à la française
The French and their love of food is well known, a fact that relates to Malaysians just as well. The Ambassador of France to Malaysia, H.E. Frederic Laplanche, recently hosted an exclusive three-course lunch to Malaysian ministers of agriculture and members of the media. The objective was simple, to showcase 14 local artisans food products from various states around the country cooked à la française by the Chef to the French Ambassador – Julien Bartement.
“We try to source local products for our daily operations here in order to reduce our carbon footprint. Over time, I’ve accumulated a list of really good quality products. This project is very important to me because I want to showcase it is possible to make great gastronomic French style cuisine with local products,” said Chef Bartement.
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The lunch featured a rich mosaic of fruits from Malaysia’s terroir, rivers and seas. Caviar from Perak from T’Lur started things off, followed by a rich Pahang tiger prawn, Sarawakan langoustine and Sabahan wild crab bisque. Next, wild empurau from the Rajang River cooked alongside a selection of vegetables from Cameron and Genting Highlands, served with Kedah rice, was the plat principal (main course). The meal ended with a sumptuous dessert using Malaysian cocoa from Chocolate Concierge, and vanilla (from Vanilla Temerloh) sauce and coffee sourced from Johor.
“We owe so much to farmers, breeders and fishermen. We want to pay tribute to all our farmers, to our agriculture, by highlighting here, in Malaysia, values which are very important to the French people: eating quality food, produced locally. We would like to contribute to Malaysians being proud of their local agriculture products by showcasing them as the star ingredients of a fine French cuisine menu,” said H.E. Frederic Laplanche.
In total, the meal incorporated ingredients from:
- Pahang – tiger prawn, cocoa, vanilla and horse grass egg
- Sarawak – freshwater langoustine and wild empurau
- Sabah – wild crab
- Perak – T’lur caviar
- Cameron and Genting Highlands – organic vegetables
- Kedah – organic mixed grain rice
- Johor – red palm oil and coffee
- Kuala Lumpur – flour
