Cuisine de Temps by chef Jacques Reymond
An inspiring modern classic cookbook
Robyn Lewis
Cuisine Temps by Jacques Reymond [©New Holland]
Jacques Reymond is a Melbourne icon, a chef’s chef, who has consistently produced fabulous food at his restaurant Cuisine du Temps in Windsor, near Prahran, for nearly twenty years.
This sumptuous book – named after the restaurant itself, richly covered in the burnt sienna of its interior and a photograph of the man himself, eyes sparkling and sense of humour shining through – simply invites you to sit down, relax and open it.
You certainly won’t be disappointed. The recipes are those from his three-star menu, and if they have been simplified a little for the home cook (and I’m not sure they have), they certainly haven’t been ‘dumbed down’. They are well and logically presented, and the photographs of the finished dishes by Sharyn Cairns are stunning, truly capturing the artistic elegance of Reymond’s food.
If you are looking for ideas for presentation, or something to stimulate your imagination, you’ll find plenty of wow factor here.
Reymond’s cuisine is classic French with an Asian twist, as befits his Australian home. Reymond discovered his passion for cooking at his family’s hotel, Hotel du Nord, in the small town of Cuiseaux in Burgundy, France. From there he worked as a chef in both Burgundy and Paris, then in South America, Spain, England and latterly Australia, homeland of his wife Cathy and their four children.
The result is a truly international perspective on food and Reymond’s distillation of the best of the best.
Reymond first worked in Australia at the famous Mietta’s, then set up his own restaurant, before moving to a stately Victorian mansion only 10-15 minutes from central Melbourne in 1992. The building dates from circa 1880 and features extensively landscaped gardens and open fireplaces, and acts as a historic landmark in the area, having been a restaurant and reception centre for over fifty years.
As food critic Necia Wilden said in The Age Good Food Guide 2009: ‘Jacques Reymond, the man, has been in the game for so long it’s easy to forget his contribution as a culinary innovator. He was one of the first to offer a degustation menu. Similarly, his classically-based cuisine embraced Asian flavours and textures long before it was fashionable. His restaurant's rejection of entree-main in favour of small plates in 2002 has paved the way for countless imitators’.
Cuisine de Temps the book is arranged in classical fashion: appetisers, soups, seafood and poultry through meats, pasta and vegetables, to cheese, desserts, ice cream and sorbets, and lastly the basics, the pantry and a glossary.
The foreword is by wine critic and author James Halliday, who notes that fine dining in Australia has evolved since the 60s at such an accelerating pace due to multiculturalism, that the result is often ‘a recycling of restaurants and constant reinventions of chefs and their cuisines … not stopping to think whether newer is better. A few have risen above this: most notably Hermann Schneider of Two Faces; the Grossi family at Grossi Florentino; and of course, Jacques Reymond.
Which is not to say he has ossified, he has … continuously developed his cuisine with an eye to Asia – Japan as much as China – but … his attitude remains founded on the standards set by the 3-star restaurants of France.’
It certainly shows in the recipes in Cuisine de Temps. Reymond’s classics such as Beignet of Blue Swimmer Crab and the Gougères that have been on his menu for 27 years are included, through Mud Crab in Fragrant Coconut Milk, Baked Scallop and Parmesan Scallop Ceviche, Crispy-Skinned Spatchcock with Avocado and Quinoa, Lamb Cutlet Farcie with Silverbeet, Tamarind and Ginger Dressing, to many meat and vegetable (including vegetarian) dishes which would surely delight any palate.
Then follows something that is missing in many chef’s recipe books, a section on cooking with cheese (think Blue Cheese and Parmesan Tart) and serving it in innovative ways (Farmhouse Cheddar, Braised Potatoes and Turmeric Carrots), which will add pizzazz to anyone’s entertaining, as will the desserts, and the ice creams and sorbets, including Lemon Myrtle with Bush Pepperberry and Feijoa with Lime.
As the book’s media release says ‘Jacques daringly blends the old with the new to create inspiring food’ – and in this case, it’s true. For A$60 Cuisine de Temps is a far better buy than many other cookbooks recently released at around the same price, and is worth seeking out. It’s not for the novice cook but, as with playing tennis or indeed any sport, choosing a partner who is better than you leads to far greater improvement of your own skills. This is certainly one to try out and aim towards if you want to reach culinary heights.
The only omission from our perspective is some recommendations on wine and food matching – the sommelier at Cuisine de Temps the restaurant is Reymond’s daughter Natalie, and I am sure she could have added an extra touch. You’ll just have to dine there to find out.
The book is a triumph of quality presentation, in my opinion recently rivalled only by Thomas Keller’s classics Sous Vide, The French Laundry and Bouchon, and stands on a pedestal amongst many Australian publications that we have seen of late. A pity that it seems to have missed the MasterChef-fuelled cookbook promotional frenzy, but, like a rare gemstone, Cuisine de Temps is one to seek out and treasure for many years.
Cuisine de Temps by Jacques Reymond is published by New Holland Press (hb, 288 pp; Sydney, 2010) and retails at RRP A$60. Subscribers of VisitVineyards.com and Winepros Archive can purchase Cuisine de Temps as 12.5% discount off RRP here from our book partners, SeekBooks (postage extra).
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