David Toutain magician
David Toutain emerges punctually from his kitchen. Forget the usual tour of the dining room at the end of a meal, this discreet chef wearing a white coat and blue apron greets his guests one after the other in an order that only he can know. Is this a pre-orchestrated logic of appearance? Certainly not! As my dining companion waits, and the delight of a Parisian agape grows with each passing minute, Marco Tognon, the incisive, calculated and almost surgical chef, hands me the book dedicated to the master of the house. I’ve got something to wait for.
Originally from Calvados, young David used to come to his grandparents’ farm on vacation. The photos and texts are soft, soothing and simple… like a return to the essentials that the modern world leaves behind without even realizing it. The chef can be seen in the distance, on a hill amidst the farmlands that shaped his childhood and, inevitably, his cuisine. My gastronomic companion for the day arrives. Back to Paris, the meal can begin.
Edouard Amoiel
Fermentation
His restaurant hides a multitude of nooks and crannies like well-kept secrets. Countless jars encase the wildest concoctions and fermentations. They are displayed like works of art. While pieces of matured beef hang in their dedicated fridge, floral arrangements are proudly displayed in a modern, wooded environment. Since I was last here, David Toutain has undertaken some renovations: the kitchen is now glazed, so that customers seated at the back of the room can see the stoves and watch every move of a brigade in full swing. The same ambition for a new space entirely dedicated to the most eccentric experiments. A place that later transforms into a patisserie when the sweet fire strikes.
Edouard Amoiel
Porcini mushrooms
This is the menu entitled Lierre terrestre, which takes shape to the steady rhythm of the amuse-bouche. Tomato, strawberry water and blueberry open the ball… a combination that plays with our senses both in terms of taste and texture. While razor clams are paired with capers and a cucumber jelly, raw porcini mushrooms cover cuttlefish cooked in a walnut broth, escort crispy potatoes in a mille-feuille structure and are incorporated into a porcini powder and gel. What a debut! Mediterranean red tuna is accompanied by almonds and fresh cherries. The following combination of corn, apricot, chanterelle mushrooms and tagetes reveals the immense creativity of a chef who seems to have no limits. With his apricot sorbet topping a chanterelle purée, David Toutain imposes original, bewitching flavors.
Barbecued lobster is infused with the scents of ice pine (a variety of fir tree) and spinach, accompanied by two flavored gels and a wonderful sabayon spiced with lobster shells. It’s hard not to succumb to the inevitable smoked eel with black sesame purée and green apples. While pigeon is paired with amanites des Césars and lovage, the sweet odyssey turns to peach, burrata and basil. David Toutain impresses and bewilders. His cuisine is pure and sharp. Forget the compromises and culinary pretences that plague a certain category of the restaurant world. With him, what’s true outweighs everything else. What a joy to have been a spectator for the time of an escapade!
David Toutain, 29 rue Surcouf, 75007 Paris, France… Phone: +33 1 45 50 11 10
