Germain are two of the best.

Which is why the Frenchmen flew to Bermuda to spend this week preparing superb cuisine for celebratory and fund-raiser gourmet dinners held at Horizons and Waterloo House.

Like 38 of their peers, Monsieurs Cussac and Germain are participating in 40th anniversary celebrations of Relais & Chateaux -- the world's most prestigious association of hoteliers and restaurateurs, of which the aforementioned properties are members.

As such, the two chefs have been preparing their menus in tandem with other Relais chefs spread across the North American region to help celebrate the exclusive association's anniversary.

Proprietors of their own Relais & Chateaux establishments in France, Monsieurs Cussac and Germain are well used to catering for discerning palates -- and large numbers. Both have travelled extensively for Relais & Chateaux events.

In Bermuda, their guests have experienced or will experience not only some of the finest dishes from their own menus and regions in France, but also those created especially for local diners.

But how do chefs who had never visited the Island, knew nothing of the kitchens they were working in, or what provisions were available locally, go about producing their masterpieces to the same high standard they would at home? With very careful planning, advance preparation and sheer professionalism, of course.

Oh, and a sense of humour.

Having submitted his menu in French, chef Germain was highly amused, on arrival, to find that rattes , a variety of potato from northern France, had been translated as "spleen!'' So guests thumbing through the commemorative books containing recipes from the 40 Relais & Chateaux chefs involved in the anniversary project will doubtless puzzle many a local butcher (but hopefully not a surgeon!) in their quest for "six spleens''! But aberrations like this are mere trifles among the truffles. More important are the basic components which make superior cuisine so memorable: the menu, the top quality ingredients, and the way they are combined, prepared and presented.

"In deciding what to put on any menu, we take balance, colours on the plate, and the accompanying wines into consideration,'' chef Germain explained.

In creating their separate and impressive menus, each chef wanted to not only showcase his "signature'' dish and food from his region, but also to reflect the host country.

For chef Germain that meant incorporating ginger, which he associates with British colonies, into his Canette Rotie au gingembre (roast female duck); and fresh nasturtium blossoms as garnish for his "signature'' dish of Fois gras de canard a la rhubarbe et vin de sauterne (duck pate accompanied by rhubarb sticks poached in a sauterne sauce finished with a touch of butter, salt and pepper).

As their joint contribution to the Relais & Chateaux commemorative book, the two chefs devised a special Gratineed Pineapple Sabayon incorporating a well-known, popular local brand of black rum as one of the ingredients.

Chef Gemain elected to lead his menu with scallops cooked in beer (food cooked in beer is a characteristic of the region), followed by monkfish served with a crust of herbs and served with a fresh tomato coulis punctuated by tiny dots of an olive oil and basil mixture.

Chef Cussac, who trained for seven years under France's top chef Joel Robuchon, decided to open with an appetiser of lobster and squid served with red pepper and basil, followed by Soupes de Saint-Jacques incorporating scallops, shrimps and clams and a mixture of mushrooms.

This he followed with fresh Argentinian salmon ("the best'' he noted) served on a pureed onion base and topped with baby onions and a chive beurre blanc.

Coincidentally, both chefs chose rhubarb as an ingredient for their fois gras dishes, though their treatment of it reflected the differences in regional cooking.

Whereas chef Germain's dish contrasted the "sweet and sour'' character of northern French cuisine, chef Cussac's encased sweetened rhubarb in puff pastry.

For his main course, chef Cussac chose lamb with thyme and truffles. Ah yes, the celebrated truffles.

"They are typical of the region, and are lighter coloured inside than the ones from the south of France, which are black,'' he explained.

In the best tradition of seven-course menus, both chefs produced two sweet desserts, the first of which they termed a "pre-dessert'' designed to clear the palate after the cheese course.

In chef Coussac's case, this was Oeuf coque et cacahue mtes -- a clever concoction in which empty egg shells were filled with a creme brule m e mixture flavoured with peanut butter and garnished with peanuts.

Naturally, gourmet cooking requires the finest ingredients, and both chefs ensured that their dishes had these -- thanks to items brought with them, others imported to order, and careful scrutiny of the local supermarkets.

"Quality ingredients are important,'' chef Germain assured. "You cannot produce good cooking if you don't have good ingredients. The idea is not to overpower the flavour of the product with something else. The flavour of meat, for example, should not be overpowered by the sauce. Cooking has got to be kept quite simple to enhance the flavour of the product.'' Which is, of course, what makes French cuisine so exquisite.

But isn't it also a "killer'' with its heavy use of cream, butter and other rich ingredients? Chef Germain gave short shrift to the fat-free, cholesterol-free fanatics and faddists.

"Of course we think about health when we cook, but that does not mean we cut out fat totally,'' he protested. "I think it is always the excess of something that is bad for you. Cream and butter are not bad for your health, it is when you consume them to excess that you start having problems.'' He also considered dieting nonsensical.

"If you eat properly from the beginning -- well balanced, healthy meals -- you should not have to go on a diet. As long as things have quality you should not worry about a diet,'' he stressed.

Indeed, chef Cussac pointed out that duck fat, which the people of south-western France used extensively in their cooking, has been proved to be "good for the health'', like olive oil.

"People from south-west France hardly ever suffer from cholesterol problems or heart attacks,'' he assured.

Lamenting the fact that many children today grew up on a diet filled with processed, prepared and synthetic foods, chef Cussac also said many of them didn't even know what real milk from the cow tasted like.

"Because their mothers are on diets, they give their children two percent or non-fat milk too, so they have no idea what real milk from the cow tastes like. And when you ask them, `Where does milk come from?' they answer: `A carton','' he said.

Nor had the children any idea how real cheeses were made. So many of the popular cheeses were what the chef called "fantasy cheeses'' -- products such as Boursin poivre and other flavoured cream cheeses, which were manufactured.

So, like others in their profession, chef Cussac enjoys going into the schools to educate children about such basics and hopefully develop in them a better appreciation for the fine, traditional food for which France is so renowned.

Guests at the local gourmet dinners didn't have to worry about being educated, however. The chefs imported some of the best cheeses from Picardy and Burgundy, each with specific characteristics.

"All the cheeses north of the Loire valley are strong-flavoured because of the cool climate. The cooler the climate the more calories the people need.

Generally, you find the milder cheese in the Loire valley,'' chef Germain explained.

As the finale of his anniversary menu, chef Cussac presented apple and licorice kebabs, while chef Germain choice was a hot raspberry souffle.

Now, everyone knows how tricky making one perfect souffle is, but 46 -- simultaneously? "Pas de probleme,'' Monsieur Germain said. "I like a challenge!'' Indeed, he once made 700 souffles for a Relais banquet in France.

"A souffle is not something you make and then start praying that it will rise,'' he said. "There's a little trick to it.'' But, like many behind-the-scenes tricks, this one remained a professional secret.

C'EST SI BON! -- French chefs Christian Germain (left) and Christophe Cussac have been in Bermuda all week creating exquisite meals for Relais & Chateaux's 40th anniversary celebrations as well as fund-raiser dinners.