Buzz: Where Celebs Eat

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Now you have acquired the Hermé (Pierre) insulated sac – just thought I’d mention a neat design to carry the champagne (perfect with Hermé’s pâtisserie and ice cream, darling). I always scoff at ploucs plodding around with bulging purse belts poised on their paunches, but Moet & Chandon have come up with something terrific for the savvy traveller. “La ceinture mini Moet” glides around the waist and contains 4 mini-bottles of bubbly, now you don’t have to fret if you’re stuck in traffic you have a built in biberon holder. Note the nice chrome fittings, and if you run out of champ, stick some mineral water in! Available from the Moet & Chandon boutique:20 avenue de Champagne, 51200. Epernay.T: 03 26 51 20 00 Have you been to KONG? No, not Hong but KONG. It’s the new watering hole produced and directed by the lovely Laurent Taieb (Bon 1, Bon 2), décor and costumes by Philippe Starck, music (c’est clair, no new canteen can open its portes without the pulsating beat of the in-house CD by Béatrice Ardisson. Oh! and the food! By Fumiko Kono and Richard Pommies.  The set-up’s chic n’ elegant, the “resting” actors/supermodels play their parts to perfection. Coté cuisine, not bad if you’re into spaghetti japonaise, legerement epicé, roast lamb, various tartar starters, always a few dishes of the day, including sightings of Johnny Depp and Vanessa, Serena and Venus Williams and Marcel Desailly; so frankly dear I don’t give a damn about the food, just feed me celebs, celebs, celebs. Expect to spend about 40€ + wine (but including celebrity sightings) and check out the chairs! Of course you know plexiglass is the new wood. Well KONG’s are the Louis XV marvels, designed by Starck, inlaid with feminine faces. Immeuble du Pont-Neuf,1,rue du Pont Neuf. 1st. (Metro: Pont Neuf)Open 7/7 even in August! I want my weed-ridden old terrace revised and corrected by Pierre Yves Rochon. He’s created summer-heaven in the courtyard at Le Cinq. “I’ve discreetly highlighted the Art-Deco architecture”, he explains, as we sip icy fresh orange juice cocktails. I want to slip off my Manolos and run bear-foot over the cool marble floors – but don’t think Rochon would approve, or maybe…. Le Cinq,31 avenue George V, 8th (Metro George V).T: 01 49 52 70 00www.fourseasons.com I’m très tomate moi. So I’m off to the Chateau de la Bourdaisière in the Loire Valley where there’s over 500 different types of toms to choose from. I’m also hoping to bump into France’s answer to Mellors the gamekeeper: Prince Albert de Broglie, the Prince Gardener. “I want to seduce tomato lovers”, he admits. Oh! Albie, don’t do this to me, I can’t keep my mind on the toms. This year Albert’s flogging tomato allied gourmet products, sauces, chutneys, jams, alcohols, face creams, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, sculptures, recipes, demos…he’s turning into a proper Paul Newman. And you know what, if you get in early you can stay at the Chateau (20 rooms) – have breakfast with de Broglie (pronounced de Broy) even play a few sets of tennis, or splash him in the piscine. Le Festival de la Tomate,13-14 September, 2003. but Chateau open from June-October.Chateau de la Bourdaisière. 37270. Montlouis sur Loire.T: 02 47 45 16 31.www.chateaulabourdaisiere.com Then when I come back to Paris, tomatoed out, I’m booking in for tea (30€) at The Bristol. “Samedis de la Mode du Bristol”. Louis Feraud (20th September), Yves Saint Laurent (27 September & 25th October) Escada 4, 11 & 18th October & my favourite new couturier Vincent Dupontreué (does couture jeans to perfection) 8, 15, 22 November. Now here’s the delicious bit, Gilles Marchal, the Bristol’s too talented pâtissier creates matching desserts! Le Gateau du Couturier being just one of them, now I don’t know if the mannequins will nibble them, they may not fit into the slinky clothes afterwards, but you and I will devour them with gust! And, come the fin de l’année, Marchand plans to publish the recipes, so the staff can cook them up at home. Yum! Oh, by the way, if you’re one of the glamourous jet set BP Premium Subscribers who only wear ze couture, arrangements can be made to transport you, by limo, to the participating couturier. What more could you want? Reserve on 01 53 43 43 42.www.hotel-bristol.com See you there then…
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Born in Hampton, Middlesex, UK, Margaret Kemp is a lifestyle journalist, based between London, Paris and the world. Intensive cookery courses at The Cordon Bleu, London, a wedding gift from a very astute ex-husband, gave her the base that would take her travelling (leaving the astute one behind) in search of rare food and wine experiences, such as the vineyards of Thailand, 'gator hunting in South Florida, learning to make eye-watering spicy food in Kerala;pasta making in a tiny Tuscany trattoria. She has contributed to The Guardian, The Financial Times Weekend and FT. How To Spend It.com, The Spectator, Condé Nast Traveller, Food & Travel, and Luxos Magazine. She also advises as consultant to luxury hotels and restaurants. Over the years, Kemp has amassed a faithful following on BonjourParis. If she were a dish she'd be Alain Passard's Millefeuille “Caprice d'Enfant”, as a painting: Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe !