5 Questions for Florent Marneau
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Florent Marneau is co-owner of the bistro Marché Moderne in Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza. He’s the chef, and his wife, Amelia, is the pastry chef. The Marneaus are getting ready for Bastille Day, which they celebrate with a special menu, to be offered July 13 to 17 -- the highlight of which is Florent’s bouillabaisse Marseillaise.
What’s coming next on your menu? Summer truffles all over the menu -- on an open tart, on a croque monsieur or a good roasted chicken. And bouillabaisse around Bastille Day with all fish flown in from the south of France.
Latest ingredient obsession? I like the Blis products for their maple syrup aged in bourbon -- on pork belly or duck.
What restaurant do you find yourself going to again and again? Angelini Osteria. We have gone there six times in a row, love the Italian inspired food and similarity to what we do at Marché Moderne. Also the steak frites at Tavern in Brentwood with our children. A great Sunday lunch followed by picking up bread at the Larder next door.
The one piece of kitchen equipment you can’t live without, other than your knives? Our wood-burning oven, you can roast anything from a suckling pig, whole fish or flatbread. Guest are always curious about what we prepare in there.
The last cookbook you read –- and what inspired you to pick it up? Eric Ripert’s ‘Return to Cooking.’ I always go back to that cookbook for its simplicity and the purity of his technique, the respect for amazing ingredients. It’s very much what I grew up with in Fontainbleu.
Marché Moderne, South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., No. 3001, Costa Mesa, (714) 434-7900, www.marchemodern.net.
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