Cirque du Soleil 'KOOZA' - Behind-the-Scenes Kitchen Experience

Cirque du Soleil has returned to Melbourne with the official premiere performance of its all-new production, KOOZA.

Gastrology was pleased to be taken behind-the-scenes at the KOOZA kitchen, to share a meal with Kitchen Manager Julie Gauthier, and to then stay on and attend the amazing performance of KOOZA.

Behind-the-Scenes

Cirque du Soleil has been performed all over the world and operates as a travelling village. The kitchen is the heart of the village, serving as a meeting place for performers and crew. The kitchen team serve up to three meals a day, to 300 people, six days a week.

We were pleased to meet KOOZA’s Kitchen Manager, Julie Gauthier who is responsible for creating the menus that have to feed a large group of people with diverse nutritional requirements – from elite athletes (from large acrobatic bases to tiny flyers) to technical and office staff.

This includes 2 menus per day, 6 days a week followed by an all day brunch on Sundays (a very popular day for some of the 70 family members that come to the kitchen) - all prepared by the kitchen team comprising of 4 chefs and 8 other staff.

There are 18 nationalities that are part of the KOOZA team, meaning that there are a wide variety of tastes and preferences to cater for. As KOOZA is always on the move, Julie is constantly dealing with new suppliers in the cities and countries the show travels to. Each city presents its perks and challenges!

Mexican is the favourite among the 120 full time cast and crew. Each week the kitchen uses a whopping around 800 eggs, 400 kgs of proteins, meats and seafood, 80 kgs of fresh fruits, 100 kgs of vegetables, 60 kgs of potates and 4 boxes of bananas!

After our interesting tour around the facility, it was time for dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed being in the ‘canteen’ area where all the performers would eat. We even caught a glimpse of a few of them having their dinner! While the dishes were truly ‘mass produced’ in every sense of the word, they were wonderfully flavoursome and cooked with a whole lot of care and love. The eggplant lasagne was our favourite dish if the night. Simply yum!

Recipe: Gnocchi with butternut squash, pine nuts and parmesan

Julie was kind enough to share with us her gnocchi recipe (which feeds 120 people!)…

Ingredients - Gnocchi
10 kg white potatoes
3.5kg plain flour
20 egg yolks
Salt
Pepper

Ingredients - Garnishes
3 whole roasted butternut squash
1kg
Roasted pine nuts
1kg roasted shallots
250 grams deep fried sage
250 grams deep fried spinach
2 heads of fried garlic
Butter for stir frying
Grated parmesan to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions - gnocchi

Cook the potatoes until they are tender.
Peel them and pass them through a potato ricer.
Fold in the flour, salt and pepper and then the eggs.
Put the finishes gnocchi dough in a pipping bag.
Divide them in four.
Blanch them in salted boiling water for about a minute or until they float back up.

Directions - garnishes

Cut the butternut in small cubes and roast them with sliced shallots in the oven with salt and pepper at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes.
Fry the spinach and sage leaves.
Roast the pine nuts until lightly golden.

Dressing

In a pan, saute the gnocchi in butter.
When they start colouring, add some chopped garlic and butternut squash and fry until golden.
Dress in a plate with the fried spinach, sage, pine nuts and grated parmesan.

ENJOY!