Francis Layrle, the new chef at Bezu Restaurant & Bar in Potomac, had heard stories of how his mother and her family hid resistance fighters in their barn in southwest France during World War II. At night, they would feed them with food raised on their farm.
Fast forward to present day Northwest Washington, where Layrle suggested to his longtime friend and prominent Jewish cookbook author Joan Nathan that she visit his mother, who still lives in France, as Nathan researched her latest book, Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France. She did, and writes of her stay with Marthe Layrle in the book.
Now Nathan will be speaking about that experience (and more) at a dinner at Bezu next week, where Layrle will be cooking a multi-course meal from recipes out of the book, including an apple and parsnip soup, sautéed cod with red peppers and tomatoes, Tunisian winter squash salad and loin of lamb. “I’ve known him for so long,” Nathan said of Layrle, the former chef at the French Embassy, with whom she’s cooked a lot of meals. “He’s a really, really fine chef.”
There are a limited number of seats still available for the dinner, which costs $55 per person. It’s at 7 p.m. on December 14 at Bezu Restaurant & Bar, 9812 Falls Road, Potomac. To reserve a spot, call 301-299-3000.
