The cutest chef in Paris

ENGLISH IS BELOW IN BLACK

Normalement, je suis en Laponie avec ce blog, mais hier soir j’ai eu une petite aventure parisienne que j’aimerais partager. Mercredi soir le téléphone sonne.

– Coucou ! Je suis à Paris, ça te dit un déjeuner avec moi demain au Mandarin Oriental? Je t’invite.

– Bonjour, j’aimerais bien déjeuner avec toi. Mais, euh, c’est qui?

C’est une copine qui est journaliste à Tel Aviv et de qui je n’ai pas eu de nouvelle depuis 2 ans. Après notre déjeuner (j’en parlerais plus tard) elle m’a demandé d’être son guide pour les soldes. Fastoche, je m’y connais en shopping. Après 2 heures on a terminé sa liste.

-Tu sais, j’ai un dîner ce soir au restaurant de mon copain, tu veux venir? Tu pourras en faire un papier pour The Girls Guide to Paris.

J’étais partant. Mais je ne comprenais pas pourquoi elle était si pressée, à 18h. Elle m’a expliqué que son copain, c’est Stéphane Jego et qu’on allait passer du temps dans sa cuisine pour apprendre à faire son fameux riz au lait avant le dîner.

Pinch me I’m dreaming. Depuis 10 ans Stéphane Jego est le chef du superbe et plus vieux restaurant Basque à Paris, Chez l’Ami Jean. Dîner chez lui est un plaisir. Entrer dans sa cuisine? J’en ai jamais rêvé.

Lolo age 5, the cutest chef in Paris!!!

Pendant leur explication de leur fameux riz (recette ici) M. Jego m’a montré sa dernière création, une soupe à l’oignon, inspiré par la soupe qu’il avait fait pour ses noces, mais en version moderne, reconstruit. Une purée de la réduction d’oignon avec une croquette de la purée, une réduction du bouillon servi avec une tranche d’encornet et une feuille de moutard. Pendant la construction du plat, il m’a parlé de soirée de noces et de sa femme Sandrine. Il a évoqué le chaudron de nos grandmères avec leurs vapeurs entermêlés ; les arômes de la cuisine et nos souvenirs de jeunesse. La passion pour ce plat, pour sa cuisine et l’amour pour son restaurant étaient presque visibles.

Cette passion est évidente dans son restaurant, avec du graffiti qui représent la muraille de Berlin ou le diable porte michelin et symbolise sa liberté dans sa cuisine. Les couteaux sont fait sur mesure, il n’y a que 136 au monde. Les serviettes ce sont des torchons relookés et les cartes sont de véritables oeuvres d’art original.

Lorsqu’on admirait la salle Lolo s’est assis pour son diner. Petite blonde aux cheveux bouclés elle tourne sa tête quand son père lui sert la soupe qui n’est pas une soupe. Elle ne veut pas la déguster. Il lui rappel que c’était un plat des noces de maman et papa. On continue avec notre visite et 10 minutes plus tard je remarque que le plat est vide. Lolo félicite son père sur sa nouvelle recette et lui rappel qu’elle déteste les épinards.

Cette recherche pour l’unique, pour la qualité est dans ces plats, aussi. Et quels plat son a dégusté ! On a eu doit à un menu sur mesure, commençant par sa terrine campagne mythique qui est offert à toutes les tables. Après il y avait une soupe aux crustacés suivi par des langues d’oiseux à l’encre de seiche avec homard. En ce moment notre serveur nous apporte un bol de pâtes qui nagaient. Ce n’étaient pas des pâtes ; c’était de pibales, une spécialité gastronomique des Pays Basques et ils n’étaient pas pour manger, enfin, pas tout de suite. D’abord, la fameuse soupe à l’oignon reconstruite. Magnifique ! Surtout les croquettes, Lolo avait raison. Les pibales étaient de retour, cette fois-ci sans mouvement, une sautée parfaîtement simple dans sa perfection, de l’ail et une assaisonnement généreuse de piment d’espelette.

Maintenant, le riz au lait. Un gros bol de riz servi avec un caramel au beurre salé et des noix de pecan carmelisés. Pour se refraiîchir, on nous a offert une compote d’agrumes avec une glace au gingembre. Pas mal, mais pour moi, la pièce de resistance était le YoLoLo, un plat concu par Lolo et Yuka, une croustiant de pommes parfaitement carmelisé avec un sorbet à la vanille. Extraordinaire.

Après une verveine au comptoir (on devait cèder nos places a des rugbymen qui avait faim) on a salué le chef et on est parti, nos pieds touchaient à peine le sol.

Normally, we’re still in Lapland, but last night I had the most fabulous adventure in a Paris kitchen. So we’re changing dials for today. Wed night the phone rang.

