by Ming and Linux
(Since we have no enough budget, time, and chance to taste the real cuisine, the explanation of the food would be based on online review.)
Inspired after watching Chef’s table, we, Ming and Linux, decided to travel to Paris to experience the three-star restaurant L'Arpège for ourselves.
From Varenne subway station, we passed by the musee Rodin and met a white mansion on the corner of rue de Varenne (Varenne street). Since we stepped inside the restaurant, the appetizing smell of their culinary genius struck our noses and made us extremely hungry. The restaurant is decorated in a modern style. It was quite small but cozy, casual, and seemed like an ordinary restaurant in Paris. However, when we looked at the menu, there was a wide range of stunning dishes. Almost all dishes were just vegetables and fruits, which was quite weird for carnivorous eaters like the French, and of course, like us. Be that as it may, we swear to God that when you taste them, you will change your thinking about veggie meals forever!
We decided to test a 15-course 'Déjuner du Jardiniers' or The Gardener’s Lunch dégustation which is even a secret to the servers. Its ingredients were brought in that morning from the chef’s garden near Normandy. We had heard that this course strongly represents Passard’s passion for cooking as the creation of artworks and we weren't disappointed at all! he bread and butter were excellent! There was a cauliflower dish that had the flavor of true cauliflower. We also had a diced beetroot dish which was served to look like steak tartare with an egg on top. Also, the signature dish is L’Arpège Egg served in an eggcup. The combination of crème fraîche, yolk, sherry vinegar with a little touch of maple syrup hits all the senses of savory and sweet. The other dishes in this course include sea urchin soup, tossed green salad, a beet sushi, pumpkin soup and so forth. Before finishing your meal, make sure that you don’t forget to order the iconic ‘Tarte Bouquet de Roses’ or bouquet of apple pie roses. We both agreed that a beautiful decoration and the quality of apples and other ingredients is what makes this tart a perfect ending for your meal.
The service was also as good as the food. The waiter approached us and explained all the dishes with enthusiasm. We appreciated their stories and wanted to learn more. Thus, we requested to talk with the chef, Alain Passard, a charming, down to earth and friendly chef who enjoyed chatting with all the diners. He kindly gave us his precious time to talk with us as we recorded belows: he said that he discovered himself that he wanted to be a chef since when he was 14 years old. Growing up in the area of arts, he has integrated this subject into his cooking. His grandmother was an excellent cook. His father was a musician. Since 1996 Alain Passard earned triple Michelin-starred, he is not just a chef; he is also an artist and poet.
In 2000, he decided to remove all his three Michelin-starred dishes because he lost the sense of purpose. He was not passionate about cooking food. Throughout his lifetime, he always cooked mainly just meat. Then, he found the sense of purpose again; he wanted to cook vegetables. He started from where the food comes from: the farm. Passard and his team enjoyed farming a lot and respected the natural cycle. He believed that in order to provide the best dish, all the ingredients should be rich in nutrients and fresh from the farm. The menu changes according to the seasons, so you could say that we have four restaurants. He also mentioned that he doesn’t take note of the recipe. Every dish is challenging because he has to use his feeling and experience in order to cook delicious dishes. He said “I try to make sure that the creativity I feel in the kitchen is also found in the garden, through nuances and subtleties.” This shows that he values both cooking and farming. He really enjoys cooking veal rump or poultry occasionally.
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