Archbishop Dolan loves Antoine Bouterin’s cooking at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

        Chef Antoine Bouterin, who drew raves in the 80’s at Le Perigord and then went off to open his own Bouterin, is now cooking at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The nutty brown butter perfumes of classic French cooking and the garlicky accents of Bouterin’s Provencal cooking should be amply appreciated by Archbishop Timothy Dolan after his years abroad. Antoine’s signature dish is l’agneau à la cuillére – lamb cooked so long and slowly it can be eaten with a spoon.  His pistou grand-mère is another comforting notion with garden-fresh taste, and regulars won’t quickly forget his mother’s sensational beef daube.

Artist Tony Orlando, Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Commisioner Ray Kelly. Photo: Tony Shi

        When Bouterin closed his outpost on East 59th Street, he stopped briefly into Le Perigord’s kitchen but he wasn’t eager to stay. “This is good for me now,” he says.  “It makes me happy.” 

        Bouterin won early fans at Perigord, me among them in my March 8, 1962 New York review, for his truffled vegetable tarts and for his fabulous granny style apple cake.  Is he baking angel food cake now?  Obviously there will be no devilled eggs.  And if puts out a molten chocolate dessert, hopefully no one will pronounce it wickedly decadent.

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