Chef Alain Buthion

When a meeting starts with “Would Monday at 1 p.m. work? Because that’s the day my daughter arrives home from college and I can cook for you both,” it promises a level of comfort and connection unmatched in even the coziest restaurant. Chef Alain Buthion, chef and owner of La Baguette Bistro, did not disappoint.

As I stood in the middle of Chef Buthion’s kitchen, whisking egg whites for chocolate mousse, I delightfully found myself in the middle of family matters. Sophie, his oldest daughter, gave us her review of freshman year at Loyola University. Audrey, his youngest daughter, got settled in from her school day, and Chef Buthion’s wife, Anne, was helping at every turn. The sounds of chopping and sizzling and whisking quickly became the backdrop for chatter between sisters catching up after a semester apart—and all of a sudden, as if by magic, the aromas of cilantro and jalapeños and sautéing beef tips filled the air. That’s a capsule of the first 30 minutes of being welcomed into their home.

Chef Buthion moved to Oklahoma over 30 years ago and was born, raised, and trained in the south of France at Le Clos d’Or in Grenoble. It was actually his brother, Michel, who first lived in Oklahoma and encouraged Alain to follow. Those simple choices became the roadmap by which his French cuisine found its longtime home in OKC.

While recounting his personal heritage and professional history, and catching up with his daughters, Chef Buthion seamlessly prepared ramekins lined with pancetta and filled with a creamy goat cheese rosemary filling, melted chocolate over a bain-marie (water bath), sautéed beef tips, boiled penne pasta, and chopped jalapeños, cilantro, and garlic. But make no mistake, this bustling culinary exercise was peaceful. At one point he said of his efforts in preparing this midday three-course menu, “It’s an easy thing, really.”

Good, I thought, because my single request when planning our lunch date in his home kitchen had been: “Please make me something simple—that you love.” To which Chef Buthion immediately said, “If I’m to make what I love, it will be cheese and a baguette.” Although there were no baguettes and cheese, the pace of the afternoon meal preparations assured me he had stayed close to the assignment.

In fact, the pace was so perfectly leisurely that midway through the meal preparations, Chef Buthion gave me a tour of his backyard gardens, full of flowers and trees and rows of vegetable beds. Tucked off to the side was a coop filled with happy chickens, one proud feathery rooster, and just enough bunnies to have produced a beautiful litter of kits. If I hadn’t already raised Holland Lops for 10 years, I might’ve been tempted to accept his offer of a bunny or two.

All in all, the afternoon spent with Chef Buthion in his home was not only delicious, it was full of easy and satisfying conversation. Along the way, I had three questions:

Q: “If you could cook for one person, anywhere in the world from any time in the past or present, who would you want to cook for and what would you prepare?”

A: (with only a second’s pause) “My mother and Dover sole.” Chef Buthion’s mother still resides in France, and subsequently, meals together are a rare luxury. He loves cooking fish for her when they are able to be together. He says, “Dover sole, perfectly cooked, is a real luxury—my mother loves it.”

Q: “If you could have one person cook for you, who would it be and what would you want them to prepare?”

A: (again with only a second’s pause) “Seared foie gras with brioche toast and roasted pear; for dessert frozen soufflé with chartreuse—made by my mentor, Chef Christian Blusset.” In the early years of Buthion’s career, Blusset had a formidable influence on him. That relationship has continued to the present, and the idea of his mentor and good friend preparing a favorite meal was a pleasant thought to consider … right down to the after-dinner cocktail.

Q: “What French ingredient do you miss most when cooking in Oklahoma?”

A: “Green mâche lettuce.” Green mâche is a very delicate lettuce with a slightly nutty flavor. Chef Buthion said in France it is common and easy to grow, but Oklahoma’s climate isn’t hospitable.

Chef Buthion has kindly shared the three recipes and notes from our afternoon menu, prepared for me in his home kitchen.