As mentioned in the previous post, Jean-Luc Rocha was the second guest chef at Bilson’s in January 2011. Rocha is in charge of the 2 Michelin star Cordeillan-Bages in Pauillac, France.
The food was very good and I’d be very happy to have meals like this more often, it just didn’t quite measure up to the Serge Vieira dinner. Still well worth the money and glad that I got the chance to try his cooking. My favourite dish was the “Seaweed Pain Perdu, Sesame Soup, Squid and Abalone”, just flat-out delicious.
Wines were;
2002 Müller-Catoir Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Spätlese trocken – Citrus, mixed spices and just starting to take on a honeyed note. Rich and long with great acid. Just starting to develop, I have one more bottle that I’ll give a couple of years to see how it plays out. 91/100 or so.
2004 Mount Mary Chardonnay – Melon, lemon and it is starting to develop some nutty characters on the nose. The palate is the highlight, texturally excellent, complex and with great length. 93/100
2003 Alois Kracher Cuvée TBA #1 Nouvelle Vague – Brown sugar, ginger and orange rind. Palate is so rich and bold – must be 200+ g/l residual sugar. Good length, needs a touch more acid though. I had this 4 years ago and liked it significantly more then, maybe it is just in a phase, still very good though. 90/100
Dishes;
Creamy cucumber and rock oyster tartare
Egg “Under Pressure” with Avruga Caviar and Parmesan Sable
King Crab, “Fraicheur” Beetroot, Chickpea and Mango
Seaweed Pain Perdu, Sesame Soup, Squid and Abalone
Slow cooked Kingfish, Green and White Asparagus and Crispy Seawater
Lamb three ways, Spinach, Dates, Ginger and Carrots
Roquefort, Prune Chutney, Roquefort Ice Cream
Olive Oil Cake and Lemongrass emulsion
Framboisier
Petit fours
