"La Saison", the seasonal specialties of the market.  The family farm in the Lyon countryside where Daniel grew up produced a wide variety of seasonal crops in its fields, orchards and vegetable gardens.  Farm animals included cows for milk, goats for cheese, and pigs for charcuterie, while the farmyard was resplendent with geese, ducks, chickens, squabs, rabbits, guinea fowls, and turkeys. Each new crop was celebrated with celebratory meals.  Since cooking in the United Slates, Daniel has established close relationships with the country's most passionate farmers and dedicated purveyors whose wonderful products inspire his dishes.  Here at Café Boulud, the menu will showcase the delicacies of each season's bounty.  From foraged mushrooms, diver scallops with roe, hand-picked berries, wild grouse, line-caught halibut, to jumbo white asparagus, our clientele will savor the season's best ingredients.

For the soup:

• 4 tbs Unsalted butter
• 3 oz  Pancetta or smoked bacon, cut into 3 chunks
• 1 Large Spanish onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 Fennel bulb, cleaned and sliced
• 1 Medium leek, white part only, cleaned and sliced
• 1 Celery stalk, cleaned and sliced
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• Bouquet garni: 2 sage sprigs, 2 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf
• 2 bs Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed and cut into '/," slices or 8-1 0 globe artichoke hearts
• 2 qts Unsalted chicken stock
• 1 Small potato, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tbs Coarse salt
• 1/2 c Heavy cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

 For the crôutons.

• 2 tbs Unsalted butter
• 3 Fresh sage leaves
• 1 Garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 1 c 1/4" diced country bread, crust removed
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the soup:

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it renders its fat, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion, fennel, leek, celery, garlic and bouquet garni and cook stirring from time to time. Add the artichokes and cook 15 to 20 minutes more. Pour in the stock, add the potato and coarse salt, and bring the mixture to a boil, Lower the heat so that the soup simmers, and cook, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, skimming the foam from the surface as needed. Spoon out the pieces of pancetta and cut them into small dice; set aside until serving time. Discard the bouquet garni.

Using an electric or immersion blender (a food processor will also work here), puree the soup until it is very smooth. Strain through a fine meshed sieve and taste for salt and pepper, adding seasoning as needed. Add the cream to the soup and reheat the soup over low heat while you make the crôutons. (The soup can be made ahead, chilled, and refrigerated overnight in a container with a tight fitting lid. Reheat over gentle heat before serving.)

For the crôutons:

Worm the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the bread, sage and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until the bread is crisp and golden brown. Discard the garlic and drain the crôutons on a  double thickness of paper towels.

Ladle the hot soup into warm bowls and garnish with diced pancetta, a few crispy crôutons and sage