Tasty cuisine from three European countries — the Netherlands, Belgium and France — are on the menu at a food festival titled Tour de France Culinaire, organized to coincide with the annual sporting event.

This year is the 97th Tour de France. It started in Rotterdam in the Netherlands on July 3, crossed Belgium, and has already traversed through 11 regions in France, and is set to conclude on the Champs Elysees in Paris on July 25.

Cycling fans are eager to see whether Spaniard Alberto Contandor will be able defend his title or how far seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Amstrong will go this year.

And now the race will be far more interesting while we enjoy Tour de France Culinaire.

Tour de France Culinaire, jointly organized by Centre Culturel Français (CCF) Jakarta and Le Meridien Hotel Jakarta, is part of the French cultural center’s annual program, Printemps Français, which is aimed at introducing French arts and culture to Indonesia.

Le Meridien’s executive chef, Thierry Guineau, demonstrates his skills in presenting this array of signature dishes from the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

A miniature Eiffel Tower adorns the interior of La Brasserie restaurant. JP/Triwik Kurniasari

From France, the chef prepares dishes from regions like Nord-Pas-de-Palais, Champagne-Ardenne, Bourgogne, France-Comté, Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’azur, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées and Île-de-France.

I got the chance to enjoy some delicacies from the Netherlands one cloudy Saturday afternoon.
In contrast to the gloomy weather, the restaurant was as bright as a sunny day, displaying colorful gourmet.

Guests were greeted with a miniature Eiffel Tower, standing in the foyer of the restaurant.
Adding to the Tour-de-France theme, posters of racers have been displayed on the restaurant’s windows, and an ice sculpture was made in the shape of a cyclist.

Chef Guineau has done a good job of preparing the menu, consisting of a wide variety of dishes, ranging from fresh appetizers to delectable main courses and sweet, tempting desserts.

I decided to start my lunch with the Kaas-en-vleessalade (cheese-and-meat salad). The thinly sliced meat went well with the veggies and cheese, making the salad light and refreshing.

Other items on the counter included tomatoes stuffed with egg salad, Kabeljauw met mosterdsaus (cod with mustard sauce) and smoked eel appetizers.

These starters really whetted my appetite. I later tried the hot pea soup, a piece of Brabant sausage roll, and crepes salmon (stuffed with spinach).

But when it came to the main course I got confused because there were so many dishes to choose from.
Most of the main courses were quite similar to Indonesian food. To my surprise, I found nasi goreng with shrimp crackers, emping crackers) and chili sauce.

Of course, I skipped that because there were more exciting things on offer, and went for the hutspot (carrot and potato mash) instead.

Besides the hutspot, chef Guineau had also prepared Dutch-style macaroni met ham en kas for a caloric blowout.

Poultry-based dishes included kalkoen met appels en saus (turkey with apples and Calvados sauce), which tasted a bit like curry, and kipfillet met sinaasappelsaus (chicken fillet with orange sauce).

I also scooped some fried plaice with almonds and orange sauce. The fish was smooth and dry, and went well with the crunchy almonds and fresh sauce.

Meat lovers could opt for drenthe veal stew, classic Dutch meatballs, or lamb stew Maastricht-style.

We also got the famous bite-size croquettes or bitterballen, widely known among foodies in Indonesia for many years.

Last but not least were the desserts! It was hard to resist the mouthwatering sweet delights arranged nicely on the dessert counter.

Among the choices, I was already familiar with speculaas (spiced biscuits) and oliebollen (fried buns).

The speculaas were light, and the oliebollen were soft. My friend tried to pair the biscuit with scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream and the mix tasted very good.

Meanwhile, the restaurant also had fresh desserts including semolina pudding with currant sauce and rice pudding with brown sugar.

Even though we had only sampled one of the many Tour de France routes, it was as if I had traveled all of them.

Clientele can take a culinary trip for lunch, dinner or Sunday brunch for Rp 250,000 (US$27) per person.

So, let the bikers compete, as we savor the cuisine of the Tour de France Culinaire.

Tour de France Culinaire

La Brasserie Restaurant
Le Meridien Hotel Jakarta
Jl. Jend. Sudirman
Kav.18-20
Phone : +62 21 2513131

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