I first ate duck à l’orange in my mother’s kitchen. I was 15. I’ve cooked it and eaten it many times since – it’s one of my favourite French dishes.
So this is what I’d have for my final meal. I like mine well-coloured, with a sharp, sugary sauce to be cooked like caramel with the juices and vinegar from the deglazed pan. It’s then scattered with julienned and blanched zest and garnished with orange segments. On the side, I would need little more than a simple salade verte.
But before that, I’d need some pâté de campagne. A wonderful way to start any meal, with a great grand cru burgundy. My father and grandfather made it all their lives. Some pâtés are complicated, but this is nothing fancy – just meat, vegetables and shallots.
As for where we would eat it… Michel Guérard’s restaurant, Les Prés d’Eugénie, in Eugénie-les-Bains, a village in the south-west of France. It has three Michelin stars; he is a master, and the hotel is one of the most fabulous places on earth.
Of course I’d share it, for God’s sake – who wouldn’t? But I would definitely want to be the one to cook it; although, as I am a little older than him, Michel Guérard would be there to do most of the hard work. My brother Albert would definitely come along. The restaurant is one of his favourites too, and – more importantly – he would come with a very good wine.
I am crazy about chocolate mousse. It’s got to be 70% cocoa dark chocolate, and the brand, ah, that would be Valrhona, which we use in our kitchen. A perfect finish. I’d drink Sauternes with it – most likely Chateau d’Yquem. In fact, I think I would go to my final sleep with a sip of that Sauternes in my mouth.
The only music I would like to hear is Édith Piaf singing La Foule. Listen to it: it’s one of the most beautiful songs you will ever hear, I close my eyes and drift away just thinking about it.
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