The Lionel Lévy BurgerMonday Pop-Up Question

Lionel Lévy, the Michelin-starred chef at Une Table, au Sud in Marseille, loves to revisit the classics. The protégé of Gérard Garrigues and Alain Ducasse has made a name for himself with his bouillabaisse milkshake and other signature (re)inventions. He added another to his repertoire as guest chef at my BurgerMonday pop-up on the 23rd of May at Andrew’s Gray’s Inn greasy spoon in London. He merged two American standards, the burger and the BLT sandwich, replacing their customary condiments with the Provençal accessories he prepared at his restaurant, packed in sous-vide bags and stashed with ice packs inside his hand luggage for the flight from Marseille to London.

When just 15 minutes before service Lévy showed me the very first version ever of his stunning pop-up burger BLT I was startled. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, or how to eat it. As you can see in the video above many diners had the same initial reaction, if varied answers to the question: Which end is ‘wich?

13 July 2011 By 6 Comments
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BurgerMonday Flips the Lid Over Lionel Lévy’s Burger BLT Provençale

slideshow photos by Paul Winch-Furness

One of the great satisfactions of writing the cookbook Made in Marseille was getting to work with Lionel Lévy, who I immediately recognised as one of the most inventive or, rather, re-inventive young chefs in France. The protégé of Alain Ducasse and Gérard Garrigues revisits classic dishes and shakes up their traditional formats. A decade ago he unnerved conservative diners with his salmon crumble, a savoury starter inspired by a classic British dessert, and his tomates farcies (stuffed tomatoes) with caramelised fruits and nuts, a dessert riff on a classic Provençale appetiser. The diners were confused. No one could figure out which end was up. [Read more...]

30 May 2011 By 2 Comments
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Cold olive oil spread

pat of EVOOBy freezing and then partially thawing extra virgin olive oil, three-star chef Gérard Passédat of Le Petit Nice in Marseille transforms EVOO into a soft but very much solid topping that can be used like table butter. You can spread it over toast, cut it into cubes to scatter over  hot potatoes or place thin slices over a cooked piece of fish or slab of beef. It also opens up the possibility of “compound” cold cold EVOO melts over baked potato
olive oils, meaning herb-flavoured olive oil chilled in a like manner. But since semi-freezing a good quality oil lets you discover its character as it melts on your tongue, it may be counterproductive to hide its nuanced flavour with herbs or spices. Gérard allowed me to adapt his recipe for my cookbook, Made in Marseille.

2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  1. The day before: Pour the oil into a small ramekin or relish dish and freeze for at least 24 hours.
  2. At least 1 hour before serving, transfer it to the refrigerator to soften a bit. Remove immediately before serving.
13 February 2009 By Leave a Comment
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