From emoticons in the shape of apricots or eggplants to idioms borrowing from the culinary lexicon to represent a romantic or sexual relationship, cooking and food have long been associated with seduction and the way to a partner's heart. "It's a language that allows you to express yourself in ways other than words," summarizes Victoire Loup. In order to get the best tips to make sure that a date taking place over a meal at home is successful, the author of the French book "Chaud" has interviewed a host of experts, that is to say, chefs. We spoke to her to get a few ideas for how to set the odds in your favor for a hot date in the kitchen a la française.
Is the kitchen the best place in a home to kick off a lesson in seduction?
It's an intimate room. Depending on your home, it can be small, which can encourage closeness. It is a more personal space than the living room where you're more exposed. Inviting someone to your home is the first proof of love. You're already revealing a part of yourself...
What's a good recipe to choose for a first date at home?
Risotto is the dish that comes up most frequently in my book. It's a recipe that can be made during the date. It takes 20 minutes, which gives you the opportunity to take your time. Don't leave the guest in the living room with peanuts. Risotto provides an opportunity for the host to invite the guest into the kitchen to wet the rice. While the risotto is cooking, suggest opening a bottle of white wine. It's a setup that will clearly help to break the ice!
Aren't the best recipes the ones where you have to get your hands involved, like ravioli, so that hands brush up against each other bringing the two people closer?
After risotto, pasta is, in general, the second most popular dish. Yohan Lastre of Lastre Sans Apostrophe in Paris concocts ravioli with parmesan and truffles. And it's true that if someone prepares this kind of dish for us, we imagine that the amateur cook is revealing a certain interest because it means that he or she has spent significant time in the kitchen.
What's a surefire way to surprise someone?
[In the book] I have a case of a chef who prefers to make highly divisive dishes for a first date. Alcidia Vulbeau, who cooks at the Bonne aventure restaurant in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, prepares poached lamb brains with a shrimp and lime broth. She explained to me that she doesn't want to waste her time and wants to test the guy on the first date to see if he's daring. (laughs)
Truffles, langoustines, scallops... Is it necessary to bring out the big guns in terms of luxury ingredients for a successful first date at home?
It shows that you want to please your guest. We give something of ourselves, we outdo ourselves, that's a sign of affection. There are as many recipes as there are types of love. My husband's favorite recipe is an omelet. It's very simple, but it's extremely technical. We don't all appreciate the same things, just as we are not all receptive to the same type of humor.
And yet, the talented chef Nadia Sammut recommends a recipe from a grandmother's repertoire...
It's a recipe that has been tried and tested over many generations. It's a safe bet. You can of course choose to prepare a dish that you know how to make perfectly. It's a dish that tells part of our story. Lucy Chen, from Gros Bao in Paris, told me that the five flavors pork belly was a way for her parents to express their feelings towards her. Someone who is bold enough to make a simple dish also reveals something about themself and shows that they are a person with unpretentious tastes.
Chocolate shows up in the book's list of recipes. It's been talked about as an aphrodisiac ingredient for decades. Isn't it cliché to prepare a chocolate dessert for a date?
It's a comforting ingredient. It's very familiar. It's true that if you prepare a menu with a starter composed of oysters, a dish based on ginger and a chocolate dessert with chillies, you might indeed seem a bit heavy-handed...
Finally, what are the best ingredients to choose to make this occasion a success?
It's best to choose ingredients that you are familiar with. It's stressful enough to cook for someone the first time around so it's not worth adding to that with a super complicated recipe. A dish that cooks in the oven allows you to cook without a lot of hassle. Choose a recipe that is comforting and not too technical!
On the other hand, what ingredient can end up spoiling the date?
Garlic, if it's overdone. Chef Anthony Orjollet of the restaurant Eléments in Bidart told me that after a tasting at a wine shop he had been too heavy-handed in his recipe, which was supposed to impress his guest. He himself could smell his own breath every time he spoke. He realized as the evening progressed that not only was the meal ruined, but so was the date! (laughs) In the end, there never was a second one...
"Chaud" (in French) by Victoire Loup is published by éditions Humans Humans, 19.90 euros.
This interview has been translated from French.
