Dominique Ferchaud
Biography and restaurant review
Article added on February 15, 2013

Restaurant review: a dinner at restaurant 1902 at Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan
Tested in 2012

I started my dinner with a glass of a fresh and fruity Champagne Mercier Brut, which was honest. 1902 offers a distinctive list of French wines, including a 2006 Châteauneuf du Pape Domaine du Grand Tinel. For my first dishes, I chose a 2010 Sauvignon Blanc La Doutelle, served by the glass, with hints of green apple and gooseberry.

The bred basket served subsequently contained excellent sesame and other bred choices as well as an Echirée butter, olives and a broccoli and olive oil purée.

My amuse bouche consisted of an excellent tomato soup with a vegetable chutney with some basil on top. Simple but brilliant!

My first course was a goat cheese salad with rocket on an olive dressing. Endives and black olives vinaigrette, an olive tapenade and lettuce were part of the dish, which was composed like a dome, with the endives in a circle around it. The goat cheese and the vegetables were contained in a puff pastry. Excellent!

My next dish were Portobello mushrooms with Provencal vegetables, which were topped with mozarella and basil infused oil with balsamic mushrooms. The mushrooms were cooked in the oven, the vegetables grilled à la provençale. A basil vinaigrette and a balsamic vinegar as well as caramelized onions, hibiscus juice and a brioche were presented on the plate too. Tomatoes, basil and asparagus were served on top. Another outstanding course!

For dessert, I chose a Tarte Tatin, a caramelized apple tart with Rosemary Citrus and caramel cream. Dominique Ferchaud revisited a French classic and offered it with Rosemary ice cream and a vanilla crème brûlé nougatine. A fine dessert!

I could of course not resist to finish my dinner with a brilliant lemon sorbet, the best I have tasted in ages! I also tried an outstanding mango sorbet with mango bits, which was extremely strong in flavor and of such a consistence that I thought it to be an ice cream.

At the very end, I had a cup of Jasmin Green Tee and departed a happy man. In short, 1902 at Hotel Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan is the best Egyptian restaurant I have seen so far. Dominique Ferchaud offers an outstanding cuisine, which easily deserves a Michelin Star!

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Biography of Dominique Ferchaud
  
At Hotel Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan in 2012, Dominique Ferchaud gave me some information about his career.

The French chef was born in the Bretagne region in 1968. He is married and has two children.

From September 1984 to June 1986, he earned his BEP Cuisinier de Restaurant as well as his CAP in St Meen le Grand, France.

Among his trainings, let's mention July and August 1985 at La Bonne Auberge, a 2-Michelin-Star Relais & Chateaux in Antibes, France, where Joseph and Philippe Rostang worked as chefs.

In March 2004, he participated in the Valhrona Chocolate Training, Tain l'Hermitage, France, with Mickael Loonis.

Dominique Ferchaud is very competitive and has participated in numerous culinary competitions, winning many Gold Medals, Prix d'Excellence and other distinctions.

He told me about his earlier career. From June 1986 to March 1988, he worked at Gidleigh Park Hotel in Devon, England. The 1-Michelin-Star Relais & Chateaux was for him the ideal way to improve his English and to learn about English cuisine. He learned a lot about ideal cooking times, pastries and more.

From March to September 1988, Dominique Ferchaud  worked for Le Manoir aux Quatres Saisons, a 2-Michelin-Star Relais & Chateaux in Oxford, England, where Raymond Blanc was the chef. At the time, it was Rostang's principal restaurant. It served Mediterranean dishes. Dominique Ferchaud worked there as pasty chef.

From November 1988 to April 1989, he worked as chef de partie tournant at the five-star Malliouhana Hotel in Anguilla, the British West Indies. Joseph Rostang was his chef. He was there as a consultant. Dominique Ferchaud improved his knowledge about international cuisine.

From May to October 1989, he moved to Le Mas des Herbes Blances in the Provence. The luxury hotel worked with Joseph Rostang as a consultant.  Dominique Ferchaud's chef at the 1-Michelin-Star restaurant was Patrick Deschamps. From him, he learned to strive for excellence and to consistently uphold the same level.

From December 1989 to April 1990, he returned to The Malliouhana Hotel in the British West Indies as chef tournant under consultant chef Joseph Rostang.

