Corneille has just released his new album Encre Rose and some of his songs are already in our heads! He is preparing a tour throughout Quebec. If I rely on what I saw of the show at the incredible dinner-show hall Le Balcon in Montreal, a few weeks ago, happiness, the real thing, will accompany Corneille and the public during his performances. In the kitchen, Corneille likes to think outside the box and he is spontaneously drawn to culinary curiosities, once again with real happiness.
In the morning, tea or coffee?
So, since I no longer consume milk, for reasons of lactose intolerance, I discovered a passion and a pleasure for black coffee, without anything in it, not even sugar. The coffee that wakes you up in the morning with real intensity, that energizes, that gives you a powerful flavor in the mouth and that we keep on our taste buds for a long time. There is something symbolic, joyful and comforting. In fact, drinking powerful black coffee brings me back to feelings of another happiness, that of the cigar. The coffee beans I use to start the day naturally have a tobacco flavor and I really like that.
Croissant or oatmeal, fruit…?
Fruit, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, I love yogurt and bananas, I would eat bananas with every meal, it’s like a reward.
Sliced bread or baguette?
Baguette
Cheese or dessert ?
Both, why choose?
But the older I get, the more I realize that I am more and more salty than sweet, unless it is a dessert that reminds me of a childhood memory. To finish the meal, cheese with a little port, I like it.
Meat or fish ?
Both, really.
With the steak, salad or fries?
Spontaneously, I’m going to say salad, but a real green salad, just lettuce leaves, not a mixture of lots of things in it, I don’t like that, for example, meal salads.
Otherwise, yes, I’m going to steal fries from my spouse’s plate (laughs)!
Vegetarian or meat?
I’m still more meaty, I admit.
Caramel or chocolate?
Caramel. Chocolate is the children at home who are fond of it, especially my daughter, she loves it. As far as I’m concerned, white chocolate is my favourite, referring to my childhood memories, again, it’s a beautiful memory, like a little gourmet gift, happiness, always happiness.
Cake or cookie?
Cake and pies with red berries, I love it. Otherwise, a good cheesecake, very creamy and delicate, is delicious.
Beer or wine?
Wine, really, I am a lover of good wine. It’s so nice to make discoveries too.
White or red?
Rather red. My wine consumption is cyclical, I can spend three months drinking only Burgundy, then move on to the Rhone Valley. Syrah is one of my favorite grape varieties, which makes me, I notice it lately, often come back to the Rhone Valley, I like everything about these wines. Power, elegance, complexity, it is also a pleasant wine for the whole meal.
Bubbles or cocktail for the aperitif?
Rather cocktail than bubbles. A good gin and tonic, a Hendrik’s with a small piece of cucumber, that makes me happy. But I recently also discovered gins from Quebec.
Tell me about your favorite kitchen accessory and why did you choose it?
I know it’s a classic answer, but cooking with a bad knife is infuriating. It’s not pleasant to fight with an onion, you can quickly cry (laughs).
So, I equipped myself and I don’t regret it for a single second.
Do you have a little ritual when you prepare meals? Small glass of wine, background music, do you sing?
Generally, I pour myself a small glass of wine, wine that I will serve to my guests, the small tasting glass to check that it will be perfect. I carafe it, I make it breathe, I take care of it and this little ritual prepares me and puts me in the mood for what the evening will be like, and music of course.
Do you have a favorite recipe that you make for your guests?
To be sincere, when I receive, I am rather the collaborator of my wife, but we have a good complicity. If it’s summer, then I take control of the BBQ, because I love playing the game of cooking, which I’ve mastered a lot more. For day-to-day life, I do the meals at home for the small family, if it’s more complex, my wife is the chef.
Tell me about the culinary achievement you are proud of.
A very simple thing that makes me very proud every time is when I make pancakes for my children and they then tell me, when they eat them at the restaurant or at the hotel: dad, your pancakes are good better, it fills me with pride, great happiness.
Your wife’s first meal?
From memory, it was a breakfast-brunch with a nice little omelet with avocado, herbs, vegetables, something very simple, but I had applied myself and she obviously liked it, or else she is very attentive too (laugh) !
What did it smell like in your home, in the kitchen, when you were little?
Cassava flour, an imperishable memory. I will also introduce it to my children over time. The red beans, which cooked for a very long time, bring back incredible olfactory memories. The fried plantain. At my grandparents, we made banana beer, in fact, it looked more like a wine than a beer, but it’s a good childhood memory.
Your favorite restaurants?
The restaurant La Chronique in Montreal, rue Laurier, is really a great experience each time I visit. Toqué too, it’s a great table to spoil yourself. Le Chasse et Pêche, fantastic hospitality and food, especially for their scallops. Bouillon Bilk, again, is always a great culinary experience. To live a musical and culinary experience, you have to discover or rediscover Le Balcon à Montréal. Simple, warm, unpretentious, made with passion and joie de vivre, a great place for dinner shows, I did my first post-pandemic show there and my series of shows all over Quebec is off to a good start.
Favorite restaurant outside Quebec, you who travel for your tours?
My last big, but very big crush is the restaurant Le Bon-Bon in Brussels. Exceptional cuisine, inventive, creative, adventurous and audacious. I felt like Ratatouille, a great tasting emotion. Otherwise, a favorite restaurant that I have loved since the beginning of my career is TUPINA in Bordeaux. A beautiful and authentic southwestern cuisine, the pasta with foie gras is amazing.
A favorite place?
A small café in Bois-des-Filion, simple and warm, it’s almost a ritual place for me and my wife, we’re there often, it’s comforting. Café Louisa for relaxed meals and a good matcha latte.
Favorite culinary products?
I discovered during the pandemic all dairy products without lactose and sincerely, it is very good. Especially lactose-free Greek yogurts.
What can’t you do without in the kitchen?
Butter, impossible to live without butter. For the record, I rank restaurants and if the butter is tasty and of good quality, it ends up at the top of the list (laughs).
Guilty greed?
Scotch-cigar, a little moment of comfort (laughs).
Your favorite style of cooking?
Indian, there is something that fascinates me, surely the spices, the flavors, it appeals to me, perhaps memories of spices from my childhood in Africa.
1
