�Le Chef� originally titled as �Comme Un Chef� delivers food porn with a French twist. A three-star chef is greeted like royalty in any French restaurant. Alexandre Lagarde (Jean Reno) is an aging king whose dynasty is threatened by management�s desire to cater to the latest trend. A new CEO is pushing him to put �molecular cuisine� on the menu but Lagarde will have none of it. This leads to a battle of wills and Lagarde finds an unlikely ally in Jacky (Michael Youn), a young chef who may be even more unyielding than Lagarde. Both men are extremely difficult to work with and live with but they share a passion for food.Le Chef
Released on: 2012 Genre: Foodie/ Comedy Directed By: Daniel Cohen Starcast: Jean Reno and Micha�l Youn
If there�s one thing the French know and love it�s food. So even though �Le Chef� is a formulaic comedy with a feel good ending, there�s enough tasty humor to make the whole thing go down easy. For foodies there are fun scenes of food prep and listening to the �vegetables scream� when cooked wrong. There are jabs at the commercialization of famous chefs and their brand as Lagarde discovers he can�t take his own name with him if he leaves his restaurant because the corporation bought it. And there�s a passion for cooking and creating food out of love that makes you wish you could smell and taste what�s on the screen.
C�te de Boeuf is a dish shown in the Le Chef movie where both the chefs come together in Jardins du Trocadero (Trocadero Garden), in front of the iconic Eiffel Tower and cook for the audiences and foodies, and then fight again on whether to use rosemary in the dish or not. The movie ends here only. C�te de Boeuf is a French word for a bone-in ribeye. The glorious hunk of meat.
� � � � � � � � � � C�te de Boeuf
Ingredients: 1� � � � � � � � � C�te de Boeuf (bone-in ribeye) 30-40oz, 2-3 inches thick 1� � � � � � � � � pound Butter 2� � � � � � � � � bunches Thyme 1� � � � � � � � � bunch Rosemary 4-5cloves� � � Garlic To taste� � � � Kosher Salt To taste� � � � Black Pepper Canola Oil
Method:
- To season, lay the C�te de Boeuf on a large tray and grind black pepper on it until your arm is tired, then keep going. Take a break and cover the C�te de Boeuf with kosher salt. Sprinkle some oil over it and keep raining down salt, which will help form the crust.
- Place the pan on high heat until it is ripping hot, about five minutes, and douse with oil to cover the bottom at least a quarter inch. A smoking pan is a good indicator that the pan is ready. Quickly lay in the C�te de Boeuf to get an initial char.
- After a minute or two, flip the C�te de Boeuf. Sear this side on high heat for another minute or so. Keep flipping the C�te de Boeuf every one to two minutes, slowly building the sear. Each side gets high heat for a bit, then a bit of relief. This allows the heat to enter the meat more slowly and evenly, avoiding the �bullseye� of temperatures in this thick cut of beef and giving more control over the final temperature. This process can take a solid 10-20 minutes of cooking, depending on the C�te de Boeuf and heat source. Use a meat thermometer and cook it until the C�te de Boeuf is about 105-110 degrees in the pan.
- Once the C�te de Boeuf�s temperature is in the rare cooked zone, carefully pour out the oil from the pan into a heat-safe container. Then add a large spoonful of butter, a bunch of thyme, a few sprigs of rosemary, a few cloves of crushed garlic, and another pinch of salt. Begin basting the butter and aromatics over the steak until the butter is super foamy and starting to brown.
- Then place the herbs on a tray and lay the C�te de Boeuf, along with the butter, on top of them to rest (the herbs elevate the steak so it�s not sitting in its own juices, which could diminish the crust). This step cannot be skipped. It is part of the cooking process. Just set it aside, drink some wine, wipe down the oil on the stove and relax. Allow the C�te de Boeuf to rest for a solid 10-20 minutes, at least as long as the cooking time, until it reaches body temperature. It is now ready to serve.
- Ideally, the potatoes were cooked earlier and are someplace warm nearby, and the salad can be dressed and set on the table. As a final step, take the wiped-out pan and place it back over high heat for a minute or so, and add another big spoon of butter, thyme, rosemary, and salt until it is foamy and aromatic. Add the well-rested C�te de Boeuf to the butter, searing it on each side and basting again to warm it up slightly.
- Remove the C�te de Boeuf from the pan to a cutting board. Slice it into half-inch thick slices. If everything has gone to plan, there should be some evenly rosy pieces with a beautiful dark crust on each side. Place the slices on a large platter, pour a bit of the pan drippings on top, pour some more wine, and enjoy. Don�t forget the old restaurant adage that the key to a good steak is a good steak knife. If you�re gonna splurge, you gotta splurge.
