ON THE PAS S
This month, we chat to Australian chef and artist
Hanz Gueco, head chef of neo-bistro Ellsworth in Paris.
What brought you to Paris? Obviously, the food and the history of the cooking, the restaurants. All the chefs that I really loved worked here or were from here, so it was an obvious move. I honestly thought I'd stay six months and then it snowballed to another six months. I've been in Paris six years now.
What’s the concept behind Ellsworth? Ellsworth is a small French bistro with an à la carte menu. Everything is sourced locally from France with a bit from Italy.
What’s it like being an Australian chef in Paris? It's nice because you can see things from a different view. I like cooking French food but I'll often see it very differently to others. Back home, there's more freedom to do what you like. How I grew up cooking, you could kind of do whatever you wanted. And then you come here, and it's more pulled back.
What’s your favourite French food? I love îles flottantes. I thought it was an '80s thing back home, then I had one here and I was like “Oh, it's actually really good.” It's like eating a bowl of melted ice-cream. We had one on the menu at Ellsworth with cereal milk and another with Jerusalem artichokes in the custard. Also, a corn one which was super tasty with popcorn instead of almond.
The dish I’m most proud of… We made a carrot cake éclair. It's kind of silly looking but it makes you smile every time you look at it. It's glazed with cream cheese frosting. Every time it goes down to the table, there's a “Trop mignon!” (Too cute, in French).
À la carte vs tasting menu vs sharing plates? Which do you
prefer? À la carte. I love ordering. I also love ordering share plates, but I don't like cooking them. As a chef you want to put your best food forward. I think this is why tasting menus really became popular over the past 10 years because chefs want to show “This is what I make. These are all my abilities.” I feel often with sharing plates, people have two things and walk away and are like “Yeah this was okay,” but you didn't see the whole movie. You just saw the middle and the end.
Have your expectations of Paris lived up to reality? I wasn't expecting anything. I know people who struggled a lot when they came here because it's very different from what they were expecting but I came here with an open mind. When you first move here, not knowing the language and setting up a bank account are the most difficult things. Then once you're in the lane, it's quite chill.
What’s next in the pipeline? Nothing is concrete but I do plan on opening my own place sometime next year in Paris. European style food, à la carte. I want to do it on my own so it might take a little bit longer than I want but I think that when there's lots of input, you try to make it everybody's favourite restaurant. I want to make it somebody's favourite restaurant. Personal and fun.
Ellsworth, 34 rue de Richelieu, Paris, ellsworthparis.com