Royal Chefs & Drag Queens, Cooking & Lighting – Liberation

Colorful songs and skits, dishes prepared by renowned chefs: show dinners hosted by former journalist Philip Quentin are a delight.

In less than two hours the doors of the cabaret will open. So, at the end of a spring day, the Zèbre de Belleville, a concert hall in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, comes to life: on stage, drag queens perform the final composition of the songs and sketches that they will play that evening, under the watchful eye of Philippe Quentin, the organizer of the event. While others are backstage picking out outfits and makeup, Mahir, Marseille chef Vanessa Robushi’s assistant, is busy in the kitchen. We have to finish the amus bouche, the fillet of hake marinated in grapeseed and parsley oil, the shallot tatin with honey, and the dessert to be served tonight. It was an acrobatic affair: the kitchen was only a few square meters, and most of the dishes had to be prepared upstream, in the nearby apartment of Philip Quentin. “The first few times I traveled alone from Marseille with 80 kg of goods on the train, I was in adventurous mode, smiles Vanessa Robushi. I did the mise-en-scène at home, set up the vacuum cleaner, and then Mahir joined me in Paris for the service.”

The chef we saw in season 6 Best Chef and which notably received the Talent Gourmand prizes from Bottin Gourmand. in 2014 and Gault & Millau Young Talent next year…