A taste of the fresh and colorful food of Provence

JAKARTA (JP): It's only natural for chef Eric Costille to return to the food he grew up with.

A native of Provence, Costille has worked at restaurants around the world and is currently at the Makati Shangri-La in Manila. Through it all, his love for Provencal food -- distinguished by fresh ingredients such as vegetables, herbs, garlic, onion and mushrooms and the liberal use of olive oil -- has endured.

"Provencal cuisine has to be fresh, colorful, refreshing, with lots of vegetables and herbs," Costille said during a stint at Margaux, the French restaurant in Shangri-La Jakarta. "It's completely different from the heavy cream sauces of northern France."

Its strong influence from the Mediterranean is obvious, and Costille himself is of Italian descent. "It's a peaceful country and people enjoy life. They are not running around in a hurry; if it takes 40 minutes, it's OK because people are still willing to wait for the right food.

He made a distinction with nouvelle cuisine, which he described as "a small portion on a big plate -- with two bites you're done".

From his travels, Costille has learned the art of experimentation; he uses lavender in some of his dishes and came upon a type of lemon-scented herb in Jakarta which was ideal for fish dishes.

"It takes 10 to 12 years for a cook to become a chef. The way you work really comes from inside. You have to be respectful of the food and try out new ideas to see the results immediately," he said.

"We need to be creative but also realize that sometimes you have an idea which doesn't work when it comes to cooking it."

Here is one of Costille's fish dishes, which was inspired by a traditional recipe for ratatouille, the stew of vegetables and herbs.

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Roasted Sea Bream Crusted with Parmesan, Provencal Vegetables and Ratatouille Juice * 1.6 kg sea bream * 400 g zucchini * 400 g red bell pepper * 400 g yellow bell pepper * 400 g eggplant * 400 g garlic * 50 g tomatoes

* 1 bunch scallions * 200 grams Parmesan * 100 g olive oil * salt and pepper

(Makes eight servings)

1) Slice the vegetables finely (about 8 cm) and put aside the end parts. Saute the sliced vegetables in olive oil and set on the plates. 2) To make the ratatouille juice, saute the end cuts of the vegetables in olive oil for about one hour. Strain and put aside the juice. 3) For the fish, put grated Parmesan on the skin and sear it in a nonstick pan until cooked. 4) Set the fish on the vegetables, drizzle with the ratatouille juice and garnish with fresh basil. (Bruce Emond)

Eric Costille is at Margaux until Sunday, Oct. 29.