We are in Reims; France. It is day 11 of our road trip across Europe celebrating Neal’s birthday. Since we are in France, we decided to try out French cuisine at Le Millenaire, you know the saying, when in Rome…. Besides the weather is fantastic and we intend to make the most of the heat and sun!
The amuse bouche consisted of very mini tomato sandwich, an oyster cream and a cracker. Our appetite was whetted, and we could not wait for the dishes to come. First up was the les langoustines roties, crème de choux fleur et caviar francais, essentially, prawns and French caviar. When the plate arrived, I have to say, Neal and I were not impressed. Don’t get me wrong, we are all for chefs having their own style which can also be simple but come on?! This dish looked less than ordinary, it looked like the chef had just pulled the prawns out of a store pack, tossed it in a pan for a minute to brown, plated up with some sorry excuse of cauliflower and a leaf (yes, 1 leaf) of heaven knows what. The taste? One word-B L A N D, even for Neal. Much as it pains me to say this, this was the general theme of the food here. It was hard not to compare the dishes to dishes produced at Feel Como!
I am no expert, but I know that cooking asparagus can be technical just due to the makeup of the vegetable. Overcooked, it turns limp and mushy, plus, it can be quite difficult to plate up as well. The second dish was asparagus with cured Jam, again when the plate arrived, it didn’t win us over. The haddock with grilled carrots and shell emulsion as well as sweet breads were better dishes. I mean it would be hard to mess up sweet bread I think, it is already a fatty piece so a little searing / frying / grilling and some spice and boom! Same goes for foie gras. Thankful that the fish was haddock, a fleshy / meaty fish. Fish in general does not need much doing to it in terms of cooking, a bit of prep, seasoning and voila! The chef at least got that memo. I dare not think about how we would feel if the fish came out less than ordinary!
I still can’t get over how the dishes appeared to be lack-lustre, there was no passion, you know ooommph! and I can say this because I have just come from Italy! Okay, there is the argument that French and Italian style cooking is different – agreed. However, to be a Michelin star restaurant your dishes must be freaking awesome, and this? was not awesome to us in any way. It did not stimulate any of our senses – visually, taste, no feel-good factor, nada, nothing, ZILCH! Service was mediocre, no banter. I refuse to accept language might have been a barrier. You cannot call yourself a restaurant, Michelin star at that and not expect foreigners to visit.
Note to self, be wary of French Michelin star restaurants, don’t think I’d survive being disappointed twice in France!
A votre sante
Ndidi & Neal