My favorite meal was at Bistro de la Marine by Jacques Maximin in Cagnes sur Mer with my daughter Loulou about six years ago. I had admired Maximin from afar for years and never had the chance to dine at any of his previous restaurants. We booked a hotel walking distance and went over to check it out. He stormed into the kitchen at some point, the very model of a major general. The food was simple and divine. In particular mention was the sole fingers poached in a kind of light fish soup to order under the salamander over a bed of mussels and vegetable julienne with a dollop of crème fraiche. We went back three times. We ordered different dishes each time but this one we simply had to have every night.
Fredric Bau’s Au Coeur des Saveurs is the one with the binding so well dissolved it may as well not exist. This is still a reference point for perfect simple and precise pastry. So lucky that I “borrowed” it in 1999 while at The Ryland Inn under Craig Shelton.
I hate banana. We constantly have to find banana alternatives – currently we are working with grilled aubergine. I am not a fan of goat cheeses nor cilantro, but banana is my true bête noire.
Whatever my wife wants.
I like to go to Burnt Ends in Singapore. The food is perfectly prepared and the service is professional yet relaxed – the wines and spirits are delightful. Dave Pynt and his team do a great job. It is always a joy to eat or even cook there. A close second is Casa Publica in Williamsburg since it makes me very happy to see chef Robert Truitt doing so well.
Silence is golden.
Soft scrambled eggs and toast.
Jamu is a traditional Balinese type of medicine from turmeric, tamarind and honey. In fact there are many kinds, but the one described above, Kunyit, is very common. My bar team, headed by Koming Sukradayasa, always prepare it for me at the restaurant.
Chocolate chip cookies.
Albert Adrià has really set the pace, first as the creative engine behind the best restaurant in the world, second as a supportive mentor, and third as a prolific and ingenious restaurateur.
Probably the noodle degustation in Tampopo.
Associative creativity. I like to make things go together. Flavours, colors, shapes, movie lines…
Chickpea stew. I am working on my vegan ragouts. So in addition to a kind of aigo boulido with chickpea water and sourdough bread, I sneak some roasted mushrooms with a little pimenton. A kind of Bali x Asturias fabada. Some greens help round it out.
Chickpeas.
A spoon. I think when chefs refer to a spoon, they mean The Spoon. The Gray Kunz spoon.
Season throughout the cooking process (taste constantly).
Thailand. The variety, freshness and care are so very delightful.
Being billed incorrectly.
The substitution of the experience by the image.
Champagne. Currently, Jacquesson Dizy Terres Rouges Rose 2009.
Anything with champagne.
Room For Dessert by Will Goldfarb is published by Phaidon
Room4Dessert is at Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Kedewatan, Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80561, Indonesia. Follow: Twitter | Instagram
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