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| Prior
to Christophe’s, Alice and Christophe started a one
table “restaurant” in their Greenwich Village
apartment, called “Essai” which means “to
try” in French. Neighborhood residents and friends,
only four at a time, were offered a $15 per person prix-fixe
menu and treated to a night of personalized French cuisine. |
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| "Hello
Chef" |
|
A Basque and native of the Basque coastal town of St. Jean-de-Luz,
France, Christophe grew up in Paris, but spent vacations in
St. Jean-de-Luz and on his grandmother’s sheep farm
in the heart of the Pyrenées foothills, by St. Jean-Pied-de-Port.
After graduating from business school in Paris with a degree
in marketing, Christophe accepted an executive position with
Revlon that moved him from France to New York City. Disillusioned
with the corporate world, he decided to combine his business
sense with his passion for food and started “Hello Chef”
an Upper East Side home delivery service of gourmet dinners,
with Pierre Courteville (later head chef at Lincoln Center)
as chef.
After
a couple of years Christophe left the business behind and
accepted a position to work under Chef Gérard Pangaud
at Aurora, which led to positions at Restaurant Raphael
and Gascogne, both in New York City. Between restaurant
jobs in New York, Christophe traveled back to Paris to hone
his French cooking techniques and apprenticed at Clavel,
L’Ambroisie (both Michelin rated restaurants) and
La Maison du Chocolat, owned by another French Basque, Robert
Linxe (as a small boy, Christophe would stop by Monsieur
Linxe’s Paris bakery to buy after-school treats).
Christophe
describes his food as “innovative country French”.
With an emphasis first on ingredients and taste, then on
presentation, Christophe combines the flavors and techniques
of traditional French dishes and accents them with finest
seafood, local produce and meats to create truly French
inspired seasonal menus. Chef Lissarrague likes to “twist
tradition” and transform traditional dishes into items
such as: Portebello Mushroom Tarte Tatin with Comté
Cheese Flan; Basque Piperade served as a Warm Tart; Boned
Leg of Lamb is served as Morsels with a Paloise Sauce (a
variation of Béarnaise from the city of Pau, France);
Cod Brandade becomes filling for Anaheim Peppers and the
Crème Brulée is infused with Fresh Ginger.
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Christophe's
on the Green
5 North Green Street
Vergennes, Vermont 05491
802.877.3413 |
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More about Christophe's |
In
addition to our main menu, Christophe’s offers a
six-course tasting menu for $205.00 per couple. There
are two appetizers, followed by two entrées, then
a selection from the cheese tray and finally a sampling
of several desserts. The first four courses are each a
half-portion. Each course is accompanied by a specially
chosen half-glass of wine from our wine dispenser. (The
tasting menu is available without wine for $130 per couple.)
The
selection of wines by the glass, along with the tasting
menu and prix-fixe menu offerings changes every five to
six weeks. However, because Christophe designs his menus
according to the wide variety of local produce and seasonal
offerings available, a week rarely goes by without at
least one dish being replaced by another.
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Contact Christophe's |
| The
quality of produce, meat and fish at Christophe's is always
the very best. Many of the wines available on Christophe’s
wine list are not found through Vermont's wine merchants. |
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