French chef, former restaurateur brings experience to Le Perroquet

Le Perroquet's executive chef, Patrick Hebert, began his culinary career in 1973 at London's famous Savoy Hotel, where he prepared meals for Great Britain's royal family.

By 1980, after a stint in a Switzerland hotel cooking for the Swiss government, Hebert found himself in New Orleans as the chef of a friend's French restaurant. In 1982, he was named one of the Great Chefs of New Orleans.

The Cherbourg, France, native opened his own French restaurant, Monsieur Patou, not long after in the northwestern Louisiana town of Shreveport. Hebert enjoyed the business for 18 years, proud that the AAA guide gave his restaurant its coveted four-diamond rating.

But running a restaurant is exhausting. Last year, Hebert decided to sell his place and follow his girlfriend to Pittsburgh. He took it easy for a few months before returning to the culinary field.

Hebert has been snapped up by Shadyside's award-winning Le Perroquet Bistro Francais and is finishing his first month of service. "I worked 98 hours the first week. It was crazy," says Hebert, 48, as he chops Chinese cabbage for a crabmeat salad. His friends and colleagues call him Chef Patou -- "Patou" is a French nickname for Patrick.

The charming 45-seat Le Perroquet, which means "the parrot," has been open for more than four years. Framed French posters line the deep-golden, almost orange walls. It's cozy and rustic-looking, yet elegant with white tablecloths and hardwood floors.

The bistro uses a prix fixe menu of $20.03 (for the year), offering a salad or soup, one choice among seven entrees, and a plate of dessert samples. The a la carte menu features the restaurant's signature bouillabaisse, a seafood and shellfish soup in a saffron broth, and sauteed beef tenderloins with a truffle sauce.

The most important part of food preparation, according to Hebert, is using the best and freshest ingredients. "For example, for our French fries, I buy the best Idaho potatoes I can find on the market," he says. "I use peanut oil to fry them. Peanut oil makes the best French fries."

Business at Le Perroquet has been slow over the past several months, says Alain Pizzutti, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Susan. They also own Bellini's in Shadyside, which they recently renamed Eno to reflect a more casual atmosphere.

"Our business has very much been affected by the war," says Alain Pizzutti. "We hope people will forget quickly."

Hebert, whose favorite meal is mussels with ginger, garlic, red curry and a little bit of coconut, shared his tasty Jumbo Gulf Crabmeat with Cabbage Appetizer with "Cooking Class." It's not on yet on the bistro's menu -- the chef created the appetizer while he was in Shreveport.

He says that homemade mayonnaise, which is quite simple to prepare, makes this salad extra-special, but you can use the store-bought variety.

• 1 small Chinese cabbage (also known as napa)
• 3/4 cup Homemade Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar; or lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, preferably the grainy style
• Few drops hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
• Dash curry powder
• Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
• 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, flaked and picked over to remove any cartilage
• 3/4 cup diced sweet peppers (red, yellow, green)

Remove 8 large leaves of the cabbage and plunge them into boiling water, blanching them until softened, for 15 to 20 seconds. Drain and cool down in ice water.

Quarter and core the remaining cabbage and shred it to make about 2 cups. (Save the rest for another use.) Prepare the Homemade Mayonnaise.

Whisking the mayonnaise constantly, add the vinegar, tarragon, ketchup, Dijon mustard, hot pepper sauce, curry powder and black pepper. Blend very well. Add the shredded cabbage and toss, then add the crabmeat and toss again <!-- ( Photo 1 ) --> .

Remove the cores of the blanched cabbage leaves. Lay the leaves on a cutting board and fill each of them with 1/4 cup crabmeat mixture <!-- ( Photo 2 ) --> . Roll up the leaves to enclose the filling.

Using a serrated knife, cut each roll into 4 pieces. Thin some of the mayonnaise by adding water or lemon juice, then drizzle it around each plate <!-- ( Photo 3 ) --> . Garnish the sauce with the sweet peppers.

Makes 8 servings.

Hebert recommends using grapeseed oil because, once the mayonnaise is chilled, it will not become too gelatinous, as happens when other oils are used. Have all ingredients at room temperature for the best results.

• 2 large egg yolks (see Editor's note)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Pinch of sea salt
• Pinch of white pepper or cayenne pepper
• 1 cup grapeseed oil or other vegetable oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Add the mustard, salt and pepper and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Continue whisking; gradually add the oil, a little at a time, until thoroughly incorporated. Do not add too much oil in the beginning or the mixture will not emulsify. When the mixture is thick, add the lemon juice and mix well.

Editor's note: To lower the risk of salmonella poisoning, use pasteurized egg yolks, available in supermarket dairy cases. Foods containing raw or undercooked eggs never should be served to the elderly, infants, young children, the chronically ill or people whose immune systems are compromised, such as those with cancer or AIDS.

Additional Information:

Restaurant Details

Le Perroquet Bistro Francais is at 709 Bellefonte St., Shadyside; (412) 687-1022.