Quenelle of James MacGuire's mousse de foies de volaille
James MacGuire. I had come across his name numerous times before. When you mention the name “Le Passe-Partout” to local and foreign gourmets, many would rave incessantly about the phenomenal food, including the exquisite viennoiseries and the beautiful bread, which has been considered to be unquestionably the best in the city of Montreal, at this unobtrusive thirty-seat French restaurant-boulangerie. They would, at the same time, be describing their sublime dining experience and profound appreciation of the culinary work of the proprietor, the great Irish-American chef and artisan baker James MacGuire. But alas, after twenty-three years in business, he closed both operations. Countless foodies have completely been saddened by this tragic loss, and even after five years since its closure, the mention of Le Passe-Partout still conjures up nostalgic memories among those who had the opportunity to visit this culinary oasis when its doors were still open for business. Sadly, I never found an opportunity to make a pilgrimage to this respected and beloved establishment when it was still operating. However, at a very recent birthday party, I stumbled upon dishes that were prepared by the one and only James MacGuire. Finally, I had the chance to savour a sampling of his culinary creations—to personally experience what people had been rhapsodizing about—and the greatest honour and privilege of meeting him in person.
MacGuire continues to follow French culinary tradition and cooks and bakes from scratch, including bread and charcuterie. Almost everything that he prepared that afternoon was homemade. And the accent here is more on the food preparation rather than its presentation. Unlike most top chefs who pay serious attention to the artistic and often dramatic architectural display of food on the plate, MacGuire does not fuss over fancy plate presentations, and their understated layout, in a certain manner, downplays deceptively the quality and execution of his dishes. However, from the very first bite into his culinary treats, I quickly realized that I was sampling dishes superbly crafted by an extraordinarily talented and impeccably skillful chef of French technique, and I was already swooning over his food. Even as I write this post, I am already salivating just thinking about the food.
MacGuire possesses the remarkable ability to elevate a very humble dish, such as the pizza marinara, the simplest of the common Italian pizza types, into a sublime haute-cuisine fare. At the party, his scrumptious, homemade pizza consisted of an excellent thick bread crust which was covered with tomato sauce seasoned with garlic, dried oregano, and olive oil, each wedge slice garnished sparingly with a minuscule piece of fresh basil, enhancing the subtle complexity of flavours. Absolutely delectable.
Even more impressive were his charcuterie canapés prepared that afternoon. His signature country-style meats, again, all homemade, were served on slices of fresh baguette (which, incidentally, were not made by MacGuire). And these finger food delicacies were voluptuously and seductively delicious. The rillettes de Tours were richly flavourful and finely textured, each canapé topped with a small slice of cornichons or pruneaux d’Agen, while his mousse de foies de volaille, delicately flavoured and velvety smooth, was the best one that I have ever tasted. With food this exceptionally good, the infinite number of calories gained that afternoon no longer mattered; I was in a state of rapturous delight, and I was yearning for more.
And the oohing and aahing did not stop here.
A birthday party would not be complete without a birthday cake. For this special occasion, the infallible MacGuire baked a rather unusual flat, round cake that became immediately a sensational success at the party. Richly dense and intense in dark chocolate content, the sweet creation was sinfully decadent. Made with luxurious Valrhona chocolate, the pastry was composed of a generous layer of dark chocolate ganache encased between two extremely slim almond meringue-like cakes (each cake layer was no thicker than two millimetres), the whole covered with more of that dark chocolate ganache which was sprinkled with a liberal dusting of cocoa powder. Utterly and irresistibly divine. And so, you might ask, the name of this delicacy of desire? I learned only later about the mystery cake; it is called succès au chocolat and appropriately so. A specialty from Lyons, this particular cake was attributed to the world-renowned chocolatier Bernachon where MacGuire had spent time perfecting the art of chocolate making.
For those who have been wondering about MacGuire’s whereabouts ever since he had closed the much missed Le Passe-Partout, he has been working as a consultant and teacher and continues to hold workshops, seminars, and lectures at various institutions, including the AIB (American Institute of Baking), the CIA (no, not the U.S. government agency, but the Culinary Institute of America), and the ABBG (the American Bread Bakers Guild). He also contributes articles and critical cookbook reviews to Ed Behr’s quarterly newsletter The Art of Eating. And just recently MacGuire was appointed as Creative Director at Laloux’s bar à vin Pop!.
With this latest news, what an exciting way to kick off the summer!
