An appetite for Cezanne: Art show inspires 3 restaurants to put Provence on their menus

BRIGHT SUNSHINE in cloudless blue skies. The sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Waving lavender fields. Lush orchards.

This is Provence, France, geographical muse to post-Impressionist artist Paul Cezanne. One of the most influential painters of the late 19th century, he was credited with inspiring "students" such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

The region has another great attribute that Cezanne also knew very well and celebrated in many of his paintings: food. The abundant produce, seafood and herbs in the area around his hometown of Aix-en-Provence were subjects in hundreds of still-life paintings Cezanne created from early in his career until his death in 1906.

Next Thursday is the public opening of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's long-awaited "Cezanne and Beyond," an exhibit of 40 paintings and 20 watercolors and drawings by Cezanne, along with works by other artists, from Picasso and Bonnard to Matisse and Mondrian, who built on his legacy.

Chefs from at least three local restaurants, including the museum's, are celebrating Cezanne with special menus through May 17, the exhibit's closing date.

"It's always the goal in our menus to create a lively conversation between great special exhibitions and great food, and 'Cezanne and Beyond' particularly lent itself to that dialogue," said Museum Restaurant executive chef J.C. Nunez, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City who was a chef for six years in Philadelphia before coming to the museum 2 1/2 years ago.

Provence, in the southeast, is different from many other regions of France because of its Mediterranean climate. There's an Italian flavor to the food grown and harvested here. Olives, almonds, artichokes, shellfish and especially squid are among the staples.

Some of the most popular Provence dishes in Cezanne's day have endured. Bouillabaisse, a fish stew in tomato broth, is as common there as cheesesteaks are here. Ratatouille, a Provencal stew, is rich in vegetables and served as a summer favorite. Coq au vin, braised chicken steeped in red wine and vegetables, is another staple.

Cezanne's still lifes often depicted precarious arrangements of pears, apples, cherries and other produce in ways that conveyed the food's abundance and beauty, according to the exhibit's adjunct curator Katherine Sachs. "The fruit was arranged on tables with lavish cloths, and the fruit was placed on the table in such a way so you just don't know how it's staying still."

Apples were a recurring theme, one that chef Olivier Desaintmartin, of Zinc restaurant, a quaint Parisian-style bistro on South 11th Street in Center City, has captured in his special Cezanne menu debuting this week.

"When I heard this exhibit was coming to town, I wanted to do Provence dishes like the apples," said Desaintmartin. "So I created an apple in pastry dessert, served with crème fraiche. It's [also] served with a lavender caramel sauce. The perfume of the lavender goes well with it."

Desaintmartin focused on more than dessert, however. His menu includes a pistou soup, essentially a pesto soup that celebrates the region's plethora of basil, as well as squid flash-seared with Pernot, a traditional Provence liquor flavored with anise.

At the Museum Restaurant, Nunez began planning his menu months ago, studying works that would be part of the exhibit for inspiration - and interpretation.

"Cezanne was always in the woods, painting with his other artistic buddies, cooking food over open flames," said Nunez. "As opposed to Renoir and other artists who were in the upper crust, Cezanne was a guy's guy, camping and painting there for a day at a time. . . . So I would look at the paintings and see what flavors I could [interpret]. I said, 'If I was in the picture, what would I be eating?' "

Nunez came up with dishes like Forest, a duck confit and celery-root salad with dried cherries and red wine drizzle. Or Fruit and Walnut Glass, named after a Cezanne painting. It's a grape and walnut salad with watercress and white wine vinaigrette.

"It's just me sitting down with recipes and playing with old recipes and looking at the paintings," said Nunez.

Fairmount stalwart Rembrandt's sees the Cezanne exhibit as an opportunity to celebrate the arts in Philadelphia. For nearly every major exhibit that comes to its artsy neighbor, Rembrandt's comes up with a unique menu to celebrate.

Owner Jan Zarkin and executive chef Christopher Gallagher have concocted dishes for Dali, Renoir - even Frida Kahlo, subject of a show that wowed thousands of visitors last year. This time around, they've delved into Provence's culinary history.

"This is definitely a French menu," said Zarkin.

Diners can choose from items such as classic coq au vin, or Alsatian frittata with bacon, sour cream and onions, served with pommes frites, the truly French fry.

And, of course, for dessert? Apples, this time in a tart with oranges. *

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