Allons, enfants,
to French festHOW do nine days in France sound? Can't afford a trip right now? Well, have the people behind "Crossings '97: France/Hawaii" got a treat for you. Waikiki is going to become the closest thing to France outside the country itself. Seemingly every store selling French products is getting involved in the Oct. 4 to 12 festival with special merchandise marking the occasion. That includes the likes of Chanel, Christian Dior, Nina Ricci, Lancome, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Cartier, Celine, Lacoste and Van Cleef & Arpels, among others. The Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center will be transformed into a French marketplace with carts of flowers and street artists. There'll even be a 30-foot miniature of the Eiffel Tower and fifth-graders from Le Jardin Academy will perform two short French plays, "Le Petit Chaperon Rouge" and "La Petite Poule Rouge." The Tapa Lobby of the Hilton Hawaiian Village will have the French theme of "Fete du Village" complete with food stalls and street musicians. Virtually every art gallery in town will feature French works that week ...
OF the many French dinners being featured during "Crossings '97," two stand out. One is the Cordon Bleu dinners Chef Michel Cliche will prepare in classic French fashion at La Mer nightly throughout the festival. Topping everything off will be the gala black-tie benefit dinner Oct. 11, with proceeds to the Hawaii Youth Symphony. Bernard Ganter of Moet & Chandon will construct his crystal champagne glass pyramid. He fills it by slicing the necks of magnum-sized bottles of champagne with a saber, then pouring the bubbly into the top glass, allowing it to spill down the pyramid into the other glasses until are all filled. It's a rare ceremony, and it's believed this is the first time it'll be done in Hawaii. Vive, la France! ...
NOT only is Michel's not abandoning its classic French style of cooking, as the outgoing chef attested, but new chef Ian Russo, who trained in France, will add his own Gallic touches to the traditional French fare. In addition, Russo (ex of Pelago in N.Y.) is designing the menu for the French reception at Washington Place on Oct. 6 to commemorate the "Crossings '97" exhibit sponsored by the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Contemporary Museum, UH Art Gallery and others ... What Gaul?
NOT all fare during the "Crossings" festival will be French. Beginning Sept. 30 and running through Oct. 11, Alfred Vollenweider, Swiss-born chef and owner of Alfred's in Century Center, will mark Oktoberfest. The restaurant recently was closed so owner and staff could take their annual holiday. A glitch in the answering machine during their absence led some people to think the restaurant had gone the way of all fleisch. Not so ... Paul Robatti of the Row Bar in Restaurant Row is really into premieres. He's installed a "premiere" speaker system and is offering "premiere" Mexican food from Island Salsa on NBC's "Premiere Night" from 7 to 10 p.m. tomorrow, so patrons can get together with "Friends." ...
YOU say you love the music of Hiroshima? The musical group's newest, "Urban World Music," promises to surpass even their other eight best-selling albums. The group performs Friday night at the Hawaii Theatre and Saturday night at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. If you can't catch those, you may see a mini-concert and autograph session tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Borders, Ward Centre. One member of the group, Kimo Cornwell, is a local boy ... Hiroshima, mon amour
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.