Despite the unavailability of French spices and condiments, l’Opera manages to offer some traditional dishes with a fair bit of authenticity, says Shrabasti Mallik
If you thought that French cuisine is only famous for their wine and croissant breads, you are clearly mistaken. One step inside l’Opera will open you up to the diversity which defines French cuisine. Not to be mistaken for Paris’ famous opera house, l’Opera is a chain of restaurants and tea rooms across the city with a counter at the French Embassy, which quintessentially serves authentic French food.
The first time I stepped into one of its outlets was due to the colourful macaroons (a sweet meringue-based confection made with eggs, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond and food colour. The macaroon is commonly filled with ganache, buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies) on display. One may not start their course with something sweet but one bite into the crisp covering and my teeth sank into utter softness and by the time I chewed, there was combined taste of hazelnut, coffee and chocolate. And the best part is that these little drops of heaven come in rainbow flavours — apricot pabana, praline, mocha, chocolate, raspberry, coffee, rose, lemon, slaty caramel, passion fruit, vanilla, pistachio and speculoos. “Pastries, bread and confectionary are our signature food but we also have some preparations which are filling,” says Masud Samandari, hospitality supervisor, French Bakery Pvt ltd (which manages all the l’Opera outlets).
When I sat down for my tryst with the real taste of French cuisine, I was served the baguette paysanne bread, which Masud explains “is one of the few things that the French love to gore upon, preferably with butter.” As I bite into the bread I can’t help but notice the softness of the bread inside the hard crust. He guides me more through the nitty gritty of the cuisine which needs utmost care and precision. I found out that even a temperature difference of a degree can make or mar an entire baked good. As I become comfortable inside the outlet with a bottle of Perrier (French sparkling water) I felt warm and cosy at their outlet at Epicuria, Nehru Place. It most definitely is the perfect place to catch up with friends. Seating arrangements are made both inside the shop and outside, giving the customer the freedom to either settle down outside or sit inside, away form the cacophony of the busy street and enjoy the soft French music. They also arrange for small get-togethers and small scale parties.
I had the taste of their salon de thé chicken quiche (pastry crust filled with savoury custard and chicken) with green salad on the side and tapenade (black olive spread with garlic and herbs). “The real delight is the pork quiche,” Masud informs. And if the veg eating population thinks that they have to pass on the dish because of its egg base, they are mistaken. “We understand the Indian sentiment too and that’s why we have prepared eggless mushroom and vegetable quiche,” he adds.
Sticking to the authenticity proves difficult at times, too. The butter which forms a major part of their platter needs a certain taste, a certain amount of saltiness which is difficult to get here. Masud explains, “After a lot of trials and errors we have managed to bring the particular flavour of the butter. But there are a few spices and condiments which are not available here. Those, we import from France.” But doesn’t it get expensive, I ask. Masud replies with a smile, “It certainly does, but then again if we didn’t, we would not be serving authentic French food.”
The man behind l’Opera is laurent Samandari, who wanted to bring some of the best bakers of France to ensure that Indians got a taste of the real French cuisine. A two year market research later and with the help of the croissants lovers in Delhi (the first tests happened within the French Embassy kitchen), l’Opéra managed to recreate the flavours and pleasures of France.
photos Pankaj Kumar