food cOurtesy OF eurOpea
Trickery at the Table « p.42
diners on a journey, and I was curious about the path that brought this chef into culinary theater. Since Ferrer is fluent in French but far from proficient in English, Europea’s publicist, Céline Kilidjian, translated his answers to my questions. SEVEN DAYS: When did you first tune in to the power of presentation with regard to food? Was it part of your training? JéRôME FERRER: For me, gastronomy has a special dimension. It ought to be lived more as an experience than as a meal. As much as a meal can be fabulous, I feel it can sometimes become boring when it is always served the same way. I like a meal that has a certain twist to it, like in a play or in a good movie. Going to a gourmet restaurant is a short-lived pleasure. It is the experience as a whole that has to be remembered, and not the bill. SD: can you recall the first dish you found truly beautiful to look at, as well as delicious to eat? JF: In my oldest memories, it is not a meal
Lobster cappuccino
but actually a dessert that left a significant mark. In fact, it was my grandmother’s candied-fruit rice cake. Not only was the preparation perfect, it was truly an explosion of flavors of vanilla, caramel and red fruits. It’s a secret recipe that I will forever cherish.
SD: What was the concept behind Europea? And how do you continue to differentiate it from your other eateries? JF: Personally, I believe more in a restaurant’s identity rather than its concept. Our identity at the beginning was simple: a great product, a great price and a great service.
Europea has always wanted to put in evidence Québec products and producers, and I consider a kitchen to be the best ambassador for local products. To be honest, I have never had the impression of wanting to be different than others, but it seems like our work indeed differentiates us from others. SD: many of the dishes at Europea are startling and theatrical in their presentation. can you talk about the creative process behind at least one of the dishes — perhaps the salmon in the smoke-filled book/box? JF: I was lucky when I arrived in the province of Québec, because it is here that I was able to truly develop my signature, having no landmarks on the province’s, Montréal’s and Canada’s culinary identity. I truly let my imagination go loose. As early as my first year here, I understood that the culinary habits came from a varied influence due to the very present multiculturalism. A trip across Canada from east to west with little winks to certain communities here and there is something I try to incorporate [in]to my cooking. Cooking is a question of personal
more food after the classifieds section. page 45
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