Yes, spring is in the air. Especially at restaurant Chef
Mavro, the eponymous restaurant operated by Chef George Mavrothalassitis for
the past 19 years. And once again to welcome spring’s entrance, Chef Mavro
hosted his biannual dinner for generous, regular supporters of Hawaii Public
Radio. While I donate to Hawaii Public Radio (and Hawaii Public Television)
every year, my annual contribution certainly doesn’t merit an invitation to
these dinners. But having friends like Carol and Edmund Kellett who donate the
wines served at these dinners occasionally does garner an invitation to these
feasts.
Is
Mavrothalassitis really French?
Ethnically, Chef Mavro’s father was Greek and his mother
Italian though both parents relocated to France in early childhood and though
Mavrothalassitis obviously isn’t a French name, Chef Mavro was born and raised
in Marseille, the capitol of Provence. After training with the Troisgros
brothers, Gerard Vie and Alain Senderens, Chef Mavro ran his own restaurants in
Marseille and Cassis but some 29 years ago moved to Hawaii working at La Mer in
the Halekulani. Because the port of Marseille and Hawaii share many similar
coastal similarities, after awakening on his first morning in Hawaii, he looked
at the expanse from Waikiki Beach to Diamond Head and said “That’s it!, I’m
home!”.
Since opening Chef Mavro 10 years after settling in
Hawaii, the restaurant has garnered quite a few accolades; a Three Toques 18/20
Gayot rating, the highest rating in the 50th, AAA Five Diamond award
every year since 2008, a James Beard award along with numerous Top 10 ratings
in various food and wine publications.
Though we’ve enjoyed several meals at Chef Mavro over the
years, you usually simply get a brief glimpse of the chef popping in and out of
the kitchen but at the Hawaii Public Radio dinners, he enthusiastically
describes each dish. Sometimes with unintended humor partly due to his
difficulty translating from French to English but mostly due to his very thick
French accent. I actually think that the French accent is worsening the longer
he remains in the 50th.
On this evening, the evening started once again with a
Champagne reception followed by the appetizer, fish course, main course, cheese
course then dessert and mignardises (bite sized sweets) with a menu that looked
like this:
Le Printemps en
Provence
Reception
Nicola Feuillatte
Brut Reserve
Foie Gras ala
Cuillere aux Agrumes
foie gras parfait,
citrus and celery
2015 Domaine de
Chantemerle Chablis
Poisson du jour,
Capres and Citron
dayboat catch
onaga
caper-lemon-fines
herbes sauce
2006 Mt Eden, Edna
Valley Chardonnay
Coq au Vin
free range Island
chicken
simmered in cognac
and red wine
ali’i mushrooms
2012 Frederic
Magien Bourgogne
Dome de Chevre
Frais al Fraises Poivre Vert
Hawaii island goat
cheese
minute strawberry
jam
Frankie’s Nursery
green peppercorn
2013 Jean Max
Roger Les Caillottes Sancerre
Pre-Dessert
Local watermelon
in Champagne gelee
Tarte Tatin
apple tart baked
upside down
Hawaiian vanilla
ice cream
Yalumba Museum
Reserve Muscat
Mignardises
charred coconut
meringue
strawberry guava
pate de fruit
matcha pave
The foie gras (fattened duck liver) parfait was light
like a mousse though it was still packed with the richness of pan seared foie
gras with a balancing acidity from the lilikoi gelee that topped the dish though
I would have served it with a Sauternes (French dessert wine) which is the
classic wine pairing. Chef Mavro explained that the fish course normally would
have been made with skate (sting ray) in Provence but since he would have had
problems breaking down a manta ray in his kitchen selected local onaga instead.
It was my favorite dish of the evening as the crispy, filo-like wrapper
provided a nice textural contrast to the soft onaga flesh and the dish was
balanced with the herb butter sauce and the rich cauliflower side. And the
Chablis paired with the foie gras was a much better pairing with the fish
course.
The chef then explained that no chef in his right mind
would serve coq au vin (rooster cooked in red wine and cognac) as the rooster
that’s traditionally used is very tough so you have to marinate it for a whole
day then braise it for at least 5 hours and finally serve it on the 3rd
day. And the red burgundy served with this dish did work as red burgundy or
French Pinot Noir is the wine traditionally used to cook the bird. The cheese
course was also another favorite as the goat cheese was almost like a firm
mousse with sweet and sour from the strawberry jam – Chef Mavro stated that you
simply throw fresh strawberries into a smoking hot cast iron pan and it
immediately creates a jam – with hints of heat from the green peppercorn.
And since I’m not really into sweets, my favorite sweet
course was the pre-dessert palate cleanser of local watermelon rounds in a
Champagne gelee which he normally serves before dessert on his pre-fixe menus.
So while Springtime in Provence is now in the books, there’s still a Christmastime in Provence at the end of the year. However there now are many more Sustaining Members for Hawaii Public Radio and these members who arrange automatic monthly electronic contributions usually get the first invitations. Or you can simply listen to KHPR during their semi-annual fund drives where they simply choose a caller ”X” to receive an invitation… Or simply just book a table at Chef Mavro.
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