Marcel Keraval takes the helm at Chez Leon

Chef Marcel Keraval has been in kitchens longer than many Sauce readers have been alive – 48 years, to be precise. Before settling in St. Louis, he cooked in his native France, in Switzerland, Canada, The Bahamas, NYC and – c’est la vérité – in Nebraska. He opened L’Auberge Bretonne with his brother-in-law, then Cafe de France, which had a 23-year run and earned four-star and four-diamond ratings, plus Zagat and DiRoNa accolades.

“We cannot cook like we used to,” said Keraval, referring to the rich, heavy fare that fed a more physically active population generations ago. He chatted with us about these and other changes in French cuisine, the local scene and where he now reigns supreme – at Chez Leon.

French cuisine can be daunting to the uninitiated. How can a French fine-dining experience be made more accessible to beginners? If you say some complicated recipe, they say, “Huh?” Don’t explain too much. They should know the main ingredient. That’s all you have to say. But on the other hand, some people who come to a French fine-dining restaurant want intricacy.

What about people who get scared off by butter and cream? French cuisine is getting lighter and simplified. That’s what you call nouvelle cuisine, cuisine créative. Escoffier was the classic French [method of] cooking … – if you were not cooking Escoffier, you were not cooking French. It was the heavy sauce, the heavy this and that. So now they make a lighter sauce, a lighter presentation, good flavor. The “good old time” was butter, eggs and cream. They used to say, “If the chef is not fat, the food is no good.” Now it’s the reverse. You go in the kitchen, you see the chef and if he’s slim, you say, “He knows how to cook.”

Lately, we hear more chefs talk about applying French techniques to prepare cuisines other than French. What is it about French technique that, when executed well, allows any cuisine to shine? French is the basics. Chicken stock, fish stock, a bouillon … You have the base to you give you some kind of good flavor, a richness in flavor. The technique: You have to be precise. Brunoise, mirepoix, julienne …You have all the terms and you have to know how to do it. But what is most important is the flavor. Be able to get the maximum out of the ingredient.

What do you think is most misunderstood about French cuisine? The chef! No, the complication and the time. Before, it could take two days to make a certain plate. But now it’s simplified. Certain dishes we don’t do any more because it is not worth it. But that is also changing. Like with duck confit: Before, we didn’t do it because it wouldn’t sell. Now, people love it. But they know what it is, so it’s easier to sell.

How has the French restaurant scene changed in St. Louis since when Café de France opened? People are more knowledgeable about the food – and the wine. Before, they would have maybe a scotch and water or a gin and tonic with their meal. Now they are looking to balance the flavor [of the food] with what they are drinking.

What is the one dish at Chez Leon that you would tell people they must try? The whole menu! Hmm, the escargot and the scallops are excellent … canard à l’orange, médaillons de veau. … Pomme à la reine – that’s stuffed, baked apples. We stuff them with cream and hazelnut praline, wrap that in puff dough, bake and serve hot with caramel sauce, berry coulis and ice cream. How about that? Enough calories to go from here to St. Charles – running. You have to lose your calories!

Chez Leon
7927 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton 314.361.1589