Dubby Bhagat

Kathmandu:

Okay I’m biased. I go to Chez Caroline everyday. But all the people I meet there, some complete strangers are not, and they say…

“…I come here for the Cheese Soufflé,” says Collette Landon-Smith from Australia, “And it is well worth the journey.” Food critics Rombauer and Becker say, “The soufflé is the prima donna of the culinary world. They have a duration as evanescent as the “breath” for which they are named; some last a bit longer than others but you can count on about 10 short minutes for the risen soufflé.” Light as a dream the soufflé haunts you. “The French Onion Soup is always fantastic,” said Maureen Robson, who is a Cordon Bleu cook. The soup had its beginnings when King Louis XV of France lost Quebec to General Wolfe of Britain and finding only onions, butter and champagne in his hunting lodge mixed them together and in 1759 made the classic basis.

Christophe and Priscille are French and he says, “I come to eat the tiger prawns and sole fish cooked in white wine, garlic, parsley and cream. It is well balanced and has a taste of sea and holidays.” For Priscille the Coulant Au Chocalat, “Is the best chocolate dessert I have ever had.” Caroline’s Coulant Au Chocalat is a delicate pastry filled with warm chocolate. It flows as you burst it and is a flighty delight. Dilip Padgaonkar, writer, TV host and a winner of the French Legion d’ Honneur, said over the phone from Delhi that he loved the robust peasant leek and potato soup and the lamb chops, which were done perfectly so you could taste the lamb. It was only after the 35-year-old Chef La Varenne wrote Cuisinier Francais in 1651 that French cooking following heavy Italian influence for 150 years tried to bring out the flavour of food like lamb chops rather than disguise them with heavy sauces. George Verghese enjoys Steak Sandwich as a luncheon dish. It is the Mayonnaise that makes it particularly delicious. Invented by a chef called Richelieu at the battle of Mahon when he ran out of cream and added olive oil instead to eggs, he called the sauce Mahonnaise in honour of the French victory. Caroline’s mayonnaise is considered to be the best in Nepal. Try it with the Devilled Eggs.

There are over 40 dishes on the Chez Caroline Menu and they are all someone’s favourite. Asking Caroline what she likes best in her restaurant gets the answer, “What I love most is my staff. I adore working with them.” It is Gopal with his student Jung who provides consistency in the preparations so Sangita an Indian food authority can have her salad with the slightly melting Feta Cheese done just right everytime. It is the perennially brilliant Madhu who leads Sukhram, Suman, Sita and Raju in a ballet while serving dish after dish and never getting an order wrong. I’ve seen them do parties for 20 and know that it was Dilip Padgaonkar who wanted the Fillet of Trout while Kala Gurung wanted the Middle Eastern Assortment that includes the best Humus, dzidgaki and taboule in the valley and I am having… the time of my life everyday, all the time at Chez Calorine. And it is Sunil and Navaraj who see that the blue cheese is flown in on time and that bills are presented painlessly so you come back for more. “Call 4263070 for edible bills.”