Dîner à Alain Senderens
Alex and Nina joined Gen and I for a meal at Alain Senderens. This is a famous restaurant in Paris, once the site of the famous Lucas Carton, at which Alain Senderens was the chef for 20 years. The transformation of Lucas Carton into Alain Senderens saw Alain give gave his coveted 3 Michelin stars, transform the feel of the restaurant, emphasising an art nouveau element to match the nouvelle cuisine Alains is so famous for.
As you approach the restaurant, it just looks like a cool place to eat:
Much has been made of nouvelle cuisine, and it has been a significant movement in the last 50 years in France and Europe. There are some important beliefs that chefs like Senderens hold:
- Food should not too overly complex in manufacture, taste, appearance or aroma
- Steaming should be used where possible, to keep the nature flavour of food
- Classic meats and fish used in France should not be over cooked, most should be mi-cuit, medium rare. These days, places like Senderens pay attention to ensure that the meat reaches a little over 60 degrees Celsius right through to break down muscle fibers and proteins, and to kill disease. Often this means finishing in the oven or even poaching in water at 65 degrees.
- Ingredients should be fresh, of high quality and seasonal
- The restaurant should focus on a small, flawless menu not a large exhaustive one which even the line cooks are confused by
- The customer’s food preferences should be taken into account: if they don’t want pork, something else must be available
- An attempt to rediscover dishes from before the rise of the golden age of French haute cuisine
- Sauces should be lighter, refreshing, made naturally and not thickened with roux or starch. They shouldn’t cloy in the mouth but be the essence of the food they are served with.
- New technology should not be ignored in an attempt to do things the old fashion way
- Food must be inventive, fresh, thoughtful and exciting
We took a table upstairs out of the glare of the red lighting downstairs. Service was prompt and friendly. You got the feeling there were many more waiters than potential covers. Alex and I studied the large and expensive wine list. There were a lot of humorously priced wines but we managed to find two excellent bottles which promised to work well with the food.
The first was a Coche-Dury Les Rougeots Meursault 2000. When the sommelier poured it, I knew immediately that we were going to enjoy it. The nose was intensely perfumed with almonds, honeysuckle, ginger, sesame, fennel, preserved lemon and five spice! It was extremely showy and happy with itself. In the mouth, much to my surprise, it was light, elegant, subtle. I wished there was a little more acid but who am I to criticise?
The amuse-bouche was mackerel and salmon tartare in coriander and avocado cream. I detected some coriander seed and what was probably szechuan pepper. These spices worked very well with the Coche-Dury. The creaminess of the amuse-bouche indicated a slight lightness to the acidity though.
Next was the most define foie gras I’ve ever had. It was served mi-cuit, having been poached in vin jaune. The outside of the foie gras was well sealed. Once you broke through, there was a burst of creamy delicious liver. This contrast of texture was the height of sophistication. The vin jaune was foamed before serving, with hazelnuts , morelles and an Indian spice blend added. Absolutely brilliant.
As I continued to taste this dish and sip the wine, I was struck by just how well this dish and the wine went together. It may be the combination I’d had before.
Gen’s entrée was spectacular as well. Cèpes are in season in France now and one of us had to order this dish.
The aroma of these mushrooms was pronounced, complex and frankly phenomenal. Look at the attention to detail on the plate. There are some raw slices of cèpe, minced cèpe cooked with amazing care and poached, stuffed whole cèpe. Finally, there is a cèpe custard. Far from being overpowering, this was a light and flavorsome dish showing restraint and amazing attention to the mushroom itself.
I had also selected a J.F. Mugnier Les Amoureuses 1er Cru Chambolle-Musigny 2000. This was a wine true to its name, we were all in love. It had that beguiling, classic character of Les Amoureuses: an aroma of rhubarb leaves or beetroot leaves, candied cranberry, bitter cherries and cassis. The palate built and built over the night. Finally, it was dense, powerful, perfectly structured, ultra fine tannins; sophisticated… words don’t do justice to it.
As luck would have it, I selected another dish which would marry perfectly with such a wine: roast pigeon.
This was cooked perfectly. There’s no other way to put it. Pigeon can not get better than this. The skin had just the right mix of salt, crispness and fat. The flesh had been cooked gently and with care. The doneness of the meat was consistent all the way through. Mastery of roasting like this leaves me speechless. The leg meat had been removed, cooked using a confit method, and baked in the form of a middle eastern pie, with fresh pistachios, cumin, coriander seed and walnuts. Perfection! Bringing these two items together was a piece of caramelised turnip. Until now, I didn’t know turnip could taste so good. The texture was divine, the flavour both sweet and sour at the same time.
The dish was sauced at the table. As the waiter poured it, I was amazed by the aromas I was encountering: honey, apple, pigeon, citrus, five spice… over and over again. Gen smelt German Auslese and we all agreed: it had the pure aroma of poached unripe apples!
Unlike the cloying demi-glaze of so many restaurants, this sauce was fruity, even fun. The flesh of the pigeon was superb with the wine; I could not have hoped for a better complement.
After this was a palate refresher of pineapple jelly, pineapple and coriander juice and cream of coconut.
These were delicious and well balanced, the flavour and bitterness of pineapple well controlled.
Finally, some spectacular desserts that were just as exciting as the earlier plates.
This is a traditional pistachio ice cream with raspberries and raspberry coulis. The combination of pistachio and raspberry is jaw dropping.
This is a quince tart on a pecan/walnut crumble with ginger ice cream. All the components of this dish were superb but I was most impressed by the similarity between the textures of the quince and the foie gras from earlier. The quince had obviously been treated with great care, the outside was firm and hard but the inside creamy and pure. It had been enhanced by spice and ginger. Magical.
There were a few short comings. Some junior staff members did not know the details of the dishes they were serving. The tables and chairs were a little tired looking, as were the toilets. The rooms upstairs are plainly appointed and lack the exciting appearance of the main dining room.
The wine list is well designed, broken into price points and styles from 25 euros to … astronomical but there are no aged wines on the list and there are a few dud wines on there for a lot more than they’re worth. Buyer beware. That said, each dish has a by the glass wine which seems well paired and the price is competitive for Paris. The degustation menu can be had with 6 good glasses of wine for 40 euros. A bargain in my opinion.
