Gastronomes’ Dream : True Bouillabaisse Arrives for Brief Stay at Le Meridien Hotel With Fish Flown in from Mediterranean

It was exactly 20 years ago that I experienced my first bouillabaisse, the Provencal fish soup that gastronomes everywhere dream about. I wandered the docks of Marseille until I found the grubbiest fishmonger’s shack advertising the dish, and there experienced one of the most memorable meals of my life. Platters and platters of whole fish came out of the kitchen, along with a broth that surpassed anything I had ever tasted. Little did I realize that it would be 20 years before I had the dish again.

The fact that a true bouillabaisse is virtually impossible to prepare away from the Mediterranean does not deter countless American chefs from trying to reproduce it, despite the lack of rascasse , vive (weever), rouget (red mullet), and other fish that the recipe requires. American chefs throw just about anything into their stock pots, even shellfish, a departure that borders on blasphemy. It makes me redder than a lobster to think about it.

This week, thanks to Le Meridien Hotel, Newport Beach’s “SeaFest” and Chef Sylvan DuParc of the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, you can have a real bouillabaisse without going to the south of France. Cafe Fleuri in Le Meridien will be preparing the dish throughout this week at dinner time, and Chef DuParc is having the fish flown in from France on a daily basis, using the exact recipe from his own kitchen. It’s fabulous, and you even get the recipe with the dinner. Good luck doing it at home.

Here’s how to eat it. You will be served a large soup bowl filled with a rich, ruddy, fennel and saffron infused broth, on top of which are steaming chunks of white fish, angler fish, John Dory, spiny lobster (the one shellfish that can be included), conger eel, and the rascasse , vive and rouget .

Alongside, on small plates, are croutons waiting to be smothered in rouille (a garlic and red pepper mayonnaise) and mounds of finely grated Gruyere cheese. You plunge the doctored croutons into the soup bowl, spoon up a big chunk of fish, and voila !, you’re an honorary Marseillaise. It’s a taste sensation you’ll never forget.

Should you run out, waiters are at the ready to ladle more of Chef DuParc’s nectar-like broth into your bowl. There are also several Provencal accompaniments to complement the meal. Begin with tapenade , an anchovy and olive puree, here served with a platter of baby vegetables for dipping. End the meal with a clafouti aux prunes (a custardy fruit tart made with mirabelles --the irresistible little yellow plums that grow everywhere in rural France). A Provencale rose wine will make a charming compliment.

The bouillabaisse will be available for dinner only from today until Friday. The price is $30, and the Cafe Fleuri is in Le Meridien Hotel, 4500 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach. For reservations call (714) 476-2001.