Bordier Butter, Thiebault veggies, Desnoyers meat, Cantin cheese, etc.!

I don’t know when this fad started but I noticed that with the opening of Fines Gueules it seemed that every new restaurant felt obliged to give a long list of “best of’s”: best oysters from David Herve in Oleron, best butter from Bordier, best bread from Poujauran, best andouillette from Thierry Daniel, best meat from Hugo Desnoyers, best charcuteries from Gilles Verot, best veggies from Joel Thiebault, etc., etc. plus superb wines, Bourgueil from the Bretons (my favorite couple in the Loire), Sologne from Claude Courtois, Cotes du Roussillon from Jean Louis Tribouley, etc., etc. Now we all want the best; we want good bread over that from Auchan, good cheese rather than that at Monoprix and fine sausage rather than that in the corridors of the Gare du Nord. And, indeed, with Slow Food, “Le Fooding” and the farmers’ market movements, we prefer good-tasting, imperfect-looking, local produce rather than that flown in from other continents. And yes, I want to know my beef was raised in X not Y and that the peaches in the market are “local.” But when Bordier becomes as common as President in new restaurants, I call for a time out. While Colette and I were eating recently at Ze Kitchen Galerie and constantly puzzled at some of the (largely Asian) ingredients he and his team used, I realized William Ledeuil doesn’t flaunt his producers and suppliers or even mention them. And yet, when I enquired one day about one, within 2 minutes an uncooked example was brought to the table with a full explanation. And it’s clear his products and ingredients are among the “best of.” Likewise, Daniel Rose of Spring says he orders his products now rather than forage for them in the markets as we were taught by Paul Bocuse and Patricia Wells to do years ago. He insists he actually does better that way. So,……………………. Where can you go that serves first-class products but they’re not in your face about it? Ze Kitchen Galerie 4, rue des Grands Augustins, 6th (Metro: Saint Michel) T: 01 44 32 00 32 Closed Sundays. A la carte 30 €. Spring 28, rue de la Tour d’Auvergne, 9th, (Metro: St Georges or Pigalle) T: 01.45.96.05.72 Open Tuesday-Friday for dinner with one seating at 8:30-9 PM Lunch Thursday and Friday at around 1 PM, seating is very limited. Cooking classes and private parties on Saturday afternoons and evenings. Menu du jour 42 € ©by John Talbott 2008