Francine Restaurant Debuts New Menu—and Michelin-Trained Executive Chef Remy Lefebvre

Scottsdale's popular Francine Restaurant kicked off the new year in a big way—with Michelin-trained Executive Chef Remi Lefebvre joining the team, as well as debuting his new seasonal menu.

The French-born chef has more than 20 years of global culinary experience at Michelin Star restaurants and luxurious hotels, most recently at AVA Mediterraegean. He brings a wealth of experience to Francine, with a strong focus in French Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

"Chef Remy has an exceptional resume. He’s been named one of the top chefs in Singapore and he has led the culinary teams for many of the world’s best restaurants,” says Francine founder and owner Laurent Halasz. “He has a big focus on sourcing his dishes locally, and uses only the most organic and seasonal ingredients. Chef Remy brings a vibrant and soulful twist to his French Mediterranean cuisine and we are extremely honored and proud to now have him leading our culinary team here at Francine.” 

Remi created the current seasonal menu, which includes:

• A savory Crab Taramasalata, with crispy socca. 
• A flavorable smoked Eggplant dressed with lemon juice, olive oi,l and espelette. This hors d'oeuvre is finished at the table with a silky tahini dressing.
• A new take on Tuna Tartare, featuring white soy, lemon. and avocado.
• A grilled Spanish Octopus, served with arrabbiata sauce, tapenade, and grilled slices of zucchini.

• A Chopped Spinach Salad with feta, honey dressing, and pecans.
• Unique Grilled Blue Prawns that come from the pristine waters of New Caledonia. They are grilled on the French top, then seasoned with paprika oil and served with a toum aioli.
• Francine’s Rack of Lamb is from Australia, and is marinated with fresh herbs before touching the grill. It is served with confit piquillo pepper, a Mauresque sauce, and a theatrical presentation.
• The Grilled Skuna Bay Salmon is selected from the pristine water of Skuna Bay in Vancouver, then grilled and complemented with fennel bulb and grated bottarga. The culinary team season the dish at your table with a mandarin sabayon.
• The seasonal Duck Pithiviers is a classic of the French gastronomy. The pie is made of puff pastry and stuffed with a truffle and mushroom duxelles, grilled foie gras, and duck magret. It is seasoned with a pear vinegar gastric.

• The Branzino in Salt Crust is seasoned with pistou, lemon, and dill, and wrapped in fig leaves before it is baked in an aromatic salt crust. The fish is flambeed at the table with Pastis for an aromatic and theatrical presentation.
• The Brussel Sprouts are seared and seasoned with pomegranate molasses, sunflower seeds, and micro thyme.
• For dessert, a Classic Profiterole or the Maxi Profiterole is stuffed with vanilla ice cream and whipped vanilla ganache. This classic dessert is complemented with a decadent hot chocolate sauce.