20 years ago, in May of 1994, I met Chef Patrick Jeffroy at his Michelin, one-star restaurant in Plounérin, and fell in love at first bite! I talked him into letting me spend a week with him in his kitchen and felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I was Patrick’s shadow in the kitchen, the markets, the sea (collecting shellfish), and in his garden. Bliss!
Several months later, we moved back to Washington, DC, and I returned to Paris 3 weeks later to run my first culinary trip with Patrick, a test trip for my new business, LLD, then called Cook France in English. It was another one of the most memorable weeks of my life with incredibly delicious fresh food and endless behind-the-scenes experiences with Patrick.
I went on to run 2 more trips with Patrick in Carantec at his new Michelin, 2 star Restaurant Patrick Jeffroy. And, Kent and I spent our 25th wedding anniversary there.I had not been back in 4 years until last week. We were both blown away by the view and the food which was truly some of the best I have ever eaten. We had the menu “Cormoran” (99 euros) that first night, which included 3 amuse-bouches, including one of the first coquille St. Jacques (scallops) of the season, with cêpes,
followed by a sublime lobster and foie gras dish, which I am still dreaming about. The lobster was followed by Patrick’s wild pigeon with perfectly cooked potatoes and root vegetables and wild mushrooms.
Then we had his Roquefort cheese terrine (see Facebook for recipe) and finally a scrumptious dessert of a chocolate cream with a figue confit and a raspberry, cassis sorbet.
We watched the sunrise and then had a smaller feast for lunch including a squid dish with a heavenly shellfish/mushroom cream sauce.
When I asked Patrick 20 years ago to spend a week in his kitchen, I said I had heard that he was one of the best chefs in France. It is more and more TRUE. Take yourself to Carantec if you possibly can.
