Magritte is an artist that everyone recognizes. His surrealist works are true art because he has been able to start his own style and new movements. As Paul Bocuse and Ferran Adriá. Magritte's work, like that of Salvador Dali and Carel Willink, is very finely painted, which emphasizes the realistic effect of representations that are impossible in reality. Magritte's best-known work is without a doubt La Trahison des Images (1928-29) or "The Betrayal of the Presentation" with the painted text: Ceci n'est pas une pipe beneath the very realistic image of a pipe. Any reference to a real pipe betrays the fact that a pipe is actually an idea and therefore has its origins in the mind.

By constantly questioning and, as it were, misleading us, Magritte forces us to think about art. The titles of Magritte's work can also be seen in that light. These usually have nothing to do with the subject of the painting. René Magritte believed that it is the painter's task to place reality in a different context. A dove was often depicted in art and mainly stood for the holy spirit in religious works of art. The white dove of course also represents peace. As a chef, you are tasked with presenting pigeon in a different way. In a forest, in an egg or in a nest, for example.

Pigeon in the forest
• 4 pigeons
• 150 g mirepoix
• butter
• garlic
• peppercorns
• thyme
• laurel
• 3 dl port
• 1 l poultry consommé
• 1 l veal stock

For garnish
Morels
Green asparagus
Sprouts of spring onion
Cresson lettuce
Peas
Julienne from potato
Puff pastry and half egg shapes

Serve the pigeon as if you had to look for it. Make it a forest where you can barely see the subject at all. Just as Magritte often does. Serving in a puff pastry egg or in a potato bird's nest is also great.

Strip the pigeons of their breasts and buttocks and vacuum them. Cook the breasts at 65°C for 23 minutes and the buttocks at 58°C for two hours. Let cool.
For the sauce, fry the cleaned carcasses in the oven and transfer to a frying pan. Add mirepoix and a clove of garlic, the other herbs and the port and let it reduce. Add poultry consommé and veal stock and reduce again. Strain, season with salt and pepper and assemble with a knob of fresh butter.

Fry the pigeon breasts and buttocks separately on the tepanyaki. The breasts then go into the oven and the buttocks go into the oven for another 4 minutes at 180°C. Slice the breasts and arrange on the plate. Garnish with a garnish of blanched and then lightly grilled seasonal vegetables as shown in the photo. Serve the sauce separately. For the alternative presentation, bake the puff pastry in an egg-shaped mold to present the dish. Place the potatoes in a ball shape on top of each other to create a nest that you can then fry.