HOT CALIFORNIA DINNER FOR A 60-MINUTE GOURMET

In spite of the smoldering temperature--a record 100--the eminences of New York’s food world crowded into Batons restaurant in considerably more than the expected numbers to honor Pierre Franey, recently named a Chevalier du Merite National by the French government. Paul Bocuse, the remarkable chef-owner of Bocuse at Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or, had come by way of Japan to present the medal. That he had forgotten to bring it detracted not at all from the occasion.

Franey, who now writes the “60-Minute Gourmet” column for the New York Times, came to New York with Henri Soule as chef for the French pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair. That eventually developed into the legendary Le Pavillon, which, said Bocuse, was the beginning of French cooking in New York.

The evolution of almost 50 years was neatly summed up by a California dinner prepared by former Los Angeles chef Richard Krause, last seen at Chinois on Main, and made poignant by the death the day before of Mme. Marie-Louise (Mado) Point, who had continued La Pyramide in Vienne after the death of her husband. Bocuse, the leader and chief instigator of la nouvelle cuisine , studied with Fernand Point, along with other notables of that movement, including Pierre and Jean Troisgros, Roger Verge and Alain Chapel. Bocuse, Jean Troisgros and Verge brought the term to Los Angeles and triggered the revolution in California.

Franey once said that although he found California cooking to be brilliant, he thought it stopped too soon. (When we allow ourselves a little humility, we know we have not gone as far as we can go. We have not yet discovered the singularity--let alone a definition--of our efforts.) Still, Franey said he was proud of Andre Svez, owner of Batons, “a Frenchman who is serving California cuisine.” Franey’s own “60-Minute Gourmet” is a recognition of the needs of the present, while holding to the wisdom of the past. In a way, he is both an arbitrator and a calming link between the rigid tradition of Soule and the freewheeling experiment of California.

Krause and his team made several convincing points with the dinner. Seemingly unperturbed by the number of unexpected guests and the confusion of a semi-open kitchen, they presented an impressive number of finely detailed dishes meticulously prepared. Appetizers included excellent pizza with fresh smoked salmon and thin, crisp potato pancakes with caviar. The dinner began with plump curried oysters, adapted from Chinois if I am not mistaken. Fettuccine with slivered vegetables and slices of marinated lamb was next, followed by a carefully arranged plate with Maine lobster and squab brightly garnished with vegetables. Several desserts arrived at each table: Mine was a crisp shell filled with creme patisserie , piled with slivers of white chocolate and dressed with a puree of raspberries.

How important is this so-called California cuisine to New York? In the opinion of chef Mark Peel, California cooking is having an influence, although he sees some superficiality and lack of comprehension; an open kitchen, a grill, pasta and big flowers do not quite do it. But traditional restaurants begin to incorporate the more fundamental ideas, albeit more slowly than happened in Los Angeles. It is a matter of environment, he said. A restaurant has to be the way people feel it should be, and New Yorkers do not respond to experiment with the eagerness of Californians.

Willy Krause, who now owns Le Perigord and Le Perigord Park, said California cooking had improved the quality of the food, but caused the deterioration of service. “A waiter no longer has to know how to carve or how to serve beautifully at the table. It is easier to prepare the plates in the kitchens.” Nevertheless, he was going to give it a try in his restaurants. “I am going to have some fun.” Fun may be what it is all about. I suspect Pierre Franey understands that, too.