Akihiro Horikoshi - La Table d'Aki

April 27 2013, a lunch at La Table d'Aki.

After having worked for about 20 years at l'Ambroisie, Akihiro Horikoshi has opened a small restaurant  where he quietly runs his little open kitchen all by himself. Faithful to Bernard Pacaud's spirit (and also to L'Ambroisie's suppliers like Mr Lopez's Poissonnerie du Dôme), Akihiro produces perfectly-executed dishes which shine by their simplicity and exactitude. All those splendid products fall together nicely into what tastes like an evidence. But no one can be fooled and it is really Aki's craftsmanship which magnify the raw material. 

John-Dory, asparagus

Sea-bass, cabbage

Sauteed frog legs, garlic, parsley

La Table d'Aki
49 rue Vaneau,

75007 Paris
Tel +33 1 45 44 43 48

Asafumi Yamashita - The vegetable whisperer

May 19 2013

Asafumi Yamashita is said to talk to his vegetables. When asked about it he doesn't explicitly deny it. And it is not so surprising anyway. When you listen to him talking about his daikon, his sweet potatoes or his cabbage flowers, you would think he talks about his daughters. Mr Yamashita grows his own vegetables and raise a few chickens in his garden 40 minutes away from Paris. He selects carefully his very few clients to whom he sells his production in quantity, price and time that he decides. Who are the happy few chefs that he deems worthy of his noble and confidential production? Their names are Pascal Barbot (L'Astrance), William Ledeuil (Ze Kitchen Gallery), Pierre Gagnaire, Sylvain Sendra (to whom I very thankfully owe this discovery) (Itinéraires), Michel and Sébastien Bras, Eric Briffard (George V), Laurent Delarbre (La Tour d'Argent) and recently Anne-Sophie Pic.

Knowing how selective is Asafumi Yamashita, being hosted at his place feels like a privilege, yet guests are welcome with no ceremony in his simple house. His wife Naomi carefully assembles the garden's offsprings in delicious dishes that Asafumi brings to the table.

Tofu, Carrot, Carrot-top, Konyac and Komatsuna

Kabu, Cabbage flower

Chicken sashimi

Daikon, miso pork

Brocoli, brocoli hearts, sweet miso

Nile perch, taro flower

Wasabina, misuna, turnip, carrot

Home 'almost Bresse' chicken 

Udon, onion tempura

Red bean and apricot mochi

Where the miracle grows

Sylvain Sendra and Asafumi Yamashita exchanging philosophical thoughts on the world of vegetables.   

Further reading:

http://www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr/teaser/fiche.php?isbn=9782732450674


La Ferme Yamashita

Chemin des Trois-Poiriers,

78130 Chapet.

Tel. : +33 1 30 91 98 75.

Gilles Goujon - L'auberge du Vieux Puits

December 15 2012

L'auberge du Vieux Puits is set remotely in the countryside in Fontjoncouse that no one would ever remember it weren't for Gilles Goujon's place. It is not the setting either. The restaurant has been renovated with a very debatable taste. I do not dare commenting any further since it I don't want to offend Mrs Goujon.

Anyway, this is about food. And there Gilles Goujon nailed it.

Appetizer

Butter

Oyster and its pearl

The pearl is a made out of blown sugar inflated with smokey flavours.

"Rotten egg" Tuber melanosporum, truffle and mushroom mash, warm brioche and cappuccino

The 'rotten egg' which looks like a perfectly normal soft-boiled egg from the outside reveals a runny inside made out of fragrant truffle cream. A very pleasant and aromatic surprise.

Inside the "Rotten egg"

Frog-back-and-leg lily, herb cannelloni, snail ravioli with garlic cream and cress

Red mullet,  Stuffed potato, Saffron foam

Pigeon breast cooked on the bone with figs on an offal toast 

Praline shell, sour clementine

Wild fig roasted is a spice syrup, cinnamon, orange flower ice cream in an anise blown-sugar bulb

Gilles Goujon's generosity and technique was brilliantly exposed in this wonderful dinner. It is really worth the trip. Having to walk back to the tacky rooms was like coming down to earth. It remains however a truly memorable gastronomical experience.

