The Lionel Lévy BurgerMonday Pop-Up Question

Lionel Lévy, the Michelin-starred chef at Une Table, au Sud in Marseille, loves to revisit the classics. The protégé of Gérard Garrigues and Alain Ducasse has made a name for himself with his bouillabaisse milkshake and other signature (re)inventions. He added another to his repertoire as guest chef at my BurgerMonday pop-up on the 23rd of May at Andrew’s Gray’s Inn greasy spoon in London. He merged two American standards, the burger and the BLT sandwich, replacing their customary condiments with the Provençal accessories he prepared at his restaurant, packed in sous-vide bags and stashed with ice packs inside his hand luggage for the flight from Marseille to London.

When just 15 minutes before service Lévy showed me the very first version ever of his stunning pop-up burger BLT I was startled. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, or how to eat it. As you can see in the video above many diners had the same initial reaction, if varied answers to the question: Which end is ‘wich?

5 Comments

  1. Nick

    Definitely a burger in my mind Daniel, and love how proud Lionel is of his burgerwich!

    Reply
    • Daniel Young

      I agree with you, Nick. But in the end it’s the discussion that matters more than any conclusions. Lionel loves to provoke with his reinventions and, as you noted, was obviously delighted by our responses.

      Reply
  2. Ian James

    It was fabulous – it makes me salivate just looking at this video. Need to pull my finger our and follow up on my promise to try and recreate this burger at home. It’s summer now so everything should be getting into season even here in damp and dreary Britain.

    Reply
  3. Chris Green

    In the past I always argued that a burger should be in a bun.

    But then I git the chance to eat at Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, CT – The alleged Birthplace of the Hamburger. They serve their burgers in 2 slices of square white toast.

    Reply
    • Daniel Young

      Chris – Very good point. Here’s a photo of Louis Lunch circa 1900 burger.

      Reply

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