The International Kitchen That Fuels Breathtaking Amaluna Cirque du Soleil

(Gerry Furth-Sides) “The Cirque kitchen and adjoining canteen tents are the first to go up when we arrive and the last to go down when the troupe leaves,” one chefs explained. “It remains the central meeting place, the gathering place for most meetings.”   And the dining room is the hub of it all. The kitchen is open all hours of the day for healthy snacks, salads, juices, smoothies, coffee and tea as if the performers were at home.

Meals have  evolved from huge family style serving platters to more ethnic fare that rotated on a weekly basic.  Still, with more and more international performers in the current number of traveling shows than the original French-Canadian ones, artists from more countries than ever share their individual ethnic recipes. This year the Russian performers contributed their family recipes.  Please see //(//localfoodeater.com/the-amaluna-show-that-international-cirque-du-soleil-kitchen-fuels/ for details.

The Cirque du Soleil Kitchen, under the direction of Executive Chef, Abdel Soriano, and kitchen manager, Julie Gauthier feels more like a restaurant than an entertainment commissary these days.   “Unlike a restaurant, we offer something different daily so that the performers do not become bored,” explains Chef Soriano, who for one dinner had sophisticated  salmon and turkey on the menu, along with many vegetarian options.  Each dinner offers two protein options, two veggies and one starch.  Chef Soriano told us about other considerations, such as  “who is eating early, who is eating late and who is hanging upside down in the show and needs a light meal!”

“And it is super easy to find fresh produce and lots of interesting bakeries here in California,” he and Julie agreed. “We also have a standing list of suppliers both in the US and in Canada.  But it is more of a challenge when we travel to Asia and South America.  Even in Spain, we have a team that acts as interpreters for us, and that connect with individual suppliers there.

Soriano was raised in Mexico and hired on for one of the shows there.  “I loved it from the minute I started, and just stayed on,” he recalls with a smile.  The menus are planned fairly spontaneously but each dish follows a structured weekly nutritional base for the daily rotating menus geared toward the health of his 119 worldly performer guests. Still, international spicing is also important to Chef Abdel, who thinks nothing of adding a Thai lemongrass dish or an Indian one with sambal to the mix. “They can choose whatever they like on the tables,” he explained, but this is also why we limit sugar, and always have fresh fruit out on the tables.

The “portable” kitchen is actually comprised of three sections that are in the form of train cars that can be transported on trucks. The sides fold down to make the floors of adjoining sections: the main kitchen, a walk-in refrigerator and a pastry and pantry section in the back with a baking oven. The tent is located close to the show tent so performers can eat during the show.  Below you see the end section; the floor becomes the side of the van. The wall to the right fronts the kitchen and the storage sections.

Ritual is important to make the tent into a home.  BBQ is the first and last meal in town.  Breakfast is served at 7:00 AM, which starts the daily continual flow in the canteen.  “The fixings” for sandwiches and salads are always available both when the kitchen is open in and between meals, from nine in the morning to nine at night.

We were quite taken aback by the such a poised,  muscular young lady, with a lovely face and very posed movements.  Our Asian friend from the kitchen is unmistakable to spot in an aerial straps routine that follows three fierce women soaring above the audience and flying close to the very top of the tent.  This requires almost inhuman strength and we saw unclose how this happens.

“Amaluna,” which originally premiered in 2012,  is in its first LA appearance at the San Pedro LA Waterfront through May 26. It is one of the best Cirque du Soleil productions to date, unabashedly parading feat after impossible feat that borders on the surreal and unreal throughout the show with top international stars.

For more information about “Amaluna,” please visit cirquedusoleil.com/amaluna and apply promo code 15CONCIERGE for 15% off tickets