In 2012, I was alone in Paris with a dark secret. Despite writing about food for years, I had never been to a three-Michelin-star restaurant. I needed to fix that. I felt like
I needed a benchmark meal to help me calibrate my criticism: how could I know what was good if I’d never eaten at the best? So I booked in at Le Meurice, at the time a three-star restaurant helmed by chef Yannick Alléno. (It’s since slipped to two stars and is under the auspices of Alain Ducasse.) Le Meurice is palatial, over the road from the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden and matching them in presence and prettiness. Pablo Picasso hosted a wedding banquet here. Salvador Dalí was an honoured guest. And then there was me, ready for lunch.
The dining room is overwhelming, modelled on a salon at Versailles. I recall ceiling frescoes, fireplaces the size of a bedsit and an elaborate ice sculpture of tangled vines and flowers shimmering on a plinth. The tables were so plush I am sure they were laid with four cloths. Each dish in my three-course lunch was ferried to my table by a choreographed phalanx of waiters, synchronously placing dishes and plates before me, whisking away cloches, turning on their heels with a whoosh. Their poise was military but they were so warm and twinkling that they almost (almost) soothed my imposter angst. Around me, the wealthy sprawled in a litter of shopping bags, affectingly bored but sure they belonged. The food was exquisite: peas gleaming in buttery chicken reduction, a piece of dazzlingly white fish, a lemon tart that scrubbed my brain clean with citric clarity.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2024 من Gourmet Traveller.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2024 من Gourmet Traveller.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Barossa Valley
We hit the road for a weekend escape, exploring the best regional Australia has to offer. This month we head to the Barossa Valley in South Australia.
Legends of reinvention
As ultra-luxe hotel group Rosewood takes on three benchmark New Zealand lodges, MICHAEL HARDEN gets the read on this next chapter.
EVERYDAY
Easy entertaining, weeknight dinners and suppers to share, all made with speed, without sacrificing flavour.
Australia's most wanted
For love or money, building a wine collection pays dividends. NED GOODWIN reveals the Australian fine wines to put away.
MEET THE MAKER GREG LAMBRECHT
When US-based engineer Greg Lambrecht invented wine preservation system Coravin a decade ago, he changed the way we drink premium wine.
SANDALFORD
Following its recent reboot, this historic WA winery restaurant is ready to wine and dine a new generation of guests, writes MAX VEENHUYZEN.
PITZI
The team behind Fico trot out a chic new pasta bar which makes simplicity something special, writes ALIX DAVIS.
BATHERS' PAVILION RESTAURANT
A new era is dawning at a lower north shore landmark, writes MATTY HIRSCH, with an astute new recruit leading the way
VUE DE MONDE
A Melbourne icon emerges from a makeover refreshed and energised, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.
STEPHANIE ALEXANDER
Kylie Kwong celebrates the individuals helping to grow a stronger community. This month, we meet chef, author and original cook's companion, Stephanie Alexander AO.