Lumiere: A Student's Review

I had to miss a few days of class this rotation, so my instructor Chef F. told me she'd come up with a way for me to make up the work. I gave her an idea: I already had plans to eat at our school's restaurant last Friday night for dinner, when the PM class would be cooking and serving (our AM class, obviously, handles lunch). What if I wrote up a review of my experience as my make-up project? Chef F. was sold. Here's the review I submitted to her. It's not just kissing up—Sheri was my date and we truly had a lovely evening. I was really impressed by the food and service and only hope that we come off as well at lunch.

* * *

Lumière, Le Cordon Bleu Atlanta’s in-house restaurant, is transformed in the evenings. We step inside and forget that we’re in an office park complex; I temporarily forget that this is where I attended class and served customers just this morning. This restaurant is a classroom—the last course before culinary students head into the real world of restaurants, hotels and catering—but tonight it doesn’t feel like one. The lights are low and the mood is romantic yet relaxed, with couples and eager families filling the tables surrounding an impressive open kitchen.

For the past eleven months, I’ve driven to this building every morning for school. My car is on autopilot as my dinner date and I turn onto Lakeside Parkway. But it’s seven-thirty in the evening, and I’m not wearing my familiar chef’s whites and houndstooth-checked pants. Instead, I’m in a summer dress, my hair is done and makeup is on. Tonight, I’m a diner, a guest.

My friend and I are led to a comfortable four-top right in the middle of the dining room and I snag a kitchen-view seat. I’m used to working lunch, and they’ve appropriately stepped up the fanciness a bit for dinner—menus are in hard-cover jackets; candles are on the tables; a lovely tasting glass of house-made lemonade arrives as a “gift from the bartender”.

A former classmate from my morning class, Ms. Henry, greets us and will be taking care of our table this evening. It’s fun to see a familiar face, and I’m quickly amazed at how she transforms into a warm, hospitable server instead of a classmate. After we place our order, she presents us each with an amuse bouche, a tiny ramekin of sweet corn custard. It’s rich and eggy yet light on the tongue, like a savory creme brulée. This elegant little bite does its job of whetting our appetites.

The summer vegetable and white bean soup that I selected for my first course is heartier than I had expected—there are far more beans than vegetables—but it has great flavor and I find myself scraping every last bit from the bowl. My companion went for the soup of the day, a very seasonally-appropriate chilled cucumber and yogurt.

Eager to sample the goods from the kitchen’s pizza oven, we order a pie to split as a mid-course. The many flavors—roasted chicken, fresh mozzarella, onion confit, spinach and a garlic cream sauce—meld well together, the slight sweetness of the onions and garlic cream balancing the nice saltiness of the crust. The kitchen split the pizza in half for us, so we were each presented with our own pretty plate. Ms. Henry is also on top of it when we ask to box up some unfinished slices to take home. She brings our leftovers back to the kitchen and in an instant, returns with a doggy bag, then sets it on the side of the table just to make sure we don’t forget it. I appreciate that thoughtful gesture, since I always forget my doggy bags under the table.

Two more courses are still to come. The scallop entree that neither of us could resist ordering offers no less than nine medium-sized scallops, beautifully pan-seared. My favorite part about the dish, however, may be the saute of leeks and thinly-sliced fennel on top. I could eat a plate of that and call it a day. The scallops rest on a bed of creamy white-cheddar grits, and a pool of intensely-flavored shellfish sauce finishes off the plate.

We each only manage to finish about half of this extremely generous portion of scallops, but naturally, we still have room for a little dessert. The sorbets that evening were enticing—honeydew, apple-cinnamon, and blueberry. Each tasted of pure, fresh fruit. Served atop a tuile cookie with some fresh berries, it’s a refreshing and light summer dessert. The more decadent sweets arriving on other tables look wonderful as well—I’ll be back to try the warm berry cobbler that I enviously served to a table the other day at lunch.

Two-and-a-half hours have gone by since we sat down, but we never once look at our watches during this leisurely dinner. The pacing of courses was pretty close to perfect, so we were never looking around for our food to arrive. The meal ends with scrumptious mignardises, another extra perk at dinner. These are like a dessert amuse bouche, a tiny bite of sweetness to conclude the meal. Ours is an elegant take on a s’more, with a crunchy cookie base, a layer of chocolate, and finally, a swirl of marshmallowy meringue piped on top and torched golden brown. It’s a lovely send-off—and so is the check. I’m willing to bet that there’s nowhere else in the city where three-plus courses and this kind of pampering cost less than $25.

The Rundown:

Lumière
1927 Lakeside Parkway
(770)723-3507

Open Tuesday through Friday for lunch and dinner
Reservations accepted

Dinner entrees: $9.95-$13.95
Lunch entrees: $4.95-$8.50
* my check reflects the 20% discount for Le Cordon Bleu students and their families