Shanghai Daily news

Alain Senderens, whose three Michelin star Lucas Carton restaurant is called the most daring of France’s great restaurants, talks to Tina Kanagaratnam about wine, food and the influence of the East.

"True gastronomy," says chef Alain Senderens, “is the marriage of the plate and the glass — of food and wine.” And the three-star Michelin chef means it.
Senderens, who owns the renowned Lucas Carton in Paris, was the first chef to create wineled menus — menus where first the wine is selected, then a dish created that best enhances it. Senderens and three of his chefs have brought their “true gastronomy” to the Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental as part of French Gourmet Week, which runs until tomorrow. With his longish silver hair, Gallic nose and flowing smock, Senderens looks more like a Rive Gauche artist or poet than one of France’s most revered chefs — and indeed, in Senderens’ hands, cuisine is art.
His menu in Shanghai is “made with local produce, but otherwise, it is exactly the same meal you would have at Lucas Carton,” he says, with evident pride. The other difference: Senderens could not bring his legendary wine list, which offers all the key Bordeaux chateaux back to the 1940s, and which won a rare Wine Spectator Grand award.
So wines are not listed above each dish on the menu, as at Lucas Carton, but Senderens still recommends specific wines with each dish.
Asked whether he can find appropriate wines to partner his dishes here, Senderens tries to be diplomatic. “We paired a white Chinese Chardonnay with the foie gras (goose liver) wrapped in cabbage,” he says.
“It was reasonable. Not perfect, but reasonable.” Starters include a perfectly cooked bundle of asparagus, served with slices of raw asparagus and a cappuccino of curry and paprika — pretty enough for a still life. This dish, he explains, illustrates his style of cooking: rooted in classical French technique, it has a dusting of influence from Asia — the spices, for example, in the cappuccino.
“It’s not fusion,” explains Senderens, “not like you see in French restaurants here, like Jean Georges. My cooking is
very French, but you feel, very lightly, the influence of Asia.” Senderens is devoted to the classical French kitchen, so much so that he is something of French cuisine historian. A student of gastronomic literature, he is renowned for reviving 14th and 15th century recipes such as leg of mutton, quenelles of hare and brouet d’anguilles for the 21st century. In Shanghai, he offers diners a delicious taste of history with the roasted Apicius duck with honey and spices, “a dish from Roman Times,” as it says on the menu.
But Senderens is equally taken with the flavors of the East and the way they allow him to create innovative dishes.
Lucas Carton, after all, is known as the most daring of all of France’s grand culinary palaces.
Upon learning of my Sri Lankan roots, he tells of a culinary revelation he had in Sri Lanka: a home cook had added vanilla to her curry, and Senderens was blown away. “In France, we’d only ever use vanilla for desserts.” So he began thinking about what savory flavors might be best paired with vanilla, and came up with the sweet meat of the lobster. The homard a la vanille bourbon de Madagascar (lobster with vanilla “bourbon of Madagascar”) is on his Shanghai menu, and a fixture at Lucas Carton.
For dessert, there is a delicate, flaky mille-feuille flavored with Tahitian vanilla, and the warm, rich flavors of roasted pineapple accompanying the classic Baba au Rhum.
His interest in Asian flavors, he says, is only natural. “Whenever a country dominates the world economically, it has a profound influence in terms of the arts, the spirit and, of course, cuisine. It was like that when Japan rose to economic prominence, and now, it is like that with China.”
Senderens adds that Chinese restaurants are mushrooming in the French capital, leaving the traditional French Asian favorite cuisine, Vietnamese, in its shadow.
With this great interest in China, will Shanghai see an Alain Senderens restaurant in the near future? “If there is an opportunity, I would love to do it,” he says.

Alain Senderens’ Gourmet Week: through March 18
Dinner buffet: through March 12, a la carte menu, lunch and dinner Reservations: 5050-4888 ext 6720