André Michel

🇫🇷 Datil, Paris, France : such delicate vegetal clarity and care by Cheffe Manon Fleury and her team

Here’s a meal I still think about. Weeks later. Food is not just a plate. And I’ve rarely come across a place like Datil, or a cheffe like Manon Fleury, who seems to care as much about the plate as the ecosystem around it. And @bill_addison (Los Angeles Times food critic) loved it so much he wished she moved to California to put a spotlight on vegetables and fruits as she does in Paris.

And there’s maybe a movie to be made.

The heroine. A Burgundy-raised, a junior national fencing champion. Manon Fleury then changed path and trained between New York and Paris under Pascal Barbot at l’Astrance and Dan Barber at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, made her name running the kitchen at Le Mermoz, and in September 2023 with Laurène Barjhoux, opened her own home : Datil. The name of a plum so rare it had almost vanished, rescued by a regional conservatory.

The plot. She makes vegetables sing. Everything was subtle, precise, sometimes unexpected in the best way, like the union of a black olive sorbet and a strawberry cake that had no business working, and it did. She’s a cinephile too, and it shows. The very first bite she sent out was born from a scene in a Kore-eda film.

The set. This place is not just there to feed you. It is quietly political, and delicate in its manners. The radical part is in how it is built. No brigade, no shouting. She co-founded Bondir.e, the collective fighting violence in professional kitchens, and you feel that in the room. A calm, almost entirely female team she put together on purpose. Weekends closed so no one burns out. And more battles. Against food waste. Obsessed with ingredients and farmers. Everyone is named, the whole team on the menu, the growers and artisans in a little booklet beside it. Movie credits rolling down. I have only seen that kind of full credit a handful of times. Somni in Los Angeles was one of them. It is too rare.

It takes a village to have delicious food. And by supporting places like Datil, you also vote with your stomach for people who want a better village. Thank you, Manon Fleury, and her team. Less

🇫🇷 Cheval D’Or, Paris : mark my words, Chef Hanz Gueco is one of the greatest and his rise has only just begun.

The Australian-Filipino Chef took over Cheval d’Or in 2023 and every meal I’ve had there has been nothing less than extraordinary.
His cooking is just so playful in how he marries two continents in this tiny restaurant. It’s smart, audacious, and mind-boggingly delicious. Europe and Asia. Embodied for instance in this extravagant Crêpe suzette-Peking Duck. And don’t sleep on the fantastic natural wine list.
Then you look at this insane resumé where he trained under David Kinch, Bjorn Frantzén and Ryugin - technique, soul.
The energy of the kitchen, the service, the food left us leaving with a smile.
Year of the horse they said! 🐎 Less

🇬🇧 Osip, Bruton, Somerset : There’s something special happening in the British countryside. The food I had there was not only delicious, I wish I was living nearby (like my lucky friend Rémi who started @commune.cc ). The Chef Merlin Labron-Johnson created this restaurant-guesthouse that has a few rooms upstairs since last year.

He mastered his craft in Belgium at In De Wulf. Opened a first version of Osip in Bruton in 2019 and relocated in its current form in August 2024 in this 300 years old former coaching inn. He started growing vegetables that became so bountiful that it outgrew the little kitchen of the first Osip. Merlin’s ambition and care are now exquisitely served in this new spot. His sensitivity, talent will be something I’ll passionately follow for the years to come.

Was that the perfect little fireplace at the entrance? The local Bath cheese melting offfffff its cider brandy sticky toasted bread? The delicate silverware and ceramics? The kind service? That quail and venison pithiviers making you forget winter? The blackberry, sea buckthorn and meadowsweet pate de fruits? The way mushrooms, celeriac and pumpkin had never felt so elegantly alive? All of this. Thank you @merlin_johnson @osiprestaurant Less

🇸🇪 VYN, Sweden - opened by chef Daniel Berlin 2 years ago, VYN was one of the highlights of my life. By the seaside, Daniel opened this 15 rooms hotel, with an already 2 Michelin stars restaurant. There’s no doubt he’s one of the greatest chefs alive. Elegant and humble. Precise and kind. His food is so moving. Sometimes words are not necessary so book your way to the south of Sweden (through Copenhagen) and thank me later (but truly, thank him and his team.) we had this special “bird” game dinner concepted by the facetious Carsten Holler and it was simply unforgettable. Less

🇫🇷 Marseille, Maison Journo - such a fantastic simple, delicious, soulful address. David took over the place his grandfather Roger opened in the 1960s and did the best he could : not change anything. The sandwiches. The fresh pastries. The lemonade. The stews during the winter. The orgeat syrup (almonds/water/sugar) with a pastry to dip in. In Marseille that is rapidly being taken over by hip places, this Tunisian-Jewish spot is heaven. Oh and of course they don’t have Instagram. Less

🇩🇰 Kødbyens Fiskebar, Copenhagen. Maybe the dream neighborhood restaurant. Created in 2009 by Anders Selmer @andersselmer_fiskebaron (former NOMA Sommelier and manager). Sit at the bar. Enjoy the fantastic wine and non-alc list. And then delve into the perfectly simple and seasonal menu. All local. Seafood fish cheese all wonderful. And that CELADON BUTTER (slide 3!). We need more places like this. 🦐 🦪 🐟 🍞 🍷 @fiskebaren Less

🇫🇷 Reporting from l’Arpège two weeks after the full vegan reset (except for honey 🍯) - Very bold move from Alain Passard (who turned 69 last Monday) : « I’m so excited for this new chapter, I have 20 more years of cuisine ahead of me! » (stark contrast with Bernard Pacaud, 77, who retired last Saturday).

He got rid of his iconic dishes (maple egg, bouquet de roses’ apple tart etc) and most plastic in his kitchen including his iconic white gloves he’s been using to cook. I asked him why he did it: « I got bored and tired. Now I’m full of joy and energy. Dead animal flesh and butter were becoming a turn-off to me. The idea is straight vegetables. No emulsifiers, no magic powders (« pas de poudre de perlimpinpin »), no gimmicks. I want a cooking where your tummy (« bidou ») feels good. You feel great and light after. But give me two years. Two winters and two springs. And in two years I’ll be fully there. Right now we are experimenting and it’s so exciting. ».

And it was already very delicious in the peak of August tomatoes. He made my heart sing with this new dish : a white ratatouille (white zucchini, tomato and eggplant with garlic and onion slowly confit for 2.5 hours on a bed of confit apple). Lovely hummus with a heart of peach. That consommé warmed my soul. And for mignardises, a sweet tomato juice and a dehydrated Verveine leaf with cacao on top. Alain is back in the kitchen working hard. And when he’s at that level, hardly anyone can beat him.

The lunch menu:
Gaspacho du frérot à l’harissa
Houmous amour
Courgette coquette
Sushi fantaisie au vinaigre de riz
Consommé du soleil
P’tit farci du potager
Salade céladon
La pomme d’amour
Nage de verveine aux fruits du verger
Tarte émeraude, reine-claude & basilic

Bravo Alain, the next two years will be incredible. And I can’t wait for the next 20! 🍏🍓🫛🌶️🍅🫐🍆🍉🥬🥕🧅 Less