Passion on a Plate

Le Jardin has long been a favorite restaurant of French ex-pats and food lovers in Bangkok. The menu is dominated by quintessential French favorites, classic pastries, breads, quiches and soufflés. Inspired by a love of rich sauces and decadent pastries, the chefs at Le Jardin open up about what they think makes food really great.

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Part-owner and pastry chef Benoit Laboureux and head chef Noppon Photirod sat down for an easy going conversation about the food they love to eat and the food they love to make.

Chef Benoit: Pastry is my passion. At Le Jardin we have a bakery shop where I make typical French desserts and breads. I prefer to bake in the old style, not a modern style. Here you will find very typical French bread and pastries that could easily be found 20 years ago in France. I like to be very traditional. I’ve worked in Michelin star restaurants, traveled around the world, and worked for world class chefs Alain Ducasse and Jacque and Laurent Pourcel, but pastry is always where my heart is. I started when I was just a boy, and hopefully I will never stop.

Chef Noppon: I have been a chef in Thailand for 11 years, but I have also trained in France and in Moscow and I teach at the Cordon Blue in Bangkok. As the chef at Le Jardin, I prepare the hot dishes and the main courses. I am very dedicated to making my sauces, and I experiment with sauces. For instance, I like to make Beef Stroganoff with a cream sauce and add some parmesan cheese. It tastes very good. I am also careful about the seasonings, and I think it is important to season food properly with salt in order to make a dish very nice.

What dish do you recommend patrons try at Le Jardin?

Chef Benoit: Definitely the Soufflé à Votre Choix, which we call “soufflé, your way”. This dish lets the customer decide what they want inside the soufflé. Do they want chocolate, berries, or something else? I will take their recommendation and make the soufflé the way they like it.

Chef Noppon: I would like to recommend a meat dish, especially the beef. I like the Beef Bourguignon or the Pavé de Boeuf which is the beef tenderloin. The foie gras is also very good.

What inspires the dishes you both create and who plans the menu at Le Jardin?

Chef Benoit: For me I am inspired by anything chocolate. I love to make anything with chocolate. I only use the best chocolate imported from Paris. I also import the flour from France, to make the bread authentic and give it that traditional taste.

Chef Noppon: We plan the menu together; the menu changes regularly based on what is available. I import the cheese, such as the blue cheese, meats such as Parma ham, and even some of the herbs such as the mint we use at Le Jardin. I get fresh produce delivered everyday and my menu will be inspired by this. I like to experiment with recipes when I create them. I will just try new things in the kitchen, taste them, and then if I like them we will add it to the menu.

What is your favorite dish to eat at Le Jardin?

Chef Benoit: It depends; I never know what I will feel like eating everyday. I just have to see how I will feel.

Chef Noppon: I really like the Foie Gras Maison Compote de Figues, Réduction de Balsamique (Foie Gras with Fig Compote and Balsamic Reduction). I also enjoy the foie gras we make for the holidays. For Christmas and the New Year we do Foie Gras 3-Ways, and one of the preparations is a Vietnamese inspired foie gras which is really delicious. This will be available on the Christmas menu this month.

What do you look for in a good restaurant?

Chef Benoit: For me it is all about the taste. I like simple flavors on a plate. I want the natural flavor to be preserved; I want to taste what I am eating. For instance, if I am eating strawberries, I want to taste the strawberry, not have it overpowered with mint or something else.

Chef Noppon: When I go to a restaurant I look for many things. I look at the decorations and the décor, I look for how the food looks on the plate, and I pay attention to the sauces used and; of course, the taste.

What is you favorite restaurant to go to in Bangkok and why?

Chef Benoit: My favorite restaurant is De Sens. It is owned by my good friend and I used to be the pastry chef over there. My favorite thing to eat at De Sens is Chef Julian’s foie gras.

Chef Noppon: My favorite restaurant is The Dubliner. I used to work as a chef at Robin Hood, and I met the chef who works at the Dubliner. It became one on my favorite places to eat. I love their lasagna. It’s not dry at all, I really like the sauce. When you cut into the lasagna, all the cheese melts and it is creamy, soft and very nice.

What is abundantly clear is that both Chef Benoit and Chef Noppon work well together and have an abiding love of food. While the menu creatively offers some new interpretations of French standards, both chefs are dedicated to making cuisine that is deeply rooted in tradition and utilizes classical French cooking techniques. Le Jardin cements it’s reputation as the place to go for economical, unpretentious and authentic French cuisine in Bangkok.