L'Auberge du Vieux Puits

5 Avenue Saint-Victor,

11360 Fontjoncouse
+33 4 68 44 07 37

http://www.aubergeduvieuxpuits.fr/‎

Stéphanie Le Quellec - La scène at the Prince de Galles

May 18 2013

The much anticipated new restaurant of Chef Stéphanie Le Quellec has finally opened. Of course she has won the 2011 French edition of Top Chef but does it really matter when she had been the executive chef of the Michelin-starred Terre Blanche?

Well that night was the fifth service after the opening, and hell, I can say it bodes well for the future.

Galicia beef carpaccio, dried capers, blown potatoes

Carrot, carrot top tempura.

Greens of the day, Tofu, Prune vinegar, pistachio

Farm egg, warm sour yolk, green asparagus, morels

Foie gras, rhubarb, mint, bergamot

Oyster, Matcha tea, young broad beans, "pérugine"

Red mullet "cooked by fright", bouillabaisse reduction, gnocchi, bottarga, celery

Young turbot cooked on the bone, artichoke, crayfish, Piemonte hazelnuts 

Blue Lobster, green peas, Jabugo Iberico foam

Suckling lamb, ribs, braised shoulder, vegetable confit

Lamb sweetbread

Roasted veal rib, agnolotti buratta, lemon confit

Veal sweetbread, white asparagus, dates, lomito, Talegio foam

Desserts by Yann Couvreur. Desserts were truly amazing and were a good part of that evening's satisfaction.

Wild strawberries, rhubarb, orange flower, caramelized puff pastry

Grand cru chocolate, safron, Jivara whipped cream, crispy biscuit

Mille-feuille, Vanilla

There were a few issues here and there, some relating to the service, but given that it was only their second day of opening, this can be easily forgiven. No doubt that this will be quickly ironed out.
The dishes are clearly inherited from traditional French haute cuisine, but the setting and the chef's twist provides that right balance that makes us want to go back.

A special mention is deserved for the talented pastry chef Yann Couvreur who delivered some truly outstanding desserts.



Restaurant La Scène
Prince de Galles
33 Avenue George V · 75008 Paris · France
Tel +33 1 53 23 77 77

Kobe Desramault - In de Wulf

March 31 2013

In Dranouter (Belgium), 30 kilometers from Lille, Kobe Desramault hosts his guests in his beautiful cottage.

The dining room

Onion crisps, pork cracker, yogurt

Buckwheat miso, beetroot, chard

burned bread and maroille, whelk

Dog fish, kohlrabi and lovage

Shrimps, celery, fermented rubarb

Ostende oysters, sauerkraut and whey

Grilled leek, quail egg and fermented leek juice

Dunkerque sea-bass, onion, chervil and mustard leaves

snails, wild garlic

Squid, ink, chard

Hop sprouts, farm egg, whipped milk

Flemish beef, parsley root, sour cream

Heather-smoked potato, wild-boar ham "house-smoked"  

Black-pudding, pig trotter, red-onion jam

Jerusalem artichoke several-hours-cooked in butter

Beetroot, rose

Yogurt, carrot

Pear, elderberry liquor

Goat milk, dill

This was a beautiful meal in a beautiful place. Kobe Desramault sources his ingredients locally. The cuisine is focused on products. It reminded a lot of Rene Redzepi's Noma and the scandinavian food scene in general. In avoidance of doubt, let me clarify that this is a true compliment. In de Wulf had been one of the best meals I had for months.

In de Wulf
Wulvestraat 1
8950, Heuvelland(Dranouter)
Tel +32 57 44 55 67
info@indewulf.be