Toying with color in cooking is an interesting challenge to set. On the one hand, dishes can be stark and alluring; on the other, it’s possible to go so far in the pursuit of color as to neglect what’s actually aesthetically pleasing to look at before diving in. What impressed me so much at l’Atelier de Candale was the way in which the Chef toed this line: the colors on the plate were always surprising, but never a deterrent to digging right in.
The unique, playful approach started right away, with this dish of sauces that was presented alongside a bowlful of crêpes. Each diner was to take a crêpe and swipe it through the sauces, creating our own tableau of smudges and smears.
This cylinder of foie gras was surrounded by a beetroot-dyed exterior and topped with a black squid ink chip. Alongside, a spaghetti (spaghetto?) made from açai berry lent a touch of sweetness.
Beetroot continued to play a role in our next dish – a simple cod with choron sauce – a bearnaise spiked with tomato.
Entrecôte steak followed – the richness of this meat plays so well with the local wines.
The steak needed very little embellishment, but even here, a stroke of beetroot made the plate come together like a work of art.
We finished the meal with a piped pastry cream encased in a shell of sesame and spun sugar. The light sorbet and exotic fruit brunoise were just what we needed for a light, zingy finish.
Atelier de Candale – Atelier de Candale, 1 Grandes Plantes, 33330 Saint-Laurent-des-Combes