Chef de Cuisine Laurent Pacaud rarely has time to relax over a meal – or keep in touch with old friends. So his ultimate dinner party would give him chance to do both. Tracy Carroll finds out more.

TC: Laurent, imagine you can choose any chef to prepare a meal for you – who would you ask?
LP: Rick Stein. Like me, he hails from the seaside and appreciates the simple flavours of really fresh seafood. Also, he seems like a nice man and I’d rather have him around at my dinner party than most of the chefs I see on TV!

TC What would you ask him to cook?
LP Seafood, naturally. For the entrée, scallops, simply prepared – I’d leave the detail up to the chef. Then a fish course – linecaught sea bass with a sharp butter sauce. For main course, beef, cooked rare, and mushrooms if they were in season. Then goat’s cheese, which I love, and Roquefort, with apples and pears. And a simple French dessert – tarte aux pommes or éclair au chocolat. Then an espresso, but no brandy, I can’t do that any more!

TC Where would you hold your dinner?
LP In a quiet little seaside town in France, in a restaurant overlooking the bay. The weather would be good and we’d sit at a long table. This would be a trip down memory lane, reminding me of my childhood spent by the sea.

TC What would you drink?
LP With the fish, Muscadet, Pouilly Fumé or Sancerre. Then, with the beef, if I could have anything, money no object, it would be Château Latour or Léoville Barton. I have only had the opportunity to taste these fine wines once or twice before in my life.

TC Who would you invite?
LP Family and old friends. For me, a dinner party is a chance to have fun and reminisce about the good old days. I’d choose people who inspired me, such as two teachers from 30 years ago – Monsieur Pastoureau, my cookery teacher who taught me to love food, and Monsieur Veillé, my music teacher, who taught me to play the trombone. Sadly, he’s now dead, but as this is a fantasy dinner party he will certainly be there!

TC And what would you talk about?
LP Good times, anything fun. Definitely no current affairs, politics or religion – that always leads to disagreements. I’d want a relaxing evening with lots of laughter.

TC And after dinner, would you and Monsieur Veillé play trombone together?
LP Yes, we might just do that. It would have to be our rendition of “Le Gai Forgeron” (The Happy Blacksmith)

TC Thank you Laurent

As Laurent leaves the interview and heads back to the kitchen, he can be heard whistling a merry tune. More a case of “The Happy Chef” than The Happy Blacksmith!