"We Must Keep On"

The last words of the late Prosper Montagne, one of the greatest of modern gastronomes,* ere: "It is necessary to encourage the young. France has need of its chefs. We must keep on."

So^ the Prix Culinaire Prosper Montagne, an annual chef's tournament with a 25,000-franc grand prize, came into being. The rules are simple: only chefs under 36 may compete and their creations must be original.

Last week in Paris the first contest was held. The chefs' theme: fish. From 160 recipes sent in by 100 French chefs, the ten most promising had been selected for actual cooking. Then it was discovered that three of the ten came from one man, Rene Laget, the portly master chef at Paris' Auberge d'Armaille. It was solemnly decided that Laget might submit only one dish.

At 1:30 p.m. on the final testing day, the competition got underway in the Ecole Hoteliere. The work went forward, sure & tense. Only once was there a mishap: a filet of sole that had been shaped into a cornucopia, and filled with choice morsels of lobster, fell from one chef's nervous hands.

At 5:30, the entries were ready. The judges looked, sniffed, tasted. Their dean was Montagne's old friend Rene Morand, founder and donor of the prize. Around him were the Prince of Gourmands Curnonsky, the Director of the Superior Institute of Alimentation, the President of the Culinary Academy, members of the Academy of Gastronomes.

The pike of Louis Eon, from Chartres, took an early lead--a pike whose bones had been removed and replaced with buttered morsels of a second pike. Said an admiring judge: "One mouthful follows the next without pause." Then truite farcie au brochet et morilles (trout stuffed with pike and morel mushrooms), prepared by Germain Tainturier, edged ahead. "Veritable triumph of the provincial cuisine," agreed the judges.

Soon it was Rene Laget's turn. He had started his turbotin Prosper Montague by squeezing the juice of a lobster and using it to baste a slowly roasting turbot (large European flatfish). Then the turbot had been gently skinned. Meanwhile, the sauce (butter, then cream, then whisky, then sherry) was simmering. The judges tasted. They murmured, then shouted: "The sauce of a great master!"

In the pause for congratulations, someone realized that "lunch" had been overlooked. At 7:30 it began. Five hours, six courses and five wines later, it came to a halt. Through it all, Winner Rene Laget sat in the chair of honor, savoring each morsel, blinking happily.

*1865-1948, author of the monumental Larousse Gastronomique (1,087 pages) and Le Grand Livre De La Cuisine (1,479 pages)

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