Chai Gourmand
Consistency, more than a value, a talent.
We take our hat off to Pierre Massin. And we salute his willingness to dare, to exist, to remain himself. To undertake, to dare to push the boundaries, his own boundaries. By extricating himself some time ago from the routine of a place where everything had been done. And having the courage to look elsewhere for new possibilities. To find another freedom. Because that's what we're talking about.
For the past few years, Pierre and his wonderful team have shared a new breath, a new path, in a new theater. In the walls of a masterfully designed contemporary building, embracing nature and space. A luminous setting for a dining room that dares to create a radical and peaceful atmosphere; refined, it highlights the wooden tones of the frame, the smoothed brutality of the concrete, and the softness of high draped fabrics.
One must be able to perceive the waves of a new space and approach the selfless cuisine of the new Chai Gourmand, there are worse walks. And to commend his consistency, his mastery, his tenacity in dismissing trends, those fleeting chimeras. The plate follows its beautiful path; neither time nor decor has disrupted Pierre's culinary approach, you sense the happy man and the chef with solid convictions; he does not upheave things, he refines them, he improves them, he affirms them.
Faced with his Langoustine in bread crust, Parmentier broth, whipped cream with caviar, one is initially speechless. The intrigue only unfolds in the mouth, the taste buds take charge of the interpretation. The obviousness within a so-called simple dish and an exceptional product magnified by relevant complements. Bite after bite, the existence of a biotope reconstructed from the kitchens of a hinterland close to the Earth is revealed. What is true for this dish was also true for the rest of the offered dishes: Medallion of monkfish and velvet broad beans, mussels, fennel, pancetta, Presa Iberico Bellota, cheek ravioli, eggplant and pepper caponata, light bearnaise and Crispy Feta, tomato, cucumber, red onions.
A cuisine pleasantly served by a team that offers a service imbued with unpretentious kindness, sincere benevolence, and without futile manners. The cellar, where sommelier Laurent Lebrun accompanies the chef's creations with the closest of attention, aims to be coherent, joyful, constantly evolving, and in tune with the times. In an era where many swoon over the ephemeral, these damp squibs, I salute consistency; more than a value, a talent.