Maestro on the orient-express
Christian Bodiguel is unique. He is a French chef who never uses garlic in his cooking. But then his job is also unique.
Bodiguel, executive chef of the Venice Simplon Orient-Express, explains: "People are in close proximity for 31 hours; no one wants to reek of garlic. It is forbidden on board."
Catering for 125-200 covers each day, at two sittings in three restaurant cars on the train - which runs from Venice to London and back - organisation is the keyword to success.
Passengers boarding at Venice will be served lunch, dinner and brunch in the restaurant car; afternoon tea and breakfast in their cabins.
The 31-hour, 1,065-mile journey costs £1,060 one-way with meals included but not drinks. While not cheap, the combination of Christian Bodiguel's food and some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe could be described as value for money.
A seasonal menu rotates weekly over a three-month period. The four-course dinner menu offers a choice of two entrées and two main courses. An emphasis is placed on light dishes as passengers are offered six meals during the 31-hour journey.
Bodiguel, with his team of one sous chef, two chefs de partie and two commis chefs, takes on provisions at Paris. Live lobsters, langoustines, fresh samphire, asparagus and artichokes, beautifully marbled Charolais beef fillet and veal sweetbreads are loaded after meticulous inspection. It is not uncommon for him to reject food.
Everything - apart from pâtisseries and bread - is cooked on the train in two tiny galleys located between the three dining cars. Each galley is half the length of a carriage and three-quarters the width - cramped quarters for the four chefs working in each.
The kitchens, designed to Bodiguel's specifications, contain hotplates, ovens, steamers and giant bains-marie to keep his sauces at correct temperatures.
Dinner starters might be steamed turbot with asparagus and white truffle butter, and the main course roast duck with pink grapefruit sauce, Gâteau of vegetables and sautéd potatoes. A selection of French cheeses - maybe Saint Félicien, Roquefort, Chèvre Charolais, Comte, Reblochon Fermier, Forum, Délice aux raisins or Pont l'Evèque - is followed by desserts: raspberry macaron or iced snowball filled with chocolate.
A la carte dishes range from Beluga caviar with blinis, Ffr650 (£90), to eggs Benedict with spinach, Ffr65 (£9). Deep-frying and pasta dishes are banned because of the danger of boiling water or oil spilling during a sudden stop.
My lunch menu was gazpacho with langoustines, monkfish with fennel and samphire, and summer fruits in a spiced pepper caramel; all examples of Bodiguel's cooking style, which is classically French-based with contemporary overtones.
While training at the Saint-Nazare culinary school he learned the French classic dishes. And from working around the world in such places as Singapore, Thailand and Capetown, he gleaned inspirational ideas.
The wine list - like the food - has a decidedly French bias. Of the 37 wines offered, only four are not French. Most popular whites are Chablis premier cru Vaillons and Sancerre Comte Lafond de la Doucette, while Château Haut-Corbin grand cru St Emilion and Mercurey Clos la Marche lead the reds. If, however, you prefer Champagne, the most popular is Roederer Cristal 1988 (£120).
Owned by the British company Sea Containers, it seems odd that the staff are, without exception, French (chefs) and Italian (waiters). So why is a British company not flying the flag for British chefs and cooking?
The company puts it down to "pure logistics" - the kitchens are located in Paris where rotating shift changes for chefs occur. The same applies for waiters - the head office is in Venice and roster changes take place there.
