Par is’coolest foodiespots
Alexa ndre Ca mma s, founder of Fra nce’s Le Fooding guide, ta lks Ita lia n food, Ea st Pa ris cool a nd upcoming foodie hotspots.
THE latest edition of France’s trendy Le Fooding guide to th e best restaurants, h otels and bars in Paris and furth er afield h as singled out Giovanni Passerini’s new modern trattoria in th e French capital, as wellas th e breakaway restaurant of former Le M eurice ch ef Ch ristoph e Saintagne.
With th e 2017 winners now unveiled, Relaxnews caugh t up with th e founder of France’s coolest foodie guide, Alexandre Cammas.
Th is year, it seems th at Paris – and particularly th e city’s Eastern neigh borh oods – don’t h ave th e monopoly on straigh t-up, modern fare.
You picked Giovanni Passerini as best chef of 2017. At a time when Paris is crazy for Italian cuisine, what makes this chef stand out from the crowd?
Italian cuisine is a h it in allth e world’s big cities. Th is can be explained by its apparent simplicity, its relative accessibility and its incredible effectiveness. Wh o doesn’t like pasta, gnocch i, good mozzarella or olive oil?
But Giovanni takes th ings furth er. Of course, th is guy knows h ow to cook Italy like few oth ers – th at’s for sure – but h e also knows h ow to cook, period.
You h ave to see wh at h e is capable of doing with large cuts such as a wh ole lobster, a sh oulder of lamb, a whole duck, pigeon, etc.
Few ch efs know h ow to be so good, so perfectionist in so many different registers.
Th at’s precisely wh at bowled us over – th is ability to go back to th e fundamentalconcept of th e “restaurant”.
Giovanni h as ch osen to “restore” h is customers, to replenish th em, and with total freedom.
He gives diners th e freedom to ch oose between a delicious fried pizza, a dish of h ome-made ravioli and a glass of wine or a full-on blowout meal.
To spend 30 (RM 140) or 100 (RM 470), to sit down to a starter-main-dessert or to sample one exceptionaldish prepared two ways and th en callit a day.
Ch efs wh o don’t dictate wh at you’re supposed to like or a minimum amount you h ave to spend are rare – a luxury, even! And th at deserves a great award.
And wh ile oth ers willcertainly try to do th e same th ing, h ow many willsucceed in doing it th is welland th is good?
With the best “Coming Out” going to Christophe Saintagne’s new eatery and the best decor to Daroco, is keen to celebrate restaurants that aren’t necessarily fully signed-up members of the “cuisine faubourgeoise” trend, a contemporary cuisine found in Paris’s up-and-coming neighborhoods?
With Daroco, we’re flagging up an impressive decor. Th ere’s no way th at Paris can remain on th e modern map of th e biggest
Le Fooding
world cities if we are not capable of h onoring, from time to time, th e opening of such a spectacular restaurant.
Of course, th e food isn’t th e main story h ere, especially since th eir success, righ t from th e opening, betrayed th em a little, but wh at a place!
Saintagne, on th e oth er h and, is completely in line with a “faubourgeoise” approach .
He left beh ind gilded palace h otels for a bistro, ditch ed th ree-figure menus for a more accessible offering, and switch ed grandiloquence for pure, simple pleasure ... wh at courage and wh at a delivery!
So this kind of cuisine is now gaining ground beyond Eastern Paris?
Th e revivalof contemporary cuisine is effectively born in th e east of th e city. But if th is culinary freedom gains ground in allcorners of th e city and beyond, th en so much th e better. Last year’s awards already included plenty of eateries th at weren’t in Eastern Paris or even Paris at all. In fact, I th ink th at h as never been th e case.
Are new talents of the food scene increasingly found in other regions of France? There’s talk of Bordeaux as a future hotspot for foodies. As well as fine dining and gastronomy, does the city have its share of interesting new restaurants arriving on the scene?
We gave our best restaurant award to a great modern bistro called M iles in Bordeaux in 2014. Th is year, we awarded anoth er Bordeaux eatery, Symbiose. But th ere’s also a lot going on in Lyon, in Nice ... or in cutting-edge microclimates like th e Basque Country and th e Camargue region.
With desserts in restaurants and specialist boutiques now almost as popular as savoury creations, could Le Fooding one day give awards to pastry chefs too?
We’ve just launch ed our Le Fooding guide to “bars d’auteurs” [for cocktailbars and speakeasies] so anyth ing is possible. – AFP Relaxnews