Ebène, the free breath of an emerging story
Some stories are more touching than others. Perhaps because they are born at the right time, perhaps because they are carried by kind souls who whisper to us, almost silently, about addresses that deserve a detour. In the heart of the 15th arrondissement, chef Jihyun Kim, a former disciple of Alain Passard, recently opened Ebènewith Simon Plantrou in the dining room.
Personal space
And this story is touching. Because they’re young. Because they’re just starting out. Because they’re taking over a business at a time when the economy is being cautiously observed. It’s also touching because they’re starting out – sincerely, intensely – and the cuisine we discovered that day was… readable, generous and wonderfully seasoned. Just-cooked, with a touch of originality, it is a cuisine that focuses as much on vegetables as on fish, with the occasional burst of meat, but always just right.
In this establishment designed as a personal space, with its open kitchen and just a few tables, there’s no judgment, no need to respond to imposed codes, no desire to mask simplicity with the artifices that gastronomic decorum likes to brandish at such times. Here, all is free, all is pure.
Saint-Jacques de Dieppe
We were seduced by a pumpkin velouté, carried by a light cream that inevitably evoked the inimitable veloutés of Maître Passard. We marveled at a leek with seaweed vinaigrette, escorted by bouchot mussels in escabeche. We couldn’t resist the winter vegetable vol-au-vent, a crisp, airy puff pastry, let alone the pan-fried Dieppe scallops with sautéed leeks.
There’s something going on with Ebène. Something simple, sincere, almost obvious. A youthful energy that has everything to please, that seduces without calculation, and above all that moves forward in complete freedom. It is our duty to accompany them in this gastronomic quest. Bravo to these two protagonists, and to their team. Long may they continue in this wonderful vein.