From May 1991 to December 1992, he moved as sous chef to the Plaza Athénée in New York City to work under consultant chef Michel Rostang. He helped the executive chef regarding the planning and daily organizing of the main kitchen. Executive chef Jean-Robert de Cavel had a preference for strong flavors and offered a modern, French cuisine.

From January 1993 to September 1996, Dominique Ferchaud worked for the first time as executive chef at the Crown Prince Palace in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. He was the personal chef of the Crown Prince and offered French and Lebanese cuisine with a staff of 30 people. Large buffets were among his duties too.

From January 1997 to January 2000, he worked as executive chef in Singapore. At L'Aigle d'Or - Duxton Hotel, which was a Relais & Chateaux from 1996 to 1998, he managed the restaurant to stay afloat during the “Asian Flu” economic crisis. He managed to consistently offer the best produce. In addition to the fine dining restaurant L'Aigle d'Or, he was also responsible for the room service, breakfast, lounge, bar as well as outside catering for private parties.

From February 2000 until February 2005, Dominique Ferchaud was the executive chef at the InterContinental Le Vendôme Hotel Beirut. He was in charge of some 55 people in the kitchens of the fine dining restaurant, an international brasserie, two banquet rooms, a “chocolate laboratory” as well as outside caterings. In addition, he organized promotional weeks with Michel-starred chefs.

From March 2005 to January 2009, he was the executive chef at Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg, an Orient Express Hotel. He was  in charge of a Chinese restaurant and an Italian brasserie, the bar and French fine dining, where he served modern French cuisine, putting the accent on fish. The caviar consumption was around one ton per year!

From June 2009 to June 2010, Dominique Ferchaud was the executive chef at hotel Corinthia Bab Africa in Libya. At La Vallette Restaurant he served 700 covers daily. At the Italian Venetzia restaurant and terrace he served 150 respectively 100 covers. The Fes Moroccan restaurant catered to 60 people daily, the Orient Asian restaurant to 50 people, the Tripoli café to some 150 people, the Executive club to 50 people. In room dining, banqueting with a maximum of 300 covers, outside caterings of up to 700 covers as well as a flight catering unit for dictator Muammar Gaddafi were among his duties too. The Gaddafi family, father and sons, were often among the guests. It was Dominique Ferchaud who prepared the meal for the Lockerbie bomber al-Megrahi for his flight from the UK back to Libya. The regime wanted to double Ferchaud's salary to keep him, but he preferred to leave the country in June 2010. It turned out to be a wise decision.

From September 2010 to November 2011, he worked as executive chef at Mövenpick Resort & Marine Spa Sousse in the Tunisian city of the same name. He was responsible for six restaurants, including Mosaique restaurant, which alone seated up to 1200 people in banquets. A French restaurant, a tapas bar, a beach bar and a Japanese restaurant were under his orders too.

After some culinary and Haccp (food safety) training from September until November 2011, Dominique Ferchaud moved to Hotel Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan, Egypt. He arrived at the luxury hotel on February 6, 2012 on his 44th birthday. He is responsible for the concept at the fine dining restaurant 1902, where he limits himself to six main courses to offer the best quality possible. He puts a strong accent on sea food. Vegetarian dishes were on the menu too. As executive chef, Dominique Ferchaud is responsible for all restaurants, the terrace, the pool, room service, breakfast and banqueting. As far as I can judge from my 2012 visit, he does an outstanding job. A visit to Hotel Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan is mandatory for any luxury hotel and fine dining amateur!

Chef Dominique Ferchaud. Photo © Sofitel Legend Old Cataract.

Books about Cairo and Egypt from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it and Amazon.de.

Egyptian sheet music and sheet music inspired by Egypt.

Books about French cuisine from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de.


1902 - the restaurant at the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan, Egypt. Photos © Fabrice Lambert - Sofitel Legend Old Cataract.


Oriental Kebabgy Terrace at the Old Cataract hotel in Aswan, Egypt. Photos © Fabrice Lambert - Sofitel Legend Old Cataract.

Books about Cairo and Egypt from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it and Amazon.de.

Egyptian sheet music and sheet music inspired by Egypt.

Books about French cuisine from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de.