French Gastronomy Month in Kep — Born on a Marseille Quayside, Arrived at Crab & Co, and Still Every

Saffron, rouille, and the sea — the great dish of Provence arrives on the Cambodian sea.

French Gastronomy Month at Crab & Co reaches its main event — and Marseille's most storied dish has made the journey to Kep without losing a single thing. Born on a quayside, from the unsellable catch of the day, the bouillabaisse began as the humblest of meals and became one of the most argued-over dishes in the entire French canon. Purists have written charters about it. Restaurants in Marseille have staked their names on it.

At Crab & Co in Kep this July, we simply serve it. Scallops, seabass and fresh seafood stewed in a saffron shellfish broth. Grilled croutons, grated gruyère, and a rouille — that fierce, rust-coloured paste of garlic, saffron and olive oil as essential to the dish as the broth itself. You spread the rouille on the crouton, float it in the soup, and begin.

"Bouillabaisse is not a recipe so much as a philosophy — that the sea gives you what it gives you, and your job is to make it sing. Saffron, patience, and a good rouille do the rest."

Marseille is a port city built around the sea. Kep understands that negotiation instinctively. Order it at Crab & Co as a main course this July. Clear your evening. Allow it to slow to the rhythm of the broth, the bread, and whatever is left in the glass.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Bouillabaisse is ancient. Its ancestors appear in Greek and Roman coastal cooking — a simple fisherman's stew made from the bony, commercially worthless fish left after the day's market. The name comes from the Provençal words for 'boil' and 'reduce': you bring the broth to a fierce boil, then reduce the heat, which is precisely how the dish is still cooked.

By the nineteenth century, Marseille's growing reputation had transformed the bouillabaisse from working-class staple to celebrated speciality. In 1980, a group of Marseille chefs published the Charte de la Bouillabaisse, specifying the fish species required, the use of saffron and rouille, and the method of service — broth first, then fish separately on a platter.

The rouille — literally 'rust' — is the dish's indispensable accompaniment: a thick emulsion of garlic, saffron, egg yolk and olive oil, spread on croutons and floated in the broth. It is one of the great condiments of French cuisine, and no bouillabaisse is complete without it.

ON THE PLATE

DISH   Bouillabaisse

COMPOSITION   Scallops · seabass · seafood · saffron shellfish broth · rouille · gruyère · croutons

PRICE   $22.00

PAIRING   Bandol Blanc or a Cassis Blanc de Provence

VISIT US

Restaurant: Crab & Co at Kep West

Address: National Road 33A, Krong Kaeb (Kep), Cambodia

Hours: Open daily — 7:00 am to 10:00 pm (later on weekends)

Reservations & enquiries: www.kepwest.com/dine

Table booking: www.kepwest.com/reservations

Green Season Special — enjoy our special rates: $129 a night for Cambodians and residents.