Reinvention 101: Taking a Lesson from William Ledeuil of Ze Kitchen Galerie

There are many types of folks who eat in Paris, or I suppose anywhere, among them: those for whom a meal is just a meal and not a pilgrimage to Lourdes, those who between museums are willing to make a “detour” for some place above average, those who go back year after year to the places they ate at in university, on their first visit, or every year and those seeking the hottest new thing, beating, as my friend Paga says, quoting Groucho Marx, all the other couples.  In the last decade, “hot” places open, get “discovered” and undergo various fates ranging from closing to impossible to get into because they achieve some pantheonic status either through buzz or internet popularity. I think of La Regalade (under Yves Camdeborde), L’Astrance, Spring, Afaria, Bigarrade, Jadis and most recently Frenchie. It was stunning to many when the Figaroscope staff telephoned around town to make reservations at a dozen or so famous, largely starred restaurants and found that it was Daniel Rose’s Spring that was the toughest to get into.   Why have these places been so successful? Well, aside from all the buzz and the internet in-ness, they were providing good food at reasonable prices, at least at first in the case of, say, l’Astrance, and—and it’s a big and—they were different, inventive and had some wrinkle that set them apart:  Spring’s hands-on personalized cooking, Afaria’s tapas/classic mix, Jadis’s old recipes using modern produce and equipment, etc.   Most “hot” places have also been driven by their chefs’ innovative drive. I recall one restaurant in the 11th that was very good but whose menu (carte) never changed, despite the season of the year. We stopped going; we’d exhausted the chefs’ repertoire. On the extreme other hand are places where the chefs keep reinventing and innovating frantically, a pressure Bernard Loiseau and supporters claimed pushed him over the edge.   But, there are those who are cool about innovating. So now, as the intro to the Lone Ranger used to say, “Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear,” almost a decade ago when William Ledeuil moved next door from Les Bouquinistes (not a bad place at all under him) to open Ze Kitchen Galerie and most recently Kitchen Galerie bis. When I first cruised the place in the summer of 2001 and saw the name and paper covering the windows, I was put off and held off going until the aforementioned Paga essentially told me to “get over” my problem with the name and go. And Colette and I have been going ever since.   The day before this was written, just after we’d installed ourselves, the waiter informed us that the entire first page of the menu containing entrees had been changed and that day was the first day they were being served. That started me thinking.   Where does Ledeuil come up with all these new ideas and changes, at least four times a year? Some changes involve new spices, herbs and products, largely from Asia; some involve different and amazing juxtapositions of products (foie gras and duck and a clear bouillon), temperatures (cold “salad” with hot “soup”) and preparations (for instance both sliced olives and a tapenade); and some involve different cooking techniques and approaches.  Does he ever sleep? Does he ever stop thinking? Does he read strange cookbooks, watch obscure Japanese and Thai cooking shows, surf the internet for weird sites, use his multi-ethnic kitchen crew as a think tank? Who knows, but it works and works spectacularly—for a guy who just introduced a whole page of new offerings, you’d think he’s be in a sweat—but unh unh, cool as a cucumber.  So, if it’s innovation and reinvention you’re looking for, look no farther than:  Ze Kitchen Galerie 4, rue des Grands Augustins, 6th (Metro: Saint Michel)  T: 01 44 32 00 32  Closed Sundays.   Menus: 27, 30 and 35, a la carte 30-50 €.  Kitchen Galerie bis 25, rue des Grands Augustins, 6th (Metro: Saint Michel)  T: 01 46 33 00 85  Menus at lunch: 27 & 34, a la carte 50-70 €.  Closed Sundays and Mondays. Indulge your gourmet sweet tooth with French-style fine chocolates from Savorique. Please post your comments or questions and let them flow. Register HERE to do so if you need a Bonjour Paris user name and password.