Holiday Indulgence: The Waldorf Astoria's Chef Benoit Chargy Serves Up a Refined Thanksgiving Feast

The Holiday Season is well underway and the first order of celebrations is that annual epic feast of edible indulgence known as Thanksgiving. Beijing has more than its share of choices restaurants and venues offering Turkey Day festivities, but if your aim is to indulge and celebrate in style, look no further than the Waldorf Astoria Beijing in Wangfujing, where Chef Benoit Chargy will be carving up delectable servings of turkey with a creative twist on November 26. 

Chef Chargy got his training in Nice, and grew up in nearby Cannes. His earliest cooking memories were in his mother’s kitchen, where he helped her prepare dishes for their family’s frequent dinner parties and get-togethers. “We didn’t go out to each very much, we almost always ate at home. My mother was a very good cook,” he recalls, adding: “It always felt like we had eight or ten people in the house. They constantly invited friends on Saturdays and Sundays, preparing big meals for them. I loved it, and decided to pursue it further.”
 

After graduating and gaining some experience, Chargy began working in five-star hotels in Malaysia, Korea and Jakarta. He leapt at the chance to work at the Waldorf Astoria in Beijing last year, saying he was eager to be assigned to a fine hotel and in such a dynamic city. “It’s exciting to be here in Beijing. Sometimes the market is scary,” he adds with a laugh, before explaining: “They use all the parts of the animal here, so it gives you a lot of inspiration for what can be done and what can be used. It can be shocking, but it’s also something new and very exciting.” 

Despite not having grown up with the Thanksgiving tradition in France, Chargy has always relished turkey dinners and other holiday season meals, and is highly experienced at preparing Thanksgiving meals having worked for so long in the kitchens of various international hotels. 

Chef Chargy’s take on America’s favorite poultry is both nostalgic and innovative, incorporating slices of dark and light meat into a highly convenient turkey roll with foie gras and sage stuffing. He goes on to explain the practical advantages of serving the dish up in such a fashion: “If you cook the whole bird, it’s going to get dry, unless you take the whole bird to the table. This way, we can serve an individual or give a small group several turkey rolls at our restaurant. If you have a group of eight and request a whole turkey I’ll do it, because you’ll finish it. But for small groups going for dinner in Beijing, these rolls are best.”
 

Chargy also describes the top-of-the-line turkeys used for the hotel’s special Holiday feast: frozen, 5-6kg Norbest brand birds, imported from Utah. And although he’ll be preparing turkey rolls rather than whole birds this year, Chef Chargy does have one key recommendation for anyone readying a more conventional Thanksgiving dinner: “If you’re going to serve a whole bird, soak it in salt and pepper for 24 hours,” he says, adding: “Otherwise, it will likely get dry. This is the best way to keep it moist.”
 

Chargy’s special turkey rolls are no less intricately prepared. Before serving them with roast potatoes and vegetables, or curling up the poultry tightly around foie gras and sage stuffing, he first debones the bird, and then slices it into fine strips. He says: “Once you have it sliced, you lay it out all over the place, then flatten it and roll it tight.” 
 

The chef then lightly preheats the rolls on the Waldorf Astoria's Molteni French range cooker, an appliance that’s priced at USD 1 million and is used by Michelin star chefs around the world because its heat can be adjusted so precisely. After preheating the roll on the Molteni, Chargy pops it into the restaurant’s oven to be roasted. 
 

In addition to the turkey, the Waldorf’s Thanksgiving feast features five other courses. The starter is a scallop carpaccio with imperial oscietra caviar schriencki. Chargy explains that this seafood starter has a broader appeal in Beijing than other conventional Thanksgiving fare. “Europeans love to have game during the holidays, but venison doesn’t really match the market in China,” he says with a grin, adding: “Seafood is what a lot of people love here.”
 

After the scallop starter comes the Boston seafood chowder with a garlic crisp. The dish’s presentation is highly enticing, thanks to its wholesomely orange color, and its ocean fresh flavor is guaranteed to leave you wanting seconds. However, as tempting as it would be to fill up on this decadent course alone, diners’ would be wise to save plenty of room for the meal’s next, heartier offering.
 

The third course is a pumpkin and fennel risotto with Iberian ham. While the star of this dish are the savory ribbons of Iberian ham layered on the top, the foundation is the subtle smattering of diced pumpkin flecked throughout the perfectly al dente risotto.
 

The turkey is served after the risotto, and from there patrons are treated to a pan-seared filet of sea bream curry sauce, potato fondant and garden vegetables. This dish is the mostly vibrantly colored of the entire meal, featuring carrots, broccoli and beans that look fresher than a newly reaped harvest. The potato itself is as soft as floating clouds on the inside with a golden brown exterior that evokes the warmth of home after a long walk on a crisp winter afternoon. 
 

And just when you feel like you’re about to burst, you’ll definitely want to make room for the amaretto and pumpkin pie a la mode for dessert. The richly sweet, gently chewy pumpkin pie is a perfect slice of Thanksgiving fare, made all-the-better by the scoops of vanilla ice cream, which are not merely globed onto the plate, but instead statuesquely built into two layers dotted with seven plump blueberries around the midsection. 

The Waldorf Astoria Beijing's Thanksgiving Dinner is on Thursday, November 26, from 5.30-10.30pm. The price for the seat meal is RMB 688 (plus 15 percent service charge) per person. Please call 8520 8989 ext 6115 for reservations and click here for more details.

This post is sponsored by the Waldorf Astoria Beijing. For reservations and more information please call 8520 8989.

Photos: Uni You