This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Since the opening of the Bloomfield, avenue Van Horne, in 2017, Caroline Dumas’ restaurant has been flourishing. The chef cooks dishes that she loves, most of which are greatly inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine. Interview around a fresh, fragrant and colorful cuisine.
Where does your love for Middle Eastern cuisine come from?
It comes from Elias, the father of my daughter Alexia, who is 28 today. He’s been in my life for a really long time, and I’ve always eaten Syrian food at his place. When I look at my first Soupesoup book, I see that there are already plenty of Arabic-inspired recipes. It is a cuisine filled with freshness; it comes a lot from sumac. There’s something I like about that because I like fresh food, but also food that cooks for a long time.
Was this the concept of Bloomfield at the start?
I never imagined a precise concept for the Bloomfield. I started with dishes that I liked to eat. In the beginning, I worked with a Mexican colleague with whom I had developed soups. I learned to cook with lots of Mexican products, I really liked that. But I have always kept my wish to nourish with fresh, quality foods and to make dishes that are easy to cook. I want people who eat at my house to think, “I could do that at our house! It’s always been that, it’s my deep desire to share.
When did Middle Eastern cuisine find its place at Bloomfield?
Even before opening my restaurant, I went to eat at Café Buck 15 in the Saint-Henri district. [fermé depuis] with my daughter, and what came out of the kitchen was amazing. The cook was called Saad Bahbahani. Then one day, still with my daughter, we were at the Myriade café in the Club Monaco and she said to me: “Hey! Mom, it’s Saad! I took his phone number and called him to see if we would get on well together. We started out doing catering. I brought it on Arabic recipes. Originally from Kuwait, he always brought them a little> twist.For example, on a spinach puff pastry, he added a rose syrup when it came out of the oven. It changes everything !
How did you work on the Bloomfield menu?
When my Mexican colleague left, I was alone in the kitchen. I didn’t have a dishwasher, I had to shop, cook, it was difficult. Eventually, I called Saad back and said, “Are you able to work a line? I need a cook. He said to me: “Yes, but I want to do brunches. So we developed them together, and it started to work. full pine ! I vaguely remembered a dish and its ingredients, but he knew the name and the recipes. It’s really with Saad that I built the Bloomfield menu. He really taught me all the spice blends. And it’s an honor to learn and try to make a dish that comes from another culture. It’s like saying, “I love your cooking, I love you too at the same time. It’s a way of being friends in a way. Then, I love what I do, I’m interested in everyone. No matter who enters my restaurant, we have a chat, I have a lot of fun doing that.
What do you prefer about Middle Eastern cuisine?
Spices, no doubt. But also the pomegranate, because it explodes in the mouth and is beautiful on the plate. Without it, we also lose the safe side. Then, fresh mint and parsley. If you don’t add any, you lose the herbaceous touch. What I like about our menu is that we have mixed all the Arab countries. We have Palestinian dishes, Israeli dishes, the Turkish eggs that I love…