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Ever more gourmet recipes

Although France is renowned for its gastronomy and chauvinism, it's not uncommon to find foreign dishes on the menus of its most famous restaurants. Re-interpreted by top chefs who have drawn on other culinary traditions, notably Asian and European, they offer a delicious blend of styles to the delight of gourmets.

The French touch

We're not talking about electro music here, but about the ability of certain cooking stars to add their French touch to already well-known recipes. The rule: respect the original dish while adding refinement (truffles, foie gras...) or a local touch (condiments, sauces) to make it part of a gastronomic menu that's both coherent and original.
Here are a few examples, according to country of origin.

Japan
Guillaume Sanchez's ramen
This emblematic dish of Japanese gastronomy, imported from China in the 19th century, is a rich field of experimentation for haute gastronomie, with variations in ingredients giving free rein to creativity. Thus, during a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, the Michelin-starred chef revisited the noodle soup, often based on vegetables and seafood, with a roast beef broth with foie gras and truffle. 
This recipe has been viewed over 60,000 times on TikTok, and the former Top Chef contestant staged it in a video made... in his room at a Japanese hotel. Perhaps you'll soon find it on the menu of his Neso restaurant in Paris?

China
Philippe Labbé's Peking duck
In a completely different setting, chef offered Peking duck with lavender honey at the prestigious Tour d'Argent. As an accompaniment to one of China's most famous dishes, and in homage to its atypical sweet-and-savory flavor, he served it with very French products: celery purée and glazed turnips. Jean-François Piège has also revisited lacquering with balsamic vinegar, and the Famille Michaud offers a delicious duck lacquered with honey. A recipe to be found on the website of these beekeepers in business since 1920. 
Korea
The mandu by Pierre Sang Boyer
We're still in Asia, the continent behind some of the most popular culinary trends of recent years, with the successive success of Chinese fried noodles, Thai soups and Japanese sushi. Today, it's Korea, boosted by the worldwide success of K-pop and series such as Squid Game, that inspires foodistas, and in particular its ravioli, mandu (or mandoo), a derivative of Japanese gyoza and Chinese jiaozis.

While his original recipe (vegetable, tofu, sesame, beef, leek, mushroom, garlic, chicken, ginger) can be enjoyed just about anywhere, the Korean-born 2011 Top Chef finalist offers variations based on cuttlefish or pig garnish served with a yuzu sauce. An astonishing journey for a food that arrived in Korea in the 14th century, during the Mongol invasions, and is now appreciated even on Parisian terraces.
Italy
Risotto tied with coral and Breton lobster by Alain Ducasse
While French chefs' appetite for Asian cuisines is obvious, they are also inspired by the dishes of our European neighbors, such as this rice broth cooked with various ingredients. And if, in Italy, the dish originating in the north of the peninsula often accompanies an ossobuco alla milanese, the three-starred chef has embellished it with lobster from an entirely different seaside territory, Brittany.

Guy Martin's foie gras ravioli with truffled crème foisonnée
We conclude with the most Savoyard of Parisian chefs and this now unmissable entry on the menu of Le Grand Véfour, a timeless address of the capital's political and artistic life for over 200 years. In an airy raviole made with rice flour, he had the idea of replacing the meat used in the Italian version with 2 products particularly appreciated by French gourmets: foie gras and truffles. 

There's no doubt that Bonaparte, George Sand and Victor Hugo, to name but a few of the historic clients of this Parisian gastronomic landmark, would have appreciated this delicate and tasty variation on the famous folded stuffed pastry.


Bon appétit.

Valérie from Comme des Français



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