Artic char/ l’Omble Chevalier cooked in wax

Stephen Williams

Stephen Williams

Location
Kuala Lumpur
I enjoyed a quite remarkable dish for dinner last night at La Neuvieme Art in Lyon.

L’Omble Chevalier (Artic Char) is a trout-like lake fish, this one caught in Annecy. A plump, raw fillet is presented tableside and then placed in a square wooden mold shaped like a frame from a beehive.

One litre of molten wax at 90c is then poured over the fish. It’s then left at the table to confit for 20 minutes before being taken back to the kitchen to be released from its cloak and plated up. It’s served with crispy artichoke and a lemon butter sauce.

Already one of my favourite fish, this method of cooking elevated it to a higher level. The flavour of the delicate flesh is intensified and the texture becomes almost buttery.

Paired with a 2022 Chassagne Caillerets from Lamy Caillat, this was an exceptional course.

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Stephen Williams said:
I enjoyed a quite remarkable dish for dinner last night at La Neuvieme Art in Lyon.

L’Omble Chevalier (Artic Char) is a trout-like lake fish, this one caught in Annecy. A plump, raw fillet is presented tableside and then placed in a square wooden mold shaped like a frame from a beehive.

One litre of molten wax at 90c is then poured over the fish. It’s then left at the table to confit for 20 minutes before being taken back to the kitchen to be released from its cloak and plated up. It’s served with crispy artichoke and a lemon butter sauce.

Already one of my favourite fish, this method of cooking elevated it to a higher level. The flavour of the delicate flesh is intensified and the texture becomes almost buttery.

Paired with a 2022 Chassagne Caillerets from Lamy Caillat, this was an exceptional course.

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Sounds very interesting, thanks for sharing. I'd previously only had it once I think, at Lameloise. One of the dullest fish courses in memory so I had written it off. Will have to give it another go!
 
Its a wonderful fish! We had a glorious one at home last night, rather more simply cooked en paillotte, with just lemon rosemary and thyme and a little oil, and accompanied by new potatoes heavily buttered and assisted with new season wild garlic leaves. Accompanied (maybe surprisingly but very successfully) by a Mosbacher GG Pechstein 2020 originally purchased from Howard Ripley.
 
Great thread. I've never seen it cooked in wax. It would be quite easy for us to try it as we have an apiary with several hives. Apart from the drama of seeing it done, what is the culinary advantage compared with sous vide? Clean bees wax is very neutral so I can't imagine it adds much flavour, does it?

Did they take the skin off before they poured the wax, or did they use the skin to protect the flesh and then the wax pulled the skin off when the wax was removed?
 
The fillet was skinless before being ‘waxed’. The waiter explained that it’s always the head chef (Christophe Roure) who removes the wax as it tends to be very fiddly.

Ann-Sophie Pic also cooks in wax. She par cooks sweetbreads in a wax coating, cracks them open tableside and then finishes them in a pan. It’s another great dish.
 
I shall give it a try to experiment. Usually we trade the wax that we collect after honey making, in exchange for fresh foundation, but I expect I have some wax blocks that would do this.

Interesting with sweetbreads as they are rather delicate at the best of times.
 
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