Open kitchens that focus on customer proximity

No longer do we hide the ovens we can't see - quite the contrary! The kitchen now opens up to offer a show for the audience. Depending on how it's laid out and arranged, the show doesn't have the same flavour. Here's a look at some of those that play it close.

Bérangère Chanel Published on 3/22/24 at 9:01 AM

If they reserve their cooking secrets for their digital community on social networks, if not for the specialised shelves of bookshops, chefs no longer conceal anything when it comes to service in their restaurants. Whereas yesterday's customers knew nothing about those who concocted their plates, not even their facial features, kitchens that are totally open to the dining room have become the norm. At a time when consumers are expressing a profound need for transparency regarding the origin and quality of everything that feeds them, it would be nonsensical to bank on stoves that are separate from the nurturing living space.

However open they may be, not all kitchens offer the same experience. While some toques prepare their dishes on a pass placed as close as possible to the customers, others prefer the discretion of a glass roof, which adds elegance to the ambience of the dining room. It's up to each chef to develop his or her own vision of proximity to guests. "Customers should feel at home," says Félix Robert, chef at the Arborescence restaurant in Croix, whose kitchen is separated from the dining room only by a glass case under which personal recipe books are displayed. " And it's also an asset when it comes to service. I can easily and discreetly glance over the tables to see where everyone stands. For example, I won't have to start dressing if someone goes to the toilet.

We have selected five addresses that implement the open kitchen concept in different ways.

Rustic in Lyon

When Maxime Laurenson decided to open his very first restaurant a stone's throw from Lyon's Perrache train station, after a highly acclaimed experience at Loiseau Rive Ge at Loiseau Rive Gauche in Paris, the young Gault&Millau 2018 talent immediately thought about working in an open kitchen. "It was a sine qua non condition. We'd found a number of nice rooms, but we ruled out those that didn't allow us to implement our project". The reason? " With an open kitchen, you don't just send a plate to the pass. You cook, prepare, serve and clear. I do all the jobs, and our customers love it. They all tell me they appreciate the human touch," says the young man from Auvergne, delighted with the connection this arrangement offers. He adds, " It also has a channeling effect on the team. The first time I experienced this was with Stéphanie Le Quellec at the Prince of Wales. This central, completely open kitchen encourages total concentration on the task in hand".

Even so, the former student of Jean Sulpice, in his Val Thorens days, acknowledges certain drawbacks, namely noise and odors. " Customers don't necessarily appreciate the din of a mixer. Similarly, we have to think ahead about all our dishes so that customers are not bothered by strong smells. We have to anticipate as much as possible when setting up". Maxime Laurenson is currently thinking about a reorganization that would strike the perfect balance between maintaining contact with customers and allowing him to carry out tasks of no interest to them in a more enclosed area.

Where? 14 Rue d'Enghien, 69002 Lyon
Read Gault&Millau's review of Rustique

Pizzeria Ave Romana in Paris

Relegated to the back of the room, if not at the entrance of the restaurant in the form of a bar, pizzerias are rarely establishments that hide their imposing oven. At Ave Romana, we don't just provide customers with scissors to cut the pizzas: we also display the oven for all to see, right in the middle of the tables! The owners, who have opted for the Roman rather than the Neapolitan tradition (so the pizzas are thin and crispy, ed. note), have modulated this former art gallery in the capital's 11ᵉ arrondissement to make the ovens their centerpiece. The entire set-up is done here. The team is literally surrounded by customers, who can enjoy the preparation of pizzas with bunny ears for children, as long as their eyes don't get too watery after cutting the red onions...

Where? 90 Rue de la Folie Méricourt, 75011 Paris
www.avepizzaromana.com

Restaurant AM in Marseille

What does it look like for a chef to have won five toques and scored 19 out of 20? All the answers can be found in Marseille, a stone's throw from Prado beach, where Alexandre Mazzia opened his gourmet AM restaurant in June 2014. It's easy to observe the black apron-wearing chef at work, thanks to a totally open kitchen that's surprisingly small. In its presentation, it could even be compared to that of a homeowner who has chosen to open onto the dining room. In this way, the former professional basketball player can welcome customers himself. A sobriety that logically echoes the rest of the interior design, whose ambiance is sculpted by concrete, grey and black walls and light oak.

Where? 9 Rue François Rocca, 13008 Marseille
Read Gault&Millau's review of AM by Alexandre Mazzia

Le 19.20 at the Prince des Galles in Paris

Even if the five-star hotel's table has taken a bistronomic turn by entrusting the keys to its ovens to the cathodic Norbert Tarayre, the chef, with his has kept the imposing arabescato marble kitchen where chef Stéphane Le Quellec used to prepare her famous pea spaghetti. The delicacy of the 1,200 sheets of Murano glass adorning the upper part of this central kitchen can still be savored up close, but they now face whimsical animal paintings, in the art deco spirit dear to the luxurious establishment. This gives you a front-row seat to watch the giant knife sausage being cooked and shared, or the crispy sweetbreads. You'll also enjoy spying on the preparation of oxtail ravioli and homemade tagliatelle.

Where to eat? Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris, 33 Av. George V, 75008 Paris
www.19-20paris.fr

Rozo in Marcq-en-Barœul

" When we were cooking in Lille, rue de la Monnaie, we had a view down on the dining room. There were only two of them serving. So everything was managed from the kitchen. It was the kitchen that set the tempo. I would set the table and indicate when it was time to clear away. We adapted to this type of organization," says Diego Delbecq. When Rozo moved to Marcq-en-Barœul, where the chef and his partner Camille Pailleau acquired a 400 m² former printing works and renovated it completely, there was no reason to change the way they worked. " The open kitchen keeps us in touch with our customers. Our business is all about people," insists the Hazebrouck-born chef, who also recognizes the technical aspect of the slightly smoky window separating the kitchen from the rest of the dining room. " It allows the hood to suck in less material and contain it more in the kitchen ".