Phillipe Labbé has many gifts, some of which have even been deemed worthy of Michelin stars (two to be precise). Unfortunately, fluent English is not one of them. In fairness, he has a pretty good excuse: he’s French, and my ‘en Francais’ is worthy of little more than scorn. Reduced to a phonetic Franglais, we struggle as only Englishmen and Frenchmen can: cousins united by a channel, yet always slightly suspicious of
one another.
In truth, Labbé is one of those rare people that makes England cast an envious eye over the channel at their neighbours: a master of French cooking. A brief sojourn to Dubai last year notwithstanding, the enigmatic chef has spent the vast majority of the past few years cloistered in the Gallic kitchen of cliff-top restaurant La Chèvre d’Or on the French Riviera. (Ask yourself: would you leave?) Before that, a lengthy spell in some of France’s most prestigious kitchens preceded six years at Hôtel Plaza-Athénée in Paris, familiar to anyone who recalls the final few episodes of Sex and the City (it was where Carrie Bradshaw stayed, remember?). It was here that he studied under legendary French chef Alain Ducasse and won his first Michelin star.
Labbé is reliably gracious about his old master, ‘He is the best in the business,’ he says. Certainly, he taught his pupil well. When Phillipe came to Dubai last year for a similar three-day residency at Traiteur, he provided not just fine cooking, but a show. Watching him strut the theatre-style kitchen, directing his supporting cast of chefs – a little drizzle here, a soupçon of sauce there – was a joy to see. The food was equally satisfying, but he clearly seemed at home on the stage. Given that this month sees the arrival of another chef equally used to gazing eyes, one Marco Pierre White, we wondered what Labbe’s thoughts on celebrity chefdom were. Good graces (‘I have never met him personally’) prevent a forthright opinion on White, but asked if he would ever go down a similar TV root (reality chef show Hell’s Kitchen has even found its way to the French Riviera, it seems), he admits that TV fame would not be unpleasant. Start your bids now, TV execs.
For the moment, his audience will be those lucky few able to get a seat at Bord Eau this month, where Labbé will be exhibiting his skills over three nights prior to and during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Visitors can expect a nine-course set menu of traditional French favourites. ‘Palourdes, truffles, langoustines, St Jacques, Rouquefort cheese…’ he proceeds to reel off a list of dishes and ingredients otherwise rare to these shores. It certainly gets our taste buds racing; after all, a love of good food is perhaps the one language that we share.
Gareth Clark
Phillipe Labbé will be guest chef at Bord Eau, Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri on October 26, 28-29. Contact 02 509 8888 to book a table.
Recipes
Mango and passion fruit marinated prawns.
Ingredients
The prawns
24 prawns
4 litres of water
250g carrots
250g onions
180g fennels
2 branches of celery
Orange zest
Lemon zest
3 cloves of garlic
Pepper
Coriander seeds
Green aniseed
Star aniseed
100ml white vinegar
400ml white wine
Salad
40 g of mesclun (mixing salads)
6 tomatoes
16 flakes of radish
4 artichokes
1 fennel
4 Lebanese cucumbers
2 asparagus
40g broad bean
Tarragon
1 sprig dill
Chives
Mint
2 basil leaves
1 courgette flower
Garlic
Pure sea salt
Parmesan flakes
Vinaigrette Mango-passion
30g passion fruit juice
3g of salt
50g olive oil
40g mango
30g grape seed oil
Method
• Prepare all vegetables in paysanne style – ie. cut them into thin slices of one-centimetre diameter. Be careful cutting, though; it’s best to use a mandolin or slicer.
• Now steam the vegetables for 20 minutes, before adding wine and vinegar.
• Continue to heat for a further five minutes, then drain, save and heat the prawns thoroughly.
• For the salad, clean and sort, peeling the cherry tomatoes before slicing.
• Following this, peel, clean and slice shaped artichokes.
• Cook and peel fennel, cucumbers, asparagus, celeries, radish and the broad beans cook and peel.
• Prepare parmesan flakes and arrange salad.
• Finally, blend the passion juice and mango, add vinegar, salt and pepper and oils and arrange all of the ingredients in one bowl.
Recipe by Phille Labbé
