with which dish did chef Guillaume Gomez seduce the Queen of England?
At the helm of the Élysée kitchens for 21 years, Guillaume Gomez has composed menus for heads of state and their prestigious guests! At the microphone of Stéphane Rotenberg, the chef, is returned to the dish that conquered the Queen of England lwhen he came to France in 2014, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
The stakes were high, because it was not only necessary to delight the taste buds of Elizabeth II, while surprising President François Hollande who should not eat a dish already eaten before “Each time, we have to offer something new to the president. Some time ago, I had served him Pauilac lamb, so here I am proposingSisteron lamb“, explains the chef.
An idea that will totally convinced the sovereignespecially as the lamb was served with foie gras, a typical French dish, which she particularly likes “The menu is served, the reception is going on, everything is going very well. It’s for the Queen of England, of course, so the menu is taken up by the French and British press. In addition, there was foie gras, which had created a little scandal across the Channel. And we, to support our breeders, very often put foie gras on the menu and therefore Sisteron lamb is a collateral benefit“, says Guillaume Gomez.
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TOP CHEF – 24 . The kitchens of the Élysée told by chef Guillaume Gomez
00:10:20
The presence of foie gras on the menu sparked a huge controversy in the United Kingdom because of Prince Charles, also invited to this dinner. The future king disapproves of this specialty because it is sensitive to respect for land and animals. He is also a strong supporter of organic farming. Charles III will also prohibit the consumption of foie gras in royal residences last year.
Beyond this scandal, chef Guillaume Gomez unwittingly allowed relaunch the Sisteron lamb sector who was in great difficulty at that time: “I received a very touching letter a few months later from a mother who explained to me that her son was breeder in Sisteron. She saw something a little mystical in it because we had the same first name and her son had unfortunately committed suicide. Because, like many of our farmers, things are going badly and the appellation ‘Lamb of Sisteron’ was falling”, he says.
The recipe for “Baron of lamb from Sisteron with spring flavours”served at the Élysée, will therefore have had a double benefit “Proposing this menu to the Queen of England allowed the exports to start because people in England are going to want to serve lamb from Sisteron and chefs in France too. I think that’s the role of the Élysée kitchen support all these producers, all these farmers, all these breeders, all these winegrowers, because they make this gastronomy. If French gastronomy can shine today, it is not only thanks to their chef. It is also and above all thanks to those who make this gastronomy”, concludes Guillaume Gomez.
The 14th season of Top Chef started on March 1 on M6. They are 16 candidates ready to give everything behind the stoves to win the victory. To discover the other Top Chef podcasts, go to here.
