I searched Newspapers dot com for Jean Bertranou, and found half a dozen or more great photos of him in old issues of the LA Times, including one by Alan Berliner accompanying your 1991 article.
This is torture! Your writing is so vivid along with the mouth-watering images, inducing envious hunger pains. I love your writing, but I would much rather be accompanying you.
Thank you. Enjoying vicariously is better than nothing...I guess.
The egg story is true but they weren’t duck eggs they were chicken eggs (poulet de Bresse)
In the carton the top layer was filled with the Chocolate eggs (not white chocolate)(made by draining the eggshell and then filling it with chocolate )but all the other layers were the Bresse eggs
I enjoy every word you write and this week's rendition was equally satisfying.
Just a quick clarification about mustard oil: I believe that most regional cuisine from India do not use mustard oil to cook.
Most quintessential Bengali (and Bangladeshi) dishes require mustard oil. Mustard oil is said to be part of Bengali identity and pride. Though mustard greens and mustard seeds are ubiquitous everywhere in India, my understanding is that using mustard oil per se is not that prevalent, aside from Bengal and Odisha.
Also there are different kinds of mustard oil, the differences are mostly based in the mustard and degree of refinement. Most south asian grocery stores in North America carries such oils.
How I remember the first time I was able to enjoy dinner at L'Ermitage. The tastes lingered and thrilled. Yes, it was what we'd now call stuffy, but it was inventive and incredibly delicious. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Agreed, I'd rather be accompanying you !
OMG, what wonderful memories. Those were the halcyon days of French cuisine and Bertranou was the best possible disciple of it in the USA in the late 70's. Thank you SO much Ruth!!
I searched Newspapers dot com for Jean Bertranou, and found half a dozen or more great photos of him in old issues of the LA Times, including one by Alan Berliner accompanying your 1991 article.
What an amazing romantic two days you’ve described! How kind and generous! I can’t wait!
This is torture! Your writing is so vivid along with the mouth-watering images, inducing envious hunger pains. I love your writing, but I would much rather be accompanying you.
Thank you. Enjoying vicariously is better than nothing...I guess.
The egg story is true but they weren’t duck eggs they were chicken eggs (poulet de Bresse)
In the carton the top layer was filled with the Chocolate eggs (not white chocolate)(made by draining the eggshell and then filling it with chocolate )but all the other layers were the Bresse eggs
I enjoy every word you write and this week's rendition was equally satisfying.
Just a quick clarification about mustard oil: I believe that most regional cuisine from India do not use mustard oil to cook.
Most quintessential Bengali (and Bangladeshi) dishes require mustard oil. Mustard oil is said to be part of Bengali identity and pride. Though mustard greens and mustard seeds are ubiquitous everywhere in India, my understanding is that using mustard oil per se is not that prevalent, aside from Bengal and Odisha.
Also there are different kinds of mustard oil, the differences are mostly based in the mustard and degree of refinement. Most south asian grocery stores in North America carries such oils.
Here is a lovely vegetarian dish using mustard oil as discussed by a Bengali food historian Chitrita Banerjee. https://www.outlookindia.com/travel/food-historian-chitrita-banerji-recalls-mochar-ghanto-a-beloved-bengali-dish-news-185809
How I remember the first time I was able to enjoy dinner at L'Ermitage. The tastes lingered and thrilled. Yes, it was what we'd now call stuffy, but it was inventive and incredibly delicious. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Agreed, I'd rather be accompanying you !
OMG, what wonderful memories. Those were the halcyon days of French cuisine and Bertranou was the best possible disciple of it in the USA in the late 70's. Thank you SO much Ruth!!
Loooooved reading this, beginning to end. 🤍