Overview
EXECUTIVE Chef Laurent Kalkotour‘s charisma is embodied in his culinary creations that delightfully please the palates. Drawing inspiration from his great-grandfather who owned a Michelin-starred restaurant in Charente Region of Southwestern France and his family Sunday feasts, Chef Laurent attended cooking school at the age of 15 not far from his hometown of Aix en Provence. Hitching his culinary dreams high, young Laurent started at the bottom of the chef’s ladder, worked and trained his way up with acclaimed French chefs including Chef Reine Sammut and Alaine Ducasse whose projects also included teaching, writing and testing recipes. Armed with his experience, he moved to New York where he learned to speak English and met the world-renowned French chef Daniel Boulud (DB) and started as Sous Chef in DB Bistro Moderne, one of New York City’s top bistros in the theatre district in Times Square.
Using only the freshest of seasonal ingredients and his pristine style, the 35-year-old executive chef Laurent whips up dishes that create a delightful feast in the mouth. Being from the South of France where cuisine is Mediterranean influenced and use of olive oil supplants the butter in Provencale cooking, his dishes are light and retain the natural flavors and freshness of the ingredients. His Legumes du Marche, one of his signature salads, is both pleasing to the eyes and palate. Chef Laurent uses young garden vegetables in season (red and white endive, purple potato, red beets, English pea, baby carrots), apple, cantaloupe with fromage blanc dressing, lavender honey vinaigrette. It was such a beautiful dish!
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