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 Chef Simon Onana (centre) with colleagues Hassan Ehae (left) and Ben Jamin |
Camden review | Restaurants | Chez Georges French Restaurant | Franco/Cameroon cuisine
Nervous about eating snails?
See if chef Simon Onana’s Cameroon French cuisine can tempt you, writes Peter Gruner?
MEET Simon Onana 34, whose discovery of French food as a little boy has led to a life-long passion.
Simon was born in Cameroon but was taken to Paris by his mother when he was 10 in an effort to improve the family’s circumstances.
“Coming to France was an eye-opener for me,” Simon says. “The French love their food and I began to see why. All the wonderful succulent flavours and fantastic smells.
“So I started cooking at home for my mum and brother. Just simple dishes like onion soup or a salad nicoise. Then I moved on to more interesting dishes like rib-eye steak and roast rack of lamb.”
A month ago he opened Chez Georges in Delancey Street, Camden Town, which serves specialities like poached corn-fed chicken supreme and fricassee de champignons (sautéed wild mushrooms).
Simon studied French cooking for two years before moving to Britain to work in catering four years ago.
The 40-seat restaurant is his first catering venture and he employs a small but dedicated staff.
“My favourite dish is slow-cooked beef stew – or boeuf bourguignonne – which is served with pancetta, mushrooms, button onions and mash potato.
“It takes two to three hours to prepare. The day before, my beef is marinated in red wine, carrot, onion and garlic. The next morning I pan-fry a little of the beef, add a little more red wine, a little flour, for the sauce and then it is cooked very slowly in the oven.”
Another popular dish with customers is wild sea bass cooked served with petits pois and broad beans. “It is really gorgeous!” says Simon.
Pan-fried snails with garlic butter is another popular dish, although Simon makes it clear they are from special farms in Paris and not picked from local parks or people’s back garden.
“It’s funny how people in London are still nervous about snails,” he said. “Try one of mine and you will be captivated by the taste.”
Simon believes in the traditional way of French eating, slow and relaxed, sadly going out of favour in many busy big towns and cities.
“In London everyone is in a hurry. But when I’m relaxing back home in Paris, we take our time. With my African background we start lunch even earlier than the French.
“Sometimes we start at 11am because in hot climates that is when it is cooler. We have three or four courses. We’d start with a soup or a salad and then talk for an hour and maybe have a drink. Then there’s a main course, usually a meat dish. There’s more talking which is always good for the digestion. Then dessert – like some fruit. We finish at about 1pm or 2pm.”
A big event for Simon will be the arrival of his mother from Paris in two weeks’ time. “She’s very proud of me for what I’ve achieved,” says Simon. “But she’s also a hard taskmaster. She’ll be making sure my restaurant is up to scratch. I will need to win her approval.”
I enjoyed a delicious traditional French onion soup followed by steak and chips and salad all cooked to perfection and at a reasonable price.
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