Jacques Decoret

In 1998, Jacques Decoret abandoned the spotlight of Paris, where he was on his way to a very secure career – meilleur ouvrier de France in 1996 – in order to open his own restaurant in Vichy, a valiant wager that by no means promised success at the time. Decoret is an authentic acrobat of taste and juggler of the burners. He likes to entertain, and to be entertained, something which is clearly reflected in his cuisine, extremely ironic and, what’s more, ironic unto itself.

His technical capacities are inarguable. In a kitchen of reduced dimension he is capable of producing between twenty and thirty tasting menus of twelve dishes without a mistake, whisking the diners along towards a whirlpool of sensations of taste, touch, sight, and smell. A feeling of leisure dominates, and winks abound, but everything is firmly based in investigatory work and serious, rigorous delineation. One needs only to ask any author or actor: comedy is more complicated than drama.

Of the most recent creations, what impressed us most was the monkfish caramelized with maple syrup, not at all fibrous, and enhanced by the sweet, crispy lacquer, accompanied by a tartar of apple, celery and lamb’s lettuce with a carrot emulsion, a dish that expresses unusual mastery and exceptional balance with the contrast of sweet and savory sensations. Very noteworthy as well was the foie gras of duck, pan seared and seasoned with Alsatian pork salt, supported by an “imaginary choucroute”, peppercorns and fennel seeds. Pride in its most essential form, the sardine deboned and barely scalded with tomato purée, lemon, mini toast with butter ringlet and sardine sauce. The surprising reproduction of the Cachou (the French licorice breath mints in the mythical yellow box) achieved through the use of black olive powder and a mint leaf.

All this was accompanied by a series of dishes andanti con brio among which included some classics of the house like the escargots of Dombes with bread crust, the 21st century oyster, the rabbit combined with cereals and his formidable beer sorbet, the caramelized cigar and other recent creations like the sandwich of black radish stuffed with tuna and rose, the vegetable kir, or the bren mefran flower, with its extremely acidic and persistent flavor, presented in perfect balance over the contacts of a Sony battery. Everything is irreproachable and interesting. Believe me, its better than Disneyland!