Jam Session
Who knew all-day breakfast would be a thing?
Food preservation made it possible for evolving humans to store and ultimately enjoy the 'fruits of their labour' for periods longer than nature would allow. Pinpointing the advent of this would prove nearly impossible and inherently irrelevant, but a brief and inaccurate time-stamp for the sake of this article should suffice:
In early history, the use of salt for the preservation of meats/fish were the most common methods of preservation; while conserving fruit came much later. Once it was discovered that freezing (in the winter) and dehydration (leaving food in the sun) could actually preserve food these habits and methods of preservation became much more wide-spread through cultures and evidently became a widely used technique. Fruit and even flowers in honey were just one example of the techniques used by the Romans in their periods of preservation.
Nicolas Appert, a Parisian chef and confectioner began experimenting with ways to preserve food. Among his experimentation with soups, vegetables and dairy, his success with Jellies, jams, and syrups are what matter most here. The preserves were placed in glass jars, sealed with cork and sealing wax, then placed in boiling water. Thus the discovery of bottled and preserved foods.
Bonne Maman asked me to invite a few of my friends to dinner..... "Wait, dinner?!"
Bonne Maman is a name that is synonymous with delicious jams, jellies and preserves and a name that many grew up with on their toast, bagels and croissants. As of late however, a discovery of using Bonne Maman in the uncommon is slowly becoming more common and on this recent discovery, I'm left with the thought of why no one was doing this before?
I arrived to a tiny house on a street that could be mistaken for southern Paris if not for the spilling sounds of Western rush-hour traffic. For the most part, Clarence Square serves as a shortcut for impatient drivers wanting to avoid the stop-and-go activities of the surrounding areas and/or an extremely short-lived "stroll in the park" for those with pets, groceries and, depending on what time it is, the occasional discretely opened paper bagged beer can. One could miss the stretch of Euro-inspired housing that is situated on the North side of the street and if you're not especially aware, you could also miss the tiny little French getaway, that is Le Neuf Café.
Teleportation exists at Le Neuf. The original rustic architecture of the building is complimented by the DIY decor 'en Français' hand crafted by owner/proprietor Fouzia. Her free spiritedness is apparent in every detail of the interior and it couldn't at all be more Parisian. Fouzia's son heads up the service to the dining room which likely the size of your dining room - only with way more tables and seats. They both arranged 6 of the round tables in a row for us right down the centre of the room and decorated each table setting in preparation for our guests.
Once we were all settled in, the jam session immediately began with our Guest of Honour and Brand Ambassador, Chef Christine Tizzard sharing her experiences, old and new with using Bonne Maman in her recipes. The common theme of breakfast resonated in conversation among us as we discussed flavour profiles and different uses; the difference between jam, jelly and preserve also in discussion.
"The primary difference between jam and jelly is that jelly is strained for clarity without fruit solids. To get that bright, crystal-clear consistency, most fruits are crushed and cooked to extract their juice. The mixture is strained through a jelly bag, which is made of a fine mesh fabric that ensures that no fruit particles slip through."
We began with the familiar process of spreading a little bit of each Bonne Maman jar on French baguette to get a taste of the flavour profiles; smell, taste, texture and viscosity. Once we had a sense of what we were to expect, the real indulgence began...
Le Neuf has a chief culinary team of two and they are not chefs. They are not cooks. They actually don't belong in a kitchen at all. Instead, these men belong in an art gallery with paint and canvas or hammer and chisel; these men are artists in every sense of the word. Intricacies are apparent in every tactile move of these young interpretations of Monet or Cezanne. To put it simply, presentation on each of these plates were a perfect representation of French art on a plate - to add that these works of art were comestible was an added bonus.
On this menu, simplicity meets elegance, just as the French have intended. The chefs incorporate Bonne Maman in each of the recipes and to no surprise, each dish creates its own path down each of our taste buds allowing for different, yet positive feedback with each us as each dish with each person, creates a unique flavour story.
Our menu, as created by our Chef-Artists:
Chicken Liver Mousse served on Dark Rye Bread, topped with a Mushroom Red Currant Jelly Reduction & Hollandaise Sauce (Above)
Port & Rosemary Marinated Duck Breast served with a Savoury Pancake, Foie Gras and Cherry Preserve Sauce (Above)
A selection of three Canadian Cheeses with a Red Currant & Cherry house made(Above)
Our dessert plate was a trifecta of lust-worthy indulgences: Chocolate Tart with Dulce de Leche + Paris-Brest with Chestnut Spread + Beignet Vanilla & Dulce de Leche Custard
"We wanted to use the Bonne Maman in our dishes as much as we can but to still keep it authentically French..."
Authentic is a word that's used all too often in this city, especially when culturally influenced cuisine lays brick and mortar - though in the case of Le Neuf, there's nothing short of authentic here. the classic French technique of simplicity and elegance resonate within the walls of this tiny French getaway, from the people that run, it to the food that comes out of the kitchen.
Who knew all-day breakfast would be a thing? In the sense that what we normally would only associate with breakfast, is now "available [to use] all day" in any dish! The only limitation a true artist would face ishis/her own creativity. Lack of tools, knowledge or resources would never keep an artist from creating. In the case of these Chef's at Le Neuf and our "not only at breakfast" experience, there's no question Bonne Maman's "any day, any time" directive was met in this "Jam Session".
