Watching Chefs Cook

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When we purchased and renovated our apartment in Paris a few decades ago, Colette told our architect that she wanted an open space between the kitchen and dining/living room both to pass food through and permit her to talk to family and guests. Without batting an eye, he replied “A California kitchen.” And I suppose that’s where kitchens open to the dining space began, although diners and bars certainly always had that appearance. Just recently I had the opportunity to watch a chef present his idea for an open kitchen to some architects and they didn’t bat an eye either; maybe it’s now engrained in modern resto design. Why does it matter and why do I care? Well, I recall the first time I saw a kitchen staff at work from the dining side. I found it fascinating, watching who did what, where the product(s) came from and in what state of preparation, how they juggled stations/jobs, watched the progress of dishes, finished off plates and prepared them for delivery to the table. Going on tours of breweries, popcorn factories or sausage works bores me, but watching a smooth team at work is like watching the Montreal Canadiens, circa 1950, set up a play and goal. You sort of know where they’re going but not totally. I’m reminded of three places in Paris, all quite different, where this sort of play-making is an art. The first chronologically, was Ze Kitchen Galerie, a place people have tired of me raving about. Here, in essentially what is a tight square setting, everyone has a few feet of space in front and to move in back and where the maestro, Willian Ledeuil, comes out to answer the phone, check on his waitfolk, and greet some customers, but otherwise either steps alongside someone to help out/supervise or finish off a dish before it’s ready for delivery to the table. Since there’s a glass barrier between the kitchen and salle, one hears nothing. The second is/was Dominique Bouchet, who after years at the Crillon supervising a staff that would rival an auto company, runs a kitchen in his eponymous resto DB, from a finishing table/bar where I had the luck to sit a few inches away (in the dining room itself, one might never realize there was all this action going on, back of the “bar.” While he tends to be mostly involved with the finishing touches on every dish and dispensing his precious slivers of truffles, he’s also clearly as cognizant of the pace and rhythm in the dining area as the progress and speed of the cooking behind him. And finally, there’s Daniel Rose, where the huge glass front of Spring announces to all; come in, look, transparency is our hallmark. I try to get there a bit early so I can install myself just in front of the table separating the kitchen and room, both to talk with who’s preparing, cooking and finishing the dishes and to watch what they do. It never ceases to fascinate me how he and the other “open chefs” are totally unflappable, totally accepting of problems and sudden changes (as when a sous chef added some crevettes intended for the evening meal to the noon entrée) and as focused and yet open to the environment as a singles player at Roland Garros, One doesn’t pay for the entertainment at these places, perhaps we should, because it is truly a show. So, where do you go to watch chefs cook in Paris: Ze Kitchen Galerie 4, rue des Grands Augustins, 6th (Metro: Saint Michel) T: 01 44 32 00 32 Closed Sundays. A la carte 30 €. Dominique Bouchet 11 rue Treilhard, 8th (Metro : St Augustin or Miromesnil) T : 01 45 61 09 46 Closed weekends A la carte about 60 € 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 (8-10) Cooking classes and private parties on Saturday afternoons and evenings. Menu du jour 36 € Blog: John Talbott’s Paris © John Talbott 2008
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