Topaz rolled out the red carpet last month for one of our signature Michelin Star gala dinner events, and Chef Christian Têtedoie lived up to high expectations, setting the taste buds to tingle for more than 100 diners with his unique take on classic French fine dining.
Flown in from the global culinary capital of Lyon, France, Chef Têtedoie presented an elaborate and exquisite seven-course experience – delicate morsels of food, titillating taste sensations that went on and on and on.
Equally important, though, in his latest visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia, the renowned chef spent a great lot of his time with the rising stars of Cambodian cuisine, our team of chefs here at Topaz. They were all eager to get alongside the master and learn some of the finer points of their craft.
The Michelin Star gala – on January 16 – began with a truly Têtedoie creation: a tartare of red beets washed through perfectly spherical yellow beet ravioli –a taste sensation to wake up the senses for what was to come: eggs to perfection, a divine fois gras ravioli, Turbot steak and salads to cool and calm enlivened palates in between.
The piece de resistance came late in the evening: rabbit cooked three ways and complimented by wild artichokes – a dish that very few people would be familiar with here in Cambodia.
Late in the evening, Chef Têtedoie stepped out of the kitchen to mingle with diners, answer questions and pose for photos.
Behind the scenes, our enthusiastic team of Chefs had a most productive time with him. Which included a trip to market to collect local produce and, most importantly, a transfer of skills that could see dishes like Têtedoie’s rabbit three-ways become a feature on our menu.
The team had never worked with rabbit before. The Michelin Starred Chef taught them how to cook, season and carve the meat, which is one of the most difficult to work with, given the large amount of tiny bones to navigate. But by the time they were finished, his work was well and truly done: He said that the young Cambodian chefs had picked up the skills fast and were already as good as him.
Bravo!
