At Maison5, Xavier Pincemin combines two passions: cooking and cars

Versailles-based chef Xavier Pincemin, a car and technology enthusiast, says he's honored to be part of the Maison5 adventure, an ephemeral space dedicated to the new Renault 5 E-Tech, a 100% electric city car expected on sale and on the roads in October 2024. Winner of Top Chef in 2016, Pincemin has designed the restaurant menu for this arty space, located at 66 rue Saint-Dominique, Paris.

Maison5, a unique space for lovers of gastronomy and cars

Open until September 15, Maison5 immerses visitors in the colorful, multigenerational world of the R5. Housed in a 1,800 m² loft-style former printing works, the space is dedicated to gastronomy, with tailor-made culinary creations.

Trained at the Trianon Palace under Gordon Ramsay and Simone Zanoni, 34-year-old Xavier Pincemin now runs two establishments in Versailles: Pincemin, a 2-toque gastronomic restaurant, and Lafayette, specializing in fusion cuisine.

How did you come to meet Renault?

Xavier Pincemin: The Renault team came to my restaurant in Versailles for lunch. We hit it off. They told me about the Maison5 project, which was still a secret at the time. They wanted a young chef to sign the menu, a modern cuisine in keeping with the pop spirit of the new Renault 5 E-Tech and the historic R5. They wanted dishes bursting with flavor and color, appealing to young and old alike.

As a car enthusiast, the project was bound to appeal to you?

X.P.: For me to sign up to a collaboration, I have to be proud of it. That's the case with Renault. I'm a car fan, and the R5 is an icon of my youth. It's so stylish! The new one is modern, high-tech, perfectly in tune with the times. I just love it!

In concrete terms, what do you supply?

X.P.: I had to create three menus, each offering three main courses, for the different seasons in which Maison5 was open. The recipes are modern, very plant-based, but leave room for meat and fish. We started the season (June) with fusion classics: dynamic bao shui. We also had a half-cooked chimichurri tuna. For September, we're offering a spicy chicken yassa.

The menu also includes several desserts, all pop, colorful and very delicate. The pistachio tiramisu is really cool.

And on the price front...

X.P.: They're affordable, with a starter/main course/dessert menu at 55 euros and two courses for 45 euros. In addition to this "serious" cuisine to be enjoyed at table, my team and I have also created a number of snacking options. I recommend the croque-monsieur truffled with yuzu, a bistro classic with a contemporary twist. Delicious! All products are sourced directly from small French producers or from Rungis.

What constraints have you encountered?

X.P.: Maison5 is a pleasant place to live, modern and trendy. However, the kitchen lacks a smoke extraction system. My events team and I are used to working in sometimes rock'n'roll conditions. So we've adapted the dishes to this constraint. In particular, we use equipment that enables us to cook in a bain-marie. The result is a delicious Saint-Pierre confit that's not at all dry.

And beyond the kitchen...

X.P.: My team and I have done a lot of posting on TikTok and Instagram, as well as YouTube videos. We have a lot of experience. So, on my blog, we offer a weekly one-hour summary of my professional life.

Any other projects with Renault?

X.P.: For the moment, we're fully committed to this collaboration. Then, it would be great to be able to extend this partnership by producing a few videos behind the wheel of the car, in the streets of Paris or Versailles. Just for a bit of fun...

And personally?

X.P.: I did a lot of work this summer in my restaurants. We're starting September with a new menu, featuring dishes based on sauces, juices, extractions... Tasty cuisine, but with very little fat. On the social networking front, I'm working on improving the quality of my content. I've invested in professional equipment. But you have to be yourself. Keep the crazy spirit of the early days. We're going to launch on Twitch. This network has become important today. It allows us to go live. Finally, in the future, I'd like to organize select dinners with famous YouTubers, filmed live.