a little of everything”.

Reference – New York, UPI article by John DeMers, December 12, 1985, “A Return To Classic Cuisine Chef Leads Crusade For The Rediscovery of Cooking Basics”