Starting as an interior architect, Nicolas Audi successfully transitioned into the world of gastronomy. Bound by family ties to the Lebanese and Mediterranean Cuisines, Audi breaks down and reconstructs recipes from across the region, innovating and integrating various cuisines from around the world. His expertise brings contemporary and classical together, combined to offer the Lebanese population foreign yet familiar gastronomic experiences.
Aware that his company’s success relies on flexibility and the acceptance of the industry’s constant evolution, his fixation on product quality never falters. With this vision, he engages in culinary architecture. Sketching and drawing every dish, Nicolas Audi has high regards for presentation and culinary aesthetics.
Starting a new series of interviews, I decided to meet the names, working hard, day and night to provide Lebanon with the culinary standards it has reached. Restaurants open every week and with them dozens of catering companies setting a new trend in town… Behind those names, behind those innovations are persons who dream, passionate cooks who’s jobs are too make you smile. Searching for the best, who’s more eligible to be opening this series of article other than Mr. Nicolas Audi himself.
I asked to spend sometime with Mr. Audi in the kitchen, a request that was immediately accepted. At 11:15am, on a beautiful Thursday morning, I was welcomed into Nicolas Audi’s catering haven where 15 chefs work day and night to deliver their best and that’s what has put his name on top in this sector.
As the innovator of custom catering in Lebanon, Nicolas Audi manages the company horizontally. This means being involved in the production of every dish, all by delegating and motivating his team of professionals, satisfied by handing down his savoir-faire to each of his colleagues. With patience and humility, Nicolas Audi has made his mark in the culinary world and is now a pillar of gastronomy in Lebanon.
What I loved in here is the humble spirit that haunts all the corners of the atelier. No one is famous, nobody dreams of becoming a star. In here, love is in the air, love for food, for premium ingredients and a dedication to this institution where almost all, have been working in for more than 10 years.
Georges Nader, Executive Chef at Nicolas Audi’s kitchen has been working patiently and to perfection every day for the past 22 years. He treats each day as if it was his first. With a big smile on his face and a relaxed attitude, he was happy to learn more about NoGarlicNoOnions as he asked me a series of questions… So I took advantage of that asking mine; They have nothing to hide in this kitchen, work is done with complete transparency and open for everyone to discover. I was so happy to get down to the nity gritty details behind what makes a difference between a kitchen and another.
Good to know before we continue:
- If you’re a smoker, don’t even think of applying for the job. Smokers have altered taste buds and cannot fit for a position of a cook
- All utensils and casseroles in the kitchen are squeaky clean just like they have just been bought. Not a single scratch or any other cooking marks are visible
- Plates and portions are prepared on an individual order basis. Every casserole is prepared with passion with a homemade feel and delivered to the customer. You won’t see any large sized rice marmite or army style cooking
- All staff members know their limit: A certain number of daily orders cannot and should not be exceeded
- In the middle of the kitchen is a screen, displaying the orders one on top of the other. Each chef knows his job and reports directly to the head chef
- Monsieur Audi as everyone calls him in-house, supervises the work and tastes everything before it’s delivered
- Be assured that only the best ingredients are used here, imported or bought from certified local producers
- Even cleaning water is sterilized before being used
A typical day in the kitchen:
- A typical day at Audi catering starts at 8am, where the chefs meet up, each in his respective section: The cold section, the hot section, the pastry, the Lebanese bites and the butchery
- A computer, mounted on the wall, shows the orders and their quantities. Every person in charge starts working quietly
- The purchasing team takes the orders and prepares the needed ingredients for the day’s fiesta
- It’s amazing how work is synchronized around the premisses. A certain serenity haunts the place
- Quantities are well balanced, where every order is maximized by 10% minimum. A portion for 20 persons is prepared to feed 22 or more
- Looking at the chefs, each puts all his dedication into his task. Every meal is prepared as if his kids were going to eat from it
- Chef Georges supervises the process then tastes everything before giving his approval
- Cooked meals are sent half prepared to their destination and continued on the spot. The recipe of success!
Back to the most important part: cooking with Nicolas Audi
On the menu today: “Chapon truffé et farci avec légumes” or what’s known to be in english a Capon or a castrated rooster.
- The two large capons were prepared, cleaned and stuffed with slices of black truffles. Kept aside, it was time to prepare the vegetables accompaniment
- First of all, the chicken should have a stock to bath in. That’s the part that takes most of the time
- A “Bouquet Garnis” is prepared, constituted of parsley, carrots, onions, thyme, laurel leaves and capsicum
- Those vegetables are mixed with the rest of chicken and cooked in the oven all together
- Afterwards, the small tomatoes are boiled for few seconds only. Beautiful tomatoes that are not cherry and not Roma but something in between. Those tomatoes are then peeled and left aside
- Artichokes are then cleaned and cut in four parts before dropping them in a bath of warm water and lemon
- Here is time to slightly cook the vegetables. Artichokes are fried in olive oil for few minutes, followed by the tomatoes and mini potatoes
- Before putting everything in the oven, the two capons are deposited into a large marmite surrounded by the vegetables before pouring the chicken stock on the mix
- A long cooking process of one hour will give the final result
While preparing, -what is described in 9 points took more than 2 hours- I had all the time to satisfy my curiosity. I was curious to know how Mr. Audi started, how he creates his plates and how things are running around here. A man driven by passion tells me his stories with a modesty rare to find in our country.
“I create new recipes, try them, taste them and then give it to the chef to pass it along to the team”, Mr. Audi tells me. And here is how the long series of questions started. Living in Achrafieh, Rabieh was the perfect location for a catering kitchen, a location in the middle of the forest, away from the city’s pollution. What started as a family cooking back in the eighties, made me work with Sofil catering in 1992 to grow bigger into satisfying Lebanon’s palatal buds moving along to create the brand under Nicolas Audi catering. “I love cooking and I love the diversity of premium products that can be used to create unique meals” he continues saying. Hindu cooking inspired me as well as my trips around the world. I travel to discover and taste while taking notes that can help me accomplish my own recipes and creations. “Tasting has a big part of the job, feeling the ingredients and trying to reproduce them with a personal touch”.
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