In Pondichery exclusively, Chef Philippe Giroux and Prof. Gilles Feougier will recreate a French bistro-brasserie bringing in the flavours of Nantes in the region of Pays de la Loire.

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A zinc counter. An open door from where food lovers trickle out. The grey slate announcing the dishes of the day. The conversations of neighbouring tables drowned in the din of the coffee maker. The bistro spectacle comes to town!

The « French bistro » is an original and inimitable concept. Both chic and informal, it is a typical feature of Parisian life. More than just a simple meal, it is a show: a burst of voices can be heard, waiters run everywhere, a glass clinks against the zinc counter, pitchers are refilled, cheese is brought out, there’s laughter and the world is set right over a few drinks!

For the « Bonjour India » festival, Chef Stéphane Mathonneau from France will present a varied cuisine to his guests, showcasing various facets of French cuisine and initiating them into an unsuspecting richness. The ambiance of a bistro and the highest quality gastronomy created with fresh and simple ingredients will make you fall for the charms of this « bistronomy »!

Chef Mathonneau is in India to be a part of a fresh take on the traditional French bistro through the upcoming bistro project of Indo-French bistro-lover, Naïna de Bois-Juzan in Defence Colony in New Delhi. The project will revisit the bistro cuisine and work with seasonal and local produce. For Naïna, in her own words, "This restaurant represents the alliance between my two countries, France and India, two countries which share a common passion for the art of hospitality. A lunch or a dinner in a bistro is a mix of taste, smell and colours, an experience where time stops and the bistro becomes life itself".

From the coq au vin, the classic crème brulée to the bouillabaisse, from terrines and tartars to truffles and tarts, salads, soups and millefeuille….bienvenu en Inde!

Chef Stéphane Mathonneau, young though he is, for nearly fifteen years he has learned and acknowledged traditional and modern French cuisine. With experience in brasseries to bistros, from traditional to fusion French cuisine, from patisserie to pizzaiolo, the chef wears many hats. He has worked in hotels and restaurants in London, Switzerland, Sussex, Brighton, Kent, Savoy, Paris, Corsica, Chef Mathonneau has worked in several avatars. He has worked at Corrigan’s Mayfair and Gordon Ramsay’s The Maze, at La Trouvaille (now l’Antidote), Rothschild Group’s L’Auberge de la Cote 2000 and several other restaurants in Paris. He was senior sous chef at the Koffmann's (Berkeley hotel) as well as head chef at the Comtptoir Gascon in London. Chef Mathonneau was a volunteer in the French Navy with a first kitchen posting in Dakar in Senegal.

content courtesy : http://www.bonjour-india.in/content/french-bistro