SETTING THE TABLE FOR ROMANCE

A well put together, romantic meal can demonstrate your feelings the way no other gift can. It takes thought, creativity, sensitivity and skill – and can be a great way to remind your loved one how much they mean to you, kick start a new romance, or even act as a backdrop to a proposal.

To help you prepare for this romantic holiday, we asked some of Beijing’s top chefs to share their thoughts on food and love.

Alberto Alboreggia – Executive Chef, Tavola

His attitude towards food is always to impress, regardless of the audience. “I am Italian you know, so our appreciation for food is very high. When I am cooking for a friend, not just for a woman, it’s in my DNA to try really hard to get their attention. Specifically though, when you have the company of a woman, your approach is probably going to be different to when you are just cooking for friends,” says the Como native.

Alboreggia came to Beijing to pursue a work opportunity but almost immediately found another reason to stay: his future wife. They met at a mutual friend’s party, but it took him nearly six months to seal a first date.

“When we’d got to know each other quite well I invited her for a lunch, because I didn’t want to push too much. So I was cooking, and we had some fun with friends, it was very nice. After that I earned about 50 more points, and it started to build from there,” he recalls.

They dated for about a year and a half and have now been married for three years. These days when he cooks a special meal for her his mind is focused on providing healthy foods. He only uses organic produce because, in his words, “I want her to live longer, so my only choice would be to use the very best ingredients.”

For a romantic meal he advises using premium seafood products like lobster, crayfish and oysters, plenty of Champagne and avoiding ‘smelly’ foods like garlic and cheese. He also says you should avoid heavy foods because, “If you’re looking for something to happen afterwards you don’t want to kill yourself! Haha!”

Atmosphere is also important, and Alborregia suggests not being too formal: “Don’t over do it and wear something too elegant, wear a chef’s apron to make it fun. I’d say it is 30% atmosphere, 30% food, 30% wine and 10% what you bring yourself.”

Nicolas Socquet – General Manager, Maison Boulud

Having traveled around the world Nicolas Socquet is well aware of the image that most people have about the French: “You just open you mouth in America and people say, ‘Wow! You’re so romantic!’” He continues, “It is said as a generalization, but I think it comes from the beauty of the country, the delicacy of the wines and the food, and it also comes from our greatest writers and poets who brought French romance to the world.”

Generalizations aside, it’s clear that Socquet is a romantic in the traditional sense – he believes in behaving like a gentleman, listening, paying attention to small details and sharing.

If dining out for a romantic meal, Socquet thinks there are two main ways to order. “Either eat what she eats — for example if she is vegetarian, you aren’t going to sit there and order Steak Tartare — or, the other way is if she can’t decide between two things, you order one and she orders the other and that way you can share.”

When cooking at home for his fiancée, who he met in Beijing, he places an emphasis on creating the right mood, and maximizing their time together. “I will always try to avoid me being in the kitchen while she waits in the living room for the dishes. I would try to make it simpler, with dishes that are all to share on the table,” says Socquet.

The day he proposed epitomizes his thoughtful approach. He cooked breakfast and lunch for her then turned up at her workplace in the afternoon with a bag of her favorite Colibri cupcakes. In the evening she arrived home to a flat decked out with flowers and photographs of them together. After dinner he presented her with a menu of all the things that had happened that day entitled ‘A Day To Remember’.

“When I was younger I thought you just had to do something that cost a lot of money,” he says, “But if you give somebody a ring with some thought it is much better than just throwing an expensive ring on the table.”

According to Socquet, Maison Boulud’s Valentine’s menu, “will play with textures a lot, and be balanced so that when people leave here they don’t feel overwhelmed. It will be elegant and refined rather than opulent.”

Daniel Urdaneta – Chef/Owner, Modo & Mosto

When Daniel Urdaneta met the girl who was to become his wife, he was an 18-year-old law student who hadn’t yet decided to become a chef. He wasn’t enjoying his studies and his mother suggested he become a chef instead. He’d always cooked with his parents and uncle at home, but had never considered doing it professionally.

After some study at culinary school he took a job in a restaurant and, despite an incredibly rocky start, he was instantly hooked. “My first service, the orders arrive and the chef starts saying who is responsible for doing what. I listened to the orders and thought, ‘Ok, that means I have to do this,’ but I just didn’t know what to do, I forgot everything. I saw everybody else working, and somebody came over and took over what I was supposed to be doing, while I stood there and watched. Anyway, I fell in love with it, and I kept working. That’s how it started and that’s why I am here now,” recalls the Venezuelan.

Urdaneta used food as a way to set the scene to propose to his now wife. “I did some feta cheese ravioli with a ratatouille. Then we ate some beef tournedos in red wine sauce. Nothing really special, but I knew that if I cooked for her it would start the evening well,” he says, “Food is a good tool for seduction. It is a great way to wake up the senses and create a sensation. It is a way to express yourself, and people eating your food will be able to get a sense of who you are,” he says.

The advantage he has as a professional chef, though, is the undeniable ‘rock star’ effect, something that the 31-year-old admits he is aware of, “Of course, just being a chef, you can feel a real interest from women; it is a thing, of course, no doubt about it. Women are often very attracted [to you] just because you are a chef.”

So what about us non-chefs, can we make up for our lack of skill with a bucket-full of effort instead? Urdaneta thinks not, “Of course women will see the effort you put in and take it into account, but it cannot only be that. If you put a lot of effort in but the result is not good, well . . . women want something comprehensive, it has to be good.”

He suggests keeping it simple, and using the appropriate ingredients. Chocolate is an obvious choice, and also fish. “Fish is delicate, you need to really take care of it. Fish is feminine in that respect, you have to be very tender. Meat is more masculine; you can throw it around, beat it to tenderize it, slice it up and be rougher. But a fish, you have to handle it with care,” he says.

Bruno Correo – Executive Chef, Ritz-Carlton, Beijing & JW Marriott Hotel Beijing

So, the French and Italians are romantic, and Urdaneta makes a strong case for Venezuelans too, but the Swiss? Clocks, banks and neutrality don’t conjure up strong feelings of romance, so we should look beyond pigeon-holing entire nationalities and focus on the individuals instead.

Bruno Correa has more than 21 years of experience in the kitchen, and has cooked in many prestigious venues around the globe. His interest in cuisine was sparked at age five when he began making breakfast and simple lunch dishes for his family. After taking a three-day cooking trial at the age of 15 at a well-known restaurant in the town of Luzern, he knew that he wanted to become a chef. He has a passion for fresh, locally sourced, in-season produce, and relies on a solid base of classic techniques in the kitchen, but what about his approach to romance?

“A while back in my hometown, before I even knew I was going to explore Asia, I did use a dish to make a lasting impression, and it worked. Although we did not get married we still have a good relationship!” recalls the veteran chef.

Correa didn’t have a huge amount of confidence as a young man, so it seems that he was better able to express his feelings through food. He picks up the story:

“I used to work in one of the most prestigious ‘members only’ restaurants in Switzerland, right on Lucerne’s lake – a very romantic area. One lady that used to work as one of the front desk managers became my friend, and I found we had many things in common. I was very shy at that time and did not know what to do to get closer to her. One day she came to eat at the restaurant, so I decided to prepare some special dishes for her. I prepared a Salad of Scallops with Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette [see January’s In Season]. The products were in season during that time so the dish was just perfect.

“After her dinner we met, then I had realized the strong impression it had made . . . we shared our first kiss!” Correa fondly recalls.