CULINARY HEIGHTS IN PARIS
THE COSTA DEL SOL HAS A WONDERFULLY VARIED RANGE OF RESTAURANTS THAT ARE IDEAL FOR AN INTIMATE VALENTINE’S DINNER BUT, FOR THOSE PLANNING A MEMORABLE CULINARY RENDEZ-VOUS FURTHER AFIELD, THIS ISSUE WE ALSO HEAD TO FRANCE: FIRST, TO THE “CITY OF LOVE” TO DISCOVER THE CHARMS AND EXQUISITE CUISINE OF ALAIN DUCASSE’S LE JULES VERNE RESTAURANT; THEN TO PROVENCE, WHERE DUCASSE INDULGED HIS OTHER GOURMET PASSION AS A “CONTEMPORARY INNKEEPER”, OPENING HOSTELLERIE DE L’ABBAYE DE LA CELLE IN 1999.
Alain Ducasse is known for liking his restaurants to tell a story and, when he took over Le Jules Verne, he certainly had the ingredients for an intriguing plot. Set 125 metres above Paris, the restaurant – which celebrates its 30th anniversary on 30 January – is located on the second floor of the iconic Eiffel Tower, was named after a visionary writer whose novels, appropriately, include “From the Earth to the Moon”, and offers the magical culinary touch of a 21 Michelin-star chef… Ducasse. The same as Ducasse soars over the world of celebrity chefs, Le Jules Verne literally (in the true sense of the word) towers over Paris, fulfilling his desire for it to be “the most beautiful place in Paris to enjoy the pleasure of a contemporary and accessible French cuisine”.
Arguably offering the most stunning restaurant view over the “City of Lights” – a high-tech and sensorial setting dreamt up by Patrick Jouin – Le Jules Verne is headed by chef Pascual Féraud with a team of over 100, “the ‘Ducasse’ generation of thirtysomethings, a young spirit of enthusiastic, ambitious, talented, devoted people trained in the chef’s philosophy and values”.
Those philosophies are rooted in French tradition while demonstrating a willingness to change with the times. “What would be the point of travelling if all the landscapes were the same?” asks Ducasse. “The same goes for cuisine. People are looking for cuisine that expresses the culinary traditions from which it stems.” Féraud and Ducasse have created a “resolutely modern French menu, devoid of all pretension, focused exclusively on pleasure”.
For Valentine’s Day on 14 February, for example, the restaurant is preparing a special menu of: delicate sea urchin royale, gold caviar; poached blue lobster, remoulade-style celery, shaved wild apple; roasted scallop, endive/Comté cheese/black truffle; baked sea bass, green asparagus from Provence, citrus sauce; spit-roasted saddle of lamb, spiny artichokes, pearl jus; truffled farmmade brie from Meaux, baby salad leaves; wild strawberry tartlet, rose ice cream; and chocolate/passion fruit palet.
www.lejulesverne-paris.com
