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Serving a blend of culture and flavour, the tasteful gastronomic collaboration of Chef Cyrille Soenen and Impressions is built to last.
Impressions stood still hours before dinner time, not expecting its patrons until later in the night when they would dine with friends and loved ones at the elegant restaurant of the executive chef Cyrille Soenen. Soft yellow lights cast a glimpse at the 2,000-piece collection of wine bottles that lined the walls of the entrance, the silver cutlery arranged on the tables that would be filled up through dinner service, and the glistening cocktail glasses that hung from the bar.
A gracious host, Cyrille opened the doors of his kitchen to reveal what the stillness deceived: a 20-person brigade manning the grill, pastry, and appetiser stations; preparing amuse bouches of crusted parmesan with carrot and beet; and three world-class kitchen ovens that combine traditional functions with roasting, steaming, and sous-vide cooking.
The elegant welcome of Impressions
Cyrille takes pride in the assets of his kitchen, noting that not many restaurants have the equipment Maxims Hotel has endowed him with. The hotel made no mistake in their investment as well, seeing that they have used the expertise of such a culinary master that started his career in Paris' Hotel Ritz.
Before Manila, Cyrille had made a name for himself in his gastronomic travels around the world. But when he arrived13 years ago, there was no Internet or television culture to educate the metro's population on dishes with foreign names. "It took a certain time [for Manila] to trust me," Cyrille recalls, which instilled his philosophy of making straightforward dishes. Expressing that a true fine dining experience was when the diner read the menu, imagined a dish, and received a plate containing more than he expected - Cyrille has developed a sharp insight into culinary service that keeps people coming back for more. Despite his extensive experience, his menu is easy to understand without the culinary jargon that would otherwise intimidate a diner. These days, many of the chef's patrons no longer even open the menu at his restaurants, only asking about preparations for the night and believing the result will be their satisfaction. "Once you have their trust," Cyrille says with a sense of achievement, "You can make them try anything."
The culinary playground of Chef Cyrille Soenen
It also wasn't too difficult for the French chef to become assimilated in the locale, however, seeing that Filipino cuisine was similar to his own in that both could make use of pork blood or veal cheeks to make a tasty dinner. "Somehow, you cannot just say, ‘I'm French and French cuisine is what I do.' You have to adapt as well," he says, beginning his cooking with a French idea and later translating it for the Filipino tongue without taking away its essential taste. Since his tenure at The Hotel Intercontinental's Prince Albert Rotisserie to his own restaurant at Hotel Celeste's Cicou (which is his nickname), the Manila-based Frenchman has practised this craft of interpretation. This skill has allowed him to make fusions with such local chefs as Claude Tayag and Reggie Aspiras, with whom he displayed his exceptional knowledge of ingredients.
He is also amused at the preference of local diners for frozen Chilean sea bass, for example, although the archipelago offers a rich variety of fresh seafood anytime. Such challenges, however, allow Cyrille's innovation and creativity to unfold. The custom in Europe is to change menus at the start of each season; but monthly at Impressions, since the Philippines has made ingredients available all year round, Cyrille sets a five-course menu that gives the diners something new without forgetting to keep their favourites.
The executive chef has both vision and insight into the dining experience, providing a service that makes Impressions among the Philippines' Best Restaurants. Merging comfort and elegance without sacrificing style and philosophy, Cyrille is likely to flourish in his culinary ventures.
