A Delicious Dinner, No Matter Who Cooks It

Chef Robert Arbor (owner of Le Gamin in Sharon, Conn.)  demonstrated the art of traditional French cuisine in the first of a series of cooking programs that aired on Zoom on Saturday, Feb. 12.

The cooking series is hosted by the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, Conn.

The cooking class was offered two days before Valentine’s Day, giving men and women the chance to win hearts the old-fashioned way: through the stomach.

Chef Arbor surely paved the way toward spicing things up, with his chicken fricassee paired with oven-roasted potatoes.

Le Gamin opened in March 2021 at the Sharon shopping plaza and quickly attracted a large and devoted following. In January, Connecticut magazine recognized Le Gamin as one of the top 25 best new restaurants in the state.

Hotchkiss Library Executive Director Gretchen Hachmeister joined Arbor in the restaurant’s small kitchen for the live action class on Zoom. Recipes had been provided ahead of time, offering viewers a chance to have ingredients ready so they could cook along with the class.

Arbor quickly showed how to cut up a chicken and simmer it in water to make broth, then got some potatoes roasting in a hot oven with garlic and thyme.

Meanwhile he and Hachmeister chatted easily, with some viewers sending in questions about cooking and about  Arbor and how he and his family came to find a home and restaurant in Sharon.

Arbor’s journey from France to New York City was indirect; stops were made along the way, Arbor recounted. He spent some time in Hong Kong, where he met his future wife, Tam Tran, now a noted jewelry designer and artist (her home studio is in Sharon).

He opened his first restaurant in New York City in the 1980s, finding just the right location in Greenwich Village. Several successful restaurants followed, as did a book that he co-authored in 2003, “Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living.”

The recipe for the chicken fricassee and roasted potatoes is on this page.

For those who prefer to have their chicken fricassee prepared for them, Arbor said that it does appear on the menu from time to time. And for those who are unsure what a fricassee is, it is loosely defined as a stewed or fried meat in a creamy sauce.

Watch the video on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXbbIXTBIr0. Learn more about this and other programs at the library website, www.hotchkisslibraryofsharon.org.

Lisa Steele will talk about her new cookbook, “The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook,” on Thursday, March 3.

A third program will be offered in spring.