"Ah, we were truly in a foreign country then," said one of my college English professors about a trip to Canada in the '70s, "the butter was very white."

She was something of a poet. A quarter-century later, I thought of her as I put my knife into the butter at Lumière, a debonair young French restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. Maybe it's because the butter, resting on a little slab of clear coke-bottle-colored glass, was indeed very white. More likely, though, it was the magical feeling that we had escaped the ordinary and entered into a world of serenity and privilege. As so often happens in Vancouver, just a day drive from home, we were truly in a foreign country.

from 'Lumière'
Drawing on his French training and the many Asian influences of his native Vancouver, B.C., Lumière chef Rob Feenie is turning out satisfying, surprising food that's gaining international attention.

This was not my first visit to Lumière, but it was the first time I'd been in since owner Rob Feenie remodeled the restaurant last year. Gone are the wooden planks on the dining-room floor, and the mirrors that seemed to loom overhead. But still very much in evidence is the almost eerie feeling of urban tranquility that attracted me to begin with.

While we studied the menu, a plate of miniature Yukon Gold potato pancakes arrived, each topped with crème fraīche and caviar. There is something uncluttered and refined about Feenie's cooking that makes it seem, at first glance, extremely simple. But there's something innovative about it, too, something surprising. The little pancakes were soft and hot, the caviar crisp and cold.

I first took notice of his food years ago when Feenie, a Vancouver native, was sous chef at Le Crocodile. The food there was equally polished, but never surprising. It was textbook French, high-end comfort food. After Le Croc, Feenie did brief stints at Daniel in New York and Charlie Trotter's in Chicago before opening his own restaurant on West Broadway in 1995.

Ever since then, this quiet little restaurant has been drawing "foodies" from both sides of the border. Feenie has been called the Charlie Trotter of the Northwest, and "the Charlie" himself has written a glowing foreword to Feenie's new book, "Lumière" (Ten Speed Press, $35). Together, the restaurant and the book provide a window into the soul of Northwest cooking and the mind of one of its most accomplished practitioners.

The happy confluence of East and West that derives from Feenie's French training and total immersion in Vancouver's Asian-influenced local cuisine is evident in every course of the menu and on every page of the cookbook. There's a five-spice duck consommé with duck confit and caramelized onion ravioli that marries East and West seamlessly. Sake- and maple-marinated sablefish with a citrus and soy sauce simultaneously evokes Canada's European heritage and the influence that came from a trip to Japan when Feenie was asked to cook something Japanese using Canadian ingredients.

Like a lot of chefs' cookbooks, this one can be daunting, especially for home cooks who don't live near a Chinatown and aren't backed up by a team of cooks making reduced stocks and infused oils. I have to admit that after perusing the book to find a recipe suitable for Pacific Northwest readers to try at home, I was ready to give up on cooking and drive to Vancouver for dinner at Lumière. Still, experienced home cooks who have some leisure time will not find the recipes too demanding. Besides, no one ever said the exacting art of haute cuisine was easy. So why should we expect such a cookbook to be?

Serves 4 Ask your butcher to cut the lamb racks. To make a facsimile of "veal reduction," see the note below. To make rosemary oil, purée a few sprigs of the fresh herb in a blender with a cup of grapeseed oil, let it stand overnight, then strain out the solids. It keeps in the refrigerator for up to a month.
2 lamb racks, "Frenched," chine bones cut 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil 3/4 cup chicken broth 12 large green beans, blanched 12 large yellow wax beans, blanched 1/2 cup peeled fava beans, germs removed, chilled in water 8 baby carrots Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary leaves 1 cup "veal reduction" 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Rosemary sprigs Rosemary-infused oil 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sear the lamb racks in the grapeseed oil for approximately 3 minutes. Drain off the fat and roast the lamb in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a quick-read thermometer inserted in the middle of the rack registers 130 for medium rare. Remove the lamb from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes. 2. While the lamb is roasting, cook the green, yellow and fava beans and carrots in the chicken broth with salt and pepper to taste, for about 5 minutes, or until tender. With a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables as soon as they are tender. Add the rosemary leaves and "veal reduction" to the broth and boil over high heat until the liquid is reduced by about one-third. Strain out the rosemary leaves, whisk in the butter, and put the vegetables back in. 3. Carve the lamb racks into individual chops. Divide the vegetables among four large serving plates. Place the carved lamb on top of the vegetables and spoon the sauce over the lamb. Garnish each plate with a sprig of fresh rosemary and drizzle with a few drops of rosemary oil. Note: Feenie makes homemade veal stock, boiled down to a glaze with red wine, port, shallots, garlic and thyme. Home cooks can make this reasonable facsimile: Cook a tablespoon of sugar in a dry pan until it has melted and turned brown. Add a chopped shallot, a sprig of thyme, a cup of red wine and a cup of chicken broth; boil the mixture over high heat until it is reduced to half its original volume. Print friendly version.

Greg Atkinson is Canlis executive chef and chef at The Puget Sound Environmental Center.