Eric Tavernier has
been head chef in
French, European, and
Asian kitchens
WHOLE BAKED SEA BASS
Chef Eric Tavernier has cooked for sheikhs, but is happiest serving fresh
fishes dishes in his Weymouth restaurant, Les Enfants Terribles
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If you’re looking for a feast in Weymouth, it’s only right it involves locally
caught fish fresh from the boats in the harbour. Opened on Valentine’s Day
this year, Les Enfants Terribles is owned and run by classically trained
French chef Eric Tavernier. He first came to the UK for a holiday in 1995
and met his future wife, Joanna. Having worked his way up to sous chef in
Megève, France, in Restaurant Les Enfants Terribles, Eric was set on new
adventures and soon moved to London. He worked in bistros and then
restaurants and was the head chef at Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill, as well as the Hempel Hotel next to
Hyde Park. He also enjoyed a year as Rupert Murdoch’s personal chef. The two intrepid ‘enfants terribles’ set off
for adventures living in New Zealand, Granada and Abu Dhabi. The last of which was a long period and involved
cooking for all the sheikhs and sheikhas of UAE.
Wanting to come home to the UK, the pair looked for just the right place – a seafood restaurant by the sea
where they could serve very fresh fish and shellfish and, says Eric, “make people happy.”
Les Enfants Terribles has gained a growing reputation for great seafood in a relaxed atmosphere, which you
can sample as part of Feast Weymouth. Try one of their signature dishes with this recipe for whole baked seabass (filleted) in foil papilotte with fennel, leeks, carrots, orange, thyme and Pouilly-Fumé.
Ingredients Method
Ser ves 2
2 fillet of sea bass, scaled and
pin-boned
20g finely sliced batons of
carrot (peeled)
10g finely sliced leeks
4 orange slices
50g cooked fennel
15g butter
2g brown sugar
1 or 2g Maldon sea salt
1 or 2g freshly grounded
black peppercorn
30 to 40ml of Pouilly-Fumé
Make a nice square of foil for the fish to be cooked in (you can overlap two
pieces of foil if you wish).
1) Place the first fillet of sea bass skin side down on the paper foil and season
the fresh fish.
2) Arrange the carrots nicely along the top of the fillet, then the leeks, cooked
fennel, and season again.
3) Lay the orange slices on the top of the vegetables, place the butter and
pour the Pouilly-Fumé all over the top.
4) Sprinkle the brown sugar and place the thyme alongside the fish.
5) Place the remaining fillet on the top, skin side up this time, season and
close the parcel.
6) Cook for 10 minutes in a 180ºC preheated oven.
7) Place on the plate and enjoy with a glass of Pouilly-Fumé and some freshly
boiled baby potatoes.
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