Arpege

Alain Passard is a chef with enviable talent. For decades now, without ever being the first or the second in the line of famous chefs… he has remained at the zenith of haute cuisine – among the chosen few. He receives the highest rankings from Michelin, GaultMillau… in practically every guide in publication. He knows how to unite his natural gifts in an unbreakably meticulous way, transmitting his knowledge and feelings to his disciples. Aside from triumphant concepts and dishes, he has trained the most renowned chefs in France: Pascal Barbot “Astrance”, Jacques Decoret “Jacques Decoret”, Mauro Colagreco “Mirazur”, among other eminent chefs.
One can say many things about Alain Passard, but above all, many praises. His mental clarity, his capacity to concretize his work with sapid purity, the lightness of his proposals, the genius with which he dresses them, the sensitivity that they convey… but above the myriad of praiseworthy virtues, our attention is called to the freedom of his character and the coherence of his ideas, thoughts and passions. We stand before a free man who practices free cuisine. As a result of this way of being and doing, we have to consider the stylistic period he initiated a few years ago and the important achievements he has attained therein. He has given vegetables a relevant, protagonist role in contemporary haute cuisine, producing stellar dishes in which they are the ultimate office. And he has done this by joining an organic spirit with the inherent values that his position occupies. In short, he practices lucid, virtuous, green gastronomy for gourmets.
A simple raw, salted radish speaks to the excellent quality of the staged product and the value he gives to natural flavors. Purity reaches a genius, minimalist level with the roasted beet with salt – whole, with its rind, as if it were a filet of fish, cut into pieces and plated in the dining room dressed with a magical touch: balsamic vinegar with a cherry finish. Immaculate and simple, the tender spinach, truly meaty, with salted butter, sesame and carrot-orange puree. The peas with spring onion air and pink grapefruit segments confirm a style in which nuances, always existent, are expressed with supine subtlety. The translucent ravioli with herbs over a beautiful vegetable consommé of soy and peas represents delight within a historical reference of wild aromas. The aiguillettes of lobster from the Chausey archipelago with white wine foam and peppered cabbage leaf stands out for its fine technical development and its easily assumable flavors. The duck foie gras, superb quality, with grapefruit dates and greens is noble and substantial. After all is said and done, everything that Passard does is bursting with personality, criteria… the creations are him.
The macaroni with garden fragrances are simply perfect, brilliant… an original mille-feuille with salted butter, an indulgent “floating island” mocha with lemon verbena and caramel. All the little details meet up to French savoir-faire and Parisian pomp.