Apicius BUZZ
It’s 12.30 and Jean-Pierre Vigato, looking more rugby-player than super-chef, paces his spanking new hotel particulier, tense, he’s like it’s the first time he’s fed anyone. Cooking since he was 14, inspired by his mother and his grandmother, Vigato’s tete de veau is legendary, he’s dubbed “the magician” among the culinary chattering classes. “You always have to be ready”, he explains, as if he knows how up-tight he is.Since last December, Vigato transplanted his ** Michelin restaurant Apicius to a magnificent 2nd Empire Hotel Particulier behind the Chanps Elysées. Think “in-and-out-club” because Luc Besson (a partner) can drive his Lamborghini right round the gravel driveway, which still leaves room for Johnny’s Hummer and Kate’s Roller. Rumour has it that Vigato sold everything to finance his dream project, of which there has not been one negative word in the press. Unusual!
The former Hotel Talhouet-Roy is a fine example of l’art de vivre a la francaise; a mini-Versaille with contemporary spin by architect Eric Zelle. On the front lawn a magnificent buffet table is set, the mad hatter’s tea-party comes to mind. Walk through the fortress doors (the outside is untouched, it’s monument historique dear) admire the outsize vases, a prelude to the bar with its’ magnificent murals, shiny chandeliers, the meeting place for “le tout Paris”. There are three dining rooms, decorated in sober tones with “in your face” art-work and, in the passage that leads to the kitchen countless vases hold single stately arum lilies. On the wall an 18th century painting of a mournful dog, “that’s my humour”, explains Vigato. “In life you must always keep a sense of humour”. There are also private rooms and a library for cocktails, dinners and receptions, each with décor to die for. And the kitchens! Beg a look, if you are ever worried about poor little chefs exploited in hot sweaty cuisines. The black, white and steel state-of-the-art space look more like a spa, no wonder what comes out is so excellent!
So what does come out then? Vigato’s signature (he has kept his 2 Michelin stars; a third is warranted) is a brilliant mix of modern and traditional, “pig’s feet and cepes”, is how he describes it, “cod’s roe and caviar”. But it’s also a masculine, sexy combination, each creation set on the “Sophie d’E for Apicius” tableware with supreme confidence. Say, two obscenely fat asparagus posed on a jus, sprinkled with truffles. Erotic or what? The potato and caviar dish (see recipe) a splendid exercise in black is the new black. “I want to give you fish to-day, let’s cut out the meat”, suggests Vigato. Out come rouget, the iodine aroma drifts through the air, there’s a lightly tangled spaghetti of vegetables. Cheese easy to resist, even though it is from Dubois, because there’s dessert! Dark chocolate soufflé, bien sur, and how fattening can it be, the chantilly has no sugar? The young Vigato, always fascinated by cooking, thought he might become either a history teacher, or a carpenter, “I love the aroma of wood”. But, the passion of the pots got him and, in 1983 he opened Apicius, in the 17th arrondissement, an immediate success. With a nod and a wink to his passion for history, Apicius is named for the three lusty Romans famous for their passion for good living. The third deserves a mention for having discovered a way of keeping oysters fresh. Vigato’s homage is: “Huitres Spéciales de Claire, crème aigrelette au citron et au cresson”. If you like ketchup you’ll want the “Raie Bouclee au Naturel, Tutti-Fruti de Ketchup, but it’s hard to resist the “foie gras classique Apicius” and people cross oceans to taste “Milieu de tres gros turbot roti, jus tranché aux epices.
Apicius is packed, expect to wait three weeks for a table. At lunch time, captains of industry, Chanel suited, face-lifts with their long suffering sons (“you take her for lunch, she’s so boring, but at least she pays!”). And the inevitable ladies who do, bearing gifts for each other in shiny carriers marked Ferragamo, Gucci, Dior. Well it gives them something to do in the afternoon: take it all back and get what they really, really want!
So it’s 2.30 big bold talented Vigato’s still pacing, but now he’s relaxed, happy that everything was perfect, and it was! And what does he do between services, he hangs with his friends, they go to a little bar in the quartier, and talk turkey!
Recipe: Easy-peasy potatoes with caviar: L’Alliance du divin darling!Ingredients: (for 4)
400 g pomme de terre ratte, 160 g salted butter, 60g caviar oscietra, 1 bunch chives, pinch of sea-salt
How to do it:
Cook potatoes in salted water, strain, crush with a fork. Mix with butter and finely snipped chives.
Put mixture into small moulds, or form into rounds if you don’t have moulds. Spoon caviar on top, drizzle with crème fraiche or a light home-made mayonnaise. Crown with two sprigs of chives. Enjoy!
Apicius,
20 rue d’Artois, 8th (Metro: Saint-Philippe-de-Roule)
T: 01 43 80 19 66
Lunch about 104€ Dinner about 140€ A La Carte 99-114€
www.relaischateaux.com/apicius
Valet parking
Shut Sat & Sun.
