-Shivani Mohan
One of the reasons I love writing about food is the fact that the
creation of good food always has some interesting human story linked to it. You
cannot create great food out of a vacuum. It requires a whole lot of nurturing,
a solid base, fresh ingredients, exciting influences and reliable recipes. Much
like relationships that need to be nurtured, kept fresh, exciting and yet solid
and reliable.
Le Bistro Du Parc in Delhi would easily be the capital’s best kept liaison
with France. I chanced upon it through a small Facebook Ad. Now I started my
career working at undoubtedly the best French restaurant in Delhi in the 90s,
The Orient Express. Let’s just say that I cut my teeth into the best French nouvelle
cuisine pretty early on. Later one was
lured into far too many flavours from Asia namely Far East to ever really go
looking for French food, one reason being that it always came in a stuffy 5
star hotel environment. I mean you’ve got to dress up for those things, maybe
even visit a salon and get your hair done. Then wait for a marriage proposal or an
anniversary or something like a break-up party even! Moreover the kind of money
these places charged, even an anniversary celebration starts feeling like a
break-up dinner by the time the check arrives!
But what about chilled out, no fuss bistro-like French food? Isn’t the
reason why no one forgets their first visit to Paris, the beautiful road-side
bistros that dot the city like little islands of joy and abandon. The city is
undoubtedly beautiful and elegant but it is the bistros that pump life and soul
into Paris.
Which brings me back to ‘Le Bistro Du Parc’. Nestled in Delhi’s Defence
Colony, this unabashedly simple and chic place is the brain child of Naina de
Bois-Juzan. Now this is where the beautiful story unfolds. I had communicated
with Naina over email expressing an interest in visiting the place. Due to her
prompt, well phrased, professional answers I was expecting an elderly, meticulous
almost matronly figure. When I reached Le Bistro Du Parc, a stunningly
beautiful French mademoiselle who looked like a model greeted us at the gate.
She guided us to our table on the top. Then she carted the menu, neatly chalked
out on a black board to us. All this while, I was practicing my French to ask
her if I could meet Naina de Bois-Juzan. The young lady gave me a bewitching
grin and in a delightful French accent said, “I am Naina!”
Phew! Naina kind of lights up the place with her warmth and personal
touch, almost like an elegant cultural Ambassador for France right in our
midst.
But there’s none of that so-called French snobbery.
I am still trying to decode the mystery. I come to know soon enough that
Naina’s mother is a theth Punjaban and her father a French fashion designer. It was an
alliance made in heaven and their endearing story is another column. But Naina
is the embodiment of that delicious Punjabi-French connection.
The tables are small and tightly packed, making you instantly remove
your stuffy coat and hang it somewhere. You can peep into your neighbouring
table and strike up a conversation regarding any dish they would like to
recommend. It’s a Wednesday and it is a regular Jazz night here. I think my
luck just peaks as I notice, playing at the piano, none other than author Rana
Dasgupta, accompanied by Anita Roy. Friends such as Parvati La Cantante often
drop in to sing impromptu and play some nice music. There is much laughter and
revelry.
With so much happening all around, food is almost secondary, except for
the fact that it is not!
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| Pan-fried Calamari |
Taking Naina’s involved suggestions, for starters we try the highly
recommended Pan-fried Calamari, which is flavourful and light on the palate
with tomatoes and a burst of aromatics.
Home-made Porc Rilettes is a popular French starter, served with
pickled gherkins and onion and toasted bread and has a rustic charm.
Vegetarians could have the Danish Bleu Cheese and Walnut Souffle which comes
with a gooey cheese sauce and fresh green salad, truly a classic almalgamation
of flavour, taste and textures.
 |
| Chicken Fricasse with Garlic Mash and Greens |
For the Main Couse or ‘Les Plats’, we try the Chicken Fricasse with Garlic Mash and Greens. The chicken is succulent while the skin on top is a rich golden brown and oozing with flavour. The beans are just the way I like, crunchy and very green. The Duck Breast with Fondant Potato comes on a bed of red cabbage that has been caramelised to perfection and carrot puree. This is a relatively heavy dish but delicious, a hearty, meaty dish. Other popular dishes are Steak Tartare and Steak Frites.
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| Steak Tartare |
Vegetarians can enjoy Stuffed Tomatoes with Goat’s Cheese and Rice Pilaf or a Potato and Brie Gratin with Green Salad and Apple.
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| Stuffed Tomatoes with Goat Cheese and Rice Pilaf |
We take a breather to soak in the music which is now reaching its
crescendo. By now Naina has joined one of the tables and is enjoying a much
needed breather. Everyone seems to know everyone here. What else do you want
when you have Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra classics emanating one after
the other!
 |
| Galette De Almande |
In dessert, Valrhona Chocolate Mousse with pomegranates is
refreshing and different. There is Pain Perdu with Fresh Fruit on the menu. But
we are lucky enough to get the Galette, which is a cherry and almond tart that
is traditionally made only in the month of January, which is exquisite.
Naina talks of major crowd pullers to the restaurant, “Apéro is a very
traditional concept in France that ALL French people practise! An apéro is a
drink (or two!) that we have before dinner, to get in the mood and stimulate
the appetite. We have apéro from 6pm to 8pm every day at the bistro with 2
drinks for the price of one (full bar included). The lunch fixed meal @500 INR
++ for a 2 course and 650++ for a 3 course is something we have started
recently. People do not necessarily want to spend a lot of time and money on
lunch hours, so this is a good option.”
As Naina was smitten with bistronomie and travelled all over France to
meet Bistro owners, she developed a keen interest to introduce bistronomie to
India. A small menu in a restaurant is a mark of quality is her firm belief. Le
Bistro Du Parc fills that very big gap in Delhi of a place where you can have
great food at not so astronomical prices. This is the trend even in
post-recession France today. As François Simon, a leading food critic for Le
Figaro, says that bistros have become ‘the principle axis of gastronomy’ in
France.
Ten years ago things were different. Michelin starred French restaurants
had hit the ceiling with their showiness and overpriced food. Today people want
a connection and comfort, at a price that makes you want to keep coming back
for more.
Well known celebrity French Chef such as Yves Camdeborde gave up his
enviable career in the kitchens of Paris's Ritz and Tour d'Argent to launch an
entirely new genre of restaurant in 1992 with Paris's La Régalade, serving top
cuisine at unprecedented low prices. It was an instant hit.
Naina mirrors my reflections as she tells me, “I have grown up loving
food, cooking and the ‘art de la table’. I am living in Delhi since seven years and
I always felt like there was a small little French bistro missing in the city.
I was fed up of going to big restaurants, which I find lack personality and
intimacy. One fine day I decided if no one was going to open that kind of
restaurant in Delhi, I would do it myself. And that’s exactly what I did. I
opened Le Bistro Du Parc!”
I guess that’s where the entrepreneurial Punjabi genes kick in!
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