My Dinner with Food Critic

Sophie Gayot

World-renowned food critic Sophie Gayot is one Very Inspired Person with a French Twist in LA! You can read more about my interview in between bites on “Sophie Gayot and the Good Life!”

We met recently at Bow & Truss a Latin American restaurant in the NOHO District recently voted one of Gayot’s 2012 Top 10 LA New & Notable Restaurants!

As Sophie’s guest, I was honored to join in the tasting of all the dishes to my great delight (I am such a “gourmande”) Here is an exclusive sneak peek into the life of a world-renowned food critic!

We were treated to a variety of original dishes, I’d say about more than a dozen throughout the evening lovingly prepared by Executive chef, Stefhanie Meyers with a grand finale dessert assortment and several aged liqueurs!

I arrived early and sat at the bar inside and ordered (as per Sophie’s suggestion) a signature drink called “The Daisy” made with fresh lemon juice and vodka. As I sipped my cocktail, I took in the atmosphere of this hip and trendy Latin fusion place. The outside patio with a full bar and terrace was also inviting but it was more comfortable and cooler inside with a full view of the action in the open kitchen and comfortable modern organic decor.

As I walked in I just mentioned to the lovely hostess that I was waiting for someone… afraid to blow Sophie Gayot’s cover at the restaurant not knowing if this was a surprise visit or not. When Sophie arrived she greeted me warmly and I followed her to the reserved booth where she started working right away, snapping away pictures of the restaurant as I observed. The waiters rushed over to the table to greet Sophie and so did the bartender, the hostess, and the restaurant owner. Sophie warmly greeted everyone with a smile and lots of humor. She declined the menu and asked that the chef just send over her own selections.

And thus started the feast! Dishes after dishes followed as we both eagerly tasted the attractive dishes after being captured in a photograph. Discreetly, I observed Sophie at work enjoying each morsel with simple delight while squeezing in my interview questions here and there and a bit of casual chit-chat with a nice Guantanamera tune playing in the background(we mainly spoke in French, Sophie is French and lives in France but comes out on assignment in the US and all over the world)

Sophie explained how “the flavor in the mouth” is really the best sign of the dish, and she marveled at the chef’s creativity and soul to transform simple ingredients in a novel way. ( I felt like a judge on “America’s Top Chef!” or my other favorite show “You’ve Been Chopped!”, a very thrilling first experience!)

Sophie and I shared all the dishes. The finale dish arrived, and we were eloquently presented with a wide selection of hand-made chocolates and a huge sampling of delightful pastries along with 3 different old-aged sweet liqueurs to accompany each desert! (a total of 6 glasses! Some of the liquor aged over 30 years old!)

After the tasting, the big moment of truth arrived. Sophie freshened up her make-up to go meet and interview the chef in the kitchen! I tagged along and we all ended-up squeezing inside the huge kitchen refrigerator for the interview for lack of a better quiet place! (shhh… this is an insider secret) It was actually a very pleasant atmosphere considering the over 100 F degree outside still! I was pleased to participate and film the interview and watched how natural and spontaneously it unfolded. (Secretly hoping inside that the film in the camera was really rolling and that I was capturing the moment!!!)

Executive Chef, Stefhanie Meyers, a young and very talented chef seemed moved and very pleased by Sophie’s comments and questions and the interview in the refrigerator went very smoothly and was quite memorable! Sophie’s frank and warm manner really is a gift that makes people at ease.

Looking back, the whole evening was a memorable one for me as well and I thank you Sophie Gayot for this amazing experience and of course Chef Stefhanie at Bow & Truss as well as the gracious staff for a unique Latin fusion extravaganza!