Gastronomy choice: Jason Gouzy
They're barely in their thirties, and have often acquired extensive experience in large, beautiful, multi-talented establishments. Today, they have opened or are running their own restaurants, making the choice of gastronomy. Gault&Millau inaugurates a series of interviews with young chefs whose approach proves that haute cuisine is still a dream, but that rigor and ambition are also a driving force for some of those who launch themselves into this profession. Let's start with Jason Gouzy, of the Pantagruel restaurant (2 toques) in Paris.
It's said that haute gastronomy is being shunned by the younger generation - of chefs and customers alike - but some are trying to renew the genre. They are opting for bold, technical, French cuisine, with a return to white tablecloths in the dining room, refined table settings and attentive, diligent service. In addition to being fully committed to their profession, these teams intend to practice it with the human, social and environmental values required today.
Behind this modest storefront in Paris's Sentier district, it's hard to imagine a gourmet restaurant. Chef Jason Gouzy asserts his ambition. After numerous experiences in palaces (Épicure, at the Bristol), luxury hotels (Le Burgundy) and bistronomy (Le Galopin), the chef decided in 2019 to open Pantagruel, his tribute to French gastronomy. As a counterpoint to concrete walls and other rough-hewn wooden tables, he opted for moldings, white tablecloths, French-style service and a cuisine that doesn't just put a beautiful product at the center of the plate.
"I spent the first part of my professional life in large restaurants. Then I moved on to bistronomy, in the days of Septime, Chateaubriand... at the time of the big wave of Nordic inspiration. I ate a lot in those places, and worked there. When I traveled abroad, visiting young chefs, I realized that there were also gastronomic cuisines rooted in the local culture, with a strong sense of identity. And that we in France had completely forgotten that our tradition is the art of the table, service, technique... a crazy culinary past, with great winemakers. I put myself in the mindset of a foreigner who goes to a Parisian restaurant. What he wants is to eat French food. He wants to hear about French cuisine! Updated, of course, with influences from all over, even street food, which you shouldn't hesitate to integrate into haute cuisine."
A case in point is his famous croque-homard, which he also imagined as a nod to his friend Omar Dhiab, who had designed the croque ris de veau before him. At Pantagruel, he stages each service in three variations, his signature. It's a way of demonstrating his expertise, of taking his creativity one step further. A form of generosity, too. "My wish is that you experience something here that you won't experience anywhere else. When I go to a restaurant, I'm always very afraid of running into a place that does things like I do, or that has done them before me and that I'll have unwittingly copied."
And, to make the experience even more unforgettable, he hasn't hesitated to reduce the number of tables in his small restaurant, adding comfortable banquettes that form alcoves. "It'sdifficult now, with the space we have, to go any further. Now we have to concentrate on service, because it's the human touch that makes the place interesting. My ultimate dream would be to succeed in recreating the evening experience at lunchtime. It's a risk, but isn't the aim of our restaurants to disconnect our customers, to take them out of their everyday lives?"
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