Pure Pleasure
In Paris, the Park Hyatt Vendôme draws gourmets to the rue de la Paix to experience a “pure” gastronomic voyage, led by a Michelin-starred chef like no other.
Stepping through the luxurious corridor into the restaurant “Pur” at the Park Hyatt Vendôme, one feels as if they’d gained entry to an exclusive club. A magnificent cocoon of warm Sienna earth tones, the room is all chocolate brown, leather and wood, bathed in the soft light of Murano glass lamps (a décor by Franco-Mexican Hugo Toro). To dine at the table of Jean-François Rouquette, a Michelin-starred chef forged in the kitchens of LeTaillevent and Le Crillon, is to indulge in theatre spectacle. We begin with ravioli of yellow beetroot, bone marrow, beef shoulder consommé, and shaved Alba truffle. Next, a red spiny lobster from Brittany, perfectly cooked, served with its head broth of foamed orange butter, saffron and coral. After the rich flavours of wild roe deer comes the most exquisite Wagyu beef, smoked with vine shoots, caramelised aubergines and raspberry condiments. What a splendid way to celebrate the purchase of a property over a weekend in Paris!
And the desserts? Astonishing. Bordeaux figs cooked in their leaves, coconut water sorbet tartar and madras curry… your taste buds crave more. Soon, they explode with the creations of Korean pastry chef Narae Kim, Gault & Millau’s 2024 Pastry Chef of the Year. Short-bread tart with a soufflé of grand cru chocolate from Venezuela, hazelnut praline, cocoa nib ice cream infused with tansy herbs. Surprising, enrapturing us, the flavours blend and unite seamlessly, never clashing. We long to stop time for each dish, to let these gustatory marvels melt in our mouths forever. We close our eyes, trying to guess the composition of each bite. Rouquette is an artist of taste, a juggler of ingredients, an explorer of forgotten flavours. A dinner at “Pur” clearly won’t fit everyone’s idea of fine dining. And the bill is commensurate with the rarity of the experience. But those two hours at the table will make you forget all the times you couldn’t even tell the difference between the flavour of a meat and that of its sauce. Like buying a property that captured your heart, taking the chance to indulge in the truly exceptional… that too is the art of living.
Paul Gérard
