Another Leader Returns to Rebuild
Chef Bruce is fully invested in the French Quarter Wine Festival. He travels to New Orleans often, he is on the phone or email with hotel leadership when he is not in New Orleans, and he plans all of the events’ programs with the winemakers. He lives in Boston, and he is executive chef of another hotel. As the third season of the French Quarter Wine Festival neared, it became clear that the Maison Dupuy needed to find a chef for the hotel who could run the daily operations and perpetuate the culture of excellence that Chef Bruce had introduced to the property. The challenge was even more magnified because Dominique Macquet decided to leave the Maison Dupuy to focus on publicizing his two cookbooks. Again Pyramid chose to interpret what could have been viewed as a problem and seized the opportunity. They would find a new culinary talent who could take the Maison Dupuy restaurants and the French Quarter Wine Festival to even higher standards of excellence.
The man for the job was Michael Farrell. A highly acclaimed chef with extensive experience running restaurants such as Nantucket’s Summer House and Beaver Creek’s Beano Cabin, he was ready to move to New Orleans. His wife is a native New Orleanian of a family that has lived in the city for generations. Like most talented chefs, Chef Farrell spent decades crisscrossing the country and Europe, honing his talents through different culinary opportunities. Now he and his wife are the parents of a young daughter, and the Farrells were ready to move to the city that they could envision as home, a place where they could stay and build a life.
The operating principle that has guided Chef Farrell’s career is that a dining experience should far transcend the food. It is about so much more–the initial welcome at the front door, the ambiance, the smell of fresh cut flowers, the look of the room, and of course, the service. Chef Farrell’s first teacher was his mother. When he was growing up the youngest child in a Southern family, his mother was the consummate host. She would frequently throw dinner parties for her friends and family. Chef Farrell still can clearly remember those evenings–the sound of laughter with music softly playing in the background, the clinking of crystal, and the smells from the kitchen. With his life–long focus on the art of entertainment, Chef Farrell could envision enormous opportunity in the French Quarter Wine Festival. With each Festival event, Chef Farrell could embrace his philosophy and create a sublime experience for the guests from start to finish.
This opportunity was also appealing to Chef Farrell for another reason. He loves Southern food. Chef Farrell was raised on a Virginia horse farm and spent his childhood extensively traveling throughout the South. His style of Southern cuisine is influenced by his life’s experiences and could be described as a blend of all of the places he has been. When Chef Farrell met with Chef Bruce, he realized their interpretations of Southern cuisine were complimentary. Chef Bruce was very careful not to limit his dishes’ flavors with Creole and Cajun seasoning; the menus Chef Bruce had been developing through the first two seasons of the French Quarter Wine Festival reflected his interpretation of Southern coastal cuisine.
With a talent like Chef Farrell in the kitchen of the Maison Dupuy, it became possible for Chef Bruce to consider another opportunity for expansion–a restaurant. In 2002 Chef Bruce had opened a restaurant at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Meritage was his career dream, a restaurant that was born from the success of the Boston Wine Festival and Chef Bruce’s passion for pairing cuisine and wine. The unique concept that he had developed through the Festival applied in the restaurant. The menu in Meritage was unique. The dishes were grouped by what flavor of wine they complemented under such headings as Sparklers, Light Whites, Full Bodied Whites, Fruity Reds, Spicy Reds and Full Bodied Reds. The menu offers ease of selection. Guests can start with their preference, wine or food, and build a wine and cuisine pairing experience that reflects their preferences. Guests also do not limit their choices because of varying pricing. Each menu item was offered in a small plate or large plate size with only one price for all small plates and one price for all large plates.
With the French Quarter Wine Festival gaining in popularity, Chef Bruce, Pyramid leadership and the culinary team at the Maison Dupuy decided it is time to give the people of New Orleans more opportunity to experience cuisine and wine pairing. Just as the Boston Wine Festival had led to the opening of Meritage, the French Quarter Wine Festival had created interest in a wine and cuisine pairing restaurant at the Maison Dupuy. Le Meritage will open on March 5, 2009, on the night before the Grand Opening of the French Quarter Wine Festival’s third season.
Just as the menu at Meritage incorporates local, fresh ingredients particular to New England; the menu at Le Meritage incorporates fresh, local ingredients particular to the South.
A Sparkler Selection, the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, will be served with crawfish and Creole spices and can be paired with the 99 Schramsberg Blanc de Blacs, Napa Valley, California; NV Piper-Heidsieck, Brut Champagne, France, or the NV Moet and Chandon White Star Champagne, France.
A Light White Selection, the Pan Roasted Red Drum, will be served with fried green tomatoes and succotash and can be paired with the ’07 Cortenova "la Rose," Pino Grigio, Verona, Italy; the ’07 Brander, Sauvignon Blan, Santa Ynez Valley, California; or the ’05 "R" Riesling, August Kessler, Rheingau, Germany.
A Spicy Red Selection, the Flat Iron Steak, will be served with grilled frisee and pickled Louisiana cucumber and can be paired with the ’06 Palacios Remondo, Rioja, Spain; the ’04 Frog’s Leap Zinfandel, Napa Valley, California; or the ’04 Domaine du Caillou, Chateauneuf–du–Pape, Rhone, France.
Le Meritage at the Maison Dupuy and Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel may share Chef Bruce’s unique concept, but each restaurant’s menu is defined in an individual style that celebrates its location.
Showtime
Like many people raised in the South, Chef Michael Farrell is a good storyteller. The new executive chef at the Maison Dupuy has a colorful way of speaking, and he employs a lot of descriptive analogies when he talks about fine dining. When he talks about guests in his restaurant, he likens their experience to an amusement park ride. They wait in line anticipating what’s ahead. They get on the ride, bracing themselves for some fun. The bar goes down on the seat, the doors open into an unknown dark space, and it begins. Chef Farrell hopes his guests’ dining experience at Le Meritage will be a smoothly flowing ride from start to finish that exceeds expectations and leaves them saying, “Let’s do it again.” Chef Farrell says New Orleanians love to dine out, they do it often, and while they're doing it, they're thinking about their next meal out. The next meal out will be at Le Meritage. And to employ another favorite Farrell analogy, when that day comes, it’s showtime. Every night in Le Meritage will be like being on Broadway; every night there will be a production that tackles the senses. And when the curtain rises on opening night, those seats will be filled by discerning critics. Already acquainted with the French Quarter Wine Festival, guests will come to Le Meritage with high expectations. The team at the Maison Dupuy is ready though. Long known as the community’s living room, they plan on becoming their dining room too.
