s Americans are coming to appreciate the versatility of beer as an accompaniment to a variety of foods, Chef Steven De Bruyn introduces guests to an age-old tradition from his home country of Belgium: pairing beer with pâté. De Bruyn, executive chef and wine director at the Garden City Hotel, hosted a dinner at Polo, Zagat’s highest-rated restaurant on Long Island, to expose patrons to the “perfect marriage” of his innovative pâtés with Belgian-style brews.

Belgian culture permeates all that De Bruyn creates. His proud adherence to the quality and ideals of Belgian cuisine has earned him induction into L’Association de Maîtres- Cuisiniers de Belgique, Belgium’s exclusive society of master chefs. At Polo, he is particularly known for his pâtés, which blend Belgian tradition with modern culinary exploration.

“Growing up in Belgium—especially in the Flemish part— we always had at least one kind of pâté in the refrigerator, like you might have peanut butter in your cupboard. We ate it right out of the terrine or on bread.” De Bruyn admits that, in his role as wine director, his beloved pâtés have caused him some problems in finding suitable wines to pair with them.

“Sometimes, there is no better pairing for pâté than beer,” says Chef De Bruyn. “Pâté coats the tongue, and the carbonation in beer lifts the flavors up off the palate in a way wine cannot.” Belgian-style beers are particularly good with pâtés and many other foods, he says, because they are so well-balanced and usually have moderate hoppiness and no overpowering flavoring elements.

FIRST TIME FOR BEER
No beer had ever been served at Polo, but De Bruyn felt the time had come to showcase the classic combination of the two distinct Belgian culinary staples at the fine dining establishment. He began planning the tasting event, considering what Belgian ales were available. In a twist of fate, Southampton Publick House brewmaster Phil Markowski came forward with his portfolio of Belgian-style brews.

De Bruyn was amazed by the quality and authenticity of Markowski’s beers. “As a Belgian, I was greatly impressed. [Markowski] had gone to Belgium to learn the beer-making craft before Belgian styles became popular here … He has created beers that are essentially Belgian—like me, I am still Belgian, still carry a Belgian passport—but have that little bit of American in them.”

De Bruyn tasted the beers Markowski brought to him and created pâtés to pair with specific brews. He produced pâtés that were faithful to Old World traditions, yet hinted at New World influences, much as Markowski’s brews straddled two cultures. He made antelope pâté en croute with sun-dried cherries, pairing it with Bière de Garde, a spicy amber farmhouse ale with a mild herbal hoppiness. His rabbit pâté with pistachio wrapped in savoy cabbage with a touch of orange zest matched perfectly the “really wonderful” Double White Ale, lightly spiced with coriander and Curacao orange and still balanced, even with relatively high alcohol content. A course of onion pâté and creamy mushroom pâté went naturally with both the Southampton Saison Deluxe, with its dry earthiness and hints of fruit, and the Cuvée de Fleur, a limited-production flower-infused brew. The lamb pâté with feta cheese paired nicely with the complexity of Grand Cru, and De Bruyn also served a variety of abbey cheeses with the powerful, dark Abbot 12. The finale was the “marriage made in heaven” of three types of chocolate in the black and tan chocolate terrine matched with the chewy complexity of Imperial Porter.

The reception of De Bruyn’s pâté and beer pairings was very warm, with even the staff from Southampton brewery saying some of their beers “had never tasted so good” as when juxtaposed with De Bruyn’s fantastic creations. De Bruyn unveiled the qualities of pâtés and beers that enhance each other, whether in complement or contrast, and at the same time brought a Belgian delicacy to the pâté-uninitiated and prestige to beer, often disparaged as a culinary element. The timing of his tasting event coincided profitably with the growing movement in the culinary world to bring beers back to respectability. Craft-brewed Belgian-style beers have especially come to the fore recently, whereas, not long ago, De Bruyn might have had to rely on imports from his homeland to provide beer for such a tasting.

AN OPPORTUNITY
De Bruyn points to the surge in quality artisanal beers as an opportunity for chefs to discover and offer new dining experiences through unfamiliar palettes of flavor expressed by pairing these flavorful brews with a variety of foods. “We have so many influences from ethnic cultures— especially with spicy foods and many Asian cuisines—that you just have to go for beer.”

In addition, he claims the variety and versatility of beer let it make an appearance at any point in the meal, saying, for example, “It is hard to put a white wine after a big red with your main course—who wants to go back to white after red?—but I wouldn’t hesitate to offer a beer.” De Bruyn says that American brewers are making the pairing of beers with food even easier by breaking the bounds of old styles and putting innovative spins—such as aromatics, fruit, and other new ingredients—on traditional brews to bring out an entirely original flavor experience. The proliferation of these new styles, specialty small batches, and seasonal brews has made it possible to find beers to enhance an ever greater variety of foods and cuisines.

With that in mind, De Bruyn has many more beer and food pairing dinners under his hat. VP of Sales and Marketing Brian Rosenberg has recently put in motion the conversion of Posh, the long-popular Garden City Hotel nightclub, into a more laid-back venue. While he will continue to feature special pairings at Polo and the hotel’s other restaurant, Rein, hosting events at Posh will give Chef De Bruyn a more relaxed, informal setting to conduct tasting nights where he can participate and guide guests through his pairing flavor schemes.

De Bruyn believes it was inevitable that Americans would discover—or rediscover—beer as a great accompaniment to food. The long lapse of availability of quality beer in this culture has made it a slower re-acquaintance than it might have been, but the will and curiosity are there among the growing number of culinary aficionados. And Master Chef De Bruyn is standing by to help make the introductions.

Denny Lewis is a frequent contributor to Hotel F&B.