Chef Florian Wehrli
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of revisiting Chef Florian Wehrli’s delightful food while hosting a client lunch at the popular Manhattan restaurant, Triomphe. Until last fall, I’d enjoyed Chef Wehrli’s food when he oversaw five award-winning restaurants while he was Executive Sous Chef at New Jersey’s Crystal Springs Resort.
The Swiss-born chef uses classic techniques and farm fresh ingredients to create dishes that are both beautiful and delicious. Wehrli trained in Switzerland where he completed his culinary apprenticeship under renowned chef Georges Wenger at his two-star Michelin restaurant.
Bison Carpaccio
Triomphe, which opened in 2000, is located in the luxurious Iroquois Hotel in midtown. The refined yet comfortable French restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and houses the super popular speakeasy-ish bar Lantern’s Keep.
During my visit, I had the privilege of joining Chef Wehrli at his new chef’s garden on the rooftop of the Iroquois Hotel. Chef Wehrli already has several planters with various produce items and eatable flowers he incorporates in his dishes. He hopes to continue expanding his garden in an effort to source more of his own products for the restaurant.
The lunch menu offers three distinct options: Tribute to Provence, Power Lunch and a standard menu. The Tribute to Provence is fabulous as it features a glass of rosé along with either a Shrimp Niçoise or a Grilled Flat Iron Steak Salad for $25 – sign me up! The $44 Power Lunch promises a three-course meal within 60 minutes with a selection of either Revel – A Summer Indulgence or Bounty – A Vegetable Celebration. We opted for the standard menu as we wanted to share a starter and a dessert.
Bouillabaisse
We began with the Bison Carpaccio with Dijon Mustard and Tête de Moine Cheese ($16). The presentation was nearly too beautiful to eat, but we managed to devour the paper-thin slices of bison gilded with a flower-like shaving of Tête de Moine, a cheese well-known in Chef Wehrli’s homeland of Switzerland. The dish was as delicious as it was satisfying. On our next visit, we’ll sample the Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Sea Scallops with micro greens and porcini cream – completely decadent.
Stuffed Chicken
For our entrées, we selected the Deconstructed Bouillabaisse ($26) and the Crema de Bleu Stuffed Free Range Chicken Breast ($27). The bouillabaisse showcases clams, fresh squid, striped bass, shrimp, fennel and a saffron broth. I was told all the seafood used for the bouillabaisse was poached separately then assembled with the incredibly fragrant saffron broth. The bass was perfectly cooked and the seafood as fresh as one could possible hope it to be but the broth made the whole dish shine. While my guest and I don’t typically order chicken at restaurants, fortunately for us, we did at Triomphe. The sizeable chicken breast was moist and flavorful with its blue cheese stuffing and served with Jersey sweet corn and heirloom peppers succotash with a Huitlacoche sauce. The crispy chicken skin along with the corny and earthy flavor of the Huitlacoche sauce, a Mexican delicacy, were a perfect pairing.
Sorbets and Gelatos
Our dessert was a gorgeous presentation of various sorbets and gelatos service with berry and an almond cookie ($9). A refreshing, light ending to a fabulous meal.
We’ll be returning to Triomphe for its comprehensive lunch program but are also looking forward to dinner at the beautifully-appointed dining room. Chef Wehrli has another winner on his hands and is bound to incorporate his magic touch to the upcoming fall and winter menus.
Triomphe – 49 West 44th Street NYC, NY 10036. 212.453.4233.
Cheers,
Veronique
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