FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE + LEISURE
During that full day off cooking her mother ’ s recipes in Claiborne ’ s “ dream kitchen ” – eight courses in all – Routhier won over Claiborne , as well as his two other guests – Jacques Pepin and a random Contessa ( his Long Island neighbors ).
“ Claiborne set up a table with a typewriter in front of the kitchen , and just observed me while typing away ,” she remembers . “ He didn ’ t have much to say but Jacques Pepin was raving about every dish ! Can you imagine ? The most famous French chef in the world ?”
When the glowing article he wrote about her appeared a few weeks later on the cover of the “ Living ” section , Routhier started receiving messages from agents , publishers , reporters and well-wishers from around the world . “ Here I was still in school at the Culinary Institute of America , one week away from graduation , and people were asking me to write a cookbook ,” she marvels .
But if you never risk anything , you never win anything .
Instead , she focused on finding a job – and she did , at New York ’ s famed Sarabeth ’ s Kitchen , as a line cook . Within two years , she was the restaurant ’ s chef . However , the idea of writing a cookbook had never left her mind . “ I went back to one of the agents who contacted me and he agreed to help me put together a proposal to publishers . So , after work at the restaurant , I would write down my recipes , which was difficult , because all that I knew was in my head or my palate . You practice by tasting ... in Vietnam we didn ’ t have printed recipes . It took almost two years to test every single recipe to make it perfect ,” she says .
When her book , The Foods of Vietnam , came out in 1989 , it got rave reviews . It featured more than 150 recipes from the various regions of Vietnam , ranging from simple family dishes to elaborate banquets . There were sections on ingredients , the cuisine ’ s history and ordering a meal in a Vietnamese restaurant . It was also the first of many cookbooks Routhier has penned since , focusing on traditional Vietnamese ways and flavors to keep the country ’ s culinary roots alive .
Today Routhier , now a Houston resident with her husband and an instructor at Central Market ’ s cooking school , is taking that respectful and traditional approach to the menu she and the team are creating at Le Colonial , the newest outpost of the famed New York , Chicago and San Francisco chain of fine Vietnamese restaurants . “ I ’ m trying to maintain the traditions but give the food a fresh look and modern presentation .”
Speaking of Le Colonial in New York , Routhier herself developed the menu there 20 years ago , and the menu you see there today is pretty much the same as the one she invented . “ The dishes became so popular and successful that they kept them on ,” she laughs . When the restaurant decided to open in Houston , the owners tracked down Routhier and asked her to be the culinary director and partner . “ Houston is a great culinary city , with so many restaurants and a thriving Vietnamese community . This is our opportunity to showcase the cuisine a little differently . Like I said , ‘ If you don ’ t take risks , you never win .’” With Routhier in charge , Le Colonial is going to be a winner .
Le Colonial | 4444 Westheimer Rd . | Houston , TX 77027 | www . lecolonialhouston . com
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