Five chefs’ tips for successful holiday meals – Technologist

In the aisles of supermarkets, in the shops of your favorite artisans, they’re showing their faces once again: the timeless holiday staples. Yule log, foie gras, champagne and oysters remain the guests of honor at French dinner parties. These invariables are often seen as a sine qua non for the success of the ritual, a guarantee of harmony and even family cohesion.

However, a few developments are beginning to shake the banquet table. Inflation is making already expensive products sometimes unaffordable. The rise in food intolerances and special diets (gluten-free, meat-free and alcohol-free) is prompting us to rethink this moment that should bring people together. Victoire Loup, author of Festin. 60 Recettes pour Se Retrouver (“A Feast: 60 Recipes for a Get-Together,” Hachette Pratique, 2022), which brings together the culinary secrets of such virtuosos as Glenn Viel, Dominique Crenn and Gérald Passedat, finally points out that, while expensive dishes are still festive favorites, they are no longer indispensable.

“Gourmet restaurants have led the way in putting products that were not considered noble on the menu for the holidays,” she said. “Today, it’s no surprise to find vegetarian dishes on the menu of a top establishment – a mushroom bourguignon or a veggie wellington, a pie in which the beef is replaced by seasonal vegetables, for example – something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.”

For the author, what counts above all is the effort made in the kitchen, for oneself and for others. You can swap caviar for less expensive fish roe, especially if the blini is homemade! Here are a few tips from our chefs to help you go off on a tangent and make your next festive meal even more unforgettable.

Opt for a tea aperitif

After creating sparks in a number of residences, most notably at Le Perchoir Ménilmontant, Paris, Alice Arnoux has taken charge of the stoves at Café de l’Usine, a hidden bistronomic restaurant in the Belleville district. For her, the moment to focus on most is the aperitif. “Firstly, because aperitifs can last a very long time,” she said. “Secondly, because it’s always fun and informal, and doesn’t have the heavy feel of the rest of the meal.”

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