“Sylvia, its M, I’m in Paris! Guess where I’m staying? The Mandarin Oriental! You want to have lunch tomorrow? my treat!”

I hadn’t heard from M in nearly two years, when she moved home to Israel to pursue her career as a journalist and fall in love and become a Mom. I cancelled my plans and we had a date. After lunch at Camélia (later, I promise) she asked me to take her shopping for les soldes because weirdly enough, I have the reputation of being something of a shopping expert. After a very successful two hours, M started to be in a rush.

“I’m having dinner at a friend’s restaurant, would you like to join me? You could write about it for the Girls Guide.”

I was game. I’m always game for food, but I could not understand her rush, at 18h, we had plenty of time. My friend explained that her friend is Stéphane Jego and that she had a date to meet him before dinner to learn how to make his famous rice pudding.

Scratch that record and play that again. Stéphne Jego? He’s the chef of L’Ami Jean, a superb Basuqe restaurant that also happens to be the oldest in Paris. Eating there is a pure joy, entering his kitchen was beyond my wildest dreams.

The kitchen is teeny, but was practically empty when we arrived. Most of the staff was enjoying their dinner and the only two left in the kitchen were the pastry chef, Yuka Hayakawa and her impressively hard working assistant, Lolo, Jego’s 5 year old daughter, the cutest chef in Paris!

Jego's Onion Soup

While they explained riz au lait, Chef Jego started showing me his newest creation, a reconstructed onion soup that had been inspired by the onion soup he had made for his wife Sandrine and guests on their wedding night. The modern version had an onion purée, a soup reduction and fried onion ball, served with a slice of calamar and mustard leaves. As he pulled all the ingredients together he talked on his wedding and his wife, Sandrine. he spoke of our grandmother’s kitchens, where the vapor from their pots entwined the fragrance of cooking with our childhood memories. His passion for this dish, for cooking and his love for this restaurant were palpable in his voice.

This passion comes through in his restaurant, graffiti that represents the Berlin Wall with a Michelin devil is the symbol of his freedom in the kitchen. Custom knives, there are only 136 in the world, napkins are actually designed dishtowels and each menu is an original work of art.

As we admired the details of the dining room Lolo sat down for dinner. Bolnd with bouncing curls she pushed away the dish of onion soup, she wanted nothing to do with it. Her father reminded it her that it was the dish he’d made for her mom on their wedding day and then continued o nwith us. 10 minutes later her dish was clean and she congratulated him, at the same time reminding him that she hates spinach.

Being detailed oriented comes from his years in the kitchen where each dish must be perfect. And what dishes we tasted! Chef Jego prepared a special menu for us, beginning with the reknowned country pâté that is offered to all the diners. Then there was a seafood soup with crunchy bits of croutons and red onion followed but “bird’s tongue” pasta in squid ink with lobster. At this point our waiter brought us a bowl of squiggling pasta. But it wasn’t pasta, they were pibale, baby eels and a Basque delicacy. Only these ones were only for us to admire, at least for now. It was time for the recontructed onion soup. Lolo was right, delicious, especially the onion balls! The pibale s were back, this time totally still in a porcelaine bowl with three wooden spoons and perfectly sauteed with garlic and a healthy seasoning of Piment d’espelette.

It was a breathtaking moment during a breathtaking meal. Then came rabbit, pigeon and calf kidney with a mix of different purées and sauces all with incredible flavours and textures. I could taste the memories of my holidays in Ciboure, I was in my grandfather’s kitchen, I was traveling through the memory of my palette, just as the chef intended. Two glasses of an excellent poully fumé accompanied the meal

After all that, it was time for the rice pudding. A large bowl is served with a small bowl of caramel au beurre salé and another with carmelised pecans. There was a refreshing dessert of citrus fruit with ginger ice cream and it was all very good, but the pièce de résistance was the YoLoLo, a perfectly marmalised apple croustillant with vanilla sorbet created by Yuka and Lolo. Exceptional.

After an herbal tea at the zinc bar (we’d stayed too long and a rather serious looking rugby man had claims to our table) we rolled out the door, our feet barely touching the ground.

 

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7 thoughts on “The cutest chef in Paris

  1. Sounds like a fun and quirky evening. I especially like the sound of the onion soup and the rice pudding. But Oh what a lot of different foods!

    Making onion soup on your wedding day is an unusual activity! LOL. but I suppose people express their love in all kinds of different ways personal to them and the soup obviously has more meaning than just soup to Jego.

    Love Denise

  2. Oh, so jealous! I’ve been lucky enough to have lunch twice at M Jego’s wonderful restaurant and he did come to our table since we were dining with some regulars, but to be behind the scenes and see the master at work! Je suis tres jalouse aussi!!

    Jo

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