Chefs combine to make Belgian food Et Voila! one of D.C.’s hippest restaurants Hot and hip, Belgian food is finding its spotlight in the D.C. culinary scene, and one of its newest and brightest stars is a tiny — as in seating for maybe 50 people maximum, unless you squeeze into the kitchen — restaurant along MacArthur Boulevard. That would be Et Voila!, a Belgian eatery that, among other fare, serves up bowls of steaming mussels infused with wine and herbs.
The mastermind behind this is cheerful Belgian Claudio Pirollo, who is both executive chef and co-owner with pastry chef Mickael Cornu of this little gem. Pirollo is a native of Brussels but has Italian parents, so he benefits from two imposing culinary legacies. Indeed, his parents ran a catering business and Pirollo started working for them at 14, even though as a beginner he was assigned the dishwashing task.
But the food business had cast its spell, and in his mid-teens, Pirollo enrolled in a local culinary school for three years, apprenticing at a two-star Michelin restaurant.
“The training was intense,” he said. “I went to school [just] for the theory. I carefully selected name chefs to work with to learn. In those three years I worked all departments of the restaurant. I also was the line cook, which in Europe rates a higher level than here.”
After getting his diploma, Pirollo moved to Switzerland for two years, then to Paris and finally back to Brussels, where in the mid-1990s he was named “Best Young Chef” in Belgium. With a few other posts under his belt, thanks to the recommendation of a chef friend in the Belgian embassy in Washington, Pirollo landed a chef’s position at the Irish Embassy in D.C.
There he worked for six years as the personal chef for the Irish ambassador, cooking for such VIPs as the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In his spare time, he says, he ran his own catering business, cooking for such events as the St. Patrick’s Day party at the ambassador’s residence. As a caterer, Pirollo has collaborated with chefs at other embassies and even with such high-profile toques as Daniel Boulud.
As fortune has played out, Pirollo made friends with a fellow European, the French-born Cornu, who since the age of 5 has been wrapped up in the world of pastry.
“There was a bakery business behind my house,” Cornu said, “so I always smelled the aromas, and I fell in love with it [baking].”
By the time he was 15, he started attending pastry culinary school, which required that he spend two weeks a month working in a bakery. With his degree in hand, Cornu headed to Paris for further pastry training and then moved to the Washington area, and until he partnered with Pirollo, he worked in research and development for Starbucks for the entire East Coast.
Now that the two have opened this totally trendy eatery — a place they rebuilt by hand into its present welcoming atmosphere — they share the workload, one providing traditional Belgian fare (see recipe for beef carbonnade a la Flammande) while the other tempts with such desserts as the Pistachio Miserable.
Q&A with chefs Claudio Pirollo and Mickael Cornu
What’s your comfort food?
Pirollo: Depending on where I am, I love pasta, french fries or, after service at 3 p.m., beef stew and endive wrapped with ham. In Belgium, it’s my mom’s cooking.
Cornu: Rice with chicken, the onions my grandmother used to do, simple things.
What’s in your fridge?
Pirollo: Cheese, beer and water. That’s it. We work from 9 a.m. to midnight.
Cornu: Butter, bread, cheese and goulash.
What has influenced your cooking?
Pirollo: Frances Layrle from the French Embassy.
Cornu: Jean-Paul Raynaud in France. He was my father figure, my teacher for life. I always see him when I go back to France.
Which is your favorite restaurant?
Pirollo: Palena and Central.
Cornu: Bistrot du Coin, Bistrot Lepic.
How do your families feel about your career?
Pirollo: My parents are proud of me but Dad wants me to take over his food business.
Cornu: My family is very proud. I’m the only one out of the village, so when I go back, it’s a big party.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Beef Carbonnade a la Flammande
Serves 6
Serve plain or with potatoes or over a mound of french fries.
2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste plus 1Ú2 teaspoon
4 Tbsp butter
2 onions, diced
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth
2 quarts brown beer, such as Carolus or Affligem Triple
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Fresh parsley sprigs for garnish
Pat the beef dry with paper towels, then season well with salt and pepper. On the stove top, heat 2 Tbsp of butter in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot, almost smoking. Working in batches, brown the meat, without stirring, about 3 minutes on each side; do not stir, give the meat an opportunity to brown well. Transfer browned beef to a separate bowl.
Add the remaining 2 Tbsp butter to the Dutch oven, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt; cook until the onions are browned, about 15 minutes. Add the flour and stir until the onions are evenly coated and the flour is lightly browned, about two minutes. Stir in the broth, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen browned bits; stir in beer, thyme, bay leaf and the browned beef with any of the accumulated juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and let cook for two to three hours or until the beef is fork tender. (Alternatively, you can cook the carbonnade in a 300-degree oven.)
Stir occasionally, scraping up anything that is sticking to the bottom of the pan. About 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the brown sugar and mustard. Adjust seasonings to taste. To serve, discard the bay leaf and thyme. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.
